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There are a number of components that can help market your book successfully, no matter what its subject. If you want to sell lots of copies and make it a bestseller, then some features are essential. Everyone knows that in order for your book to be sold in retail stores, it must have an EAN barcode, an ISBN number, and certain bindings and features.
However, there are several less known features you should add to expand the marketability of your book. For instance, almost every New York Times Bestseller has certain features and it would be wise to incorporate them into your book so that you improve your chances of being one of them too.
Below are 7 of the top book features that will make your book much easier to market and promote to bestseller status. When you incorporate these features into your book from the beginning, your book will have an enormous advantage over the other books on the shelf.
Feature 1 – Start with a powerful theme and grow it. Give your book a zesty title that grabs attention. Write your book outline to be specific about what will attract the right people to your book. Don't just grab a bunch of your best ideas and slap a cover on it. You may get a book written quickly, but it probably won't sell very well. You need a book that you and others will be excited to market.
Feature 2 – Get stories from people other than yourself and you will be viewed as the expert of experts. Ask people to share a personal story in such a way that it has a self-help element. You'll reach many more people with stories that teach the reader how to apply a lesson to their own problem than just a dry list of instructions. Tips, strategies, insider secrets, specific examples, and important resources are things you should add to every story, whether it be yours or others.
Feature 3 – Quote lots of experts and you'll build in promotional value. Each quote should be selected to fit in the topic and message of that chapter. Consider using quotes from "live" people who might be flattered enough so that they tell others to buy it and help with promoting your book to their customer list. And, they might even buy some for themselves to give away to colleagues and special clients.
Feature 4 – Proactively seek out interviews and endorsements, and find the right person to do the Foreword. Use interviews with experts to get topical examples for your chapters of the book, and get audio or video clips to use for promoting. Your book will have greater authority by including interviews and endorsements from experts.
Feature 5 – List all of the people and organizations who helped in creating the book. You might also seek a corporate sponsor who might fund some of the expenses in exchange for a prominent mention in the book. And it is often very helpful to seek out a sponsor to partner with in your promotion.
Feature 6 – Your book will be much easier to read and reference if you include an index. This is often an overlooked feature, however it makes your book more saleable to libraries, which of course is a huge buyer of books and will increase your reading audience..
Feature 7 – Create a resource section with a topical rolodex. List numerous agencies, organizations, associations, services, and other professionals related to your book's subject. This feature will help increase your audience, and give those listed in the rolodex a reason to help you distribute and promote the book.
Bonus Feature – Have a bibliography in your book. This is not only helpful to the reader who uses your book for research, but there are many people who like to own copies of the books that include theirs in the bibliography. You can list the books of all the authors who were interviewed, quoted, or who gave stories and examples.
ACTION STEP: The more features above you can add to your book, the easier it will be to market and promote. Put emphasis on the features that cause other people to want to help promote the book for their own sake. This makes the Law of Reciprocity work for your benefit because as they are helping themselves, they are also helping you, and vice versa.
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