Do you have a business card? How about your book? It needs one, too.
Several years ago, I printed a business card with some basic information about one of my books. It included the title, a short description and ordering information. Although I sometimes handed a card to someone I met, often I used the card to be places I wasn’t. For example, I would put a few up on a community bulletin board, leave them in a display rack provided at my local office supply store, drop some at the place where I get my mail, etc.
I found that having a business card specifically for my book was an inexpensive way to promote. And, yes, I sold books as a result.
When I published the most recent edition of The Mystery Shopper’s Manual, I decided to go upscale with the cards. Although I did not have a card made only for the book, my book designer (Tamara Dever of TLC Graphics) created a business card that had a version of the book’s cover on the back. She also designed a bookmark and a post card for me, all with designs that used elements from the book cover design. I took advantage of a special package for authors and publishers to have 5000 of each printed by Twig One Stop.
You can see what the business card looks like below. The front of the card is about me, and the back of the card is about my book. The book cover would not work well if it were simply reduced in size to fit the card. For one thing, much of the text would not be readable. The designer used the look of the cover, but modified it to make it work in this format.
Talk to your book cover designer about designing collateral materials, such as business cards, bookmarks and post cards, for your book. There are many printers with affordable prices, so do an online search to find the right package of printing services for you. And do not forget to ask your book printer about running bookmarks and other materials when they print your covers. There is often cardstock that is cut off and thrown away, and they may agree to print cards or bookmarks on that otherwise-wasted part of the cover stock for a very low price.
Copyright Cathy Stucker. Cathy Stucker is the author of many books, including The Mystery Shopper’s Manual. For many more creative marketing ideas, visit Cathy at http://www.IdeaLady.com/
