Book Promotion Tip #7: Make the most of your in-store book signings.
I had one book signing, early in my children's book career, at which not a single person showed up. Been there, done that? Nothing can burst the balloon of excitement after the release of your first (or second or third or fourth) book like throwing a party and having no one show up. Not fun!
I've learned since that ill-fated day that I can't depend on booksellers to make an event happen for me--I must take responsibility. Fortunately, I've had some amazing mentors in a few great bookstores, and I've been able to carry the lessons I learned to stores in which the booksellers didn't have the same kind of marketing savvy or simply didn't have the time to plan and execute an event for me.
I credit Jill Sweitzer, past Community Relations Manager at the Redlands, California Barnes & Noble, with educating me about how to make a book signing work. First, early in my career when I was an unknown writer and not likely to draw a crowd on the basis of my name, Jill placed me at a table near the front door of the store instead of hidden away in the children's section. That way I could greet people as they came in the door: "Hi! Do you have any kids in your life? How about a monster? No? Any cat lovers? I'm the author of..."
The placement of my table facilitated my approach to customers. I was in a position where I could ask questions to help create common ground between me, my potential reader and my book. Sometimes, especially if they don't have a child in tow, people don't even know they're in the market for a children's book until you plant the seed! I've never had a bookstore refuse to move me to a different spot in the store when I asked--and explained to them that a certain placement has been an effective way for me to increase sales.
I also learned at Redlands that to sell books, you can't sit in your chair behind a table. Move your chair to the front of the table, and when you're not signing a book, stand up, walk around, look people in the eye, smile and have your "elevator speech" ready. Hold a book in your hand, and as you're talking, place it in the customer's hands. Marketing 101: A customer is more likely to purchase a product he's holding than one he looks at from a distance--even if that distance is as short as three feet away on your table.
If you're a better known author and/or your book is one that has wide appeal, like my FROZEN books for Disney, you might very well want to be in the children's section of a larger store like B&N--especially if you have an incredible bookseller like Redland's current CRM, Laurie Aldern, who plans an event around your appearance. But more about that in my next promotion post in two weeks! Be sure to tune in.
Barbara Jean Hicks is a regular guest contributor to Tales From the Rushmore Kid. She is a credentialed teacher in K-12 English/Language Arts and the award-winning author of seven picture books for children, including her most recent, AN AMAZING SNOWMAN, which along with A SISTER MORE LIKE ME is based on characters from the 2013 Oscar-winning animated feature film from Disney, FROZEN.
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