3 Winning Strategies to Maximize Your Sales Momentum

 

by Marilyn Ross

 

For self-publishers and authors with budgets tighter than shrink-to-fit jeans, there are several intriguing ways to stir the publicity pot. None of these costs more than money for postage or gasoline, yet they can yield dramatic results.

 

Creative Print Angles

One idea is to provide magazines with "freebie" chapters. Editors are always interested in receiving well-written pieces relevant to their publication's audience—especially if they don't have to pay for them. Be sure to study the magazine or newsletter format. Look for such things as the length of pieces, if they use an anecdotal approach, and whether their style is casual or formal, elementary or sophisticated. In your cover letter indicate you have written a book and are willing to provide selected chapters without any cost to them. Include some of your promotional materials so they can taste the flavor of your message and refer them to your Web site. Also state that at the end of the excerpt you expect a bio with a reference to the book and full contact information.

Since your book is on computer, you can go one better. Take a chapter, or a subhead section, customize it slightly, toss in an introduction, plop on a little conclusion—and you have a fresh article. I've done this several times and made some big bucks. I did a piece about self-publishing for Science of Mind magazine.

The results were astounding. Because of a meaty paragraph at the end of that article, I sold over $4,000 in products! I did a similar thing with Pace magazine, taking a chapter from Big Ideas for Small Service Businesses. It brought in over $12,000—certainly more than any freelance article I've sold! This kind of win/win partnership with a magazine benefits everyone.

If you don't want to turn over actual parts of your book, write a short piece on the subject in general. I did this about self-publishing for Southwest Airlines Magazine, Toastmaster Magazine, the Women in Communication trade journal, and several others. Of course, I always insist on a bio that gives specific ordering information for my book.

Quizzes, tips, lists of do's and don'ts—they are easy to create and editors love them. I offer them on a complimentary basis as long as full ordering information is included. That's the trade-off. I gave away "5 Strategic Tips for Women Business Owners." By the way, this type of material also works well as a giveaway when you're on the radio. By offering it for a SASE you help listeners and sell more books. Naturally, you'll include a sales brochure about the book when you mail the giveaway.

A Toronto-based couple has a "tip" for Heloise: They use tips to promote their book of household advice called Haley's Hints. Columns of their tips run free in Canadian newspapers and they offered them to the National Enquirer, which plans to run them on a regular basis. Last I heard, they were also in negotiation with Amazon.com to create a free Haley's Hints on that site, complete with a link to their book. Additionally, the Haleys have created almost 300 two-minute TV tip ideas, which are offered throughout the world. A lot of stations put them in as filler material between shows. We have no way of knowing if this "tip" approach is the reason, but this self-published book has topped 300,000 copies sold.

I've had good luck using Letters to the Editor in strategic publications. (You do subscribe to the trade journals relevant to your subject area, don't you?) When a Publishers' Weekly columnist talked about reissues of regional titles in her "West Watch" column, I took this as an invitation to promote our How to Make Big Profits Publishing City & Regional Books. My Letter to the Editor ran a full column and talked about doing new area books, of course mentioning the title in the process. I was able to directly trace several orders to this source.

A cousin to this is the op-ed essay. These pieces usually run about 750 words and are placed opposite a newspaper's editorial page. Many papers pay for them. They are a forum to showcase the idea or industry behind your book and typically carry the title at the end of the piece.

One of my clients has succeeded in syndicating a column. It's being offered to the more than 100 gay publications across the country. The title? "The Straight Poop." Creating a column might work for you, too. Monthly is easier than weekly. It quickly becomes a chore to think up new topics and crank out 500 to 750 words of copy every week. The beauty of this approach is after awhile you can put out another book . . . of your columns!

 

Capitalizing on Contacts

Developing a support system of your peers also makes sense. Networking with other authors and small publishers provides mental stimulation, emotional comfort, and a source for getting your questions answered. Find a writing group or publishing association in your area, or organize one if none exists. The collective promotional ideas will amaze you. You may also find someone willing to serve as an informal mentor, guiding you toward greater heights in this exciting venture.

Capitalizing on contacts is a surefire way to expand awareness of your book. Alert friends, relatives, acquaintances, and business associates about your "new baby." They may know someone who produces a local TV show or be able to put you in touch with an organization that would be interested in making bulk purchases. There is a "six degrees of separation" rule that connects all of us. That means anyone you would care to meet is only six people away from you. Start asking who knows whom!

 But don't stop there. Tell the main newspaper in the city of your birth that a native son or daughter made good. If your parents, children, or brothers and sisters have influence in their hometown, see if you can ride on their names to get mention in a newspaper column or maybe even a feature story or author profile by telephone.

Anything you can do to get people talking about your book is like money in the bank. The most baffling and elusive element in a book's success is word-of-mouth. Statistics from a Gallup poll bring this point quickly into focus: When asked why they bought fiction, 4 percent of the respondents said it was because of ads in magazines and newspapers; book reviews fared only slightly better. By contrast, 27 percent bought because they were familiar with the author and 26 percent because a friend or relative recommended the book. Powerful testimony to word-of-mouth. Said the former president of B. Dalton in an interview in the New York Times, "I would probably rate the most effective techniques for selling books as being the individual telling a friend, reviews, and the author's ability to appear on talk shows."

Sometimes you can turn adversity into opportunity. When the Wall Street crash struck, the financial community mourned the loss of a fortune. Meanwhile, the publishing community dreamed of a fortune to be made. Publishers across the land reached into their backlists and dusted off titles having to do with the stock market and investing. Headlines capitalized on the crash. Simon & Schuster's new ad campaign shouted, "Brilliantly plausible . . . Horrendously disturbing . . . and starting to come true." It's the old story: If life gives you a lemon, make lemonade!

Our friend Raleigh Pinskey suggests you donate products to charity auctions. It's a "giving to get" philosophy that builds title recognition and goodwill. Learn about such possibilities by checking the social section or calendar listings of your local newspaper for charity events, association happenings, service organizations auctions, children's events, businessmen/businesswomen meetings, etc. All you do is call the RSVP number and offer your book for the auction, a raffle, a gift table, goody bag, or what have you. Charitable donations always reflect positively on the giver.

 

Forging Win/Win Partnerships

How about promoting your book as the ideal fund-raising tool? There may be groups of youths, seniors, or church folks who would love to help you sell copies for a percentage of the receipts. Anytime you can ally yourself with others who will serve as your sales force for a small percentage, it is worth serious consideration.

One of our previous clients, Margaret Malsam, sold 225 copies of her Meditations for Today's Married Christians at the National Theresian Convention of Chicago, then donated $375 to the organization. She offers prudent advice for dealing with nonprofits: "Don't say 'I will give you 50 percent off.' Instead say, 'I will donate $5 for every $10 book purchased.'"

This works just as well for backlist titles as for new books. Diane Pfeifer has been selling her Angel Cookbook as a fund-raiser for years. Catholic organizations are a perfect match with recipes like Dominus Vo-Biscuits and In Excelsis Mayo. She sells a minimum of 300 at a time on a nonreturnable basis and collects 60 percent of the retail price. People apparently talk about the book, as she reports getting a ton of reorders at full price.

Forging creative partnerships can add up to big numbers. Waldman House sold 10,000 copies of A Memory of Christmas Tea in one day—and generated enormous publicity—by teaming with the Good Samaritan Society, which operates nursing homes, assisted living centers, and senior care facilities in 26 states. The event was a nationwide "Remember Me Day" where guests were encouraged to visit the residents, share a cup of tea, enjoy a reading of the book live via satellite, and receive packages of tea, tea recipes, and cookies. Waldman House was in seventh heaven as they had 250 facility administrators around the country doing PR for them.

There's yet another way you can creatively merchandise your book. How about trading it for things you want? Many small publishers barter with each other. Perhaps someone has published a book, newsletter, or magazine you would enjoy. Offer to exchange a copy of your book for theirs. This can even be carried further to bartering a quantity of books with vendors for items or services.

Look around for other possibilities. If you or your spouse is employed in a large company, it may have a newsletter that mentions employee happenings. (If you have written your book while working for someone else, be sure the boss knows of this accomplishment and that mention of it lands in your personnel file.) Your college alumni newspaper is another place for publicity. And don't overlook any associations or organizations to which you belong. The more times your name and the name of your book get out, the better.

How about testimonials? These are fan letters you receive or comments that people make about your book. Letters and e-mails from readers will become one of your most priceless treasures. While we all hope to make money from our writing, there is no greater gift than a heartfelt thank-you from a reader who tells you your book made a real difference in his or her life. (You might also want to request that they go to Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com and write a five-star customer review. Hint, hint.) These devoted fans are usually delighted you would want to use their comments.

Of course, you don't have to meekly wait for such lovely accolades. You can solicit them! Whenever someone tells you he or she enjoyed your book, sends a laudatory e-mail, or pens a brief note, capitalize on it. Explain that you are interested in using comments from satisfied readers to tell others about this new book. To encourage a high return, include a SASE. I have used this system with great success, gaining "quotable quotes" not only from appreciative readers but also from television personalities, radio producers, legislators, doctors, journalists, and educators.

To corral even more exposure, launch your book with a special publication date splash. One way to do this is to create an event that is newsworthy. For instance, if your book is about photography, schedule an exhibition to coincide with the publication date and invite cultural editors from the local press.

Or you might team up with a local worthy cause as we did. Tom and I introduced Creative Loafing by putting on a fund-raiser for the Aerospace Museum and Hall of Fame Recovery Fund in San Diego. It was called (appropriately enough) "Creative Loafing Days." This gala event was a weekend in Balboa Park during which activities in the book were depicted. There were jousting matches, magic shows, a frog-jumping jamboree, poetry readings, fiddlers, archery demonstrations, fencing, puppet shows, and more.

Since I was working with a nonprofit organization, free radio public service announcements (PSAs) were available to us and we got coverage in many local newspapers, not to mention landing on the evening news of all three network TV stations! It was a tremendous amount of work, but the net result was a $5,000 donation to the Aerospace Museum and incredible local name identification for the book.

Publishers occasionally use gimmicks to draw attention to their wares. Here are three examples. Maybe these stories will ignite a fiery idea for you. The publisher of Pick Up Your Socks, a children's book, sent one sock with her media kit. A self-defense book was promoted with one chopstick (said to be a useful weapon in a pinch). By separating what is usually a pair, both situations played on the unusual.

And M. Evans, publisher of The I-Like-My-Beer Diet (written by a physician, yet), gave retailers a gimmicky liquid enticement. Interested booksellers were offered galleys of the book and a free case of beer if they were willing to test the diet. One bookseller was quick to commend Evans on this "civilized method of bribery."

These are just some ideas for developing creative promotion. No doubt you can dream up others, or adapt some of the above strategies, to give your own promotional campaign zest.

 

© copyright 2004 Marilyn Ross

 

Marilyn Ross is the author or coauthor of 13 books including the best-selling Complete Guide to Self-Publishing and the award-winning Jump Start Your Book Sales. Through phone consultations and ongoing coaching/mentoring, she empowers authors and self-publishers to realize their dreams. She can be reached at 720-344-4388 or Sue@SelfPublishingResources.com. Visit http://www.SelfPublishingResources.com and sign up for her FREE monthly ezine on how to make more money selling books—plus get your FREE downloadable copy of "15 Smart Strategies for Self-Publishing Success." Order books by calling 800-331-8355.

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