Laying the Groundwork with Teasers

Kathi Macias here, back from my incredible vacation/ministry time in beautiful Kalispell, Montana. Thanks to fellow CANner Tricia Goyer, I had the opportunity to speak at her church one evening and to meet some of the nicest people on the planet. If all goes well, I'll have a chance to return to that charming area one day soon! Meanwhile, I want to share with you what I consider one of the best ways to hook potential readers of your about-to-be-released book.

We all know there are many ways to whet your readers' appetite for a future feast, including postcards, business cards, book trailers, bookmarks, etc. And trust me, I'm in the process of developing and distributing and using them all! In fact, I hope to have my book trailer up and running in the next couple of weeks. But my publisher suggested another teaser, which I personally think has worked better than any other to this point, at least so far as personal, up-close, one-on-one marketing goes. I followed up on her suggestion, and it's working out beautifully!

I picked my favorite chapter from my newest book, BEYOND ME: LIVING A YOU-FIRST LIFE IN A ME-FIRST WORLD, which officially releases July 1, and had copies printed and placed in inexpensive plastic folders with a picture of the actual book cover on the front and ordering info at the back. These were light and easy to carry (I brought lots of them with me to Montana, as well as to a women's retreat I did recently), and people were quite receptive to them. In addition, they are much less likely to toss them than if I simply handed them a business card or bookmark with ordering information on them. Each of my book's chapters end with throught-provoking "making it personal" application questions, so the readers can actually read a sample chapter of the book and see how it apply to their lives. With the book ordering information already up on Amazon and CBD, they are then inspired to go to one of those online sites and pre-order the book. Nearly all of them then go to my personal website and sign up for my weekly devotional newsletter, as well as signing my guestbook to be entered into my monthly drawing for a free book of their choice (including the new one).

Though I appreciate and make use of all the other pre-pub marketing materials, this sample chapter teaser seems to be the most powerful and effective. I encourage you to try it--and then email and let me know how it works out!

Comments

[Chet Galaska]

Dear Kathi,
Time flies! You graciously gave me some advice about 2 years ago on a book I was writing entitled "Stumbling Stones." After many fits and starts I'm finally self-publishing it under a new title: "Finding Faith in a Skeptical World." The interior design is being completed and I expect to have galleys during July. I'd like to send you one, so if you could send me a mailing address I'll get one out to you.

I read your "Two Cents" column and see you're a football fan, so you'll appreciate this. I'm from Massachusetts and still live here. Back when I was a kid, the
Patriots were just starting up and the New York Giants were the local team. I'm still a Giants fan and have taken lots of grief for it over the past several years. Put yourself in my shoes and ask yourself, "Is anything sweeter than having the Giants ruin a perfect Patriots season with 35 seconds to go in the Super Bowl?" The correct answer is, "no, there isn't!!"

Hope to hear from you.

Chet Galaska
billgalaska@comcast.net