What makes an eBook Author Sell? Marketing ebooks.
The answer is in answering the need, which is a truism of all sales. It is very hard to sell a steak to a vegetarian and Eskimos don't need ice.
So what does a reader want? To answer that question is a huge part of the selling solution.
Genre is also a part of the need. Each genre is a target market in itself. As with steaks and ice, it is an up hill battle to sell a love romance to a male.
The good news is there is a huge target market in all genres.
Buyers of books go through a sequential process when buying, which is all driven by not wanting to pay for something they DON'T want. That's why so many readers read by authors. What they are really doing is trying to find another author they TRUST.
Familiarity with an author is the first driver of sales. The dilemma happens when they finally read an author out.
When forced to find a new trusted author, readers take very little notice of personal reviews. What my mother or brother raves about does little for me. We have totally different tastes.
Readers do take notice of new books that are selling in big numbers, working on the assumption that all of the people buying can't be wrong.
Here is how it goes.
After finding out about a new hot author the reader does what the old saying says not to - they judge the book by its cover. To have a poor cover kills book sales.
Next, the prospective book buyer turns to see how many books this author has written. A shelf full of titles builds initial trust; again, everyone can't be wrong.
The fear is that they may spend half a day reading only to be disappointed instead of ENTERTAINED (a reader's need). Yet if they find the entertainment they want then that author will sell them every book on their shelf. What they are really doing is not book buying but buying an author.
Next, readers turn to the synopsis. If this is not well done, goodbye to many book sales. Then we turn to, "about the author", which if not engaging will also kill sales.
Now it is time to read a sample, usually the beginning. How many people looking for a new author spend a lot of time on this step? The motivation again is fear-based as they don't want to waste time and buy something that will not fulfil their NEED - an author they are entertained by.
To address this problem I use a gifted narrator to read 70 pages, free of charge, as a "try before you buy" sales strategy. The advantage of listening to a MP3 is being able to do something else simultaneously. And most buyers purchase well before finishing the audio as they want to read, not "listen", to a book. They know quite soon whether or not they have found the new author they want.
Have you heard of the 10,000 hour or seven year rule? Most authors need that amount of time to make it. Many write a million words before being published. (My web site has less than half that.)
Another observation I have made is that best-selling authors have vast life experience. They are able to draw from this internal well, which is the best source to produce quality writing.
The wonderful thing about the shift to ebooks is that an eBook is forever, whereas paper books only have a print-run life.
Marketing in the forest of ebooks makes it hard to find your special tree. Ebooks have time on their side and the quote on my book "Dream Bouncing" is only true in an eBook world. "A GREAT NARRATIVE WILL ALWAYS MAKE ROOM FOR ITSELF." Quality work will, in the end, always rise to the top.
A huge advantage to books sold online is that sales will come over time. eBook writers report wild fluctuations in sales numbers. Sales will nearly dry up then months later take off again.
In conclusion, if you want more sales build a bigger shelf of work. If it is within your ability, change genres. A buyer may like your well-published shelf but not like all the kinds of books on it.
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