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[ecourse] Launch Your Book To Bestseller - day 5 of 8

launch your book to bestseller

How to Get Major Exposure for your Book (and why most authors get this COMPLETELY wrong) (Day 5)

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bestseller book launch day 5

Did you know that according to Bowker, there were 458,564 books published in 2013?

Think about that for a second…

That's 1,274 books published EVERY DAY...

Which works out to about 1 book published EVERY MINUTE.

That means when your book launches, you’re not only competing with the hundreds of thousands of books that are already out there, but also the 1000+ IMMEDIATE competitors who are launching on the same day…

Those are the books that could take your bestseller ranking from you if you happen to launch the same day as a blockbuster…

Or the same day as someone using savvy online marketing techniques to get more exposure, reach, and sales.

Have no fear, in today’s lesson I’m going to show you how to overcome this obstacle…

And I’m going to show you a strategy that will help you blow past the competition, no matter what category you’re launching your book in.

This lesson is all about how to stand out in a very noisy, very crowded marketplace.

Ready?

Let’s get to it…

Next Steps in Your Book Launch

As a quick review, here are The 14 Steps of The Bestseller Book Launch Sequence once more (the steps we’ll be talking about today are bolded):

Step 1: Create a Book Launch Sequence Working Document

Step 2: Identify Key Players

Step 3: Set Your Launch Date

Step 4: Clarify Your Goal

Step 5: Centralize all Materials for Your Book

Step 6: Create an Early Notification List

Step 7: Create an Ambassador Group

Step 8: Develop Your Influencers Circle

Step 9: Identify Alternative Marketing Channels

Step 10: Build Your High-Converting Book Sales Page

Step 11: Get Your Book Ready for Distribution

Step 12: Notify Ambassadors and Influencers

Step 13: Final Prep and Pre-Launch Marketing

Step 14: Launch

Step 9: Identify Alternative Marketing Channels

Just about every person with any experience in the online publishing space knows you need to do certain things to launch a book if you want ANY sales on day one…

Things like email your list, connect and promote on social media, reach out to influencers and pray they’ll share your book…

Here’s the problem.

All these strategies are obvious.

  • It is OBVIOUS to email your list to let them know your book is about to launch…
  • It’s OBVIOUS to promote your book on social media platforms, especially where you already have trust built up with your audience…
  • And it’s OBVIOUS to try to get as much press as possible during your book launch…

These things aren’t bad – they’re actually necessary if you want to get early traction on your book launch…

But just doing the OBVIOUS is not enough.

Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor, philosopher, and soldier said it best:

The secret of all victory lies in the organization of the non-obvious.”

In order for you to succeed as a publisher (indie, self, or otherwise), you need to organize the non-obvious. The first step to organizing the non-obvious in the online publishing space is all about identifying ALTERNATIVE marketing channels.

What is a marketing channel?

A marketing channel is any place or medium where you can promote and sell your book.

Conventional marketing channels include:

  1. Email list, social media, personal connections
  2. Amazon.com
  3. Other selling platforms like the Apple store, Barnes and Noble, etc.

These channels are conventional because they work (or rather - can work...).

BUT – these channels aren’t enough to get you the visibility your book deserves…

That’s where alternative marketing channels come in.

How to Get Your Book Massive Exposure on Launch Day

The following is a list of alternative (non-obvious) marketing and sales channels. Use these to get a major leg up on your competition (trust me - the VAST majority of authors and self-publishers are NOT pursuing these channels, which is what makes them so effective).

1. Niche Podcast and Blogs

How do you think someone like Tim Ferriss winds up a bestseller every book launch?

You could say it’s because of his platform, and that’s true for his most recent book – but what about for his first one, The 4-Hour Workweek? If you paid attention to that launch, you'd know that the key to Tim Ferriss’ success was connecting with HUNDREDS of niche blogs and podcast to promote his book.

What he lacked in a big audience at the outset of his book launch he made up for in hustle by connecting with niche bloggers and podcasters.

By reaching out to niche blogs and podcasts, he was able to get his book in front of hundreds of thousands of people in his target audience. Many niche blogs and podcasts not only have engaged audiences, but many of them belong to the “early adopter” realm of new product adoption…

Which is to say they will be the first to buy and share new things when they see them.

To clarify: a niche blog or podcast is anything outside the mainstream.

We might think it would be great to be featured in Forbes or Inc. or whatever, but these types of publications RARELY move books (trust me, I speak from experience).

Niche blog and podcast promotion almost always results in more sales than generic mainstream press or PR attempts.

When a book is mentioned on Forbes, or Time, or whatever, it's nice press...but it's not very useful (except for the ego).

A mention about your book by Seth Godin, on the other hand, will move hundreds of books.

Or for that matter, an article on TheArtofManliness.com, or Fizzle.co, or PaidtoExist.com, or the thousands of other niche blogs and podcasts that are out there (I'm giving these as examples because I primarily deal in business non-fiction, but the same rules apply for ANY genre).

For your launch, list out 100 niche blogs and podcasts that cater to your target audience. If you can’t come up with a list of 100, you’re not thinking hard enough (or creatively enough).

Here's a free copy of a tracker that I use for EVERY book launch:

Promotional Outreach Tracker (template)

2. Conferences

Dan Norris spoke at a conference the weekend before the release of his book, The 7 Day Startup. This was an excellent opportunity to promote his new book before it launched. And because of the success of Dan’s book (and the awareness in the tech community about what a great business Dan had created), he was invited to many more conferences.

What better place to promote your book than to a captivated audience of people who PAID to hear you speak?

Note: conferences are also great for selling bulk orders of your book…so make sure you have bulk order discounts and packages ready to go before you launch!

3. Live Google Hangout Events

Every book launch is an event and a live Google Hangout, possibly with give-aways and other surprises is an excellent way to spread the word and get people excited to contribute and share your work.

Jeff Goins organized events like this for the launch of The Art of Work. The live webinar that he hosted resulted in hundreds of attendees and moving over 1,000 books on launch day!

Now, not everyone will have the reach that Jeff does, BUT the fundamentals are the same: live events are fun, engaging, and a great opportunity to promote and sell your book, without being a salesmen (the key is to make the point of the event all about helping your target readership…do that and people will buy).

4. Listing sites and Communities

A listing site is any platform where groups of like-minded people share interesting ideas / products / links…these are sites like Reddit.com, Producthunt.com, Bootstrapper.io, etc.

Listing sites are almost completely ignored by the publishing world, which is what makes them so powerful for book launches.

We were able to get Dan Norris’ The 7 Day Startup on Producthunt.com, which resulted in 5,000+ eyeballs on his book sales page during launch week (just from this source). Dan ended up with over 12,000 sales in the first week alone - I have no doubt that exposure from listing sites was responsible for at least 1,000 of those copies.

Again, these results are not common, but any author is capable of leveraging sites like these to drive more awareness and traffic to their book sales page (even just a few hundred extra visitors could move the needle on a book launch and help you rocket to the top of the charts in your category).

5. Physical Spaces

Does your book belong in artisan coffee shops? What about coworking spaces? Or maybe in micro-breweries across the country?

In the era of digital marketing and sales, too little focus is put on the traction that physical spaces can produce for book launches. Tim Ferriss tied in his most recent book with multiple physical spaces throughout the country (Tea shops, Panera Bread, etc.).

If you’re an indie publisher, it may be harder to work big chain deals, but that doesn’t mean you can’t develop relationships with smaller, independent shops across the country.

Note: this strategy costs money, which is why I don’t recommend putting a ton of time or effort into it…BUT, if your book would benefit from being in a physical location (like a book on startups would work really well in a coworking space...or a book about craft beer would find a nice home in craft-breweries throughout the country), don’t ignore it. Reach out – you may be surprised who will buy your book in bulk or at least act as a stockist (someone who sells your book for you).

6. In-person Meetup Groups

Are you a part of a writers group? Are you a part of a weekly runners group? Do you know of any other local or in-person events that cater to your target audience?

These are all great opportunities to share and promote your book. Make it about the people who come to support you by treating them to something special.

Note: book signings are a traditional, very obvious marketing channel...the problem is they don't work well for people who don't have established platforms (and hundreds of people waiting to see them in every city they visit).

What I'm proposing is leveraging unconventional in-person events in your favor.

Some examples:

  • Sponsor a round of beers for your runners group and share your book with them
  • Host a live training event and ask people to buy a copy of your book if they felt the training was valuable
  • Host a private party during a big conference and leverage as many big names as possible to get lots of people to show up (this is a particular skill-set you will need to acquire which I won't go into here...but it starts by connecting with great people long before you need to ask a favor of them)

Because in-person events are time intensive and can be expensive, this isn't the first channel I would recommend you approach, but it doesn't hurt to brainstorm these channels to see how they might work out for your book launch.

A Dozen More Alternative Marketing Channels…

These are just a handful of the DOZENS of alternative (non-obvious) marketing channels out there for your book.

In Publishers' Empire, we cover several dozen of these marketing channels, show  you how to use them, and even provide the marketing materials you need to reach out and promote on them.

In a couple weeks I’ll be opening up seats for new students, but for now...

It's time for you to help me help YOU.

HOMEWORK! (comment below)

In the comments below, let me know:

What alternative (non-obvious) marketing channel do you plan to use for YOUR book (and why)?

Not sure? Let me know what type of book you’re writing (genre / topic) and I promise I’ll help you come up with at least ONE compelling alternative sales channel your competitors aren’t using.

See you in the comments below!

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74 comments on “[ecourse] Launch Your Book To Bestseller - day 5 of 8”

  1. I'm planning on using 3 alternative channels.
    1) Conferences. I speak and have the opportunity to make a subtle mention/offering. Perhaps even dedicated topic specific workshop(s).
    2) Other Vendors/Consultants in My Market: I occasionally do some joint promotion with other noncompeting vendors in my same market offer. Like a JV but less IM.
    3) Associations. My industry has many associations. I can reach out and find some who recognize the benefits their members will receive from my materials.

    1. 1. Tourism office downtown; they've already offered to buy copies and offer for sale.
      2. Book signings at the local Sunday markets; along with other authors.
      3. Sell in local specialty stores.

  2. Buck books hopefully
    Book bub
    And reaching out to niche bloggers and podcasts

    Any suggestions for productivity niche ?

    1. Mike, productivity niche is HUGE because it crosses genres / topics!

      You can really tap into just about any audience...entrerpeneurs, writers, artists, organizers - everybody wants to be more productive.

      I'd recommend googling "Productivity blog" "productivity podcast" and doing the same style searches in Twitters search function (it's incredibly powerful), then compile the first 100 listings into your promotional hit list...and start finding the contact info for all the writers / podcasters in those spaces so you can reach out to them (more on this in a future lesson).

  3. I'll invite as many authors as I can to promote my launch. It's in their interest to train their readers in avoiding poor excuses of books on Amazon.
    I know quite a lot of them and THEY know even more and bigger authors than I can contact.

    1. Personal connections are huge.

      Outside of those, any particular channels you will use?

      I could see this book being a good candidate for paid advertising (especially if focused on the aspect of not wasting time and money on bad books again)

  4. Well, guest blogging I've already given my thoughts on a couple times. And anything involving the spoken word is automatically out.

    Physical spaces? Only place that would remotely make sense is comic cons. That requires a table and a lot of money.
    that's pretty much all it leaves the web directories. I thought about that but really haven't looked into them too much. Only recently heard that ReddIt had a book promotion thread

    1. You could also:

      1. find small blogs / podcasts in your niche (500 - 2,000 readers a month)
      2. ask to pay for a sponsored ad (header or sidebar)
      3. pay a small, flat rate fee with tracking link on site (so you can determine click through rate...and conversion if you sell on your own website)

      You could do this in multiple areas and test it out for relatively cheap...

      Even better - see if you can get a free editorial mention (free copy of your book or a giveaway to their audience).

      You can also do a lot more w/ reddit than simply using their book promo subreddit.

  5. I plan to use all 6 that you mentioned above, mainly niche podcasts/blogs and google hangouts which I've already started using.

    One reason I chose these is because I have a friend who has a pretty large audience in the niche and he was one of the main catalyst for me even writing my book. Also my niche for this book (marriage/husbands) is a pretty "personal" niche and others in the niche seem to have passionately engaged followers that would benefit from and enjoy reading my book. My goal for this book is Reach and I believe these channels would provide the most (quantity and quality) reach.

    Would you have any other alternative channel suggestions for that niche?

    1. Really it's a matter of how you approach various channels....

      You could look into men's magazines and blogs...even things like Men's Health, Men's Fitness (although probably smaller blogs / podcasts in the same niche).

      Women's health as well (think about it, this could be a great book for women to give to husbands....if it has the right title and doesn't come off accusatory or insulting to be gifted)

      Religious blogs / podcasts, if you can tie in the theme...

      Those are just a few things to look into, but I think your book has a lot of potential spread....I would literally brainstorm 100 things if I were you (I bet you will come up with a few hundred if you think hard), and then start organizing based on accessibility and impact.

  6. For my book "Cheap Books: How Cheap Books For Kindle Are Revolutionizing How We Read" I plan to use Goodreads as alternative marketing platform. Why? That's probably one of the top places people go to find new recommended books to read.

      1. Hi Michael,
        To date, I've just been posting my books in Goodreads forums when they are on free promotions on Kindle Direct Publishing. And, to be honest, until Tom posted this lesson, I hadn't had the idea that Goodreads would be a reasonable place to market my Cheap Books book. So, the general idea is to employ some of the same strategies as I've done before but I have to brainstorm on this a bit since I just came up with the idea!
        I created this landing page for advance subscribers: http://www.dollarbooks.net/cheap-books-how-cheap-books-for-kindle-are-revolutionizing-how-we-read/
        . I'm editing the book and the free "promote your eBook" and "promote your audiobook" gifts too right now, by the way.
        Saw your post on Pat's FB page too--I think a $300 flat fee for recording an audiobook with a 50/50 split isn't a great business model...
        George

  7. Some alternative ways I will be using to promote my books:
    - Reaching out to 100+ niche blogs and podcasts that promotes healthy eating and holistic health
    - Sign up for local events and workshops related to fermented vegetables (I've already singed up to one event which is happening on 4/17)
    - Have a webinar/workshop in early May and a google hangout party before launch
    - Connect with related meetup organizers to create speaking engagement opportunities for myself to speak to their audience
    - Connect with FB group and start engaging with related forums (e.g. Reddit, Quora)

    Why:
    - These activities allow me to get more exposure (since my primary goal is REACH)
    - I will build my list as I move along (e.g. creating self-hosted workshop, webinar and Hangout event).
    - By participating events, meetups, and conferences, I hope to build connections with opinion leaders. This way I can 1) invite them into my "influencers circle"; 2) partner with them for some exclusive offers for my ambassors; 3) seek long-term partnership opportunities.

    My niche is using fermented vegetables to help people deal with various health issues. Any other alternative marketing ideas you would recommend Tom? =)

    Thanks a lot in advance!

    1. Bam. You are on top of it!

      These hit the primary channels...

      Question is, can you spin the story for other niches?

      Do fermented vegetables help people lose weight or get in shape?
      - Fitness blogs / podcasts
      - Wedding related blogs / podcasts (look great in your dress)

      Do they help the brain?
      - neuroscience blogs / podcasts
      - psychology blogs / podcasts

      Basically, you can take the same topic and give it a unique angle to reach a broader audience.

      Good luck!

  8. I felt completely threatened when I saw the worksheet for alternative channels. Maybe overwhelmed is a better word. Everything about selling overwhelms me.

    Still, when I thought about it, I began to wonder if my church, by which I mean the national synod of the North American Lutheran Church, would have an interest in my project. I use the life of Joseph (found in the book of Genesis) as the basis for learning how to thrive and to overcome contemporary cultural hostility to Christianity, and that might be something that would appeal to synod leaders who work with counseling and family support. Then I thought about the possibility of connecting with Lutheran and other Christian bloggers who focus on the culture. These ideas make sense in an abstract way, but I am not sure how to find and build such connections while continuing to sustain my writing and editing work schedule.

    One of the problems I face is that I don't even know how to search for the kind of connections I need. Can you help with that problem?

    1. It is not easy. Building a list of these people is incredibly time intensive and something I get paid full time to do for authors, so I get it.

      That's one of the reasons I created PublishersEmpire.com - in it I show students how to build these types of lists in using free or cheap tools online (rapidly and easily). This alone can result in hundreds or thousands of books sold, so it's worth the hustle.

      That said, you can still create a sizeable list of people by reaching out one at a time, and slowly filling in this spreadsheet.

  9. These are killer Tom, putting together all my launch planning now.

    Just wanted to let you know you have a typo - search for "thee copies."

    Boss Socks 🙂

  10. I LOVED this lesson. I see I have a lot of work to do. I want to research influencers for my book about domestic violence. AND I want to be looking into finding influencers for my children's books. With my two poetry books coming up that is a different set of influencers as well, but maybe not completely.

  11. My squadron (the only helicopter pilot school house in the Air Force) sends 3-5 new pilots out to the fleet every month, so I plan on trying to recruit some ambassadors to spread the word that way.

  12. Love brainstorming. Gonna see if I can get 500. I need all the help I can get lol!

    There are a lot of niche blogs on the topic of growing up without fathers. Most are inactive, but I'll exhaust every avenue here.

    I really like the idea of the free seminars. I know those take time, but I already have the personal relationships to do these at a few non-profit organizations I volunteer with. If the goal is helping others who they are servicing, that's at least a hundred books right there.

  13. Hai Tom, glad for your tips . Am yet to get any comment on my previous postings . I am Writing a Biographie.
    Will like to use Facebook ,friends Familie,, Exhibition-Blogs (yet to create one.

  14. My book is a non fiction personal spiritual journey. It shows with my determination and listening to the quiet voice inside you can find the love of your life. It is a short read but powerful according to all my reviews. The message is never give up. follow the paths the universe send us and listen. It has beena 30 year journey and finally I took the SPS course and got it published. Now I am stuck in how to promote. It is a very specific niche and not even sure what one? It has a lot of channeling in it but mostly about love. ' LOOKING FOR JIM' . So there will be no courses or videos or any of that. It is not a marketing book. It was #1 for 3 days in Amazon. Now it has slided and I am not sure about keywords and categories. I am starting to write another book about the Brain Hemmorage I had. My writing is more spiritual and my own life experiences. Any help or ideas how to market this??

  15. Hey Tom,
    Amazing stuff, you really set the bar high for the amount of free content you give away!

    Heads up, PublishersEmpire.com is not rendering well on safari - is the site supposed to be live yet?

  16. Thanks for this great resource, Tom. One question - do you find the strategies you outline in this course work just as well if your book has already launched? Or is it really just specific to pre-launch marketing? Thanks again!

  17. Uh, okay...podcasts and blogs. They have articles and programs to get out. I have a blog myself where I do interviews, so I know this one.

    So, how do I find them? I want groups that are interested in short stories and fantasy.

    I bookmarked one--it's an Apple podcast called the First Three chapters where you give them an audio file of you reading your first three chapters (or in my case, short stories) aloud.

    I follow back other blogs whose owners will possibly feature me.

    I was planning on doing a Twitter party with a dedicated hashtag for launch. I don't know how to do a live Google event. How do I learn?

    And how do I find more blogs and podcasts that might be interested in me? All I can think of is a Google search. Are there better techniques out there?

    I've also thought of contacting more local newspapers.

    That's all I've got. Do you have any ideas for expanding this?

    Thanks,

    Cathleen

    Also, if you are interested in a review or interview, Tom, please let me know. It's at least a small payback that I can offer.

    1. yes, you're on the right track. in Publishers Empire (www.publishersempire.com) I teach advanced list scrapping techniques and other ways to find and connect with influencers if you're looking for step by step guidance on how to do that more effectively than just googling.

    2. yes, you're on the right track. in Publishers Empire (www.publishersempire.com) I teach advanced list scraping techniques and other ways to find and connect with influencers if you're looking for step by step guidance on how to do that more effectively than just googling.

  18. I'm finalizing my book, To Kill A Fragile Rose - The State's Case Against Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius. I'm grateful for these valuable lessons. I was interviewed by the likes Sky News, BBC, Channel 5, Reuters, Arise News Networks and all local television stations in South Africa. I also did quite a few interviews on radio and my analysis has almost always been free. My unique way would be to give a free copy of the book to each television host who interviewed me, as well as give a copy to each publication I've published an article in. The advantage is that interest in the Pistorius trial is huge around the world and many publications and even television stations get aspects of the South African law wrong. My focus is on the legal aspects of the case and since I facilitate training I've decided to use those opportunities during lunch to tell groups about my book. I'm also considering putting up pop-up bookstores at each of our magistrates and superior courts. I'm registered towards a Doctor of Laws Degree and the title of my research is, The Presumption of Innocence and The Burden of Proof in Criminal Procedure in the South African Context. I'm planning to run one day dialogue sessions at Universities in the New Year where students and faculty members will be invited to attend at no cost, to discuss this topic and the Pistorius judgment. I'm also considering webinars and Live Google Hangouts. Thanks once again.

      1. Not yet, I applied for an ISBN number got the cover designed and am looking at starting a crowd-funding campaign.

  19. I like the idea of niche blogs and podcasts, I just have to put in the time to find some. I'll definitely look into the First 3 Chapters podcast another fiction author mentioned above.

    I will be attending a local authors' event in early December, and I've been debating if I should try to have the Kindle version of my book ready for that event or use it build buzz for a launch a week or two later. Your thoughts would be appreciated, Tom.

  20. - Any podcast with "freelance" or "consultant" in the name
    - Speak at an event in the local co-working space (lots of consulting types work there); bonus points if the talk is captured on video
    - Periscope AMAs/Google Hangouts
    - Product Hunt (that site drove 5,000 page views on the day my last book was launched, I am definitely going there again!)
    - thepipe.io

    Tom, I'm writing a book for freelancers and consultants (web developers, designers, marketers, etc) to help them deal with difficult clients. You said you could suggest a channel none of my competitors would be using...so let's hear it! 🙂

  21. I've been using Google+ communities to good effect. I haven't launched a book yet, but I'm trying to build relationships there.

    I write fiction (fantasy, specifically) and I know only a few websites that are fan-based (including fantasyfaction.com and epicfantasybooks.com). Reddit seems like the next obvious place to look, but I find the platform uncomfortable.

    Do you have any advice on where to start looking for these communities?

  22. As a fiction author, I wasn't sure if this content was for me, but I have a feeling I'll reap huge rewards by following the advice in this and previous posts.
    I'm making a list of blogs that review books like mine, and this time, no blog is too small. I'm also think of posting some teaser chapters or short stories on certain fan fiction type sites that cater to my readers. I've done this before and gotten thousands of views and some great reviews. I reached out to the reviewers to see if they'd post the review on Amazon, but now I think I'll just ask if they want to be on my ARC release list.
    I have recently participated in some blog hops of other fiction writers and find whenever I do, I get new email list sign ups. So I will continue to build relationships with those author blogs.

    That's what I got so far! Glad I found this content. 😀

  23. I've used (and still do) targeted blogs and podcasts (with very little success surprisingly and sadly). One venue that does well is a small artisan shop in a nearby tourist town.

    1. Val - definitely depends on the target audience...some are more receptive to blogs / podcasts and online media, and some are willing to spend more money on books than others.

  24. I'm planning to use flyers in book stores, libraries, cafes, and stores to promote my book, while also running 2 competitions for a free paperback copy of the book. The first entry is when people subscribe to my website or like my facebook page, the second will be by answering a question regarding the first chapter which will be posted two weeks before launching.

    1. Joleen,

      I love these ideas! Giving away a hard copy is nice -- it has more of a perceived value, I think, with everyone doing digital.

  25. My book is a weird Western and I live in the north east of England so I'm not really sure that I can do anything locally that will be relevant, but I'm planning on contacting horror or zombie blogs.

  26. Hello everyone,
    I am loving this course and I am learning so many amazing and helpful things.
    I remember in this course you said one of the hardest things to sell are books like non-fiction. However for as long as I could remember I wanted to write books that would transport my readers into a different world. I am determine to make a name for myself based of my books I have been writing.

  27. My book is non-fiction self-help for long-distance hikers to re-adjust to being back home. There are several other blogs, FB pages, and authors that have written about their hiking experiences that I could reach out to for support.

    Do you think that this is the best use of my time? I was thinking of restarting the blog that I kept when I was hiking 2 year ago, but I don't have any followers (especially hikers - the blog was for folks back home). But writing at least 2 posts a week plus the book plus this other outreach seems like a lot. I'm not convinced a blog would get the 'reach' for the amount of work put in.

    I'd love your insight into this question. Thank you for this course. I have learned so much and the layout of a launch makes so much more sense than in other courses/ebooks I've seen.

  28. So how exactly do you "connect" with niche groups? Merely commenting on their posts with a link back to your book page looks desperate. More detail/strategy on how to do this would be much appreciated.

    1. yeah, it's pretty simple...actually join the group. if this book you're writing is worthwhile, it's worth your time to engage in communities ahead of time so you can later share your book. if you're disingenuous, it doesn't work.

  29. What alternative (non-obvious) marketing channel do you plan to use for YOUR book (and why)?

    My network of independent sales training consultants could offer the Webinar to clients as a how to. I might even get on some local business talk shows. Is there are directory of blogs by topic?

    Not sure? Let me know what type of book you’re writing (genre / topic) and I promise I’ll help you come up with at least ONE compelling alternative sales channel your competitors aren’t using.

  30. I intend using two alternative channels for my series of books on HR Writing:

    1. Niche podcasts and blogs

    2. Listing sites and communities

    Conferences, physical spaces and in-person meet ups may not be as effective because I live in India but write for the US market.

    Also, when India-based people by books on Amazon, the sales show on Amazon.in and not on Amazon.com. Similarly, while reviews from Amazon.com are displayed on Amazon.in, reviews by India-based reviewers on Amazon.in don't appear on Amazon.com.

    Another thing I've noticed is that when I write a review (of a book I purchased on Amazon.in), on Amazon.com, it disappears after about 48 hours.

  31. I've attended a few local book festivals for exposure and sales. They're a great networking venue. I've promoted Ridiculosity on two podcasts - one for writers, one for retirees and I've guest written a column for a military newsletter.

  32. I'm planning on doing a little tour through some big european cities, print a heap of first pages of my novel and just walk the streets. Find like-minded people and give them one of the copies. On the other side of the page they will find my info, book cover and LINK to my personal website.

    If they like it, they'll want to keep reading. And if they like me, they just might buy the book to support.

  33. I wrote a vegetable garden planning workbook. I'll be speaking and teaching a lot during the first quarter of 2017, so will use that as a channel. I've already reached out to some podcasts. I'm also in a Garden Bloggers group and will ask for help promoting my book.

    I added a few other non-priority avenues to my list thanks to this lesson: physical spaces, local publications, local book festival.

  34. Hey, Tom

    What I'm thinking of first off all is various podcast from my earlier speakers that I featured on the Awakening Mindset Summit. Also a few online radio shows that I got connected with.

    Live webinars and conferences would be a think I would go for. And another idea is a couple of Slack groups I'm in with a lot of people.

  35. Hi Tom,
    I plan to use niche podcasts and blogs and listing sites and communities. I think those make the most sense since I am publishing a fantasy ebook 🙂 I think that the various topics that my book incorporates (faux quantum physics, child abuse, rape, disability, cultural differences, ethnic and racial minority, magic powers, etc.) will open up a lot of niche opportunities on listing sites and podcasts/blogs. Thanks!

  36. I've written an erotic slasher novel that also fits the supernatural/horror genre due to the inclusion of non-human characters. I'm a bit stuck on what genre to list it under and on how to market it (aside from the obvious).

  37. I am thinking of taking my children’s book into schools. Perhaps offering a free workshop for teachers, so they would hire me to come to their classroom and offer the book for sale. My book is on bullying. Curios to hear your suggestions.