In the inbox this morning: NYT bestselling author Mary Jane Clark is going to be signing books at a Manhattan outpost of Coldwater Creek, a women’s clothing store that caters to a rather upscale audience above the age of 35-40. Have a look at the email graphic:
For a $50 purchase, shoppers get a copy of the book, and the author is there to sign it. This lights a fire under my synapses for a host of reasons, because it is a strange extension of author branding: matching a clothing store to an author, and potentially her readership, and then combining the two for a promotional event. On one hand, if the marketing arrangement matches the audience of an author to a specific store or clothing style, that could be a win/win for the store and the author. On the other hand, identifying a clothing store could address only a narrow portion of an audience.
On another hand, there’s a more limited number of signing options, should an author wish to host one, with some publishers canceling signings at Borders. It seems Clark’s signings are mostly at libraries after the Coldwater Creek signing.
On yet ANOTHER hand, the possibilities are endless: are you a J. Jill author, or a Banana Republic author? An Old Navy author or a Hot Topic author? Do you think book signings in clothing retail outlets might work for romance authors? Would you go to this book signing – or a book signing at a clothing store?
