Marketing...it'll be fun, they said

Even though I've yet to publish a book, I sometimes spend time pondering (daydreaming??) about that day. And one of the things I ponder is marketing. How do you make a splash in such a big pond?

To that end, I've started collections of giveaways for various projects. 

Yesterday, I ordered magnets from Shutterfly with baseball quotes on them for one of my WIPs. A--they were free, I just had to pay shipping and B--I figure they'll mail cheaper than other things, like my tile coasters.

I have enough mistletoe paraphernalia to put together a gift basket. And I've only written about thirty pages of that book. 

For the Suitcase book, I have collected butterflies because for me, the book is about Ana's metamorphosis and breaking out of her cocoon. 

When Sarah Addison Allen published The Girl Who Chased The Moon, she had daily giveaways with a moon theme and that has been my inspiration. Plus, the items I've gathered also serve as incentives and inspirations to finish those projects.   

This week I've been participating in a twitter/blog scavenger hunt for The Sandcastle Empire, a new YA Dystopian book by Kayla Olson.  I've been unusually diligent in copying the gifs and sharing them because I am truly excited about this book and I think the contest is kind of genius.

Last week, I received The Breakdown by B.A.Paris from St. Martin's Press because last year they sent out her first book, Behind Closed Doors to 10K readers via a Facebook post. In exchange, the readers just had to read it and review it. Yes, I know there are people who do that already, but generally publishers don't just give books away to the general population. Or if they do, not to me.


Last year to coincide with her book, The Magic Stocking, Liz gave away handmade stockings--which I have one of and before that, she hunted down teacups and offered them up as a promo for another book, Jar of Dreams? I think. 

So, those are my ideas. What are yours? And what has worked for you??




 

Comments

  1. You mentioned my two favorites of my own and I love the others you talked about, too. My December book has stars (and Venus) in it and since it's in December I want my promo to embrace Christmas, too. Any ideas? Great post, as usual, Margie.

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    1. I will think on it and get back to you. Might help to read it 😉

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  2. Good post, Margie and great ideas. I need to think about how to launch the new WOWB book coming up this summer. Hmmmm... I got a teacup from Liz's Jar of Dreams promo, too--I love it!

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    1. I never did :( someone else always won. Lol but, it was such a great and original idea! If you need any help, I'll brainstorm with you!

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  3. I love all your ideas. Most of my giveaways have been my ebooks or occasionally a print book, and sometimes a gift card. But these gifts seem much more personal somehow. Unfortunately, the postage is killer. The last time I did a Goodreads giveaway, my winner was in the UK. It cost me much more to mail the book than it was worth!

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    1. That's a bummer! I never even thought about border postage.

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  4. those are great ideas! This new series is the first time I'm attempting themed giveaways (and they're not so much themed to the book as they are...stuff I find cute or cool).

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    1. Although that's kind of cool too. I have a metal elephant bookmark that I received from author Lisa Van Allen because she likes elephants. Lol

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  5. I haven't tried any themed giveaways yet ... maybe it's time to give it a try!

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