Actually, you do, but you don’t realize it. There are two main things that you need to be aware of, and these are the most important parts of selling your book. One, what is the big problem that you solve? And two, who would benefit the most from having that problem solved for them?
What you probably need help with are these four things.
One, finding and reaching these people, the ones that would benefit the most from having that problem solved for them. These are your ideal customers.
Two, using the right language to educate those people.
Three, making it easy for them to buy from you.
And four, building an email list so that you can continue to help them.
Number one is finding your customers, and some of the questions you need to answer are: Where are the people hanging out that are most likely to benefit from your book? Are they in groups such as Facebook and LinkedIn? What blogs or podcasts do they read or listen to? And what influencers do they follow?
Determining these influencers is part of the Dream 100 strategy. There are influencers who have large and engaged email lists. You want to reach their subscribers because the people who follow them are the same people that would make great customers for you. There’s a process that we go through to identify them, to reach out and build rapport, and to get them to help you sell your book.
The second area you may need help with is using the right language. This primarily involves copywriting and social proof. Copywriting is kind of tricky, and it’s hard to learn, and it really helps if you’re already inclined or good at writing persuasively. You also want social proof such as video testimonials, which are a very effective form of social proof. Otherwise, written testimonials also work. You want to show potential readers proof that other people have benefited from your book or benefited from what you offer.
The third area is that you want to make it easy for people to buy from you. So many authors are afraid of selling, and they don’t make it easy for people to buy from them. They often don’t even ask people to buy from them. At the very least, at the bottom of your book description on Amazon, you should say buy this book and get this benefit.
No matter how people find you or consume the content or help that you’re giving, always make it easy for them to buy from you. Have a link in your email signature and put a link on your social media profile. Make it easy for people to reach you and to buy whatever it is that you’re selling. Remember, you’re helping people. You’re not just, “let’s make a bunch of money for the sake of making a bunch of money.” You’ve written a book that you know is going to help people in some way.
The fourth area people need help with is building an email list. This is probably the most misunderstood process, and there is a lot more to it than most people realize. For example, you should have multiple email lists. One is your list of people who have already bought from you. Another list is your actual potential customers, people who really are most likely to buy from you. Another list is people who might be potential customers, and you need to clarify, you need to find out if they really are. And that goes along with the next part, which is, you need to repel people as much as you attract.
You don’t want just anybody on your email list. Anybody who is not going to benefit from what you offer, you’d rather just not have them on your email list because it’s far more effective to have 100 people who are fully engaged versus 10,000 people who are only 1% or less engaged.
Also, there are two main ways to build your list. One way is to engage with people and then give a lot. That means giving value, doing videos, writing content. Give useful advice for your tribe and help people, and then you can make it easy for them to buy your book. The second way, one that we talked about before, is the Dream 100 strategy. That’s where you leverage the email lists of influencers who help the same customers that you help.
If you have any questions, especially about the Dream 100, go ahead and leave a comment or get a hold of me in some way, and I’ll get back with you quickly.