Brand Yourself and Sell More Books

Ever notice that you sell a lot more books to people who know you? When someone knows who you are, the chances that they will buy your book increase dramatically. Your website is the perfect medium for you to sell your own credentials as an author as well as your book.

Well Known Sells more than Well Qualified

It seems unfair sometimes that a well-known figure can sell 20 times more books than an unknown but otherwise well-qualified writer. Look at Dr. Phil – Although plenty of other writers have the talent and the experience to write on the same topics, Dr. Phil sells books because he has become well-know as a person and not just a name on a book cover. You don’t need to wait to be discovered. You can create your own circles online and become the well-known expert.

Establish yourself as the Industry Expert

The position of the industry expert is taken, not given. You can earn the position by writing articles on your topic, being active in forums, appearing on radio shows, and becoming more visible any way possible. Each time you make an appearance, publish a new article, or get a write up in the news, add a link to the source on your site to enforce your credibility.

Put a Face to the Words

Include your picture on your site. Potential and existing customers will connect with you even more if they put a face to the words. Jeffery Gitomer, author and sales guru, even includes pictures of his kids and grandkids on his site. This hasn’t changed my opinion of his professionalism at all. In fact I became an even more loyal fan of his after visiting his site.

Let your Personality Come Through

Just being an author grants you some level of expertise. Don’t be afraid of adding your opinions or your flair to your online writing. The greatest thing about publishing your own website is that there are no editors to cramp you style. People like experts that have opinions. Suze Orman makes financial matters interesting with her opinions and personality. Larry Winget, author of “Shut Up, Stop Whining, and Get a Life: A Kick-Butt Approach to a Better Life” certainly has opinions about things. He also has a very loyal following.

Merchandise

All great books have merchandising offshoots. Don’t wait for someone to offer you a deal, just create one yourself! If you’ve got a fictional character with a line worthy of a t-shirt, make them a star. Maybe you’ve got a non-fiction book with words of wisdom for each calendar month. With product print on demand services like Café Press, you can create hundreds of different products from shirts, to calendars, to clocks, to aprons – if it can be printed, they probably offer it.

In short, make yourself well-known and book sales will follow. Take a look at these authors who make a name for themselves by stepping out from behind their books:

Jeffery Gitomer: Sales guru an author of "The Sales Bible"
Peter Jenkins: Public Speaker, travel expert and author of "A Walk Across America"
Robert Kiyosaki: Motivational speaker, financial coach, and author of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad"

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Three Days to Building a Winning Book Promotion Campaign