CPRA Strategies helps an independent author increase book sales from 12 to 650 within six months.
Challenge
In the Summer of 2019, author Mary Weins released her first book, Letter from Paul: to the Church in Galatia … and Us! Excited to share her book with the world, Mary shared her new book with friends, family, and followers on her Facebook page.
As a self-published independent author, Mary knew that public relations and digital marketing played a crucial role in creating awareness about her new book, but she wasn’t exactly sure how to leverage these tools effectively.
In the initial months, Mary managed to sell a few books sporadically. However, after a few more months, her book sales nearly came to a standstill. In the first three months of 2020, Mary sold a total of only 12 books. Disheartened by the downward trajectory of her book sales, Mary realized she needed professional help.
Solution
Mary enlisted the expertise of CPRA Strategies to devise a comprehensive digital marketing strategy aimed at building book awareness and supporting her sales efforts. The first step involved identifying her target audience and understanding who was actually purchasing her book.
Mary initially believed that her ideal customer was a middle-aged woman struggling with the challenges of being a wife and mother, seeking support and guidance through scripture. She estimated that more than 75% of her audience fit this profile.
To validate these assumptions, we gathered demographic data from her Amazon sales account, website analytics, and social media insights. The findings over the next three months were surprising to both Mary and us – her audience was almost evenly split between men and women, and her female audience ranged from 24 to 65 years old. Contrary to her initial belief, her audience was much more diverse.
Next, we engaged in a process called “copy stalking,” where we studied Mary’s book and other written content to understand her unique voice. With this insight, we devised a three-month social media campaign to build brand awareness and gather more data about her audience.
Result
Following the launch of the initial three-month marketing campaign, Mary’s book sales began to soar. In those first three months, Mary sold just over 400 books.
Impressed by the results, Mary retained CPRA Strategies for an additional three months. During this period, she sold 250 more books, bringing the total to 650. Additionally, she experienced a 112% increase in new and organic social media followers, and her website traffic grew by an average of 12% per month since our initial engagement.
By leveraging CPRA Strategies' expertise, Mary successfully turned around her book sales and expanded her reach to a broader and more diverse audience.
