Marshmallow Marketing 101

Somewhere in Wisconsin, in a state away from where I live, one of my books is beginning a life as a vagabond. It was left with a bookcrossing label and placed in a lovely rest area near a trendy tourist hot spot. The bookcrossing label tells whoever  picks up the book that they've have just made contact with a novel on a journey, a book with a purpose, a book that has an online journal of where it's been and what people thought about it after having read it.

The person who picks it up — and hopefully reads it and journals about it — will then set it free, and the book will be on its way again. To who knows where.

So what's so great about bookcrossing? And what does it have to do with marketing? The Marshmallow Marketer is here to explain it all. This concept of releasing books into the wild is my favorite kind of marketing. It's the perfect soft sell. It's WOMderful. Yes, WOMderful. WOM. Word of Mouth. A traveling book is sold only once, that is true, but it is read by many people; people who will journal about it, talk about it, perhaps buy it as a gift for a family member, and maybe recommend it when the topic of books comes up. This kind of promotion is unique and clever and a lot of fun.

There are other web-based organizations that cater to the book-sharing type; Bookcrossing is just one of them. But it is huge. There are books with Bookcrossing IDs all over the globe; in every country. And it's kind of cool to be a part of it. And it's easy. My friend and fellow CANner Donita K. Paul ordered the deluxe get-started pack and shared the bounty with a bunch of us at ICRS this summer. It came with bookplates, bookmarks, sticky notes and special bags (if you decide to leave your book on a wet park bench). But all you really need to do to register a book is go online and request a bookcrossing ID number. That's free. And the grand poobah of Bookcrossing says it always will be. You use a pseudonym to register the book so it doesn't look so incredibly self-serving when you place your own book in "The Wild" because it's not your own byline that you use.

No one has registered that the book I left in Wisconsin has been picked up yet. But it's only been a week and I'm optimistic. And I'll definitely keep you posted. Next Saturday the Marshmallow Marketer will pose the question, "What did Ernest Hemingway have to do sell his books?"

See you next week. . .

Susan

Comments

[Dabbling Mum]

I forgot all about this. I learned about it when it first started and never it gave it another thought as I donate all my books to the local library or contests on my website.

Another "soft sell" is to have friends and colleagues find your book in the bookstore and turn it so that it's facing front cover up and prominent. Those are usually the books that get picked up first in bookstores by browsers.

[relevantgirl]

I wonder if I can do this from Europe?

[SusanMeissner]

Bookcrossing books are all over the planet, Mary. If you go to www.bookcrossing.com and click on the "go hunting" link on the home page, you will be taken to a webpage that lists all the countries that have books in travel mode. It's a long list, including Afghanistan, New Zealand and Zimbabwe. Cool, huh?
Susan

[Sharon HInck]

Hi, Susie-Q! I'm delighted by this idea. Thanks for sharing it. I went straight to their site and signed up. I love the idea of setting some books free to float around where God might steer them.
Blessings!