6 Powerful Ways An Author Can Lead Readers To Buy Their Book
People buy what they VALUE. Create quality books, engaging social media interactions & blog posts. They all add value! #amwriting #amediting pic.twitter.com/NQF9wX5Akn
— Jenn dePaula (@mixtusmedia) December 12, 2016
A few weeks ago I posted the following picture on Twitter with the caption: People buy what they VALUE. Create quality books, engaging social media interactions and blog posts. They all add value!
An author replied to the tweet with this question: But how will they know if what you say has value until they buy it? Great question!
Everything that you do online - from the design of your website header to your interactions on social media - provides incredible value to your readers. Every detail says something and shines a light on the perceived quality of your book.
Many times when I talk with authors about their marketing plans they only have the end result in mind, which is selling their book. They become so fixated on that destination that they tend to overlook some very important details that lead to that sale.
Obviously the quality of the story and the book’s content itself is very important. But everything else that leads people to the sale of your book can actually make or break that experience as well.
So how can you ensure that you provide great value with your online presence? How do you make that translate into a sale? Here are six value points that every author should focus on to help lead them to do just that.
Focus on your overall brand.
Everything that leads a reader up to your book is adding value. Your website, your book cover, your blog posts, and what you post on social media all add to the value of your overall online identity. An author’s job doesn’t begin and end with writing and releasing a book. It’s in everything that surrounds it as well.
Know who you’re talking to.
Everything comes back to your reader. Knowing exactly who you want to reach with your book (your ideal reader) empowers you create valuable content for your blog, social media posts, and newsletters that speak directly to your readers. Providing content that your specific readers are interested in will elicit a much stronger response, as opposed to content that is trying to reach a broader demographic.
To learn more about identifying your ideal reader, sign up for our free download, the Book Marketing Blueprint.
Give readers a taste of what's to come.
The content you share on social media or in a blog post doesn't need to give too much of your story away or go into much detail at all. What it does provide is context - it gives readers a taste of your writing style, how you tell a story, how your personality comes out in your writing, and so on. This gives readers a glimpse of what to expect in your book. It should enhance their experience and make them all the more excited to read your book. They will think, “If they write this well and create such great content for their blog, I can’t WAIT to see what they write about in their book!”
Learn from your own buying experiences.
Some of the best insight you can have as an author working to sell a book is to look at and learn from your own personal buying experiences. Think about the last big purchase you made. What made it a good or bad experience? How do you decide what books you’re going to purchase, what clothes you will buy, what restaurant you will try next? What are some of the details that make that experience positive or negative? So in reverse, think about how you can make the experience for your readers an amazing one.
Pay attention to your overall online presence.
There are many places online where your content and information will be made available. Making sure that every element of every web page represents you and your content well is incredibly important. Don't let it be an afterthought. The design and flow of your website, the information on your Amazon author page, the avatar and banner images on your social media outlets - they all speak to the overall value of your brand and your book.
Your time and attention is of tremendous value.
When authors have invested their own time leading up to the release of their book by interacting with readers on social media and in blog posts, those readers will be much more eager to spend their money and time on your book - even if you're a brand new author. If they have had such a pleasant experience leading up to the purchase of the book, they feel assured that the book itself will be well worth their time and money.
Remember that there is no shortage of books and other options out there for readers to consume. To stand out online in today’s overly saturated world and compel you readers to invest in you, it is necessary to pay attention to the details, to the experience your readers have leading up to buying your book, and to your overall online presence. All of these seemly small things add up to make a huge difference!
If you want to go a step further and get all of the tools, resources, and help that you need to market your book, grow on social media, and sell more books - join The Author Circle membership!