Day 167--The #1 Secret to Successful Book Marketing, WOM

I have spent countless hours researching book marketing, marketing my own book, The Pet Washer, and talking to other authors. I will boil down book marketing to one quintessential fact:

W.O.M.

Word of Mouth

I told you I would check in from time to time with the results of my marketing efforts. This is the truth--I have never seen a spike in sales after a Facebook post, a Tweet, a book review, or an author interview. This doesn't mean they aren't worth doing for reasons of building a presence, but I have come to believe that they don't produce direct or immediate sales.?

I have taken a look at my own book buying habits. I don't purchase books because of an ad I saw or because the author tweeted about the book. When I want a new book to read--I ask my friends what they are reading! Every book I've read in the last twelve months was either recommended to me or it was written by an author I already know I like. One book I read because it had a brilliant cover, but I never finished it.?

Having said this, I do believe that garnering reviews and doing interviews are 100% worthwhile. They are free and they build my presence as an author. If someone hears about The Pet Washer from a friend, that's when they are most likely to Google me or the book. At this point, it's important to have reviews, author interviews, and a website available to them.?

But the apple has hit me on the head and I now understand the law of book marketing--W.O.M. Anything you can do to generate W.O.M. will work! It is the law. (But this is assuming people like your book, W.O.M. can hurt you just as easily as it can help you.) I believe that W.O.M. will sell more books than everything else you do combined! Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey owe their success to W.O.M.

So how do you generate W.O.M.? You put your sneakers on, turn off your computer, and you get out there! It involves giving your book away, approaching stores and boutiques, doing Goodreads giveaways, donating copies to fundraisers--getting creative! You will need a paperback version of your book to hand out and sell out of the back of your car. You can make one for free at Createspace and other places.?

What I am doing to generate W.O.M. for The Pet Washer

• Giving copies away to children outside of my direct circle.
• Contacting local bookstores who have a "local author" section (or who are open to my book). I give them a free copy to help them decide.
• Contacting local gift boutiques and dog grooming salons (this is unique to my subject matter).
• Donating autographed copies to horse shows, school fundraisers, dog-related events, silent auctions, raffles.
• Arranging book signings at any place that agrees to carry my book.
• Speaking at schools (free or paid) about creative writing and passing out Pet Washer bookmarks to the kids.
• Donating copies to every elementary school library that I can drive to and mailing copies to libraries that are far away.
• Utilizing family in other states by asking them to approach school libraries, bookstores, and boutiques.?
• Carrying books in my car like business cards--handing them out to people who can help me market or selling them to interested customers on the spot.?
• Donating them to classroom libraries.?
• Donating copies to people who are involved in book clubs that read childrens books. (Lots of moms join these book clubs to preview books for their children.)

This list will grow as I get more and more creative about marketing The Pet Washer.

When I first started marketing, I was focused solely on my online sales. I was obsessed with my Amazon ranking. But the Amazon ranking doesn't tell the whole story! The Amazon ranking obsession kept my marketing creativity in a box. It made me focus on directing my customers to buy from Amazon. There is nothing wrong with buying from Amazon, but my goal is to sell books and it doesn't matter from where. If I sell 50 books at a boutique and none from Amazon in a given month, my ranking will drop like a stone, but in the long run, I'm gaining readers and that is what will generate W.O.M.

My ultimate goal is to hear one kid say to another kid--"You have to read this book!"

We have to get out into the world. We have to experience rejection when a store tells us no. We have to face booksellers and customers fully-dressed, live and in person! I have been marketing in my P.J.'s for too long! It's stale and stagnant and discouraging. My brother released a CD recently and he's in the same boat as I. We have to pound the pavement, play gigs (signings and speaking for authors), push our product to anyone who's interested, sell out of our trunk--you get the idea! The average indie book sells 75 copies and 95% of traditionally published books don't sell out the author advance. We have to work to beat the odds!

Get creative about your book. What is the subject matter? How can you pair your book with store owners, local events, charities, or other professionals? We're writers! We're actually natural-born marketers. We know how to spin a sentence to attain a desired effect--that's advertising! We're Don Draper's dream team! We may not excel at math (okay, I'm speaking for myself), but we excel at ideas, imagination, dreams, and the art of evoking emotion in others. Tap into this and apply it to selling your book. Once your book builds momentum, you won't be able to stop it!

What have you done to generate W.O.M.? Please share your ideas at The Jennifer (Author) Diaries!

To Do: Brainstorm and make a marketing plan to generate W.O.M. Create a paperback version if you don't have one, you will need it. Make sure your book is the best it can be first!?

Read my post HERE on formatting your paperback!
Click HERE for advice on creating a best-selling book cover
Read HERE about why I decided to hire help for my book cover and editing.

Source: http://www.jenniferlynnalvarez.com/2012/08/day-167-1-secret-to-successful-book.html

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