Peer-to-Peer Book Marketing & Sales Tips
The following lists of tips come from authors and independent publishers like you. If you have a tip you would like to share, simply click the icon below. No tip is too small. If something worked for you, it will probably work for someone else. Don’t keep a good idea a secret. There is no competition among self-publishers. We are all on the same team. Good luck.
8 Book Marketing Tips
1.) How do I decide which distribution method is best for me?
You could price your book competitively at $14.95. But if you use the traditional distributor wholesaler -- bookstore network with a maximum discount of 70%, your revenue per book would be $4.49. From this figure you must deduct your unit costs for production and promotion, leaving any residual profits. If this amount is satisfactory, then indirect distribution would be a logical alternative. If it is not acceptable, you must lower your costs or choose a different distribution network.
If you choose a different distribution network, you have the option of marketing through the wholesaler -- bookstore channel in which your maximum discount would be 55%. In this case your net income per sale (at $14.95) is $6.73. However, before you put the extra $2.24 into your pocket you must consider that wholesalers take orders for books but do not actively solicit orders as distributors do.
Posted By: Brian Jud » Beyond the Bookstore » Date Added: 08-25-2008
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There are a few things you can do to get in the distributor's door. First, personal contact. Getting to the decision maker can help a lot. Second, references. If you have someone backing your project who knows the decision maker, that helps. Third, you need to have something to show and show off. Fourth, how do you plan to get the public (your market) to buy your book? What is your plan and whom have you hired to help execute it? Fifth, have you set a realistic publication date? Have you left enough time for your distributor to do a proper selling job on your behalf? Right now, enough time is around 6 months. And sixth, a good sense of humor. You will need it.
Posted By: Brian Jud » Beyond the Bookstore » Date Added: 08-29-2008
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1. Your distributor's sales force will take your books to independent stores personally or through telemarketing. Large distributors also have major-account reps that call on buyers for the large chain stores and wholesalers.
a. What territories and markets do they represent well?
b. Do they have regional strengths?
c. Do they use rep groups (commissioned?), in-house sales people or some combination?
d. What results can you expect?
e. How many sales representatives do they have?
f. How many distributors do their sales people represent?
g. How are they told about your titles and what sales-support tools do they receive or require? At a minimum, you must supply each rep with a cover of your book.
2. Does the distributor make it easy for customers to order your books (electronic ordering or toll-free numbers)? Some also have toll-free fax numbers to facilitate the ordering process.
3. Sales support is vital to successful book marketing. Follow up is necessary. Reps may require sample copies. Wholesalers and bookstores will have questions, and sales-support people will handle these situations as they arise. Make sure you choose a distributor offering a knowledgeable support staff.
h. Is there a major-account sales force?
i. How many people are in on the sales-support staff?
j. What access will you have to them?
Posted By: Brian Jud » Beyond the Bookstore » Date Added: 08-29-2008
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The package you send to potential distributors should include the following information:
k. A cover letter, describing your title.
l. Your resume, listing your credentials for writing the title.
m. A sample of your book, or a galley with the final cover.
n. A fact sheet listing statistical information.
o. A list of bullet points summarizing the top ten reasons why people would want to buy your book.
p. Your marketing plan, with details on competitive titles and your promotion plans.
Posted By: Brian Jud » Beyond the Bookstore » Date Added: 08-25-2008
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The fact sheet that you send to distributors should include your name, the title of your book, its publication date, price, number of pages, trim size, number of illustrations, type of binding, ISBN, publisher, copyright date, PCN and the names of your editor and graphic designers. Also list any celebrity endorsements and note if any notable industry person wrote the foreword.
Posted By: Brian Jud » Beyond the Bookstore » Date Added: 08-25-2008
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In most cases, you pay the freight to your distributors or wholesalers, referred to as FOB (Free On Board) destination. This is not as unreasonable as it may appear at first. You can ship hundreds or thousands of your books to your distributor at bulk rates. On the other hand, your distributor ships these a few at a time to its customers. Their unit shipping and handling costs mount rapidly.
Posted By: Brian Jud » Beyond the Bookstore » Date Added: 08-25-2008
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1. The type of book you write may dictate your decision. Indirect distribution is a logical alternative for fiction or nonfiction books applicable to a large, national audience. Or if your book is written for a non-English speaking audience, and you are not familiar with the buying habits of people in this group, it would behoove you to seek the assistance of distribution partners who are familiar with that market.
2. The second criterion is the author. He or she may have a day job without the time or inclination to contact bookstore buyers, ship, invoice and collect for books sold. In this case it would be well worth his or her time to have a company do it for them. This will free up more time for the author to promote his or her titles as well as do more writing.
3. Third are the purchasing practices of the industry. Bookstores prefer to buy from wholesalers and not from independent publishers or authors.
Posted By: Brian Jud » Beyond the Bookstore » Date Added: 08-29-2008
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The book wholesaler should be seen as a service provider to bookstores. They do not create demand; rather they efficiently respond to demand whatever the cause and whatever the title. They envision their task as serving the interests of bookstores and similar outlets with their main object of getting product A to store B in the shortest possible time and at the lowest possible cost. Look at them as a kind of UPS or FedEx of the book business.
Book distributors represent the interests and activities of book publishers. Instead of hiring your own sales and marketing personnel and running your own shipping, storage and returns processing warehouse, you would outsource all of these activities to a book distributor who focuses on these activities on your behalf.
Posted By: Brian Jud » Beyond the Bookstore » Date Added: 08-25-2008
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