Everyone has a story about their family life, how to achieve victory over difficulties or work experience. What area of your life are you most passionate about? Readers want to learn from your story!
The best exercise is to imagine what your life will be like once your book is published. How will the result affect you personally and professionally? Once you know what the most desired result is, you can make a plan to achieve it.
“Knowing your audience” is essential in all aspects of selling and achieving your goals. Align your goals and objectives when writing your manuscript. Ask associates if you were to write about your topic what questions they would like answered. Collect questions from a variety of people, and then prioritize them in order of importance. This highly specific information will make your writing even more valuable.
By overdelivering content, you’ll be sure readers will get tremendous value. The strategy is to get readers excited about your book and recommend it to others. You want to create a grassroots buzz around your book. By doing so, you will also attract the media. Using this two-pronged strategy of word of mouth and media will generate greater visibility for your book and your business.
Your story is what you know best and will allow you to write from the heart. This is the piece that will draw readers into your personal thoughts. In advance, establish how you are different from others. Write with authority to establish the credibility you seek.
If you’re writing the book to establish your credibility, you’ll probably want to hire a professional editor. It is almost impossible to correct your own work or to recognize when something you take for granted will not be clear to the reader.
Although we are told not to judge a book by its cover, first impressions make a world of difference. Your title, graphic design, color scheme, and testimonials will add to the buying decision. And to build credibility, an editor is a requirement. You will need to interview professionals who can help you with these tasks.
The next time you walk into a major bookstore, seriously study all the shelves with thousands of books displayed side by side. Look at the ones on the bottom shelf where you almost have to lie on the floor to read the title. How will someone find your book? This is a very humbling experience.
Now that it has come true, you will realize the need for a strategic marketing plan. If you’re looking for a publisher, they’ll want to see your plan. They need to know that you will actively seek out all appropriate markets and avenues to increase sales. If it seems like you haven’t done your homework proving how your book is most likely to sell and you can’t find any creative ideas anywhere, your chances of securing a publisher will drop dramatically.
You must demonstrate on paper how you will personally attempt to sell. Will you give talks locally, nationally or internationally? Is media attention something you want? Can you imagine the book leading you to Oprah to become a best-selling author? Will you create more products to sell in person or online? Will you be looking for a distributor or partners to market the book?
Prioritize and review the goals you set to make the book a success. The best advice is to talk to others who have gone before you. If you make uninformed decisions, it will lead to very costly mistakes. There are individuals and organizations that specialize in book services. Again, you will need to ask thoughtful questions and interview carefully. It’s a lot of hard work up front. But as with all things, once the work gets going, the rest becomes fun.
You will find that as book promotion becomes fun, you will begin to attract attention for your business. Eventually, you’ll develop the credibility you’ve been looking for, and more opportunities will follow.
This author started thinking on the first day of her sales career. The stories that immediately came to mind were quickly transferred to the computer. Some stories were shocking and some were hilarious, but each contained a lesson learned for readers to learn.
The same format was used for each chapter. A topic was introduced, the story was conveyed, the lesson learned was highlighted, and additional selling tips appeared at the end of each chapter. The book has literally become a reference book for many to improve their sales effort.
Once your chapters are written and placed in chronological order, pick 3-4 favorite chapters and edit the ones you send to several different partners for input. When you do this, you have to be brave enough to accept negative feedback if it comes your way. On the other hand, if your associates like the material, ask for testimonials to appear on the back cover of the book.
With valid suggestions, you will be able to improve the content of your book. Your readers will appreciate the extra care you took and will begin to help build excitement.