A lot of life takes place online. We are connected more than ever. In few places is that more evident than the wide world of retail.

A few stats we garnered from a survey done by comScore and data we found at BigCommerce.com, you may find interesting:

   
• 51% of Americans prefer to shop online
   
• There are 205M online shoppers in the U.S.
   
• Online sales are predicted to reach $2,489 Trillion worldwide in 2018
   
• Books and other content account for 44% of online purchases

Create a Blog to Sell Books

Since it is the easier of the two to implement, we’ll cover why you need to create a blog to sell more books first.

Your blog is your stage. It’s not a soapbox, but an opportunity for you to provide potential customers with valuable content at no cost. This valuable content can cover a wide range of topics from products to author interviews to interesting industry news to fun insights

A blog is one of the most valuable assets in your book marketing tool bag:

   
• Blogs are easy to setup and usually free
   
• Blogs are a great way to introduce and further establish branding
   
• Blogs can be used to highlight single titles, a series, an author, or a publisher
   
• Blogs open up networking opportunities with guest bloggers
   
• Blogs smartly optimized with keywords help with search engine rankings
   
• Blogs offer opportunities to interact with customers through comments
   
• Blogs create gateways to other points of sale like your e-commerce website, social media, and website

Which leads us to our next topic…

Create a Website to Sell More Books

Building your own website may sound like a huge undertaking, but in reality there are plenty of platforms that make creating a website fairly simple. True, it will take a little more time and effort than maintaining a blog, but the returns are definitely worthwhile.

Take a look at the most successful retailers—the brands you shop most—and you will notice a common thread…they all have a website.

The importance of these websites?

   
• Websites tie together an extensive web presence—blogs, social media, email marketing, etc.
   
• Websites are one of the best ways to create meaningful connections with customers.
   
• Websites can be extremely flexible with built-in point-of-sale and ecommerce.
   
• Websites can play host to all kinds of other marketing tools: news, author highlights, video, etc.
   
• Websites can make your brand look legit and bigger than you actually are.
   
• Websites allow you to feature products in creative ways and offer more in-depth info.
   
• Websites give you the chance to easily build email lists for newsletters. 

Creating a Blog and Website: It’s Easy. It’s Smart. It’s Cheap.

Because shopping online has become such an ingrained part of the consumer experience, there are tons of services that make creating a blog or website simple. Such tools usually require little to no coding experience.

Your book marketing strategy doesn’t need a 10-point plan and a 500-word mission statement. You’re not Apple or Coca-Cola.

Do however, take a note from the people who sell books online best, like Barnes & Noble or Powell’s Books. Sure, they have billion-dollar marketing and advertising budgets, but you’d be surprised how much traction you can get from a small investment in a blog and website.