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Updated September 14, 2023
Subtitle
If your sell sheet driving is not driving the results you want or need, it might be time for a makeover
Synopsis
Is your sell sheet driving the results you want or need? If not, it might be time for a makeover. The solution may be to rebrand, adjust your value proposition, or modify your existing marketing strategy before these five danger signs become unavoidable headaches.
What You Will Learn
1. You will learn the five signs that your sell sheet needs to be redesigned, rethought, and rewritten.
2. You will learn how to analyze your sell sheet’s message.
3. You will learn to recognize if your reading audience has changed, shifted, or grown.
Introduction
Your book is rolling along, and you think your sell sheet is working hard for you. But is it doing all that it should be? Is your sell sheet driving the results you want or need? If not, it might be time for a makeover.
The solution may be to rebrand, adjust your value proposition, or modify your existing strategy before these danger signs become unavoidable headaches. If you can identify these problems, it is probably time to rethink your book’s sell sheet.
Avoid These Five Sell Sheet Danger Signs Before They Become Costly:
Sign #1. Your Sell Sheet’s Message Is Inconsistent
For example, is your sell sheet reflecting the content and information of the book, your blog, and your brand? Is the book’s cover, title, subtitle, and back-cover information all relevant to the book and projecting the correct message to your audience?
Is your sell sheet projecting the same message all your other marketing material is projecting? Is the content on your blog relevant to the same audience you wrote your book? A consistent message across your marketing material will make each piece more believable and powerful – and increase your chance of making a sale.
Sign #2. You Don’t Really Understand Your Audience
While writing your book, you had a very particular audience in mind. And, of course, that is the best way to write a book. But now that your book has been selling for several months and your blog has been up and running for much longer, you realize that other groups are buying the book you didn’t know would have an interest.
This data will also enable you to add blog content that will better serve the needs of these new audiences. You must always be willing to change gears to help your audience better. The more you serve their needs, the more books you will sell.
Sign #3. Your Sell Sheet Hasn’t Connected with Any Libraries
Your goal should be to send your book’s sell sheet to every library in the country. And you should be getting some feedback from them in the form of book sales or, at the very least, some email questions from them. If you are not getting feedback, you probably need to rethink what content should be added or changed on your sell sheet.
Start by re-evaluating who your book’s audience is and what marketing message you are using to connect with them. Show your sell sheet to a local librarian and ask for their comments and suggestions. This person can give an insider’s opinion about your book’s sell sheet.
Sign #4. Your Sell Sheet Doesn’t Look Professional Enough
If your sell sheet does not look professionally designed and printed, you should not have sent it out in the first place. You only get one chance to make a first impression, so don’t waste that opportunity. Look online at other sell sheets and catalogs of other publishers for design inspiration. Finding an affordable professional graphic designer on the internet is also effortless.
And, for a fee, some printing companies have a graphics/design department that will do the design for you. Pay the money and get it done right. But even if you hire someone to help with the design, you will still need to know what information needs to be included.
If you haven’t done so already, compare your sell sheet to others selling a similar type of book. I show my kids anything I write or design – both in their 20s. They are a lot smarter than I am and can be brutally honest.
Sign #5. Your Sell Sheet Isn’t Making an Emotional Connection
For any marketing efforts to be successful, they must make an emotional connection with the buyer. The better and more significant the connection, the more book sales you will have. Even if you don’t understand anything about marketing, understand this one thing, and you will be a successful marketer and sell more books.
The content or message in your sell sheet must make some kind of connection with the reader. The reader must believe you understand their needs and will share information with them so they can fix their problem. They must think that you have the answers for them. A successful sell sheet must achieve this.
Conclusion
Review it every quarter or at regular intervals. You may not even realize your sell sheet is outdated and not working to its fullest potential. Hence, you have plenty of time to update it to ensure it accurately reflects the book you offer and your contact information.
Sell sheets are often the first impression people have of your brand. Take the time to make sure the sell sheet on your website is always up-to-date, professional-looking, and error-free.
Questions to Think About
1. If you ever changed your sell sheet, what was your reasoning for making these changes?
2. As your book started to sell, and you began to get feedback on your book and your blog, did this make you rethink and redo your sell sheet?
