Connecting Readers and Writers discussion

Good afternoon folks,

I've got an upcoming novella in the works ("My Indian Queen"), and will soon be distributing it through Smashwords.

In addition to marketing it online, I'm considering doing some "in-person" marketing--that is, handing out bookmarks, business cards, hanging up flyers at libraries, etc.

Have any of you tried this? If so, what were your experiences?

In particular, I'm wondering:
1) What type of media did you hand out?
2) Where did you hand it out?
3) Did you have to obtain permission from the store/library/etc. first?
4) Do you think it helped boost your sales?

Thanks in advance for your help!
Happy writing. :-)

I printed up business cards with my book's cover on them, in color.

Of course my website was on there as well.

My book is about auto insurance.

I went to the malls around holiday time and did some "guerrilla" marketing, basically putting them on windshields, under the wipers.

Business cards are not nearly so obnoxious as the flyers you usually find on your windshield. Nobody sent me any angry emails, and I did notice a small uptick in sales.

No I did not ask permission to hand them out.

Is your book "chick lit?" If so, you may consider handing out such cards at the local university or community college, targeting young females of course.

Put a short tagline on the card: (something like)

My Indian Queen
Fantasy, Passion and Timeless Love
Available now at yourwebsite.com and Amazon, etc.

Good luck with your project!

http://www.johndavidauthor.com/Editin...

Thanks, John! That was very helpful. I hadn't considered car windshields, but that's a good grassroots idea. I might look into printing up a bunch of bookmarks and leaving them under windshields at bookstores, libraries, coffee shops, etc.--places readers are likely to haunt.

Thanks for the ideas! :-)

I'm in the process of doing something like this now. I've had a small set of postcards featuring characters from my book done up and on the back it will have the book synopsis and where to get it. I haven't gotten to the stage where I'm handing them out yet to see if they do any good though.
I'm hoping that they will raise some attention. Good luck with yours!

I had bookmarks made up & give them out whenever someone asks for a business card. I inquired at my local libraries & some let me leave a stack & some didn't. At least 1 person found my book that way & emailed me which was delightful. :-)
I've only been using these for about 3 weeks so I don't have any long-term experiences to share but so far it feels like a good move & I've ordered a 2nd batch.
As for permission, I've been asking because I spent money on nice bookmarks & don't want to see a bunch get dropped in the garbage. :-)

Jennifer wrote: "I'm in the process of doing something like this now. I've had a small set of postcards featuring characters from my book done up and on the back it will have the book synopsis and where to get it. ..."

Hmm... what if postcards became run-of-the-mill book suggestions? You are onto something my friend, especially if a reader is engrossed in the "best part of the story" and they are discussing it with friends, and so on!
As for me, I was thinking of a funky bookmark to give when I can't sell a book then and there.

I've had bookmarks made, but haven't been sure where it's acceptable to leave them. I'll be giving them out at my first-ever SF convention in July (InConJunction), where I'll have half a vendor's table -- but I'm not sure of the etiquette of leaving them in libraries, coffee shops, etc. If the library management, or the coffee shop owners, don't want bookmarks to stay around overnight, it'd mean extra cleanup for the staff.

You guys have given me some great ideas for when I get to that stage (which I am nowhere near, but good ideas either way).

I like the idea of going to a college campus. I'm not sure if all colleges work like this but usually you can contact the activity board or a specific student org or club (book club, creative writing, English/literature) and have them make copies of your flyer (b/c usually they have to get an approval stamp to hang).

If you go on vistaprints they have the postcards you can make and if you don't want to do the handing out yourself you can purchase a mailing list from a specific zip code or you can upload your own mailing list.

I also think book stores, libraries, and places where people read (coffee shops) would be willing to place some things. I would reserve bookmarks for places people buy books at (who wouldn't like a free bookmark?) and flyers and/or things you can post on a board or in a window to places where people read (coffee shops)

Maybe your marketing material can say "hey, if you leave a comment on my blog/Facebook/ re-tweet my book/send an email saying that you heard about my book from a flyer/business card/postcard/bookmark then you get a sneak peak of the book/entered into my book giveaway/Smashword coupon for x-amount off your purchase." You can also have steps for those to recommend your book "Recommend my book, have that person do xyz and enter yourself into a contest/giveaway/get a Smashwords coupon for a free book" or something.

I know I've been seeing a lot of prequels and 1.5/2.5 stories of what happened before the initial story or what happened between the initial and book number 2 (hence the .5's). Also, I've seen books that are spin-offs of a minor character that either readers loved or maybe the author thought was so important/likable that they needed their own story. They are usually novellas or shorter than a novella but longer than a short story from what I've seen. That could be a good giveaway as well as a marketing tool to get readers hype about your full length novel as well as a novella

Again, I am nowhere near this stage but these are some things I plan on trying. I say take advantage of the coupon codes Smashwords let you create.