Ahhh . . . it’s summer.
The vacation is planned, the reservations at the pet boarders are made, the neighbor kid will be mowing the lawn once or twice while you’re gone, and finally you can take a break from the pressures of marketing your book!
Sorry—while everything else above might be true, marketing a book is much like parenting. The parenting job is never really done, just like book marketing. And like with parenting, you can hire a babysitter (or an intern to manage your Twitter page) once in a while, but ultimately the onus will come back to you as the child’s (book’s) official spokesperson.
Being an author means being excited to find new ways and places to market your book, no matter where you’re headed on vacation! Below are 5 ideas for book marketing while you’re on vacation.
1. Before you go, set up a book signing at a local bookstore.
What a great way to write off a portion of your vacation costs! Better yet, what a great way to expose a new community to your book! Visit the American Booksellers Association to search for a fitting bookstore in the area and try to schedule one event.
2. Find out about special events in your vacation community.
Are you going to be visiting Coney Island during the week of their Mermaid Parade? Or will your family perhaps be passing through Cawker City, Kansas during their annual Twine-a-thon in celebration of their world’s largest ball of twine? Take a little time to find out about the events in your vacation location, and be creative about how you and your book might get involved! Don’t be afraid to include the rest of the family, too!
3. Ask the front desk to allow you to sell books at check-in time.
People need reading material on vacation! Ask the front desk attendant at your resort or hotel if there’s a regular check-in time and date that tends to get a lot of traffic, and if you might be able to set up a folding table nearby to sell some books for a couple of hours. Also ask if you might be allowed to sell some books at the front desk on consignment (maybe a long shot, but worth asking!).
4. Carry bookmarks with QR codes to hand out.
Before you head out on vacation, have some bookmarks made for your book. Add a QR code for your Amazon sales page! You may choose to use a QR code for your eBook page—people tend to use their eReaders more on vacation! For an easy QR-code generator, click HERE.
5. Carry a copy of your book everywhere.
Having ice cream at a local creamery? Walk up with your book under your arm! Eating at the fancy French restaurant? Set your book on the table while you eat! You never know who might see your book and become curious. I have an author who does this with her fiction mystery series (terrific vacation reads!), and she’s sold many books this way. Effortless and effective! Also, ask the front desk of your hotel or resort if they have a free guest library where you might leave a copy of your book when you go. You never know who will pass through and pick it up!
Enjoy your suntans! Don’t forget to throw your book in with your sunscreen!
Thanks, good basic advice, Edward Smith
Great ideas! I especially love the bookmark one. It reminds me of the selfpublitchat we had last month on Twitter, when we were thrashing out ideas and I mentioned QR codes for promo in print.
Libraries often carry book marks in reception I’ve noticed. So that might be a good place to distribute them?
Thanks, Yasmin! I know QR codes have some lovers and some haters, but there are so many people who read on their phones that I think they’re a terrific tool for authors!
Thanks for good advice. Bookclubs and writer orgs are good to visit as well when you travel. Or speaking to your old school/college if travel takes you back to your roots.
I share a lot of book author names on vacations. So glad my book is finally in the running. But promoting an ebook is a bit harder if they don’t have a reader, so smart to get your own copy of a POD version.