How to Sell More Books this Holiday Season

I hadn't even put my Halloween costume away this year and my mom had already sent us our Christmas presents because she's worried about shortages and delays. She watches a lot of news. All the teasing aside, she's not wrong in that this year is where the early bird will get the worm on all things holidays. Supply shortages, staff shortages, and shipping issues can mean that if you need books for holiday events, you better be placing orders early. If you're wondering what to do to lead into 2022, this is then this video is for you. Why hello there. If we haven't met before, I'm Julie the book broad. I'm an Overall Amazon Number 1 Best Selling Author and the founder of a fabulous self publishing services company called Book Launchers. We're all about no boringbooks at Book Launchers. Besides helping our authors write, edit, design and publish a fantastic book, we also do all the things for marketing that book to get it into the hands of readers. And this holiday season is a funky time for doing that. On the one hand, people are buying gifts, they're spending money. On the other hand, it's tough to get attention because people are busy and people take holidays to be with families. And there's lots of competition for ad space as everyone wants their product to be the gift of the year. So in 2021 or whatever year you're watching this, what should you do to sell books? Well, first of all, before I give you my version of my five best tips, let me tell you that if you know you're going to need copies for the holidays, hit pause right now and place that order. Ingram, the biggest US Book wholesaler and distributor, has been warning us repeatedly that there are supply challenges ahead and their Christmas slowdown is starting early. This is a quote from their message. This fall, the global publishing business can expect disruption in shipping, increases in cost throughout the supply chain, shortages in consumables used for packaging and shipping, and shortages in manufacturing supplies for books and printed matter. Like many other companies that rely on warehouses, trucking and manufacturing, IngramSpark expects to be challenged by labor shortages and transportation challenges. We expect to have difficulty finding available workers in many of our warehouse locations and manufacturing plants. We may also lack enough transportation assets to keep books moving at our typical speed. So. So yeah, if you need author copies, get them now. Which leads me to the first idea for selling books during the holiday season, which is somewhere you'd be selling those author copies potentially, or having a store order them now in prep for the holiday event. So let's start with the Tips Number one I'm calling this one Local Love. I talked about this last year and I'm sticking to it. Look around for what is happening in your local area. Can you join a local craft fair? A library event? Your local bookstore? What is different 2021 versus 2020 is businesses are open and anxious to see your faces. Well, in many places, just your eyes. But because a lot of things have been uncertain, there's a good chance they are still looking for people to participate by selling books, giving talks, helping them market, and more. I did a quick search for Summerlin and Las Vegas craft fairs in November and December and found a dozen or so, and at least three or four look like something a local author could take part in. In many cases, the table would cost a few hundred dollars, so you might want to find an author or two or three to share a table with. But there's lots of fairs and fun coming up. And unlike many years in the past, you probably can still get involved now. And your local library might be doing something, as might your local bookstores. You also might find local boutique stores or outlets willing to sell your book. We've had clients sell books at chiropractic offices, hardware stores, gift shops, and more. Get creative. Number two hashtags BlackFridayDeal BestChristmasGift oh yeah, I'm not a huge believer in social media for selling books when you don't have an audience, but when it comes to holiday buying, hashtag marketing could be your best friend, especially on Instagram or even Twitter. Now if you're not sure what hashtags to use, you can use tools on the Internet to find them. Just go to Google and search hashtag research tools. Or look on the Explore page of Instagram. Or, you know, stalk your favorite influencer and see what they're using. There's also the autocomplete, so you can start typing hashtag something and see what comes out. But here are a few tried and true ones that work almost every year. Hashtag Christmas Countdown, Hashtag Christmas mood, Christmas shopping, Christmas gift ideas, and of course my favorite hashtag stockingstuffer. All right, number three. No wait, we don't need a hashtag for that. Number three get your Amazon ads running and in shape now so that your book is showing up in front of anyone shopping for your book. Hit up Publisher Rocket to make sure your keywords are on target at the moment. I'll put a link in the description below, or you can hit up our affiliate@book launchers.com Rocket. It's our favorite tool. They have a free course to get you started with Amazon ads too. If you're new to that. Regardless, if you're not already running Amazon ads, get them going now. Speaking of Amazon, maybe you should make an Amazon list. I talked about Amazon lists in the video on the 5 things about Amazon that might surprise an Author and Amazon lists were a surprise to many. So here's an idea. Make a list of your top 10 books in your space and share it around. Of course, make sure your book is on that list and share it to many people. I I've done that for Gift Ideas for Authors and people who should be authors, which is essentially my list of the best books to write and publish a great book. I'll put that list in the description below so you can see it, share it, buy it, and of course make sure you've got Self Publish and Succeed in your stocking stuffer gift list. Okay, while we're talking Amazon, make sure your Amazon page and your book page is in tip top shape so you're set up to show up for the buying opportunities. Ultimately, make sure your book descriptions are as great as they can be and keyword rich and make sure your book descriptions end with the reasonable why someone should buy your book today. And if you haven't already checked out the video on a content, you might want to do that now too. Number four Most importantly, be a little bit in the face of your audience to let them know that your book makes a great gift. Like Self Publish and Succeed is the perfect gift for anyone you know that is thinking of writing a nonfiction book. I highly recommend you send a few newsletters and create a few social media posts that not so subtly suggest your book makes any an amazing gift? Did I mention that Self Publish and Succeed is a great stocking stuffer for that person that really must write a book? Number five, Remember that January is a great time to sell books. January 1 means a fresh start for so many and it might be the year they start their business, write their book, lose weight, get fit, take up a new hobby like learning to play poker or starting a garden. Christmas buying doesn't mean you've missed the window. In fact, books are the very thing people will look for when they've decided to make a change in their life. And in those days after Christmas, an ebook sale might be the perfect time to get in front of a buyer looking to fill up their new e reader or just relaxing with a few days off. Alright smart YouTube besties, what are you gonna do this year to sell books over the holiday season. Let's share ideas in the comments below. And when you comment the day a video is released, you'll be entered to win some sweet Noboringbooks swag. Like this fabulous no boring books mug and this oh so soft journal. Or possibly this proud noboring books T shirt. New videos every Tuesday and Friday. All right, now that you've got your book marketing ideas, let's make sure your book description is as great as it can be before the holidays hit. That video is right here and once that's good. Well, I highly recommend you check out this video on a content. All right. I can't wait to see what you do to sell books this holiday season. See you on the next video.