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Five Tips to Improve Your Bookselling Efforts

The reward of holding a copy of your published work is indescribable. But it’s just one of the many exciting milestones in your journey to self publishing success. One key objective in your publishing journey is selling your book successfully. Here are five tips we think may help improve your efforts to increase book sales.

Build up your image as an author and a brand

Book buyers and readers gravitate to books—and authors—that appeal to them. The more you project yourself in a way that holds their attention, the more you gain their trust. Highlight the fact that you are now a published author. Add that to your email and forum signature lines. Don’t forget to add your website or social media profiles to here, as well as to your press release boilerplates. These may be small things, but they’re the building blocks to a positive image.

A quality 3rd-party review is important to successful bookselling

An honest and well-written 3rd-party review is invaluable. A positive review from a respected book reviewer will make your book stand out, improve its marketability and enhance your title’s, as well as your, reputation. Don’t be afraid to invite readers and indie reviewers to evaluate your book. Published reviews on sites like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and the iUniverse bookstore bolsters the credibility of your book encouraging new readers to part with their money knowing that they will get a good read in return.

Librarians are your best customers—and allies

Librarians are savvy, well-informed book buyers. They are the favorites of the traditional publishing houses, small presses, and self publishers. If librarians like your book and trust your brand, they will likely become some of your most effective bookselling allies. Their participation and support are valuable aids to your bookselling activities—sponsoring book signings, readings, meet-and-greet affairs, and Q&A activities at their libraries. So be sure to visit your local libraries and befriend your librarians.

Use your social media networks to connect and sell your book

While iUniverse carries all the titles of its authors in its online bookstore and through its partnerships with Amazon and Barnes and Noble, one of the most effective ways to sell you book is through social media networking. Generate news, book-related updates, and positive reviews through Twitter, Facebook and MySpace, and to the other online communities you belong to. Social networks are also great places to meet fellow authors and find new opportunities for selling your book.

Give e-book publishing a try

Electronic publishing is the new generation of book publishing. While the Internet has expanded your marketing reach beyond physical and geographical borders, e-books are allowing you to put your story into the palm of your readers. No matter where they are around the world, readers and consumers can now purchase and enjoy downloaded copies of your book using mobile devices. If you want to take your book selling to the next level, consider giving e-book publishing a try to expand your reach.

Writing and creating your story is a rewarding dream. When done correctly, your bookselling strategy will allow you to reach, and surpass, your that publishing dream. There are no shortcuts in bookselling—no magic spell or recipe to improve your sales. It comes down to careful planning to put yourself and your book in front of the entire reading world.

Did you know?

According to some sources, many early self published books found widespread success through direct book selling campaigns. Walt Whitman, James Joyce, E. E. Cummings, Rudyard Kipling, Edgar Allan Poe, Ezra Pound, Carl Sandburg, George Bernard Shaw, and Mark Twain, are just some of the famous authors who rolled up their sleeves to sell their own books!