By Brian Feinblum
The main reason that romance authors fail to sell a lot of books is because they are just not good writers.
No, I don’t mean that their books are badly composed. In fact, some are really terrific. Many are quite enthralling, inspiring, and truly special.
But many authors fail to write equally powerful marketing communications.
They can create, research, write, and edit an amazing book but they appear to be pedestrian at penning anything that markets and sells those perfectly crafted tomes.
Words sell words.
Think about that.
Some words sell other words. Just pick the right ones!
String together the best words in the perfect order and you get high-quality:
* Emails
* Texts
* Letters
* Press releases
* Ads
* Newsletters
* Blogs
* Fliers
* Web sites
* Event invites
* Posters
* Billboards
* Social media posts
* Bylined articles
* Postcards
* Business cards
* Bookmarks
* Catalog copy
* Book cover copy — front and back
* Amazon page
* Author profile page
* Marketing scripts
* Book award applications
* GoFundMe page
What does it take to write book marketing content that gets attention, is read from beginning to end, and persuades readers to buy, buy, buy?
Headline — If your headline/subject line or opening sentence is weak, you are toast.
Sub-headline — Last chance to keep them interested if you blew it with the header.
Bullet points — Make it easy to see what your offer is, not with chunky paragraphs but visually helpful bullet points.
Color/font size/typeface — If your missives physically challenging to read you turn off your reader who is not deeply invested to decipher hieroglyphics.
Images — A picture is worth a thousand words. Studies show having a visual gets more readers. Having a unique or stunning visual draws them in for sure.
Length — Keep it short overall and use short paragraphs and short sentences.
Word choice — Use the words that reflect your intentions. Speak the lingo the recipient expects or needs to hear.
Word variation — Use synonyms and alternate ways to convey or repeat a concept, but try not to use the same word twice.
Repetition of a concept — Reinforce your best ideas by sharing them multiple times. A tactical redundancy of ideas works in marketing.
Timing — When you send or share your communication, it must be done in a timely matter. Don’t discuss Mother’s Day in January or about snow in August. Timing is everything.
Frequency — One email or social media post is not enough. Try multiple media, each multiple times.
Emotional appeal — Make sure you speak to the recipient’s emotions — their fear and desire, love and anger, and all of their hopes and dreams need to be appealed to. Touch their hearts.
Guarantees/freebies — Nothing gets people interested in what you have to say than the words Free, Discounted, Sample, or Guaranteed.
Key details shared — Provide enough info that will be needed by the recipient to feel informed enough to make a decision to buy.
Demand an action step — Ask for the sale or whatever it is that you want the reader to. Spell it out. Leave nothing to guessing. State the obvious.
Ease of purchase — Don’t complicate the sales process. Click here and order. Make it easy to find the means to buy your book. Don’t hide it.
Ok, what are you waiting for? Get to work. You’ve got this.
About the author
Brian Feinblum is a leading book promoter and marketer based in New York, having helped thousands of authors to succeed over the past three decades. He founded his award-winning blog, www.bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com, a dozen years ago and has garnered over 3.5 million page views. He can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com
Want to hear him in action? Listen to this podcast
For the past three decades he has promoted over 1,000 authors, ranging from bestsellers such as Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Susan RoAne, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler, as well as first-time, self-published, unknown authors -- and everything in between, across all genres. years at Book Expo America, the nation's largest gathering of book publishing industry professionals and authors.
Please feel free to connect on LinkedIn.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum