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Nicole Donnelly, Founder of BabyLegs: Created a new niche in the market for her original line of children's leg and arm warmers and most recently voted "Best Shower Gift" by readers of Pregnancy and Newborn Magazine.
Georgette M. Pascale, President & CEO, Pascale Communications, LLC: Selected as finalist for the 2009 Stevie Awards for Women in Business “Mentor of the Year.”
Question: I am a 60 year old (young) woman who recently accomplished a lifelong dream of becoming a writer and publisher. In January 2009, I developed my independent publishing company, Blueberry Island Publishing, and published 2 of my books within the year.
My first book had a smaller audience and since it was about a specific locale I was able to place it in several gift stores in the area. My second book, however, has the potential for a very large audience. Since this book is hot off the press, I am excited and ready to go, and yet, I feel stalled and unsure of what to do, and a bit timid, fearful, and certainly naive! With that in mind, I would truly appreciate any marketing suggestions to get me started.
Sincerely and with many thanks,
Sandie LaMaster
Blueberry Island Publishing
Nicole Donnelly: Both of your books would make wonderful gifts. Go into the local shops and see if they will sell your books. If they don't want to pay up front, see if they will let you leave them under consignment. Consignment is where they pay you when the books sell—very little risk to either party.
See what the local demand is for your books, and then spread a little further out. Call stores that are outside of your town and see if you can get an appointment with the buyer. If not, you can also send copies of your books to gift shops that may be interested.
Online, get involved in mother's forums and listen to them chat. Ask them for their opinion about your book, if they like it, they could buy it. Most humans will freely give you their opinions
As for the bloggers, you can send them a digital copy of your book with an offer to send them a hard copy if they would like to do a review. Also you can offer to give a copy away to one of their readers. Build relationships with your biggest fans. Give them love and they'll return it.
Georgette Pascale: First and foremost, public relations/ word of mouth is going to be very important for you!
Step one: Try to get your books into the hands of your target audience- maybe your children and their friends can assist with this? Get people to sing the book's praises after you've given them a chance to read it. Start with who you know- friends and family! Get their feedback and utilize in your press materials and your web site, etc. Grandparents would really appreciate giving a gift like this; they should also be a target audience.
Step two: Some local PR about you and your web site would be great; talk to local editors and producers about your publishing company, mission, etc. it's always a great things to display on your website. Parenting magazines and other national media would LOVE to feature gifts like this as they are perfect for baby showers, etc. Reaching out to the media for help with a great product, such as this, is a must.
Step three: Web sites like the below ones might be good places to reach out to see if they’d be interested in carrying your book once things get rolling a bit more! Check it out and call to inquire about processes too; the marketing/ new business folks there will be a help.
http://www.landofnod.com/default.aspx
http://www.chasing-fireflies.com/
Also, the site like the below might love to feature your book! Check it out:
http://www.thereadingtub.com/?gclid=CKDX0Ybq9J8CFSJ25Qod6hrBfA
Since retail and boutique stores might have high markups, etc., I would definitely feel 2-3 shops out in your area to see how that would operate.
Good luck- a wonderful idea...and I already purchased for one of my children!
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