The Publishing Game Presents…

“To really get bookstore attention, you need to do a fancy PR campaign,” someone advised me. “It can cost $10,000 a month!” But I got attention—and sales—from every bookstore in the country. My monthly expenditure? $50.

I announced the first, national, “I Love My Independent Bookstore” contest. The idea was to give a prize (that’s the $50) every month for the best customer answer to the phrase, “I love my independent bookstore because…”

Because it’s warm and squishy. Because the chains all look the same. Because you can’t get a feel for books on Amazon. Because my local bookstore lets me curl up and read in peace and quiet.

Booksellers hung up simple posters announcing the contest. Each month they picked the best entry from their store and emailed it to me. And I picked the best response out of the national finalists. Each monthly winner got a $50 gift certificate from his local bookstore.

Customers loved it. For 15 words or fewer, they had a whack at winning $50. Every month.

Independent bookstores *really* loved it. It branded them in exactly the way they needed to be positioned. And it reminded their clientele why, exactly, the indies had to be supported—and why it was worth supporting them. (Also, the winning stores sold an extra $50 in books.)

And me?

It was the best money I’ve ever spent. For $50 a month, my press (Peanut Butter and Jelly Press and The Publishing Game) achieved national visibility. We were mentioned in all the review journals, from Publishers Weekly to the American Bookseller Association newsletter. We got press coverage in every single independent bookstore regional association newsletter.

Even today, when I go to a book trade show and booksellers hear my introduction, they say, “Peanut Butter and Jelly Press? Oh, you’re the ‘I Love My Independent Bookstore contest!’”

That contest was four years ago, and it’s *still* providing me with effective PR. So much for fancy, expensive publicity.

So here’s my suggestion. Let the rich hobby publishers go for the fancy PR firms. Instead, think guerrilla PR. Think out of the box. Think small and wiry and cheap.

And me? I hate to retire a good idea, so I’m gonna run this one again. Watch the PublishingGame.com website (it’ll be in the section for booksellers.) And then go check out your local neighborhood independent bookstore. You, too, can win $50 this month.

Fern Reiss is the author of The Publishing Game: Bestseller in 30 Days (book promotion), The Publishing Game: Publish a Book in 30 Days (self-publishing), The Publishing Game: Find an Agent in 30 Days (traditional publishing), Expertizing™: Positioning Yourself as a Name Brand (self-promotion), Consultants Publish, Kids Publish, The Publishing Game: Syndicate in 30 Days and The Publishing Game: Ebooks in 30 Days. More information on her books, consulting, and all-day workshops (coming to San Francisco May 22th, Los Angeles May 25, and New York City September 22) can be found at the PublishingGame.com website, www.PublishingGame.com.

Last 5 posts by Fern Reiss

• Publicize Your Novel - April 17th, 2008
• 19 Ways to Publicize Your Book - March 24th, 2008
• Publicize Via Social Networks - February 11th, 2008
• Get More Publicity For Your Book and Business - December 5th, 2007
• Sell More Books to Libraries - October 22nd, 2007