The One Mistake That Could Stop You From Selling More Books

*This is a guest post by Melissa Breau, an AMAZING editor I've had the pleasure to work with a number of times.*

You probably didn’t get into writing for the money. But once you’ve put all that hard work into writing a book, paid to have it edited and had a cover designed, you’d kind of like it to sell more than a few copies, right?

Well, there’s something most authors overlook when it comes to selling their books—and it’s something that can make a huge difference in the number of copies you sell.

 WRITING A GOOD BOOK WON’T GUARANTEE SALES

While writing you surround yourself with the world your characters live in, so it can come as a surprise when you’ve finished your masterpiece to learn the work is only half over.

A good book may gain you a reader’s loyalty, but before they know whether your book is any good they have to put out their money and buy it. You still have to market and sell it.

And all that is just to lead a potential reader to your sales page—it doesn’t guarantee a reader will click “buy.”

It’s the content that have on that sales page that will make up their mind on whether they should click away or click to add money to your bank account.

 The Secret to A Great Sales Page

The key to creating a great sales page is to think of this part of the process as a business—your readers aren’t just fans, they’re also customers.

Like any “customer,” readers are looking for the right “product” to satisfy a need. With a business book, perhaps they’re looking for tips on using Twitter; with a fantasy novel, they’re probably looking for an escape. If they’ve made it to your page, it’s likely they are looking for a book like yours.

But if you want them to part with their cash they need to be convinced you have what they need. So if you want to sell more books, you need to think about the your customer—what info does he or she need to decide if your book is for them?

Then make sure your sales page provides them with everything they need to know.

Not sure how to do that? Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post—a primer on what every self-publishing author should know about writing to sell.

This is a guest post written by Melissa Breau. She is a freelance writer, editor and a cheesy romantic who likes long walks on the beach and arguing about comma placement. Her FREE online tutorial on Maximizing your eBook Sales details how-to create a strong book description, get reviews and write an author bio. Or, if you want help making it happen, sign up for her new eBook Sales Package (packages start at $150).