The following excerpt is from Success, Your Path to a Successful Book by Maralyn D. Hill and Brenda C. Hill.
Understanding Your Target Market & Sale of Books
Your buying audience is your second market. These are your potential customers. Identify how to reach these buyers in addition to book stores. And, even though this is listed second, it is first with a publisher. YOU are the platform for your book and a publisher wants to know that you are SALEBLE.
A cookbook may be sold in bridal stores, grocery stores, gift shops, etc. A book on fly fishing has appeal to sporting goods stores and adventure travel. Each specialized market has outlets for its particular clientele. Niche markets have websites, gift stores, book clubs, book signings and speaking events, mail order catalogs, museums, etc.
Where can you speak to the people in these markets? Books sold via speaking engagements bring you a higher profit. This is true, even when you give the organization hosting you 10% (or whatever you determine) of your sales. Try to get invitations while your book is still in the publishing stage. Firm up dates, once final proof is approved and you have a delivery date. Give yourself a little leeway with the promised date.
More than 7% of books are sold online. This figure continues to increase. The best margin sales are those made at publishers’ online bookstores. Next would be from your own website.
This subject is continued in our next post.
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Maralyn D. Hill and Brenda C. Hill
