Do you have
books sitting in your garage that you haven't sold yet and looking for ways to
move them? Then you will want to know about these five outrageous ideas that
aren't difficult and can be just plain out fun.
Dede Hall, author of
The Starving Student’s Cookbook had very poor sales for her books.
Then one day an outrageously light bulb moment appeared. She added an
inexpensive skillet with the book and shrink-wrapped them. Then she took 150 of
them to two stores that she thought wouldn't sell them. Yes, to her surprise,
all 150 sold in two days. Dede stumbled on an outrageous idea and it worked out
big time. She sold over 100,000 copies in a few months. Where did she sell
them? Thought you would never ask. Price Clubs and Kmarts.
Do you have
a book that could be packaged with something else and create outrageous sales
for yourself? It’s Christmas time and no it isn't too late. But before you
dart off to come up with an outrageous idea for your book, continue reading so
that you can get all the facts.
Another cookbook was repackaged with a
scarlet ribbon and some imported cinnamon sticks and then sold at department
stores in the housewares and gift sections. The book couldn't sell at $5.95 but
flew off the shelves at $10 and went into second printing in 30 days.
Would your book sell well in a three-ring shrink-wrapped binder? Why not
create and audio or CD version of the material. Just read directly from the
material. You do not have to be fancy. Add "read by the author" language to the
outside in big letters. Or maybe "F*R*E*E Bonus, Limited Time Offer, Free Audio
read by the author" in big letters.
Another key is to look for an item
that makes the package larger than the book. This requires a larger space and
then bigger visibility.
What about a book on money? Add a mug labeled,
"Millionaire" and watch it fly off the shelf. Do not forget the second part of
the formula -- the place you are going to sell it. When you add the mug, it is
now considered a gift item. This opens the doors to more stores and places.
Try all the independent gift shops, especially at the airport. They
are always looking for these type of unique combinations.
Have an
exercise book? Add a "walking meter" with it. The one that measures how many
miles you are walking. Have no clue what they call those things but I have
bought three over the past few years. Again, now it is a gift item. How about
contacting a sports equipment vendor and selling them copies of your book that
would be a freebie for a limited period with a purchase.
Get the store
to add a sign, "limited quantity and watch them go even faster. What is great
about this angle is that gift stores, department stores and similar stores are
much more open to add things to their shelf. They will work with you much
better than a bookstore.
Now that you brain is going a mile a minute
with ideas, best wishes for selling many more books!
ABOUT THE
AUTHORCatherine Franz, a Certified Professional Marketing & Writing
Coach, specializes in product development, Internet writing and marketing,
nonfiction, training. Newsletters and articles available at:
http://www.abundancecenter.com blog:
http://abundance.blogs.com 
