4 Valuable Sources of Help Selling Your Book Authors are on their own when writing a book but there is plenty of help available for marketing it.
By Kimanzi Constable Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
A book is a great way for entrepreneurs to establish their authority and generate passive income. Books hold a wealth of information that teaches strategy and changes lives. Many of the top entrepreneurs that come to mind are readers. Elon Musk would read for five hours a day growing up.
Selling books today, however, is easier said than done. Every year, more one million books are published. You can find these books priced for less than $10 all the way down to free through Amazon's KDP Select program. For whatever reason, people are reluctant to pay more than that for books, despite the value they'll get.
Today, the average self-published author will sell fewer than 250 books. The average published author will sell fewer than 2,000 books. We have access and technology, but to sell books today, you need to stand out from everyone else. These four resources can help you do just that.
1. Readers Legacy.
ReadersLegacy.com is a brand new platform for authors, book lovers, publishers and everything books. It's a platform to come together in one place. It's been described as a cross between Facebook, Amazon and Goodreads. Ken Dunn, the founder, loves books and wanted a place where everyone can connect by sharing their "virtual bookshelf".
On the site, you can add your virtual bookshelf, connect with your favorite authors and mastermind with book lovers from all over the world. For entrepreneurs, this is your chance to build an audience and communicate with them directly in an intimate way. Ken has already turned down offers of millions of dollars from a couple of major corporations because he felt they were not the right fit. This platform is here for authors and is meant to stay.
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2. 2 Dream Productions.
Entrepreneurs know that their product is only as good as the marketing; it's even more crucial in the book world. That's where Michelle Colon-Johnson and her company 2 Dream Productions come in. Michelle has a team dedicated to getting exposure for you and your book. She has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry because she's good at what she does. 2 Dream Productions is a great resource to get your book and message the exposure it deserves.
3. Heyo Cart.
I was not a fan of using social media to sell books, until I found Heyo Cart. Heyo Cart allows you to create an ad on your Facebook fan page, at the end of the ad, you tell your audience to type the word "BUY" to get the book. Once they do, they're instantly taken to a buy page. This has helped several big-name entrepreneurs increase their buy rate by huge numbers. The interface is simple, clean and efficient.
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4. BookBub.
BookBub.com is one of the world's largest websites for free and discounted books. For authors, it's maybe THE best place to advertise your book. I will tell you upfront that it's very hard to get into, with at least 70 percent and up to 90 percent of books rejected. But, if you can get in, your book will sell well during the promotion.
The way that it works is that you discount your book from free to $2.99 for a set amount of days. BookBub sends an email to one of their segmented lists that have hundred's of thousands of people to over a million. Your book climbs the ranks, and you continue to sell books organically after the promotion is over. My publisher ran a BookBub promotion for my book, and it hit the Publisher's Weekly bestseller's list that week.
Selling books isn't easy, but these resources can help you. The number one thing to keep in mind when it comes to selling books is your author platform. If you have no author platform, it will be hard to sell books. Focus on building your audience and these resources will give you the most bang for your buck.
Despite the competition, you can publish your book and stand out from all the others. You can establish your authority and leave a legacy through the printed word.
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