A gathering of a large but intimate of people who have something in common. They share a secret. That secret is the knowledge, wisdom, even the fantasy … all told by one of their favorite authors.

And that alluring author who is so respected by these “groupies” is right there in the same room … about to put his or her pen onto each individual copy of the book!

How did it happen?

How did the bookstore know that author wanted to hold a booksigning?
Why did the bookstore choose that author?
How did it get scheduled?
How did the newspapers hear about it?
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How did they get so many people to show up?
(Could you get that many people
to show up at YOUR book signing?)
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Here are 8 steps authors and publishers can follow to hold a perfect booksigning:

1)
Ten Weeks Prior
Call booksellers to schedule book signings

2)
Six Weeks Prior
Coordinate marketing responsibilities with booksellers

3)
Five Weeks Prior
Facilitate book store with ordering books as necessary

4)
Four Weeks Prior
Send out media kits (get contacts from store)

5)
Two Weeks Prior
Follow-up with media, provide new information / angles, resend information as needed

6)
One Week Prior
Check with bookstore for sufficient quantities on hand

7)
Week of Event
Media Interviews

8)
At the Event
Pick up store newsletter for your files
Meet as many booksellers as possible
Have attendees sign up for your mailing list

***

What my sister didn’t know is that the author was just as thrilled to be in the group as were the groupies.

Why?

Because book signings are a fabulous way for authors to sell books, build blogs, cultivate loyal
buyers of future books and find people who share a common interest and passion.

And let’s face it.

Being the celebrity at a book signing delivers one of the true payoffs of all that hard work you did
writing and publishing your book.

But book signings are just one of many ways to sell books in bookstores.

If you want to know more about getting into bookstores, you might be interested in this:

www.GetInBookstores.com

Happy heart week!

Would you like to open up your favorite magazine and see you and your book featured in it?

Authors and publishers like you have been coming to MarketAbility for 17 years now and what they want MOST is national publicity.

Today I hope these 3 ideas help you get national publicity …

1)
Break down your book.

What you may envision is a segment fully featuring your book, or perhaps a review of your book.

However, what is more likely to happen, and what will sell more books when it does happen, is a segment or article that is on one topic mentioned in one chapter of your book. This is usually a deep discussion of a problem the viewer or reader has.

And guess what?

Within your book is the solution. Wouldn’t you rather buy a book that solves YOUR problem?

So would the media.

2)
Know the shows.
Read the magazines and newspapers you want.

When I first started publicizing books in 1991, this was the hardest idea for me to accept. I just wanted to write a press release and send it out to dozens, scores, even hundreds of people in the media, hoping the best ones would bite.

Not until I focused on the shows, magazines and newspapers I really wanted most for my clients did the big hits started to happen.

Rather than buying a list and blanketing it with press releases, pick your most desired shows, magazines, newspapers and radio shows. Pick as few as 3 or as many as 10. Watch them, listen to them, read them. Some shows spend 2-and-a-half minutes on a topic featuring two experts on opposing sides of an issue. Others spend 17 minutes to a full hour on one topic with one expert.

Some magazine articles are several pages long with lots of photos. Others want to list 3-7 tips and include your book as the resource. (And these types of hits surprisingly sell a lot of books!)

Can you see how ineffective it would be to pitch enough content to fill an hour to The Today Show? Or to try to get a book review in a magazine that offers quick beauty, health and fitness tips to women?

Give them what they want and you’ll get what you envision.

3)
Attend the free telephone seminar this coming Thursday, January 31st on
“The Three Big Secrets for Getting Booked As a Guest on Top National TV Shows”
hosted by my longtime friend Steve Harrison of Radio-TV Interview Report (RTIR).

You’ll hear from Steve and a former Oprah guest booker and other veteran TV producers.

Register for the free telephone seminar

These methods have gotten our authors and their books featured on The Today Show, The Jenny Jones Show, and Live with Regis. Books like yours have gotten in national newspapers like USA Today, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and in magazines like Ladies Home Journal, Woman’s World, Guideposts, Entrepreneur, and Publishers Weekly. What about radio? You bet. Thousands of interviews under our belts.

How will these ideas work for you?

Make 100,000 sales of one book each?
Or
Make just one sale of 100,000 books?

Clearly it is much easier to make one sale of 100,000 books. Isn’t it? Yet so many authors and publishers work so hard to sell one book at a time.

Here’s a secret many authors/publishers don’t realize: the fastest and easiest way to sell thousands — even millions — of books usually isn’t through bookstores but rather to get just ONE company to order your book in quantity.

There are a number of reasons, actually. Many big companies offer books as “premium incentives” to encourage people to buy a particular product, much like your favorite magazine might offer you a clock, t-shirt or other bonus when you renew your subscription.

Some companies also buy books to give to their customers as “thank you gifts.” Other firms buy books in quantity to train or inspire their employees. There are a slew of other reasons too.

It’s not as hard as you might think to land these kinds of super-lucrative deals — IF you know how the corporate market really works. Companies purchase mass quantities of books in ALL kinds of categories.

Matthew Bennett is a self-published author who is relatively unknown to the general public. Yet he’s sold over 5 million books in quantity to Fortune 500 corporations including Disney, Reebok, NBC, Abbott Labs, Pfizer, US Healthplans, Subway and innumerable others.

Do you want to learn how he does it ?
And how you, too, can get started selling your books by the truckload to big companies?

You’re invited to a free telephone seminar this coming Thursday, January 17th on which you’ll hear Matthew interviewed by Steve Harrison of Book Marketing Update about his methods for proven system for selling tons of books. Go here now to register:

Register for FREE TeleSeminar

On Thursday’s teleseminar, Matthew will reveal why you don’t have to be a well-known author (or even an expert) to get companies to buy your book.

You’ll hear how as a single guy living in California, he wrote a book called “The Maternal Journal.” He sold more than 3 millions copies of that book alone to companies like Ross Labs and Babies ‘R Us. These companies offered the book as an incentive to increase sales.

He’ll also reveal:

* How he’s used this strategy to sell millions of
books AND raise over $1 million for charity.

* The top three reasons it’s often easier to make a
HUGE sale than it is to make small ones.

* How even shy, introverted writers can sell a
boatload of books to big companies.

* The three things you ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO
ARM YOURSELF WITH before ever pitching your
project.

* Matthew’s five secrets of how to identify and
reach the right person at the right company to sell
truckloads of your books.

* How to never pay a printing bill again with your
own money! You’ll learn how to get paid BEFORE
you print your books!

* Three proven ways to avoid wasting months (and
sometimes years!!) on your project.

* How to get nonprofit organizations to endorse
your book (he’s gotten endorsements from such
organizations as American Heart Association,
March of Dimes, and American Diabetes
Association!)

Again, to register for Thursday’s call with Matthew go here now:

I want to sell 5 million books!

AVOID THE PITFALLS IN PITCHING OPRAH

When you’re pitching The Oprah Winfrey show, avoid the mistakes most people make that keep them from becoming a guest. Do you have a hot headline, a topic that relates to Oprah’s key themes, or a segment idea that shows “dramatic visible results?” If not, it means that your idea will end up in the trash and you’ll be sitting at home watching Oprah instead of being invited to be a guest on the show.

Top media coach and marketing expert Susan Harrow says that your pitch letter must have an angle that captures attention in the very first line. Not only that, you need to know what angles Oprah is looking for and the correct way to submit your ideas. In addition, your letter needs to be able to Wow! The producers in a single page. They get hundreds of letters from hopefuls like you every day; you must be able instantly to stand out from the crowd.

Susan suggests that you study Oprah’s website to discover the kind of stories the producers are looking for right now. Once you’ve angled your subject matter so that it’s “Oprah material” she recommends that you email a riveting paragraph directly to the producers.
Be advised: If your pitch is right you could be asked to jump on the next plane to Chicago!

Get tips like these and more than 100 pages of insights, checklists, and never before revealed information in the NEW book “The Ultimate Guide to Getting Booked on Oprah: 10 Steps to Becoming a Guest on the World’s Top Talk Show.” You’ll find dozens of ideas, advice on how to pitch Oprah producers, and insider secrets from the best publicists in the business. Click here to get your COMPLIMENTARY chapter excerpts.