Using Cross Promotions To Save Money And Sell Books By Jessica James

Today, I am thrilled to introduce you to Jessica James, the author of the Shades of Gray: A Novel of the Civil War in Virginia, which has twice pushed Gone with the Wind out of the #1 spot on Amazon in the romance/historical/U.S. category. Jessica will be talking to us today about the power of cross promoting your book with other marketers.

Before we get to Jessica's post, I just want to take a quick moment to ask you to sign up for my free video tips for authors newsletter. You can sign up and even check out a sample video tip before you start your subscription.

Now, on to Jessica's post...


Using Cross Promotions To Save Money And Sell Books
By Jessica James


Most of us who are trying to market books are on very tight budgets these days so it’s imperative to find ways to get the word out without spending big bucks.

Cross promotions are one way I’ve found to reach new audiences with a commitment of a little time and quite often, no cost.

But just what is cross promotion and how can it work for your book you ask? Well, here are some of the basics and two examples that will perhaps get your creative juices flowing.

Cross promotion is a specific marketing tactic in which two businesses or people team up to promote each other’s products. The most important aspect is that you know your target audience and that you find someone with a similar audience or an audience with a related interest.

Examples:

Back when my historical fiction novel was new, I wanted to reach equine enthusiasts as a secondary market because a horse owned by the main character plays a major part in the plotline. After contacting the Equine Art Guild, I received a handful of responses from artists willing to do a cross promotion with me. I picked Kristen Queen, who specializes in equine and animal portraiture. Kristen already had a piece of art that resembled the equine character in my book (named Justus) - and I really liked her style.

In addition to placing information on her website about my book (and me doing the same for her), Kristen also created an entire Justus store on Cafepress which helps get the word out about her art and helps me by showcasing a character in my book. We also incorporated each other's contact information on all our promotional material, including "Justus" greeting cards that I had printed to give out at book signings.

The great thing about cross promotion is it doesn't have to cost anything to reach a new audience. Kristen's art is now being seen at the festivals and book signings I attend, and my book is being seen at art shows and horse events she attends. There was no money involved or exchanged. We simply worked together to promote each other’s products.

My latest cross-promotional project involves the trailer for my Civil War novel Shades of Gray. Since authentic-looking Civil War stock art is a little hard to come by, I requested permission to use the artwork of renowned Civil War artist Dale Gallon. Mr. Gallon not only gave me permission, he promotes the video on his blog and links his main website to mine, helping me to reach a whole new audience of Civil War enthusiasts.

No author has the time or money to reach all of their book’s potential audiences. Concentrate your energy on a small, defined group, and then think of ways to reach secondary and related audiences without expending a lot of time – or money.

Jessica James is an award-winning historical fiction author whose Civil War novel Shades of Gray: A Novel of the Civil War in Virginia has twice hit #1 on the Amazon best-seller list in the romance/historical/U.S. category, temporarily overtaking Gone with the Wind.


















 -------- Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.