Introduction
Your book is rolling along and you think your sell sheet is working hard for you. But is it? Is it sheet driving the results you need? If not, it might be time for a makeover. The solution may be to rebrand, adjust your value proposition, or simply modify your existing strategy before these danger signs turn into unavoidable headaches. If you can identify with any of these problems, then it’s probably time to rethink your book’s sell sheet. But don’t stress too much. They can all be fixed.
Sign #1. Your Message Is Inconsistent
For example, is your sheet reflecting the content and information of the book, and your blog, and your brand? Is the book’s cover, and title, and subtitle, and back-cover information, all relevant to the book and projecting the correct message to your book’s audience? Is your sell sheet projecting the same message all of your other marketing material is projecting? Is the content on your blog relevant to the same audience that you wrote your book for? A consistent message across all of your marketing material will make each piece more believable and make them more powerful – and increase your chance of making a sale.
Sign #2. You Don’t Really Understand Your Audience
While you were writing your book, you had a very particular audience in mind. And of course, that is the best way to write a book. But now that your book has been selling for several months, and your blog has been up and running for much longer, you start to realize that there are other groups that are buying your book that you didn’t know would be interested in your topic. For example, you might be getting questions from your blog readers that might relate to an audience, or demographic, that you had not thought about before. You might also be getting questions on your YouTube page altogether from another demographic. All of this new data that you did not have before can help you redesign your sell sheet to better reflect the needs of these new audiences. This will also enable you to add blog content that will better serves the needs of these new audiences. You must always be willing to change gears in order to better serve your audience. The more you serve their needs, the more books you will sell.
Sign #3. You Haven’t Connected With Any Libraries
Your goal should be to send your book’s sell sheet to every library in the country. And you should be getting some feedback from them in the form of books sales, or at the very least some email questions from them. If you are not getting any feedback at all, then you probably need to be rethinking what content should be added or changed on your sheet. Start by re-evaluating who your book’s audience really is, and what marketing message you are using to connect with them. Show your sell sheet to a local librarian and ask for their comments and suggestions about it.
Sign #4. It Doesn’t Look Professional Enough
If your sheet does not look like it was professionally designed and printed, you should not have sent it out in the first place. You only get one chance to make a first impression, so don’t waste that opportunity. Look online at other sell sheets and catalogs of other publishers for design inspiration. It is also very easy to find an affordable professional graphic designer on the internet. And, for a fee, some printing companies have a graphics/design department and will do the design for you. Pay the money and get it done right. But even if you hire someone to help with the design, you will still need to know what information needs to be included. If you haven’t done so already, compare your sheet to others selling a similar type of book. Anything that I write or design I show to my kids – both in their 20’s. They are a lot smarter than I am, and they can be brutally honest.
Sign #5. Your Not Making An Emotional Connection
For any marketing efforts to be successful, they must make an emotional connection with the buyer. The better and bigger the connection, the more book sales you will have. Even if you don’t understand anything else about marketing, understand this one thing, and you will be a successful marketer and sell more books. The content, or message, that is in your sell sheet must make some kind of connection with the reader. The reader must believe that you understand their needs. And that you will share that information with them so that they can fix their problem. They must believe that you have the answers for them.
Conclusion
You may not even realize your sheet is out of date or not working to its fullest potential. Make a point of reviewing it every quarter, or at regular intervals, so that you have plenty of time to keep it updated to ensure it accurately reflects the book you offer, as well as your contact information. Sell sheets are often the first impression people have of your brand. Take the time to make sure the sell sheet on your website is always up to date, professional looking, and error free.