Ty Cohen talked about "Growing a 5-figure a month Kindle Business: Getting Attention & standing out from the crowd".
When he wrote his first book, the advantage he had was knowing the marketplace and who his target audience was.
What is his marketing strategy? He markets his specialty books to his target audience through the channels that they're most likely to use such as a specialty magazine or newsletter, an e-newsletter, a website, Facebook, to name a few.
He has an interesting approach, which seems to work really well. Find out what your reader wants, what your audience is interested in and give them that content. Whether you're a fiction or a non-fiction writer, look at what your competition is publishing, read the reviews, and find out the positive and negative aspects of the books that they're focusing on. Then use that valuable information and apply it to your books.
On the marketing side, it's also important to find out information about your readers. Run ads on Facebook (start by spending the smallest amount), on YouTube, Bing... Diversify your means. And don't do just what others are doing. Reach out of the box! [I like this!]
Your call to action in the ad can be a freebie, a free giveaway, or a 50% discount on an e-book that's selling very well, or a Google Hangout where you can talk about the process of writing your book and problems you faced. Your main goal is to grab attention and create your email list, your audience. So find interesting, entertaining, catchy ways to get people to give you their name and email address. As Ty says, put yourself in the other person's shoes and think what you'd like to get. [Great advice!]
Another interesting way to grab attention is to tell your audience a little about yourself. They usually know very little about you, so share a few things with them to show them that you're a normal person.
How else can writers reach out to more and more people and get more attention? If you have a book that's selling well on Kindle, for example, think of translating it into Spanish, because there's a huge market that can't speak English. And maybe even translate it into a couple other languages. Create an audiobook and even a traditional paper book. Create a course if you wrote a how-to book. The idea is to serve your customers in as many different ways as possible. [Bingo! Love this.]
Ty's three-step course process - the three rungs of the ladder, as he calls it - is so simple and so smart.
- teach me how to do it (guide book)
- show me how (video tutorials)
- do it for me (to get more help)
Chandler wrapped up the overall theme of this webinar very well: put yourself out there, get attention, pattern interrupt (something that jumps out, like many of Ty's ads do), stand out amid the ocean of authors.
Ty's parting tip: ads, ads, ads!
Thanks, Ty, for a very insightful webinar based on your personal experience. You really showed that you learned by doing and love what you do.
Chandler, I love your interviews, moderation and enthusiasm. Congrats!