The 12 Commandments of Selling Books at Book Fairs, Conventions, and Festivals

In today's guest post, I'm delighted to welcome back publishing and marketing expert Terry Cordingley to share these tips on making the most of book fairs and events:

1. Register for the event as early as possible.

• Contact the event organizer.
• Find out the cost of the booth or registration.
• Register for the event and inform your marketing representative.

2.  Spread the word about your appearance at the event.

• Church bulletin
• Online newspapers free event calendar listings
• Free online listing at Craig’s List http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites.html
• E-mail invitations to your address book

3. Share expenses.

• Split the cost of the booth with another author, if festival organizers allow booth-sharing.
• Decorate the booth with a banner and tabletop posters announcing that the author is available to sign copies of books.  Make the booth as attractive as possible!

4. Establish a family member or friend to help you during the event.

5. Be prepared with conversation starters.Have a one-minute pitch ready to go that tells people who you are and what your book is about.  Practice it so that it seems natural and not forced.

• “How did you hear about the event?”
• “Are you an avid reader?”
• “Do you live in the area?”   

6. Have a guest-book on your table for people to sign their name and e-mail address. By doing this at every event, you can create a large mailing list for e-blasts or newsletters about your book.

7. Practice good booth etiquette.

• If you are sharing a booth, be considerate and polite to your fellow authors.
• Don’t complain to your fellow authors if the event isn’t going well and you aren’t selling many books.  Attitude is contagious!
• Work out ahead of time how you will approach customers at the booth so you aren’t overwhelming them and pressuring them to buy books.
• Be friendly and approachable.
• Don’t just sit at the booth and wait for people to come to you.  Engage passersby in conversation and offer them any giveaways you may have.  Use the opportunity to tell them about your book.

8. Arrive early, allowing plenty of time to set up for the event. Items you will need for your booth:

• Books. You will need to determine how many books you will need to have available for the event.  You can always keep extra copies in your car, if needed.
• Giveaways. Just like at trade shows, attendees are always looking for free items.  Have a supply of bookmarks, business cards and push cards on hand to help promote your book if people don’t buy a copy on the spot.
• Décor. Most festivals will give you a table and a chair, and not much else.  Find out if you’ll need table coverings, a tent or awning (if an outdoor event), or a power supply for any video or audio needs you may have.  Also make sure you have pens and posters to advertise who you are and why you are there, preferably with a photo of your book cover on it.  You may even want to have a banner made for your book that you can re-use at future events.  You’re only limited by your imagination.

10. Have book ordering information available in case you run out of books. Business cards and push cards can be used for this purpose.

11. Send a thank-you card to the organizer after the event. If the event was especially successful, send a letter of commendation to the event organizer. They may ask you to be a featured author next year.

12. Book early for next year’s event.

Terry Cordingley is the Associate Director of Marketing at Tate Publishing Enterprises. For more information about book marketing and promotion, read Terry's self-titled blog at http://terrycordingley.blogspot.com.

Don't miss Terry's previous guest post on The Savvy Book Marketer: How Books Get Stocked in Bookstores.

Comments

[Sylvia Hubbard]

ok, this was just deliciously awesome! I favorited and tweeted this one!!!

[Ascensionforyou]

Excellent tips / info....many thanks for the share! Dave AscensionForYou Knight

[cherie colburn]

Great insight, Terry. I agree.... "gimmes" help tremendously with marketing my books. When folks think I'm SELLING something, they avoid eye-contact like I'm a homeless person on the corner. But when they see they are GETTING something, they start asking questions. The relationships built are not only great for selling more books, but make the time pass much more quickly!

[marsha dunkins]

Great Article, short and to the point

[Angela]

Very helpful tips! I'm exhibiting at a book fair in June in Texas. I'll implement all of these.