Summary: <br> Back <a href="https://www.authormedia.com/223/">in episode 223, we talked about how to create urgency</a>. Today we are going to talk about the second social trigger: scarcity and its sister ubiquity. These social triggers will give you a powerful edge when it comes to selling your book.<br> <br> <br> <br> But first, a paradox from Adam Smith. <br> <br> <br> <br> Why are diamonds more valuable than water?<br> <br> <br> <br> You can live a happy life without ever even seeing a diamond. Without water, you will die in a week. So why are diamonds so much more expensive?<br> <br> <br> <br> Once you understand this paradox, you will understand a marketing principle that most authors, and even most publishing houses, don’t understand. <br> <br> <br> <br> Scarcity creates value. <br> <br> <br> <br> The rarer something is, the more valuable it is, even if that thing is mostly useless. Other than a few industrial uses, diamonds are mostly useless. What makes them valuable is the fact that they are rare and beautiful. They are a way of displaying wealth. <br> <br> <br> <br> But scarcity is not the only thing that drives value. <br> <br> <br> <br> Desire drives value as well. The stronger the desire to obtain a thing, the more valuable it is. Emeralds are rarer than diamonds, and yet they cost less. <br> <br> <br> <br> Why? <br> <br> <br> <br> Because people want diamonds more than they want emeralds. This is due to the custom of giving diamond engagement rings. Most married women wear diamonds. This makes the desire for diamonds higher than the more scarce emeralds. <br> <br> <br> <br> This strong desire for diamonds over emeralds is the result of clever marketing by the diamond industry. Remember the slogans “Diamonds are forever” and “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend? That’s marketing at work.<br> <br> <br> <br> The interplay between scarcity and desire is what economists call supply and demand. <br> <br> <br> <br> A Second Paradox:<br> <br> <br> <br> “On the one hand information wants to be expensive, because it’s so valuable. The right information in the right place just changes your life. On the other hand, information wants to be free, because the cost of getting it out is getting lower and lower all the time. So you have these two fighting against each other.” Stewart Brand<br> <br> <br> <br> Knowledge is like a candle flame. One candle can light another without being diminished itself. Giving someone an idea is not like giving someone cake. You can give your idea and have it too. <br> <br> <br> <br> When selling knowledge, the owner will make more money if the product is either ubiquitous or expensive. This is why I offer a free podcast and paid premium mastermind groups. <br> <br> <br> <br> But this principle applies for fiction as well. In fact, in some ways, it is easier for novelists.<br> <br> <br> <br> Of the social triggers, scarcity is the rarest for authors to leverage. In terms of pricing, indie authors are in a race to the bottom. Some indie authors sell their books for as little as possible to try and undercut their competition. But, as Seth Godin says, the problem with a race to the bottom is that you might win.<br> <br> <br> <br> That said, you can make a lot of money selling books for almost nothing if you sell a lot of them.<br> <br> <br> <br> You see, while diamonds are more valuable than water, we spend more money on water than we do on diamonds. In fact, most Americans spend more on bottled water alone than they do on diamonds. <br> <br> <br> <br> You would likely make more money selling water than you would selling diamonds. Think about that.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Today,
