Support for Indie Authors discussion

I am putting this in the fun folder for two reasons.

1) I love that we have a fun folder.

b) I don't, honestly, know the best place to put it.

I had this weird idea a while back for a cheap way to advertise my books. I made a little ad for each book, the set them in a folder and set my lap top to display them in a slide show as my screen saver. I do a lot of writing in public, at the library, in coffee shops, etc. This way when I get up and walk away from the computer, it becomes a rotating billboard of my work. I can't tell that it's helping, yet, but what they hey.

I thought about paying someone to get my book names tattooed on their forehead.

Charles wrote: "I thought about paying someone to get my book names tattooed on their forehead."

Oh, there you go!

Dwayne wrote: "I am putting this in the fun folder for two reasons.

1) I love that we have a fun folder.

b) I don't, honestly, know the best place to put it.

I had this weird idea a while back for a cheap way ..."

Interesting....I might have to put one together and put it on the website as a download! #DwayneIsARockstar

I'm too paranoid to get up and leave my computer, but I admit that I've pulled up my Amazon author page on the computers at Best Buy. ;)

Also, that's a great cover. I need to party at Larry's.

Christina wrote: "I'm too paranoid to get up and leave my computer, but I admit that I've pulled up my Amazon author page on the computers at Best Buy. ;)"

Now that's an idea...

Christina wrote: "I'm too paranoid to get up and leave my computer, but I admit that I've pulled up my Amazon author page on the computers at Best Buy. ;)"

Ooo! I'm so doing that!

Christina wrote: "Also, that's a great cover. I need to party at Larry's."

Larry won't like it. But, go right ahead.

Haha Dwayne, I LOVE that. I have no clue what the story is about but that little extra line would make me want to check it out.

G.G. wrote: "Haha Dwayne, I LOVE that. I have no clue what the story is about but that little extra line would make me want to check it out."

Thank you, GG! I'll be publishing it in a few weeks.

Someone suggested that I should hire an airplane and pilot to tow a banner advertising my book above popular beaches. It's a cute idea, but definitely not in my budget. ;)

Sarah wrote: "Someone suggested that I should hire an airplane and pilot to tow a banner advertising my book above popular beaches. It's a cute idea, but definitely not in my budget. ;)"

If I had the budget, I'd be doing a lot of interesting things. The banner on the plane is a great idea, but yeah... probably costly.

haha I had to go check but none of the three sites I found had a price.

http://www.aerialadsusa.com/
http://www.bannertowingusa.com/
http://www.nationalskyads.com/banners...

Edited: Not that I would have the money to do it anyway, but I was curious. :P

Christina wrote: "I'm too paranoid to get up and leave my computer, but I admit that I've pulled up my Amazon author page on the computers at Best Buy. ;)"

I Like that idea:)

G.G. wrote: "haha I had to go check but none of the three sites I found had a price.

http://www.aerialadsusa.com/
http://www.bannertowingusa.com/
http://www.nationalskyads.com/banners...

Edited: Not that I..."

Too funny! I notice you have to call for pricing. I'm afraid this doesn't qualify for inexpensive advertising...but I think we already knew that. ;)

Anyone throw out a tweet to someone famous to give a shout out to your book just to see if they would. A weird way to promote but hey, I see weird stuff on YouTube and FB all the time that get a million hits for crazy reasons!

Amanda wrote: "Anyone throw out a tweet to someone famous to give a shout out to your book just to see if they would. A weird way to promote but hey, I see weird stuff on YouTube and FB all the time that get a m..."

I don't tweet and I don't know anyone super famous. But, if you do, give it a try!

Tweeting actually is a cheap and goofy way to advertise. I notice that when I tweet something about one of my books the traffic on my website increases for awhile. I don't think I sell much from tweeting, but I think it does offer a chance for a sale or two.

Hmmm....maybe I should try then. I'm still new to the twitter world, so trying to figure it all out right now.

I acknowledge that my spam tweets are spam and tend to advertise myself with tongue planted firmly in cheek. That being said, I'm not sure about asking for a shout out. I assume most celebs aren't doing their own tweeting and I'd be more worried about a negative reaction from their fanbase.

Amanda wrote: "Anyone throw out a tweet to someone famous to give a shout out to your book just to see if they would. A weird way to promote but hey, I see weird stuff on YouTube and FB all the time that get a m..."

I considered tweeting to actors I could envision playing my characters, but since it's too weird, I never did.

That is brilliant and cute. I've just been advertising through Twitter at the moment....it hasn't been going that well, but it is a start. Every bit counts, right?

After looking over these last few comments, I think it's time I look into Twitter.

Dwayne wrote: "After looking over these last few comments, I think it's time I look into Twitter."

Gooble gobble we accept you! One of us! One of us!

Seriously though, it's easier to spread the word of indie when I have indie authors to retweet. :)

Dwayne wrote: "After looking over these last few comments, I think it's time I look into Twitter."

Your welcome for the wonderful idea to get you there...lol:) Like I said, I'm still getting the hang of it and find myself enjoying it a little more each day.

Christina wrote: "Gooble gobble we accept you! One of us! One of us!"

Okay. I'm not sure if you're quoting one of my favorite horror films or my favorite punk bands, but you continue to spook me by tossing my favorite things at me.

No, I'm not really spooked. But, I am convinced you're one of the coolest ever.

Amanda wrote: "Your welcome for the wonderful idea to get you there...lol:)"

Ha ha! Thank you!

That's a really creative idea, Dwayne. Not sure how many fresh eyes it'll put your book in front of, but every little bit helps, and if it leads to you striking up a conversation with someone about your book all the better.

I like this idea. It's cute and pragmatic at the same time.

Dwayne wrote: "Christina wrote: "Gooble gobble we accept you! One of us! One of us!"

Okay. I'm not sure if you're quoting one of my favorite horror films or my favorite punk bands, but you continue to spook me b..."

Ahem...

Gabba gabba, we accept you, we accept you, one of us!

There's a slight difference between the 1920s and 1970s.
I'm your spirit animal, Dwayne. ;)

I liked the way they used it on South Park too.

I used to work in an electronic retailer. One of the guys used to set up the page for my first book on the Kindle. Not sure about the legality of this, or if it made anyone race home and buy a copy, but it's the thought that counts.

I use business cards to help me promote my book, Haunted Tree. They're printed on both sides: a full-color image of the cover on one side, and basic info printed on the other: title, author, one line sales slug plus net addresses for Amazon and my web site. They look totally pro.
I paid about $44 for a thousand of them, so at 4 cents a pop, I can afford to freely pass them out. If while talking to someone the subject of my being an author comes up, instead of trying to quickly convey what my book's about and where they can find it (and boring them in the process!), I just hand them a card and say "here, check it out". The majority of the time they seem interested and receptive, far more than they'd be if I just blathered away. Also, having that tangible reminder on their person will greatly enhance the chance they will later browse my book. They aren't nearly as likely to retain any oral information received.
So this isn't exactly goofy or "cheap", but it's effective.

I like the card idea, thats a good one.
I have been trying to find ways to promote my new book so this thread has been very helpful thank you x

Scott wrote: "I use business cards to help me promote my book, Haunted Tree. They're printed on both sides: a full-color image of the cover on one side, and basic info printed on the other: title..."

I made bookmarks to do just that. I included 5 one-sentence quotes from reviewers.

I've considered the business card idea. I should follow through on that. Maybe when my novel is finished and I have a big project to promote, instead of promoting short stories.

I like the bookmark idea. I have a few bookmarks that I like, but they do tend to sit in a drawer more often than not. I'm more of a fold the top corner of the page kind of person:)

Amanda wrote: "I like the bookmark idea."

I may try that one, too, just for the irony of it. So far I'm only published on Kindle.

Dwayne wrote: "Amanda wrote: "I like the bookmark idea."

I may try that one, too, just for the irony of it. So far I'm only published on Kindle."

I gave mine to a lady who was reading a book and using a scrap piece of paper for her bookmark. I don't know her, so there's no way to know if she bought it. But hey, I was just helping a reader of books keep a more stylish track of her page.

Quoleena wrote: "I gave mine to a lady who was reading a book..."

Knowing me, I will get impatient and won't be able to wait for a good time to hand out the cards and bookmarks. I'll probably "accidentally" leave them in library books and in books in used book stores.

Hot diggity damn! I'm totally going to do that. Stealth mode is on!

lol I bought 250 4x6 cards that have the cover to my novel, a little blurb, website url and my name. I can't WAIT for them to arrive so I can start passing them out. I'm gonna hit nearly every festival. I can be to this summer. I'll most likely need to order more before summer even arrives. I also had a shipment sent to my parents so they can pass out as well.

*get to

Here's another idea. We have a local online advertising space called Kijiji that's free. Try putting an ad there with a cover of your book, and put in the ad directions to your spot on Amazon or your blog. A link in the ad costs $5.00 here so I don't do that, but least get it out there. Couldn't hurt :)

I came up with the same idea for the business cards, but as I live in Germany but write in English I'm not sure how feasable it would be to hand them to Germans I meet.

If I wrote a German book while I live here, I would totally get a stack of them to leave around everywhere.

A Younger Model Dwayne wrote: "Knowing me, I will get impatient and won't be able to wait for a good time to hand out the cards and bookmarks. I'll probably 'accidentally' leave them in library books and in books in used book stores. "

I just remembered this thread today and found this comment. Ha ha ha! This is EXACTLY what I ended up doing with my cards. And they seem to have some effect. I scattered them about town over a period of several months, then stopped. And the sales stopped, pretty much. I started up again and the sales have started up again. Interesting.

The real reason I dug this thread back up is similar. I was at the library today and started scribbling stuff on scratch cards they leave out, using those dull little golf pencils libraries always seem to have on hand in lieu of real writing utensils. On every card I wrote, "The Six People You Meet In Creative Writing Workshop" and then added some silly thing like, "those poor monkeys" or "aka Down The Hobbit Hole" - and then scattered them though the "how to write" books. We'll see if it generates any interest.

LOL!! Dwayne, You never fail to make me laugh... except when you're offering assistance and advice, of course. I think what you're doing is a great idea! You could write a book giving such unusual advice as this. I like it.

I know what you mean about those darn golf pencils. I have small hands and I can't even hold one!

After reading this I am totally in the mood to go make bookmarks or business cards now! And today I was going to be good and actually stop procrastinating and get some writing done!

I thought about leaving some of my business cards in books or on tables at the library but feel like theyd get a hold of me and kindly tell me to stop. Which would be funny because I've approached the library several times in the last few years about being featured, if I could leave stuff there or ask if they do stuff for local authors. They always tell me no Only non profit or gimme the name of someone whose never in.

Just last month an author held a book signing there...you can bet I was a bit ticked off at it. Next time I'm in there to drop a book off I'm asking again, will bring up the fellow author and even place my cards around the library. :)

You go Justin!! That's not fair!