By Cathleen Fillmore
So you thought WRITING your book and finding a publisher was hard!
Your work is just beginning. Welcome to the wild world of selling and marketing your book. It’s a journey to a foreign land for many writers, but it’s so worthwhile.
Learning your way around the marketing/sales world is a great way to recession proof yourself no matter how the economy fluctuates.
Some writers are more comfortable behind their computers than on the platform addressing an audience. Don’t think you need to be an extrovert to be a good speaker, introverts can be very compelling speakers.
As a writer, you have an edge on the platform because you’ve developed something to say. That’s not true of all speakers.
What’s the main message of your book? Who will benefit from hearing that message? Where can you find these people? Are there associations or other groups they belong to or certain places where they work? You need to know your demographic well; then it’s not hard to find groups of “your people.”
Create a list of groups in your own area and then branch out. I recommend a list of 50 to 100 groups. If you’ve created a narrow demographic profile, you may need to expand it in order to create a good list.
Are you going after paid or unpaid engagements? If paid, you’ll need to create the right marketing materials (more about that in my book The Six Figure Speaker). Even if engagements not paid, take them seriously and answer these questions:
- How will people in the audience benefit from hearing your talk?
- How will the organization who has booked you benefit from having you speak?
Remember, you may need to meet the needs of both the meeting planner and the audience members; those needs won’t necessarily be the same.
Now get on the phone. (I hire a virtual assistant to make that initial call.) Tell the receptionist you’d like to speak to the person who arranges meetings for that group or company. When you’ve reached the right person, ask whether the organization has any events where your message might be a good fit. Now ask whether they have a budget for speakers. It’s worth your while to get out there promoting your book.
Sometimes you’re not allowed to directly sell your book at a paid speaking engagement. Big speaking stars like Dan Kennedy have written right into their speaking contract the ability to sell products and books from the platform, but most speakers can’t get away with that.
However, If it’s a paid engagement, you can offer the planner a discount for bulk orders so that each person in the audience receives a book. If it’s unpaid, let the organizer know you’d like to sell copies of your book after the event. In most cases, that’s fine. It is, after all, an added benefit to attendees.
Writing a book is just one piece of the whole puzzle. Getting the word out about it and then getting sales is a giant piece of the puzzle—and critical to your success. Writers used to leave sales to publishers, but think about it—who will be more passionate about getting your message out there?
Exactly! The (marketing) buck starts and stops with you.
Cathleen Fillmore runs Speakers Gold bureau and an annual Speaker Talent Search. Her most recent book is The Six Figure Speaker. Sign up for her complimentary teleconference call on August 18th 7 p.m. EST on what makes an extraordinary speaker at http://soyouthinkyoucanspeak.eventbrite.com
