Author, Ava Pennington

Hi, Ava Pennington here, with another installment in my marketing journey. It’s been seven months since One Year Alone with God: 366 Devotions on the Names of God was released by Revell, and each month I’ve described the activities I’ve engaged in to help market this book. Today, I’d like to speak about something we can all do to market our books…something we learned in kindergarten.

Almost as soon as I learned to string words together, my mother began teaching me to say please and thank you. May I please ride my bicycle… Thank you for my new doll…

These polite words aren’t just for children, they’re important for us, too. And they are critical for our marketing efforts. Of course, we know to ask nicely for people to review our books, interview us for their blog, or host a book signing. After all, they’re doing us a favor.

Saying thank you is just as important. We all want to be appreciated. Think back to the last time you did something nice for someone. You may not have even been expecting their gratitude. But if they came back with a heart-felt thank you, how did that make you feel?

Of course we’re grateful for marketing opportunities. But an attitude of gratitude goes much further when it’s accompanied by actions of gratitude. We need to remember to say thank you, too. Thank you for the radio interview. Thank you for the book review. Thank you for the book signing opportunity.

While email or Facebook or Twitter is nice, these other methods don’t come close to the impact of a handwritten, snail-mail note. Snail-mail tells the recipient you cared enough to go to the extra trouble of communicating your gratitude in a personal way.

Please and thank you. Another great way to market our books. Who knew?

Now you’ll have to excuse me…I have a few thank you cards to write!

Your turn:
How do you express your gratitude for marketing opportunities?