PayPal's Magic "Buy Now" Button

Here's one more thing you can do FOR FREE to help market your book.

You know when your POD printer kindly sets you up with your own personal "Storefront" for your book, and it looks so great, but nobody EVER shops there . . . well, there's a reason. It's probably the most expensive place on the web to buy your book -- or at least tied for most expensive. Full price, plus shipping.

What those pre-fab storefronts tend to do is to derail the author from seeking out his/her own online selling location.

So here's the tip --

You already have an online selling location . . . on your website, or your blog or on FaceBook. You just need a "Buy Now" button from PayPal. Go to this link, follow PayPal's instructions and get one.

Sure you need to set up a Seller Account. How else would you get paid? But your account is good for selling anything you want in the future. And commissions are very low when you do make a sale.

I now have "Buy Now" buttons on my website for all my books. Since there's no middle man, I can sell at competitive prices and still offer FREE SHIPPING VIA PRIORITY MAIL! If you're selling digital books, have your buyers give you their email address when they buy so you can email them their book, after payment, of course.

Here's an example of how pricing works for one of my books:

-- The 19th Element lists for $17.95 and sells on Amazon at that price (free shipping over $25). My commission is about $5.00.
-- I offer it on my site for $15.95 with FREE PRIORITY MAIL SHIPPING. My cost of book is $6.00 delivered to my home. Shipping is $4.90. My net is $5.05, less about $.50 commission.
-- Buyer saves at least $2.00 over Amazon. I get any impulse buys from my site. And I still net almost the same net. It's actually a LARGER royalty than I get when I sell books through my local indie bookstore.
-- Adjust the price to give the best mix of royalties for you and value for your buyers.

Sweet!

If you're selling tree books, you do actually need to put the book into a Priority Mail envelope, address it and take it to a Post Office counter, if its over 13 ounces. But how many sales do you think you're going to make anyway? And if you sell A LOT . . . what a great nuisance to have!

Set up a mailing station in your home. Grab a bunch of FREE Priority Mailers from the Post Office, and a dozen $4.90 stamps, and you're ready to rock and roll.

Of course, if you noticed my post yesterday, you will know that you should also add a "Buy Now" option for a SIGNED COPY at additional cost. If the buyer chooses the SIGNED COPY for $20.95, I get an extra $5.00 for my autograph. And the buyer still pays less than Amazon, if they didn't have $25 of stuff to buy.

It sounds like a lot of work. But it's easier than you think. Check it out and cut out the middle man.

That's it for today.

All the best!

John