You Are Your Own Best Marketing Rep!

You Gotta Have a Gimmick!

I know — the word “gimmick” gets your goat. You don’t even wanna go there, right? Gimmicks are flashy. They’re used by the non-artist, the commercial author, the sleazy salesperson. I’m with ya...I get it! But ...For just a few moments I’m going to invite you, encourage you — even beg you — to rearrange your thinking about the word and the image that it conjures up and replace it with the image of possibility — the image of you sitting in a comfy chair on a sound stage of a T.V. talk show, or in a studio booth of a radio station, or sitting on a stool in a coffee house/public library/museum reading aloud from your book for a group of people who came to the event specifically to see/hear you! And what about the image of you receiving a great, big, fat royalty check for the multiple sales of your book?!

‘Cause if you’ve got a gimmick, Gypsy girl, you got it made! – Electra, Gypsy

All of these are definite possibilities - of that I’m sure. But how do you get from the image to the reality?

There are all kinds of things you can do to get noticed...The trick is finding the ones that work for you—that you feel comfortable doing and that you can afford to do. Obviously, it would take some serious bucks and a whole, WHOLE LOT of moxie to rent a theatre and put your name — or your book’s title — up on the marquis.

I would imagine that most of you wouldn’t feel comfortable pulling a “Macy Gray” (I know I definitely wouldn’t) : painting a “sign” on the front of your body saying: ”My new book gets published [on such-and-such date]” and on your rear end painting the words, “Buy it” (for those of you not in the know, Macy Gray actually did that as a self-promo pitch for her then up-coming album at the 2001 Grammy Awards). Truth-be-told, I have no idea if that boosted her record sales, but that was certainly a memorable gimmick!

Walk softly and carry a big shtick! –Lee Silber*

*Shtick: A Yiddish term used to describe a performer’s attention-stealing action or gimmick.

Memorable is what were after – well, it’s what I’m after (for myself and for all of you fellow writers out there). There is shtick and there is shtick. And there are gimmicks and there are gimmicks. They can come in “long-term” or “short-term” form. Example: Elton John’s big, wild and elaborate glasses (long-term); Macy Gray’s album plug (short-term).

Now, many of us may not want to go the route of either Elton John or Macy Gray, for whatever reason – too flashy, or raunchy, or too-too…whatever! But there can be a way to create a shtick or utilize a gimmick that feels right for you.

You just have to be willing to put yourself out there a little bit.

I’m going to throw out a few examples and you can see how they resonate with you:

Example: A book with a medical theme (non-fiction or fiction)

Every time you send an email or snail mail, do it with the theme of a prescription: have the header say: Rx. Play with writing out the ad, announcement, letter, etc. as a prescription would read. *(This idea is great to use as a pitch to T.V. and radio shows as well, i.e. offering them “just the prescription they need for a great show spot”, etc.)

Use empty prescription bottles and affix your very own Rx labels to them that promote your book. Inside place a synopsis about your book, reviews, or fill it with some fun item (i.e. candy) that will also promote your book.

Use [unused] syringes and roll a snippet of your book into it. Call it a “Title of Your Book” shot.

If the book also has a “love story” element to it – Romance – you could use candy hearts: put them in the Rx bottle or syringe with a label or note that says something like, “This book will get your heart pumping”, or “This book is the best medicine for your heart”, or “Take this message to heart: buy the book.”

When sending out reviews, headline them with Diagnosis: 5 Healthy Hearts for “Book Title”…(or whatever terminology comes to mind).

Publicize your book by creating a new “disease”, “flu”, or “fever” around it. Send out email with the name of the [new] strain, a blurb about it (along with reviews if you have them), where it can be purchased and tag-line it with something like, “This is a virus you want to catch!”

[This one’s a little bit bolder than the previous] Dress up as a doctor or nurse and pass out flyers or postcards for your book at street fairs or other public functions. If you can stand/sit/walk around the lobby of a medical conference touting your book – by all means: do it! -or- Have a “Doctor is in” booth (think : Lucy from “Peanuts”)…Tout your book, answer questions, pass out postcards/flyers/brochures; if you have your book in traditional print, do a signing…

[Another bold move] Throw, or have someone throw a “Get [the book out] Well” party. Serve “thematic” food (i.e. jello – you can make a fun mold to go with the book; or serve chicken soup), or serve the food in a “thematic” way (i.e. punch in an I.V. bag – think: M*A*S*H); Read an excerpt you’re your book and then pass out a “medical chart” with all the information about your book included in it and ask people to pass it along to other people – like a “good” virus;Fun stuff: play spin the hot water bottle, or pin the heart on the patient (see if you can round up some gift certificates from stores, restaurants, etc., to use as give-aways). For party favors: Tongue Depressors –remind people NOT to depress their tongue, but to talk up your book instead (see if you can get the title of your book on them on one side, with a catchy phrase on the other, i.e. “Can’t keep anyone quiet about this book”). Invite people to come dressed up sick or injured – in their pajamas, robe, or hospital gown

Come up with your own variations on one, two, or all of the above.

Success is the child of audacity. – Benjamin Disraeli

So, whaddya think? Any of those ideas bode well with you – what you might be willing to do? Of course, you’d have to tailor the ideas to your book – obviously syringes, and prescriptions, and other things medical won’t work if your book is about the wild west, etc.

And if the ideas above completely go against your grain, you don’t have to use them. But perhaps, at the very least, they generated some ideas of your own that suit you better.

The thing about all the ideas I’ve laid out above, is that they are fun – some of them even silly. But people like fun. And the ideas above are memorable. They will make you and your book stick out in people’s minds.

So will ideas and events that are a little bit more serious or formal.

For example, if your story is set in the mid-seventeenth century, then having a dance or a tea or a music recital to background/showcase your book might be an idea for an event. Readings from your book with classical music in the background might set a nice tone. Feather-plumed pens might make great party favors. Hand-written in ink pen, on a scroll, or emailed old-style font notes/flyers might be a way to get announcements out.

Gimmicks work. They don’t have to be cheesy or over-the-top flashy. They just need to be “catchy” – shticking in the mind and the memory of your audience. They might get you a spot on a T.V. show, a book reading at a local coffee house, and best yet: sales of your book!