Book Marketing Success Stories

[John Kremer]

This is a forum to allow people to showcase the things they've done that have worked well for them in marketing their books. Please share your stories here. Then we can all read them and learn from them. If we work together, we will all be much stronger and more successful in marketing our books.

[Deborah Rummelhart]

Hi Diane: I tried to link to your FAQ page but it did not work. I would be interested in any information you could give me on virtual book tours.

Best wishes,

Deborah Rummelhart

[Amy Barnes]

Since my book is on soap making, I joined many and various soap making groups on Yahoo. I participate actively in these groups, and of course have a signature line that has a link to my book. I place ads on the days that they are allowed, but I feel that active participation and giving advice leads to more book sales. People perceive me to be an expert when they read my advice, then they click the link, and there you go.

[Lisa Copen]

Regarding MySpace... it depends on your topic. To promote National Invisible Chronic illness Awareness Week which we sponsor (I have illness books from a Christian perspective) we started a MySpace page and have had over 20,600 people in 2 MONTHS come from MYSPACE to our CHRISTIAN site... amazing! Many are from our MySpace page, but having it there, created a lot of people linking to it or talking about it so 200-400 people may come from someone else's MySpace site to our web page. Has definately helped book sales with us and on Amazon.com a bit. We've also sold more promotional goodies.

[KKBokovay]

Hi Lisa. After you created your page on MySpace, how did people find your page?

KKBokovay

Find the Right Man--Doggone Good Advice
How I Found the Right Man for Me, Based on My Experience Finding the Right Dog!!!

www.freewebs.com/kkbokovay
[e-mail]

[Lisa Copen]

I had glossy laminated business cards done with the tabs on the top and cut for Rolodexes. Every person I hand it to says, "Wow! What a great card!!" and then they turn around and show someone else beside them, look at her card!"

The front/top says, "Illness Ministry Expert" and below says who I am, available for media, etc. The "back tab" says "ILLNESS RESOURCES" and lists a bit about my publishing company and my web site for the organization.

For packets at the trade show I had a 1/2 sheet that said how I once worked in a Christian bookstore and understand that most of it is ministry, so to please put the card on their rolodex and remember to refer people to us. I used glue dots to attach it. My hope is for any bookstore owners who don't buy the books, they will save the card and remember it when someone comes to the store and shares about their illness (happens a lot in Christian bookstores.)

I purposely used the word ILLNESS as the first word on either side so that's where it'd be filed. The bookstore owner can say, "I met someone who is an author who..." and hopefully (1) refer them to me (2) order a book for the person (3) keep ordering more books.

Who would have thought a business card would create such a fuss. Everyone raved like it was the best thing. Some said "do people still use rolodexes?" I do! but does it matter? At least I know it will likely make it HOME with them and stand out and get entered into their data.

Lisa Copen
Author, Beyond Casseroles: 505 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend

[SusieSunshine]

I thought this was very creative, Lisa! Thanks for the idea! *smile*

Blessings from my spirit to your spirit!
Susie

[Kare Anderson]

Share your book with Molly Lundquist's brand new, elegantly-designed and resource-packed new social network, LitLovers: http://www.litlovers.com/litclub.htm

Where can news about your book fit in what they offer?:
offer:

reading group guides
book recommendations
free online literature courses
book club resources
recipes from around the world
ideas for kids and teens
a cool chat forum

[Adrienne Zurub]

WOW! There are so many great ideas for marketing my book that I had not thought of! Thanks for this forum, the suggestions and the pure sharing (ie, bathrooms, grocery stores, bulletin boards, Rotary clubs, etc!)
I'm off!

Adrienne Zurub
Author of,
'Notes From the Mothership ~ The Naked Invisibles' due out November 2007
http://adriennezurub.typepad.com
http://chasewunderlickpublishers.com/cn

[Author-Poet Aberjhani]

I recently learned that because I had an account with Lulu.com, I qualified to receive a free three-month full Authors promotional membership package at Edit Red. For all it included, the offer was one I dared not refuse. Please feel free to take a look at the benefits by clicking the link below to my profile page.
Aberjhani

[Marie Cleveland]

I sold a copy of my children's book today to my dental hygienist. As she worked on my teeth, we had a conversation which led right into telling her about my book. She thought her son would love to read it. I sent my daughter out to the parking lot and she quickly returned with a copy of the book.

I always keep a few books in my vehicle and some bookmarks with info. about the book in my purse. You never know when you'll run into someone who is interested in your writing. I also sold a book to a family in the cabin next to ours while on vacation. And I've given out many bookmarks when I'm just out doing my usual errands around town. People always sound so impressed when I told them that I've written a book!

www.freewebs.com/mclevelandbooks

[Diane Eble]

How do you go about selling an ebook? Well, I could give you a whole course on it (and actually, I am working on one), so it's not easy to say in one short reply!

However, it all comes down to: building a list (by offering some kind of valuable information your market wants, in exchange for their email addresses), building multiple web presences to drive traffic to your site (article marketing, blog, social networking, podcasting and teleseminars are my favorites), and then using strong copy to convert visitors into buyers. None of this is instant pudding; it takes time to build a presence and credibility.

As you do these things, you're going to want to be selling more than one ebook! The idea is to think of yourself as the message, and find as many ways and price points as possible to package and market your message.

It also means knowing your market and their needs. I love using Ask campaigns for this. A few simple Ask campaigns have given me plenty of things to write about, and best of all, I know I'm writing about what my market wants to hear!

That's the short answer. My sites are all about answers to this question, so I'm glad you did sign up. Take what tips and strategies from my site, and this group, and just start implementing!

Good luck!

[C. D. Williams]

I am using almost every marketing method mentioned on this thread. Website, news releases both mailed and online through prweb.com. I put flyers, book marks and book related business cards in all of my correspondense, even my bills. I hand out cards everywhere I go as well as putting flyers on bulletin boards. I do book signings, give talks to local literary and library groups. I have even had a weekend book sale and signing at our local Air Force Base exchange. I have also managed to get on local radio, and book related public TV shows. I even managed to get a half page in the Literary Las Vegas section of our news paper. Don't overlook book reviews. I just got a nice one from Midwest Book Review in Oregon WI. They have been around since 1976 and they give special consideration to small press and self published authors. What I'm trying to say is that it all works to some degree, but it takes stuborn perseverance. In polite terms I call it the "Poop theory of marketing" - "If you throw enough poop at the wall some of it is bound to stick"
My recent prweb release was read 26,000 times the first day and as a result my wesite reads were 300 plus for the same period. It cost me $80.00. Was it worth it? I'll let you know when I find out.