This is my follow up to a post a few weeks ago on the importance of book fairs. 

Exhibiting at a book fair provides you one of the best ways to get in front of a lot of readers and prospective readers in a relatively short amount of time. Book Fairs provide the chance to not only fair your book, but also create that all important first impression. According to a Simmons Market Research Bureau study, 85% of respondents ranked Book Fairs as "extremely useful" as a source for book purchasing info. This was higher than any other source, including on-site visits from reps. Also, nearly half of the respondents had purchased books at the book fair.
 
At a typical regional book fair, with 1,000 attendees and 100 exhibitors, you can realistically have 300 visitors per day. Granted, you don't always have the chance to go into as much detail in your sales pitch as you would like, but it opens the door for future communications.

So for most publishers, Book Fairs are worth the effort. In fact, before you decide to drop a fair you have attended for years, think about what that might say to your current readers who expect to see you there. This doesn't mean you can't ever stop attending a fair, but just be sure you think about whom you see there and what your company's absence may lead them to believe. If necessary, send a postcard to your readership and let them know why you didn't attend that particular fair, and explain your decision to attend fair B rather than fair A.

Before you even start looking for fairs, you need to set your goals. To help you do this, there are four questions you need to ask yourself:

Why are you exhibiting?

• Are you trying to extend your relationship with existing readers? Introducing a new book? Generating qualified leads for new sales?

Who is your target demo?

• What is the message you want to convey?
• What do you want to get out of the fair?
• Do you want to bring home leads, sell your book, or create/improve/build upon your rep as a publisher?

Here are a few marketing tips to keep in mind when you're considering launching a new campaign to support that new title!

DO NOTS
Do not spend a lot on paid ads. I've yet to see it pay off. The only ads I'm paying for now is a online, and that's an inexpensive gamble.

Do not spend a lot on paid tables at conventions. Maybe it's just me, but I haven't found them to be a break-even proposition. You can argue that the exposure is good regardless, but you also can argue for spending the same time firing off materials to reviewers or potential outlets.

DOs
Do get as much free publicity as you can.

Do create a slogan or catch-phrase or theme for your titles and repeat it constantly. Keep it simple, silly.

Do hype all the unique features of your titles, whatever they may be.

Do post messages to newsgroups and mailing lists about your titles and related subjects. If your messages are interesting or informative, people will pass them along.

Do print extra copies for review purposes and send them out unstintingly. Creating word of mouth or "buzz" should be your long-term goal. Good reviews won't guarantee "buzz," but they're one key building block.

Do create a professional image with polished press releases, stationery, and other materials.

Do establish a website and refer people to it constantly. It's infinitely easier than mailing or faxing them information.

Do collect all the positive reviews you get and use them in your marketing materials and on your website. Do not neglect to gather comments from readers, even one-sentence comments. Plaster the positive comments everywhere you can.

Do try to auction your titles on eBay. Most of my auctions have been successful, and the bids often top the cover price. Even if your titles Do not sell, you're essentially posting an ad for thousands to see for $0.25 a week.

Do put out a quality titles that's worth all the trouble. Something fresh and innovative may not pay off, but you can bet the hundredth me-too product isn't going to pay off.

Bonus tips!
Build traffic on your website and thus interest in your titles. As someone once said, content is king. Do keep people coming back to your website with fresh content. In this case, people will visit to enter the contest and to see who won each month.

Do link everything on your site to everything else, as much as possible. Your goal should be to get people to stay awhile and become familiar with you. The more they browse your site, the more they'll become committed. It probably won't translate to a sale-at least not right away-but it'll make an impression. Studies show you have to expose people to your message an average of seven times before they become comfortable enough to buy.

Do consider using a tool like Google Analytics (www.goog.com/analytics) to monitor visitors to your site. This lets you see who's visiting your site, how long they stay, and where they came from. It also lets you chat with them if they're so inclined. Again, the basic service is free.

Do take advantage of the many mailing lists that exist just to announce lists, sites, and promotional freebies. Again, Yahoo probably has the biggest collection of them.

Do put your name, your titles' name, and an e-mail link on every page. People may visit a page without knowing its ultimate purpose.

I get asked a lot about marketing packages for media. People want to know how to present them, what's in them, etc. I have been asked over and over again to write articles on the subject, so here you are: a brief crash course on marketing packages for media. Your marketing package is your calling card. It will introduce you and your small press to the people you need to help move your press forward. Make it interesting, exciting and entertaining. Capture their attention and make them want to see, read and listen to what you've sent.

Your marketing package should include reviews you have received for publications, information on current projects, and any reviews from your most recent title when they are available. Include a head shot (black and white is the least expensive, but color really catches the eye and many people require it), a bio (if you don't have a bio, create one, or get someone to create one for you), a cover letter, and a business card.

Your cover letter, should be limited to one page and should be packed full of concise well formatted information-much like a sell sheet. Try to limit your marketing package to 7 or 8 pieces of information. You don't want to overload them and you want to save some excitement for later! Keep them a little curious.

You'll want to compile three types of marketing packages for media: one for newspapers, one for distributors, and the other for teachers/professors. The most economic form of sending a marketing package is the digital marketing package; however, many people still do not accept this form, so please ask them before randomly sending out information about your electronic marketing package, as it will just be considered spam. Before you send any marketing package, you need to get permission first. If you don't get permission, your product has a very low probability rate of ever getting to its destination and even less of a chance of getting read and listened to.

There are publishers who think that their publications are the only thing that will speak for them. They believe that their publications alone will open the doors to newspapers, radio interviews, etc. They won't. You must have a proven track record as well as a "certain" style and look. It is after all the first thing they see before they ever read one of your publications.

After you have sent your marketing package, make sure to follow up with a phone call to make sure your marketing package has arrived safely. Then wait three weeks before you begin follow-up calls. Don't just send the package and expect them to call. Remember, they get hundreds of packages from publisers just like you every single week.

Follow up and get noticed-but don't become an annoyance or you will be ignored!

Regardless of your genre, whether it's westerns or crime fiction. romance or non-fiction, decidely you will share something with writers of other genres: the need for promtotion of what you have written.

While the world wide web has made available new sytems of marketing to authors, from websites and weblogs to sites like myspace, facebook, and the small press exchange, there is still something to be said for meeting readership where they make themselves available -- small press book fairs, conferences and conventions.

Conventions are held globally, regardless of the season. Any small press publisher who is serious about examining the industry beyond the superficial level, would do well to make time to attend at least one small press book fair, or conference per year.

Some may require travel and other expenses: ie hote, table rentals, the cost of promotional materials, accommodations, but above this all you may justify expenses because of the ppportunity to exposeyour name and work to a new audience that is afforded you. You will not make great sales every time, at every event you attend, but you have at least the chance to get your name out! Word of mouth remains one of, if not the strongest, marketing tools for authors and small press publishers.

Publishing a book is something many would-be small presses start-ups have done only to quickly realize that the more difficult task is to get folks to buy it and read it. Even giving it away free is no guarantee that you will get respectable audience for your new title. Compare this to a weblog, where you will start getting hits in a few hours! Small presses should fully appreciate and understand the power of weblogs to attract interest quickly and to deliver their message with more efficiency than any other publishing medium ever before.

Should all small presses start their own blogs just because? No, but blogs offer great opportunities for new marketing, or rather, new PR. But as always one must be clear on the objectives before starting to communicate.

For example, a small press may use it to share and clarify strategic choices or you share some of their know-how with the world.

The big difference with traditional marketing and advertising is that blogs are notfully controlable. That's the nature of blogging. And a real blog has the possibility to comment on blog posts turned on. So your readers will build your image along with you with you.

Before you begin, however, make certain you have your strategy and objectives figured out, and communicate them consistently.

You are able to reach your huge audience without having to worry about the huge regular production costs that go into printing and producing traditional ads.

What about TV and radio? Unfortunately, big media is controlled by a few powerful individuals with their own interests to push. Today, weblogs are gaining ground and influencing public opinion in a much more powerful way than traditional mainstream media. I believe that small presses who understand the true power and advantages of a weblog are surely bound to be much more successful.