So – where is it?
There is a trick in the old phrase, “Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door…” This has a fallacy built in. And the author of those words, Thoreau, died nearly penniless in middle-age. Only after he was gone did his works like “Walden” and “Civil Disobedience” start selling – and both are continuing bestsellers today. Only Henry David Thoreau never saw a dime of income from these. Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick” made a fortune for someone, but Melville wasn’t around to see it.
Short answer to solving that: You’re going to have to promote.
Sure, you might think – what about the audience of readers?
They aren’t yours. You can’t contact them to promote your new books.
Their contact details belong to the places that sell your books. The money you get from book outlets can dry up and blow away tomorrow. As when that business goes bottom-up, or they cancel your account.
There is a way to get control over your audience. Directly.
And you’ve probably heard about this – all the wealthy writers today do these three things:
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Collect their email addresses so you can help them directly.
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Have a backend that will help you help them.
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Give them additional material they’ll appreciate.
And there are a few more details below that, but first, let’s explore promotion. How to let people know you have a better mousetrap…
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