Book Sales Plateau – 13 Tips What You Can Do!

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First-time writers are often puzzled when after a very successful book launch and many book sales, their ranking on Amazon drops and their sales numbers dwindle over time – which is a totally normal process, even for bestseller authors. So what can you do as a writer – besides writing your next manuscript:
Your book has been launched months ago or even last year and you had great sales numbers. NOW readers need to see something NEW from you. It doesn’t need to be a whole new book:
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The three main assets you have already

• your writing skills
• the content you already wrote
• the research you have done for your book(s) can be used to write at least 20 – 30 articles or blog posts – and if regularly posted on Google+ it is raising your Search Engine Ranking on Google tremendously.
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1. Use the manuscript text from your “old” book to split it into tiny portions and write lots of short blogs / articles from the content – along with a two sentence bio and a link to your webpage or Amazon author / sales page. Make use of your assets! Which means not only your book, but using all the research notes and text, you have compiled to write it. Make it a habit to post/publish content at least two – three times a week!

More benefits of writing content:
– it is a subtle way to promote your book
– you receive valuable back links to your website or blog
– you will have lots of possibilities to post on Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Facebook….
– include links to your articles in email newsletter (that you hopefully send out regularly to your readers)
Post these articles on your blog or contribute guest blogs to other sites that are focused on the same topics as your book.

Content is used to draw in your ideal readers / reviewers, it will link to your book sales page or your website and it helps a lot to build a platform. Last but not least it gives you a lot of material to post and to tweet. The result: you will increase your exposure, show your writing skills, grow a loyal following and attract reviewers – in one sentence: you will achieve success with your writing – and in many cases, even get paid for it.

Read more here:
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2014/01/26/prequels-authors-benefits-of-writing-them/
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2014/01/03/a-new-way-of-book-marketing/
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/07/07/free-brilliant-book-marketing-to-a-million-audience/
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/08/13/smart-authors-get-paid-for-marketing-their-books/

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2. Rewrite these articles a bit, add more material and offer them to magazines, newspapers etc., starting with Airline Inflight Magazines, Huffington Post and Salon.com etc., even The Atlantic could be interested if it is a longer article with great content. Focus more on discoverability rather than selling. Your work is important, so help readers to find it.

World-famous bestseller writers, such as Ernest Hemingway, Margaret Atwood, Tom Chiarella, Gloria Steinem and Stephen King did it: Writing occasionally short stories and magazine articles – before blogs became fashionable. In several former posts I explained in detail how easy it is for writers to create content, such as blog articles and sell them to magazines and newspapers or write guest blogs. Read more about brilliant book marketing and content writing, check out the links below.
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3. You Need More Potential Readers
Are you really adding at least 25 new followers per day to your Social Media networks? You often can add more, 25 is the restriction on Goodreads, but Google+ for example allows you to follow up to 5,000 people. However, don’t choose just anyone: type into the search function: booklover, avid reader, reviewer, book blogger… you get the point? These are the folks who might be interested in your book – and tell other about it. Make it a habit to add EVERY DAY new followers to each one of your Social Media sites. Future book campaigns will only be successful if you have enough fans!

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4. Post and Tweet more about borrowing your book for Prime Members.  After all you earn money with each lending (approx. $2 per book).  Every day new customers sign up for Amazon’s Prime membership program.
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What’s More:

5. Post something new on your website at least once or twice a week

6. Plan and create an email campaign to potential readers

7. Book Signings end Readings bookstores, museums or literary cafes

8. Readings at libraries & book clubs or Meetup Groups

9. Participate in Writing Contests (national and international)

10. Write a prequel for your next book and add a link to the first one

11. Join HARO (Help a Reporter out) to make yourself a name as an expert in your field
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12. As soon as your next book is written, contact the library distributors, read the useful blog article from SavvyBookWriters.com/blog with lots of tips and links how to sell your book to libraries.
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13. You Might Need More Distribution:
Use BookBaby or .eBookpartnership for example, to place your book on all Amazon’s Kindle Stores: US, UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, Brazil, Japan, India etc .  In North America: Apple, Baker & Taylor, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Ingram. In Europe to: Askews & Holts, Blackwell’s, BlioBook, Depository, Kalahari.net, Waterstones, Whitcoulls, WH Smith. Their yearly fee is less than $100 and you can save LOTS of hours for uploading your book, for accounting with these retailers and if you work on Windows, to use a Mac computer (for upload to Apple).  Best of all, they do not take commissions, such as with Smashword for example. You keep 100% of the revenue from online retail. However, you should buy your own ISBN’s, preferably a block of ten, and don’t forget to register your book worldwide with Bowker’s database, which goes to all bookstores and libraries in the world.
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Don’t forget:
If you have only one book there is nothing that readers can actually buy from you, after they have read your book! The only benefit is the lending program for Prime Members that gives you some revenue – but only if you have priced it higher than $2.99, as readers usually prefer to borrow higher-priced books. And: marketing means not only sales campaigns … so do everything to show your potential readers a bit of content that leads to your book. The key to success is confidence in yourself, persistence, and also knowing what you want!
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SECRET:
Your first book will very often increase in sales as a result of a successful launch of your second book. Every time you launch a new book, it has an impact on past titles, if they are written for the same audience.

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars  Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/
to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,010 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
http://www.international-ebooks.com/
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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7 Easy Ways to Promote Your Books

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Keep in mind that your books are valuable, they are the most precious inventory of your author-publishing business. Dozens of free or very inexpensive ways – other than your time – can help to promote your books. Let’s have a look at this way of “Marketing on a Shoestring”:
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Add a link to your sales page to email and forum signatures
This will only take you a couple of minutes – and could get your e-book in front of hundreds of people. Just add a line to your email signature, next or under your name, author of ….. (book titles), available from …. (link).  If you are a member in forums, check whether it’s okay to link to your e-book sales page in your signature.
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Mention your book(s) in your “about” page
New blog readers or visitors on your website, and even people on Twitter and other Social Media sites want to see who you are and what your blog is all about. The “About” page is a fantastic place to mention all your books and e-books. You can also set up a completely free single-page site at http://about.me  and only use this link to show all your websites, blogs, Social Media sites etc. Here is a sample: http://about.me/111Publishing

Add your e-book’s cover image, plus a short description of key benefits (perhaps in bullet-point format).  Encourage readers to “click here to find out more” rather than “click here to buy now”.
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Send a sample chapter to everyone on your email list
Your newsletter or mailing list is a superior marketing tool, however, avoid overloading your readers with offers and promotions. Instead provide an exclusive free chapter to your email list. Use the last page of it to tell readers where to get the full e-book. Your readers will be thrilled – and you may make some new sales. If you don’t have an email list yet, or if your list is very small, a free sample of your book makes a compelling sign-up incentive for your blog.
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Guest post on a relevant Blog
Your own blog my not have many readers. Yet, it’s not too hard to get your new book in front of an audience of ten thousands of readers: Write a great guest post on an established blog and promote your e-book in the bio / signature. Find a blog that has readers who are constantly looking for new, exciting books.
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Comment on other writers blogs
When you comment on another blog, most of the time the form asks for your web address. If readers think your posts are valuable, they will be interested to learn more about you and will click on this link to find your blog or website.
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Join more Social Media sites
You are busy already with the ones you have? It is almost the same effort to “feed” one Social Media Site as it is for five. Write your info or comment ones and send it to all your sites. Or copy and paste the latest info from one site and post it on the other ones. Or add your own photographs on multiple sites. It is not important how much time you spend on each of them, rather than how interesting your post(s) are. If can also use social bookmarking programs: write a new blog post or edit your website and with one click on your computer your article or web entry is spread all over the internet to each and every social media site or blog roll you ever registered before. This way you save a lot of time – time you can use to comment on other peoples post and be “social”.
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Join HARO, Help-A-Reporter-Online
Several thousands of journalists across the country are constantly on deadline for stories they need to finish. Often they need to interview experts for the insights that build their stories. You are probably more qualified than you think to serve as an expert on many topics. Journalists love to interview authors and authorities on certain subjects, and they will introduce you as the author of …. book, which will give you free publicity.
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Do you use all these practices to promote your book – and some more?  Get many more tips here on this blog, sign up to get all articles regularly – and let us know, comment, YOUR tips for book promotion.

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $159 for 3 months! Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/ to advertise your new book, specials or your KDP Select Free Days.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 940 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
http://www.international-ebooks.com/
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Hyper Smash

Pingate

 

7 Easy Ways to Promote Your Book

 

Authors need to keep in mind that their books are their business. Dozens of free or very inexpensive ways – other than time – can help to promote their books. Here are the ones you can call “Marketing on a Shoestring”:

Add a link to email/forum signatures
This will only take you a couple of minutes – and could get your e-book in front of hundreds of people. Just add a line to your email signature, such as …. … (name) author of ….. (book titles), available from …. (link).
If you are a member in forums, check whether it’s okay to link to your e-book sales page in your signature.

Mention your book(s) in your “about” page
New blog readers or visitors on your website want to see who you are and what your blog is all about.
The “About” page is a fantastic place to mention any products or services – including books and e-books.
Add your e-book’s cover image, plus a short description of key benefits (perhaps in bullet-point format).
Encourage readers to “click here to find out more” rather than “click here to buy now” – it’s not such a big
commitment.

Send a sample chapter to everyone on your email list
Your newsletter or mailing list is a superior marketing tool, however, avoid overloading your readers with offers and promotions. Instead provide an exclusive free chapter to your email list. Use the last page of it to tell readers where to get the full e-book. Your readers will be thrilled – and you may make some new sales. If you don’t have an email list yet, or if your list is very small, a free sample of your book makes a compelling sign-up incentive for your blog.

Guest post on a relevant Blog
Your own blog my not have many readers. Yet, it’s not too hard to get your new book in front of an audience of  ten thousands of readers: Write a great guest post on an established blog and promote your e-book in the bio /
signature. Find a blog that has readers who are constantly looking for new, exciting books.

Comment on other writers blogs
When you comment on another blog, most of the time the form asks for your web address. If readers think your posts are valuable, they will be interested to learn more about you and will click on this link to find your blog or website.

Join more Social Media sites
You are busy already with the ones you have?  Believe me, it is almost the same effort to “feed” one Social Media Site as it is for five. Write your info or comment ones and send it to all your sites. Or copy and paste the latest info from one site and post it on the other ones. Or add your own photographs on multiple sites. It is not important how much time you spend on each of them, rather than how interesting your post(s) are. If can also use social bookmarking programs: write a new blog post or edit your website and with one click on your computer your article or web entry is spread all over the internet to each and every social media site or blog roll you ever registered before. This way you save a lot of time – time you can use to comment on other peoples post and be “social”.

Join HARO, Help-A-Reporter-Online 
Several thousands of journalists across the country are constantly on deadline for stories they need to finish. Often they need to interview experts for the insights that build their stories. You are probably more qualified than you think to serve as an expert on many topics. Journalists love to interview authors and authorities on certain subjects, and they will introduce you as the author of …. book, which will give you free publicity.

Do you use all these practices to promote your book – and some more?
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Hyper Smash