Beauty Shop Books
By Pat Fish

"I need to do more marketing," I thought. I had two books published and was included in two anthologies. That was FOUR books that I could market and, gasp, make a little money perhaps.

Writers are usually terrible at marketing their product. This is because writers want to write and, if given a chance, to leave the marketing to the pros.

In this day and era of self-published books, e-books, and print-on-demand books, the vagaries of promotion and marketing are often left to the author. Which was my case exactly. Both of my books were print-on-demand books that I purchased in large quantities at the time of publication using my author's discount.

The plan was that I would tread the sidewalks and plead with the librarians, all with the noble intentions of selling my precious prose.

Only I didn't do any of that and my book case remained filled with my books, unsold and, obviously, unread.

"I've got to think outside the box," I thought again during my musing. Because I knew I had a product that would sell, I knew my genre and audience, I knew that plenty of other writers made a profit for offering their prose to the public for its entertainment.

"We've got sell more product," my niece told me during a planning session to re-vitalize her flagging beauty salon.

Indeed, I'd read the beauty business periodicals and discovered in the research that beauty salons need to bring in at a minimum 20% of their service sales in product sales. To be really profitable, the percentage rises to 50%.

I was helping my niece with the beauty salon, writing ad copy, planning promotions, consulting and brain-storming. In return, I received free beauty services, an exchange well worth it.

"Thinking outside the box," I considered as I continued my morning think-fest.

"Why not sell my books at the beauty salon?" I thought.

"No one sells books at a beauty salon," my nastier muse intruded.

Yet my genre was solidly chick-lit and my audience was only every patron who visits a beauty salon. Not to mention that same audience often sits under hair dryers or in back rooms awaiting the color to saturate their hair fibers. Exactly the time when women would most likely desire a really good read.

Sure, the salon provided magazines and newspapers to help its customers while away the cosmetology time. But what if there was a handy book display IN the salon, I thought? A rack of literature on which was displayed the very finest in chick-lit written by my own wise self?

It took some persuading, but I talked my niece into giving me some space. I promised that I would provide the display and promotional verbiage. "Can you maybe combine the books with beauty product, some sort of discount if bought together?"

In fact I could, and I did, just that.

Still unsure of my notion, I didn't want to spend outrageous sums on a display. Yet I was selling chick-lit to a captive audience. Chick-lit is purchased by women who expect a handsome display to capture their attention. Advertisers always aim their copy to entice those buyers with the most discretionary money in their pockets. Which would be females aged 18 to 65-- my target audience.

I decided to scour my house for a display stand and props that would intrigue my market with the plots. In a corner of the garage I found a small baker's rack, totally unused in my own home but with four nice shelves that would hold my books and props nicely.

With the help of a computer press program, I designed a flyer that would tease potential buyers with the plots of the books on the promotional stand. This flyer would be affixed to the top of the baker's rack. The entire baker's rack would sit in front of the beauty shop's receptionist desk. As a member of my target audience, I knew that women can't resist reading and browsing while waiting for the sale to be completed. It's only why every supermarket in America puts their screaming tabloids in the checkout line.

Another flyer reminded the beauty salon patrons that Valentine's Day was coming and what better gift than this fine combination of a professional brush and a good book? My niece and I huddled and came up with a good price for the book and brush combination that would reward the buyers with discounted prices while giving both her and I a nice profit.

Each shelf contained an appropriate prop that best depicted the plot of the book on that same shelf. The Cup of Comfort anthology held a stainless steel coffee pot. That book written by a cat held a pretty glass cat statue.

I arranged with my niece to sell the books on consignment. She didn't have to buy my books first before selling them. I would bill her AFTER the book was sold. To this end, I took a beginning inventory of the books I displayed. At the end of each month I would take an ending inventory. The difference would be the books sold. I then presented my niece with an invoice for the book sales. 

"We sold three of your books last week!" my niece told me. Words that were pure music to my worried ears. My biggest fear was that the whole notion would be a bust and I'd feel silly for talking my niece into such a thing.

"I sold one of your books to a lady who complained she was bored sitting under the hair dryer," one of the beauty operators told me.

"Mrs. Smith's husband stopped in to buy the 'brush and book' combination because his wife told him she wanted one after seeing you display," another operator told me.

Obviously I was pleased. More important, I began to pay attention and learned that my idea was not so new. 

The gigantic pet store where I purchased all things dog and cat had a big display of, guess what? Dog and cat magazines and books! The hardware store had a rotating rack of do-it-yourself type of paperbacks. Even the special interest periodicals that crammed my mailbox had large ads of books that were congruent with the subject matter.

I enhanced my display by creating a large banner over the baker's rack. "Beauty Shop Books" it proclaimed in big red print highlighted in yellow.

Next week I will be visiting two more beauty salons to suggest such a display in their shops. My muse tells me that "Beauty Shop Books" might be a very successful idea.

Maybe selling books in a beauty salon is currently an unusual idea, but it really isn't such a new notion.

Put your books out in-your-face at the precise location that appeals to your genre and audience. Merchants won't balk if it costs them no money save a bit of space.

In a few weeks I'm going to approach the manager of that huge pet warehouse and arrange for a display of my cat book.

My muse tells me there's no end of possibilities.

Pat Fish's backyard has been certified by the National Wildlife Federation as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat. In addition, she has been certified as a Backyard Wildlife Steward. This love for the critters of her ecogarden is reflected in much of Pat's writing. Pat writes about gardens, birds and politics. She also can churn out a cozy mystery now and again. Contact her at patfish1@aol.com.