How this
self-help author sold 6,000 print-on-demand books
Focusing
on word of mouth helped keep marketing costs to a minimum
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Selling 6,000 books is decent for any self-published
author. But when you sell 6,000 print-on-demand books, that’s
even more impressive. Carol Tuttle did just that -- and the best part is she
spent almost no money on marketing, relying instead on word-of-mouth to help
overcome the inherent disadvantage of not having her books on the shelf of most
bookstores. Here’s how she did it.
Get your book into reader’s -- not reviewer’s
-- hands. Tuttle knew that once people read her book,
they’d be so impressed that they’d recommend it to others. This was the focus
of her strategy --
creating word of mouth and letting other people sell the book for
her. “It’s great to have reviews and get the industry interested in your book,”
says Tuttle, “but ultimately you have to get the book
in the hands of readers.”
Seed your market. Tuttle began her strategy by buying 400 books
from her publisher at a 45% discount. She then resold them to some clients of
her private alternative therapy office. The rest, she gave to people she knew
would spread the word. “I gave the books to key people I knew would love it.”
She knew that these key people would, in turn, become a mini-marketing force.
She also placed copies of her book in other places where people likely to be
interested in its topic would frequent, such as waiting rooms at
alternative-healing centers.
Your book can’t look
like a self-published book. Tuttle is adamant that if you want your book to be taken seriously, it
can’t look like a self-published book. She studied other books in her genre and
noticed that for most of them, the most prominent feature on the cover was a
headshot of the author. Because of this, she spent a considerable amount of
money ($400) simply making sure she got a high-quality headshot to use for her
own cover. She spent more money on this than on any other part of her marketing
except for the design of her Web site.
Your book can’t read like a
self-published book. If you can tell a
self-published book by its cover, you can also tell a self-published book by
what’s inside. All too often, the lack of editing that tends to go along with
self-publishing kills your credibility. Tuttle subjected her book to the
scrutiny of eight different editors (all friends and associates) who helped her
catch any glaring mistakes and tighten up the text.
Develop local relationships. As mentioned above, Tuttle began her
marketing campaign by distributing and selling her books to key people in her
geographic area. Eventually, one of those people gave her book to the regional
manager of a major bookstore chain who booked Tuttle for nine appearances at
various bookstores in the region. She was also able to convince the owner of a
health-food store in her area, who also happens to host a local radio show, to
have her on the show and host events at his store. She sold several hundred
books this way. That may not seem like a lot, but when you’re talking about
building momentum with a non-traditional book like a POD, starting locally,
developing a reputation, and then branching out can often be the best way to
go.
Market your book without
ever leaving home. Especially for a POD book,
online marketing makes a tremendous amount of sense. Readers comfortable using
the Internet won’t have a problem going directly to the Web to order your book,
and it’s one way to get exposure nationally (and even internationally) without
ever leaving home. One strategy that was successful for Tuttle involved setting
up online chat sessions on sites like About.com. She searched for moderators
who might be interested in her topic, such as depression and alternative
healing, and asked if they’d be interested in reviewing her book or hosting an
event. This led to an ongoing relationship where Tuttle was able to market her
books directly to people online and send them to her Web site where they could
purchase the book or her higher-priced CD package.
****
For more information about Carol Tuttle and her
book, “Remembering Wholeness: A Personal Handbook for Thriving in the 21st
Century, visit her Web site at www.caroltuttle.com.
This article originally appear in John Kremer’s Book Marketing Update, a twice-monthly monthly newsletter that covers major media publicity opportunities for authors as well
as case histories of successful book promotion campaigns. For subscription info, plus a transcript of John’s recent telephone seminar on “What Bestselling Authors Do Differently,”
go to
http://www.freepublicity.com/transcript/?10009