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In This Issue:
March Rankings for ECPA Publishers
Book Marketing Q&A with Rob
Sell Your Books Like Wildfire
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About Rob Eagar:
Rob Eagar
Rob Eagar is the founder of WildFire Marketing who helps authors and publishers spread their message through innovative marketing strategies. He has trained over 200 authors, from beginners to bestsellers. The results his clients enjoy include: 
 
● Higher book sales.
● Increased media exposure.
● More speaking events at higher fees.
● Enhanced website activity and online influence.
 
Testimonials:
 
"Rob Eagar combines a passion for helping others with the expertise of a top-notch marketer who has achieved success in his own writing, publishing, and speaking.  I highly recommend Rob as someone who can help present your message in an effective way.
"
 
David Gregory
David Gregory
Bestselling author of "Dinner with a Perfect Stranger"
 
March Amazon 
Comparison of ECPA Publishers
Amazon
Click here for a spreadsheet of the March rankings.

WildFire Marketing tracks the top 15 ECPA publishers according to the average ranking of their 20 best-selling books on Amazon.
 
Comparing this monthly data over time helps authors and publishers identify who is best utilizing this important online sales channel.
 
Note: Amazon rankings do not reflect accurate sales figures. However, they can help determine how specific publishers or titles perform over time versue their peers.
 
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Do you need an effective email newsletter service to help market your books?
 
I've relied on Constant Contact for the past four years. Click here for a free 60-day trial, and find out how they can help grow your author platform.
WildFire Marketing E-Newsletter
March, 2010
 
Sound Bites Sell Books
 
So, you've written a published book. Congratulations, that's great... but, so have you and another 250,000 people this year. That's a lot of noise and distraction that you're competing against. How do you plan to get attention for your book in the midst of the cacophony?
 
One of the best ways to grab a reader's attention is to describe your book in sound bites. Don't confuse this term as an expression used by politicians and their spin doctors to manipulate the public. Instead, a sound bite is a pithy statement that sums up the need and value of your book.
 
Think about a sound bite like a newspaper editor uses a headline to introduce an article. When you scan the page, a good headline jumps out and captures your interest. You feel compelled to read the article. Likewise, you want the same thing to happen when you mention your book to someone in-person, on your website, or during a media interview.
 
As an author myself, I learned this lesson the hard way. Years ago, my publisher sent me on a media tour. During my initial interviews, I made the mistake of immediately launching into detail when the interviewer asked me a question. I'd go through a long, drawn-out answer, and then try to wrap it up with a clever closing statement. By that time, however, my audience felt bored and lost interest. To them, listening to me was like reading a newspaper with no headlines. They needed something to get their attention in the first place.
 
I finally learned that when someone asked me about my book, I needed to start my answer with a sound bite. This approach helped create a sense of curiosity and kept people listening for the rest of my answer. For example, when I promoted my book on relationships, interviewers used to ask me, "Rob, is it appropriate for a woman to ask a man for a date?" My sound bite response was, "She can try, but if a man won't lead in dating, then he usually won't lead in marriage, and then she'll windup miserable married to a passive guy." Now, you may disagree with my answer, but my bet is that I grabbed your attention, right? And, you probably want me to explain my answer further.
 
This approach should be your goal as an author. Say things that make the audience want to know more about your message. Below are examples of sound bites that I've helped some of my author clients create:
 
· The goal of confrontation should always be restoration - not winning.
· Oftentimes, we're kinder to strangers than we are to our kids.
· Sex is like superglue.
· No one enters a toxic environment without safety measures. Why enter a toxic relationship without protection?
 
Logic makes people think, but emotion makes them act. Therefore, a good sound bite should generate tangible emotion in your listeners, such as laughter, curiosity, or even anger. When people feel a deeper interest in your book, then they will want to buy it. Remember, someone may be listening to your interview in their car, and it may be a while before they can purchase your book. If you find a way to stick in their memory, then you increase the chance that they will take action.
 
Here's your homework: Take time to create a sound bite that sums up each chapter of your book. And, then create one sound bite that embodies the essence of your entire book. Test your sound bites on some colleagues to see if it captures their attention. If they look at you with glazed eyes or silence, then you've got more work to do.
 
Once you've got a good set of sound bites, memorize them and start using them in conversation. The goal is to speak sound bites that make it easy for people to remember your book and spread word of mouth to a friend.
 
 

WARNING:

Do NOT forward this email newsletter to other authors that you know. The publishing industry is very competitive, and I don't want another writer to sell more books than you. Please keep this exclusive newsletter and all of my helpful advice our little secret...  :)
 

Book Marketing Q&A
with Rob

Janine asks, "Should an author have a well-developed web site BEFORE pitching a book to a publisher or agent? And, should "book" content be on the site? How do publishers see this?
 
Good question, Janine. Yes, I would recommend that you create and utilize an author website as early as possible. That's because you want to start building your platform from the beginning by sharing your content with people and gathering contact information for your newsletter, blog, etc.
 
Too many authors wait until their book is just about to be released to build a website. By then, it's way too late. Every author, new and experienced, should start marketing their book at least 6 months ahead of publication. You do this by writing articles from your book, speaking on the subject, sending newsletters about the subject, etc. Your goal is to "seed the market" and get people looking forward to wanting your book, rather than springing it on them at the last minute.
For a basic primer on specific elements for a good author website, check out my free resource called, Recommended Author Website Requirements.
 
Got a book marketing question? Send it to
me at: [email protected]
How to Sell Books Like Wildfire!

Learn how to sell your fiction and non-fiction books like wildfire with Rob Eagar's 5-CD audio set: Speak and Sell Books in Any Market. You will learn how to: 
 
Disc 1: Market for More Bookings
Disc 2:
Make Your Website Work for You
Disc 3:
Write Newsletters that Get Results
Disc 4:
Get More Media Coverage for Your Message
Disc 5:
Turn Media Interviews into Book Sales

Speak and Sell BooksThis 5-disc audio teaching set also contains 10 bonus resources, such as listener handouts, author website checklist, and samples of professional newsletters, press releases, and speaking contracts.
 
Purchase today at the bargain price of $125. Find out why Bethany House Publishers recently made this instructional material recommended listening to all of their new authors!
 
 
Other affordable options for authors: 
$350: Public speaking is one of the best ways to sell more books. Yet, the best way to get more speaking engagements is by having a great speech in the first place!  If you're not getting enough requests to speak, check out our Keynote Speech Makeover Service  Send us your speech, and get expert feedback on how to turn your presentation into a powerful book selling tool - without being cheesy.
 
$750 - 950/month: Rob's most popular service for authors is his Marketing Mentor Program. Receive one-on-one instruction and constant encouragement to reach your book marketing goals. Choose from different levels based on your time and budget. Over 20 fiction and non-fiction authors recently graduated from this program with exciting results.
 
$2,000: Are you writing a new book? Don't consider it finished until your manuscript is loaded with essential marketing elements, such as word-of-mouth tools, media hooks, speech ideas, magazine article excerpts, and call-out quotes. Our new Manuscript Marketing Toolbox is a service that identifies and refines all of these promotional elements for you. This service saves the average author over 200 hours of extra work. Even better, you only have to sell 200 books to get full return on your investment.
 
Don't forget the FREE stuff: If you haven't visited Rob's Free Resources page, you're missing out on over 20 articles packed full of helpful content. It's free...what are you waiting for?
 
For more information on any of these services, call 1-800-267-2045.