When it comes time to promote your book, it’s often hard to know exactly what parts of your book people love and which parts you can potentially share to catch the interest of new readers.
There are two specific ways to do this that I’m going to teach you in this article. The first is before the book comes out (so you can use it in your launch) and the second is after the book comes out.
Before the Book Comes Out
During your book launch, you want to share the most fun, interesting, and entertaining parts of your book.
But how do you know what they are?
As the author, you are much too close to the content to know. Your favorite parts won’t be your reader’s favorite parts.
And, no, your editor or husband can’t help you either.
Here’s how you do it correctly.
3–6 Months Before Book Launch
Send a copy of the book to at least 25 early readers (these can be the same people you’re getting Amazon reviews from).
Make sure you are clear that you need them to read the book and give you feedback later.
Wait at least a month, preferable 3–4 months, and send them this email:
SUBJECT: Quick book feedback
Hi [FIRST NAME],
Thanks again for being a pre-reader of my book. I just wanted to followup to get a bit of feedback.
When you think back to reading it, what are the top 2–3 scenes [OR sections] that stand out to you?
What were your favorite 2–3 scenes [OR sections]? And why?
Thanks so much!
[YOUR NAME]
Here is what you are doing:
You need to give people enough time to:
- Forget the details of your book.
- Let the book sink into their subconscious.
I just reread the book The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It had been awhile since I first read it. I couldn’t remember most of the details of the story, but here’s what I did remember:
- The part where Lisbeth gets revenge on her guardian.
- The first telling of the car crash on the bridge and the girl disappearing.
- The basement scene towards the end of the book (shudder).
I remembered those three scenes, but I couldn’t remember the details of how those scenes came about or even how the book ended.
Those were three of the most compelling scenes in the book!
While yes, #3 could be a spoiler, the other two parts would be great pieces to share with potential readers to get them interested in the book.
The same thing would work for non-fiction books.
If you are writing a business book, ask people four months after they read it what the most compelling stories and ideas in the book are.
Here’s the thing…
These are the parts of your book you should use to market your book!
Don’t just give away the first chapter! Share the exciting parts of your book.
Imagine if movie trailers just showed us the first 120 seconds of the movie.
BORING!
Instead, they pull out the compelling pieces and share those.
Do this with your book as well!
After your book is out
There is a hidden way to see the most popular highlighted parts of your book on Kindle.
This is how to crowdsource your readers to find the most popular parts.
Once people start reading and highlighting your book, that information gets aggregated into your book’s Kindle page.
But here’s what’s weird… it’s hidden by default.
But I’ll show you how to find it.
- Go to http://kindle.amazon.com and login.
ASIDE: This is the way that doesn’t work. If you search for your book title and click on it, you won’t see your Popular Highlights. For some reason Amazon hides this by default. Here’s how to get around this…
- Get the ASIN for the Kindle format of your book.
Visit your book page and scroll down to the Product Details section. Copy the ASIN for your book.
- Put the ASIN into the search bar at http://kindle.amazon.com and click the search button.
- Click the title that comes up.
Now your Popular Highlights are on the right sidebar.
These are the most popular pieces of your book.
For my first book Your First 1000 Copies, the most popular piece is:
“Marketing is two things: (1) creating lasting connections with people through (2) a focus on being relentlessly helpful.”
That is one of the most compelling parts of the book, and points out to me what I should be using to market the book!
How to Share Your Book
Often, it’s really hard to figure out how to share out book with potential buyers.
One of the keys it to identify the most compelling parts of the book, and then use those in your marketing.
Use this guide to know both before and after the launch, what parts of your book readers find this most compelling.
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