Want to sell more books? Learn from the best book marketers.
One of my favorites is Amy Porterfield.
Sheโs not only a master marketer, but she approaches online business in a transparent way that opens the door for us mere mortals to copy her genius tactics.
When Amy launched her most recent book Two Weeks Notice last year, I followed most of her moves:
I learned which podcasts she guested on, where she directed podcast listeners to order her book and join her email list, what bonuses she offered for those who ordered her book, and how she laid out her Amazon listing.
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She does it all right. (The only thing you may find difficult to emulate is how generic her book topic is, unless you have a reasonably large audience, but otherwise, you can confidently copy all of her launch, website presence, and marketing tactics.)
Including her blurbs.
First, letโs define what a blurb is.
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Have you ever been in a library or bookstore, overwhelmed with book options, but you pick a book up with a pretty cover or catchy title? You flip through it. You flip to the back (or open the front jacket cover if itโs a hardcover) and notice a quote from someone you recognize.
(You recognize them because theyโre famous.)
Oh boy! I know that person!
Immediately, your icy exterior melts. Now youโre intrigued! You flip through the rest of the book, and because the content seems to be helpful to you, you decide to check the book out (or buy it).
That quote from a famous person is called a blurb.
Blurbs increase conversions and open doors to promotional "rooms."
Ideally, that famous person received a copy of your book before it was printed in its final version, read your book, and thoroughly enjoyed your work, providing a completely original and enthusiastic review of your book.
A blurb is an example of using OPI (Other Peopleโs Influence), a powerful leverage point to use if youโre just starting out or donโt have a large audience yet. Other ways to leverage OPI in book marketing include podcast guesting, blog guesting, contributions or interviews in famous publications or shows, and endorsements (among other things).
I wonโt get into the ethics of author blurbs here; if you arenโt aware, there are way too many people handing out book endorsements to their friends without having ever read the book.
I donโt endorse the practice of completely falsified blurbs, but there is a graceful way to get blurbs back while also maximizing your time and your friendsโ time.
๐ตโ๐ซ Your first thought may be, โI donโt know anyone famous!โ
Actually, you probably know someone with some kind of credential, following, or accomplishment that youโre downplaying.
You may be doing this because you are in the habit of downplaying yourself. You wrote a book! Itโs time to finally own your expertise!
Ask yourself if you have any friends who may have written a book, or may know someone who wrote a book. Or has an audience that would love your work.
My client, Beth, met a friend in an online program who owns a Facebook group of women who were her target audience (women, ages 40-65, residents of the US, love travel and adventure, especially roadtripping, and are open to the idea of solo roadtripping). Beth is now sharing her book in that group to prepare for Amazon reviews, getting hundreds of downloads and doubling her email list (all tactics I teach in my book marketing program). Donโt downplay these connections.
Ideally, anyone leaving a blurb for your book should have some kind of connection with your bookโs topic or your audienceโs interests. Strategically think of people who would be a good promotional partner for your work.
๐ตโ๐ซ Your second thought may be, โHow do I ask them to read my book?!โ
Ok, ok, ok.
The first rule of asking is always to give first.
The second rule of asking is to know what they want, and offer to give it to them.
When asking for blurbs, have in mind that they:
Are super busy, just like you
Want to be exposed to a larger audience they arenโt exposed to yet
Want to be associated with a credible, likable person they can trust
Now that you know this, enter stage left:
The Email Template to Ask for Author Blurbs (feel free to copy and paste this, adapting it to your needs, replacing anything in bold):
Dear [Amazing Scary Person],
I am so excited that we share this same mission or same values. I recently purchased your [book or product, or other way you show your appreciation of their work] and know we have aligned missions in [xyz.]
My name is [name] and [insert very brief but confident thing about you that indicates your claim to authority status in this field, such as your new Youtube channel or your guest appearance on a Top 1% podcast.]
I am a huge fan of your work, and Iโd love to share your platform with my growing audience.
My book is coming out on [x date] and I would love to include a blurb from you about my book so that I can promote your name and brand across my audience of [how big your audience is, including all personal and professional numbers].
In addition to promoting your platform to my audience, I would also like to [give more value, see Ideas for What You Can Offer Them below, such as interviewing them on your channel or having them host a live training to your audience].ย
To save you time, an idea for what your blurb could sound like is: [insert what they may say, something that would make them look good], please let me know what you think.
It would also be my honor to send you a free signed copy of the book when it goes live as an extra token of my thanks. Your quote will be on the cover!
Looking forward to sharing your journey with more people who need your work in this world.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Website]
[Socials if you need]
[attach digital advance copy of your book] [or, if youโre feeling generous and have their mailing address, send them a physical copy with a handwritten note]
Ideas for What You Can Offer Them:
Review of Their Podcast/Book
Testimonial of Their Podcast/Book
Promotional Help (Promote their Podcast, Promote their Book on Social Media and Email List)
Other Help (e.g., they may have a hiring problem that you can help them with)
Interview Them for your Podcast/Youtube/Book
Article/Guest Post on Your Blog
Webinar/Free Training (Live or Virtual)
Distribution (Help them distribute their book)
Other Connections (Help them with introductions)
You may need to do a bit of online sleuthing before sending them this email.
In addition, it helps if this email is not the first thing they ever hear from you; consider commenting on a few of their LinkedIn posts, their blog, or introducing yourself in person before sending them this email.
If youโre having thoughts of doubt or fear, such as, โWhy would they ever want to do anything for me?โ, or โI feel foolish for asking,โ consider this reframe:
Asking is giving.
When you ask something from someone, you are not taking from them. You are giving them something:
An opportunity to be featured somewhere they otherwise wouldnโt be.
A new adventure to learn about a new topic.
A way for them to ask a favor in return.
A new friend.
Practice observing your thoughts the next time you ask for something, and act in accordance with the person you know you can be. The fear will dissipate over time.
If you know your โfamousโ person more closely, you can certainly ask more directly. However, if you donโt know them, or if youโre feeling ambitious and want to ask a well-known person, take your time to understand what you can offer them that would make them enthusiastic to support you. For example, my client wants to ask a famous travel blogger for a blurb. What we came up with is to offer the travel blogger exposure to a different audience (midlife, adventurous women who travel) that the blogger doesnโt have much reach in yet (he usually blogs for millennial solo travelers and digital nomads).
I was once on a call with author, coach, and famous podcaster Cathy Heller, who mentioned that, because sheโs very busy, itโs very helpful if the requestor already has a template (i.e., a pre-written blurb) that Cathy can tweak before approving rather than be approached with nothing. Jack Canfield requested this too when I was in a 2-day mastermind with him. You donโt have to do this, but consider this as a favor to your friend. Theyโre busy too. Help them out, save them time, and give them the opportunity to be exposed to a larger audience.
And of course, send them a final copy of your book when it releases, as well as follow through on any offers you made, including promoting their platform to your audience.
Cross-pollination makes the world go โround. ๐
๐๐ฝ What are your opinions on author blurbs? Love them or find them unethical? What do you think about this email template? Would you add anything or change anything? Leave a comment below.
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For someone to write a blurb for your book, donโt they have to read it first? Do you send them a digital copy?
Thank you ๐