But let's go beyond bookmarks and look at some other promotional items you can use. Some of these things may be suitable to give out to everyone, others items only to people who purchase your book. Still others items may be suitable for special events like a singing. Just search the net for the best deal and then see if these items fit into your marketing budget.
- Pens with your book info printed on them. What a neat idea to sign books and then give the pen you signed it with away to the purchaser. Pens are utilitarian and people tend to keep them. Every time they use the pen, they will see your book info on it. It can make a great prompt for someone to talk about your book to others.
- T-shirts with your book title printed on it. If you are looking for a popular, yet relatively inexpensive door prize, it's hard to beat a T-shirt. If you take your time to design a quality one, you may have yourself a walking billboard for your book for years to come.
- Trade show tote bags. Tote bags are popular items that you can get for under a $1.00. You can have your book title printed on the side of the bag. If you are at an event with many authors, chances are, people will appreciate a bag to hold their books in. How cool would it be to see walking billboards with your book title on it at an event like this.
- Stadium cups with your book info printed on them. These stadium cups are the 22 oz plastic cups that you get when you go to a sporting event. Again, you combine utilitarian and economy for an item that people will use time after time, and each time, they will see your book info.
- Simple paper fan on a Popsicle stick. These are the fans that people use to wave back and forth by their face to stay cool. You can find companies to print these up for you in color with your book title and contact info on them. These items have a short utilitarian life; they are usually discarded when the temperature get comfortable, but when they are needed, they can be the most popular item.
- Custom printed M&Ms. Who doesn't like chocolate? Now you can order custom printed M&Ms directly from the company that makes the popular candy. You will be limited on what you can have printed, for obvious reasons, but a little creativity can go a long way. Fortunately for me, Samson Effect fits perfectly on these little treats. Recently, they even added the option to print a grey scale photo on the M&M. For more information, visit the My M&Ms's website.
There are a lot more, creative things out there for you to look at from balloons to party favors. With a little creativity combined with some time on your favorite search engine, you will find a wealth of ideas on how you can use promotional items to promote your book.
Tony Eldridge
11 comments:
Tony, in the Frugal Book Promoter is more or less diss promotional things. It's just that so many find their way into junk drawers and don't do any real selling. I have used M&Ms at shows--thought they sure aren't FRUGAL--because I think having a goody at a signing table helps keep things casual and fun.
Here's what I'd rather see people spend money on--a bit nicer gift for the editors, etc. who do feature stories on them. I. E. as thank yous. It's all about spending one's budget where it makes a difference.
Best,
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Author of The Frugal Book Promoter
Available on Amazon and many university bookstores including Dayton University and UCLA
Great ideas!
Thanks for sharing!
Lori
www.loricalabrese.com
Great resources, Tony!
Best,
karen
www.scobberlotcher.blogspot.com
There are definately a lot of choices where authors can spend their marketing budgets, whether on promo items or as gifts for others. Carolyn makes some good points for authors who see promo itmes as trinkets with little "shelf life." In the end, where to spend your marketing dollars is a choice that each author needs to weigh and make. I advise people to talk with other authors as well. There are people who will swear by certain promo items and others, as we see, who think that these expenditures are not the way to go. By asking around, you can find what may be the best for you.
Some lovely and tasty ideas :)
Thanks for sharing...
Cheers
Freya
www.bookbuzzr.com
freya@bookbuzzr.com
It is a very nice and good post. Keep up the good work.
You make some great points here. Everyone needs to promote their product or service, especially those like new and unsigned authors. If your publishing company isn't going to provide you witha great marketing campaign, then these are some great strategies that the individual can do that will be beneficial to their books sales.
I just had an email discussion with a book blogger about swag. She has over 2,000 followers and does great reviews, so I appreciated her input. She said she's bought books she never intended to just to get the swag that came with it. She said she and many others collect swag - bookmarks, bookplates (stickers the author can sign and the recipient can put on their book or even their ereader cover), trading cards, pens, etc. Readers do LOVE these things, cherish them and will even buy a book just to get some "free."
For newspaper editors, signing hosts, booksellers, etc., instead of splurging on a spendy gift, create a nice thank-you letter that includes a small photo of you and a picture of your book cover, sign it and frame it for them. They'll never throw these away and will likely display them in their offices or establishments. You can get decent looking frames for a few bucks at discount or hobby stores.
I've gone with book markers and I think pens are useful and a good idea too.
We have used cross promotional ideas that have worked. Things like offering the ebook for free with anyone who purchases the book. Also free USB sticks with preloaded book info on them including coded banner ads of your book for folks blogs.
Great dialogue.
I was amazed how many people actually WANTED my bookmarks when I handed them out in the streets of Benidorm in Spain.
I don't know what difference it made to sales, but people sure wanted to have my little gift.
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