You can write a bestselling book. It’s true. I’ve got two of them! One was traditionally published and my second one I self-published. I’ve sold more than 100,000 copies of Virtual Freedom. When we published Rise Of The Youpreneur, we sold about 8,000 copies in the first month and at one point we were beating Sir Richard Branson in the bestseller lists. It’s now sold approximately 30,000 copies across paperback, hardback, ebook and audiobook.
I’m telling you this because it is possible for you to do this too and I’m going to tell you how. The more of these actions you take, the more books you will sell.
1. Write a really good book
This sounds obvious but it’s worth stating, you’re not going to get on the bestseller lists unless you have written a really good book. You can’t just have a book idea. It needs to be focused on the people you want to serve, be helpful, and hold your reader’s interest. Good planning, feedback from your beta readers, and rewriting is required. You want a book that people are going to talk about and share with other people.
2. Make book marketing your full-time job
Whether you go with a publisher or you get your book out there yourself, you will be the one selling every copy of that book. Don’t imagine it will sell itself or someone else will do it for you. You need a solid marketing plan. You need to make book marketing your full-time job.
Something like 97% of non-fiction books sell less than 1000 copies. I want you to sell far more than that but you are going to get out of your launch exactly what you put into it.
You need to get your book in front of people in as many ways as you can. Tell your friends and family about it, share your launch with people you have worked with in the past, hold a virtual launch party in your community, approach the traditional press and online titles in your industry, and be a guest on as many relevant podcasts as you can. For more information about you can sell more copies of your book, tune in to episode 348 of Youpreneur.FM.
Focus on the value you can give to people – your readers, your community, other people’s communities. Remember, people are not going to ask you to be a guest or buy your book just because you’ve written it. You need to market for the good of your audience. What’s in it for them?
Focus on the value you can give to people. Remember, people are not going to ask you to be a guest or buy your book just because you’ve written it. You need to market for the good of your audience. What’s in it for them? #Youpreneur Click To Tweet
3. Optimize your book title for Amazon
Amazon is a big player in the bookselling world. It’s also a search engine. Optimize your book title for Amazon and make it easy for people looking for exactly what you have written about to find it.
You want to make sure that your title is keyword specific within the Amazon listings themselves. This is where your subtitle comes into play. You can call your book what you like, even use a made up word in the title, but use your subtitle wisely. Rise Of The Youpreneur’s subtitle is The Definitive Guide To Becoming The Go-To Leader In Your Industry And Building A Future-Proof Business. You can see how easily findable that is. Come up with a great subtitle.
4. Give people advanced copies and ask them for reviews
Have you ever wondered how a newly published book has all those great reviews on the cover already? The author gave people advanced copies of the book. This is an easy way to generate excitement and social proof for your book.
People who get their hands on your book early will be eager to read it. Who doesn’t want to check out a book that no-one else has seen yet? And once they have read all that great knowledge you have shared, they will want to tell other people about it. Ask them for a review and put those blurbs in your book as well as using them on your sales page and social media.
5. How to get reviews on Amazon
It’s easy to get reviews from friends but what about people picking up the book who don’t know you? You can encourage your readers to give you reviews.
When I published Virtual Freedom I told everybody on my website, my email list and my social media, to send me a copy of their Amazon receipt and I would send them some bonuses. I emailed everyone who did that, and said thank you to them for buying my book. I told them how much I valued their support and that if they would like to support the book even further, please review it on Amazon and send me a copy of the confirmation email. I gave them another bonus in return. In this case it was a swipe file of all the tasks you outsource to virtual staff. It was a really good, useful bonus and people loved it.
Think about how you can add even more value to your readers to thank them for buying your book and taking the time to leave you a review.
Chris founded Youpreneur® in 2015. He is a serial entrepreneur, keynote speaker and author of the bestselling books “Virtual Freedom” and “Rise of the Youpreneur”. He hosts our podcast, live events and coaches our clients inside the Youpreneur Incubator. Chris is based in Cambridge, UK.
