April 2019
One of the biggest struggles that authors face after they’ve published their book is getting book sales. The average author sells only about 100 copies of their book. Marketing can be overwhelming. What if you could put book marketing on auto-pilot, and have money rolling in from book sales without a lot of effort? We have a webinar coming up later this month where you can learn how to do that, and it’s FREE! Read more about it below.
Automatic Book Sales System
Have you wondered how you can get consistent sales of your book instead of just short-term spikes during promotions, or how to have your book stand out when there are so many competing books on Amazon? On April 24, at 1 pm ET, my friend and 7 times bestselling author Derek Doepker will reveal some very practical strategies on how to do less promotion and sell more books on auto-pilot. With one strategy, he had an extra $3,505 in book sales in less than 8 weeks with less than 2 hours of work a week! If that sounds good to you, you’ll want to check out this free live training called Automatic Book Sales System he is doing on April 24, at 10:00 AM PT / 1:00 PM ET. It will be recorded, so even if you can’t attend the live webinar, you should register for it to receive the link to the recording. Derek will be making a limited offer on the webinar, on a first come first served basis, so being on the live webinar is to your advantage. To register, click here.
New Course
I have nearly finished creating my second online course, Publish It! This course provides guidance on the steps needed to go from manuscript to publication, how to get your book on Amazon, and how to promote and leverage your book. Last month I offered the opportunity for the first 20 people who sign up to take the course for only $25, a 95% discount! There are still a few spots left. Email me at judy@skillbites.net if interested, and I’ll fill you in on the details.
1. The SkillBites Show
Each month, we bring you an expert to help you get your book done, leverage your book, grow your business or improve your life. The shows are recorded, so if you can’t listen to one live, you can listen to the recording by clicking here.
Our next SkillBites Show will be held on Monday, April 22 at 1 pm ET. Our guest will be Penny Zenker, an international speaker, business strategy coach and best-selling author. Before her 31st birthday, Penny founded, developed and sold her first multi-million-dollar business. Later she managed business unit turnarounds and was a Tony Robbins business coach. Penny is one of America’s leading experts in the psychology of productivity to eliminate distraction, perfectionism and self-sabotage to maximize results in every area of your life. We will be discussing some of her time management thinking strategies, tips and tools so you can work smarter and get more of the right things done.
To listen to the live presentation, you can call in at (641) 715-3660, Access Code: 467398.
Last month we heard from Derek Doepker, a rock guitarist turned seven-time #1 bestselling author. He discovered a proven process that took him from struggling author to selling over 50,000 books. Derek shared several powerful tips for getting high sales from your book If you missed this presentation, you can listen to it by clicking here, or you can read some of the answers to the FAQs from this show on the SkillBites blog at http://resources.skillbites.net/blog/.
Do you have expertise that you believe would benefit the SkillBites community of entrepreneurs and authors? If you would like to be the guest on the monthly SkillBites Show, contact me at judy@skillbites.net or 610-783-4519.
2. In the News
Last month, I joined Penny Zenker on her podcast, Take Back Time. I spoke about the power of writing a book and provided some tips for getting a book done while running a business. To listen to the podcast, click here.
To listen to other podcasts hosted by Penny Zenker or find out more about her other resources, go to https://tugofwarwithtime.com
3. New Publication
SkillBites will soon be publishing Jerry Rosenthal’s first book, Small Doses: Common Sense to Common Practice. Leadership, Process Improvement and Life. Each of these areas of thought influences the other two in unique and interesting ways. Small Doses: Common Sense to Common Practice contains some simple and sometimes comedic stories and examples from an innocent bystander. It isn’t theory, but real stuff that anyone can use in their own personal and professional journey. This book will make you think about your own actions, of those around you and question what you might do differently next time.
Curated conjectures. That is what this book contains. Read. Enjoy. Test. Share. Repeat.
4. It’s About Time
Earlier this year, I ran a 4 week workshop on book writing. The reviews were so favorable that I have decided to run the workshop again. As one participant exclaimed, “Wonderful program and enjoyed the group energy! Gets the momentum going!” If you’ve wanted to write a book but are struggling with finding the time, or aren’t sure what topic you should write on, or don’t know how to proceed, this would be a perfect program for you. The workshop is virtual, so you don’t need to go anywhere. If you miss one of the sessions, you can listen to the recording. The fee for the 4 one-hour sessions is just $197. To sign up for the upcoming workshop, contact me at judy@skillbites.net. Only a limited number of spots still available.
5. Tip of the Month: 6 Critical Elements for Book Sales
Last month I gave an introduction to Amazon Ads, and promised to provide more detail in this month’s newsletter. Rather than do that, however, I have switched the topic to writing about the 6 critical elements you need to have in place before you start trying to drive readers to your book through Amazon Ads or other tactics. If these aren’t in place, your book sales won’t be where you want them, and any time and money you spend on Amazon ads may be in vain.
The 6 elements consist of the following:
- Cover
- Book title
- Description
- Look Inside Sample
- Price point
- Reviews
Your cover is the first thing most people will see on your book. If it doesn’t grab the viewer’s attention, you aren’t likely to get the sale. The cover needs to be attractive and convey a sense of what the book is about. You can go on Amazon and look at the covers of the bestsellers in your genre and determine what makes those covers attractive.
Similarly, you need to have a good title that will grab the prospective reader’s attention. The title and/or subtitle should convey the subject of the book. You should try to include some keywords in your title so that people seeking information on your topic will find your book.
After viewing the book cover and title, most people next read the description of the book on Amazon. You’ll want to write an enticing description that hooks the person into buying your book. Amazon allows you to use certain HTML code such as bold and italics, to make things stand out in your description. Using those codes appropriately will also improve your description.
Amazon provides a “Look Inside” sample of most books sold on its platform, which usually consists of the first 5 to 7 pages of the book. Again, you want this section to be really well written so that any readers who view that sample will want to buy your book.
If your book is priced much higher or lower than other books in your genre, you may not get the sales you are seeking. Do a search on the books in your genre, particularly the ones that are self-published, to determine the price range, and select a price that is in the middle. When your book first appears on Amazon, you may want to price your book at $.99 for, say, the first 5 days, to get more sales. If you get enough sales to be a bestseller, Amazon will promote your book, which will drive more people to your book, and then you can raise your price.
Books that have many 5 star reviews sell better than books with few reviews or reviews that aren’t all that good. You should aim to have at least 10 very good reviews. Amazon will show poor reviews prominently so that prospective readers can see the good and the bad; so it actually can be better to have some 3 and 4 star reviews than to have all 5 star reviews and one 1-star review. In an earlier post, I discussed how to obtain book reviews. If you want to see that article, let me know and I’ll send it to you.
Of course, you also need to have a book on a topic that people want to know about, and the book needs to be well written. Most low reviews result from books that have not been professionally edited.
Once you have all of these elements in place, then you can conduct more effective ad campaigns. To learn more about how to conduct a successful ad campaign, register for the upcoming Automatic Book Sales System webinar here.
6. Earn Commissions For Referrals
Do you know anyone who has been wanting to write a book but has been stalling? Let them know that SkillBites offers a variety of services to make book writing and publishing easy, quick and convenient. When you sign up to be a SkillBites affiliate, you can get a commission for each person who signs up to purchase SkillBites services through your unique referral link.
Thanks for supporting SkillBites. If there is anything you think we ought to be doing better or anything we should be doing that we’re not, please let us know. We value your input.
Cordially,
