Yesterday I made this announcement on my Facebook to inform my cycling friends that I am doing the soft launch of my first book- The Joys of Cycling in Putrajaya. As of today, I have more than 120 “like “and 40 responses from my friends. Here is the front cover.
Below is the contents so that my potential customers will have an idea of what is inside this book written from my twelve years of experience exploring the nooks and corners of the city of Putrajaya on two wheels. Putrajaya is the administrative capital of Malaysia.
And below is the Cyclist Cafe located at Presint 3 Putrajaya where I will be selling my books on Saturday/Sunday 26th/27th of March 2022 from 9 am to 1 pm.
At first, I plan to invite 100 riders to attend my book launch at Umai Cafe so that I can invite VIPs and friends from the cycling communities, have a brunch buffet and book interviews. Considering the present high number of COVID-19 cases in Malaysia now, I better do a simple Meet The Author session and sell my books direct to customers We have SOPs to comply. Now, I am still worried about whether my cycling friends will come to the Cycle Cafe next weekend. What should I do before the event?
Last month, I read articles and listened to podcasts on how to launch book sales and marketing and selling books. There are many ways that I learnt how others did book launches and sales. However, I have modified my plan according to my budget and the government SOP of meeting in public places. Yesterday, I ordered my printer to print only 100 copies as a start. My target for the next two months is 1000 copies. What would I do if I achieved 1000 books sold? Well, my next target would be 10,000 books by end of 2022. It is a tall order to sell 10,000 books in Malaysia in one year but someone has done it. To get a sale target is easily said than done. I have to be creative and resourceful to achieve my target.
To have pre-order sales, I appointed two online booksellers to start selling my book beginning today. Today, I have my first sale and hope to get at least 50 books sold before my actual book sale on 26/3/2022. The balance of 50 more books is to be sold next weekend. Hopefully, that sounds like a plan!
I say hopefully because I don’t know what to expect. After consulting with a book expert, I was advised to create more awareness in the next seven days. Today and tomorrow, I will post the above three items mentioned at my cycling Whatsapp and Facebook groups. At the same time, I will be sharing the information on my Instagram and Twitter accounts. From time to time I will monitor my online sales by my associates at The Shoppe.
Can you recommend what I should do to create more awareness and sales of my books? Thank you.
