Have you ever wondered how you can boost your sales as an author? Most authors aim to find the balance between growing their following and growing their sales. This isn't frowned upon as authors have to eat also! If you've been contemplating ways you can boost your author sales you're not alone.
Here are a few ways you can boost your income as an author:
Get your book into Academic Institutions
Whether your book is fiction or nonfiction, you can benefit from an academic institution. Churches, universities, colleges, middle schools, and preschools may be interested in using your book in their system. These places have already built up a secure customer base that trusts their guidance and knowledge. Show these corporations that your skill and talent should not be overlooked, and the information you provide is beneficial to their staff, following, students, etc. Maybe your book is on divorce, finances, or budgeting. Reaching out to at least seven large churches a month can result in tons of sales. Lots of mega-churches hold classes on topics such as these. Introduce your book to youth groups and church classes etc. Send a proposal to as many colleges and universities as you can. Request that they place your book in their education system. They can result in yearly sales that are ongoing from mandatory student purchases. Even fiction books can be placed in school systems for English and Literature classes. Targeting corporations and academic institutions pay off substantially regarding your books. Large corporations want the knowledge you have especially when it brings results.
Hold seminars, workshops, and conventions based on your nonfiction book
Maybe your book is about relationships, finances, savings, and budgeting, or marketing and sales to name a few. Your book is an in-depth reference for a topic many want to gain knowledge on. A seminar or workshop can give insight into the subject for which you are an expert. Ensure that you target major corporations, churches, schools, and colleges when marketing your event. You may even organize an event for a specific corporation. Many companies contract authors and speakers to educate their employees about the problems they may have. Through the use of speech, Powerpoint, action plans, and worksheets you can use this opportunity to broaden the horizons of others who are interested in the topic you have chosen to write about. Give a reference to your book as much as possible. Display your books at the end of those wanting to purchase. Some people charge for the seminar and give the book away for free. Others hold the seminar for free and have their books on sale at the end. Whatever you decide, ensure that you can cover all overhead costs while at the same time make a comfortable profit. Let’s say you organize a seminar around a book based on “Marketing that brings results.” Let’s say you pre-sell five spots each to five major companies at $1000 each. Prepare a package to present in your proposal letter. Your package bundle may look like the following:
· A power-point presentation based around your book A signed copy of your book
· 4 Action plans
· 10 Worksheets
Also, a continental breakfast including:
· Danishes
· Muffins
· Fruit platter
· Donuts
· Yogurt
· Bagels and croissants with jams and cream cheese
· Scrambled eggs
· Vegan sausage
· Hot grits
· Toast
· Coffee
· Fruit Juice
Includes lunch:
· Salad
· Bread rolls
· Chicken wings
· Mini meatballs
· Pasta salad
· Potato salad
· Grilled fresh vegetable platter
· Mini cheesecakes
· Fruit tarts
· Coconut rolls
The menu above is just an example. If you are efficient in the kitchen, you can save money and prepare the food yourself for your event, or you may hire a professional to do it for you. Teaming up with a startup restaurant at a reasonable rate can also be an option and help to a smaller food company who may want to get their name out there. Whatever you decide, ensure that the food is tasty and well prepared.
If you book all twenty-five of your seats at $1000 each, that’s $25,000 for a workshop with twenty-five people. You get to spend a couple of hours promoting the content of your book to people who need the results your book brings, while at the same time making some major bucks. Imagine that! Many major corporations spend thousands a year on training for their staff and would gladly welcome the opportunity if afforded to them.
Hold a book launch
If your book is fiction, you may host a book launch and invite academic institutions or corporations to attend. Your event can be utilized as a field trip or training experience. The English and Literature departments of academic institutions would gladly attend a book launch event as it is a good opportunity to gain exposure in the English/Literature world. Some people charge for the launch and give the book away for free. Others have the launch free and sell the books during the launch. Whatever you decide, also ensure that you can cover the overhead cost if any, while turning a comfortable profit. For example, if you attract 150 students at $10 each, you make $1500 minus the cost to set up, food, venue, any helpers you hire, etc.
Host your event at a venue. For example, a hotel ballroom, bookstore, youth center, church, convention center, etc. Make sure your venue is large and has sufficient space.
Invite schools to allow their students to attend for field trip purposes, pre-sell tickets to those schools so you will be able to cover the cost of your venue.
Your book may be appropriate for twelfth-grade students. Let’s say each school has about eighty twelfth students. If seven schools allow their twelfth graders to attend, you can attract 560 students. Let’s say you charge each student an entry fee of $8. You make $4480! You may even do this over the space of three days. Let’s say you pre-sell to more than seven schools. How about allowing seven schools at eighty students each per day, you then make $4480 per day which totals $13,440. This amount can increase if you display your books and have them on sale at your event.
Suppose you raise the fee and include a signed copy of your book to sweeten the deal? Kindle Direct Publishing allows you to bring in author copies at only the rate it takes to print your book. This discount can be convenient and can be used to your advantage. Let’s say you charge each student $20 and ensure that each student receives a signed copy of your paperback book and a buffet selection of sandwiches, donuts, and lemonade. Let’s say you do a three-day event and have pre-sold to seven schools a day that each bring eighty students each. Five hundred sixty students at seven schools per day would bring in $11,200 per day. A three-day event would bring in $33,600. Imagine that!
Attend Book-fairs and Tradeshows
Tradeshows such as BookCon and BookExpo to name a few allows you to purchase a booth or table for a fee and sell your books to thousands of people who attend their event. This allows you recognition as an author and aids you in building a fan base. Many authors have testified they return home with little to no inventory after these events. Events like this can turn a good profit, and the fee of your booth can easily be made back within the first day of your attendance. These three-day events serve as a great return on investment for authors.
Host a Writers Retreat
You love to write, so why not surround yourself with others who love to write also? Host an excellent getaway for fellow writers that encourage them to achieve their writing goals. These retreats usually accommodate anywhere from five to ten people. Remember less is best because you want to accomplish the writing goals of your attendees rather than have too much socializing. These retreats consist of renting an air b n b in a remote location. This can range from a log cabin in a remote location to a beachfront house in The Bahamas. Whatever you choose to do, ensure that you have enough space for your attendees to roam, relax and sleep. You may hire a private chef or this event, or you may choose to prepare the meals yourself. To avoid allergy dilemmas and picky eaters, find out ahead of time what everyone likes. To avoid a trip to the hospital, find out about any allergies before the retreat. Give a variety of foods. For example:
· Breakfast: Fruit platter, bacon, scrambled eggs, waffles, vegan sausages and oatmeal
· Lunch: Vegetable platter, Sandwiches (ham, turkey, salami, cheese, tuna, roasted chicken, veggie)
· Dinner: Soup, roasted chicken breast, vegan loaf, sweet potatoes, broccoli, and corn
Have a schedule. This brings organization to your event and always gives your attendees something to do.
These retreats may last anywhere between three to seven days. Hosts usually charge anywhere between $2000-$5000 depending on the overhead costs and the location of the retreat. Whatever you decide, make sure you can cover the cost of the air b n b, food, preparation of food, transportation, and any emergencies that may arise. A first aid kit, and CPR training, may also be handy when hosting this kind of event. Also, ensure that you lay down rules. This usually knocks down any hiccups like disturbances, too much socializing, etc. You may come up with these rules yourself, or you can come up with them as a group at the beginning of the retreat. Examples of some rules are as follows:
· Do not disturb others during writing time (includes loud music, noise, talking, socializing, etc.)
· Attendance of workshops are mandatory
· Respect writing zones
· Cell phones should be turned on vibrate during writing hours.
Create a course
The rise in the popularity of online courses has increased over the years. Creating a course around your book’s topic or simply on the process of writing and self-publishing is another way you can make revenue as a writer. Courses are priced anywhere from $50-$5000 depending on the quality and quantity of the information provided and the results the information given achieves. These give a high return on investment and are a good revenue stream for writers. Platforms such as Udemy and Teachable allow you to create and organize your course. Your file can be PDF, video or audio. Whichever form of delivery you choose please ensure that your course is clear, concise and helpful. Courses should bring results because they are a big investment. People purchase courses because they expect the experience to be life-changing. They expect results. They expect a return on their investment.
Turn your book into a script
You never know what opportunity lies on the horizon or who you will meet. It is best to be prepared for an opportunity at all times. Amazon Studios recently had its platform open to the public for a time, and many were able to send in their scripts in hopes of having their script turn into a movie. Harry Potter and Hunger Games are great examples of books that became films. J. K. Rowling never dreamed that her books would be a hit and even go on to be a successful movie series and even a theme park! Imagine that! Wouldn’t that be awesome? Consider attending the Pitchfest: Book to screen event that takes place annually. This event teaches authors how to pitch their work to agents. On the last day of the event, the event brings together agents and authors so they may have the opportunity to socialize and pitch their book in hopes of having their script optioned.
Sell on consignment
Check with local and international bookstores to see if they offer a consignment program. This is one way to get your book in front of potential customers and gives you exposure as a writer. This program is when bookstores agree to stock and sell your book for you. On the consignment agreement, you and the bookstore will have decided how much they will be paid for each book you sell. This amazing opportunity allows you and the bookstore to make money while giving you the exposure you need.
Publish in more than one language
Publishing, in another language, gives you the flexibility of having an international audience. This broadens your horizons when running marketing ads, campaigns, press releases, book launches, conventions, workshops, etc. Now you can target corporations and academic institutions in other countries. Fiverr and Upwork are platforms that have people who can translate your book for you. Even many entrepreneur groups on Facebook contain people who would be happy to translate your book for an agreed fee. French, Spanish, Dutch, Polish, German and Mandarin are just a few examples of languages that books have been translated into. Harry Potter has been translated into over seventy-three languages. Publishing in more than one language enables you to reach as many people as possible. This means people all over the world will have the opportunity to read your book and gain the experience that your book gives.
These are just a few ways you can boost your income as an author. Authors can indeed make money beyond one on one book sales. Besides your book sales, your following can buy into the idea and concept your book represents. These are just a few examples. I hope this helps!