Monday Morning Marketing Tip - "To Describe is Not to Market"

Rob Eagar's Monday Morning Marketing Tip
is written to help authors, businesses, and non-profits
spread their message like wildfire.

This week's focus:

During a recent visit to a bookstore, I perused over 20 books on the current New York Times bestseller list. Surprisingly, the majority of these books suffered from a similar problem. Their back cover copy told you what the book was about, but never described the results you could receive. Regardless of the genre, the covers offered plenty of information about the book's topic, plot, genre, and special features. But, almost none of the text I read ever explained "What's in it for me?" This lack of crucial information leaves readers scratching their head trying to figure that answer out on their own.

My bookstore visit shows how authors and publishers have confused marketing a book with describing a book. But, describing and marketing are two radically different issues. And, publishers of the world's bestselling books are missing this key distinction, which means they're missing out on a lot of extra sales and leaving a lot of money on the table. Worse, it's a fair assumption that all of their other books carry the same problem. If publishers aren't concerned with creating powerful marketing copy for an anticipated bestseller, they're not going to do it for the rest of their titles.

Here's the rub: book shoppers don't care what a book is about. Their primary concern is determining if a book is worth their time and money. When they scan a book's cover, they're wanting to see if it communicates how their life will be bettered through entertainment, inspiration, or information?

Marketing is not the process of describing a topic, genre, or list of features. In contrast, marketing is the process of emotionally engaging a customer by explaining what's in it for them. All promotional material, such as back cover copy, website text, and catalog information, should focus on satisfying that primary consumer question. Otherwise, you're not marketing, you're just describing. Avoid this mistake and stop leaving money on the table. When you provide marketing text that's effective, you won't have readers standing in the aisles of bookstores scratching their heads in confusion. Instead, you'll have readers lining up at the cash register.

Upcoming Opportunities:

The WildFire Author University

I'm looking for 20 good authors to join a new instructional opportunity to start on March 1st called the WildFire Author University. Participants in this unique program will enjoy the following instruction over the next year:

• One, 45-minute, one-on-one, phone call with me per month.
• Free access to my monthly teleconference sessions and downloads.
• Free copy of my new book and all new author resources that I create.
• Access a private forum where I answer your questions and you interact with authors. Learn best practices from me and your peers.

I won't launch this new program unless at least 20 people enroll by March 1st. The price is $2,399 for the entire year...that's less than $200 per month! (Full payment up-front will be due). If you're interested, let me know today so that I can get you on my list. Plus, I'm giving a $150 discount to the first 10 people who contact me to join.

Send me an email to: Rob@StartaWildFire.com or call 1-800-267-2045 and say "I'd like to enroll in the WildFire Author University." Click here for more details.

Next Teleconference Session for Authors:

"O Reader, Where Art Thou?"

Wednesday, February 22nd, 8:00pm ET

You've written a book, but how do you find readers for it? Wise authors market smarter, not harder. This happens by focusing your promotion on readers who are most likely to purchase your book and spread word of mouth. Join Rob on this teleconference call and discover how to identify, locate, and connect with your target audience.

Click here to register today and save over 15% before February 22nd.

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© Rob Eagar 2012.
All rights reserved.