Looking for ways to make more book sales? I have written about the value of a book for speakers. It’s time to go through the looking glass and look at what speaking can do to help the nonfiction author sell more books.
Let’s get right to the big issue: Many people have a fear of public speaking (glossophobia, my new word of the day). The National Institutes of Mental Health reports that 72% to 75% of people have a fear of public speaking. What does that tell us?
First, it’s a legit fear. No one wants to stand up in front of a crowd and blank out, stutter, or even perhaps be challenged on what they’re saying. I’m betting it hits the top five for almost everyone.
But let’s keep our eye on the sparrow here. That leaves 25% of people who either don’t have the fear or manage it. If you don’t enjoy public speaking, you are much more likely to avoid doing it. But we have books to sell, and knowing that 75% of the general population will basically do anything to avoid public speaking, gives those stout-hearted authors a leg up on the competition.
That makes speaking one of the better ways to get the word out about your book. There are lots of ways to do this, some of it in person and some of it via the Internet.
Guesting on Podcasts, TV, and Talk Radio
Podcasts
The easiest point of entry is to start with podcasts. There are thousands of podcasts and many are looking for guests to interview. Podcasts can range from general business (leadership, sales, management, marketing) to self-help and inspirational (motivation, self-development, mental and physical health) to very specific niche programming (insurance sales, teaching K-6, brewing beer). The key is to find podcasts whose audience matches up to your book’s target demographic. A podcaster wants to know that your topic will both hold their audience’s interest as well as benefit them in some way. The same goes for talk radio. They are not just filling air—you need to bring value to their audience.
To find podcasts, you can do it the slow way, doing an Internet search for podcasts on your topic. You can also sign up for a service like PodcastGuests (starting at $15/month for the basic plan) or Podmatch (starting at $29/month).
Talk radio also offers opportunities to speak about your book and the overall topic. Sometimes you need to go into the studio, but I think post-Covid, calling in remotely has been normalized. Again, an Internet search for “Talk radio shows + topic” is the place to start.
A word of warning: Many podcasts and even radio shows are also video. This means nothing to most men. But for women, it means hair, makeup, dressier clothes. Find out in advance if there is a video component to the show. You want to present professionally. And guys, yeah, maybe a recent shave and an untorn t-shirt.
Television
Unless you are a celebrity, you will most likely start with local TV. Most of the stations have their own version of a morning talk show similar to The Today Show or Good Morning America. You may be surprised to find out that some of these are “pay to play”: You pay an advertising fee to have a segment on the show and the hosts pitch softball questions about your book. This is pricey and that price varies market to market and station to station. There are also non pay-to-play talk shows on local TV. Just don’t be surprised if your local stations have a fee.
If there is a hot news story that you have an expertise in, by all means call the local news stations, talk to a producer (usually a segment producer), offer your expertise. They will want to see credentials, so have that prepared. It’s best to have a media page on your website that has a brief bio about you with your credentials, a head shot, and, if you have them, audio and video clips from past appearances. The producer wants to know that you’re not some random crazy or worse, boring. Clips of you speaking intelligently on your topic will be very reassuring.
If your book is about a topic that comes up frequently in the headlines, your local stations may already have a go-to person. It never hurts to be the backup. Find out who the segment producers are for the local news stations and send them your press pack or direct them to your media page. And be prepared when they do call. It will be short notice. Be ready, dressed professionally, and prepare some sound bites in advance. They are looking for how the news affects their local audience so work that in.
If you are a celebrity, you most likely have a big five publisher with a publicity department who will put you on the bigger shows. Many times, authors sort of work their way through the ranks, starting off small and eventually catching the attention of a larger show or market. That’s why it is good to be very visible—commenting on social media, writing a blog, creating videos, and, speaking as an expert on your topic. It all adds up.
For busy people who are looking for quality connections, using a company like Now Hear This, which focuses on publicity and related services, can be beneficial. Bruce Wawrzyniak and his team will shape your branding and marketing materials, assist with in-person book promotion events, help find book reviews, as well as seek out interview opportunities, and provide other publicity services.
Local In-Person Groups
Even in small towns, there are groups that meet up weekly and monthly. Some are business-oriented groups like the Chamber of Commerce or business networking groups such as BNI. Just about every profession has an association and each chapter of that association holds meetings.
If your book is aimed at business people, contact the appropriate groups about speaking. Once they’re interested, you can get into the details of whether you can sell your book after the talk or if they have a materials budget and would like to buy the book at a discounted amount for all their attendees. (We like that.)
A friend with a business networking group hosted Internet sensation Gary Vee early on when Gary launched his first book, Crush It. The group leader bought several hundred books and gave each attendee a book for coming. He looked like a mensch. Gary gave a great talk and stayed to autograph the books and take pictures with people. He looked like a mensch. It was a win/win. For Gary, it wasn’t about the money so much as getting his name and book out there. He was creating a fan base.
If your book is for people interested in a specific topic, from jewelry making to model trains to breaking free from emotional trauma, there’s a group for that. Go to Meetup.com and do a search starting in your local area. If you can’t find anything there, do a search using Bing or Google, putting in the topic and the word “club” or “association” and see what you find. You may have to travel to a nearby bigger city if you’re in a rural area, but it seems like there is some sort of meeting for just about every topic.
In all of the above methods, you are leveraging someone else’s audience. This is one of the best ways to build your audience when you are starting from scratch. Once you’ve been in the game and started to build your reputation, you might think about taking the next step.
Host Your Own Seminar
If your nonfiction book includes something that is teachable, host a seminar on that topic. You don’t have to teach everything in your book or everything that you coach or consult on. Choose one topic that is perhaps one of the basic or foundational steps in your process or teachings and create a seminar around that.
I have run all-day seminars, charging a fee of $149 per person. If “all-day” scares you, know that it is really about six hours. Every participant receives a copy of my book, and I create handouts or even a spiral bound workbook for them.
The big hurdle with hosting your own seminar is filling the seats. If you have a large list of local followers, that may not be so hard. If you don’t, you have the option of advertising your seminar. If your topic is specialized, it is harder to target those people who are most likely to be interested. Plan accordingly.
Consider joint venturing with an established group who has an audience that would be interested in what you have to say. They can advertise your seminar to their members and you pay them a fee per head.
You can also give a free short talk or training to your target audience and then “upsell” them to your paid seminar. For example, if your book is about helping real estate agents find more listings, you might schedule free trainings at brokerages with a minimum of twenty agents. Give them something of real value and promise (then deliver) more of the same in your one-day seminar.
How well this works depends on your topic and your target audience. But there are authors who write one book and go out and teach the principles of that book in seminars all over the country. Of course, the “real money” is in converting your seminar attendees to clients. (If you’re interested in doing this, schedule a consultation with me. We can discuss if your book will make a viable seminar and if so, how.)
Become a Professional Speaker
If you find you enjoy speaking and want to do more of it, you may want to get a professional certification from an organization like the National Speakers’ Association. They have online courses, a speaker directory, and a great network of speakers.
Most speakers start out giving talks for free. For authors, it makes sense because you have a product to sell, so getting paid to speak isn’t the most important piece of the booking puzzle. But, speaking fees can start at around $500 for a forty-five minute or one hour talk and grow into the thousands and tens of thousands. The more famous you are, the higher the fees you can command, of course. But “Average Joe or Jane” speakers are paid in the neighborhood of $2,500 to $5,000 for a keynote speech.
Speakers’ organizations can show you what you need to have as part of your professional speaker package, how to move up in the business, as well as help you improve as a speaker. My one caveat is that many speakers coming out of the same organization achieve a certain sameness. Don’t lose the spark that makes you you.
Build Your Mailing List
For every guest interview or speaking engagement, you want to have a way to collect people’s names and contact information. One way to do this is to offer something of value for free. Delivering that product electronically is the key here. If you have a handout for your audiences, make sure you have your contact information including your website on the hand out. Make sure you have a downloadable freebie on your site. Give people the direct link. If you want to get extra fancy, you can arrange to have a special text code set up that will allow people to jump on their phone, send a text, and receive the download while they are sitting in the room with you.
Your mailing list is your most important marketing asset. These are people who are interested in your topic and most likely want to learn more about it. Keep in touch on a regular basis, giving them updates, news, new techniques, whatever. When you are ready to release your next book or if you put on a paid seminar, you now have your own audience to make your offer to and get the ball rolling.
Authors often complain that marketing the book is harder than writing it. Yes. You can finish writing a book; the marketing is on-going. The trick is to find ways to sell your book in quantity, a one-to-many scenario. Speaking is one very effective path to more book sales.
