Authors Have Better Book Sales Through Speaking

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Getting on the speaking circuit continues to be a great way to get your message out publicly and to move books. There are a number of different strategies that can be used…which ones you ultimately decide upon depends on the subject and your business goals.

Here are a few of them:

  • Sell them in the back of the room after your talk.
  • Bring in a book store and have them sell for you.
  • Negotiate with the venue that they buy a book for everyone in attendance (bonus points if that’s in addition to your speaking fee.)
  • Get a sponsor to cover all your fees in exchange for the visibility you can give to them. (I had a client with a book on biking across the world. He got a bicycle company to sponsor him, and my client spoke at the many bicycle shops around the country. That was a win all the way around.)
  • Collaborate with a favorite charity. They buy books at a discount and sell at retail following your presentation.
  • Do a webinar or podcast and give away copies of your book during a contest. Participants have to give you their email address to be included.

However, none of these strategies are going to do much good if you haven’t embraced speaking yet. (It is the #1 fear people have, so it can be a challenge.) Sometimes people are afraid of speaking because they learned in an antiquated way, e.g., memorizing your material, insisting that you deliver in the same way to each audience, giving yourself all kinds of pressure to get it right, scared you’re going to forget something. Many have been trained to speak in a formulaic way, and it’s time to embrace something new. Speaking can be fun!

I attended an amazing event this last weekend called Intuitive Speaking put on by Danielle Louise Ross. Danielle believes, and I agree, that when speaking you want the right framework as well as the freedom to share your information in an intuitive way. It keeps you much more present during the talk than in your head trying to remember what you’re going to say next. It also gives you that wonderful feeling of flow…being in the flow state.

In front of my very eyes, she took people who had an obvious fear of public speaking and got them to take steps that made them so much better — in mere minutes. It really was quite remarkable. Even seasoned speakers got up and gave this new approach a try. Much better. I loved it. It was time well spent.

Should you decide to adopt more speaking as a strategy for more book sales, there here are a few ideas for you.

Practice, practice, practice. As with anything in life, we get better when we practice. There are literary festivals and writing conferences which cater to authors and writers, but there are also organizations that need a speaker every month, including Chambers of Commerce and various associations around town.

Do a Google search in your area using key words, such as the name of your city and “speakers” to see what comes up. You can check MeetUps too for speaking opportunities. They are everywhere and it’s a good way to really hone your message and ultimately sell more books. Even before you start booking speaking engagements, you can practice your talk in front of family and friends and coworkers.

Video is vital. Any time you speak, figure out a way to get it recorded. Ideally this can be you speaking on a stage in front of a live, high-octane audience with shots of them included. The more excited they are, the more dynamic your video will be. It’s important to have a videographer or someone who knows how to make this look professional. Cameras are getting better all the time, but you don’t want this to look amateurish. You want it to look good, so plan accordingly. Then…

Put the video on your Website and on YouTube. Whether you’re posting to get meeting planners to hire you, media to consider interviewing you, or consumers to buy your book, video is a fabulous way to build visibility and credibility and get people to take action. Be sure and include additional information on how people can connect with you below in the “show notes” section.

Post Blogs On Related Subjects.  Whatever genre you’re in, whether it’s business, health, or money, having a blog that offers daily tips about your subject will get more targeted leads to your site. Moreover, having extremely good content and articles will also get people spreading the word about your site. There are plenty of authors out there who are selling books through their blogs; why should you be any different? As a general rule of thumb, the more content that you generate, the better your marketing results will be.

And, when you connect with media, be sure you have video of you in action. It can make all the difference when it comes to landing that interview.

I have many more tips on this very subject so there will be a Part 2 next time. Meanwhile, have an amazing week and let me know how you’re doing!

To your success!

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