Do Flyers Really Work?

Tried them, along with bookmarkers, pens, contests, ads, contests, signings, social networks, videos, and two dozen other promotion avenues. Only about half a dozen provided any significant return on investment (reviews, book shows, awards, a few select newspaper interviews, etc.) Rough for indie or self published authors to successfully promote their work but we all keep trying.

As a reader, I don't see the point of a flyer. Unless you get a fold-out flyer with a big sample of the book, or a really detailed review by a trustworthy source, ie a magazine or well-known review site, it's just a picture of the cover with a 'buy me' sign. Are you on Amazon? Does your book have a 'Look Inside'? If you don't, that might be a better use of your money.
Especially if you're thinking of leaving the flyers in libraries, because if I were to see a flyer for a book in a library a) I'm there to look at the free books, not to buy and b) if the book looks interesting, I'm going to check the library copy, to read a chunk and see how I like it. If the library doesn't have the book, I'm going to shrug and move on. It's a world full of books.

Flyers sound like an interesting idea, but where would you put them? Sure you can always advertise in independent book stores, and maybe even the libraries, but where else? I'm sure you would have to get permission from stores like Barnes and Nobles to host your advertisements there, and that sounds difficult if you're not agented or represented by a publishing house. That's the only problem I can see with this method.

Also, the flyers would have to be flashy, but not too flashy so that it draws in its viewers (sorry, the art student in my is really critical of this). A lot of people go by appearances when it comes to books, or at least I know I do.

All flyers are an irritating pain in the butt for the recipient as far as I am concerned and I doubt the effort is worth it, but....

It does sound like a lot of work but hopefully it will help!

I write nonfiction. It may be different for fiction writers, but I find fliers very useful.

When I have a speaking gig, every person in the audience goes home with a flier showing (for each book/video): 1) a cover image, 2) a brief and enticing description, 3) brief blurbs from well-known people.

I've also used fliers in snail mail campaigns to potential "evangelists" for my books--people who are interested in my topics and regularly communicate with others about these topics.

If I'm going to a professional meeting that involves networking, I carry some fliers and offer them to people who seem genuinely interested in my books/videos (as opposed to people who are just being polite in asking what I do).

Do my fliers get thrown out? I'm sure a lot of them do. On the other hand, they're a handy summary or reminder for people who WANT to know about my work. Also, it doesn't take many speaking gigs/clients/sales from motivated "evangelists" to cover the cost of the fliers.

I've used www.nextdayflyers.com.

What you are doing with your flyers is targeting folk who appear interested in the content, and I do wish you well with that sensible and hopefully productive approach.

I interpret flyers as those things that are randomly sprayed about the place, shoved into my face in the street, stuck under my windscreen wipers, pushed half-way through my letterbox...these go straight into the nearest bin.

wallfull said:

I write nonfiction. It may be different for fiction writers, but I find fliers very useful.

When I have a speaking gig, every person in the audience goes home with a flier showing (for each book/video): 1) a cover image, 2) a brief and enticing description, 3) brief blurbs from well-known people.

I've also used fliers in snail mail campaigns to potential "evangelists" for my books--people who are interested in my topics and regularly communicate with others about these topics.

If I'm going to a professional meeting that involves networking, I carry some fliers and offer them to people who seem genuinely interested in my books/videos (as opposed to people who are just being polite in asking what I do).

Do my fliers get thrown out? I'm sure a lot of them do. On the other hand, they're a handy summary or reminder for people who WANT to know about my work. Also, it doesn't take many speaking gigs/clients/sales from motivated "evangelists" to cover the cost of the fliers.

I've used www.nextdayflyers.com.

Click to expand...

Bufty,
I agree that randomly sprayed fliers are a useless waste of trees.

The publisher of my first novel did flyers and called them press releases - they did nothing, as far as I could tell.

Gen, having read your posts in your publisher's thread I am not at all surprised that they didn't know the difference between a flyer and a press release.

As for the question about whether flyers (fliers?) actually work, the question is, "what do we expect them to do?"

If you hope they'll sell more copies of your book for you, then you have to consider how they can achieve that before you make your fliers (flyers?) and design them appropriately.

For example, if they're for you to hand out at a convention you have to make sure that the text on them is likely to appeal to the convention-goers; and you have to make sure they explain clearly where and how your book is available. You also have to make sure that your book is easily available to those convention-goers: if they can't buy it at the convention's bookshop, or from a permanently-staffed sales table there, or after a talk you're giving, for example, then you're expecting them to do an impossible job.

A flyer is only one link in a long sales chain. You have to make sure that entire chain is intact, otherwise they definitely won't work.

That's a gorgeous flyer Fullon_v4.0. Really nicely done.

I think it depens where you put the flyers. If those were on the counter of a local comic shop, they'd probably find their audience. Or slipped inside the back cover of manga where they might fall out when someone takes one home.

I have to say, I'm not convinced it's worth the effort or expense. When my first book came out, my family, in a fit of enthusiasm, went around literature festivals, subtly leaving piles of flyers on the table alongside official ones from publishers. I doubt I ever sold a book that way, despite a hundred or so being distributed. I couldn't say for sure, though.

I think online advertising gets you a better return - especially with Twitter. Yes, the market is flooded, but the link between advert and sale is almost instantaneous. People see it, they like it, they click it. Whereas flyers tend to fade from the mind pretty quickly. You actually have to go make the effort to type in the URL. Gosh, what an effort

I guess there's no harm (or expense) in making a flyer available for download on your site and appealing to fans and indie bookstores to place one in their window.

You could always tell them you're doing a study to see how relevant flyers are to book marketing

Just a last thought - it never hurts to stick a QR code on a flyer. That helps shorten the leap between flyer and sale. You can generate them easily here: http://www.qrstuff.com/

Just a little terminology that authors often get confused about:

A flyer is an 8.5x11 (or A4 in Europe) sheet of matte paper with the print spread across the page from margin to margin in either portrait or landscape orientation. It can include images but is what is generally taped or pinned to telephone posts or shop windows outside.

A brochure is the same paper but glossy or card stock with the same potential orientations, but with the text in columns across the paper, interspersed with images that are handed out or laid out in businesses.

A tri-fold brochure is one where the paper, in landscape orientation, has the text appear only on one third of the paper, in portrait orientation, which is then folded to have only the information appearing on that third face the audience/reader. They are most often seen at shows or conventions to advertise new products.

The reason I'm defining them is that the general opinion of readers of "flyers" for a book release is cheesy and low-quality because often the author prints them with colored paper and black ink. The opinion of readers of brochures is more professional and interesting because of the glossy stock and colors. Tri-fold brochures are the ones most likely to be picked up at a convention or signing table. I've watched the phenomenon for years. It's very interesting.

ETA: All of that said, I've had very good luck with tri-fold brochures for either a new release or a series backlist. It all comes down to design and pulling the reader's eye to where you want it to go on the page.

Yep. A tri-fold printed on glossy stock is the minimum I'd do, if faced with an opportunity where brochures would be appropriate and effective.