For all authors, selling your books online can be an exciting but daunting endeavour. Whether you’re launching your first book or expanding your sales channels, understanding the basics of e-commerce is essential. This article will walk you through the key considerations, common pitfalls, and some affordable e-commerce solutions available in Australia, helping you navigate the world of online book sales with confidence. Why Sell Your Books Online? Selling your books online offers several advantages:
Choosing the Right E-Commerce Platform We can’t begin to tell you how many authors have come to us with ridiculous quotes for website development. We can set up a website - with or without ecommerce options - for a fraction of the price using numerous e-commerce platforms that are popular and affordable. We encourage you to do your research and compare what will work best for you in terms of functionality, templates (design) and pricing. Here are some options to get you started on your e-commerce journey:
Each platform has its pros and cons, so it’s important to choose one that matches your needs and budget. And don't be afraid to ask other authors what they like - or don't like - about the platform they use. Packaging and Postage Considerations Selling online means you’re responsible for packaging and shipping your books. This can be more complex and costly than many new authors realise.
Managing Customer Expectations Running an online store means you’ll be responsible for customer service. Responding to inquiries, processing orders, and handling returns can be time-consuming. Also e-commerce sites operate 24/7 - how are you going to process orders when you are on holidays? A little something to think about... To ensure a smooth experience:
A few more things to consider:
Final Thoughts Selling your books online is a rewarding venture that offers the potential for increased revenue and closer connections with your readers. However, it’s important to approach it with a clear understanding of the associated costs and responsibilities. By choosing the right e-commerce platform, planning for packaging and postage, and being prepared to manage customer expectations, you can create a successful online sales channel that complements your publishing efforts. Remember, selling online is not just about putting your book up for sale; it’s about providing a seamless and positive experience for your readers. With careful planning and a bit of effort, you can turn your online store into a thriving part of your author business. Good luck!
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We need to talk about AI in book marketing
In the rapidly evolving world of book marketing, artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept but a present reality reshaping the landscape. For book marketers and independently published authors, embracing AI can unlock new opportunities for growth, efficiency, and creativity. While the idea of AI may seem daunting, its applications can be highly beneficial, making the book marketing process more streamlined and effective. This blog post explores the benefits of using AI in book marketing and provides practical examples of how tools like ChatGPT can assist in your marketing efforts.
As many in the publishing industry know, I teach Book Marketing & Sales at the University of Sydney. As part of that course we look at innovation in the industry - particularly in marketing - so I can't ignore AI even if I tried! Personally, I find the concept of AI scary (and yes, along the lines of "Skynet is definitely here" scary - for those that understand The Terminator reference). I also work with the team at Monash University Publishing who released Campbell Wilson's Living with AI, part of their In The National Interest series which was an excellent summary of what we are up against. With AI being constantly in the news, I had to work out where I stood on AI especially regarding personal data, AI training and copyright while at the same time trying to understand its benefits for marketing. I've talked to many publishers about how they are using AI (and the positive effect it had on time management and work pressures) but when a student mentioned she used it to write marketing copy to get campaigns out quicker, I started to take notice. Was I behind the eight ball? And if I was, did I care?! I found out that I did. So instead of going to Google, I asked ChatGPT to give me some information about the benefits of AI in Book Marketing and to summarise it for this blog post. ChatGPT is a versatile AI language model known for generating human-like text. It excels at content generation, idea brainstorming, and customer engagement. ChatGPT can assist marketers by creating engaging social media posts, drafting newsletters, and even brainstorming ideas for marketing campaigns. However, it may occasionally produce responses that lack nuance or context, requiring human oversight to ensure accuracy and relevance. I asked it to list the Top 5 benefits of using AI for Authors and Book Publishers. A second later it spat out:
The cons of AI
So while we need to be aware of the above, it seems the big key takeaways for marketers is that AI can assist with content creation and generating engaging content for various platforms. This can be especially useful for authors who may struggle with self-promotion or for busy marketers juggling multiple projects. ChatGPT can be a valuable brainstorming partner. Marketers can use it to generate ideas for book launch events, promotional campaigns, or even potential book titles. By providing diverse perspectives and creative suggestions, ChatGPT can inspire new approaches and innovative marketing strategies. However, it's essential to refine these ideas to align with the brand's voice and goals. Embracing AI with Confidence The thought of incorporating AI into book marketing may seem intimidating, especially for those unfamiliar with the technology. However, the benefits far outweigh the challenges. AI tools can simplify complex tasks, provide valuable insights, and enhance creativity. By leveraging these technologies, book marketers and independent authors can reach new audiences, streamline their workflows, and elevate their marketing efforts. Remember AI is not here to replace human creativity and intuition but to complement them. It's a powerful tool that, when used wisely, can unlock new possibilities and help you stay ahead in a competitive market. So, don't be afraid to explore and experiment with AI in your book marketing journey. Embrace the potential of AI and let it help you share your stories with the world. This blog post was written by Rachael McDiarmid + ChatGPT In today’s digital age, having an online presence is not just beneficial for authors - especially independently published authors - but essential.A website acts as a central hub for your work, providing a platform to showcase your books, share updates, and connect with readers. For small presses, a well-designed website can enhance visibility and sales. Here, we’ll explore why every author should have a website, key landing pages and design tips, and how platforms like Squarespace and Shopify can help create a website quickly and affordably. We’ll also cover ways to maximise search engine optimisation to ensure your website reaches the widest audience possible.
A Central Hub for Your Work First and foremost, a website serves as a one-stop-shop for everything related to your work. Readers, journalists, and potential collaborators can easily find information about your books, upcoming events, and media coverage. It’s your digital business card, available to anyone, anywhere, at any time. Other benefits include:
Preparing Your Website When setting up your website make sure you’ve got these pages at a minimum:
Maximising Search Engine Optimisation A few more things to note:
Some Basic Design Tips
A well-designed website is a powerful tool for authors and small presses. It serves as a central hub for your work, enhances your credibility, and provides opportunities for direct sales and reader engagement. Online platforms like Squarespace, Wix, Weebly, Shopify and others make it really easy to create a professional site quickly and affordably. By focusing on key landing pages, effective design, and strong SEO practices, you can maximise the impact of your website and reach a wider audience. Embrace the digital age and let your website be a testament to your dedication and passion for your craft. _____________ NOTE: Here at RM Marketing Services, we do websites for authors, small presses and industry organisations. We prefer Squarespace because it has a user-friendly interface and elegant design templates. It offers a range of features including blogging tools, e-commerce functionality, and analytics. Squarespace also provides hosting and a custom domain, making it a comprehensive solution for building your author website. If you plan to sell books directly from your site, Shopify is an excellent option. It’s primarily an e-commerce platform, but it also offers a variety of website design tools. Shopify’s integration with payment processors and shipping services can streamline your sales process. We also have experience with Wix and Weebly so if you are looking to launch a new website, get in touch with us to discuss your project and our availability. The ebook market still offers significant opportunities for publishers. |
Tess McCabe, author of Graphic Design Speak and Conversations with Creative Women, has put together a wonderful, practical book with 33 ideas to get seen, feel connected and grow your business. Here at RM Marketing Services we work with authors every day, either with our outsourcing client publishers and distributors or via author consults. We’re doing a lot more coaching and consulting with authors on all aspects of marketing and distribution. Social media is a big focus for us with training - but many authors are simply NOT social media savvy. They find it confusing. If we had a dollar for every time an author asked “How do I promote myself and my work without social media?”… This is where Self-Promotion Without Social Media fills the much-needed gap! The book is designed to be a practical resource to use and return to as needed. As you would expect from Tess, the book has a clean layout and design with Tips and Ideas (advice and strategies), Double Duty (notes on how one activity can blend in to another), Action and Remember icons (self-explanatory). She’s added some other features and checkboxes that are very nifty - she WANTS you to write in the book and use it as your guide, your notebook, your plan! Scribble, draw, make notes. As Tess says, self-promotion can be exhausting particularly for introverts. However she also markets this book to those who have spent their time promoting themselves on social media and are seeking new angles and avenues. She recognises it can be overwhelming for them too as she guides them through ideas for repurposing content for other purposes. We just wanted to mention some of our favourite sections of the book. Her pages on optimising your website is a must read for authors. RM Marketing Services can help design your website (through online sites like Weebly, Wix, Squarespace, Shopify) but you need to know the basics of what is required for a good, functional website as well as the importance of keeping it updated and relevant for visitors. Tess has some good suggestions for events and roadshows, printed marketing collateral, merchandising, branding and more. Two other short sections made us smile - the power of mentoring and the power of promoting others. Why? Because we are big believers in both of them. And for readers who like to learn from others, she includes short discussions with business owners who have found success with different self-promotion activities. These help encourage and motivate readers - which the whole book does very well. Lastly, there’s a section on packaging. Before we even saw the book, the first thing we noticed was the way the book was packaged and what it contained. Time had been spent on making sure the book looked inviting and professional. Impressive without too much fuss or expense. We were connecting with this book, before we turned to the first page. Thank you Tess. Self-Promotion Without Social Media is now added to our book recommendations for authors. |
New online coaching service for authors and small presses
We've recently we've been doing more and more book marketing and industry *coaching* work. Clients are asking for custom services, particularly around digital marketing and social media - for their authors. We already provide outsourced marketing services that include managing websites, digital marketing campaigns, social media and digital advertising so this is taking it directly to authors who want to create a brand, who want helpful advice and guidance on marketing that is specific to them. One size does not fit all, as we know only too well.
Most of the work we do here at RM Marketing Services is with professional, scholarly and university presses. We're more than happy to extend these services to publishers of all sizes who have authors who are uncomfortable with the online world, don't understand social media, and who need some hand-holding and one-on-one coaching with digital and social media marketing.
As an added bonus, this is a flexible service which can be done out of "normal" business hours. We offer a discounted hourly rate for publishers with regular bookings as part of their author care approach. Indie authors are also welcome and we're happy to do a workshop with a small press or writing group.
There are plenty of books and websites available on how to market books and how to maximise social media and digital marketing efforts but the authors we work with, particularly those working in corporate, professional and university markets, don't have the time to read them all. They are looking for tips and tricks and how to raise their profile in the channels in which they work - and more importantly, a social media and marketing strategy that works for them.
Publishers! Get in contact with us to see how we can support the work you do with your authors. Another string to your author care bow.
#yourewelcome
Mastering conflict is a core capability for today's leaders
You can read more about them at balancedcurve.com.
With this wealth of knowledge and firsthand experience, Mark wanted to share what he's learned with others so they have the opportunity to be better communicators and handle conflict better - afterall, it's something that many of us struggle with! He did this utilising the experience of the team at Publish Central (who also told him about RM Marketing Services!) and published a book called Mastering Hard Conversations: Turning Conflict into Collaboration.
The key message of the book is simply: conflict in the workplace is inevitable. That means that as a leader - whether that's the CEO or senior management team, or a leader within your own team, or a thought leader within an organisation - being skilled in dealing with conflict and having uncomfortable conversations has enormous benefits. Mastering Hard Conversations provides a proven, practical, structured approach to help you become a better leader by improving your communication and conflict skills.
Mark came to us to talk about marketing and publicity support - as well as support and advice while he navigated the world of publishing and bookselling. Like many independently published authors, navigating the metadata minefield was the first challenge - ensuring that accurate, enhanced information on the book was sent out in data feeds to online booksellers was tricky for someone who hasn't experienced it before. For many indie authors, online booksellers are THE main sales channel due to the nature of publishing and distributing a book using the Ingram Spark platform (print to order and ebook distribution) so getting this information right was a priority.
We then discussed ways of disseminating information about the book to core booksellers and library suppliers. We also mapped out plans for content and social media posts, particularly using LinkedIn for engagement where Mark had a loyal, supportive following. We also worked with some online sites and Mark spoke to his peers who have podcasts about teams and teamwork. Our good friends at Books+Publishing included him on their #booksareessential campaign which has 10,000 followers on Instagram. We liaised with reviewers and we provided promotional and marketing support as the weeks progressed.
As icing on the cake, Mark was able to turn a profile about his house into an article about the house, his dogs Peggy Sue and Honey, and his book! The article is below however the online article had a different heading - Lockdown at home proved perfect for Mark Rosenberg to write about conflict management - which was pretty perfect! You can read it here on The Australian website.
You won't be surprised to hear, we're big fans of the book, particularly Chapter 8 - Dealing with Certifiable Assholes!
Listen to Mark speak about that chapter here.
The book is available as a paperback and ebook. Ask for it at your local bookshop or library, or order it online. | Mastering Hard Conversations |
As an executive coaching working with leaders at all levels of management I can’t recommend this book highly enough. Most of us find ‘hard conversations’ extremely difficult and none of us are born with the skills of knowing how to have them well. Mastering Hard Conversations provides a clear, practical guide: there are great tips and examples, not just for having a challenging conversation, but also how to prepare to have one. This is definitely a book that every leader should have at hand.
— FIVE STAR REVIEW, AMAZON AUSTRALIA
All the social media and marketing advice says if you are engaging with an audience—with consumers, with booksellers, with librarians and teachers—you’re going to need a social media strategy.
Social media is about starting a discussion—about you, your product, your services. ‘Discussions’ do not increase sales—they create awareness. Your job is to enhance this awareness so you can develop a brand, build reader loyalty and have a sales strategy that makes it easy for someone to buy your book. That may be through bricks and mortar bookshops, online booksellers, special accounts or directly from your website. It should not be used solely as a sales strategy but linked to your overall sales and marketing plan for your books.
Lesson one: start early
One thing to keep in mind is that author and product awareness doesn’t happen overnight! You need to be thinking about your digital and social media strategy a long time before your book is published. As an industry consultant, there’s nothing more frustrating than getting a phone call or an email because someone has ‘written a book’ and they tell me the book has just come back from the printers, can I help with a website, promotions, publicity, getting them on the socials? They have published a book and no one can find them! They have no brand, no online presence, no followers, no readers, no SEO search results—zero digital footprint as an author. They are starting too late to build their author brand in a way that will maximise promotional and publicity opportunities.
Don’t leave it to the last minute to develop a digital and social media action plan.
Lesson two: define your goals
So what is social media marketing? It is essentially a way of creating content in multiple formats then distributing that on an online platform designed to drive engagement, encourage discussion and share information for consumers. It builds virtual networks and communities. It’s a conversation. And if you’re an author, it will provide direct access to your readers and vice versa.
Another thing to keep in mind is where social media is taking place. Statistics shows the number of smartphone users in the world is forecast to be 7.9 billion this year and of those 3.96 billion are on social media. (Which reminds me: you need to be thinking mobile for your website as well. Is it mobile–friendly? There are plenty of online services now that can help you with your website and have it integrate with social media. Wix, Weebly, Squarespace, Shopify and others can connect the dots for you. Websites aren’t expensive these days and you can contact industry professionals to help you get started.)
While I think everyone needs to have a social media strategy, that doesn’t necessarily means that everyone will have one. As authors and publishers one of the best things you can do is define what your social media strategy looks like. What are your goals? What are the platforms that are right for you? How will you communicate in those channels? Discover the voice that works best in those you want to engage with—then work out the best way to create and schedule content across those platforms. Do you have a content plan going forward? How will you keep the engagement going?
The best way to think about social media is to write down your goals. What do you want social media to do for you? Do you want to:
- Attract new authors or collaborations
- Drive more traffic to your website (this leads me to even more questions: what sort of website strategy do you have? Do you also have a blog there? A Look Inside the Books? Unique content? Reading group discussion points? Sign up for newsletter? Special offer on pre-order?)
- Engage with the book trade
- Get more followers
- Increase audience engagement
- Increase awareness of products
- Increase email subscribers
- Increase mentions
- Market events and appearances
- Develop paid partnerships
- Produce engaging content
- Promote your authors
- Promote your brand and specialty
- Reach new readers
- Sell an additional service
- Track content and reviews of products.
Lesson three: know your audience
I read somewhere that unless you can answer the question ‘who is your audience’ then you’re wasting your time on social media! But now I’m going to hit you with the big question: who is your audience? This is really important for advertising on social media as you’ll need to identify your core audience, market to a custom build audience or a consider look-alike audience.
So, who are your readers? What do they read? What podcasts do they listen to? What magazines do they read? What television do they watch? What sex are they? What age group? Where do they live? What keeps them up at night? What type of content are they craving? Do they stream content? Listen to ABC radio? How do they entertain themselves?
Over time social media analytics will build a nice but general profile of your readers so you will be able to discover who they are and continue to build discussions around them. Knowing your audience will help with your digital marketing strategy including email marketing and website.
If you can’t define your audience or some buyer personas, why did you write your book?
The one hour presentation was on ... the one thing all publishers hate (Answer: Metadata) and was called The Flow of Book Information. I hope by the end of it, those attending and those watching online realised how important bibliographic data is for marketing and that instead of shuddering when they heard the word "metadata" they would say YEAH! instead (hence the thumbs up picture in the carousel below). As David Shelley, CEO of Hachette says in How to Market Books (Baverstock & Bowen):
optimising your metadata is probably the single thing all publishers can currently most effectively do on a day-to-day basis to really move the needle on most titles' sales.
Everyone needs to get it right.
While I was in Singapore I also did a social media workshop as part of the LitUp Festival. We talked about how to use social media and content strategy. It was important for attendees to discover their unique selling proposition and discover how to market their author brand through the socials.
Photos from both events are below.
If you are not subscribing to the newsletters from B+P, drop everything and do it now. It's a wonderful source of information on the publishing and bookselling industry.
This was also one of the recommendations for attendees of a recent workshop for the New England Writers Centre. The subject this time was Marketing and Distribution for Indie Authors. There was an awful lot to cover - each topic could easily be their own workshop! We talked about distribution options, marketing strategy, and bibliographic information - all important topics for those in publishing already and for those just starting out.
RM Marketing Services is happy to do workshops and presentations related to marketing and distribution - two areas we do a lot of outsourcing and consulting work in. Contact us today.
Author
Rachael McDiarmid has been in the Australasian book trade since 1990. Working in trade, academic and professional publishing as well as library supply and book distribution, she's worked with thousands of publishers, distributors, library vendors, and authors around the globe. She loves a belly laugh, strong coffee, wine, and good food. Venice is her favourite place in the world to visit but Sydney will always be home. She loves her office assistant Dash (also known as Dashie, Dashie Dog and the Little Shit). If you haven't already worked it out, she is known for her no bullshit approach.
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