Broke the Marketing Bank But No Sales? Here's Why!

Ever wonder why your marketing efforts aren't translating to book sales? The answer might be simpler than you think. 

Marketing and sales are often used interchangeably in the publishing world, but they're fundamentally different beasts. This distinction isn't just semantic—it's crucial for your success and sanity as an author. When you confuse these two functions, you set yourself up for disappointment, wasted resources, and unnecessary frustration.

Traditional marketing wisdom suggests it takes at least seven impressions before someone makes a purchase decision. In today's overwhelmed digital landscape, that number has likely doubled or more. This explains why focusing solely on immediate sales numbers after marketing efforts is the wrong approach.

By understanding this crucial difference between marketing and sales, you'll develop more realistic expectations, make better strategic decisions, and maintain the motivation needed for long-term success. Have you been confusing marketing with sales? Share your experiences in the comments, and don't forget to subscribe for more insights that will transform your approach to book marketing!

Send us your feedback!

Help shape our 2026 content by taking our 30-second listener poll!

📱Text Penny & Amy: send us your show feedback, burning marketing questions and new topic ideas!

Text the word PODCAST to [phone] to sign up to send us messages and receive new episode announcements. And don't forget to save our number!

Check out our Book Marketing Jumpstart options if you're ready to take your brand, platform and SEO up a few notches.

Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts!

1. Be sure you're following the show: by clicking the + Follow button on the top right of our show page. If you're already following you'll see a ↓ downward arrow.
2. Locate Ratings & Reviews: Scroll down on our podcast page until you find the "Ratings & Reviews" section.
3. Rate the podcast: Click on the stars to give the podcast a rating.
4. Write your review: Under the star rating there will be the most recent review and just below that click "Write a Review" and compose your review in the text box that appears.
5. Save: Once you've written your review, click "Save" to submit it.

Can't use Apple Podcasts? Email us your review and we'll put it on our website: inf...

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, this is Penny Sanseviery and Amy Cornell, and
we are here with a rerun of areally popular show from 2022,
Believe it or Not, theDifference Between Marketing and
Sales.
This was a big one.
We got a lot of comments on it,a lot of emails, and for good
reason, because marketing andsales are often used

(00:21):
interchangeably.
But that's not how it works.
It's a common mix-up, but itcan be a really costly one and
it really ends up derailing yourmotivation.
So we wanted to explain whymarketing and sales are two very
different beasts and howunderstanding the difference can
actually transform how youapproach your book success, and
it will actually improve yoursales and improve your marketing

(00:44):
, but both separately.

Speaker 2 (00:46):
Yeah, I think this is great.
We're really looking forward toyour feedback.
We hope that you love theseshow replays and we'll see you
next week.
Bye-bye, hello, and welcomeback to a mini-show to the Book
Marketing Tips and AuthorSuccess Podcast, and I'm going
to let Amy lead this one becauseshe has strong feelings.

Speaker 1 (01:08):
I swear to God, before the end of the year we
need some sort of swag, becausewe've been saying it forever.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
Right, amy has strong feelings.
I mean, I do as well, but Amy'sfeelings are stronger, so why
don't you run with?
Why don't you run with thisepisode?

Speaker 1 (01:24):
Absolutely, and I will say the reason I think I
feel so strongly is because alot of times this conversation
happens when authors first reachout to us and most of the time
you know I'm the one that thatgoes through their contact form
and kind of digs into theirplatform and what they're
dealing with and all this kindof stuff to get to know them
better.
And a lot of times authors loseperspective on the difference

(01:48):
between marketing and sales andtruly, as much as we were
laughing at the beginning ofthis, it can actually be kind of
dangerous because it affectsyour outlook on your role as an
author and how you contribute toyour own success and what you
think you're going to accomplishby bringing in teams and

(02:09):
publicity, people and thingslike that.
So marketing is exposure, it'sletting the right people know
you exist.
Good marketing, right peopleWe've had we've had episodes, I
think, on bad marketing, buttruly, really good marketing is
letting the right people thatyou're going to resonate with

(02:29):
most know that you exist.
Your book exists, but marketingdoesn't sell your book.
And I know it's kind of hard towrap your mind around like,
well, why not Then?
What is the point?
Well, the point is you're notgoing to sell any books if
nobody knows you exist.
So marketing is the first step.
You got to get people there.
You got to get people to theopen house.

(02:50):
You got to get people you knowwhat I mean to your front door
and it brings them a lot closerto your book, closer to the sale
.
But your book, your platform,your branding, that is what
actually makes the sale.
So the sales part is whatyou've put out to the world,
what your brand is, what yourproduct is.
So again, that's your cover,your title, your subtitle, even

(03:14):
your description, the reviewsyou're getting, how you present
yourself on a retail page thoseelements are what make the final
sale.
So marketing is step one thatbrings people to the door.
Your book and your branding isstep two.
That is what closes the dealand we just.
It's so important to keep thatin mind because, again, having

(03:36):
the right outlook andperspective and expectations can
make all the difference in theworld between how you view your
steps towards success.
Right, penny?

Speaker 2 (03:47):
Yeah that's absolutely true and I think that
that's really where you knowwhere authors get caught up and
marketing is not the same asit's not the same as sales and
marketing done well.
So there's an old marketingadage right, that you need seven
impressions to your book,message or product to make a
sale.
I would say, in the age ofoverwhelm, you need maybe 17 or

(04:13):
you know more, you definitelymore impressions.
Nobody really knows what theexact number is, so it's not
just me, but the point being isthat you have to look for the
right type of impressions, andwe've talked a lot about this
and you can cycle through someof the old episodes.
Not all marketing is createdequal, but impressions to the

(04:33):
right market, getting in frontof the right eyes, will at some
point lead to sales.
But focusing on marketingbecause we have authors
sometimes who say, well, I'mgoing to invest in this, but
then I want to see how many, howmany you know what my sales are
like at the end of whatever 30days or, and that's that's

(04:55):
really the wrong focus, becausefocusing on marketing and
actionable marketing to theright audience, getting in front
of the right readers, is thething that's going to lead to
sales.
Thank you so much for tuninginto this mini-sode
understanding the differencebetween marketing and sales.
It's definitely a short one,but it's absolutely worth
mentioning because it is animportant definitely it's an

(05:16):
important distinction.
We love hearing your show ideas, your getting your reviews and
we have some fun stuff coming upfor the new year.
I am working on a new editionof how to Sell Books by the
Truckload on Amazon.
I'm updating that book again.
Would love to get your feedbackon the prior book and, as I
mentioned previously, if Iinclude it in the book, if I

(05:39):
include your ideas in the bookor make changes based on your
ideas, you'll be entered into acontest to get some really cool
free stuff.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
Bye-bye.