How to Sell Books Like Wildfire

Building a fire is a great illustration for authors who want to sell more books. For example, if you want to start a fire, experts agree that the first step is to gather together kindling. Once you light a small pile of this tinder, the result is a flame so intense that it quickly spreads and ignites the larger branches around it. As the larger branches catch fire, they generate enough energy to ignite a large log. And if that resulting fire is left uncontrolled, the flames can get so powerful that they create a wildfire that sweeps through the entire forest.

If you want to sell books like wildfire, utilize the same principle. Start by identifying and igniting an initial group of readers (your kindling) who get so excited that they turn into raving fans. I like to call them “word-of-mouth warriors.” These are people who will forcefully take up the cause to tell others about your book. You don’t have to ask them to promote. They will do it willingly, because the value of your book touches an emotional fuel that lights them into action. They want to tell others how your book improved their life. Or they want the joy of being the first person to tell others about your book, which makes them feel cool (never underestimate a person’s desire to be seen as influential).

A “kindling” reader is a person who feels so excited or grateful for your message that they want to share their experience with others. This excited influence acts like a flame that spreads interest to new and larger groups of people. A domino effect occurs, and the excitement about your book expands outward from your raving fans to other readers they know.

To create a similar dynamic for your book, the question you must ask is, “Who needs my value the most?” You could even turn the question around and ask, “Who stands to lose the most if they never get my value?” Your answers to these questions help identify the people most likely to read your book, burn hot with excitement, and enthusiastically tell others. They define the tinder needed to start your own wildfire.

* Learn how to find your kindling readers and start a blaze of book sales with Rob Eagar’s new resource from Writer’s Digest, Sell Your Book Like Wildfire.