I was just wondering what are the most outlandish things people have done to promote their books? How inventive did you get? How sneaky? How stealthy?
What can people try that isn't traditional?
I'll get the ball rolling:
1. REST ROOMS
I was on a long car journey when I realised that petrol station toilets always have adverts on the back of the door. Just think about it - a captive audience! And which minimum wage employee is honestly going to check the back of the door each time they clean? All you need is blu-tack and flyers.
2. LIT FESTS
I once saw a guy handing out promotional flyers for his book at a big name literature festival. Festival security got all snotty about it and confiscated his flyers. Lesson learnt? Don't be obvious about it. At every literature festival there are tables of flyers for the main acts. Usually there's dozens, sometimes hundreds, of main acts. Pretend to be reading a flyer, whilst, with the other hand, popping some of your own on the table. They may get chucked if a particularly vigilant steward happens to notice, but chances are they'll stay there a lot longer than handing them out in plain view.
3. BACK COVER COUP
Everyone loves browsing bookshops. Spend an afternoon browsing your genre on the high street, and slip a small flyer or business card-sized advert (nothing that's likely to fall out before it gets to the counter) into the back or mid-point of a book. If the reader has bought the book, they're likely to like the same sort of stuff you write. Plus you know they're a paying customer. Give them a suggestion for what to read next.
What can people try that isn't traditional?
I'll get the ball rolling:
1. REST ROOMS
I was on a long car journey when I realised that petrol station toilets always have adverts on the back of the door. Just think about it - a captive audience! And which minimum wage employee is honestly going to check the back of the door each time they clean? All you need is blu-tack and flyers.
2. LIT FESTS
I once saw a guy handing out promotional flyers for his book at a big name literature festival. Festival security got all snotty about it and confiscated his flyers. Lesson learnt? Don't be obvious about it. At every literature festival there are tables of flyers for the main acts. Usually there's dozens, sometimes hundreds, of main acts. Pretend to be reading a flyer, whilst, with the other hand, popping some of your own on the table. They may get chucked if a particularly vigilant steward happens to notice, but chances are they'll stay there a lot longer than handing them out in plain view.
3. BACK COVER COUP
Everyone loves browsing bookshops. Spend an afternoon browsing your genre on the high street, and slip a small flyer or business card-sized advert (nothing that's likely to fall out before it gets to the counter) into the back or mid-point of a book. If the reader has bought the book, they're likely to like the same sort of stuff you write. Plus you know they're a paying customer. Give them a suggestion for what to read next.