As we enter the 2012 presidential election cycle, Barack Obama and most of the Republican candidates are releasing videos to announce their official bid for the job. These videos have become an important marketing tool to promote their agenda and draw more votes. In many ways, however, these presidential videos are no different than the book trailers that authors and publishers use to promote their books.
As I've watched these videos, though, I've been surprised to see that most of these politicians are making the same mistake that tends to hinder book sales for authors and publishers. The mistake is that none of these men answer the question, "What's in it for me?" Instead, they tend to ramble about their past, use cliché political jargon, and list the various problems that America faces.
This is a problem because you and I already know that stuff. Tell me something I don't know. Thus, we don't need politicians giving us their background stories and recounting all of our current struggles. That's not effective. Instead, their videos would more powerful if they listed specific results they've helped create in the past - and connect those results to America at large today.
This political mistake is similar to when authors talk about the topic of their book, rather than the results they produce. Nobody cares about the topic of a book. Instead, people want to know why they should spend their hard-earned money and time on a book. How will you specifically make their life better? Will your fiction inspire the reader to view the world differently? Will your non-fiction help the reader overcome a challenge or learn a new skill?
Politicians want more votes. Authors want more book sales. The best road to reach both of those goals is to focus on how you make the public better off. You may not become the next president, but your book will be elected and re-elected in bookstores across America.
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