You've Written Your Book. Now What?

Here at Self Published Author.com, we offer tools, advice, and resources to help you through the publishing process. Bowker is the official ISBN agency in the US and Australia. We're excited about authors taking the publishing process into their own hands, and we're here to help however you need it.

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The Best Marketing Tool Never Used

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue Jul 11, 2017

Every day I hear authors and publishers lament that sales are down, and they don’t know why. Then they continue doing the same things they have always done, and expect different results. However, there is one marketing tool that can make an enormous difference in one’s sales, but it is rarely – if ever – used. It is market research.

People think of market research as a ponderous, expensive technique that must be implemented by professional data gatherers. But you can conduct simple research – often for free – to help you plan and implement new marketing actions that can increase your sales, revenue and profits.

Here are a few simple steps you can take on your own to discover the cause of poor sales, and provide some ideas for taking corrective actions.

1. Identify the problem or opportunity. Let’s say sales for Title A are down in Segment B

Inside Publishing

Marketing & Publicity

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Marketing Choreography (Otherwise Known as Planning)

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Wed Jul 5, 2017

Creating your marketing strategy defines what you will do. The next step is to decide how you will do it, and then organize your actions to facilitate implementation. That is the process of planning.

Do not think of the word plan as a noun – a weighty document valued by page count. Instead, think of it as a verb, a functional, dynamic series of actions that keep you moving ahead. It could simply be a checklist of actions you can implement to fulfill your strategies and reach your objectives.

Still, some publishers eschew planning for a variety of reasons. Here are the three questions I am most frequently asked about planning.

Why should I spend time planning instead of doing?
There are many benefits to planning, if you think of it as a process, regularly adjusting your checklist to exploit opportunities as they arise. Here are a few reasons to consider.

Inside Publishing

Marketing & Publicity

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Stop Selling Your Books

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue Jun 27, 2017

Most products, including books, are combinations of tangible and intangible elements. People do not buy the tangible features of a book, i.e., the paper and ink that create it. They buy the intangible benefits they receive from reading fiction: a vicarious feeling of fantasy, romance, adventure or mystery. And when purchasing nonfiction, they are buying information, motivation and help.

As an independent publisher, you will become more successful at marketing when you stop selling your books and begin selling what your books do for the people who read them. That is the difference between marketing a feature, an advantage and a benefit. A feature is an attribute of your book. It could be its size, binding, title or number of pages. An advantage describes the purpose or function of a feature, and a benefit is the value the reader receives in exchange for purchasing your book. People buy value, not generic books.

Inside Publishing

Marketing & Publicity

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Click here if you are from Australia

The Best Marketing Tool Never Used

Marketing Choreography (Otherwise Known as Planning)

Stop Selling Your Books

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