by Carjie Scott on February 18, 2022 at 1:30 a.m. CST

If you are reading this, you have either considered writing a book, recently wrote a book, or released a book but hadn’t reached many sales yet. Congratulations in advance! Your timing is perfect; you’ve arrived at the right place. I wrote this post to share how I made 4-figures within the first six months of releasing my first book, “You are Accepted: How to Get in College and Life.” I decided to document my experience because studies have shown that self-published authors only sell about 250 books in their lifetime, which averages only $500.00 or less from book sales. If you use the steps I provide below, you will likely exceed $500.00 in sales within the next six months.

Here are the five steps to make 4-figures in 6 months selling your self-published book.

1. Identify your Target Audience

My book, “You are Accepted: How to Get Accepted into College and Life,” was written for: 1) students interested in attending college and looking to get the most out of their college experience post-graduation, 2) aspiring and current education administrators who want to learn more about the underbelly of higher education, and 3) people who like a good self-help story about resilience and belongingness.

Ask yourself: 1) Who is my intended audience? and 2) How can I market my book to my intended audience?

2. Connect with the Target Audience

I have written blogs at carjiescott.com, journaled with The Tennessee Tribune Newspaper, and wrote articles for a top-ranked university for the past five years. Through the blog, I was able to gain subscribers and develop digital relationships. As a journalist with The Tennessee Tribune, my education articles were viewed state-wide, which enabled me to grow my audience. The university articles helped me to establish rapport with higher education professionals nationwide. These opportunities helped develop my presence directly with potential book readers and direct them to my blog http://www.carjiescott.com.

Ask yourself: 1) Do I already have an audience that is interested in my work? and 2) What can I do to grow my existing audience?

3. Start or Update your Book Website

I’ve been blogging for a while now, and I did not want to create a new website. Although I was encouraged by the author community, I could not find the time in my schedule to manage an additional digital footprint. Also, I am a self-taught site designer; because, let’s face it, websites are EXPENSIVE. In addition to the time investment, I did not want to invest the money required to build a new site from scratch to highlight my book. So, I updated my current website to include:

1. A new homepage with links to buy my book, read book reviews, and attend speaking events.
2. A dedicated landing page to sell books and give an overview of the book.
3. A discussion guide gift for subscribers of my blog.

Ask yourself: 1) Do I have a digital footprint ie. website, social media channels, podcast etc. and 2) Can I teach myself how to create my own digital tools to sell my book or will I have to hire someone to do this for me?

4. Pre-sell your Book

This is the step that I missed in my book-selling process. Looking back, I wish that I had pre-sold my book to my subscribers, friends, and family. Instead, I made my book available for purchase everywhere books are sold. In turn, I could not record who purchased the book from major retailers. Also, I only received royalties for books purchased instead of the total market price of $25.00. If I had pre-sold my book directly to the consumer, I would have made at least $550.00 during the first month of book sales. Instead, I only made about $300.00.

Ask yourself: 1) Am I more concerned with sells in the marketplace and book rankings? or 2) Do I want to make money selling my book direct to consumer?

5. Sell your Books in Bulk

This is how I made the most money selling books. There are several advantages to selling your books in bulk. 1) You can ensure that your target audience has access to your book within their community, 2) You can partner with organizations interested in your book, which could help with booking speaking engagements, and 3) You can make more money in one transaction instead of several small transactions.

Ask yourself: 1) Which organizations would be interested in buying my books in bulk? and 2) How will selling books in bulk help to get more readers engaged with my book?

I hope that these five tips will help you sell more books. Please share, comment, like, and subscribe if you enjoyed this post. Also, be sure to check out “You are Accepted: How to Get Accepted into College and Life,” it’s available here and everywhere books are sold!

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