Catherine Painter of Raleigh, North Carolina writes:
“My Bible study book, ‘So, You’re a Christian! Now What?’ is a 12-week study for small groups in churches, or for individuals who will work through it alone.
“The book is in bookstores now and the publisher, Hensley Publishing, also sells them at their website.
“I sell books as well, dozens at the time, at book signings especially when I’m invited to speak to religious groups.
“The book is targeted to new Christians who profess Christ as adults. However, many adults more mature in their faith buy the book and actually recognize the quality and substance in the book more than the baby Christians do.
“Can your readers share ideas on what else I can do to promote the book? My website is at http://www.catherinepainterministries.com/.”
I would target some of the mega-churches that attract so many new believers. Send copies to the Education Minister or whoever is in charge of putting the curriculum together, along with a letter of introduction. Many books, such as the “Prayer of Jabez,” have taken off like wildfire after Sunday
School groups at churches such as these start using them and recomending to others.
Hi there Catherine,
Nice idea to have a book like this… perhaps you could approach local churches to review it with an eye to using it for their study groups… we all like to have something new! Along this line, you might also try Christian schools in the same way.
There are Christian social networks online that would be interested in hearing about your book and one group I get newsletters from… a prayer group may also be interested. Check them out at http://www.positivechristianity.org/ – you could offer this as a give-away for people who sign up on the up-coming cruise…
Good luck with this.
CRQ
Even better than MySpace or Facebook for your target audience is Shoulife. Tt’s like MySpace for Christians.
http://www.shoutlife.com
Blessings,
Karina Fabian
Instead of trying to sell just one book at a time, why don’t you try to sell in multiples? I would approach churches and any Christian groups interested in buying in bulk. Check out Matthew Bennett’s coaching program – it’s all about selling books by the ‘truckload’. In fact, he says that’s how ‘The Purpose Driven Life’ attained such popularity. It’s much easier to find one buyer of 1,000 books than it is to find 1,000 buyers of one book!
Catherine,
Your book has been out since January 2006 and you have ONE reader comment on Amazon with a five star review. You are not making use of the FREE tools on the largest online bookstore on the planet (Amazon.com). There are numerous free tools on Amazon and you can learn about these free tools especially in the 6th edition of John Kremer’s excellent book, 1001 Ways to Market Your Book–where he has a full chapter on Amazon. Check it out at: http://snipurl.com/waysto
You will discover many new ideas in John’s book.
Terry
Right-Writing News
Take advantage of the MomBlogs. There are many bloggy giveaways that will let lots of people know about your book. Offer free copies to bloggers to give away. One of my favorite give away sites is the bloggy giveaway carnival, but there are many others.
You have some good suggestions here so far. My thought is you should also approach mission/outreach/evangelism groups of all kinds.
They would be candidates for individual and bulk purchases too because they need resources to use while they’re in the field, and to leave behind with newly trained leaders.
Along the same line, have you thought about having the book translated or selling appropriate rights to someone who could do so? Again, another way it could benefit the groups above.
Good Writing & God Bless,
Cheryl Pickett
Publishing Answers.com
Hi Catherine,
Get a list of Christian magazines (your librarian can help you) and find out which ones do a book review and who the reviewer is. Then send each of those reviewers a copy of your book. Sometimes including something fun in the box (like chocolate or an individual serving pack of flavored coffee) will help to get your book reviewed faster than just another book in the stack. A favorable review in a top Christian magazine will get noticed by many long-time Christians who might consider using it for a “seeker” study or a new Christian study in their church or neighborhood. Pastors also read those columns and get the book to use in sermons or pitch from the pulpit.
“The Well-Fed Self-Publisher” by Peter Bowerman (http://www.wellfedsp.com/) can also help you. He self-published and yet his books became best sellers.
There are many new Christians on college campuses. Have you talked with the publishing arms of Campus Crusade or Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship or Navigators?
Sounds like a great book – keep working to get it out!
Sally
http://www.RushmoreWrites.com
ShoutLife is a good suggestion for Christian social networking, but also look into Xianx (www.xianx.com), MyPraize (www.mypraise.com), HolyPal (www.holypal.com), and other Christian social networks. New sites seem to be popping up all the time and you need to focus your efforts on the ones that best match your audience demographic.
Other good ideas include creating a video book trailer and establishing a solid online media room on your site to encourage additional media coverage. Blogging and podcasting are also solid book promotion tools and really help you connect with your audience, but both require a bigger time commitment.
I’ve published 25 books and have found online book promotion to be one of the best ways to increase sales and publicity for my books.
Good luck!
Patrice-Anne Rutledge
Author, The Web-Savvy Writer: Book Promotion with a High-Tech Twist
These suggestions are fabulous.
Readers, notice how many of the ideas here really target like a laser. It’s usually much easier to target to a specific niche than it is to a general audience.
I love hearing about all the bloggers, the social networking sites (most of these were new to me) and niche magazines that appeal to Christians.
Great ideas, Hounds! Let’s keep ’em coming.
Great suggestions so far!
Catherine, it appears that your book is over 2 years old, which means that you will have an uphill climb generating significant interest. However, it’s never too late to inject new life into your book sales. Here’s what I’d recommend:
1. Contact Christian missionary organizations and offer your book as a resource for missionaries to give away to new converts. This could create large bulk sales possibilities.
2. I visited your website, and you don’t offer any kind of free newsletter. I’d highly suggest that start one asap. This is crucial to establishing and building your platform.
3. Network with evangelism directors at churches and try to line up speaking engagements to discuss your expertise and highlight your book. The best way to sell books is to speak. But, I didn’t see any speaking info or event calendar listed on your website.
Feel free to contact me, and I’d be glad to offer you several other ideas. But, be sure to focus on these three essential issues first!
Rob Eagar
WildFire Marketing
http://www.StartaWildFire.com