How to Sell 10,000 Books in a Week—Part One

How to Sell 10,000 Books in a Week—Part One

When you're self-published, just what does it take to sell 10,000 books in one week? Hard work, dedication, a well-written book, or none of that!

By Mel Dawn

If you’ve spent any amount of time marketing a self-published book you have realized that it’s not only hard work, but it’s lonely too. You simply don’t possess a big name, such as Stephen King, Anne Rice, Stephenie Meyer, or JK Rowling. Each time one of these writers releases a book, they’ve got a guaranteed $5 million plus in sales. 

It seems like it could be a short path from starving novelist to millionaire writer, after all, self-publishing worked for Hugh Howey, Amanda Hocking, and many others. 

The main problem you’re going to discover is that it’s easy to market your book to your friends, family, colleagues, and even acquaintances. What’s difficult is marketing your book to strangers. These are people who don’t know you from Commander Adama of Battlestar Galactica, even if they’re geeks.

So, just how do you sell 10,000 books in a week? This is part one of a two part series. 

1. Own a famous publishing house.

If your daddy owns a publishing house you’ll be first in line for a publishing contract. Likewise, if you’re married to the president or related to anyone who works there. 

• Penguin
• Simon & Schuster
• St. Martin’s Press
• Random House
• Harper Collins

2. Have a prior bestselling book.

The Stand
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
Aqua Marine
Fahrenheit 451
The Girl on the Train

3. Be a celebrity.

If you’re a celebrity it’s an instant guarantee to a book deal. You don’t even have to know how to write. Someone else ghostwrites your book and they stick your name on it, while you earn the millions. 

• Kim Kardashian
• Jennifer Lawrence
• Brad Pitt

• Johnny Depp
• David Beckham

4. Spend $50,000 on a media campaign.

There are some writers with the bucks to spend for self-promotion. These are the ones who will sell more books, but at the cost of a profit. 

There’s a fine balance between spending cash on marketing, and making a tidy profit. If you’re James Patterson, or Danielle Steele, your publisher is going to spend a good million dollars promoting your books to the masses. This amount of cash simply isn’t available to most of us peons. 

You can read Part Two now!

⇉⇉⇉⇉ If you need content like this for your blog, I charge $10 per 250 words. Please shoot me a message on Facebook. 

How to Effectively Train a Team to Stand Out in a Crowded Marketplace

by Mel Dawn

It doesn’t matter if a business has a superior product to their competitors’ products if these products don’t stand out in the crowded marketplace. It’s important for a sales manager to motivate their sales team so that they can have a successful business venture. Success leads to expansion, and that means greater profits. 

Every sales team knows how to book sales calls. They must differentiate between what works and what doesn’t work. 

There are 6 words that every sales team needs to start reinforcing in their minds every morning.

These six words to achieve sales success include:  

1. Mindset
2. Prepare
3. Motivate
4. Investigate
5. Differentiate
6. Simplify

These six words that every team has heard before. Perhaps the difference lies in hearing the advice, or ignoring it. It’s the goal to motivate the team to do it, and to have them find the job interesting and successful in the venture. It’s difficult to get attention from retailers or buyers. This guide is about how to focus on these six words to get a sales team to stand out in a crowded marketplace. 

Mindset

Mindset can involve one of two things: being positive, or being negative. Not surprisingly, when people have a negative focus in the morning, they may be experiencing slammed doors. 

People will subconsciously train their brains for failure, before they’ve even had a chance to walk through their client’s door. And it can be something that sits at their subconscious even when they’re not aware of it.

It’s important to encourage a team to make a conscious effort to have a positive mindset, as their positivity will be carried right through the door to their client’s office.  

Prepare

It’s important to prepare for client meetings rather than dashing in with nothing to say and making it up as they go along. Preparation can be everything from training one’s thoughts to be positive, to doing research about a potential client. 

The sales team needs to plan both for their day, and for the sales call. It’s important to start the day with a planning session of ten minutes, and to do this every day of the week. 

The team needs to prepare to ask the intelligent questions that make them smarter than the client. The client should stop and think, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

The team needs to email or ask their client questions to gain an understanding of where their client’s interests lie.

Motivate

Remind a sales team to avoid calling themselves things in their minds. They may mentally berate themselve for asking a dumb question, or saying something stupid. It doesn’t mean that they’re actually stupid. Remember to tell your team they are intelligent and they have within their mind a filing cabinet that can be accessed at any point. 

Inside this cabinet is a memory of everything that has ever happened to a person. A lot of things are happening within their subconscious mind that they aren’t even aware of. 

It gets easier for a salesperson to lay a good foundation. This is all part of the preparation for meeting with a client. They get to choose their own path. It’s important to motivate oneself first, so they can motivate their client. 

Just above a human’s eyebrows and behind the forehead is the prefrontal cortex. When a salesperson calls on a client they have a few seconds to get them to listen to their spiel. The part of the brain that is working inside a client’s head to absorb this information is the prefrontal cortex.

A salesperson needs to get to this part of a client’s brain. There can be a certain level of hesitation on a client before agreeing to order products. The fact is that on any given day, there may have been ten other companies that paid a sales call. There are many products or companies.

The sales team needs to make an attempt to overcome a client’s hesitation. This means getting to the cortex of their brain.

Investigate

In order to handle any objections a sales team needs to set up the sales call with questions. The salesman needs to find a need within the client, and does not include the salesman’s need to sell. Objections and resistance from the client need to be overcome.

Every member of the sales teams must ask for feedback after a presentation. They should also respond with a thank you. 

Your team should be finding out what people think of the product so they can make changes in the future. Do you think your team is being clear enough?

And always remember to remind your sales team, if at first they don’t succeed, they can go back to sell to people when they know what makes them tick.

Differentiate

This is perhaps the most important of the six words when effectively traning a sales team. What makes them and the company worth doing business with? How does the brand brand differentiate itself from the other ten brands?

Remind your sales force that the same tired selling approach doesn’t work anymore. There are many ways you can differentiate products. What is it that makes the brand different and better?

Simplify

When the sales team is planning for their sales presentations they may think of twenty unique aspects of the product they’re selling. But remember to never overwhelm the client. Highlight only three or four points to present to the client. 

A good salesperson will already know in advance what the buyer is evaluating. And if they don’t know, they shouldn’t be afraid to ask.

If you are a sales manager, share these six points with your sales team and soon they’ll have your brand or company standing out in a crowded marketplace. 

Aqua Marine Contest! Free Swag! 10 Prizes & More!

Aqua Marine Contest! Free Swag! 10 Prizes & More!

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Social Media Marketing Doesn't Work: Unusual Book Marketing Tips Outside of Social Media

The experts say that social media marketing doesn't work. Here are a few tricks to get your new book out to the masses while bypassing social media. 

by Mel Dawn

Pressing the publish button can be a great accomplishment for the independent writer, yet the work has just begun. If you want people to read your books, you’re going to need to spend time marketing your potential best seller. Chances are you’ve heard the advice about developing a presence on social media, yet at any given hour, chances are there are millions of other authors clamouring for attention on Facebook or Twitter. 

The savvy novel writer will have a few tricks up their sleeve. Sure, you can continue to spend most of your marketing time on Facebook and Twitter, but you should try these clever offline marketing techniques too.

The Hidden Gem

Bookmarks are going to be one of the least expensive marketing tools that you can purchase from any online printer. Some writers even go so far as to trim bookmarks in half so that they can get double the amount for the same price. These bookmarks can be utilized in a variety of different ways. 

You can directly hand out bookmarks to your friends, coworkers, and acquaintances, but you’ll soon run out of people. Another method is to leave bookmarks in places where your potential readers may be. This may be in the specific book section at the library where other people may be interested in reading your book: Fiction, Science Fiction, or Teen. You can also pop them into magazines that are left out for patients at the local clinic, or you can leave them conveniently on transit, in the park, or in a public restroom. 

If your book is set in your local town you may even wish to ask local shopkeepers if you can tape a poster to their window with the other posters, or to keep a small supply of bookmarks by the till. 

Continue reading here for part two. 

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Book in Editing Stages? Start Marketing Now!

Start marketing your book now, and you'll start making sales the moment it hits the shelves. (or Amazon!)

by Mel Dawn

Writing a book for independent publishing can seem like a lot of work, but it’s going to require even more effort to market it. Since you won’t have the guidance of a publisher you’ll be relying on yourself to ensure that all marketing bases are covered. For this reason, it’s important that you begin marketing your book in advance of publication date, so you create excitement. Imagine having a long line of readers lined up, ready to buy your book the moment the release date comes.

Here are some effective book marketing techniques that are going to be labor-intensive, so you should give yourself a head start.

Create Your Landing Page

A landing page is the first page of your author’s website. Some authors like to create a website that lists the name of their book series, but unless you have endless sources of cash, creating a website domain name with your author’s name will suffice. This will enable readers to find you by your name.

Your landing page should also display your book’s cover. People remember visual images better than an author’s name. Later, if they see your book on the booksellers’ sites, they may be tempted to buy it. 

Your landing page should also have a blurb about your book, and where to order it online. You can also have additional links on your website with contact information.

Place a Lead Magnet to Entice Readers to Sign Up

There are many free online tools that will help you collect email addresses which you can use for marketing your book. Placing a lead magnet on your landing page will entice your future readers to sign up for your mailing list. You can offer something in exchange for their email address: a newsletter, short story, or book. 

Create a Newsletter

You can begin promoting your book by sending a newsletter out to those email addresses that you collected through your email marketing tools. 

Social Media Marketing

Once you have your website and first newsletter created you can begin announcing your book’s release date. If you haven’t already done so, create a separate author’s page on Facebook. Set up social media accounts on other sites that you aren’t already on.

You can also use a social media aggregator such as HootSuite, so you can save time by completing all your social media posts in one spot.

Create a Contest

A giveaway can create buzz for your new book. You’ll want to make it simple for people to enter. There are some great online tools that can help you set up a raffle with your Facebook author’s page.

Hand Out Flyers, Bookmarks, and Pens

Have inexpensive promotional products created, such as pens, bookmarks, or notepads. When you tell people about your latest book release you’ll be handing them a gift so that they will remember to look you up later.

Accept Preorders

Are you confident your book is on target with its release date? Then accept preorders. This gives you an early start to the earning power of your book. It could give you some early cash in your pocket to buy bookmarks, pens, or other promotional materials. 

When you’re traditionally published your publisher handles your book promotions, but when you’re an independent writer you must focus all your efforts on marketing your book, particularly if you’re an unknown in your field. Even if you’re still editing your book, create a buzz surrounding its release. When those first sales start coming in you’ll appreciate how you started early on your book marketing efforts. 

Buy My Articles!

I have a bunch of articles that were ordered, but my clients never paid for. If you want some great articles for your site at reasonable prices, please contact me at my Facebook author's page. 

See what I did here? Aqua Marine at Pronoun Publishing

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Aqua Marine—Adventures Underground—Novel Excerpt 3

“There’s a hammer behind your back,” the guard said. He walked up closer. I shuddered to see his eyes glow a luminescent blue colour. Could the bleed be affecting him? 

He grabbed my arm and squeezed. I think he must have bruised some muscles and tendons as I let out a gasp. I wasn’t injured enough to not think of swinging my hammer arm around though.

If you’d like to read more, please visit Aqua Marine at Pronoun Publishing to order. 

Sign up now and be entered to win one of ten prizes! Chances are good you’ll win something! Contest ends on November 1, 2016 at 12 am. Please share with your friends!

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Aqua Marine—Adventures Underground—Novel Excerpt 2

A huge pounding hit the door. I looked back. A huge concave dent appeared in the door. Someone on the other side had rammed something into it.

“Hurry,” Mark said. “Have you found anything?” He was rounding up the cat and our equipment.

“I’m trying!” I said as my voice broke. I leaned against a narrow pipe to take a break. I was truly exhausted. Would the nightmare never end? 

If you’d like to read more, please visit Aqua Marine at Pronoun Publishing to order. 

Sign up now and be entered to win one of ten prizes! Chances are good you’ll win something! Contest ends on November 1, 2016 at 12 am. Please share with your friends!

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Best Review of Aqua Marine—Book One

My interest was kept— I couldn’t stop reading until I had finished, then I dreamt of bleed!!

Emma E., West Yorkshire, England

https://books.pronoun.com/aqua-marine/

Aqua Marine Contest! Free Swag! 10 Prizes & More!

Sign up for my mailing list now and be entered to win one of ten prizes. Once a month you’ll get a newsletter with fun content: movie reviews, photographs, games, and other surprises. Contest ends on November 1st. (Prizes will be: handmade wire craft fishie bookmarks, free ebooks, fishie water pistol, free coffee, tea, and more! Please share with your friends!

Click here so you don't miss out!

Aqua Marine—Adventures Underground—Novel Excerpt 1

Joyce raced past us with a rifle slung over her shoulders. “Take cover folks, this is not a drill.”

“What’s happening?” asked Mark.

“Take a look,” yelled Joyce, nodding in the direction of a tunnel that led to the back of the aquarium. 

In the distance I could make the figure of what appeared to be a zombie. A light lit him up from behind, making him appear a lot like a silhouette.

If you’d like to read more, please visit Aqua Marine at Pronoun Publishing to order. 

Sign up now and be entered to win one of ten prizes! Chances are good you’ll win something! Contest ends on November 1, 2016 at 12 am. Please share with your friends!

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Free Coffee or Tea with Aqua Marine Novel Purchase!

Right now I’m running a promo where you can get free stuff with every purchase of my Aqua Marine novel.

Follow these 5 easy steps to get your gift.

1. books.pronoun.com/aqua-marine

2. Choose your fave site and format and place your order.


3. Forward your email purchase confirmation to: mel.dawn.9@gmail.com (Please feel free to remove any personal information, however, I do need your mailing address.)

4. Indicate whether you want coffee or tea.


5. Deal expires on October 22, 2016 12 am.



Fine Print: Purchases will take 24-48 to confirm with publisher and get mailed out.

Prize will be premium coffee or tea packets. Thank you for playing!

Aqua Marine—Book Trailer

Vancouver Aquarium Slideshow

Alien Worlds Right on Earth

by Mel Dawn

Copyright Mel Dawn

Please check out my other blog at Wordpress to see a slide show of photographs from the Vancouver Aquarium. This is a collection of images I have taken from the past five years or so. 

You can connect with me at the following spots:

Facebook
Twitter
Author's Page
Amazon
Book Page

Why Being a Writer is a Lot Like Being a Girl Who Has No Name

The Comparison Between the Independent Writer and the Assassin

by Mel Dawn

Many people will recognize the reference of “a girl has no name” from the hit TV series A Game of Thrones. Arya Stark may just be the heir to the throne, but she’s on the run from people who wish her dead. She regularly recites her death prayer every night—people that she’s going to kill. She’s taken up with a mysterious society in the House of Black and White. It soon becomes apparent that this is a society of assassins, which may just be the perfect place for Arya to receive further martial arts training. But first, she must lose her identity, and become “a girl has no name”. 

In many instances, being an independent writer is a also a lot like being a girl who has no name. 

People will hire you so they can put their name on your work. In other words, they don’t want to get their hands dirty. But remember it’s only called ghostwriting when they stick their name on your article or short story. When you write copy for a website or Amazon product, that’s not ghostwriting at all, because there is no author’s name attached. Just like Arya, I receive no recognition for a greater portion of my work. 

People will hire you to do crazy things. This is much like the assassin is hired. When you’re a writer, you’ll often be asked to do crazy things. I’ve actually dressed up as a zombie to do a promo video, and I’ve dressed up in steampunk gear to recite some poems that I wrote. So yes, sometimes it can be fun when I get to combine my writing with my performance art, but some outsiders may view these small jobs as weird.

The more money you are paid, the less people will complain. No one will ever complain if they pay the assasin the big bucks. I once wrote a short locksmith in NYC article for $5, and the buyer wanted me to make endless revisions. I asked him to be more specific, but he never was. I ended up processing a refund for him, saying I could sell it to someone else. I did. I sold it to his competition for $100. 

You’ll receive some interesting offers. I had an offer of marriage on my zombie video gig. It was from some guy in the USA—I would have expected that more from Japan. I think he was 1/3 of my age too. I imagine the female assassin attracts her fair share of admirers too.

People waste money on me.  If you want someone dead, you're willing to pay any price. I don’t know how many times I’ve written articles and the buyer has never posted them on their website. I repeatedly check back even a year later, and nope, it’s not there. Yet they never asked for revisions, and they gave me a five star review. For these people, money is no object. 

If you sell it, they will come. The assassin is there to provide a service, and so is the writer.  People will often order a short story from me about how they wish to place their friends in a precarious situation. These stories are meant to be used as gifts. There is definitely an untapped market here! 

You'll have to create your own recognition. Some buyers will allow me to use my own name on articles and short stories. Besides the ghostwritten orders, of which most of my work is comprised, I do have a surprising number of clients that allow me to put my name on my work for their website. All it takes is asking. This is where the conflict is with Arya: she kills people and the House of Black and White know she has done it. Remember, she is supposed to be anonymous when she kills. If she wants recognition, she has to do it herself.

The cash can vary. I’ll make more money on a short story than if I sold it to an anthology or magazine. In many cases, my clients will be adding their own names to my short stories and then attempting to resell it. In other instances, they’re using it for promo purposes, or they will self-publish it. In most cases, I’ll make way more money than if I sold it to an anthology or magazine. I rarely submit to those spots anymore. Arya chooses her battles well, disregarding those that hold no purpose. 

You'll get to do a wide range of work. Besides doing the zombie and steampunk videos, I have also written landing pages, blogs, sales copy, Amazon product descriptions, website product descriptions, and articles. The fun things I’ve done have included writing short stories for games developers, boardgames and app developers. I’ve also written scripts for videos. I’ve even written posts for Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, and posted to business social media sites on a regular basis. I’ve also edited, proofread, formatted, and done the graphic design for printed novels and e-books. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a few more gigs that I try during the upcoming months. Arya bounces around from place to place for when she is needed.

The goal of the girl who has no name is to eventually take back her name, so that she can truly gain the identity that she was born for. Until then, we'll just take the cash.

The Pitfalls of Being a JNS Global Member—It’s a Scam for One Thing!

By Ely Brass, Guest Blogger

What’s Happening in the World Today?

There’s a lot happening in the world today that pertains to you. The world has an increasingly aging baby boomer population, resulting in many chronic diseases, which require more medical services. There has also been a shift to internet technology. eCommerce is a growing commodity, with many opportunities for the prescient business person. But when searching for the best opportunities, it's important for the savvy business person to be aware of scams. 

JNS Global is the Worst Scam

Unfortunately, when you’re new to internet marketing and blogging, you can be the victim of online scams. These companies masquerade their fabulous “income opportunities” through selling products… oh, and you have to sign up your friends to make any real money. 

Why would the business person choose JNS Global? Because they’re desperate. Don’t make this mistake. 

JNS Global was founded by anonymous people. I guess that’s so the police can’t go after them. 

It starts out sounding good. Apparently JNS Global has a line of anti-aging products that start from the beginning to encourage good health ahead. With the right care, chronic diseases can be decreased. Their products have been created by fake doctors, with fake degrees in bio-science technology, and have spent little time in studying how advance stem cells and anti-aging bioscience technology can help to create the best products for anti-aging.

Who is JNS Global Scamming Now?

According to their site, they are present in 123 countries, with a vast network of logistic support. That’s a lot of sheep. Baaaaa…..

JNS Global Will Destroy You

Signing up for this program will take thousands of dollars out of your bank account. Do not do it! 

But I Want to Sell Anti-Aging Products?

Then sign up for Watkins, Mary Kay, or Avon, who are legitimate companies with decent products. 

How Can I Make a Difference in the World?

You can always volunteer for a children’s hospital, or the SPCA. 

The Caveats of JNS Global

Are you concerned that this is a get rich quick scheme? It’s is. And you’ll lose money doing it. It’s also a pyramid scheme, which is illegal in most parts of the world. You don’t want to end up in jail. 

If you see an offer online, or from one of those mall booths that sell lotions and skin creams with Resveratrol, made in China, and sourced from JNS Global, run away fast. And by no means ever give them your name, phone number, email address, full address, bank account, or credit card information!