Increase Book Sales: When a Sale Is No Longer Just a Sale

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!

Catherine 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