So there I am with my third book published and on the shelves!  But wait a minute what happened to the other two “Raise Your Glasses Please” & “Speaking on Special Occasions”  and how are they selling?  Well, that’s where the fun starts! 

Publishers do what they are good at – they publish and then they do a little bit of marketing for you and then…..it’s up to you!  I will never forget what my agent said when I brought out my first book on Public Speaking –  her very words were “The publishers buy you as much as they buy the book content”  In other words they look for people who can prove they are good at marketing and promotion.  Well I didn’t really believe that until now, because actually my agent was prooved right, it’s all down to the author to get the books noticed and selling.  So people who are famous get their books sold, regardless.  If you are high profile your books will sell just as your name can be lent to an advertisement or a newspaper article. 

So here we are the Jo Bloggs of the world looking to get our books sold and it takes a lot of effort, sweat and a few frustrated tears!  But hey lets not get too downhearted, after all we HAVE written a book, it is out there and our name is on the cover – that feels as if we’ve achieved something. 

So here I am in my office thinking how can I market both myself and my books?  Well I could hire a PR person to help me (could be good as they know who to call and what to say)  I could try phoning the local radio stations and mags to see if they are interested, I might also walk down on Brighton seafront with a banner (think I’ll give that a miss)  You see where I am going with this don’t you?  Short of  causing a scandal (now there’s an idea!) I am at a loss. 

Of course I am a public speaker and I have presented at conferences in the past so that seems like a solution.  However, how do I get myself in front of the right people for my latest book on “Coaching Skills for leaders in the Workplace” (PR agent again? free book ?) Yes I suppose I could contact all the Personal & Professional Development conferences and those doing Business & Career Development etc..Also I am thinking about the Women in Business and Enterprising Women’s conferences too…umm there’s a possibility they may be looking for speakers and presenters. 

last week I was asked to present at a local event on “The mindset of a winner – how to get and achive goals” which was fun – unpaid but at least 30 people could hear about my book and some even bought it!  Still I would like to reach 3000 if at all possible.   I have had some success on Linkedin.  I asked people to write a review on Amazon in exchange for a free copy of my book and I ‘ve had replies from all over the world.  That was a great way of connecting to like -minded people so that worked. 

Any more ideas out there? I’d welcome your experience and hope you have learned a little from mine too.

Jackie