It’s not uncommon for writers to be introverted in nature. After all, you’d have to be in order to reflect on your own thoughts and write them down! But unfortunately, book marketing requires public relations, and you can’t always be left alone after your book is published and being promoted. In order to sell your book, you’re going to have to learn to become a great speaker as well.
Before you protest, The Creative Penn has offered seven convincing reasons why you should practice your charisma before you start promoting your book.
- If you’re a successful best-selling author, you’ll probably speak at Writer’s Festivals.
“…if you want to be a successful author, you need to prepare for these events and make sure you fulfill the audience expectation when you get there. (I have been at too many festivals and been terribly disappointed when the author gave a poor performance).”
- You’ll probably read your book aloud at places.
“Reading your own book aloud is a common request at book launches, author events and more. If you stutter and stumble on your words, or you cannot deliver with aplomb your own sparkling prose, will those people buy your books?”
- Being a great speaker will make you stand out in a crowded author market.
“Thousands of books are published each week so how do you stand out? If you are a speaker as well as an author, you stand out amongst those authors who prefer to stay out of the limelight. These days you need to be a bit pushy to get some attention for your book.”
- You can make more money speaking about your book than selling your book.
“Speakers can earn a hefty speaking fee for a keynote, but you can also run day workshops or other events that can make you money. You can charge several hundred for a day’s workshop per person, and several thousand for a keynote (some speakers charge 10’s of thousands). It is certainly another significant income stream that provides an addition to book sales.”
- Which then turns into selling more books at your speeches.
“Back of the room sales are guaranteed if you give a great talk/workshop/seminar. People want to take a piece of you home. Therefore, you can add this income stream to your speaking fee.”
- Speaking can help your readers find a personal connection to you.
“If people listen to you and see you in action, they get to know you better. They can ask you questions and you can demonstrate your knowledge. You connect with individuals this way and great marketing is best done with a personal connection.”
- Giving a speech creates word of mouth marketing, the most valuable form of all marketing tactics.
“If you give a great talk or seminar, if you are memorable for all the right reasons, people will talk about you to their friends. This generates word of mouth publicity for you which is the very best kind. People will then buy your books, or attend your next workshop or may pass the word on in turn.”
Public speaking is never an easy feat, but with practice you can learn to speak as effortlessly as you do write.
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