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No matter what subject your book is about, there are several ingredients that are helpful when marketing your book. Some features are absolutely necessary if you want to sell enough books to make it a bestseller. For instance, it is common knowledge that you need to have an ISBN number and an EAN barcode, plus certain bindings and features, so that retail bookstores can sell your books for you.
However, if you add certain less well known features to your book, you will hugely expand your book's marketability. Did you know that there are a few common features in almost every New York Times bestseller&63; You can take advantage of the marketing research of the giant publishing houses to help your own book sell more copies.
Listed below are the top 7 features that will make it much easier to promote and market your book into becoming a bestseller. When you incorporate these features into your book from the beginning, your book will have an enormous advantage over the other books on the shelf.
Feature 1 – Choose a powerful theme and build it out. Find a flavorful title that makes people demand to know more. Outline your book and be specific with what you want in it so you attract the right people. Don't just grab a bunch of your best ideas and slap a cover on it. You may get a book written quickly, but it probably won't sell very well. You need a book that you and others will be excited to market.
Feature 2 – Get stories from people other than yourself and you will be viewed as the expert of experts. Ask people to share a personal story in such a way that it has a self-help element. You'll reach a bigger audience if each story provides benefits and helps the reader to see how they could apply the lesson to their own situation. Important resources, specific examples, strategies, tips, and insider secrets are things you should add to every story, whether it be yours or others.
Feature 3 – Quote lots of experts and you'll build in promotional value. Choose the quotes wisely so that they match the theme of each of your sections. Consider using quotes from "live" people who might be flattered enough so that they tell others to buy it and help with promoting your book to their customer list. They may even purchase books directly for their special clients and colleagues.
Feature 4 – Be proactive in asking for interviews and endorsements, and selecting a great person to write the Foreword of your book. Use interviews with experts to get topical examples for your chapters of the book, and get audio or video clips to use for promoting. These interviews and testimonials will add credibility to your book.
Feature 5 – Give credit to the individuals and groups who helped create the book. You can also try to find a company to cover the costs in return for notable attention in your book. Finding a partner to sponsor you in your book promotion is often very beneficial.
Feature 6 – Your book will be much easier to read and reference if you include an index. This is often an overlooked feature, however it makes your book more saleable to libraries, which of course is a huge buyer of books and will increase your reading audience..
Feature 7 – Create a resource section with a topical rolodex. List numerous agencies, organizations, associations, services, and other professionals related to your book's subject. This feature will help increase your audience, and give those listed in the rolodex a reason to help you distribute and promote the book.
Bonus Feature – Include a bibliography. This is not only helpful to the reader who uses your book for research, but there are many people who like to own copies of the books that include theirs in the bibliography. Be sure to include the books from any experts who contributed stories, interviews, or examples.
ACTION STEP: Add in as many of the above features as possible to your book. Put emphasis on the features that cause other people to want to help promote the book for their own sake. This makes the Law of Reciprocity work for your benefit because as they are helping themselves, they are also helping you, and vice versa.
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