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There are a number of components that can help market your book successfully, no matter what its subject. If you want to sell lots of copies and make it a bestseller, then some features are essential. Everyone knows that in order for your book to be sold in retail stores, it must have an EAN barcode, an ISBN number, and certain bindings and features.
However, if you add certain less well known features to your book, you will hugely expand your book's marketability. Did you know that there are a few common features in almost every New York Times bestseller&63; You can take advantage of the marketing research of the giant publishing houses to help your own book sell more copies.
Below are 7 of the top book features that will make your book much easier to market and promote to bestseller status. When you design these features into your book (right from the beginning), you will market your book faster and better than other authors who fail to do so.
Feature 1 – Begin with a powerful theme and grow it. Give your book a zesty title that grabs attention. Outline your book and be specific with what you want in it so you attract the right people. Just gathering a list of your best ideas and putting a cover on it is not enough. That will get you a book, but it won't be a bestseller. You want something that you (and others) will be proud to promote.
Feature 2 – Get stories from people other than yourself and you will be viewed as the expert of experts. Ask people in your field to share a personal story with a self-help element relating to something in your outline. You'll reach many more people with stories that teach the reader how to apply a lesson to their own problem than just a dry list of instructions. In every story, you should mix in Tips, strategies, insider secrets, specific examples, and important resources, whether they be from you or someone else.
Feature 3 – You can build in marketing value by quoting the top people in your field. Each quote should be selected to fit in the topic and message of that chapter. Some experts may be flattered enough that they will help promote your book to their customers, which helps both of you. They may even purchase books directly for their special clients and colleagues.
Feature 4 – Be proactive in asking for interviews and endorsements, and selecting a great person to write the Foreword of your book. Use interviews with experts to get topical examples for your chapters of the book, and get audio or video clips to use for promoting. These interviews and testimonials will add authority to your book.
Feature 5 – List all of the people and organizations who helped in creating the book. You might also seek a corporate sponsor who might fund some of the expenses in exchange for a prominent mention in the book. Finding a partner to sponsor you in your book promotion is often very beneficial.
Feature 6 – Your book will be much easier to read and reference if you include an index. This feature will make your book much easier to sell to libraries which will enlarge your readership and help you draw more customers to your website. Yet this feature is often ignored in the book writing process.
Feature 7 – Create a resource section with a topical rolodex. List numerous agencies, organizations, associations, services, and other professionals related to your book's subject. This will broaden your audience and it might even cause some of the leaders/owners to actually purchase quantities of your book for distribution.
Bonus Feature – Include a bibliography. Many people want to buy copies of books that reference their own book in a bibliography. Also, it makes your book more attractive those doing research. You can list the books of all the authors who were interviewed, quoted, or who gave stories and examples.
ACTION STEP: The more features above you can add to your book, the easier it will be to market and promote. Put emphasis on the features that cause other people to want to help promote the book for their own sake. This makes the Law of Reciprocity work for your benefit because as they are helping themselves, they are also helping you, and vice versa.
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