My last point didn't address getting people to buy.

I know that, but it's big enough an issue to be another post. I'm working on that and I should have some results soon. I can say that if you work to make your product the absolute best that you can, it helps open doors. But there is much more to getting fans to buy a book than that.
I'll try to post something soon on that if anyone is interested. There is more to advertising than t-shirts, posters, and kitch. It ties a lot to PR.