If you want to become a best selling author then, as “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” author Robert Kiyosaki has said that clue is in the world “selling”!

As an author you have to take responsibility for selling and promoting your book at every available opportunity.  You need to become good at persuading and influencing people.

One of the books I strongly recommend to people who want to become masters of persuasion is Robert Cialdini’s “Influence”.

Cialdini is a Professor at Arizona State University who has conducted extensive research into the factors that trigger people into automatically complying with another person’s request.

Here is the fourth of these six factors, that will show you how, as an author, you can apply them to sell more of your books.

Key 4: LIKING

Research shows that people prefer to say ‘yes’ to individuals they know and like.

An important factor that influences how much people like another individual is similarity.

We like people who are like us, and are far more willing to comply with their requests.

There are several ways that as an author we can help people to know and like us:

• Have details about us (including some personal information such as family, hobbies etc) on our website and books.  Have photos featured so that people know what you look like.  Let your readers get to know you as a real and genuine person.
• Have a brief biography available so that people can see where you have come from and what you have done.  Let them see you are just an ordinary person like them.
• Be accessible to your readers. Answer their emails, respond to their requests.
• Keep in regular contact with your readers and people you wish to influence. I strongly recommend a strategy of contacting or “touching” your readers ten times a year. A useful information rich email newsletter is a good way of doing this.
• Share some personal stories in your newsletter, letting people see some of your day to day life, particularly sharing any mistakes you have made and poking some fun at yourself, which will make you seem very normal and approachable!

Now that you are aware of this principle I am sure you will be able to think of lots of ways to use it to enhance your book sales.