My Marketing Experiences



Valletta Waterfront - where the cruise liners dock



My first step was to inform friends, relations and colleagues about the book I had written and where it could be obtained, in the hope that they would either purchase a copy themselves, or pass information on to others that it was available.

As I’ve said before, it can be embarrassing promoting what some would assume to be a commercial enterprise, to friends, relations and colleagues, many of whom would expect you to give them a copy free of charge.

However, after you have spent possibly around a thousand UK pounds on publishing, it could prove difficult for you to also have to cover the cost of printing several copies.  Some people could also be under the impression that publishing costs did include a certain number of copies printed free of charge, but this may not necessarily be the case unless the publisher offers a special deal; in that instance you might be able to obtain approximately 5 free copies which you should use for marketing purposes (see below*).

My second step was to contact the establishments I had mentioned in the book, ie restaurants, hotels, etc.  I made a specific point of arranging to visit them personally, presented them with a free copy* of the book, and in two instances, managed to persuade them to sell copies of the book on a sale or return basis.  In fact, the restaurant from where the view on the front cover of the book was taken, has proved to be my best marketplace with them having sold more copies of the book than anyone else, and one of reviews (Goodreads) materialised from a sale that took place there.  Unfortunately, now that restaurant has closed down due to pressures of the current economic climate, but I will be continually grateful for their support.

My third step was to visit a local bookshop in my hometown and arrange to take part in a morning described as “Local Author Signing” (Caxton Books).

I personally paid for this event to be advertised in a local newsletter that was distributed to 5,000 local households, arranged for free advertising in the local paper, and the bookshop also promoted the event.  Eight people turned up on the day to buy the book, have it signed and chat to the author, and several of those people I already knew.  In total I sold 15 copies of the book because there were some advance orders, and the bookshop kindly allowed for some to remain on their shelves, which were sold subsequently.  However, the profit from sales did not even cover the cost of advertising in the local newsletter.

My fourth step was to carry out some marketing in Malta – the small island where the fictional murder mystery took place. 

This was a further attempt to obtain free publicity which I will explain about in my next posts, together with providing some other ideas on where marketing can be achieved for just a small outlay.