It's my pleasure to introduce you to our guest author today, John DiPietro.
WRITE IT, SPEAK IT, SELL IT!
by John DiPietro
Bread and butter, beer and popcorn, and ham and eggs all are well known items that go together with each other. Here is one more to add to the list, writing and speaking.
The big issue is that the two skills require input from different sides of your brain. Once you master how to put the two together, the third element that will come into play is SELLING. You see, if you have a book, and then the capability to speak distinctly and clearly about it, people will want to buy it.
The converse is true also. If you can speak intelligently about a subject, then people will want to learn more from you about the subject. And even in this electronic world, the top way to gain credibility as a speaker is when you are a published author.
So you see how the cycle completes itself. Write a book, then talk about it and then sell it. Or talk about a topic, then write about it and sell it that way. Either way, these are two skill sets that are absolutely vital to any author.
The difficulty the speaker has in putting their words down on paper are common. The speaker usually likes to shift from topic to topic without much time in between. The author likes to dwell on the same topic for extended time periods and exhaust a topic.
Being a successful writer who is a great speaker can be just the combination necessary to lead to good sales of the book, either in the back of the room at a speaking event, or via online sales or bookstore sales.
The fact is, it is difficult to get shelf space at your local giant chain bookstore if you are not a celebrity, established writer or newsmaker. However, if you do not fit into any of the just mentioned categories, you can still self publish your book and sell it at speaking events.
Keep in mind, that it makes no difference what type of speaking event this is, even if you are not paid a fee for speaking. Good speakers that know how to sell from the stage, without appearing to be hucksters, can make good revenue from back of room sales and many times gain additional speaking events from that one.
The key is to exceeding the expectations of the audience. Today, just meeting expectations is not enough. You have to go the extra mile and really prepare for the event, even though you may have given the same speech several times. It's how you engage your audience that counts.
This means learning about the geographic area in which the speech is taking place. Have there been any non tragic news events that you can make reference to? Is weather an issue? How can you turn current events into part of your presentation? All of these factors are important in impressing the audience with the amount of customization or localization of your presentation.
Always have a supply of books with you in your car if you are speaking close by home. Volunteer to speak at every Lion's, Rotary, Kiwanis, Chamber of Commerce or other civic event that is within fifty miles from home.
Arrive early and greet the attendees and stay late to answer questions. Offer a set dollar amount per book sold that will go to a local charity or to the sponsoring organization itself. They will then help promote the sales for you during the introduction or thank you. Give away a book during a raffle or if an audience member answers a question correctly. You get to hold your book up in front of the entire audience. The last thing you want to do is be accused of using your presentation as a sales pitch for your book or other services. So please keep that in mind.
Speaking sells books. Books spawn more books and books lead to speaking gigs. It's a great ring of promotion and publicity if done properly.
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About John DiPietro
John DiPietro is an author, speaker and marketer. His string of fifteen consecutive years as the leading sales representative at a Boston area radio station is a record that may never be broken. Today he speaks to organizations about using social media and live speaking events to enhance their business.
He can be reached in the Boston area at 508 829 9949 or via email at originaljohndipietro@gmail.com. You can visit his website at www.greatsellingresults.com
6 comments:
Thanks John, for sharing your expertise with Marketing Tips For Authors readers. You give some great advice.
"Speaking sells books. Books spawn more books and books lead to speaking gigs." - Well said.
This is why I teach, lecture and appear so frequently, along with multiple radio interviews annually. Perhaps most significantly, I am SATISFIED with the course of my career. Being happy at what you do, I also believe, is a necessity for prosperity.
I also love how John pointed out the fact that a book lends credibility to what you're speaking about. That statement actually provides the confirmation for the topic of my next book.
Thanks for this.
His articles and tutorials always have something new and inspirational content for the marketing fellows.
This article is also one of them and I just figure out that one must possess talent of writing,speaking and selling to make a brand,for effective marketing and thus to have a profitable business.
I agree with this. I try and do school talks for exactly the same reason. Still learning my way with that but there is interest from teachers and children in my subject (whether YA sci fi, historical or fantasy).
Thanks for the epiphany. I have been a speaker for many years and have recently published a book. Writing down the information I have confidently spoken about was torturous now I understand the differences between speaking and writing.
Also, really appreciated the ideas of selling the book without selling the book. Great info.
I like knew selling had to be a separate part of the brain from writing and speaking :).
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