Why You Are Not Selling Your Books – Solution is Here

One major reason many people have refused to pursue their dreams of becoming published authors, is the fear of not making sales. Trust me, they are absolutely right to be afraid.

However, I believe it is cowardice to shy away from purpose because of a challenge and in this case, the fear of poor sales. That is why I want to share some tips with you on how to make sell more of your books.

This will be useful for you whether you are already published or just thinking about it.

With my experience as a publisher and author of five books, I have experienced the highs and very lows of being a published author. I have also seen authors invest so much and make very little and I have seen authors make a lot of money as well.

You may not necessarily utilise all the points but a combination of two or three can do the magic for you.

1. Write a good and valuable book: This is really under-emphasized. When we talk about writing, I believe we don’t emphasize this enough. A book should be different from a Facebook post. It should contain enough evidence that much thought was put in it. You need to show  that you are an expert in the field and that you have presented your best. Case studies, stories, adequate data presentation, interviews are some ways to present your writing. Don’t just write what you know as of when the idea came to you, dig deeper!
See what I received in my inbox on Saturday:

PS: You should actually get my latest Book – The Business Intelligence Cookbook, if you own a small business and you want to make a lot of money from the business by leveraging innovation. Grab it here

2. Every author needs (is/should be) a personal brand: The reality of the world, especially the African market is that people will buy more from people they know, are familiar with and trust. So, building a great name and followership is a good thing for your business. One of the reasons people don’t grow is that they are not known for something. Every person needs to emphasize something over and over again till the name becomes synonymous to that. Pastors know and utilise this principle a great deal. Think about the pastors you know and what subject matter that comes to mind. 

About 10 years ago, when I was preparing to get married, I traveled to a bookshop 21.7km away (Google helped me) to go get the book titled, Sexual Intimancy in Marriage” by Funmi Akingbade because I had been reading her articles on Guardian every Saturday and I believed she would help me.

Gain clarity about your expertise and message. Then go all out! 

3. Design a good cover: This does not sound deep, right? Until you find out how many people have not bought your book because the cover looks tacky. The term, “don’t judge a book by its cover”, is at best an idiomatic expression when it comes to making money from your book. Don’t let it influence you as your buyers (human beings), actually judge books by their covers. To believe this, is to live in alternative reality or you have plans to sell only to your family and friends. 

Who will design your book should not be an emotional decision. “I like my friend, I will ask him to design it for me”, “My coach said Canva is a good platform so I can save money“, these will not be helpful if you will sell more books. Spending in a good cover design is not an expense, it is an investment that will last throughout the lifespan of your book, so you cannot add it to the unit cost of your initial production.

4. Promote Your SOLUTION – ALL THE TIME: While I am sure you already know that you should promote your book, many writers don’t promote the value their book brings to the table. You should promote solution – financial, entertainment, business, etc. Don’t waste your time talking too much about what the book is all about. Talk more about what the book can do for the readers. This is because humans are always thinking, “What is in it for me?” and you should always answer that question in your marketing messaging. 

5. Learn to create multiple streams of income from the book – This is an aspect I have seen many people make tons of money from. For example,  I have organised a conference and buying my book was the gate fee. I also upsold a coaching program as well. I spend a lot more time in my business these days, so I have stepped that part down a bit. You can do the same. You can make workbooks, coaching calls, mentoring programs and other events from just one book. The catch is that when people encounter more awesomeness from you, they will tell other about your book(s) which can lead to more sales.