Promote Yourself - Toot That Horn!

Greetings from Wisconsin where one day it's snowing and the next we are wearing short sleeves (and my children no longer enjoy having their photo taken...case in point here on the left)! I want to talk about promoting your work as an author. I certainly don't have all the answers, but I've been a Blog Tour Manager with WOW! Women on Writing for several years now and I'd like to share some advice about promoting your work and branding yourself. The books I have had the most success promoting have been for those authors who have set some serious ground-work. Authors who have the following:

An Author Page on Facebook
A LinkedIn Account
An Instagram Account
A Twitter Account
A Blog or Website
A Goodreads Author Account
A Goodreads listing of their Book
An Author Profile on Amazon

When an author hires WOW! for a Book Blog Tour, we do quite a bit of behind the scenes work spreading the word about their book. We ask readers to post reviews on blogs, social media, Goodreads, and anywhere they can. We want to shout from the mountain top - we want the world to know about the fabulous book we've had the pleasure of reading. In doing this, we also want to TAG the author on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc... if you aren't there, we can't tag you. This also means readers may not find you. The more places you put yourself and the more ways you promote yourself, the broader your audience will be.

It's not impossible to promote a book for an author who is not on social media, but our promotion isn't as far-reaching. I'd strongly suggest either getting yourself out there or hiring someone to do it for you - BEFORE your book is published. You have nothing to lose if you are out there months (or years) before your book is published, but if you wait until people are trying to find you and CAN'T - then there's definitely a potential for lost readers/followers/reviews.

On a related subject - you can promote yourself without saying "read my book". As a reader and reviewer, nothing is more disheartening than taking time to write a review or a blog post about a book and hearing NOTHING from the author. A brief comment is so encouraging and makes me want to write more reviews. A comment on a review is like a little thank you note - and Gramma said you can never go wrong with a thank you note. An author recently offered to send my daughter's school a copy of his book because my daughter left such a kind review. Now all the students in her school have the opportunity to read his book. He also engaged her in conversation through blog comments and she's excited about the next book in his series. It took a few minutes for them to connect and his readership has expanded greatly because of the interaction.

As Thanksgiving approaches here at our house, I want to say:

Thank you to all the authors, bloggers, readers, and reviewers who place their trust in WOW! - you are all such a joy!

Hugs,
~Crystal


Crystal is a secretary, council secretary, financial secretary, and musician at her church, birth mother, Auntie, babywearing mama, business owner, active journaler, writer and blogger, Blog Tour Manager with WOW! Women on Writing, Press Corp teammate for the DairyGirl Network, Unicorn Mom Ambassador, as well as a dairy farmer. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband and their five youngest children, two dogs, four little piggies, a handful of cats and kittens, horses Darlin' and Joker, and over 250 Holsteins.

You can find Crystal milking cows and riding unicorns (not at the same time), taking the ordinary and giving it a little extra (making it extraordinary), blogging and reviewing books here, and at her personal blog - Crystal is dedicated to turning life's lemons into lemonade!

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3 comments author, author promotion, book, book promotion, promote an author, promote your book, promote yourself

Think Outside the Book Cover for Promotional Ideas

You've written a book, ordered the usual promo items - like bookmarks or postcards, and detailed a press release that you hope will have booksellers racing to purchase your books for resale.

It's a traditional route many authors take.

But have you thought outside the book cover? How many potential markets have you not considered?

An August Publisher's Weekly report notes that traditional book store sales fell 1.9% in June 2011 to $1.02 billion.

"LuAnn," you say, "that's a fairly decent amount of money."

And I hear you. I'd like to get my share of that chunk of change, but the bottom line is that over half of book sales come from non-traditional sources.

Where did you make your last book purchase? A book store? A discount club? Online? An author's presentation?

When planning your promotional strategy, you've got to think outside the perimeter of your book. I believe I've found three markets that you may not have considered

• Can your book be used as a textbook? I've taught writing courses for the local community college. I don't use a required textbook, but I do RECOMMEND a book about writing that is one of my favorites. The campus bookstore stocks it. Now, I'm not sure this particular author considered that her book could be used in a college course, but, it's an avenue worth investigating if your subject matter lends itself as primary and even secondary source material.
• Have you visited the library? Libraries tend to be an untapped resource, in my opinion. I've presented multiple talks at a local library and I've attended enough author presentations to know that they bring books to sell. It seems like common sense: if people are interested in listening to you discuss your book, they more than likely want to read your book. So, have you asked the librarian about making a purchase? My mom is a librarian, and I know she usually makes sure the book is available in the library. She also checks out Quality Books to see what's available.
• How many catalogues do you receive via mail? My parents seem to be catalogue magnets, receiving these quirky direct-order compendiums. When I'm at their house, I'll flip through these mailings. Guess what? Many of them offer books. If you can find a catalogue that sells merchandise relating to your subject, you may be able to offer your book in that publication.

In this economy, authors need to be proactive when it comes to promotion. Don't only consider the usual suspects when planning a marketing campaign. Extend your vision beyond the book cover.

by LuAnn Schindler. Read more of LuAnn's work at her website.

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2 comments catalogues, librarians, libraries, LuAnn Schindler, promote your book, promotion, promotion resources, textbooks

Tips for Promoting Your Book at a Book Fair

Spring and summer are the best seasons for book fairs and festivals. Whether you have a book to promote or just want to spend a great day surrounded by other bibliophiles, check out this link to find an event in your area. http://www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/bookfair.html

A few weeks ago, I promoted and signed my memoir at my first festival. I spent the weekend with 140,000 book lovers on the beautiful UCLA campus for the L.A. Times Festival of Books.

It was a great experience to find out what you do and don't need for a successful book fair event.

Here is my list of recommended items:

 Collapsible luggage dolly
You're going to need something to transport your books, sometimes quite a distance from where your car will be parked.

 Box of books
I was overly optimistic for a debut author. I took a case of 32 and left two more cases in the trunk of my car. Lesson of the day: Some people will buy on-site, most will wait to buy on Amazon to get the discount and free shipping.

 Tote bag (large enough to hold your supplies)
I found a great 20 x 12 x 10 zippered rolling bag at the L.A. garment district for $20. It's best to get a bag with wheels, so if you need to take it separately from your dolly of books, you can drag it instead of lug it.

 Vinyl Banners
I had two 18 x 27 vinyl banners printed. They were very reasonably priced ($23 each) and well made. The banners roll up and transport easily, and also have grommets for hanging. You want to make sure you choose a banner size that is large enough to be seen from a distance. Have one printed of your book cover, and one of you with your name.

 Easel
You'll need an easel to hold your banners unless they will be attached to the booth. Place them as close to the front of the booth and near the walkway as possible, so they can be seen by people passing by.

 Tabletop display stands
I chose wrought iron to avoid the displays being knocked over by the afternoon breeze. I found a great set in the picture frame section of my local craft store for $5 each. I used one to hold my book and the other to hold a 14 x 16 "Meet the Author" foam-core poster printed at Kinko's (the same image used for the vinyl banner). It's important to have a tabletop "Meet the Author" image because otherwise passersby assume you are just selling the books and don't realize you are actually the author.

 Theme item(s)
I use a cute recipe box on my table to hold the bookmarks for my memoir: The Break-Up Diet. You can use any object, functional or decorative, to draw visual interest to your table.

 Promotional bookmarks or postcards
You definitely want something with your book cover image, the ISBN, and your book website address on it. Not everyone will buy your book at the fair and if they have something to take home, it raises your chances of making a sale later. If you include something funny or informative on the back of the bookmark or postcard, something that ties in with your book, you'll have a better chance of people keeping it. I included a humorous recipe on the back of mine.

 Material table drapes
It looks nice when you decorate your signing table. I went to my local fabric store and chose a couple yards of two contrasting colors (the same blue and black as my book). But I'm not exactly Betty Homemaker, so I also picked up some double-sided, iron-on hem tape to finish the edges.

 Review cards
Go to Amazon.com and pull your best reader reviews. Print them onto a single sheet of colored paper with enough reviews to fill both sides. Laminate the page at Kinko's, so it stays neat from the handling it will receive. It's a great sales tool because it gives your potential reader the opportunity to see how much other readers have enjoyed your book.

 Cash box
I chose a cash box that was small, but also had the features I wanted. I didn't want to mess with a credit card machine, so the cash box worked out well. Don't forget to bring your reseller’s permit, a sales tax table for your selling area, a calculator, and money for making change.

 Receipt book
This is the best way to keep track of your sales and inventory. Trust me, you'll be talking to so many people that by the end of the fair, you won't remember how many books you've sold until you go through your receipts.

 Guest book
Ask the visitors who come to your booth to sign your guest book and include their email address for the chance to win a drawing for a free book. This will help you build your opt-in email database, and your lucky winner will be excited to receive a copy of your book!

 Signing pens
Bring a fine point Sharpie; I had several teens come around wanting their book fair posters autographed. I use a comfortable grip gel pen for signing my books; it doesn't bleed through and the gel doesn't hang up on the page like a ballpoint pen. The cushioned grip and slightly thicker base helps if you have carpal tunnel like I do.

 Give-away candy
This works very well to bring people to the table. Who can pass up a Hershey's Kiss or Jolly Rancher hard candy? Most people won't grab and go, so while they are unwrapping their candy, you can tell them about your book.

Now for the personal stuff:

 Sun protection
Don't forget your sunblock, sunglasses, and a hat (especially if your table is uncovered). One of my girlfriends dropped by with a little spray bottle of water--it was great for a facial spritz to help with evaporative cooling.

 Water & Snacks
Like most fairs, the food and drinks were astronomical ($5 for a cup of lemonade), so do yourself a favor and freeze some bottles of water the night before, as they thaw, they'll provide the hydration you'll definitely need. Pack a lunch and/or some granola bars to get you through the day. On a side note, bring a travel bottle of anti-bacterial gel for your hands to help clean up before you eat.

 Jacket
If you think it might get cool in the late afternoon or evening, it's better to have a light cover-up than not.

 Camera
Of course you'll want pictures to post on your blog!

The best thing to take to a book festival is your smile. Have fun with the day. Enjoy meeting people and telling them about your book. It's the best PR there is.

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3 comments Annette Fix, book fair, book promotion supplies, L.A. Times Festival of Books, promote your book, The Break-Up Diet