Shameless Self Promo [insert current day here]

We see it all over social media.

Authors, quite rightly, promoting their books.

Yet, do people really buy books off the back of one random tweet?

Possibly.

But are readers likely to connect with that author and come back for more?

Probably not.

To become an established author, you need a long-term strategy.

People need to know you.

Then like you.

Then trust you.

You may as well walk up to a random stranger in the street and ask them to buy your book.

You’ll be lucky if you get a polite ‘no’.

Why asking for the sale up front doesn’t work

I used to work as a salesman.

I would stand in the middle of town centres and sell people breakdown cover for their cars.

When I first started, my question to people as they bustled by was:

“Would you like to buy breakdown cover?”

Of course, I didn’t get one sale from that tactic.

Why?

Because people weren’t invested in the product.

They weren’t even invested in me.

As far as they were concerned, I just wanted to take money from them.

Here’s how I fixed it:

I’d stop people by asking people how they were today.

They’d stop.

We’d get talking.

About everything and anything.

They knew I was there to try and sell them something (I was wearing a hi-vis jacket after all) but I didn’t make that the focus.

I made them the focus.

Sometimes, I’d leave it at that and they’d be on their way.

Sometimes they’d come back.

And sometimes, they wouldn’t.

And sometimes, the conversations would slip into whether they had breakdown cover.

We spoke about what was in it for them.

By that point, they felt comfortable talking to me.

They could discuss it in confidence.

No pressure.

And no hidden agenda from me.

If I got the sale (I soon became the region’s top-performing salesman), it was because it was right for the customer - not because I wanted to hit my daily target.

It’s the same when it comes to selling your books - or anything for that matter.

It takes time.

You need to play the long game.

So instead of putting out random social media posts, asking people to buy your books, here’s how you build a more reliable and effective way of selling books:

1. Write the best book you can

Before you even write a word, decide who you are writing your book for.

Pick one person from your audience and write it for them. This gives you focus and clarity.

Study how to write well and write the best version of your book that you can.

Start at the end and reverse engineer everything back from there.

2. Build an audience

While you are crafting your book, start building an email list.

Instead of using social media to sell your books, use it to get people onto your email list.

You will then have your audience all in one place - and more importantly, direct contact with them.

Give them a free chapter in exchange for their email address.

Get feedback about what they want and tweak your work if necessary.

You can find other amazing benefits of an email list here.

I use Beehiiv to keep in touch with my audience.

Remember - it takes time.

People need to know you.

Then like you.

Then trust you.

3. Publish

If you are looking to self-publish, you then use your email list to build excitement pre-launch and to get those pre-orders in.

You can use your email list to run a virtual launch, or to get people to a physical launch.

And when you have launched, you can keep your readers in the loop about any forthcoming books.

Wrap Up

You may get the odd sale from a Shameless Promo [insert day] post here but you’ll never establish yourself as a serious author.

In fact, it may put people off since you’re almost begging them to buy a book of which, they have no interest.

Be patient.

And play the long-game.

Give yourself a year, maybe two.

It can happen as long as you’re consistent and focused.

I believe in you.