- Are you publishing a nonfiction book in the next year?
If you are, it's time to start
thinking about endorsements
or testimonials that you should get
for the cover of your book
or your book marketing.
There are three kinds to focus on getting for your book.
Stick around,
and I'll explain what they are
and who you should ask to get them.
(upbeat music)
Hi, I'm Julie "The Book" Broad.
An award-winning author,
and the founder of a fantastic
company called Book Launchers.
We're your fabulous, professional,
self-publishing team helping you write, publish,
and sell nonfiction books that
will grow your business,
and make you money.
Getting people to endorse your book is smart marketing.
The absolute, best endorsements
can go on the cover of the book,
like this one from Deepak Chopra
on the cover of Alka Dhillon's book.
Nice work, Alka.
But, only the absolute best ones
should ever be considered for the coveted cover space.
Others can go on the back of the book,
a dust jacket cover,
or like this great quote
on the back of "The Sport of School,"
that's right there.
And all the other testimonials
or endorsements that you can get,
can go on Amazon, inside your book
or on media materials.
So these quotes are important to your book marketing.
But there are three specific kinds
you should try to get for your book.
Now, before I get into them,
remember that anything that goes on the cover of your book,
or in your book description, needs to sell your book.
It has to give you major credibility,
create curiosity for your book,
and get that I gotta buy that book feeling in people
so they have to buy your book.
So the first one, is the one that you need
that clearly says that you are the person
to write this book.
What makes you unique?
What have you done?
What's a piece of your story that showcases
that you are the person that should've written this book?
That's the first testimonial
or endorsement that you need to get.
And it comes in many forms.
It could be someone saying something like,
when I worked with Joe at Google,
he was always the one to suggest
the most creative and original solutions to problems.
So when he talks about creative thinking, I listen.
The VP of Google Product Development.
Obviously I made that one up.
But this is a real one for William Hung.
A great book called "Champion By Choice."
"I've interviewed over 2,200 successful
"entrepreneurs on my podcast,
"Entrepreneurs on Fire,
"and the one commonality they all share
"is the ability to rise in the face of defeat.
"William hung is as good an example
"as it gets of someone who bounced back
"from failure stronger and smarter,
"and is now impacting the world in a powerful way.
"Champion by Choice is a must read
"for those who want to choose freedom."
John Lee Dumas of Entrepreneur on Fire.
I like this one as an example because
even if you don't know what a popular
podcaster John Lee Dumas is,
this tells you why John Lee Dumas is someone
to listen to and what makes William Hung different
and someone that you might wanna read about.
Number two, you need an endorsement
or testimonial that covers the benefit
to the reader in reading this book.
So somebody who says I read this book
and the tips helped me make $10,000,
they helped me lose 50 pounds,
they helped me run the fastest race I've ever run.
Whatever the key benefit of your book is or one of them,
you have to have a testimonial
or endorsement that showcases what somebody
is going to get as a result of investing their time
and a tiny bit of money into buying your book.
Ideally, this is a testimonial that is precisely your hook.
You know that thing that says
what's in it for your reader, that benefit?
This one's pretty darn good on the cover
of Gautam Baid's book, "The Joys Of Compounding,"
which by the way,
if you go to buy a copy of this phenomenal resource,
you might find it out of stock because
Columbia University Press bought the rights to the book.
Congrats, Gautam.
But this testimonial speaks
to the reader benefit really clearly.
"An instant classic!
"Gautam's book is the definite
"guide to lifelong learning for investors
"and anyone seeking to reach their full potential.
"A must read."
This one actually gets a bonus point in my mind
because it spells out exactly who this book is for,
not just what the benefit is,
but also who that benefit is going to benefit.
(laughs)
The third one is a testimonial that creates curiosity.
So this can be from a big name celebrity
or someone that says,
wow, I was absolutely blown away.
Something like that from a big name is ideal,
but just something that creates
incredible curiosity will do the trick
if you don't know anybody famous in your industry.
Here's one from Robert Kerbeck's book, "Malibu Burning."
"Thrilling, well-researched and occasionally light-hearted,
"this is a unique and special book."
Paul Kolsby, writer for the critically
acclaimed Netflix series, Ozark.
Actually, go to Robert Kerbeck's Amazon page
and check out the endorsements listed there.
He has some great endorsements.
But that one creates curiosity.
Aren't you wondering how a story about
a major fire could be light-hearted at times?
Now, I know you're probably thinking,
I don't know anybody famous.
First of all, other than Deepak Chopra,
I don't think any of these folks
that I've mentioned so far are truly famous,
but they are respected in their fields
or the company they represent gives them credibility.
But you don't have to know famous people,
you just need a good strategy for contacting
a bunch of people who are respected and known
and do it with plenty of time to spare before your launch.
You don't put your eggs in one basket.
You ask a bunch of people
and expect many will ignore you or say no.
It's kind of a numbers game.
And finally, you can use your
client base for the second kind,
which is your testimonial.
Who writes that is less important
than the quantifiable details.
For example, we had one client that
we landed a webinar for him.
That webinar sold 250 books
and led to four paid speaking gigs.
If I wrote a book about pitching your book to get sales,
I'd get a testimonial from him
that says Julie and her team at Book Launchers
have mastered the methods to get books in readers' hands.
Just one technique you'll learn
could lead to 250 books sold
and four paid speaking gigs
'cause that's what it did for me.
A big thing there isn't that
you know the name of the person,
it's that there is a first
and last name attached to it
and if they're an author,
the book name or even a website.
Only the best of the best will go on the cover,
but you need these for your media kit,
your Amazon page,
and inside of your book because they sell books,
especially if you can get at least
one great one from each of these three categories.
How do you get endorsements or testimonials?
Share that in a comment below
and when you share on the day a video is released,
you'll be entered to win some no boring books swag.
I've been told coffee tastes
better in our #noboringbooks mug.
You'll have to try it and let me know.
Make you subscribe to the channel
and turn those notifications on so you
can make sure you're commenting on the day
a video comes out so you have the best chance to win.
And you might become one of my valued YouTube besties.
I took a break in the summer
and I missed these guys so much.
Ron Neitzel, Allan West, Poetry from the Heart,
Kevin Maguire, always,
Studio 38.
Big virtual hugs to you.
I'm not ready for you to leave yet.
Let's keep hanging out, okay?
Have you seen this video yet?
I think it's gonna make you smile.
And this one is all about getting celebrity endorsements.
And I had a ton of fun thinking about you watching this one.
So check them out,
click one, I'm waiting.
I'm so excited to see you again.
(upbeat music)