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How to Sell Books Through Blogs
Guest Post by Kim Staflund
In today's digital environment, selling books through blogs is viable and preferable for many authors. Here's more information on how to sell your published books through blogs.
• Interest: You need an audience that has an interest in your book. A series of blogs can help to not just develop, but engage that audience. Let them know
Whether you're an author, writer, or have a home business you should have a book under your belt. Books are one of the most powerful authority building tools. And, they can be created with little or no money, though services like CreateSpace.
Since bookstores don't have the same draw as they once did, to sell that book you need to think out of the box. You need to think about by-pass marketing
There are little things that we can do to help authors, and in turn, help them sell a couple books. Like checking off tags—a small task that can reap big benefits.
But What Are Tags?
Let’s say you’ve just finished a book and you think it’s swell and you want to help the author optimize her/his web presence. So you find the title on Amazon, then you scroll down past the basic info, past the reviews, perhaps past a few more sections, and then bam! Say hello to the Tags.
Here are the tags for the book, Love Comes Later, currently on a WOW! blog tour:
Tags Customers Associate with This Product
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below.
contemporary romance(7)multicultural romance(7)london(6)middle east(6) olympics(6)qatar(5)romance(5)kindle free(1) kindle freebie(1) Agree with these tags?
So tags are keywords or labels. They have tons of uses and you can find out more here. But you want to know what tags have to do with selling books.
Why Tag?
When you click on a book’s tag, you’re sending a vote. You’re saying, “Yes! I agree this book is about this label or that label.” The more times a particular tag is clicked (like contemporary romance), the more that book will show up in searches (of contemporary romance). So checking the tags helps that author’s book get more exposure. Easy, right?
And authors, you can help yourself by tagging your own book! You can add up to 15 tags, and you make it a little easier for your readers to vote when they can click on that “Agree with these tags?” button.
Is That All There Is To It?
Well, you have to be signed in to your Amazon account for your tags to register. And your tags will only count on whatever edition of the book you tagged (ie. hardcover, paperback, Kindle). And really, you should read the book so that your tags are accurate.
But, yeah. That’s it. So check those tags—and help sell a book!
~from Cathy C. Hall
By Rob Eagar
A good way to gauge your interview prowess is by mastering the ability to steer a conversation to only the topics that you want to discuss. Just because a radio or TV host asks you a question does NOT mean that you must answer it. Sure, it’s polite to respond to someone’s question. But, if the host starts down a verbal rabbit trail, you’re not obligated to follow and waste time from talking about your main points.
Occasionally, you may interact with a host who acts condescending or openly disagrees with your opinion. But, don’t let him or her bully you. Instead, sidestep the argument and redirect the question to a subject that you want to discuss. Think of an interview like steering a car. The host may ask the questions, but you’re the one driving the direction of the conversation. For example, here are three responses you can use when a host asks you something antagonistic or irrelevant:
- “Yes, that’s an interesting issue. But, I’ve found that an even bigger issue is…”
- “I’ll be glad to answer that question. But, first, let me say something about…”
- “You bring up a good question. But, before I leave, I really want to emphasize this point to today’s listeners…”
Remember, you’re the expert, the host is not. Therefore, it makes sense for you to control the flow of information to the audience, rather than a host who probably isn’t nearly as familiar with your topic.
Reminder:
Rob Eagar’s new book from Writer’s Digest, Sell Your Book Like Wildfire, is now available in print and e-book formats. This is the bible of book marketing for authors and publishers. Get 288 pages packed with advanced information, real-life examples, and tips to start selling more books immediately. There are specific chapters on social media, word-of-mouth tools, Amazon, and a chapter dedicated to best practices for marketing fiction. In addition, get over 30 pages of free bonus updates online. Get your copy today at:
http://www.writersdigestshop.com/sell-your-book-like-wildfire or http://www.BookWildfire.com
About the author:
Rob Eagar is the founder of WildFire Marketing, a consulting practice that helps authors and publishers sell more books and spread their message like wildfire. He has assisted numerous New York Times bestselling authors and is author of the new book, Sell Your Book Like Wildfire. Find out more about Rob’s advice, products, and coaching services for authors at: www.startawildfire.com
By:
Jennifer Wylie,
on 6/23/2012
Blog:
Jennifer Wylie's Blog
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Okay, I know I’m rather delayed in posting about this… but at least I did get around to it!
This year I headed off to Chicago, IL again to attended my 2nd year at the Printers Row Lit Fest. Last year I had a blast, met a lot of wonderful people and sold a bunch of books. This year didn’t disappoint either!
Let’s start at the beginning.
I flew into O’Hare Thursday evening (June 7th). Last year was great, but I didn’t get to see any of Chicago and was determined to fix that this year! My sweetie Sean Hayden was kind enough to pick me up (for those who didn’t know, we met for the first time at PR last year!)
Chicago!
We found our hotel, which I found using Expedia and got for an awesome 32$ a night. It was the Extended Stay American Chicago in Hillside. Considering the price, I was beyond relieved to find out it was not only easy to get to, but in excellent condition. Though not at all fancy (and no maid service though you could exchange sheets and towels at the front desk) it was VERY clean, the room was huge with a full kitchenette and everything worked. I would certainly stay there again.
On Friday we toured Chicago a bit, and visited the most awesome Navy Pier. It was a hot day, but we had a load of fun watching the boats, touring the shops and eating funnel cakes! We had dinner at the famous Bubba Gumps. Which was pretty neat, though I found my memories of the details in the movie Forrest Gump weren’t so great.
Saturday was the big first day of Printers Row! Which meant getting up at like 5am to have everything ready and loaded. Luckily traffic was awesome and we got to the site early and were able to drive in to unload. Everyone else started arriving and it was a flurry of hellos and set up. The weather was hot but otherwise fantastic. The crowd didn’t seem to be as big as last year, but they were buying! A lot of people stopped to chat, browse (and buy) books and get autographs. Luckily we had a cooler full of ice to keep us from melting in the heat. By 6pm we were closing up (and btw, yes that is a verrrrry long day) and packing our stuff into the center of the tent. We all had dinner across the street where we ate and chatted for a few hours and then I think we all went back to hotels for some sleep.
Sunday we were there early again, set everything up again, and kept on selling! Flashy Fiction and Other Insane Tales did absolutely fantastic! (Of course it does have a really cool cover ![](http://s0.wp.com/wp-includes/images/sm
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I picked up a copy of Fritz Leiber's Conjure Wife on Amazon. Yes, I went for the dead tree edition for six bucks rather than a $7.69 e-copy. I'm still that guy. If the price was $3.99 or less on Kindle, maybe... but that's beside the point.
I'm a good twenty pages in, and it's a fine book, but the cover troubles me:
This woman is
not Tansy. Not in my imagination. Not from a book published in 1943, no matter how dark the fantasy. The hair, her dress, the gothed-out eyes... Not to mention the words at the bottom of the cover: "The Classic of Urban Fantasy". What?
Urban Fantasy wasn't even a phrase one used in 1943. Was it?
This is
marketing, sure, disguising a classic horror novel in trappings of the now to sucker new readers. Not unlike slapping a
Twilighty cover on
Romeo and Juliet,
Wuthering Heights, and
Pride and Prejudice:
Oh yes they did.
Does the cover effect my reading of the book? The jury is still out, but if I'm thinking about the cover instead of the content, I'd have to say all signs are pointing to YES. What about you?
The NBN Sales conference went quite well. I got some great feedback on the books and made some interesting networking contacts. And it seems that my double life as a bookseller makes me a valuable resource for others as well. So many good ideas were floating around.
Since many of you review books on your blogs, I thought you might be interested in a site I just discovered. Now, some of you may have been using it for years, but sometimes I’m a little late to the party.
Introducing Net Galley.com. This site is free to reviewers, bookstore buyers, etc. (although it’s not free for the publisher – grumble) and allows you to request electronic and physical readers of publishers books. I haven’t thoroughly explored the site yet, but I know I plan to put electronic versions of all my books up. It’s a greener way to preview and review books. I look forward to becoming a part.
Members of the Faculty and Staff of the National Writing for Children Center are on the move online this week.
Here are a few of the places you can catch up with some of them:
Simon Rose
Listen to this interesting podcast Interview with Simon at the Irreverent Muse
Later this week, Simon takes part in an online chat with the Long Ridge Writers Group
Lila Guzman
Here’s an interesting and unusual interview with Lila at Teens Read Too Book Club
Suzanne Lieurance
Suzanne was recently interviewed about her new book The Lucky Baseball by Cathy Stucker at www.sellingbooks.com
Suzanne hosts Book Bites for Kids, every afternoon this week at 2:00 CDT.
Of course we’re not the only folks writing about books and bookselling. Here are a few other tidbits for you.
Have a great weekend!
When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
… ‘David Sedaris’s ability to transform the mortification of everyday life into wildly entertaining art,’ (The Christian Science Monitor) is elevated to wilder and more entertaining heights than ever in this remarkable new book. …
[we just can’t get enough of Mr. Sedaris’ books. His stuff sells as fast as we can find it]
Top 10 Best Selling Books of 1952
You will find these titles easily in any good used book store, garage sales, flea markets, auctions, and internet book shops. This list of the top 10 bestsellers for 1952 was compiled by Publishers Weekly magazine. …
Secrets of a Jedi Bookseller
It’s one of my favorite discussions. I love to sell books. Some might even say I have a mutant power of sorts; this uncanny ability to match a person to the perfect book, which they didn’t even know they wanted. …
Can Somebody Make Money Selling E-Books Online?
Naturally the big challenge with selling e-books is to attract traffic in high enough volumes to successfully get a steady stream of enough prospects to be able to register sales regularly. One of the ways of doing this is through …
Your books ain’t gonna sell themselves!
One of my favorite methods for marketing and selling books is with live events. This used to be my primary method before I got immersed in the power of Internet Marketing. Channel: Books Tags: selling books authors writers marketing …
Effective Strategies For Selling Books Online
The first thing that you will need to do prior to selling books online is decide which genre you would like to specialize in. Many online entrepreneurs have found that by selling books that are informative, and nonfiction in basis, …
We will be sending out these link lists a little more often, perhaps at least once a week. If you have a blog related to books and want us to include it here please drop me a line. Hope you enjoy these ones.
Note: I wrote this piece many years ago. It was originally published in the SCBWI Bulletin. After the recent live chat on school visits, I was asked to post it as a blog. It is also available on my website:
www.vickicobb.com:
As an author of science books for children, I have been the guest speaker at many schools across the country. Because I was a teacher, I don't do the typical program of discussing how I write. Instead, I do a performance designed to get kids interested in science. Usually my books are sold at my appearances. But there are a few places where they have not been sold and I have come across a negative attitude toward the selling of books at an author's appearance that prompts this article.
There are all sorts of reasons to bring an author to a school both on the part of the children and the author. An author's appearance "makes books come alive." It shows kids that "authors are real people." Authors have enough visibility to pass as "famous" in our celebrity-crazed society, thus making the visit a special event. They are usually articulate and can present an entertaining program that reinforces interest in their books. For authors, school appearances promote their books and have a residual effect, putting their name on the map in a school for many years to come. It also gives them feedback on their readers' reactions. But, in my opinion as an educator, there is only one truly important reason to have an author come to a school: namely, to motivate kids to read. Presumably, meeting an author in person can create a demand for his or books, particularly when the author writes, as I do, on less popular subjects. If an author excites and interests kids, the author is invariably asked, "Where can I get your books? If the books are not at hand, the moment is lost. What baffles me is why a school that has spent some of its limited resources to bring an author to the school, obviously caring about "enrichment," does not understand how to optimize the educational experience it has created.
One argument against selling books is simply school policy: nothing is sold to kids at school, period. Any exception to the rule would somehow open a Pandora's Box of ills. In this kind of thinking, kids are characterized as avid consumers, easily manipulated by the excitement of a performance to spend money they don't have on a frivolous impulse. The schools' role is to protect them from such exploitation. A superintendent recently said to me, "If you were a rock star, the kids would want to buy your CD." I found myself in the ludicrous position of having to point out to the educator that I am not a rock star, and it might do some good in the fight against boredom, video games and drugs to create a demand for science books along with the opportunity to fulfill it.
Another argument is, "We live in a mixed socio-economic district and we don't want to put pressure on poor kids to buy things they can't afford." My most popular books are paperbacks that can be offered in schools at a discount, priced at under $4.00. From what I hear about certain poor districts, kids have money for Nintendo, VCR's, candy bars and sometimes drugs. Why not put pressure on them to buy a book? I once signed a book for a poor child in a small village in Alaska. It was a hard cover and I didn't know he hadn't yet paid for it when I wrote his name in it. When he realized he didn't have enough money to pay for it, he was offered a less expensive book, one he could easily afford. But no. This was the one he wanted. He would bring in the money the next day. The librarian told me that there was no way his parents would give him the money to buy the book. Yet the next day he did, in fact, return for it. It was clear that this book was precious to him. Imagine! A poor child valuing a book! A small event yet one with enormous implications for the thesis that education is a way out of poverty. One reality of society is that often we think things are valuable only when we have to pay for them. And if this is yet another way to instill a value for books in children, we are remiss if we don't offer the opportunity.
Finally, there is the unstated insinuation that we authors are money-grubbers who want the royalties as part of our fee, and the schools will have no part of such greed. Personally, wearing my educator's hat, I don't care if only the $4.00 books are for sale at my appearances. Every book sold frees up the library book for a kid who truly can't afford it. The royalties will hardly amount to anything, let alone make me a rich woman. In fact, a career as a children's book author is hardly a get-rich-quick scheme. On the other hand, children's book authors are often viewed at schools as career models. If we make our living writing books, should we then be put in a position of apologizing for the fact that they are for sale?
In the real world, people earn money selling something of value, whether it's a product or a service. My fee for a day's school appearance pays for three entertaining, highly motivating programs for hundreds of children. If books for sale are not made a part of the day, the library cannot handle the demand. I become simply another entertainer for a passive audience of kids all too accustomed to being entertained. That momentary flicker of interest in reading a book quickly dies for most kids if it is not immediately reinforced. At a time when our educational systems are under fire, when students are turned off and dropping out, we can't afford to waste any opportunity to involve kids as active participants in the learning process.
Last week, Charlesbridge heard the good--no, make that great... stupendous, joyous, and all--news that Hello, Bumblebee Bat, by Darrin Lunde and illustrated by Patricia Wynne, won a Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Honor. We were overjoyed and beside ourselves with glee. So, we had cake and champagne to celebrate. The cake lady misspelled 'bumblebee', but that's okay. She just won't win a Geisel Honor.
And here we are at ALA-Midwinter with our popular poster of Lola at the Library. The lucky winner of the poster raffle is Monica Rhue of James B. Duke Library in Charlotte, North Carolina. Congrats!
Posted by Donna
Hi Everyone! I'm very excited about being a new member of this group, and am really looking forward to getting to know you all. I'm incredibly impressed with the work that I've seen so far, what talented artists you are! It's wonderful to have the opportunity to share information and feedback, to help one another achieve success in our artistic aspirations.
Thanks!
Sarah Tommer
Greetings, ye sugary ones! Just joined. My commercial stuff here and my sketchbooks here
I am selling books this week at the CAJE conference, always a great event, always filled with tons of people who LOVE books.
It is a lot of fun helping people find the right book. And seeing people who, for the rest of the year, I work with over the phone.
I'm sure I posted this last year, but here are my observations (and pardon me, if they are totally naive!):
People love to touch books, but they never buy the one they're touching, unless it's the last one.
People leave a mess!
They ask questions about one book, then buy another.
The discount..what's the discount?
People worry more about the bargain box books--they really study it--more than the full price books.
NO ONE has left saying, "I can get this at Amazon!"
After our most exciting author spoke, our booth like we're the Rolling Stones!
So how do you become that most exciting author?
It was really great listening to Ron speak last night.
What I heard:
He is sincere/He believes what he is saying and what he has written/ He has come up with a program that people really want to use. They really love it! They don't have to be sold. It makes sense!/ He knows his audience./ Did I say he is the nicest guy????/He gave me, the sales staff, a program we could develop and market.
Two more days to go. I'm wiped, but it's fun.
Home on Friday!!!
Here's a sketchbook drawing I scanned in this weekend.
Tim
Hello SFG, I recently joined and I wanted to say hello! I'm an illustrator, photographer, and writer from NY. I also teach high school art. You are all pretty amazing and Sugar Frosted seems like a lot of fun. If you want to see some of my work my website is www.timneedles.com
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Great post, Cathy. That's one thing I always check when author friends release a book. Every little bit helps if it guides readers to the books they enjoy!
Great tip! I am going to start tagging my friends' books right away.