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Say I have a book...or a comic series...or a podcast...or another published work.

Marketing written or scripted works is perfectly on topic here, and most of the promotional materials are also written materials in themselves. Every author who sells books at a table (at a convention, fair, conference, or other event) has some thing to give away. Most authors who go to such events, carry something with them to hand out to people they talk with. Bookstores and comic shops also accept promotional materials (sometimes even from authors without anything in print).

Some examples of items I've seen:

  • Postcards
  • Flyers & half flyers & posters
  • Brochures (tri-fold and other)
  • Bookmarks
  • Business cards
  • Branded swag

I'm in the United States, but feel free to share experiences from any country.

QUESTION: What are the most effective physical materials to give people to promote my work and how do I distribute them? The aim is to get people to take them and then to refer to them later.

What should I do to promote my books? is a good question with answers on various promotional strategies. I'm asking specifically about physical marketing materials.

Cyn
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    Why the downvotes? Marketing questions for books and other writings are completely allowed here. – Cyn Feb 22 '19 at 16:58
  • I don't have an answer, but all of these are printed media, presumeably to promote a printed book. If there's any chance it will be an ebook, these strategies might feel anachronistic and old-fashioned. – wetcircuit Feb 22 '19 at 17:32
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    @wetcircuit It's an on-topic question though. I don't know why people are downvoting it. I was planning on answering it myself after seeing what other answers came in (also completely allowed and even encouraged on SE). – Cyn Feb 22 '19 at 17:37
  • The answer the bookstores and comic shops give is bookmarks. They put them out on the counter. People also take them while tabling. My spouse and I have done this for his e-comic (which will eventually be a book but that hasn't happened yet). Some people do give out postcards and any of the other things I listed above. I'd love to hear some answers from people who either created materials or readers who interacted with them for good or for ill. – Cyn Feb 22 '19 at 17:37
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    I would have said bookmarks too, but not from experience. It's just book -> bookmark. It's the only one listed that is useful to a book. – wetcircuit Feb 22 '19 at 19:25
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    and I upvoted so you are even at the moment ;) – wetcircuit Feb 22 '19 at 19:25
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    Could you refine "best"? Conversion rate? Cost? Probability that people will pick them up in the first place? Something else? I think you have a good question here if you can address that so this doesn't become an opinion free-for-all. (This is not off-topic.) – Monica Cellio Feb 22 '19 at 19:28
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    @wetcircuit It's funny cause my husband said flyers (I thought postcards). He's spent so much time in comic shops and at tabling events and he was sure of it. I insisted he ask some shops their opinion. I was with him while he asked 2-3 and they all said bookmarks. Then pointed to the stacks of bookmarks on the counter that authors had left there. Looking around closely, I notice now that it's mostly bookmarks. They're useful! (And they don't take up much counter space, which is what the shops told us was the draw.) – Cyn Feb 22 '19 at 19:29
  • @MonicaCellio thanks. I edited my question to read: "QUESTION: What are the most effective physical materials to give people to promote my work and how do I distribute them? The aim is to get people to take them and then to refer to them later." Does this address your concerns? If not, let me know! – Cyn Feb 22 '19 at 19:31
  • I guess Copies of the Book Itself should also be on a conference table or part of a promotional anything… still not a useful answer, but technically the book is printed and "promotionable". – wetcircuit Feb 22 '19 at 19:35
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    Flyers go to the trash at the end of the event, or sooner. Bookmarks get kept, since they're useful. Don't know what is more effective, but I know which one is less pollution. – Galastel supports GoFundMonica Feb 22 '19 at 19:43
  • @Galastel While this particular question doesn't address the waste aspect (except indirectly, since recycled materials won't help customers find you), it is something I care very much for. When I designed the bookmarks for my husband's comic, I made sure they were recyclable (the shop said the coating was not but I researched it and they were wrong). – Cyn Feb 22 '19 at 19:53

1 Answers1

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Thinking a bit further on the comment I've made, I think bookmarks are the most effective. Here's why:

I'm offered a flyer, if I take it, I read, then throw away. Or, I find it interesting, stuff it into my bag, and forget it's there. Same with brochures, or any other object I have no immediate use for. A bookmark, on the other hand, has a use. It goes into a book. Next time I open that book, I see the bookmark, I'm reminded of whatever it is that's being advertised. At which point, the bookmark is still useful, so I keep using it, and seeing it.

I'm fairly sure I've read somewhere that advertising works in part through exposure: one is not likely to buy something one has never heard of, but one feels more secure buying something one feels familiar with, to some extent. So the advertising attempts to bring an object from the realm of "never heard of it" to the realm of "sufficiently familiar to try it". By repeatedly making the suggestion, through repeatedly exposing your potential buyer to the same bookmark, you're making it easier for them to buy your book.

(The Israeli Society of Science Fiction and Fantasy advertises conventions on bookmarks - no flyers, no posters, no swag. At every convention, when you collect your tickets, you're offered a bookmark with the date, location and website of the next one. I don't know if the main consideration is effectiveness or environmental, but everybody is happy with this method. So clearly it works to some extent.)

Galastel supports GoFundMonica
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