Marketing - Day 3 - Think Commitment

In our publishing classes each quarter, I discuss the commitments a buyer makes versus the commitments a reader makes to you (the author). It's an important distinction because so many of you are choosing to publish your own work, and the behavior of book consumers is the same as it has always been no matter what formats you choose to offer: People buy books for themselves to read. People buy books to give to other people.

While I hear many authors ask virtually anyone in their path to "buy my book;" what most don't recognize, is that there is a much bigger commitment at work. Take a few moments to consider what you are really asking of your consumers; and remember that your buyer and your reader may or may not be the same person.

The commitment from the buyer is simple: You sell me a book, I'll commit $20 for it, and you deliver it to me in any form I want.  Done and done.

The commitment from the reader is complicated:  I'll commit the time to read it and think about what you say. I may also commit a portion of my self to actually making a change you recommend, or furthering an idea you suggest. In some cases, I may even change my life. You tell me I'll be either entertained, informed or educated and I'll commit the time to see if you deliver.  

Make certain that your book does deliver what you promise in your marketing, and be thankful for the valuable commitment your customer has made to you.

Marketing - Day 2 - Describe Your Book

You'll need to provide descriptions of your book for various purposes. You'll need it for your back cover, your sell sheet, descriptions for your wholesaler, book sellers, catalog listings, press materials, and your verbal explanation of your book (we'll handle your elevator speech later).

Here's the different types of descriptions we write for each and every book (because experience tells us that these lengths are most frequently requested):

  Length    Common Usage (but many other uses present themselves)
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  30 words - For those occasions when someone asks for 1 or 2 sentences about your book
  50 words - Very common length for catalogs and newspapers announcing your book
  75 words - Common for wholesalers and bookstores
100 words - Newsletter announcements, short descriptions for websites and bloggers
150 words - Pretty common length for back cover copy, but not set in stone
300 words - Longer descriptions when a website leads a buyer to "read more"

Craft this copy carefully. Every word is relevant and all of these words should provide separate and powerful tools for online searches. Google the keywords that you are considering for your copy to see what results come up. Remember that this copy is not the place to be vague or to use "puffery" like "the best book" or "the only book." Tell the reader exactly what they will get from reading your book, what your book brings to the table that other books don't provide, and don't play games with the buyer. Appreciate the moment the person has taken to read about your book by providing meticulously-written copy that illustrates your promise.

File a master file with all of these descriptions at the ready. Make sure if you change a relevant word that you change the word in all of your descriptions for consistency.

Save each description you send with it's own file name. For example, Your_book_030213_Amazon_100