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Tips for Ordering and Using Book Promotional Materials Part 2

Dec 4, 2014 | Writing | 7 Comments

“A prospect needs to see or hear your marketing message at least seven times before they take action and buy from you.” —Marketing Adage

Last week, I offered general tips for marketing materials and specific tips for business cards, bookmarks, and postcards. This week, I’ll make suggestions for posters, car magnets, banners, and book-related giveaways.

These materials may be less important than last week’s business cards, bookmarks, and postcards, but they’ll make your book cover familiar in peoples’ minds.

Tips for Posters, Car Magnets, Banners, and Book-related Giveaways:

1. Mounted Posters:

1. Fill the mounted poster with your book cover.

2. Purchase one large enough to stand out in a bookstore window where you’ll be signing books. I ordered 24” x 36”.

3. You may want to purchase two. One to leave in the bookstore display window for a while. The second for a prominent spot at your local book launch party.

4. To get the clarity needed, you may need to ask your publisher to send a higher resolution cover image than the normal ones. My publisher was glad to do so for Calculated Risk.

2. Car Magnets:

1. Not necessary, but fun. If your car is out and about a lot or you take frequent trips, this might be worth trying.

2. Before ordering, measure the surface space on your side doors or back hatch. The area without handles or decorative contours determines the size of the magnets. A smooth fit for the whole magnet is important. Magnets 12” x 24” fit my rear side doors.

3. Include a large image of your book cover. Keep the text short. I put three things on mine:

1. Title

2. Website

3. Tagline

4. When prudent, park places that allow easy viewing of your magnets. And keep your car clean.

5. We’ve taken 5-hour trips, and my magnets have clung firmly to the doors. BUT, check periodically for moisture under them. This could cause damage to the finish on your car over long-time use.

3. Banners:

1. You’ll want to put your headshot as well as your book cover on banners. Remind yourself you are your brand. Then it’s easier to do.

2. Consider where you’ll be using the banner. I’m draping mine to hang off book-signing tables. So, I ordered a 4’ x 2’ one. If stores place you at a smaller table, like the store did in the top photo, you can easily make the banner work. Since the poster displaying my book cover was next to the table, we folded back the book cover side on the banner to make the banner fit.

3. Make sure your name and website are on the banner. When your name is your website address, all the better.

Posters, Car Magnets, & Banners help fulfill a marketing adage about seeing 7 times. Click to tweet.

4. Book-Related Giveaways

1. Pens are popular.

2. BUT, I wanted to evoke Calculated Risk’s story and cover in readers’ minds when they used my giveaway.

3. If possible, order items that relate to your story. Cisney in Calculated Risk lives by adhesive notes. I ordered 25-page-count sticky note pads with the cover and my website as a light background.

4. Consider the weight of your giveaway. You’ll probably want to mail them.

What success stories do you have in using these types of materials?

11 Tips for Ordering and Using Business Cards, Bookmarks, & Postcards

Nov 27, 2014 | Writing | 12 Comments

“Never forget that you only have one opportunity to make a first impression—with investors, with customers, with PR, and with marketing.”
— Natalie Massenet

I purchased business cards, bookmarks, postcards, posters, car magnets, a banner, and book-related giveaways. In Part 1, I share general tips for all these materials and specific tips for business cards, bookmarks, and postcards. The rest I’ll cover in Part 2.

General Tips:

Start saving for a marketing fund even before you sign a contract. You’ll be glad you did.

Order your materials about 4 months before your book releases. First, set what part materials will be of your marketing budget. My materials were about 17%. The rest covered:
- events
- giveaways
- ads
- website design
- a writers conference
- travel
- postage

Join writer loops’ and save emails about good places to order materials. For Calculated Risk, I decided on one recommended vendor where I could design and order everything, except my book-related giveaways, online from one place.

Purchase only business cards and bookmarks when your materials fund is small.

Order quality materials if possible. I have a cache of bookmarks and business cards. Most of the authors chose a decent level of quality. The low-quality materials standout among them. In a bad way.

Your low-quality business card will stick out in editors’ caches of quality cards. Click to tweet.

Your low-quality bookmark will stick out in readers’ caches of quality bookmarks. Click to tweet.

Choose to print on only one side if you need to save on cost. In my cache, several authors chose quality, but the one-side option. If you can’t afford at least one-sided quality business cards and bookmarks, use tip 1 for your next book.

Specific Tips for Bookmarks, Business Cards, Postcards:

Bookmark

Choose a finish on which ink doesn’t smear. I chose 14 pt. gloss (AQ) coated paper. Sign your materials. Readers like signed things. Some authors in my cache did this.

Buy a Sharpie Ultra Fine Point. Choose a color that fits you or is from your book cover. Make it your “signature” color. Then sign everything with that pen. While watching a Netflix movie, I could sign 100 items.

Include only one link on your materials: your website (and maybe your email address). Make sure your website has:

1. social media buttons on every page

2. your embedded blog

3. a contact-you page

This removes clutter from your materials and drives people to your website, where your book page with buy buttons resides.

Business Card

10. Put your book cover(s) on all these materials.

Also, a professionally taken headshot, especially on business cards, helps people remember you.
For your materials, use the same headshot as you use on your website, social media, blog, and author page banners. This consistency helps people feel like they know you.
Some conferences offer low-cost, professional photo sessions.

Postcard

11. Include your book cover, endorsement, blurb, and all ordering information (especially ISBN and release date) on your postcards. Acquisition librarians and bookstore managers appreciate such post cards for ordering your books. I used my postcards also for my launch party invitations.

What tips do you have for acquiring and using these materials?

3 Ways a Holiday Can Enhance Your Story and Help Market Your Book

Nov 20, 2014 | Writing | 3 Comments

“I love Thanksgiving because it’s a holiday that is centered around food and family, two things that are of utmost importance to me.” — Marcus Samuelsson (Chef)

AcrylicArtist

Whether your story is humorous or suspenseful here are ways holidays can please readers and help in marketing your book.

Way 1: Family Traditions

Come up with a fresh, creative family tradition that readers can try. They’ll appreciate an idea to make their family’s holiday experience richer. The idea may also initiate getting the word out about your book as readers share it with others.

Example: In Calculated Risk, Nick’s family introduces Cisney to three Thanksgiving traditional events.

An active game in the basement among the cousins. This one shows Cisney a side of Nick that doesn’t fit her image of him in the office. (Cisney and Nick are extreme opposites.)

A mission project in which the whole family is involved. I think readers will find this one fresh and creative. Readers could start such a mission in their neighborhoods or churches. Although Nick is a little exasperated with Cisney at first, he learns much about her heart during this mission.

An outing on Thanksgiving evening with the cousins. Nick learns something about Cisney that drives him crazy and something that amuses him.

I used all three of these traditions to add something to my giveaway basket of goodies I talked about in a recent post.

Fresh holiday traditions in your story could start buzz about your book. Click to tweet.

Way 2: Delicious Holiday Foods

Recipes, recipes, recipes. Get readers salivating for the food and then give them recipes on your website or in your newsletters. Also, use at least one food in some kind of conflict readers will remember.

Example: In Calculated Risk, Nick looks forward to his mother’s snowflake rolls.

Those rolls instigate some problems between Cisney and Nick that raises Grandpa’s eyebrows at the Thanksgiving table. I plan to offer a recipe for the rolls in a newsletter. My research said they’re easy to make.

Sweet potatoes become a retaliatory food for Cisney. Grandpa’s smile shows his approval. The events with the food are subtle but memorable.

Holiday food in your stories can generate recipes to use on your website and newsletter. Click to tweet.

Way 3: Family & Friends

In past manuscripts, I avoided including family members of my main characters in my stories. I felt like I dropped them in, and they didn’t add much to the story. BUT when I included a holiday that’s all about family and friends, characters were easy to write. They were necessary “props.”

Example: In Calculated Risk, Nick adores his family, but some members exasperate him, especially when it comes to the way they admire Cisney.

Nick rooms with his cousin Tony. They’re almost as opposite as Cisney and Nick. Tony challenges Nick’s desire to keep his life private.

Nick’s younger sister and best friend fuel Cisney with handy information about Nick.

Holidays in your story lend an easy way to introduce characters’ family members. Click to tweet.

What is your favorite holiday novel and why?

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