This session concerns itself with creating a balancing act — enough time for your readers and enough time for you — and handling the tasks  of meeting your readers and dealing with their correspondence and emails.

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While there are many new methods of book promotion that are now available with the advent of the internet, some of the best book marketing strategies have existed for decades, and are still extremely effective as part of your overall promotion strategy.

Effective Methods For Marketing Your Book

Here are a few of the methods that I personally used years ago to make my book “When You Can Walk On Water, Take The Boat” an award-winning best seller:

1. I sent review copies to my local newspapers, magazines and newsletters. Most of them ignored it, but the few that did respond printed a short review that gave me enough material to use in further promotions.
2. I sent review copies to national publications and found that a few actually looked at my book. I used the great comments and ignored the ones that were not too good.
3. I went to a number of local bookstores and asked them to carry my book on consignment. Instead of the normal 40% discount, I offered 50% discount. It was a win-win situation. The bookstores received a larger than normal discount and they didn’t have to pay for the books until sold. What I found was that some bookstore owners read my book and started recommending it to their readers. Then I was asked to give a little lecture and to sign my books. And this led to more exposure at lectures, at bookstores and more book-signings.
4. I did unorthodox things such as leaving a copy of my book on an airplane seat. On every flight I’d take extra books and would leave one on the seat hoping that someone would pick it up, read it and tell everyone that they found the greatest book ever written abandoned on an airline seat   Did anyone ever read those abandoned books? I don’t really know for sure. Somebody, somewhere would probably read it. That’s one of those crazy, mystical things that fascinate me.Your book is an energy system. The book, of itself, has no value except as a bunch of paper with printing ink splattered all over it in the form of words. The value of the book is in the information it conveys. There are some who believe that information is alive – that it has a special built-in energy. Your personal energy is a part of the information in your book. Love your book, treat it with respect and it will carry your energy and message to all its readers. It’ll become “attractive” because it will attract readers to it. I’ve seen this happen over and over again.
5. Many times I’d stop at a bookstore and ask if they had a copy of my book in. They’d check their computers and say, “No, but we can order it for you.” I’d smile and say OK and order it under my friend’s name. (I had my friend’s permission to do this.) When the book came in, they’d call my friend and he’d say he didn’t want it any longer. The bookstore would then put the “WaterBook” for sale on their shelves. Generally, a customer would buy the one copy and the bookstore would order more.
6. I accepted almost every invitation to speak and I’d always take some of my books with me. Inevitably, a number of attendees bought some and asked for autographs. As time went by, I was asked to speak at larger gatherings. I started getting paid for speaking. Word got around and the more I lectured, the more books I sold.
7. Interviews sell books. Shortly after the “WaterBook” was published, “Body Mind and Spirit” magazine did a short review. I sent them a “Thank You” note and mentioned that I’d be happy to agree to an interview in an upcoming issue. For a while nothing happened, but eventually they did a wonderful interview with me that increased my book sales substantially.
8. Radio interviews are great for getting known quickly and getting your books into the public psyche. Weeks after “WaterBook” was published, because of the kindness of a good friend, I was asked to be a guest on a radio show in Nashville, Tennessee. The name of the show was “Beyond Reason” and the producer was a well-known, Nashville celebrity by the name of Teddy Bart. The show was a fantastic success and resulted in many bookstores in Nashville stocking my book.
9. In addition to lecturing and giving workshops, I also attended lectures and seminars. It wasn’t what I learned at the lectures and seminars that was important (and I did learn a lot), but the contacts I made proved to be invaluable. In one case, a lady introduced herself to me and asked what I did. I told her about my book and gave her a copy. A week later, she phoned and told me how she enjoyed my book. Would I, she asked, be willing to sell her 200 copies of the “WaterBook” as gifts for her real estate clients? Of course, I was willing! Paul Zuromski, founder and former editor-in-chief of Body, Mind and Spirit magazine purchased thousands of copies to give away as incentives for those who subscribed to his magazine.

These are just a few “out of the box” things that I’ve done to promote my books in the past. There are many other methods besides these that make promoting your book easier than it has ever been before.

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In this session, John Harricharan shares the inside story of how his “WaterBook” became “Best Book of the Year”.  He also offers some crucial tips on what to do if your book has NOT won an award.

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In this important segment, John describes many of the methods he has used to promote, publicize and market his own “Waterbook”.

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