DGPs 2012 Book Events Marketing Series
Today is the first day of Spring and with Spring comes the beginning of book festival season. So today l’m launching our Book Events Marketing Series. Hopefully, it will be helpful for you.
Book Vending
Book Vending is a direct selling opportunity. Direct selling is a form of marketing. For traditional authors direct selling isn’t something that you will do much of, because your publishing house works at the corporate level to sell your book to book sellers. However, during this season you will be invited to vend at book events. Although I rarely advise my clients to book vend, authors do it. More than likely you will feel the urge to do so. Here are three Do’s and Don’ts on the matter.
Book Vending Do’s:
- Keep your table clutter free and focused on your book.
- The less you have the easier it is to help passerbys see what you have to offer. Remember they are passing your table. If it looks like an estate sale table, if it looks like everyone else, then your book will mesh into the mess they are skimming. Slow their walk down by having a cleaner table.
- Ditch treat basket for bottled water, but don’t give it away.
- Now that you have slowed folks down give them an incentive to buy. Your book is your #1 marketing tool (the book cover, the plot, the writing, the character.) You want them to stand their and hold the book and read the cover flap. You want them to sign your guest list and ask you about your book. For signing the guest book, for stopping at the table give them some bottle water. Make sure that bottle has your name and book title on it. Do not give that water bottle away unless they touch something on your table and sign that guest book. So keep the bottles near you.
- Stand up and mingle
- Make sure you bring a working friend or partner with another author near. News flash: No one really knows you. So get up and meet the featured authors, the event planners, the media, the librarian staff… book clubs wearing t-shirts or book bags. Your goal for vending is to leverage your name, to meet new readers, and to more up a ladder in your publishing house. You can’t do that vending. You can do that mingling and networking. Get out there.
Book Vending Don’ts:
- Vend if there are more than three featured authors who write in your genre.
- Statistically at book festivals book buyers purchase on average three books, more for children books. The psychographics for most book festival attendants show that these readers intent are to buy and have autographed books from their favorite author and give one or two new authors in their favorite genre a try, if they like what they see (the book and the author.) So if there are three Christian fiction authors billed as the marquis authors of the event, the likely hood of the reader purchasing those three authors latest titles are far higher than them stumbling upon your book in a sea of vendor tables. To find out who are the featured authors for the event before you pay a vendor fee, contact the event planner.
- Bring a working friend.
- Reality check. If you’re vending that means you’re not featured, which means very few of the attendants know who you are. Therefore, you’re going to need a little help. Ask a friend to come along as a working friend. This working friend will be responsible for handing bookmarks to those who read your genre and have them invite them to your table. Be observant: if they line up to meet the featured suspense author and you write suspense, get your friend over to that line.
- Create promo material specific for the event.
- Think about what you’re doing and why. If you want people to remember you, then make sure they remember you. Here are some promo materials you should consider:
- water bottle labels
- postcards that thank them for meeting you at ABC event
- book marks that spotlight your tour
- Think about what you’re doing and why. If you want people to remember you, then make sure they remember you. Here are some promo materials you should consider:
Chat with me live on Facebook at 7pm at www.facebook.com/mirandaparkerbooks about today’s tips, why I don’t recommend book vending to my clients, and anymore questions you have about book vending.
Remind me to give my tips for book signings next week.
