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Book Marketing: If I Build It, Will They Come?

Authors are always looking for that golden key to book sales during their book marketing campaigns. What’s discouraging it that what might work for one book might not work for another to a degree and that leaves you wringing your hands and trying to figure out just what will work. Authors are a business. They are out there to sell a product – their book. With all the work that goes into their product – said book – it’s a lot of pressure on the author to find that golden key.

The question that was presented to me was, “If I build it, will they come?” This question is referring to authors wanting to believe that once their product is out there, it will make some money for them. Most are pretty smart in realizing they won’t get rich, but at least a few sales to make their efforts worthwhile would be pretty nice. A few more than a few and that’s only icing on the cake.

I happened to be in Google looking for something completely different and I came upon this video with Jenna McCarthy. It seems to me I used to know Jenna years ago when I was in a chick lit yahoo e-group. If this is the same Jenna, I knew this was going to be a great video because I was always in awe of her books back then.

One of the things mentioned in this video is the age old question, “If I build it, will they come?” Authors are instructed to set up social media and blogs and do whatever they can on their part to get the word out about their books, but is it ever enough?

So the video is titled The Hard Truth About Self-Promotion as an Author. I’m sharing this as an ongoing video series that I’m hoping will help authors learn the business of book promotion. Quite interesting and worth a peek!



Dorothy Thompson is CEO/Founder of Pump Up Your Book, an innovative public relations agency specializing in online book promotion. Visit us at www.pumpupyourbook and let us take you to the virtual level!

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When I was in high school, I wrote articles for a local newspaper and after graduation, I continued to write articles and columns for newspapers and magazines, so I always had an audience for my writing. Then I was asked to write a book, “Delivering Exceptional Customer Service," so I did and that was about as far as it went. It was published but it only sold about 1,000 copies. My next attempt at writing was a self-published book, “Make Up Your Face,” which I promoted myself and sold 9,762 copies. Then a seminar company asked me to write a book – which I co-authored with Fiona Carmichael “Conquer the Brain Drain” – and it has sold and sold and sold…for four years….because it is sold back of the room in seminars across the USA. None of these books were the book that was in my heart. That book is the one I’ve just written “You Are More Than Enough: Every Woman’s Guide to Purpose, Passion, and Power." The information in this book is a compilation of the knowledge I acquired by owning my own business for 17 years, Universal Models Agency & Finishing School, as well as from being a Senior Executive in a large communications corporation in South Africa, and traveling on the road as a Motivational Speaker. (Yes, I have a diverse background.)

Through all these experiences I kept running across talented and knowledgeable men and women who felt they were “less than” they could be. People who said they felt they were created for something more, so I decided to write “You Are More Than Enough.”

Then the hard part began. If I am going to make a difference in anyone’s life, I have to get this book into the hands of at least 100,000 women in the next year. How was I to do it?

I attended a Dan Poynter seminar and made notes on all the different methods he suggested. Then I bought John Kremer’s book, “1001 Ways to Market Your Book” and read it cover to cover. Then I went on Amazon.com and bought about 10 more "how-to" sell your book books, and attended Greg Kompes’ Writerpreneur seminar which by the way, was informative and most helpful. I also attended the Henderson Writers Conference in Las Vegas two years in a row. And while it all sounds good…and some even sounds easy….how do you do everything that needs to be done and still be a motivational speaker who is on the road speaking a minimum of three days a week?

My solution – do at least one thing every day to promote the book. So I hired Dorothy Thompson at The Writer’s Life to do a virtual tour. Even though the tour goes on for two months, I only count it as one thing because what I did was hire Dorothy, which was one of the smartest things I’ve done.

I also hired a publicist, Newman Communications, for a three month print campaign and they have sent out 125 review copies of my book to publications across America.

I give away books to total strangers. The other day as I was driving through Jack-in-the-Box take out line, the young lady helping me was so polite and efficient, that when I got to her window, I said to her, “You have just won the outstanding customer service professional of the day award and you get a copy of my new book, “You Are More Than Enough,” and handed her the book. She started screaming and immediately wanted the book autographed. Everyone who worked in the back of the fast food restaurant came to see what she was screaming about and she showed them all the book with great pride and said that she was the “Customer Service Professional of the Day” and that was her award.

I did the same thing to a saleswoman in a dress shop. She showed it to all the other saleswomen and all the customers that were in the store and then displayed the book along with my bookmarks on the counter of the store.

I’ve contacted book stores across the USA and offered to do book signings and luckily my publisher owns several newspapers, so when I do signings in the towns where the newspapers are located, they run a quarter page color ad in the paper to promote the signing and the book. It’s amazing how many people show up at these who have heard me speak at some time or another over the last 10 years.

I’ve traded books with other speakers. In this way, my book appears before their audiences and their books give me more products to have on my back of the room sales table, plus we don’t have to worry about paying each other commissions as once the books are traded, they belong to the other person and no money changes hands.

I will continue to do one thing a day until I have at least 100,000 books in the hands of women around the world. I am so sure that those who read it will be able to do, be, and have more than they have ever dreamed of….because they are “More Than Enough” to make it happen once they believe they can. And I'm finding out that marketing is not as hard as I believed it would be....just take it one day at a time.

Judi Moreo
Author of You Are More Than Enough: Every Woman’s Guide to Purpose, Passion, and Power
http://www.judimoreo.com/