Top Ten Holiday Tie-ins for Your Book's Marketing- by Cheri Cowell

As we move into the holiday season let's explore a few ideas authors can use to market their books, even if it is not holiday themed. Here are my top ten ideas:

1. Offer a coupon "if purchased by." Send via email or newsletter to all contacts.

2. Offer to "gift inscribe" your book if purchased by a certain date.

3. Create a gift bundle of your books or your book and those of author friends- "one for you and gifts for a friend"

4. Give gift ideas: "Remember your babysitter, that trustworthy neighbor, your nail tech or hairdresser, or the new widow with a book this Christmas"

5. Add a trinket: I found a cute cookie cutter that matched my book's theme and attached to book with a pretty ribbon. A picture of the "gift" in my marketing helped sell more books.

6. Hand out bookmarks with holiday recipe, tips, or a poem along with the image of your book and order info. 

7. Arrange a booksigning with a few author friends at your local Christian bookstore. Make it a holiday event with cider and a kid's craft or a prayer corner for those who are stressed in the holiday hustle and bustle.

8. Write an article or blog post, which can be tied to your book's content or is simply a Christmas piece, because it is your signature link with "the author of…" that is your goal.

9. Facebook or Tweet "the twelve days leading to Christmas" something encouraging from your book, favorite quotes, or tips with a link to purchase. Make sure it is something useful and not just a sales pitch. This works best if your book's theme can be directly tied to this time of the year such as dealing with stress, financial tips, prayer, compassion, or children.

10. Giving is what Christmas is about so hold a drawing. For everyone who purchases a copy of your book, enter their name in a drawing for a gift basket of books or a basket themed to your book. The gift basket for my last Bible study was filled with gifts for the Bible student including a mug, bible marking pencils, a concordance/dictionary, and journal.

Do you have ideas that have worked for you. I'd love to hear from you…

Cheri is the author of Parables and Word Pictures Bible study from AMG Publishers www.CheriCowell.com

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