Blogger: Rachel Kent
Location: Books & Such main office, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Ever been overwhelmed by marketing your book? Perhaps you’re short on extra cash to spend on marketing. Well, I have some ideas for you! I’m going to spend this week focusing on cheap, easy marketing ideas that you can use to promote yourself and your book. 🙂
The first idea is:
Take a few copies of your book with you to places with waiting rooms and leave them there. If you are a regular patient somewhere and you know the staff, this should be easy. It’s best to ask for permission, but I know my doctor or dentist would say “Go for it.” I bet yours would, too!
Just think how many people could be exposed to your book or name through this! Doctors and dentists have new traffic coming in each day. Even if the patients don’t pick up the book, they will still see the cover and title, and it could subconsciously cause them to purchase the book or recognize your name in the future. If a few do start the book while waiting in the office and enjoy it, they’re likely to purchase the book to finish it.
Feel free to take this beyond your own doctor or dentist, too. If you tell other doctors and dentists that you are a local author and ask to leave your book in the waiting room at their offices, I bet some of them would be excited to have it there.
Cost: Gas and time, and you need to step out of your comfort zone.
Perhaps you will need to purchase the books, but authors usually get free copies upfront and a large discount on additional promotional copies.
Rewards: Exposure to approximately 1o0+ people each week per office.
Tip: It might be useful to take a one-sheet with a short summary and author bio to hand to the staff while asking permission. That way they can double-check that the content is appropriate for the office.
Extension: Get your close friends and family to take the book to the waiting rooms they visit as well. Include your out-of-town friends and relatives, too!
If you try this idea, please do report back to let us all know how it worked! 🙂
Excellent outside-the-box advice!
Aside from my doctor and dentist, I have some doctor and dentist friends who I could easily approach. Then there’s my children’s orthodontist.
This idea works! I haven’t had a book published, but when I ran a corporate childcare center I took our promotional items and business cards to pediatrics offices and enrolled over a dozen children from this marketing strategy. 🙂
Ohhh, Rachel! I’m going to love this topic this week! And what a great tip to start off with! To leave one’s books with the doctor, dentist, and other places we frequent is a wonderful idea!
I had a thought about something else, too. Since I don’t have a book out yet, I’ve been networking in other ways. I’ve had so many folks express interest at church, school, etc., I’ve been considering having bio sheets printed with a few basics about their local author. I believe it would be a great marketing tool to leave these in our church library (our church membership is around 700), at our local schools where I substitute teach, with the local newspapers, and of course, our nearby public library branches. I believe people enjoy getting to know an author well before her book is on the shelf–especially if it’s a debut author.
A question–Do you think you can generate too much interest, or possibly risk oversaturating potential buyers too soon when you’re a newer author?
Looking forward to tomorrow! : )
What a great idea, Rachel, one I plan to use. Since my debut novel is set in the area where I live–with the name of a local town in the title, no less–this will be a great way to get the book in front of a large number of people who might not hear about it otherwise.
Rachel,
While I haven’t a published book yet, researching the subject of promotion and marketing feels a little like shooting the rapids; exhilarating and frightening. I find myself struggling to remain calm and not become immobilized by the necessity of marketing and the thousands of promotional ideas floating around on the internet.
Your suggestion is not only frugal, but simple and easy to implement! Thanks!
What a GREAT idea! Looking forward to the other posts this week, Rachel. Thanks!
Wow, this is a really great tip! I’m already thinking of several local offices that would be open to placing a book in their waiting rooms. Do you think “general” offices would have any policies against offering faith-based reading?
Also, would it be beneficial to list or describe this sort of strategy directly in our book proposals? Or is this the kind of thing discussed with a marketing department after a contract?
I’m looking forward to the other amazing tips coming up this week!
This is awesome! I’m totally going to try this when my book releases next May!
Great topic for discussion, Rachel. I think this is a great idea. My sticking pint happens to be that the book I wrote is a Christian picture book, so I’m not sure how successful I would be at placing them in a doctor’s office. Do you think providing a copy to a Sunday school teacher or several at different churches would work as well?
Thanks. I look forward to more of this week’s discussions.
Cheryl and Caroline, you both asked about faith-based books going to a doctor’s office. I don’t see why it would be a problem, but that’s why I suggest you ask before leaving the books and having that summary sheet can help. The doctors and dentists I know like to have a wide variety of interests represented in the reading materials they have in the waiting rooms. By having the book there it’s just available for someone to pick up. No one is being forced to read it.
Donating books to church libraries can also help get your name out there, Cheryl. I don’t know how well it works, but it’s worth a try! If your book could be read and discussed as a Sunday School lesson, that would be a great way to get exposure. If the kids love the story, they might want it at home, too. Perhaps you could include a list of suggested discussion points with the book when you give it to the Sunday School teachers. I know they’re always looking for easy-to-use class materials.
Very slick idea, Rachel. Just before reading this, I stumbled onto a similar idea–Christian servicemen’s centers. One of my published novels follows the unexpected adventures of an airman in WW II, which is a natural for people in the military. I volunteered copies of my book for some such centers, and they’re interested, but want to see a copy first, which I’ll gladly send.
BTW, while visiting an Air Force museum in Georgia, I picked up the business card of their gift shop manager and dropped her a note about my book. So, the 8th Army Air Force museum now stocks my Christian WW II novel, which they hadn’t been aware of before. It never pays to remain silent about your own book, but speaking up can provide continuing dividends!
Great ideas, Rachel and everyone. Like all great ideas, it’s a simple one. Bet I’m not the only one who’s asking herself why she hadn’t thought of this before.
To piggyback on the earlier question about Christian books, etc., my last book is aimed at parents, how to talk to their children about sex. Along with the Govt. stats on teenage pregnancy that were current when this fifth edition came out, summer of 2008, contains illustrations, info on STDs, etc. It’s meant to be a reference book, as well, written from a thoroughly Christian perspective.
I wonder if this subject matter might render it inappropriate? Or is the bottom line I just need to ask?
Great idea. Can’t wait to see the other ideas as well.
A great suggestion, Rachel. Budget friendly marketing ideas are always good in my book.
Here’s a similar place to try, especially if a book targets women — the lobbies of dance studios, karate places, and other spots kids (and moms) frequent each week. I spend almost 3 hours in the lobby during my daughter’s dance classes every week. Plenty of moms spend lots more time there than me. And trust me, we’ll look at anything that happens to be lying on the coffee table!
My book isn’t PC but it is humorous. I do wonder though if I put it in doctor’s offices–would there be complaints about the content?
I wouldn’t let my 12 year old neice read it but anyone over 18 then I’m okay.—It’s very funny but a little strange and odd.
Tirz
I’m applying to become a substitute teacher in the Fall and was told that doing author visits or other marketing might be considered a conflict of interest. Apparently that policy varies. I was told to contact the superintendent of each district and ask if it would be okay to market my books there if I’m an employee of the district. Other teachers might want to do the same before leaving books or materials in schools.
Rachel, this is great idea, as are the others people have chimed in with. I know I get asked all the time what I’m working on, since I always have my netbook with me so I can write while I sit in waiting rooms. Everyone from my optometrist to my chiropractor to my dentist knows I’m a novelist and working on getting published. They would probably all be open to having a copy of my book in their waiting rooms, if only to say, “She’s a patient here!” Great tip. 🙂
Great idea, Rachel! My dentist is open about being a Christian, so I’ve already thought of ways I could talk to them when I’m published. Never thought about actually putting a copy of the book in their waiting room. There’s a Christian bookstore right behind them, too, so now I’m thinking of promo deals, etc…. Hmm, now you’ve got my brain ticking with ideas. 🙂
Excellent idea!
Thanks for this tip. A a recently published author (www.thedestinyofone.com) I am working hard to get my name out there. This is a great tip!