In this guest post, author and book marketer Sarah Bolme shares a key marketing mindset shift that you need to make. She will show you will focusing on selling the book is the wrong approach, and what a better approach is instead.
Most people hate being sold to. Two of the main reasons people dislike being sold to include the sales person talks too much and the sales person fails to recognize the needs of the purchaser. So, stop trying to sell your book and start trying to connect with your potential readers.
The most powerful connection is an emotional connection. Focusing on making an emotional connection, especially a positive emotional connection, will increase your sales better than trying to persuade your customers why they should read your book. Studies show that positive emotions increase the odds that you will turn a potential customer into a buying customer.
Creating an emotional connection helps you engage and motivate your potential customers. Emotions drive people to act. After all, there are many books available on your topic. What differentiates your book from the competition boils down to an emotional value.
Any good sales pitch provides people with the facts. The facts alone are not enough to convince readers to buy your book. You must also appeal to their emotions. When crafting the sales pitch for your book—whether this is your 30 minute elevator speech, your back cover copy, or advertising text—make sure you include an emotional element.
For example, if you are selling a book on weight loss, you can include a fact in your sales pitch: Three out of every four men are overweight in the US. But, don’t leave out the emotional appeal: Lose weight, feel better, look better, and gain confidence. Or, if you have a book on finances or money management, leave in the fact of what the book will do for the reader: Become debt free. But, also include the emotional appeal: Never worry about money again.
In his book Persuasion Equation, Mark Rodgers lists seven types of emotional objectives in persuading people to do something.
- Provoke: a strong reaction.
- Inspire: hope. Let people know how your book will improve their lives.
- Invoke: a vision for a better life.
- Awaken: a new feeling or emotional experience.
- Arouse: an excitement to new possibilities or potential.
- Touch: a raw emotion like sadness or sympathy.
- Ignite: feelings of success or accomplishment.
Decide which emotional appeal works best with your book. Does it invoke a vision for a better life? Does it touch a raw emotion that people can relate to? Then use that emotion to connect with your potential readers in all your marketing activities.
Sarah Bolme is the author of the award-winning Your Guide to Marketing Books in the Christian Marketplace (www.marketingchristianbooks.com), now in its third edition. As the Director of Christian Small Publishers Association (www.christianpublishers.net) she helps independent authors small publishers market their books in the Christian marketplace.