Digital eBooks have changed everything in the publishing world, but it’s not that big of a surprise to online marketers who have been selling their information for years via PDF format. But now, there are many different avenues in which you can promote your eBook, including the old PDF format as well as digital eBooks through Amazon’s Kindle and other online book sellers. In order to stand out from the crowd, your book has to be special.
Write the Book for a Particular Audience
Believe it or not, people who write novels for entertainment also have a particular audience for whom they write. If you are writing an informational book, you should be no different. Know who the audience is before you even think of a subject. Then write your book directly to that audience based on a topic that they want to know more about.
Format It Correctly
This might not seem like a big deal when it comes to selling, but getting good reviews will help you sell more books. And if your book looks wonky, you’re not going to get a good review even if it’s a great book. Start from the beginning with a properly formatted book with a well thought-out table of contents. Usually people can see the table of contents prior to buying your book, so keep that in mind as you name each chapter.
Get It Professionally Edited
It’s really hard to edit your own writing. Find someone who can edit your book for you, if not two or three people. One person could read through the book for grammar issues, another could fact check, and yet another can ensure that your book is presented in a logical order. Editing prices vary but you can find people on Guru.com, Elance.com, and Fiverr.com.
Don’t Skimp on Cover Design
One of the most important aspects of your book when you want to get someone to buy it, is the cover art. You don’t want it to look like cheap clip art or “homemade” – you want your book cover art to look just as good as those put out by famous publishing houses. Fortunately, if you’re not talented in that way you can outsource this to professionals who will do a great job for not a lot of money.
Create a Dedicated Sales Page
Even if you are selling your eBook on Amazon, it’s important to create a dedicated sales page in order to get the word out about your eBook. The sales page will just link directly to the Amazon checkout instead of your own checkout page, but will serve the same purpose as it did prior to the Kindle publishing platform being available.
Design a Stand-Out Author’s Page
On your website, your blog, the sales page, and the various author pages that are allowed on the publishing platforms, make sure that your author’s page is excellent. Have a professional headshot taken, and get help crafting a profile and biography about yourself that attracts people to you and makes them want to buy from you.
Create a Well Thought-Out Book Description
Your book description should explain to the reader what is in the book, why you should be the one to write it and why they need to read it. On Amazon they currently allow for up to 4000 characters for your book details. Use them well.
Use Resources Wisely
Amazon offers some special considerations and marketing functions to authors who sign up for Kindle Select and choose to let Kindle offer their book exclusively for 90 days. During the period you’ll get some free marketing options. It’s a good idea to offer your book this way first to take advantage of these options.
Build Anticipation
Start marketing your book before you’re done writing it. If you start out with an outline of what’s going in the book, the name of the book, and other information, you can get your audience excited about the book before you’ve even finished writing it. Just stick to your writing schedule and be ready to meet your deadlines.
Create an EBook Trailer
While you’re writing your book, you can create an eBook trailer with digital video to use in your marketing efforts. The trailer can go on your sales page, in email marketing, and on YouTube, as well as be pushed out to social media as the publishing date draws near.
Making your eBook stand out from the rest is just like making any product or service stand out. Be a little clearer, a little faster, and a little more compelling than the next guy and you’ll be the one to make the sales.