Have you ever done something and later regretted having done it? Or wished you could change part of what you did?
There is a way you can minimize mistakes in producing and marketing your books. And this one simple step can help you become more profitable. It is not difficult and can even be done for free.
The one step is test marketing – asking people to comment on your title, cover design, page layout, one-sheet, piece of selling literature, or even a sales presentation. If you experiment beforehand with different ways of accomplishing a task, you can reduce errors and make the result more productive in generating revenue.
Test marketing does not have to be an expensive focus group. For example, get feedback on potential titles, content and pricing while exhibiting at trade shows. Or, post different cover designs online (your website, Facebook page) and ask for feedback. Even make a sweepstakes out of it by offering a free copy of the finished book to people who respond. If you are a member of a publishing group, ask associates for feedback. You can conduct a media interview or practice a sales presentation asking employees or friends to give you a critique Regardless of how you do it, experimentation before implementation yields success-acceleration. Here are ten benefits of test marketing:
- Discover manuscript improvements
- Get product-placement ideas
- Publish books with better cover designs and page layouts
- Win more award competitions
- Get more testimonials and endorsements
- Increase the size and involvement of people in your platform
- Improve your website
- Come up with a better title for your book
- Improve media performances
- Generate new sales opportunities
Author Bio:
Brian Jud is the Executive Director of the Association of Publishers for Special Sales (APSS – www.bookapss.org), and the administrator of Book Selling University (www.booksellinguniversity.com) Contact Brian at brianjud@bookmarketing.com or www.premiumbookcompany.com
