Part five of a six part series on selling your books to organizations. See the rest of this series and other articles by Shel Horowitz.

When you craft your pitch to the organization you want to partner with, keep these things in mind:

• Focus your inquiry/pitch not on why you want to do this for yourself, but on how it will benefit the organization (please see Part 3 of this series if you need to remind yourself of those reasons)–and on what you can bring to the table to help them, over and above the donation (for example, how you can get them media exposure, how you can open up a new volunteer pool and/or fundraising channel among your workers, how you can get other businesses to donate time, money, or goods and services)
• Come across as thoroughly professional, as some one whose association with the organization adds value to that organization–this should be reflected not only in the quality of your book, but also the quality of your presentation
• Even if you will be donating money to the organization, remember that dealing with your needs could add stress and hassles to the lives of the busy staff and volunteers–so do everything you can to smooth out any rough places for them, and to be as pleasant as possible to deal with. After all, you want them to sing your praises, to want to work with you again, and to recommend you to their colleagues
• Be flexible if you get requests for custom covers or other things you might not expect. Accommodate when possible, but if there are costs to you, it’s not unreasonable to ask the organization to pick up the extra cost

Book publishing/marketing consultant and copywriter Shel Horowitz is the author of six marketing books. His three most recently published books, Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, and Grassroots Marketing: Getting Noticed in a Noisy World have all won awards. Visit http://www.frugalmarketing.com to order his books or learn about his services.

Part four of a six part series on selling your books to organizations. See the rest of this series and other articles by Shel Horowitz.

The types of books needed by organizations are as varied as the organizations themselves.

Just to peek at the tip of the iceberg; many others are possible:

• Local history (great for a bank, Chamber of Commerce, etc.)
• How-to (very helpful to manufacturers and distributors/dealers who need to train people in their product)
• Health and wellness (drug companies, hospitals, practitioners)
• Business theory (Southwest Airlines bought 1000 copies of my sixth book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First–what I heard back was that the company president wanted to give them to people he wanted to impress)
• Travel/destination (Chambers of Commerce, attractions, airlines, travel agencies…)
• Coffee-table art book (whatever company, industry, or institution is being profiled)
• Cookbook/food book (food manufacturers, restaurants, gourmet or specialty grocery stores; Diane Pfeifer, author of “Gone With the Grits,” sold 15,000 to cereal maker Quaker, which manufactures grits)
• Fiction (tie-ins with locations, genres, equipment, cars…)
• Parenting and child-rearing (schools, play equipment and toy manufacturers, early-childhood education industry, counselors, even law enforcement–in my seventh book, Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers, I cite the author of a book on bullying that had been picked up by several police departments)

Keep in mind that you can not only sell entire books (especially if you can offer a custom cover so the sponsor’s name is on the front), but also pieces (as booklets, special reports, audios, etc.).

Book publishing/marketing consultant and copywriter Shel Horowitz is the author of six marketing books. His three most recently published books, Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, and Grassroots Marketing: Getting Noticed in a Noisy World have all won awards. Visit http://www.frugalmarketing.com to order his books or learn about his services.

Part two of a six part series on selling your books to organizations. See the rest of this series and other articles by Shel Horowitz.

What kinds of organizations are we talking about? The possibilities are limitless; here are a few ideas:

• Nonprofit or not-for-profit charities (the difference is in their tax structure and doesn’t affect you, except that registered nonprofits have more clout) involved with medical or social issues
• Social service agencies
• Government agencies (federal, state, county, local)
• Public or private schools
• Other educational organizations
• Museums
• Trade and professional organizations within one profession
• Trade and professional organizations spanning many professions (e.g., Chambers of Commerce, BNI groups, organizers of business trade fairs
• Meeting planners and conference/convention organizers

Find them through your own networks, their websites and newsletters, trade or professional associations and directories, Chambers of Commerce, tourist information kiosks, Yellow Pages, and a thousand other ways.

Part 3 of this series will look at ways organizations might use your books, part 4 on the types of books that can work (you may be pleasantly surprised), and part 5, how to approach the organizations. And as a bonus, part 6 will apply what you’ve learned to bulk purchases in the corporate sector.

Book publishing/marketing consultant and copywriter Shel Horowitz is the author of six marketing books. His three most recently published books, Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, and Grassroots Marketing: Getting Noticed in a Noisy World have all won awards. Visit http://www.frugalmarketing.com to order his books or learn about his services.