Skip to main content

How Not to Market Your Books


One reason authors and independent or publish on demand (POD) publishers should not spend money on advertising is distribution channel limitations. Since POD and many non-traditionally published books are documented differently with the Library of Congress, they are excluded from the same channels as traditionally published books, thus creative marketing effort are necessary. Librarians and bookstores receive a book’s information from the Library of Congress and distributors. If your book is not in the CIP process as described in Get Rich in a Niche, chances are great that it will not be picked up by librarians and traditional books stores. More distribution channel opportunities are becoming available with Lightning Source and Createspace, however, without the CIP, books may be excluded.

Some predators and aggressive book marketing agencies try to persuade authors to pay for their connections and inroads with major buyers. In reality, all they do is add your book information to a database with several hundred others and email it to their points of contact. The points of contact may not even be a result of a personal relationship, but simply a collection of email addresses. Librarians and book stores already have an acquisitions system in place. Avoid this type of business or you may lose money.

Some also earn a living writing about the success of internet advertising. They claim that you should be buying mailing lists for libraries and bookstores, email campaigns and magazines to successfully sell books. However, these methods just don’t work and are non-applicable to niche marketing. Others claim that the internet is an untapped gold mine and all you have to do is make a product, pay a fee and sit back and collect millions of dollars.

There are some reputable services that in and of themselves, are not bad. However, they don’t always work for niche marketing because they may not know your niche-market as well as you do.  So, before you spend money, be sure your audience is specifically targeted in the campaign

Jeffrey W. Bennett, ISP is the owner of Red Bike Publishing. Jeff is an accomplished writer of non-fiction books, novels and periodicals. He also owns Red bike Publishing. Published books include: "Get Rich in a Niche-Insider's Guide to Self Publishing in a Specialized Industry" and "Commitment-A Novel". Jeff is an expert in security and has written many security books including: "Insider's Guide to Security Clearances" and "DoD Security Clearances and Contracts Guidebook". See Red Bike Publishing for print copies of: Army Leadership The Ranger Handbook The Army Physical Readiness Manual Drill and Ceremonies The ITAR The NISPOM


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Great Reason to Self-Publish Two

Market Your Way-More and more publishing companies rely on the author to market books. Just look at the latest book covers and see which is larger the author's name or the book title? It's the author who sells books. As a niche professional, you have a built in market and your efforts can easily reach them. You know what works, so go to it. Many people are put off by marketing as I was when I first began. When a niche author serving in an industry with peer-customers, the last thing you want to do is bombard them with sales. Your role is the be the expert and provide answers. Cold calling is also not necessarily the answer in niche marketing. If you've developed a blog, newsletter or social media following, then you have your customer database. Your marketing efforts flow as you provide advice and answers to those following your posts, comments and articles. Many authors teach, speak, volunteer or are otherwise active in their professions. It's hard to remain o...
Post a Comment
Read more

Book as a business class.

I’m jeff bennett and I’ve created two book based businesses. One is for security professionals and the other is for authors. I’d like to share with you how I created a successful part time business based on my books About the training: Would you like to write a book? Do you have a book written? Do you have a desire to write but don’t know what to write? This training can get you there. Register for our book class. Classes begin soon. https://www.redbikepublishing.com/register-for-book-business-training/ That’s it, register and I’ll tell you more about: How to find your niche Write your book Market to your niche Build a book based on your expertise Make extra spending money or a side hustle with your creation This class discusses: Niche definition How to find your niche idea How to turn it into a book How to print with two major companies How to capture sales How to get customers before your book is written How to develop products and services based on your book Tools you should have f...
Post a Comment
Read more

Using a book to promote your business and vice versa.

A book is a great way to start a business, develop a business or market a business. Many people struggle with what to focus on as a book topic or a business.  They wonder what they should write about, what business they should focus on, how to market the book or the business, where to start, and how to grow. Perhaps this is your journey. If so welcome to the club. One of the most difficult tasks is settling on a topic, niche or business idea. It's important to understand where your expertise lies and how to reach others with your solution. I've always been an advocate of teaching and writing and learned there lies the core of my potential business competency. I wrote my first book on the subject of teaching others how to prepare for a certification. Whether you already have a business, want to learn how to start a business, or have a book, it's important to learn how to market your capability. I always say that one of the best ways to start a newsletter appropriate for your...
Post a Comment
Read more