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- The SMART LAUNCH. Your best network is your own. Start by creating a special “launch” event. Here are the steps:
- Invite up to 100 people to a breakfast or evening event. Invite them 30 days or so before you officially launch your book.
- Order 100 advanced copies of your book. This will cost you about $3 a softback book. There are a variety of printing companies that can deliver books to you even within 48 hours (see 48hourbooks.com).
- At your event gift each person with an early-release copy of your book.
- Share with the group the back story as to why you decided to write your book.
- Give your group the opportunity, as an extra benefit, to network with one another.
- Ask each participant to read your book within the next 30 days and provide an honest review on Amazon on your launch date.
- Give them your projected publication date but also tell them, just in case of any unexpected setbacks in publishing, you will notify them by email a week before the launch date and then also remind them to post their reviews 24 hours before your official launch.
- Once you launch, once again, send an email and thank them, in advance for putting up your book. Remember to tell them you couldn’t have done this without them and that if/when they write a book, because, let’s face it, in this content-dominated world, writing one’s own book should be on almost everyone’s list. This is your opportunity to build that psychological reciprocity that makes great networking happen.
- Keep your network up-to-date on the success of your launch. For example, if you get 25, 50, 75, etc. in your network posting reviews, you are very lucky. Note that it takes 50 books to make it to the Amazon Hot New Releases list where 70%+ of all books are sold.
- Don’t stop. Keep in touch with your network and keep repeating that you are there for them when they are ready to launch their book or even blog posts or white papers.
- Kindle – There are many places to sell e-books, but my personal favorite is Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, (kdp.amazon.com) also known as Kindle or KDP. It is the place with the most readers and the traffic is simply massive. They are also the market leader in e-books.
- Various Events – Events can be planned or impromptu. It can be formal or casual. Examples include parties, lunch gatherings, and school alumni meetups. As long as there is a gathering of people, there is an opportunity to let others know about your book.
- YouTube – If you have videos such as step-by-step tutorials, public speaking videos, or animation on your book, YouTube is the place to list them. You can use a tool such as screencast.com.
- Social Media – With an abundance of social media websites, you have to select what works best for you. LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Google Plus, and Facebook are just some of the popular channels of social media.
- Content Marketing – Build your fan base with consistent and valuable content. Although this takes time, once the readers are convinced that you give good information, buying your book gets so much easier.
- Solo Ads – A solo ad is a one-time e-mail blast that one can buy from a vendor who has a list of people. Typically, vendors will segment them into various categories with different pricing packages.
- Amazon Ads– One of the leading pay-per-click advertisements. Check out Dave Chesson’s free tools for learning more about ads. Spoiler Alert: right now focusing on sponsored ads seems to be the best choice.
- Lunchtime Workshops – Give a talk or a workshop over lunch. Over deliver your content and promote your book at the same time. This will require you to establish contact with the relevant HR personnel of each company where you want to present.
- Facebook Ads – Similar to Google AdWords, tapping into Facebook Ads means leveraging the traffic and database of a social media giant. This is beneficial to self-published authors of all budgets.
- Facebook Author Groups – These are niche groups and there are many to be found. Some are only by invitation, while most of them are open to the public.
- Personal Website – What better place than your own personal domain name to list your book for sale? If you get a sale, it is a bonus. But, if you publish a book, be proud of it and feature it on your personal domain. A personal website will help with your branding, as well as give you an additional place to sell your book.
- Blogging – If you have an existing blog, get the maximum benefit from it by keeping your readers updated regularly. If you do not have one, now might be the time to start one. Make sure that the URL is catchy, relevant to your niche, and easy to remember.
- Webinars – A webinar is an online seminar that allows the speaker to share his content live to his audience and also take questions at the end of the session.
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