The following is a list I created for myself and shared with my writer's group, Fort Lauderdale Writers (
http://www.meetup.com/Fort-Lauderdale-Writers/). The document is organic, and as more ideas come to me, the document evolves. So, to avoid boring you with small talk, here is the information:
(Guerilla) Marketing Your In-print
Book
We've
discussed marketing eBooks and just touched on marketing in-print ones. Here are a few of the things I implemented
this week, and have received a rating on Amazon and more than 40
"Likes" on my official author page on Facebook.
All it will
cost you is some time, some gas, a lot of creativity and perseverance, and less
than $200:
$40 - for
1500 business cards on Vistaprint
$75 - for 20
copies of your book (if less than 300 pages) on CreateSpace
$1 - for a
roll of scotch tape at the dollar store
$30 - for an
ad on Facebook
$50 for
postage (to mail 10 copies of a book to 10 different people)
If on a
limited budget, get the copies of your book for $75 and 1 box of business cards
for $10. Almost anyone can lend you
tape, and you can hand-deliver copies of your book instead of mailing them.
Your strategy:
+ As Duncan and Craig recommended, create an
intriguing ad on Facebook and set your advertising budget to $1 per day. ($30 per month)
+ Mail copies of your book to tv / radio
personalities, bookstore owners - and include a handwritten note asking them to
read the book or pass it along to someone who may be interested. Make sure your handwriting is clear. ($5-8 per book print, plus $10 postage if
you mail it priority)
+ Post a link to your Facebook page or website
on a relevant Facebook page - for example, if your book is about a child with
Down's Syndrome, post a link to your book on Down's Syndrome Association, Downs
Side Up, and Down's Syndrome Scotland page.
Most page owners are ok with you doing this as long as the topic or book
is relevant. FREE!
+ Get articles or stories published in a
magazine like Harper's, Tropics, Apex Magazine, etc. This usually pays you $0.50 to $1.00 per
word, and it gets your name out there.
FREE (can actually pay for the rest of your marketing efforts!)
+ Subscribe to a writer's magazine like
Writer's Digest. You can also read
copies for free at your local public library. ($15 per year or FREE)
+ Social Media: create a profile on
the following, and maintain them regularly (schedule at least one day a month -
it should take you just a couple of hours to maintain all of them! Fill in your username, password, and a link
to your profile in one place, such as this file.
Facebook: facebook.com/PhaseIIPublishing
(Facebook
pages should be created for your main characters, your books, and an
author page for yourself)
Twitter: @ChrisOhn
Pinterest: pinterest.com/GiovanniCrisan
GoodReads: goodreads.com/GiovanniCrisan
Yatedo: www.yatedo.com/GiovanniCrisan
Tumblr: giovannicrisan.tumblr.com
Picasa:
Instagram:
AIM: GiovanniCrisan@aim.com
MailChimp: reddeth
AlterEgo: Joe_Crisan
Blogger:
Plaxo:
Facebook.com/PhaseIIPublishing
(ALL FREE!)
+ Ask local bookstores if you can do an appearance
or signings. Most small bookstores
welcome this, and it benefits them as well.
I recommend you offer the owner a flat fee or a commission for each book
you sell. (FREE - can even pay for your
other marketing efforts!)
+ Most public libraries will host local author appearances
and readings, usually with themes such as "Women's fiction",
"Black History / Literature", "Hispanic Heritage",
"Mystery Month", etc. contact
them and see if they'll feature you at one of those events. (FREE!)
+ Networking - attend parties, events. Dress to
impress! A good place to start is
ProfessionalNetworkingGroup.com, which hosts a networking event for local
professionals every two weeks. Here you
can make connections that can help you land work as a freelance copywriter,
ghostwriter, gets your name out there, and may help you promote a book. Plus, they're fun! (and FREE!)
+ Book Fairs - take advantage of the South
Florida market. Miami Book Fair
International is the largest book fair in the U.S. (possibly the western
hemisphere!) and it's not too expensive to get a booth. Or, you can buy a ticket for less than 10
bucks and give away business cards or copies of your book(s). ($8 to get in, $10 for 250 business cards,
or your share of $600 for a table or booth with a group) An alternate FREE option is to volunteer for
the event. Check their website.
+ There are also a ton of other book fairs
locally, just Google it! (same as above)
+ Reading clubs - These actually exist, and if
you are an author people will buy copies of your book, read it, and sit around
and discuss it over tea. Be sure to
offer your books for a decent discount.
You can find book clubs on Meetup or Booksprouts. PaperbackSwap is like Netflix for books, and
you can lend out copies of your printed book in exchange for someone
else's. I recommend including a
handwritten request on the inside cover for the borrower to rate your book on
Amazon and Goodreads if they enjoyed it. (Free
- can actually pay for your time!)
+ Writers clubs - such as Ft Lauderdale Writers
(Free!)
+ Chatrooms - although dying out and becoming
more focused on adult entertainment, regular chat rooms are still a great way
to connect with readers. (FREE!)
+ Book Websites - such as Shelfari, Goodreads,
Whichbook, Librarything, Gnooks, TheStaffRecommends, GetGlue, Blippr, 22Books. (FREE!)
+ Donate copies of your book to libraries and
universities, or school libraries if a children's book. Again, handwrite a note on the inside cover asking
for the reader to rate your book and pass it along if they enjoyed it. ($5-8 per book print)
+ Post business cards (with tape if needed -
don't damage property!) EVERYWHERE a lot of people can see them: bus stops,
tables at Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts, mailboxes at apartment buildings, the
checkout lanes at Target and Walmart, INSIDE SIMILAR BOOKS AT THE LOCAL
LIBRARIES, on the shelves of your genre section at a large bookstore like
Barnes and Noble (ask management if this is ok with them first), bulletin
boards, grocery stores (usually have a bulletin board), doctor's office waiting
rooms (here you can leave copies of your book as well), movie theaters that
feature a film in the same genre as your books.
Get creative - but stick to places large numbers of people can see them,
and display them prominently. ($10 for 250 cards, less expensive if you
buy more)
I tried
leaving business cards door-to-door in my neighborhood, used 380 cards, and
only got 1 new "Like" on my Facebook.
The other way above works better.
(If using this strategy be sure to
avoid places in which the books are on timed consignment. That is, the books they have are on the
shelves for 3 months or so and then are sent back to the publisher. These places include Wlagreens, CVS, Walmart,
KMart, Target, etc. If you choose to do
it anyway, make sure you only place your card in 1 copy of each title.
+Make sure your cover looks good as a
small icon. Remember that your book may
appear on a list with several other books - and if your picture is a jumbled
mess, nobody will click to learn more.
+Similarly, make sure your business
card catches people's attention. Plain
cards tend to get filed or thrown out without a second look. Use an eye-catching picture on it (not necessarily
of you) and consider printing something unique on the reverse side (an excerpt
of a story, pictures, motivational words, etc.) - things that will entice
people to keep the card on their desk at work or fridge at home.(Cost of Cards)
+ Monitor your online presence by
opening an account on Yatedo.com. This
website monitors search engines and is able to maximize searches by moving
sites that are not relevant to you lower on the search results list. It also helps you monitor any negative
websites that could affect your online reputation. (FREE)
+Sign up for Google Alerts
(www.google.com/alerts). This will send
you an email whenever a new website or result pops up on Google. This will help you monitor websites that may
be illegally selling your book (Thailand, China, and India are notorious
destinations for this kind of thing). It
also helps you to find if anyone has posted a review or anything about you
onlinethat is searchable immediately. (FREE)
($150-550)
+Consider doing a book
trailer. This is one option: http://www.booktrailers.org.uk/.
Many writers are doing this (James Patterson, Dan Brown), and it gives
you the opportunity to tap YouTube's millions of users. Make sure you tag your video with commonly
searchable terms (Coming Soon), plus some very specific terms (murder with
knife). (FREE - Thousands of dollars)
+Do a Press release
and send it to local newspapers. This is
quick, easy, and FREE. Many newspapers
(and don't forget the small-print ones, like the River City News in Miami Springs;
The Pelican for Pompano Beach, Lighthouse Point; many more). Newspapers need to fill pages, and sometimes
news are just not there on a given day.
Press releases are used to fill this space - but be sure you follow the
proper format or they won't even consider it.
Go here for a sample: http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Press-Release (FREE)
+Create an Amazon
Author Page. This adds credibility to
your work and you as an author, in addition to getting you on search engine
results. https://authorcentral.amazon.com/. EVERYONE should do this, even if not
published yet! (FREE)
+Create a Wikipedia article for
yourself and/or your publishing company.
This will take you some time to master, because you will need to cite
sources before getting it approved and posted, but it will help get you in search
engines and more. It also adds
credibility to you as an author, since not many independent authors are on
there. Again, don't submit a bio you would
put up on an Amazon Author Page. SPEND
TIME ON IT. (FREE)
+Giveaways. These are powerful marketing tools. Make sure that the item you are giving away
clearly identifies you and your product (book).
One great and inexpensive option is stickers. I created stickers shaped like my latest book
(cover) which has the title of my book and my name as the author. I purchased sheets of 24 on Vistaprint.com
(if you place an order for business cards, they will offer these to you at a
great discount - but order only 1 sheet - you'll see why later). Once you complete your checkout process,
Vistaprint will take you to their limited time offers page, with a clock that
starts counting down from 10 minutes.
When it reaches 0, the offers will no longer be available. This is where you will purchase more sheets
of stickers at a fraction of the discounted price. For me, the first sheet cost me $5. After checkout, each sheet cost me
$1.50. You can cut these up into
individuals and ask the manager at ANY store (preferably a book store, though)
if they would mind giving one away to each customer in their bag or
whatever. Most managers will do it,
because it looks like they're the ones giving the customer the gift. ($1.50 - ?)
