Homework #11 - How to Use Marketing Psychology to Create a Frenzy For Your Book - Sue Shigemitsu

How do you plan to use urgency to motivate people to buy your book today instead of tomorrow?

·        I would do a launch sale where I will announce three weeks in advance that if you come in person to my book launch I will sell my book for a discounted price. Basically, when you come to my book launch and buy my book there, you could get my previously published book for half off - and this is only if you come to the book launch.

·        At a book signing, I will give limited signed edition with a special seal next to my signature (it could be a crest or symbol from a group or special team mentioned in the book I am signing) for those who purchase a brand new copy at my book signing.

How do you plan to use scarcity to make your book more valuable?

To make my book scarce, I was thinking of limited editions for Christmas (or special holidays) by using one of the following:

·        a hardcover edition that have special illustrations inside the book (only 50 copies)

·        a hardcover edition with a specially illustrated cover (only 25 copies)

How do you plan to make your book more ubiquitous so that it is more available?

·        If I were to use superlatives I would probably put "famous unknown fairy tale in this side of the world" for novella I have published in the previous year ("The Blue Bird of Happiness").

Edited update (after receiving comments on this one): I don’t know if this would clear things up, but perhaps if I were to rephrase it this way, “A famous European fairy tale revealed to North America!” 🤷‍♀️

How do you plan to use social proof to make your book more popular? 

·        For element of popularity, I would work on building a crowd by starting with the one reader I want to reach (my Timothy is a young lonely kid who could not fit in, but searches for their place in a book).

·        For social proof, I would probably mention the award I won in a contest ("Runner Up in the Guild Awards"). And getting reviews from my readers.

How do you plan to use anchoring to make your book look like a bargain?

For my fantasy novel:

·        "With X number of years in magic school + materials in building a magic portal takes X amounts of materials (magic wood + magic paint + carpentry tools + carpentry skills of two months) = a magic portal to a fantasy world.

·        Open a fantasy book = going to a fantasy world in less than a minute (and for an ebook price of $10)!"

How do you plan to show authority?

I plan to build trust with my reader, whether it is a certain group or just one specific individual and their likes. I think this works for me as I am someone who wants to build a relationship with my readers by focussing on a combination of genres (i.e., Asian-style fantasy). This is also built on consistency as, for example, write a series and expand that focussed genre with my world building or adding developmental growth to the character in my series. As I get comfortable in refining my craft, I will have confidence in knowing what my readers love and what they would shy away from.

How you plan to throw a banquet for your readers?

For my blogs and webpages, I will create a link to my “Story Archives” or “My Collector’s Library” –a place where I have a collection of short stories that are related to my already published books or works in progress (sort of a library of “spin offs”). The stories will be arranged by categories based on the world or a specific character in my book, or by series. I want to make this an experience as if I am treating them to a trip to a museum or library or a pastry shop where they could sample the works in display.