It’s an exciting time for ambitious authors. Anyone with a story can share it with the world, promoting it through social media, blogging, podcasting, etc.
Selling book on your webinar
That said, there’s so much content around that it’s hard to stand out. Therefore, authors with ambition need to take advantage of all marketing opportunities.
So let’s imagine you finally went for it and wrote a book. At this moment, you probably have one main question in mind, which is how to increase your sales as much as possible. You want to learn the best way to stand out and make the most of opportunities online. One great idea that you may not have considered yet is to host webinars. Would that be worth trying? Let’s go through some important questions that will help you make your decision.
What can a writer offer through a webinar?
If you’re unfamiliar with the webinar format, it’s essentially an online seminar that gathers people to view a presentation and discuss the topics involved. For example, a live webinar can feature a presenter engaging in real-time with the attendees. In addition, it can be recorded and made available to anyone interested in viewing it (you can find more basic details here).
Professionals in many fields can benefit from webinars, and writers are no exception. Since most people join webinars to learn something new, you can center your sessions around developing specific skills and sharing the tips and techniques you’ve gained throughout your writing career. This approach works very well because writing is a complex craft with so much to explore. You might decide to cover a broad subject such as how to write short stories, or you could narrow your focus to something more specific, for example how to create powerful opening sentences for short stories.
Focus on what you know and let your book follow
Alternatively, if writing isn’t your primary focus but merely your method of conveying your ideas, you could focus on those ideas. That is what JJ Virgin does. She is a nutrition specialist who hosts webinars through her community, and passing on what she knows about nutrition is the perfect way to promote books like The Virgin Diet.
You could also dish out advice on the practical side of modern authorship. There are plenty of ways to become an author (Jericho Writers details various routes to get published), and it’s natural for aspiring writers to wonder which path is best for them. Consider that the topic doesn’t matter so much because no matter what it is, you can find a way to discuss your new book. If you talk about themes, you can bring up how you chose the ones running through your book. If you talk about publishing, you can describe how you got it published.
Brian Jud does the same. He concentrates on helping people sell books and sells his own in the process, among them How to Make Real Money Selling Books. Alongside the occasional free webinar he sells a paid series, and every copy he shifts is further proof that his methods are worth paying to learn.
How can your webinar drive book sales?
General promotion of writing is excellent, but your webinar has a specific goal: to get people to buy your new book. So how can you manage that? Let’s break it down very simply. Your audience will consist of ambitious writers who want to learn from you. So here are some of the key ways in which you can win some conversions:
- Present the book as the fullest version of what you have just taught them. Mention it at the start and again at the end, and make buying it easy. The attendees already value your expertise, which means many of them will probably want to explore your newest work because good writers should always keep reading.
- Impress the attendees, so they promote you, leading to more sales. Even if someone viewing your webinar doesn’t want to buy your book, they might be sufficiently impressed by your presentation that they decide to mention you through their social media profiles. If they do, you could politely ask them to include a link to your book.
- Charge for your webinar and offer a package deal with your book. If you have the expertise to provide, it isn’t unreasonable to expect financial compensation, and many professionals build their incomes around selling tuition. One interesting option is to offer a reduced price for your webinar and book.
How can you promote a writing webinar?
When you’ve figured out what you’re going to offer in your webinar, you need to promote your webinar. After all, it won’t do you much good if no one attends. Here are some tips for getting it done:
- Add a pop-up to your website. If you build a custom registration page for your webinar, a pop-up can point people to it. Be careful with the timing, though, because a badly timed pop-up irritates more people than it converts.
- Distribute a teaser snippet. Try recording some of the content you intend to put in your webinar and uploading it to sites like YouTube and X. It’s akin to offering the first chapter of your book. Get people interested through the teaser (set up what you’ll teach people through your webinar). Then tell them how they can find out more.
- Write a supporting blog post. Whether you already have a blog or know of some relevant blogs that accept pitches, you could get some good value from writing a blog post about the topic you’ll be addressing in your webinar. Lay the groundwork, then push people to view the webinar.
- List it as an event where you can. Every event listing for your webinar will get slightly more attention.
Overall, to answer the main question, yes, you should use a webinar to promote your new book. After all, it is an excellent way to grow your brand and share your work with people while keeping the presentation natural and not overly promotional.
Give it a try!
Teach something genuinely useful, tell the honest story of how the book came about, and mention it early enough that nobody feels ambushed at the end. Fill the room beforehand with teasers, a blog post and a well-timed pop-up. Done that way, the webinar sells the book because the book is plainly the next thing to read, not because you asked.
FAQ
Why should I host a webinar to promote my new book?
A webinar gives you a chance to connect with your audience live and show your expertise in real time. If you teach something valuable related to your book’s topic, people will trust you more and be motivated to buy your book.
How exactly can a webinar lead to sales of my book?
You begin by introducing your book early and end by reminding people where to buy it. You make a compelling offer during the webinar. Also, even if some attendees don’t buy, they may talk about you to others, bringing referrals. And you might bundle access to your webinar with your book as a package deal.
What content should I include in my webinar to make people want to buy?
You should focus on delivering real value linked to your book’s subject. Teach something practical that your readers can use. In the course of your teaching, refer to ideas or sections from your book and show how the book expands or deepens what you taught.
How can I get enough people to attend my webinar?
You can promote it using a pop-up on your site timed well so it doesn’t annoy people. You can release a teaser video or excerpt to spark interest. You can write a blog post about the topic and point readers to the webinar. Also list the event on relevant platforms or calendars.
What’s the right time to plug in the sales pitch in the webinar?
You should mention your book at the beginning to set expectations and again toward the end as a natural conclusion. In between, build trust by giving useful content. Then transition into the offer in a way that flows naturally from what you taught.
