The Author-Entrepreneur's Guide to Holiday Book Sales

Beginning on Black Friday and continuing through the beginning of the new year, the holiday season marks the busiest shopping season of the year. This is great news for author-entrepreneurs, whether your book is new or not. Why? Books make a great holiday gift!

Actually waiting until Black Friday to start thinking about holiday book sales is too late, though. You need to be ready well in advance, so start thinking about your plan now.

Actually waiting until Black Friday to start thinking about holiday book sales is too late. - @jodibrandon

Here are a few ideas:

• Research gift guides to have your book included. Many of these calls for entry occur in the fall or even the summer before the holiday season.

• Find a holiday angle for your book. Who would be a great recipient of your book? Here’s an example: My most recent book, Write.Publish.Market., is for entrepreneurs who want to write and publish a book to use as a marketing tool for their business. My angle is along the lines of “Do you know someone who should write a book in 2019? Gift them Write.Publish.Market.!”

• Decide what makes sense for you, your book, and your budget. All of these take time to plan, organize, and implement, but here are some ideas to consider:

  • A discount

  • A bonus with purchase

  • Some kind of giveaway

  • A donation of some holiday sales proceeds to a charity

  • An ad campaign

  • A new tagline for your book (like “A great book for Mom this Christmas” or “Don’t plan your Hanukkah menu without this book”)

• Don’t forget about January. Even though the “official” holiday season ends, remember that so many people receive e-readers, Amazon gift cards, and bookstore gift cards as holiday gifts. What better way to use/spend them than on your book?

• Double-check your sales outlets for accuracy. Is your Amazon link working properly? How about your iBooks link? Are all formats listed? Is the price accurate? Don’t wait until crunch time to make sure everything is as it should be.

• Stay on top of media opportunities to get in front of people during the holiday season. (You ARE regularly checking out HARO, right?)

Stay on top of media opportunities to get in front of people during the holiday season. - @jodibrandon

Have you tried something else that worked well? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.