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Another shocking announcement! ( That got your attention!) “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World, ” is now out in eBook form. I You can acquire it at all the eBook outlets. It is only $4.99 compared to $19.99 in the bookstores. Help it climb the www.amazon.com best selling list. You can even order it right from this site by clicking on the Amazon icon on the right.
If you want a hard copy with the autograph of the author on it, just click on the bookstore tab at the top of this page to order one. It is only $15.99 plus shipping compared to the $19.99 price in the retail stores.
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I have a podcast here that I did with John Kremer, the marketing guru. He invited me to share unusual places to sell books. Take a listen and hit those streets running: goo.gl/WGTF7
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I thought I would recap my adventure at the Oregon State Fair signing I did a couple weeks ago.
The weather was great this year. Last year there were some near 100 degree days, and the attendance was way down. Many of the authors signing, said it was the worst year they had ever had.
This year it stayed in the 80’s almost everyday, and the attendance was up.
Last year I sold 21 books. This year I sold 46 books. I call that a great improvement.
However, the lady to my right sold 580! She is the famous “Pig Lady.” Most of her books are centered around a pig. Her very first book, “Priscilla,” has sold over 700,000 books. She used that success as a catalyst to propel her writing career. She is now 82 years young, and she said she had three more books coming out this year.
Why is she so successful?
She has 15 titles to sell is one big reason. The more books you have to sell at a signing the more chances you have of selling a book. I only have one right now, so I am OK with my 46 sales for my one book, Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.”
Another thing she has done is put together a platform, and a brand. Everyone that came by said, “There is the pig lady.” Many of them had bought an earlier book and wanted the latest. The label of the “pig lady” has helped her sell thousands of books. She even has a big sign at her table that says, “Yes, I am the pig lady.” That alone brought people to her table to see what that meant.
By the way, her name is Colene Copeland. She built her platform and brand, by going to all the grade schools in Oregon and talked about pigs. She even had a pot bellied pig with her for the kidss to pet. She also traveled aroung the country with her pig.
So many of the twenty to thirty year old buyers at her table said, “You came to my school when I was in the fifth grade. I still have your first book, “Pricilla.” Colene would then show them the follow-up books, and there was a sale almost every time.
Building a brand and a platform is a must to be a successful author. Work on getting something about you well known to others.
I have been told more than once, that I was the “Hope Whisper.” I am just now starting to build on that and start having that saying on signs at signings.
We’ll see how that works.
Get your brand and platform growing daily. It doesn’t happen over night. Colene Copeland took thirty years to build hers.
Remember:
You are not alone.
You are not forsaken.
You are not unloved.
And above all…never, ever, give up!