September 2022

“Show and Ask” — Not Just “Show and Tell” 

Do you remember back in kindergarten or elementary school when you brought a favorite object to school and you stood up in front of your class, showed them what you brought, and then told them all about it?

Many authors today do the same kind of thing with their book. They stand in front of the room (these days, it’s usually social media), show everyone their wonderful book, and tell their audience all about it.

And then, figuratively speaking, they sit back down.

It’s great to tell your audience about your book and to increase awareness that your book exists, but remember, you also want to increase sales.

And how do you increase sales? You ask for the sale!

The late Barney Zick was a fabulous sales trainer. One of the things that drove him most crazy about salespeople was that they would get so involved in telling people how wonderful their product was that they would forget to ask for the sale.

So he would routinely have his sales personnel practice giving him their pitch. They would go into very compelling detail about their product, how great it was, its incredible features, and its extraordinary benefits.

At the end of their pitch, Barney strongly recommended they add one simple question: “Want one?”

It sounds almost ridiculous, but oftentimes we forget to ask our audience to buy our book. And so we actually need a call to action, or CTA.

For authors, it can be as simple as “order it from your favorite book retailer” or “go buy one today.” If you are speaking at a live event, it can be "I'll be signing books at the back of the room after my speech, so please come by for an autographed copy." Your CTA will vary, depending on where you are and who your audience is.

In fact, it doesn’t always have to be “go buy my book.” :-)

A call to “action” is just that. It's a clear statement, telling people what you want them to do.

Do you want them to visit your website? Download a free ebook? Sign up for a free report? Do you want them to connect with you on social media or join a group of like-minded readers? You can tell them to “grab your copy today,” or let them know, “I have a special deal for you when you purchase…”

Sometimes authors feel self-conscious asking for the order -- but if you don't tell people what the next step is, how are they supposed to know? There’s nothing wrong with asking someone to buy your book. You wrote it to help people, to make their lives better in some way, to share something that you believe readers will benefit from. So don't be shy about encouraging them to buy it!

Now, obviously, you don’t want to be asking for the sale with every post or conversation, because that can be annoying and actually put people off. But too often, authors swing to the other extreme -- they tell people about their book all the time but never ask them to order. Remember, there’s a good balance between “show and tell” and “show and ask.”

At the end of the day, you’ve put a lot of effort and energy into your book; don’t forget to ask your audience, “Want one?” 

Our best to you, 

Marji and Karen