The 4 P's of Marketing... Your Book
November 11, 2024Categories: Strategy, Industry Insider Secret
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Too many authors ignore the basics of marketing by skipping 3 out of the 4 P's when marketing their book, which makes it very difficult to run a successful book promotion campaign. They focus only on the promotion thinking that their book is ready to be promoted, when it fact, there is often much that needs to be done first with the product, place, and price.
The Four P's of Marketing
Let's start with identifying the four P's of marketing. They are product, place, price, and promotion. These are extremely relevant when it comes to marketing your book, and in this article, I will thoroughly explain why. But first, an analogy. Imagine you have developed a widget (a fictional product). Let's say this is the best thing since the proverbial sliced bread. People who you share it with are crazy about it... they love it. As for the product, you are good to go. However, you sell none. Why? Because you have a widget stand at the end of your cul-de-sac (place) where you are trying to sell it for far more than anyone is willing to pay for it (price). And your marketing material simply consists of a flyer with a picture of the widget with the price, which sits on your widget stand that nobody knows is there (promotion). In short, you have a great product with a lousy place, price, and promotion. Result: no sales. In fact, if any one of the four P's of the marketing equation suffers, it could mean little or no sales.
In realistic terms, each of the four P's is not binary. That is, they are not either "perfect" nor "terrible." Think of each P being on a scale from 1–10 where 10 is the best. The higher each is on the scale, the more likely you are to sell more books.
Now, let's get into the specifics of how the four P's of marketing relate to your book.
Product
In most cases, the product is simply the book. But it can also be the brand, which can include the author. Think of any famous author. When they have a new book that comes out, people often buy it because they love the author, not because of the book itself. Even less-than-famous authors are an important part of the product when the books are non-fiction. Another part of the brand is the book series. For example, the Hardy Boys, Dummies series, or any series name that includes two or more books. However, for most books, the focus will be on the book itself. Here is what you need to consider as part of the product:
- The Story. Do you have a good story to tell?
- The Information. Is this information other people will want?
- The Writing. Are you a good writer? Is your writing style engaging? Persuasive? Entertaining?
- The Grammar. The book must be well-edited and free from typos and grammatical errors.
- The Formatting. Is the book using an attractive, readable font? Is it converted to an ebook correctly? Is there a working table of contents?
- The Cover. Is the cover attractive? Does it draw attention and stand out (in a good way) when viewed with other covers?
- The Available Formats. Can readers choose to buy your book in the format they prefer, like ebook, paperback, hardcover, or audio?
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Place
It is every author's dream to have their books on the bookshelves of every relevant bookstore in the world. However, with hundreds of millions of books and limited shelf space, this is a dream realized by perhaps .00001% of authors. But you don't need that kind of brick-and-mortar distribution for your book to be a colossal success. Thanks to the Internet, "shelf space" is unlimited. The only factor you need to consider for "place" is distribution.
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Price
The price of your book varies depending on several factors, including format, length of the book, genre (information), and competition. As a general rule, your book should be the least expensive in ebook format, then paperback, then hardcover and audiobook around the same price point. Typical ebooks range from $2.99 (all prices in USD) to $9.99. Typical paperbacks range from $9.99 to $19.99. And typical hardcovers and audiobooks range from $19.99 to $34.99. I would estimate that about 80% of books are "typical" and fall within this price range. Atypical books are those that have over 400 pages or have unique information with little competition.
As long as your book is priced within these typical ranges, you should be fine. Authors erroneously think that lowering their book price a buck or two will have a significant impact on sales—it rarely does. There is an exception: I do strongly suggest that during a promotion and/or book launch your ebook is priced at $2.99. This is a relatively risk-free price point for readers to take a chance on an author they have not heard of before. Once your book gets traction and starts to sell organically (without direct promotion), readers will be willing to pay more because your book was recommended by a third party.
I also suggest running a free promotion for a very limited time. The goal here is to acquire readers and reviews to kick off organic growth.
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Promotion
Now for the fun part (at least for me)—promotion. Think of promotion as "telling the world about your book." Remember, without the other three P's; you would simply be telling the world about a book that they don't want to or can't buy. This is why promotion without the other three P's is rarely successful. Promotion includes the "sales pitch" and exposure.
The most important part of your book's sales pitch is the book's description. This is not a summary of the book; it is a sales pitch for your book. A well-written description could have a significant impact on your overall sales.
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As for exposure, this includes any means of letting other people know about your book. Some examples are blogs, podcasts, social media, and paid advertisements. We offer dozens of services related to exposure.
I can't stress enough that you shouldn't ignore any of the P's. I also realize that many authors (myself included) second guess themselves as to the quality of their work. Is my book good enough to make it? Are people really going to want to read this? For me, the answer is "yes" for some of my books, but an unfortunate "no" for some of my other books. As an author, you will never know if your book is a potential best-seller unless you do everything you can to ensure its success, which means focusing on the four P's: product, place, price, and promotion.
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