by Ellen Byron, reprinted with permission, originally published at the Chicks on the Case blog
Through the years since my first mystery was published in 2015, I’ve developed a finely honed approach to marketing my books, something we’re all tasked with these days. Let me bullet-point my approach for you:
- Do a bunch of stuff and pray something works.
Yup. That’s it. One poor, lonely bullet point.
Like all authors, I’ve blogged, guested on podcasts, and done in-person and virtual appearances at bookstores. My overall goal is to try one new marketing idea per book release, so I’ve also done Bookstagram tours, bought ads, and augmented my own graphics with ones done by a professional.
In addition to these marketing channels, I do have a couple of go-to’s I’ve become somewhat known for in the mystery community. First, the insane amount of swag I buy and give out. To wit, this sample:
Second, I have some fame—or more likely, infamy—for my Shameless Shilling campaigns. This is where I create cheesy graphics that basically send the message, “I know I have to do this, you know I have to do this, so let’s at least have some fun with it (I hope, I hope).”
Here are examples from the current campaign for my upcoming release, A Very Woodsy Murder. Since this book launches a new series, I went all out with the campaign, to the extent of calling it #ESS: Extreme Shameless Shilling. I bought animal ornaments on sale a year ago to create silly dioramas and ordered a backdrop usually used for photographing small objects. I even utilized the finger puppets I held onto from my daughter’s childhood.
People often ask if my efforts lead to increased sales, and my answer is always the same:
“Ya got me.”
Because here’s the sad truth.
I have no idea how to quantify anything I do. There are people who are equally talented at writing and analyzing algorithms—looking at you, Diane Vallere!—and then there’s me, hurling marketing spaghetti at the wall and praying a strand or two sticks and moves the sales needle.
Some people say, “Hey, instead of doing a million things, why not do one, analyze its ROI—Return on Investment—and proceed accordingly?” To which I reply, “How much would it cost to have YOU do that? Because it ain’t how my brain works.”
I credit the fact I can actually think of new ways to sell my books to my late advertising industry creative director dad. He spent his career doing exactly what I’m constantly trying to do—come up with ways to sell things to people. I often wish Dad was still with me so I could brainstorm with him. Then again, he once did a commercial with Judd Hirsch for toilet paper that involved a bunch of babies, and when I met Mr. Hirsch and brought up the commercial, he said, “There was a big problem with that ad. People remembered the babies and not the product.” I never shared this critique with Dad, who would have felt devastated. Because if there’s one dictum that’s tantamount in advertising, it’s that people remember the product.
Despite my inability to evaluate the scientific results of my efforts, I keep this advertising dictum in my head with every marketing campaign. For A Very Woodsy Murder, my new idea was to hire Madeline Rathle, formerly a marketing maven of Crooked Lane, to help me promote my oeuvre. Together we created and ran a big giveaway featuring sixteen mysteries—including mine—all set in California. What an incredible lineup of authors, including Chicks’ very own Leslie Karst and Jennifer J. Chow!
The giveaway ended. We got a boatload of entries from excited readers. Yay!!! Fantastic!! Whoo hoo! Will it move the sales needle? Ya got me.
Ellen Byron: Thrower of spaghetti. Reformed performer. Lover of wine, hater of sunshine. Canine enthusiast. Author of the Cajun Country Mysteries, the Catering Hall Mysteries (as Maria DiRico), the Vintage Cookbook Mysteries, and the Golden Motel Mysteries.
