Selling books and products in bulk- to non traditional retailers

Brian Judd is an author, book-marketing expert,  TV host, and, President of Premium Book Company that sells books to non-bookstore buyers on a non-returnable commission only basis.  Brian is also the Executive Director of SPAN, which is the Successful Publishers Association of North America. 

His book How to Make Real Money Selling Books (without worrying about returns) is an ultimate do it yourself guide to selling books to non-bookstore buyers and selling in bulk with no returns. 

I interviewed Brian on my radio show Your Book as a Business, and he provided some great tips for book sales for authors. Brian talked about a few of the many ways that corporations buy author’s books in bulk. One such way is for employee recognition or to go with awards, to give to their members or staff, as a customer recognition or sign up bonus, or to compliment employee training and development.  There are many other organizations that also buy books in bulk, such as homeschooling associations, Military, schools associated with the Military, government, book clubs and professional associations.

Many authors think the wider and bigger the market for their book the better, however, Brian urges authors to consider that the tighter and smaller the market, the better.  It is easier to build relationships, zero in on a marketing strategy and find the niche when your market is smaller. Think about yourself and your book as a problem solver. When you can determine what problem you solve, it is easier to market and generate multiple book sales. 

Brian gave examples of dog food companies who gave authors books away (after purchasing in bulk) as a coupon or with a bag of dog food.  The formula to remember is:

AIDA

Attention, Interest, Desire then Action;

What corporations, associations or groups might have an interest in your book (or their clients or staff may have interest because you solve their problem)?  How can you attract their attention?How can you apply this approach to your business?

You can listen to Brian Judd’s interview with me here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/your-book-as-a-business/2013/05/15/guest-brian-jud

To read more tips for authors, visit www.HowToSellAndMarketYourBook.com
 

To buy Brian's book, visit:

 

Living your best Life?

What does it mean to live your best life?

I love this question... as it means different things to different people. But, the one common response I hear to that question is that living your best life has much to do with doing what you love, spending time with those you love and feeling that you are contributing in some way.

Living your best life, navigating around life's challenges, staying on track and celebrating success were some of the many topics that I shared on Liz Sterling's "Art of Living Well" radio show.  You can listen to the show here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/artoflivingwell/2013/04/30/sterling-spin-with-liz-sterling

To find out more about the book GPS Your Best Life, visit www.gpsyourbestlife.com or

Read more on Amazon:




To live your best life...

1) Get Crystal CLEAR on what you want to do, be and have.
2) Map the plan... record your goals and the necessary actions.
3) Chart your progress.
4) Ask for help.
5) Learn from people who have accomplished what you aspire to do.
6) Celebrate your success and your wins.

Courage: is it necessary for teams and business?

Does courage in business make a difference?

I think it does. In fact, courage is an essential skill for leaders, business owners, entrepreneurs and team members. Courage is one of the foundations of:

1) Resolving conflict respectfully and effectively
2) Leading teams through change
3) Taking risks to bring your business or team to new levels of success
4)  Stepping into new skill sets and personal growth

Recently I was a guest on the Fantastic Frank Radio show, talking about my books, including On Toby's Terms, and GPS Your Best Life (co-authored with Debra Kasowski).

Courage when accompanied by sincerity, authenticity and humility is courage at its best. Frank and I talked about acts of courage and how courage can help you look at a potentially challenging or traumatic event through a different perspective. 

Here are a few tips to bringing more courage into your day to day actions, relationships and communication:

1) Be open to new perspectives and ideas instead of being tied to your perspectives only
2) Ask lots of questions, be curious, and recognize that questions invite a deeper dialogue
3) Instead of assumptions, take a step into courage and ask for clarrification
4) Every day challenge yourself to try one new skill or activity (for example, try a new food, listen to music you haven't listened to before, start a conversation with a stranger... basically, take a small stretch out of your comfort zone)
5) Ask yourself the big question.... WITWTTCH- what is the worst thing that could happen by....

When you step into courage, you move through discomfort and sometimes through fear. Practice makes it easier, and, invites others to step in this direction too.

Charmaine on Fantastic Frank Show Nov 15/12
 

Listen to internet radio with FantasticFrank on Blog Talk Radio

Charmaine on Fantastic Frank Show Nov 22/12

Listen to internet radio with FantasticFrank on Blog Talk Radio

To find out more about the books, GPS Your Best Life, On Toby's Terms and Toby the Pet Therapy Dog visit

                              
      

"Nothing is done TO you. Everything is done FOR you."

Does this viewpoint change anything? 

Does it change everything?

I interviewed Farhana Dhalla,  author of beautiful book: Thank You For Leaving Me.

 These were rich conversations!

In an earlier career I was a dispute resolution expert, and separation and divorce mediator, helping hundreds of couples separate peacefully, minimize conflict so as not to further impact children, re-define their new roles as parents and to establish parenting plans that were collaborative and in the best interests of the children.

During my interview with Farhana she mentioned that she had "witnesses" to every action she took, every word she spoke, and how she managed every emotion she felt.

WOW!

Her book is so incredibly authentic and transformational.

You can listen to our discussions here:  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/charmainehammond/2012/11/13/thank-you-for-leaving-me-with-author-farhana-dhalla

We also explored the process of being an author, getting a book written, and then releasing it.... for the world to see.

Farhana  shared her journey of being a writer, the process she used to write her book, how writing the book became life changing for her, and what she discovered about herself, through the process of writing.

Discover what Farhana means when she says “This is a journey of contradictions… and somewhere in the contradictions, lies the truth. This is a raw truth book about taking 100% responsibility. As long as I was blaming him, I would not be free. I would remain victim unless I took responsibility for what I had co-created.”

So many authors struggle with fear (of writing the book, being exposed, marketing, selling, media, to name a few), and Farhana shared how she coped when the fear popped up. We also enjoyed the conversation about "pressing send" the process of releasing the book to the publisher, printer and world.

Losing your voice in the process of writing is another challenge that many writers face, Farhana included. At one point in the writing process, she had to put a stake in the ground and reclaim her voice, and the vision for her book.

Some tips:

- know your vision for your book, keep your voice and hire the right team
- work through the fear so it doesn't block your ability to share your work, your story, your inspiration with the world
- write to a specific audience, know who your reader is
- allow yourself to be part of the journey......


For more information on Farhana and her wildly popular new book Thank You For Leaving Me, visit http://thankyouforleavingme.com




You can listen to the show here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/charmainehammond/2012/11/13/thank-you-for-leaving-me-with-author-farhana-dhalla



 

Listen to internet radio with Conversations with Charmaine on Blog Talk Radio

Your Book and Social Media with Ron Noble

One of the aspects I love about having three radio shows that I host, is, that I get to interview great guests with different business and team models.  Recently on my Your Book As a Business Radio Show ( http://www.blogtalkradio.com/your-book-as-a-business)   I interviewed Ron Noble, author, illustrator, animator and Emmy Award winner! 

Ron Noble- author, illustrator and Emmy Award Winner!
Director of the RugRats and many other TV and feature films
A great outlook on creating conversation and building relationships in business

Ron has been creating cartoons since he could hold a crayon. He started out making comic strips to get laughs, but soon discovered animating his twisted cartoons got bigger laughs. He has since won an Emmy® Award for directing Rugrats and has directed many other Nickelodeon animated TV shows, as well as creating his own award-winning animated shorts and animated sequences on feature films.

Ron has illustrated a bunch of picture books including “I Have a Restaurant” (also a Kendahl House Press book). “Letter Beasties” is his first book as author & illustrator (see links below).

Social media has been a very positive force for Ron in building his author platform, and developing relationships.  Active on Facebook, Twitter, Blogging, and You Tube, Ron is finding that the time spent (Strategic time) on social media has proven to be most useful, and results in sales.

Think about how you can use social media in your business to a) promote your products or services, b) educate the public about your business values and causes that you support,  c) share your company successes with the public, d) find out the needs of your customers, and e) engage them in conversation.  Social media allows champions to develop, for example when someone loves Ron's book, and they post a review or comment on Facebook, that is available to the world's eyes. His happy readers become champions for him and his books. The same applies for you in your business. 

If you are not using using social media in your business, I would encourage you to get on Linked In, Twitter, You Tube (great place to have happy customers, clients, readers post a video testimonial) and then with consistency, review the results after 60 days.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/your-book-as-a-business/2012/05/12/guest-ron-noble



                                       


Learn more about Ron and the Letter Beasties at: http://www.letterbeasties.com/