Welcome to the latest podcast in our series Promotional Secrets for Authors! brought to you by Waxcreative Design and Autographed By The Author stickers and hosted by award-winning author and professional publicity coach Elizabeth Yarnell. These podcasts connect author-to-author about book promotion.
This week, we have Rebecca K. O’Connor. Rebecca is an animal trainer, a conservationist and the author of ten books including the best-selling “A Parrot for Life: Raising and Training the Perfect Parrot Companion”, a romance novel “Falcon’s Return” and most recently “Lift” an award-winning memoir about the first year training a young peregrine falcon.
Listen:
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Rebecca K. O'Connor
What kinds of promotional efforts have brought you the most benefit in terms of recognition and book sales?
REBECCA: Social media like Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and even Flickr have made it possible to have an ongoing conversation with “friends”. I enjoy doing book signings and events, but have found it is the people who interact with me frequently who have built a friendship and are most likely to purchase my books and continue to purchase my books. Even more importantly they promote them!
What secrets can you share to help create successful book signing events?
REBECCA: Serve wine. Have snacks. Make everyone laugh.
Do you have branded promotional items other than paper products?
REBECCA: When I do presentations I always bring product that has my parrot and falconry art and my website address on them. Notebooks, note cards and gift cards add color to my book table and give people who already have my books something else to purchase.
Is there anything you always carry with you, in case you run into readers of your books?
REBECCA: I actually always have a box of books in my truck as well as some postcards. I try to seize any opportunity to sell a book while the person sitting next to me at the hotel bar or at a party is still thinking about it. Technology has made it so simple to sell products. For example Square is an excellent inexpensive application and credit card reader for your Droid or iphone. Don’t go nuts. You don’t have to force your books on everyone you meet, but don’t miss an opportunity to put your book in someone’s hands.
Do you have a final tip to offer on building an audience?
REBECCA: Remember that you are always promoting and should always be having fun with it. Share great links that are helpful, interesting and be giving to your followers. And share a little of your life too. I’ve built an audience online not by telling them what I had for breakfast or how long I got stuck in traffic, but by trying to notice the poignant, funny and strange moments of my day. And now I find that I am constantly looking for what makes my day a wonderful one in tweet-sized bites. It’s good for your writing, great for your attitude and enjoyable for your audience.
Great tips and tricks, Rebecca. Thanks! For all our listeners, check back here regularly to get insider secrets from bestselling authors about what promotional tools YOU can use to support yourself as an author. Or subscribe to the Promotional Secrets for Authors podcast on iTunes!
Thanks for listening, and thanks for showing off your signed books with our gold Autographed By The Author sticker… the signature sticker that makes your signed books that much more valuable on the store shelf and in a reader’s hands.
If you missed last week’s podcast, don’t forget to check out Mia Marlowe’s interview. We know you have promotional secrets to share! We’ll have an easy-to-use online form ready for you soon, but in the meantime, please email us if you want to be interviewed, be featured here, and share your secrets with other authors.
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Great insight into connecting with readers, Rebecca. Thanks for sharing!
Can’t wait to hear what other authors have to say!