PROMOS!

I wanted to post a comment about the - how do you promote yourself - question a while back, but never did. This sat I'm doing a signing at a library. OF COURSE it's outside and OF COURSE it will rain. This is what happens. But anyway, this time I'm going to bring (if I buy ink that is!) new promo bookmarks I've made. I've found that at every signing I go to, people ask for "a card" or "my website" and I am NEVER prepared. I've made my own bookmarks that will hopefully sum up my career since day one (scary! Is that possible?) Below is a picture—





Another promo idea that worked TOO well—
I had the idea to make keychains for my book The Adventures of Patty and the Big Red Bus. I thought it would be the promo that wouldn’t die. People would essentially travel with it and other people would see it. So my brilliant idea was to give them away for free. Okay, that’s simple enough, right? So I posted “free kaychains” on my website. Here’s the problem—I was and IS inundated! I have bags and bags of envelopes like Santa! This WOULD have been a brilliant marketing tool if I hadn’t decided to make the keychains myself. This involves printing out two different images, gluing them together, cutting them, and then placing them in the plastic. Problem #2—the plastic parts didn’t hold up for more than a day! So my solution was to glue the plastic parts together. Now I have a million steps AND each kaychain was costly!

Lesson learned. Make sure you are able to make the promos! Make sure if you advertise that they’re free that you can fill the demand. NEVER assume no one will want something that is free. I feel SOOO guilty that I still have mail from a year ago! It eats away at me. I wish I could fill the orders but I have two books due at once! The mail continues to sit… and sit… and sit…

meghan