Omsetgo.com - There is a new book being published every 30 seconds. Currently, more than 32 million books are available worldwide. The book industry is indeed a very competitive space. The most famous books will be sold in the quantity of millions of copies. While the rest will only be sold in the number of hundreds or thousands. How much income does an author make?
A research has shown that the median income for all authors worldwide is below $5,000. There are of course exceptional authors like J.K. Rowling, the author of Harry Potter. 'Hybrid' authors who distribute their books with traditional publishing method and also self-publishing make more sales from the rest.
A survey shows that traditionally published authors making a median annual income of $3,000–$4,999, and independent authors a median of $500–$999. So-called hybrid authors, however – those who publish in both ways – did best, earning $7,500–$9,999 a year.
- Traditionally published authors: The book is published by a publisher.
- Independent writers: The book is self-published.
- Hybrid authors: The book is published by a publisher and self-published.
So, how do we actually increase book sales of an author? Digital marketing is the key, whether self-published or published by a publisher.
Imagine an author publishes a book and then expect someone to discover his/her book in a bookstore. It is tough and unlikely for someone to actually be very interested in the particular book when they see it. There are thousands of books in every store. It is unlikely for many people to choose to pick up your book if they do not know you previously.
However, a book has its own advantage. As an information product, it is searchable online if people talk about it in forums or mentioned by bloggers in their posts.
Amazon.com has become a giant e-commerce company and it started with books. Why? People actually search for books online, because looking for a specific book in the store is tiring.
So if you are an author and you are not leveraging on online marketing channels, you are missing out a lot.
Moving on, we will discuss on how authors can improve their book sales.
Increase book sales of an author with more sales and marketing channels:
1. A website is the most important channel an author can have.
A website is customizable according to what the author is all about. It can also be filled with the identity, the story behind the book, blog posts, and a way for readers to directly purchase the book from the website. It is a presence online that an author can control. It is also the place for an author to gain subscribers, loyal readers, and communicating with them time to time. A website is a place where people can know an author better and understand deeply who he/she is, provided the author writes blog posts regularly to share his/her thoughts and updates.
Eric Ries, the author of The Lean Startup has been raising an awareness about the book through startup community and getting subscribers on its website. Lean startup is a method for developing businesses and products first proposed in 2008 by Eric Ries. Based on his previous experience working in several U.S. startups, Ries claims that startups can shorten their product development cycles by adopting a combination of business-hypothesis-driven experimentation, iterative product releases, and what he calls validated learning.