Person-to-Person

I had a pretty good book day today. I went to shul this morning, and a guy who learns in the morning with me (for about 5 minutes, I show up late and he leaves early) was there because his son was putting on Telifin for the first time. His whole class was there with him.

Anyways.... I told his dad about the book and I had him read the first chapter. I told him, "Read it, and if you don't like it tell me - because while I can't change the book now, I can change the marketing." He started reading and his face just lit up. It was really cool to behold. So his dad bought the book and then announced after the kid's speech that I was an author. So I read the first chapter and the kids really seemed to dig it (and asked lots of questions about being an author). The problem was, I didn't have any extra books with me. So, I told the kid that I would give him $1AU for each book he sold. And so he's off making a list and he'll give me his order tomorrow and I'll give his dad some books. I thought, 'hey, I don't have a distributor here, so this is probably the best way for me to move books.'

Later in the day, a lady emailed me. She wanted 3 books (she'd already bought and enjoyed one). She was also going to check with friends so I could give her a bunch of books at once. I offered her a commission too (as she's basically a distributor for me). She took me up on it and is off and running. I'm thinking, readers really like the book, I can probably use this model everywhere.

The fact is, I'd thought about it before. My mom gave me a posting from an old newspaper. In it, Mark Twain (who self-published) was offering commissions to people to sell his books. Very aggressive commissions and very aggressive terms (you had to pay to see the contract). And he was a very successful author. But I didn't think it would work nowadays. Door-to-door selling (and things like it) seem a bit out of touch. But, after today, I think I might be wrong. Person-to-person sales, especially among people who know each other, has one major strength in my case. The seller knows and loves the book. So the seller can recommend it and close the deal right there - and more credibly than I possibly could.

The fact is, things get sold by force of personal recommendation. Especially books. A little extra juice to encourage people to close a sale, not just recommend a book, might work quite well.

So, I'm extending this. I'm going to sample it with some people and see if it is worth the bother. I'll let you know how it goes :)

Oh, and my Amazon ranking has tanked. I need to sell more online - and I'll do that. Nov 15, I have a newspaper review coming out and I'll be sending out a message for the Chanukah/Christmas season.

Happiness!

Joseph