Monday Morning Marketing Tip - July 25, 2011

Rob Eagar's Monday Morning Marketing Tip

is written to help authors, publishers, and organizations

spread their message like wildfire.

This week's focus:

When I teach authors how to identify the value of their books, sometimes I get the response, "I'm not sure if my book really creates results for people. I've never stopped to ask anyone or analyze if my material was helpful to others. I just felt a desire to write a book, so I did it."

If this situation describes you, then I suggest that you start asking readers for testimonials or put together some focus groups. You need honest feedback to know if your book provides solutions (nonfiction), entertainment (fiction), or insight (both) that people actually appreciate. Writing a book without understanding your value is like driving a car without ever putting it into forward gear. You're stuck in neutral going nowhere.

On the other hand, maybe you don't know your book's value but it happens to be selling reasonably well. That's because the public figured out your value and responded to it. Yet, that's not their responsibility - it's the author's job. Imagine how many more books you would sell if you understood your value and proactively used it in all of your marketing materials. You could create momentum that leads to exponential growth.

Ignoring the need to clarify your value is like a new restaurant ignoring the need to taste-test its recipes. The owner hopes his food is good, but he never lets potential customers test to see if they actually like it. A restaurant with that mentality wouldn't stay in business for very long. Likewise, books usually struggle to sell when the author is clueless about its value. Do you know the value of your book?

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© Rob Eagar 2011. All rights reserved.