In today’s world of e-commerce, many physical products are now sold online. Business owners strive to get their businesses online because of the advantage of reaching a wider audience.
This, in turn, makes for more sales than they would in a physical store.
Selling your novels online can be a chilled way to make extra income. E-commerce platforms, social media, and other platforms for writers like Medium have opened a vast opportunity to make money from your work online.
If you have written a book that you are looking to sell online and are confused about how to go about it, this post will guide you through how to sell your novel online.
Ways To Sell Your Novel Online
1. Decide on the Platform to Sell
Selling novels online is not abstract; you sell them through e-commerce platforms designed for that. Just as you need a brick-and-mortar store for a physical bookshop, you need an e-commerce platform for online book sales.
The first line of business is to decide which platform or platforms you want to sell your novels on. There are many: Amazon, eBay, BookScouter, Shopify, Textbook.com, and others.
Reading up on what they offer and their policies will help you make a sound decision. Some platforms even allow you to create your store on their websites, where customers can easily access you when they need your services.
Aside from selling on these platforms, you can also create a website for the brand, which is a website where your readers can easily browse through your shelf and make a purchase.
As good as this is, if your website can’t be easily accessed and navigated, you will lose your customers. Therefore, you need to make sure the interface is as simple as ABC.
2. Make Use of Social Media
Another way you can sell your novel online is by using social media. Social media have come to stay. It has become a part of our everyday lives, and living without it almost seems like living in a cave.
Platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok have large and diverse audiences, and as a writer, you should leverage these platforms to sell your novels.
You can start by creating an account(s) for your novels on any social media platform that fits your writings. Use relevant hashtags to pull readers to your page, join pages or groups for authors, and engage actively.
You also want to build a community on your page and engage with them. Design visually appealing graphics and photos relating to your novel theme and create content encouraging book discussions.
Also, occasionally drop interesting snippets – like sneak peeks from your novel – that keep them coming back. This way, they are compelled to buy when you are ready to sell your book.
3. Make Your Novel Worth Reading
You must understand that thousands of people are doing exactly what you are doing, probably even better.
So, how do you want to cut through the clusters to reach your audience and keep them? Simply by making your novels worth reading.
Everybody wants value for their money; so do readers. They want to enjoy any piece they pick up to read.
Therefore, your writing must have a touch that is unique to you and differentiates you from other writers. This will elevate your stories and draw readers in.
Your novels must capture your audience right from the first few pages. It should have relatable characters and a well-structured plot with a balance of tension and resolution.
As a writer, you must pay attention to your audience, get to know them, learn their language and thought patterns, and understand their unique needs.
This knowledge should guide your writing and the outcome of your piece, as it will determine whether you will make money from it.
4. Fix Your Prices
Many factors determine book prices: the volume, genre, and the author. One thing that would help you fix reasonable prices is to conduct market research.
First, you need to check the price tag on similar novels. Then, you must consider your audience, including their purchasing power, spending habits, and willingness to pay.
This will help you not to overprice your novels that customers will be discouraged from buying, and also not underprice your books that you would be running at a loss. You should also keep your production cost in mind.
Considering all these will help you reach a reasonable price to achieve your financial goals.
5. Decide on Your Method of Delivery
The purchase does not end after a customer makes a payment; the order must be sent to them. If you sell e-novels, it is as simple as enabling the customer to access the download button, but physical books must be shipped.
Therefore, you need to check how shipping is done on your selling platform so you know how to engage it.
One thing that makes online shoppers happy is when their orders get delivered on time with no hassle. So, ensure your customers’ orders are shipped on time; it helps create brand loyalty.
If you want to offer free shipping to your customers, do not forget to include the cost of the book so you don’t end up running at a loss.
6. Market Your Book
Marketing is an essential part of a business because a business is only as good as the people who know about it.
So, having a good book and easy access to it is not enough; you must put it in people’s minds. You need people to know you have a good book worth exchanging money for.
Your best bet for advertising your book is to use social media. Leverage organic engagement as I explained earlier, but you may also need paid ads to increase reach.
Publicise your reviews, engage in promotional activities like price slash, sales, buy one get one free, giveaways and offer coupons, and involve some book reviewers or influencers (you may need to get them a free copy to read and inform their followers).
Additionally, use email marketing; your readers can subscribe to newsletters where they get direct messages about your new stories or other things you offer.
Also Read: 9 Sure Ways to Promote Your Book Online
