What if the true definition of a bestselling author has nothing to do with hitting a bestseller list?
For example, you can hit most bestseller lists by selling only 10,000 copies in a week. That’s a tiny amount of sales considering over 325 million people live in America. Selling 10,000 copies at a typical author royalty or low self-published price will only pay the bills for a few months. Hitting a bestseller list is a wonderful accolade, but it won’t make you rich.
Here’s how I define a truly bestselling author: An author who generates more income this year than the year before. It’s that simple. Consistent growth is the mark of a genuine bestseller. But, how do you insure making more revenue this year than last year? Here’s my secret formula:
More Products + Larger Audience =
Besting Last Year’s Sales (Best–Seller…get it?)
Let’s break down this concept. If you create new products this year and add them to the products you sold last year, then you have more total products to sell. Products can include books and spin-off resources, such as study guides, video courses, paid webinars, training, short stories, novellas, theatrical rights, etc. In other words, people have more avenues to give you money and enjoy your content.
Next, let’s assume you build a larger audience of subscribers who willingly receive updates about your products. Your audience could include email subscribers, YouTube subscribers, direct mailing addresses, etc. (Note: Facebook followers don’t count, because you have to pay for “boosted” posts to reach your entire audience.) Another easy way to build your audience is to create joint venture partnerships with other authors or like-minded organizations.
Put these two components together. If you have more products to sell than you did last year, and you build a larger audience than you did last year, then mathematically you should make more revenue. Yet, why do so many authors struggle to increase their sales? It’s because they DON’T do the following:
• Create 1 – 2 new products each year
• Produce 1 – 2 new spin-off products each year
• Increase new subscribers to an email list, etc.
• Regularly promote backlist products
• Develop joint venture partnerships
If you want outpace last year’s sales, take the 5 steps listed above and make them a primary focus. A true bestselling author doesn’t necessarily hit a bestseller list. Instead, they “best” their sales from last year. That’s easy to do when you consistently grow your audience and offer more products to sell.
Where do you stand? Are you just trying to hit a bestseller list or best your sales from last year?
If you want make a comfortable living from your books, you must learn how to think BIGGER. Go beyond the book. Authors who take my “Book Marketing Master Class” routinely discover how to add $15,000 – $100,000 of new annual revenue. If you’d like to experience similar results, click here for details.