Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Today, Penny Sansevieri (
@Bookgal), CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc. and a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert, explains how your ability to get endorsements for your book from the “right” people—”influencers”—influences your book sales.
As a marketer, I know how hard it is to make your book stand out from the countless other books published every day. As an author, I know that you want to make sure you do everything you can to give your book the boost it needs to gain more visibility…and sales. I want to walk you through how to pitch influencers to get an endorsement for your book, because this can be a great way to differentiate your book and give it the attention it deserves.
Don’t believe me? According to content marketing platform BuzzSumo, a post shared by one influencer resulted in 31.8% more social shares, three influencers doubled the total number of shares, and five influencers quadrupled it. So while endorsements from these influencers are difficult to achieve, they are certainly worth the time and effort.
Keep in mind that influencers are probably contacted on a regular basis for endorsements, so I’ve come up with suggestions to identify the best influencers to pitch, and to prepare a persuasive pitch to garner an influencer’s endorsement.
Research:
The first step is to search for high-profile influencers in your field; it’s important to pitch influencers who are well respected in your field, because their endorsement will carry much more weight than someone who is not as well known or is not as well versed in your field. You’re also much more likely to get an endorsement from someone who is knowledgeable and passionate about your specific topic.
During the research phase, flag influencers who have their own book or product coming out soon. While, this doesn’t necessarily eliminate them as a prospect, it may make them a less desirable target. Instead, try and build a relationship with them for a future endorsement.
Endorsements from influencers are difficult to achieve but certainly worth the time and effort.Click To Tweet
Network:
So how do you begin to form a relationship? It’s important that you focus more on how you can help the other person. A good way to start building a relationship is by offering to share their product with your followers. Even if you have a smaller audience, most influencers will appreciate the offer of free exposure to an additional audience. If you’re just looking for perks for yourself you probably won’t get any takers.
At this point, I’m sure you’re asking, “But what’s in it for me? Why is networking so important?” Well, it’s important for two reasons:
- Your search for endorsements will be more successful if you have already been building relationships with others in your field. Why? Influencers are more willing to endorse your product if they know who you are.
- As an added bonus, networking is a fantastic way to establish yourself as a credible expert in your field, which will help your marketing efforts in the long haul. Think of this as a long-term strategy, because a single endorsement can turn into a long-term relationship.
During your research and networking phase, make sure that you get to know more about the influencers you would like to pitch. During this stage, you’re looking for information that you can include to personalize your pitch, so think outside of the box, and take note of hobbies, activities they’re involved in, etc. This serves two purposes:
- It shows your influencer that you took the time to learn about him or her.
- It also helps your pitch stand out from more standard pitches.
Now that you’ve identified the influencers you’d like to approach, and have begun building a relationship, it’s time to start pitching! But how should you contact these influencers to pitch them? Consider the following options:
Live events:
If you’re able to attend an event where your influencer is speaking or attending, it’s worth trying to meet them in person. The best way to do this is to follow the hashtag for the event on social media. Get involved, share that person’s content, join discussions, and let that person know you look forward to their event.
Once you have that person’s attention, you only have one shot to pitch your product. Have two copies of your book or product on hand, along with a letter asking for the endorsement, and include your business card so they have your contact information. This may sound like overkill, but tape your business card to your product or book so it won’t get lost. Have a brief pitch ready–two to three sentences, tops, because that’s all the time you’ll get. Make the most of it.
Securing an endorsement from an influencer will give your book a significant boost.Click To Tweet
Touch base:
Ask how you can check back with him or her. Look for a method for you to contact your influencer so you can be sure you get to follow through on your endorsement request.
Social media:
If meeting in person is not an option, you can still become acquainted on social media. Start by sharing their content, and responding to their blog posts.
You can also email them. In order to make your pitch successful, make sure to
follow email etiquette: the people that you are approaching are busy, and get hundreds of emails a day.
- Make sure that your email is short, to the point (one paragraph max), and not a part of a mass pitch.
- Be complimentary, but don’t be a suck up.
- Explain why their endorsement matters (pull from the data you found while you were researching influencers).
- In your pitch focus on how the endorsement will help you reach more readers so they can experience the benefits your book or product provides
Getting an endorsement from a high-profile influencer in your field can be a significant boost in visibility for your book. It may seem daunting at first, but by following the tips above, you will have the tools to research network, and pitch high-profile individuals. Securing their endorsement will give your book a significant boost and attract the attention it deserves!
About the Author
Penny Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most cutting-edge book marketing campaigns. She is the author of five books, including
From Book to Bestseller, which has been called the “road map to publishing success.” AME is the first marketing and publicity firm to use Internet promotion to its full impact through The Virtual Author Tour™, which strategically works with social networking sites, blogs, Twitter, Pinterest, Linkedin, YouTube, and relevant sites to push an author’s message into the virtual community and connect with sites related to the book’s topic, positioning the author in his or her market. To learn more about Penny’s books or promotional services, visit her website at
amarketingexpert.com.
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Pitch Influencers to Garner Attention for Your Book appeared first on
Write Nonfiction NOW!.
Nina Amir, the bestselling author of How to Blog a Book and The Author Training Manual, is a speaker, a blogger, and an author, book, blog-to-book, and high-performance coach. Known as the Inspiration to Creation Coach, she helps creative people combine their passion and purpose so they move from idea to inspired action and positively and meaningfully impact the world as writers, bloggers, authorpreneurs, and blogpreneurs. Some of Nina’s clients have sold 300,000+ copies of their books, landed deals with major publishing houses and created thriving businesses around their books. She is the founder of National Nonfiction Writing Month, National Book Blogging Month, and the Nonfiction Writers’ University. As a hybrid author she has published 15 books and had as many as four books on the Amazon Top 100 list at the same time.