Being an author means never being off-duty, especially when it comes to marketing your book. This vacation season find new and creative ways to promote your book and sell extra copies. And if you are headed for a vacation yourself, find new places to market your book. A perfect plan for the most exciting (and profitable!) vacation you have ever had!
Vacation Plan
If you are travelling this vacation, be sure to carry copies of your books. Check with the local library and bookstores if you could schedule a book signing event for the local community. Another great marketing idea is to seek permission to sell your books at the front desk of the hotel where you are staying. After all everyone has free time on a holiday and what better way for a reader to spend it than with a book, preferably yours! Make a bunch of bookmarks with QR code for the online sales page of your book and hand it out to anyone who shows interest in your book. Keep in mind that sales of e-books are especially high during vacations because of their convenience.
Be sure to leave some memories behind before your exit from the holiday spot. Donate a free copy of the book to the local library or the guest library at the hotel. A novel way to garner new readers and expand your market base even in your absence!
Vacation Discount
A vacation discount could be just the thing required to give your book sales a little bump and keep them moving upwards for the next few weeks. This is an extremely effective strategy because readers are less likely to pay full-price for an author they have not heard of before. However, more than 70% of bargain buyers also buy books at full price and if your discounted book grabs their attention, they are likely to purchase your other work as a holiday read. In fact, if you have a substantial body of work that the reader can go back to, offering the book for free can prove very lucrative for you.
A price cut can work even better if you have a book that will work well in the holiday season. Romance and mystery are really popular as vacation read, scary books work well at Halloween, and feel-good family sagas are great for Christmas. Along with the discount, try selling the books at places that people go to that given season. For example, romance novels can be sold at florists and gift shops for Valentine’s Day.
Vacation Partners
Form vacation partnerships to give a boost to the sale of your book. If it is summer holidays, contact schools and catch up with teachers you know. Schools usually give a holiday reading list to their students and you might be able to get your book onto that list, especially if it has some educational value. Also work with ‘mommy groups’ whose members may be looking for a chance to relax and catch up on some much-needed reading during the summer break. Think of all the activities and places that are popular with the vacationing crowd and think up marketing strategies to fit your book into the holiday mood. Contact local libraries and bookstores to stock your books and contact authors to see if you can work out a ‘1+1 free’ package deal for the holidays.
Prepare well in advance for the vacation season and offer deals and discounts whenever you are able to. This may be just the time for you to cut through the crowd and make the profits that a hardworking writer deserves.
