Lesson 36

Lesson 36
Marketing
Welcome back for another week. All my classes are posted on my website in case you missed any, or want to refresh. I hope your week was filled with interesting events. Today I want to continue on marketing. These are just thoughts I have come up with. I am not going to scare you with costs, because these are all up to you.

If you know of a high traffic area for tourism, especially with out-of-state tourists, try advertising there. Handout a bookmark or a pen instead of a business card. They might keep it as a keep-sake from their trip, or give it to a friend as a gift who loves to read. This way your website and book travels across the country.
If there is a coffee shop in this locale, have your book and website printed on a cardboard coffee sleeve, and just give them to the coffee shop to use. People may take notice, and then again may just throw it away when they finish their coffee. Maybe you could even find a company who will print up paper placemats, and ask a businesses if they would use them.
Ask businesses if you can post a card or an ad on their board or window where you might see other such posts. If there is an outdoor community board, hang a small poster or your business card. Place bookmarks along with your book in a book box house, those ‘little share a book boxes.’ Put your cards on magnets to stick on metal places. Someone might take it home for their fridge.
Always carry your cards with you. You will never know who you might run into. I have handed out my card to my check-cashing teller, and they posted it in their breakroom. I have given a pen to a waitress or waiter. It could be a conversation starter, and they might share if you’re a good tipper. Everyone uses a pen. Hand them out. If they misplace it, someone else may pick it up.
One day while working in the airport I made a sign to hang on the back of my shirt. It read, free gift! Ask me how. If a person asked, I asked them if they love to read books, or if they have a lot of friends or family. Whatever you need to say to start up a conversation. I then handed them a pen.
Say you will give them a free pen if they promise to check out your website and post a pic on social media with the pen explaining how they received it. Or they could post a pic with your book later when they happen to buy one. Explain to them that it is a great gift for a friend or a family member costing less than their favorite latte.
Give them suggestions. Make them think, and thank them. They will keep the pen and may feel guilty every time they use it, because they promised. It’s worth a shot. Let them know on how many ways they can purchase your book. Amazon paperback, e-book on Kindle, Google play, Apple iTunes, Walmart Kobo, Barnes & Noble, wherever you have your book available for whatever device they have.
Remind them about birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries, or a niece and nephew, a grandchild, Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. My mother bought the Bible for each of her grandchildren and I do believe her great-grandchildren. Remember, you make seventy percent for an e-book sale versus thirty percent for paper, so encourage them to buy it for a friend.
If you have a few books with you, by all means, talk them into a sale. Take a pic right then and there and post it on your pages. Ask them if they will do the same just for fun. They now, know a real live author. They also have friends on their social pages that you don’t. Do the same thing if it is just a pen. Ask them to post, “I just got a free pen from…” Whatever your website name is. Their friends who follow them may be curious enough to look at your website and buy a book.
Make sure to also have that saying on your website, great gifts, cheaper than a latte, and lasts a lot longer, or gives you more joy. Something in that drift. Something to make them think it is not just for them, because they might not even be readers, and they don’t think about buying for anyone else unless prompted.
Boy, I wish I thought about doing all of these great ideas. Wait, I did. I just have to follow through with my own advice. Let me know if any of these things work for you. Also let me know if you have any ideas to share, and things that work for you. I know this one ran super-long, but you guys are worth it. Enjoy your week and think every day about your future, whether you have just started your book, or stuck in the middle, or already trying to market while writing your next, keep up the great work, and until next week,
 
Happy Writing from rickkurtisbooks.com