7 Marketing Strategies to Sell Your Self-Published Book
Today we have a contributor post.
If you want to make the most money when publishing a book, self-publishing is your best bet.
Not only can securing a traditional publisher can be difficult and time-consuming, but it also limits how much profit you will see from your work.
If you are looking for a way to maximize profits from self-publishing your book, then this article is perfect for you!
What are the numbers?
According to studies, the average author using traditional book publishing companies should expect to see less than 10% of the revenue generated off of each book sale.
In comparison, if you were to use a self-publishing company, you can receive up to 75% royalties from each book sale.
However, actual revenue from direct sales of your book is, in fact, one of the more difficult ways that you can generate income from your book.
Let’s take a look at different ways to monetize the fact that you are a self-published author.
1. Direct book sales
Most authors think that the majority of their revenue is going to come from direct book sales. However, data shows that direct book sales only a tiny percentage of the revenue that your book can generate for you.
With that said, let’s take a look at some places that you can directly sell your self-published book.
Two of the largest marketplaces for you to sell your self-published book on are Amazon and eBay.
Amazon is the leading marketplace for book sales, with retail giants like Barnes & Noble trailing behind by a large margin.
While Amazon doesn’t offer many benefits in marketing your self-published book to potential customers, it does provide some significant advantages such as free shipping on orders over $25 or Prime (which includes two-day delivery).
eBay can be an extremely effective way to sell your new book — if you do it right! This site provides you with less traffic than Amazon, but this may also mean less competition for selling space and more money from each sale that you make. If executed correctly, eBay can generate significantly higher profits per unit sold when compared to Amazon.
2. Sell a Course
One of the best ways to make money from self-publishing a book is by selling your knowledge and expertise in an online course.
This allows you to reach more people, which can generate more revenue for yourself.
When you create an online course around one of your books, it will increase sales of your book and give new readers insights into how they too can apply this information in their own lives. In addition, if used correctly, these courses have the potential to offer residual income over time as others purchase them even after yours has expired.
You could set up a free trial period so that potential students can see what type of content is available before making any commitment on price or terms. Get as many positive book reviews as possible to increase the credibility of your book and support the sale of your course!
3. Speaking Engagements
Now that you are a published author, it is often a lot easier to land speaking engagements.
Live events and speaking engagements can be a great way to generate additional revenue from your self-published book.
There are numerous ways in which you can generate revenue from the stage.
One great way is to try and sell your book to the members at the event.
Another way is to offer your book promotional material and then up-sell people to work with you directly.
4. Coaching and Consulting
Coaching and consulting can be a very lucrative way to earn additional income.
One great way to land coaching and consulting jobs is to run a Facebook ad campaign where you offer your book for free in exchange for an email address.
Once you receive the email address, you can send a message to the individual and offer them private coaching or consulting.
Another great way to generate coaching and consulting clients is through the network of people that you met while creating and promoting your book.
5. Turn your book into an ebook and use it for promotions and affiliate sales!
An ebook is a term that describes an online book.
Using your ebook as a lead magnet on social media is one of the best ways to generate money from your self-published book.
If you offer your book for free and, in exchange, receive an email address, you can start growing an extensive email list that you can use to sell affiliate products and promotions.
A great way to find affiliate products for you to sell is to utilize an affiliate network.
Affiliate networks are a great way to find new products that fit your book’s niche and allow you to make money from each sale with little work on your end!
6. Sell Apparel
Since you have self-published your book, you own the right to do what you want with the material.
One great way to generate some additional income is by selling accessories and apparel to accompany the book.
A great place to create an apparel store is by creating a print-on-demand website. Printful is a great place to start if you are not familiar with what print-on-demand apparel stores are all about.
7. Sell the rights to a movie company
Another way that you can generate an income from your self-published book is by selling the rights to a movie or TV production company for adaptation purposes.
For example, in 2002, JK Rowling signed off on her first Harry Potter screenplay with Warner Brothers for 150 million dollars.
If you were to have published your book through traditional book publishing companies, often selling the rights may be out of your control.
Conclusion
If you have been wondering how to get a book published, start by deciding which book publishing options are best for you.
If you decide to go with the self-publishing method, the next thing that you must consider is how you plan on monetizing and promoting your book!
Self-publishing your book can be an excellent way to generate a passive income for years to come if you know what you are doing.
However, publishing a book and placing it on a marketplace without putting much effort into the monetization strategy sets you up for disappointment.
The value of being a published author extends far beyond the direct sales that you will generate from your book. The value lies in the credibility that you gain from being a published author.
Having a self-published book will open up the doors to becoming a coach or consultant, creating and selling a course, land speaking engagements, selling accessories and apparel, and much more!