We CAN! promote our books

Book Trailers, Part 2

Virginia Smith (www.virginiasmith.org) here, still filling in for the traveling Gail Gaymer Martin. Today I’ll continue the discussion I started last week on Book Trailers.

By now you’ve surfed around the web and viewed about a gazillion BTs. You’ve talked to your friends who have BTs, you’ve contacted your publisher’s marketing department and gotten their input, you’ve looked at the available software, and you’ve checked out the pros. I’m going to assume that you’ve decided to forge ahead with creating your own BT.

Book Trailers, Part 1

Virginia Smith (www.virginiasmith.org) here, filling in for the traveling Gail Gaymer Martin. Today and next week I’d like to discuss Book Trailers. Now I want to say right up front that I have no level of expertise on this topic, but I do have a tiny bit of experience. And I’ve got opinions. (Not surprising, since I’ve been accused of being opinionated on several occasions.)

For those who are scratching their heads and asking themselves, “What in the world is she talking about?” as my husband did when I mentioned the term to him, a book trailer is a video advertisement for a book. It makes use of today’s technology to snag the interest of a society that has become accustomed to highly engaging visual entertainment. With the onset of sites like YouTube and GodTube and even online community groups like MySpace, someone got the idea of creating video advertisements for books. I’m not sure if the idea originated with writers or marketing experts in the publishing industry, but it caught on and has rapidly gained popularity. I know of several CBA publishers who have begun building money into their marketing budgets to create book trailers for their upcoming titles. They’re not only posted online, they’re also used as a tool to interest booksellers during sales visits.

Getting the Word Out – Building Your Subscriber List

Hi! Virginia Smith here, stepping in once again for the traveling Gail Gaymer Martin. This week I’ll conclude the topic I’ve discussed the past few Mondays – your eNewsletter. We’ve talked about content and format and schedule, and last week I outlined some things to consider in selecting a provider. Today, let’s brainstorm a few ways to build your subscriber list.

When I first launched my eNewsletter, my list of recipients consisted primarily of my friends and family. I didn’t have any books out yet, but I was publishing articles and stories, and the release date of my debut novel had been scheduled. So most of the people who said they wanted to receive my eNewsletter were people who knew me and wanted to stay informed about that momentous event. That was great, but I knew those people would all buy a copy of my book even without an eNewsletter. I needed to get the word out, to create a buzz. But how could I get people who didn’t know me to sign up?

Getting the Word Out - Creating an eNewsletter

Virginia Smith here, filling in for the traveling Gail Gaymer Martin again. Today I’d like to continue the topic I started last Monday - eNewsletters. Let’s say you’ve outlined the goals that you want to accomplish by creating an eNewsletter, you’ve identified your primary audience, you’ve decided upon a publication schedule, and you’ve got at least a high-level idea of what elements you will include in each issue. Great! You’re ready to take the next step - actually creating your first issue. But before you do this, there is one important thing you need to consider – the law!

Getting the Word Out - Creating an eNewsletter

Hello. Virginia Smith here, filling in for the traveling Gail Gaymer Martin.

Over the next few Mondays I’d like to talk about eNewsletters. They’re on my mind because I recently had mine redesigned (take a look: here). Before I actually spent money to do that, I took the opportunity to evaluate my goals. I recommend that anyone who is thinking of launching an eNewsletter take a few moments to consider the following:

·         What do you hope to accomplish? For most authors, the primary goal for an eNewsletter is to build and maintain a readership for your books. You want a communication tool that allows you to let people know when you have a new book being released, and gives them all the information they need to buy it. And you’d like to do this without spending gobs of money in postage and printing costs. At least, those were my reasons. For some, the primary goal of an eNewsletter might not be book marketing, but since this is a marketing blog, that’s the one I’m going to address.

Decorating your Booksigning Table

Hi! Virginia Smith here, once again posting for a vacationing Gail Gaymer Martin. I’ve been reading Jill Elizabeth Nelson’s posts on booksignings for the past couple of weeks, and I really learned a lot. If I may, I’d like to twist the topic a quarter-turn and focus on the physical aspects of your table at a booksigning event.

A friend recently published her first novel and set up a booksigning at a local Borders. I stopped by to show my support. When I walked through the door, I knew she was in trouble. Her table was in a great location, just inside the front door in plain sight of everyone. But there she sat, a lone figure behind a green-draped table with nothing on the surface except a stack of books and a pen. She cut a pretty lonely figure. And she looked totally bored. People walked into the store, noticed her, avoided her eyes, and headed for the brightly decorated discount table just beyond her.

Presentation is important, folks. That’s why we decorate for parties – we want to create a happy, relaxed atmosphere so we’ll have happy, relaxed guests who enjoy themselves. And really, a booksigning event is like a party. It’s a celebration of your book, your baby. Imagine a baby shower without balloons or pink-and-blue streamers hanging above the cake table!

Here are a few ideas to make your booksigning table a real attention-grabber: