Promo Me, Baby

Let’s talk business, baby – it’s business time. But not that way. Seriously. I like ya’ll fine but, not in that way. I mean serious business – promotion. Putting swans and hats aside for a moment, what are your best tools for self-promotion?

I ask because after RWA and the Goody Room that was 90% bookmarks and 8% books from Dorchester (BIG OOOPS) and 2% Other Stuff, I got to thinking: what’s the best way to promote yourself with extras and goodies and random stuff?

Linnea Sinclair, at her publisher signing, told me that she’s the master of cheap or free promotion. Her secret (and I hope she’s not pissed that I give it away) is to wait for any opportunity for free postcards from VistaPrint. The postcards, cut in half, make for excellent bookmarks, and you can upload your own designs, with two bookmarks per card. So 50 free postcards yields 100 free bookmarks. Nice!

I’ve also seen mugs (though they weren’t giveaways, to be sure), candy and chocolate giveaways (which I appreciated a LOT), magnets, pens, and post-its. I’m such a sucker for post-its, it’s sad. Other promos that I have and continue to use include a RWA NJ chapter itty bitty booklight, and two chip clips from Elizabeth Keyes, who keeps my tortilla chips fresh two years after I got two of her chip clips,

I’m relatively sure, but feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, that authors pay for a lot of this promo swag on their own, so I have to ask: what works?  I’m not sure it’s possible to quantify, but do bookmarks work for promotion as well as magnets? Are there some items that are just 100% fantastic and everyone wants one? What innovative cheap promo items have you seen that worked to spread the word about a book? And how do you choose and use your promo swag?

Categorized:

Random Musings

Comments are Closed

  1. Beth says:

    This isn’t from the book business, but when my boss goes to tradeshows and the like, what the things that work best are pens that write well, and post-it notes.  She just went to OSCON 2007 (international open source conference), and after the second day was seeing our pens in the most random places.  I’ve seen people hand them to other people when they recommend us.  They write reliably well, which makes them useful for the people we give them to, and they have all our relevant information, which makes them useful for us.

  2. Najida says:

    Yeah, ditto on the good pens.  Ross Labs is KNOWN for having the best Freebie Pens in the business.  We fight over their pens.  We steal their pens from each other. 

    We LUB Ross because of those wonderful, WONDERFUL pens.

  3. Darragha says:

    How can you flame the author whose chip clip you depend on?—HA HA. I like that 🙂

    I sent a whole mess of pens (color-change pens at that!) to a local radio station and hand them out everywhere I go.  When a clerk hands me a pen to sign a debit card slip, I say, “Your pen is boring.  Try mine!”

    Darr

  4. Rosalie says:

    I think it’s asking too much to expect a promo item to inspire a reader to buy a book from an author they’ve never read before. Maybe it’s my extremely limited budget (in terms of both money and time) speaking, but I rarely buy a new book unless I’m already familiar with the author, and I don’t get familiar with authors unless I remember the name during my visit to the library (or sometimes the used book store). But my memory’s not so triffic that having a pen in my purse, or a nice bookmark to rescue out of a book I’m returning, or a magnet that I see every time I want some juice wouldn’t make a difference in my circulation record.

    The only exceptions to this pattern are authors I become familiar with and read works from online. And I don’t mean excerpts.

    I HATE excerpts.

    I’ve never heard anyone else say this, so I may be in an extreme minority here, but excerpts make me feel manipulated in the extreme. They’re never long enough for me to bond with the characters (that takes at least 1/3-1/2 of a book, usually) and the “want more? pay up” at the end makes contrary me say “screw you, I’m gonna go reread Bet Me”.

    Longer pieces, OTOH…

    My other genre is sci-fi, where it’s relatively easy to find the technopeasantry just giving it away—I found both Cory Doctorow and Neil Gaiman through their incredibly content-heavy sites. And while Doctorow isn’t really to my taste (I’ll stick to recommending, rather than buying, his books), I am now among those who worship Gaiman as a god among men and will probably end up owning all his books.

    Absolute Sandman

  5. Teddy Pig says:

    Darr,

    The author I work with does eBooks that is why the miniature pamphlet of the first chapter on really nice paper struck me as a great way to introduce people to her work since it may take a year or so for her to go into print.

    The bookmarks with upcoming books are great but you have to like the author already in my opinion.

    The bestest thing I got from RT was the autographed book Pack Challenge from Shelly Laurenston. I am her fan boy for life now.

  6. JuJu says:

    I am a sucker for viral or solve me!-type campaigns. J.K. Rowling did this with her website and all the little nooks and crannies just thrilled me to pieces. Everyone likes to buzz about something, especially if whoever is instigating the buzzing is keeping veeery quiet.

    BTW: safeword is size39. I am NOT!

  7. Najida says:

    Most if not all of my first time authors I get via used books (either Amazon or Le GoodWeeL)  I have a list…that way if I get burnt, I’m only out of 1 to 4 bucks at most.

    OK, there is the library, but it’s sorta out of the way for me.

    So excerpts mean I go and add to my “wish list” and keep authors in mind when plundering used bookshelves.  I think I tried Kleypas the first time as a used book because of an excerpt.

    OK GOODIE!  Spaminator word is—PARTS69

    Drat—- I only have half the parts.

  8. Kris Eton says:

    I would go with the excerpt booklet. I was thinking of a postcard that would have cover art on one side, and then the back would have the blurb that would be on the back of the book.  But an excerpt booklet would be great.

    There is a way you can print out a single sheet of 8×11 paper and fold it up into this cute little booklet with just a couple of cuts. If/When I am ever published, I might try that as my promotional gig. Plus the postcards.

    I think definitely reading an excerpt will get someone to buy over jar openers and tissues boxes.

  9. Nanna says:

    Oh, I’m not sure if freebies would make me buy a book. I’d at least need to have heard something about the author/book. However, I get a LOT of freebies at my job (office manager) and I chuck most of them out because no one wants them. Things that are still lying around are pens (you can’t beat a good pen), post-its (but just square ones, funny shapes get binned instantly), mini flashlights and a mousemat. On mousemats: I get about 10 of those a year, and I only ever use or need one. So, not a good idea…

  10. Deb says:

    I must first admit that I love freebies.  Favorites that I’ve snagged from various conferences include a little block with a post and clip on it to hold pictures and the little sunglass clips that go on your visor.  And pens.  I am a total pen whore.  I buy them, swipe them, anything I can do to get my hands on them, all in my quest for the “perfect” pen.

    Do they make me buy books?  In and of themselves, no.  Especially not if it’s an author I’m unfamiliar with.  These days, if I’m contemplating a purchase of a new title by an author I’m unfamiliar with, I go to their website and look for information on the book.  Something more than I’d get on the back cover. 

    Unlike Rosalie, I love excerpts.  No, I’m not looking to bond with a character in an excerpt.  I’m looking for enough of a taste to let me know if I’m going to like this author’s style of writing.  I’m looking for something in the excerpt to grab me and make me say/think “Wow, I want to read this book.”  Bookmarks don’t generally cause that reaction in me.  Although if it’s perhaps a reproduction of a cover and the cover is intriguing enough for me to want to find out more about the book, then I’ll – you guessed it – look for the author’s website.

    For what it’s worth?  If an author doesn’t have a website with information on their books?  It’s extremely doubtful that I’ll actually buy the book. 

    Hah!  Spamword is money29.

  11. dl says:

    PN Elrod…good comments from the experienced & successful.

    Freebies are cute & sometimes useful, but what convinces me to buy?  Name recognition (my favs) and information…reviews, excerpts, reader comments. 

    I always pick up those excerpt pamphlets when I see them at the bookstore, and an enclosed tealight would guarantee a reading & favorable impression of the author.

    An example of how I choose new authors to read…Susan Lyons.  I had seen her 1st book several times on the shelf, and read the back cover.  A little out of my usual zone and pricy large format.  Finally, I went online & read those “amature” reader comments (SB, Amazon, etc.  skip biggies like RT & NYT, I find them useless) and found the author website for the excerpt.  Then I purchased the book and loved it.  Tracked her second release online & purchased on lay-down day.  She’s now on my auto-buy list. Release day for her upcoming release is on my calendar, and I have already read an excerpt on her website.

    IMO a good (& updated) website is a must for any modern author. Also, I have purchased several new authors based on their positive & intelligent online participation in disscussions (examples Kalen & Shomi authors)

  12. I tell everyone how I use Vistaprint postcards, Sarah, so no problem at all. As for their efficacy, I’ve read down the posts with interest. Nothing works for everyone, that’s for sure. But as several have noted, most tangible promo (and a lot of the intangible) is on the author’s own dime. This makes low-cost and freebies essential (especially as things frequently get thrown away).

    I use bookmarks because they fit in the low-cost/freebie department, they’re light weight, small, portable and are a decent way to give a reader an idea about my book. Let’s face it, when you see a book on the shelf, what do you see? Cover art and back blurb. What do I try to give you on a bookmark? Cover art and blurb.

    Is that perfect? No. But it’s a start. And with Vistaprints’s semi-freebies (you do have to pay shipping), it’s not a huge issue if the bookmarks eventually get tossed.

    I also use Cafe Press for T-shirts, mugs and totes but obviously can’t give those away in quantity (I do give them away as contest prizes, though). My feeling on those items is they’re walking billboards (especially the T-shirts). I wear T-shirts with my bookcovers and tag lines on them when I go grocery shopping and often get asked about them (especially because of the tag lines). So if you’re in a supermarket in Florida and the gal ahead of you in line has GAMES OF COMMAND T-shirt on, chances are, it’s me. ::grin::

    The old advertising adage is the consumer has to see your name/product seven times for it to ‘stick.’ So getting your name and titles are there is important, IMHO.

    ~Linnea

  13. Jackie says:

    I don’t think of promo items as a way to urge people to buy my books. I think of them as brand-building tools. Name recognition is the first step. Giving out branded items helps that. Tied into this is having a unified approach to the promotional items, if you use more than one.

  14. Darragha says:

    Name recognition.  Well, since one of you *kept* the keyboard sweeper and a handful more have emailed me asking for one, I guess I’m on my way to that most elusive of beasts:  name recognition.

    I like giving gifties to my readers. Be it pens, stickies, matchbooks & candles …whatever I have as a promo item.

    It’s always a good time on Planet Darragha.  Maybe, with a pen or keyboard sweeper near by, recipients will remember my name when jonesing for a new book to read.  If not next time, maybe the time after.

  15. I use the except booklet/newsletter.  (My printer does them for about 40-50c/each)  I get an 8 page booklet, and I have a standard format, so the majority of each “Dispatch from the Den of Debauchery” is excerpts. 

    I also do matchbooks.  They’re pretty inexpensive, and I give them away like candy. 

    As a reader: pens, bookmarks, key-chains and magnets.  Replacements for things I lose a lot.

  16. Kerry says:

    I agree that one can never have too many pens.

    I also like bookmarks myself.  And this may make the authors want to curl up and die, but I love them because they are expendable.  My 3 year old tends to destroy my bookmarks and promo ones from my bookstore are easy replacements.  But while I use one, I am noticing that author’s name and latest books.  So they work as name recognition at the same time.

    I love, love, love the idea of bookmarks with a series listed in order on them.  Those I would keep and treasure and the 3 year old would be kept away from them.  I am one of those anal people who has to read a series in order.  Nothing drives me nuttier than going to an author’s website and finding they don’t have a list anywhere for me to know what order I should read the books.  (Whereas, if they have one, they get lots of brownie points from me.)

    Personally, I don’t really read exceprts as I prefer just to get on with reading the book that having a small piece of something.

    But having said all that, it is about name recognition and warm, fuzzy feeling for me.  Promo items on their own are unlikely to make me buy the book.  My budget it tight and I tend to buy books from favourite authors or with good word of mouth.  And the temptations provided by my pusher (ooops, I mean favourite bookseller).

  17. One thing I’ve done that costs me only time and has been highly effective—I invite other writers onto my yahoo group for author days. This brings in a crowd of fans for that author, who are now suddenly members on my group as well.

    In the last 12 months, my group has grown from 300 people to over 570. The more people in your group, the more exposure you have.

    On MySpace, when I get a friend request, I always visit three of their friends and request an add. This gives me four friends every time I get one request. It’s perception—“look how many people are in her group and how many messages she has. She must be a good writer…”

    My sales have tripled since last year as well.

  18. Ann Bruce says:

    I am a total pen whore.

    So am I.  But I’m spoiled so I only want the really, really good ones (e.g. wide gel pens with rubber grips).  If I want a pen (or a box of ‘em), I make our admin assistant order it for me.

  19. fiveandfour says:

    I’m pretty impervious to promotional items…for the most part I either don’t take them or give them away when I receive them.  Bookmarks are an exception since they’re small, portable, and useful.  A few people have suggested some extras to put on the bookmark to maximize their potential from the promotional point of view. 

    I wanted to add that Digimarc has a technology that allows one to get a person directly to a web-site (you scan or hold the printed item, e.g. bookmark, up to a web cam and the software does the rest of the work) which I think would be great for getting people to an excerpt of a story since printing costs for excerpts are undoubtedly prohibitive for most authors.  Sometimes the thing you want people to see is buried away from the front page of the web site so using something that gets people directly to the point would be a great trick (and annoyance minimizer).

  20. fiveandfour says:

    Oh, and apropos of nothing for this topic, but I found this post re: ComicCon quite interesting in light of the costuming discussion held here recently.  NOT meant to stir it all up again, just found it an interesting observation…and one which sounded so familiar.

  21. desertwillow says:

    Ya know, I don’t own any of these things put out by authors. Never even seen them that I can recall. But I do have tons of bookmarks put out by bookstores, some are kind of poignant because the bookstores were independants that eventually went out of business. But the bookmarks were excellent ways to put useful contact information like website, contact info, etc., without taking up a lot of room. Pens are useful to if they have the right stuff. Pamphlets get thrown away, so do flyers. The little brushes sound cool. I got a magnetic clip from a temp agency that I kept on my refrigerator for years. It lasted longer than the agency did. I think my point is that anything is good if it leads the reader to something better like a website is excellent.

    Send me free stuff!

  22. Darragha says:

    Desertwillow…I just emailed you.  You want free stuff?  I’m happy to oblige.  I have lots of it.

  23. dl says:

    Kayelle…agree that internet is a major asset to both authors & readers. 

    Shelly Laurenston…another author I got hooked on after reading an excerpt on her website.

  24. Darragha says:

    Kayelle’s promo ideas rock!  I’ve glommed onto her a time or two 🙂

  25. Kerry Allen says:

    Sometimes the thing you want people to see is buried away from the front page of the web site

    If the thing you want people to see is buried away from the front page of the web site, you need to move it. Immediately.

    Everything necessary to convince a reader she must have your most recent release should be on your home page. Cover, back cover copy, pub date, retail price, ISBN, review snippets, author blurbs, obvious READ THIS ENORMOUS EXCERPT link. Hell, make it easy to buy by providing links directly to its page at Amazon, B&N, Borders, and anyone else who sells the thing online in paper or e form. (Double hell, become affiliates with those sites and make an extra five cents or whatever off sales made through those links.)

    Bury the “extras” away from the front page. Put the product front and center.

  26. Cat Marsters says:

    Yes, but I’m not a fan of homepages that are too busy.

    I know the only promo stuff I’ve kept and used has been the tangible stuff, like pens, or a lipgloss.  I tend not to use bookmarks (I’m one of those terrible people who folds pages or breaks spines), and the paper stuff I’ve picked up at the last few conferences is still in the bottom of my RWA bag.

    However, when I went to the RNA conference this summer, I was using a tote bag a friend made up for me—one of those ones with the little plastic photo pockets?  Each pocket had one of my covers and a review snippet in it.  It got SO much attention.  I also kept a stack of business cards on me, so if anyone expressed interest, I could give them a card.

    Oh, and JuJu?  Size 39 in Europe is pretty skinny.  Pretend you’re French.

  27. Cat Johnson says:

    I kept the car air freshener I picked up at RT, but have I ever visited the site of the generous author who gave it away….no, sad to say. But at least I am enjoying using it. I also kept post-its, pens,lip balm, a few very clever buttons & the EC playing cards and calendar. But with overstuffed suitcases, all the rest went to the maid in my room.

  28. Billie says:

    Finally coming out of hiding because this is something that I’ve had multiple conversations about with a number of different people and we seem to share similar thoughts.

    As a book buyer for an independent bookstore that does a booming business in genre fiction of all kinds, and on behalf of other buyers at other locations, I have to ask authors and publicists to please stop sending postcards. Every day in the mail I receive three to five postcards advertising books. Many times, these books have already been published and are on our shelves, so it’s a waste of money and trees. If we didn’t order the book in the first place, your postcard isn’t going to change our minds. Postcards may be great tools for reaching readers, but, to book buyers like myself, they’re just so much more junk mail.

    What kind of giveaways do have an influence on my buying decisons? Not many. Excerpt booklets (as mentioned by several respondents already) are a great tool for us. There’s only so much that catalog copy can tell me, and having an excerpt helps me decide whether or not a book is something that we should carry. A great premise with clunky writing is still not a good book. The Penguin Press publishes excerpts of all of their titles right in the catalog. And Random House, when it launched its Mortalis mystery imprint did up little booklets with excerpts from all of the titles on their first list. Other things that might make me order a title I wouldn’t have otherwise are things that I’m going to keep at my desk and see every day. Coffee mugs, water bottles, post-its, notepads—all of these items are within my line of sight all the time. Putting your name or your book’s title on them causes them to worm their way into my brain so that little bells of recoginition start sounding when I’m doing my ordering. I listen to those little bells, figuring your name must be in my head for a reason, and since I’m not getting bad vibes from it, it must be a good reason.

    Best giveaway ever, though? A few weeks ago I received a call from the assistant to a NYT best-selling mystery author to thank me for my support of said author’s books. We’ve always carried this author’s books, but I’ve never personally read any. After that phone call, though, that’s about to change. A one-minute phone call that probably cost less than a nickel has created for this author a new reader and a supportive bookseller all in one go.

  29. My favorite piece of promo was one Jill Conner Browne gave out at a Sweet Potato Queen signing.  I seem to be bringing her up a lot lately, but she really is a queen of promo.  It was also very cheap:  a little business card that said “Lick Me All Over 10 cents”, which was a “copy” of the card the Sweet Potato Queens carry around and give out, according to JCB’s books.  (This card is the center of a hilarious chapter in the first SPQ book.)

    Anyway…about the cheapest promo possible, since it’s a card, but everyone loved getting one.  And you can bet if they passed it on it got the book talked about!

  30. dl says:

    A final thought here…Library buying list?  Can authors get themselves on it? 

    My local library is very well stocked, so new authors I’m unsure about I will usually check out of the Library first.  Several authors now on my buy list, Lynn Flewelling & Faith Hunter, were library finds.

  31. Wry Hag says:

    Let’s get fuckin’ real here. 

    Start by asking yourself, your very own self, what doodads and geegaws have ever, EVER convinced you to spend money on a book?  Or an insurance policy?  Or anything?

    I’ve truly never understood how authors get suckered into this promo-trinket gig.  I don’t care how snazzy the bookmarks/pens/contact-lens cases/edible underwear, etc. might look.  The bottom line is, you, the promoter, are simply giving away something you paid for to a stranger who may or may not use it…and, in either case, doesn’t give a rat’s ass where it came from. 

    The host will never instill the parasite with a burning desire to engage in a symbiotic relationship.

    Uh…no offense to you parasites.  (Been there myself.)

  32. Parasite says:

    So Wry Hag, I guess I shouldn’t expect a free pen from you, right?

  33. Angie says:

    You know, I do between 1-3 trade shows a year in the crafts industry, and our two best promo items were pens and calculators.  Apparnatly people always leave their pens behind (which they need to write orders) and can always use a calculator (to add up how much they’ve overspent at the show).

    For authors, what I would LOVE to see is a bookmark with a purpose.  If you have a series of books, please put the book titles IN ORDER, with a helpful little check-box next to it.  Even if it was business card size so it fit in my wallet would be good.  Hell, include it with the book cover as a tear off, so that next time I go to the book store, I know exactly what title and author I’m looking for.  I’ve never read any of Nora’s JD Robb novels because I don’t know where to start.  And her website, the last time I looked, didn’t offer up that information.

  34. Angie, that is really helpful information. Thank you for sharing it. I sure like the idea of a bookmark doing something worthwhile!

Comments are closed.

By posting a comment, you consent to have your personally identifiable information collected and used in accordance with our privacy policy.

↑ Back to Top