The Best Author Swag I Ever Made
by Elizabeth Cole
As an author, I think about marketing way more than I want to. But it’s an essential part of my work, so I’ve made my peace with the need to occasionally PROMOTE! MY! BOOKS! even though it’s not fun in the way that the actual writing is.
Marketing has many elements, but today I’m going to focus on swag: the physical, tangible objects your hand out to readers at an event, include in a goodie bag for a charity giveaway, or just pull out of your surprisingly deep pockets when you’re out and about and someone casually asks what you do for a living.
There’s a TON of potential swag. Pens, notepads, bookmarks, lip balm, bottle openers, tea samples, more pens, stickers, tiny hot sauce bottles, stickers, yet more pens, earrings, pendants, candleholders, sunglasses, and did I mention pens?
Some of these make more sense than others. And some seemingly random items might be absolutely perfect as a tie-in for a particular book or series. But over and over, I noticed that readers just didn’t care about most swag. It’s fun to acquire at events, but lots of times, your carefully designed and banded pen/mug/keychain will get left at the hotel, or possibly just tossed into a junk drawer. It is selling your books? Probably not.
Swag can also be pricey. You don’t want your swag to feel cheap or throwaway, but quality items (plus the fee for personalizing with your author mark) can quickly get untenable. And some swag has a shelf life. Did you know that lip balm can go rancid? I know! Ask me how! (Actually, don’t.)
For an event a few years ago, I needed some really good swag that would go in a goodie bag for all the event attendees. It would represent ME to all those readers, even those who never made it to my table or spoke to me the whole weekend. I wanted it to fit my brand. I wanted it to be too cool to throw away. I wanted it to be easy to pack or ship. And I wanted it to not go rancid. (Yeah, that lip balm broke my heart.)
Oh, and it had to be affordable.
Woof. After pondering and pricing out a lot of options, I decided to do something I’d never done before. I had a very short story that I wrote almost as a joke: a conflict-free historical romance. Since all romance thrives on conflict, the conflict-free story was by definition VERY short. But I set the story in the universe of my main romance series, and I thought it reflected my voice and vibe well. I also had a beautiful cover designed for it, as part of an overall series redesign.
So I decided to do something special. I had this story formatted as a print booklet and ordered a couple hundred copies from Ingram Spark (which I use for all my books). Since it was so tiny (20 pages in a mass-market size), the cost came to about a dollar per booklet. That was WAY less than the even a semi-fancy pen I’d been considering. And yes, I paid for the cover design too (approximately $100), but that I’ll use it for an ebook version as well (not to mention promo graphics), probably for the next decade.
I also took the step of including a little note from the author on the first page, which stated that this was a super special edition that had never been printed before. And I signed each booklet. And then I popped one into each goodie bag and hoped for the best.
Well, the response from readers at the event was overwhelmingly positive. They loved that they were the first people to read it. They loved how pretty the cover was. They loved that it was signed. They loved the story itself (it’s short enough to read in about 15-20 min). In short: it wasn’t just swag to them. It was a keepsake.
Even other authors at the event (who also got the goodie bags) came up to tell me that my swag was Best In Bag. And to impress other authors is honestly such a great feeling, since they know how hard marketing is!
Why did it work so well? First, it spoke to readers. Readers love books. They adore special editions. And they really like the treat of a free story. Second, this particular story fit my brand very, very tightly. It featured a couple of beloved recurring characters, but didn’t require a new reader to know anything about the characters or the main storylines. It fit the genre of regency romance and it showcased my penchant for witty dialogue (if I may say so humbly). A reader who likes that free story is very likely to enjoy my other stories…all helpfully listed on the front inside page! (along with my website and socials). Third, it is a compact and durable good. I can slip a few of these in a bag when traveling. I could mail one cheaply. I can hand it to someone without them worrying about how they’re going to cart it home. And it does not go rancid.
Fun fact: I actually ended up getting more booklets than needed for the event, so afterwards I designed and printed stickers to cover the event-specific text at the beginning of the book, and I put them in each leftover book. Now I’ve got plenty to hand out to future readers. (If I do this again, I’ll probably NOT state any time and place in the book itself, just to maintain flexibility.)
Do you have a series? Can you write a very short story (think about 2500 words or less) that aligns with your series but stands on its own? If you write space opera, can you tell a little tale about a side character? If you write fantasy, maybe offer a myth or legend that your characters talk about or casually reference in the main books. If you write historical fiction, you could dramatize a real event that is linked to your book but you couldn’t include for some reason. Whatever you write, choose a tale that presents your work and your world in the best way, and it will be a lovely introduction to your writing!
About the Author
Elizabeth Cole writes both historical and paranormal romance. In some of her former lives, she was a bookseller, archivist, cubicle drone, and popcorn popper. She adores tea, basketball, and cats, not necessarily in that order. She was born and raised in Wisconsin. You can find out more about her work here: https://elizabethcole.co/
