Ever have that sinking feeling…like you’re in
over your head? As a newly published
author, fumbling for the perfect marketing strategy, that quicksand sensibility
is my constant companion. In fact, it
reminds me of my first month as a high school principal, hired on when my new
high school was still under construction.
Everett, Washington. Rain. A muddy site.
Yup, one day, on my way to the construction portable, I got stuck in the
mud. The site supervisor happened to be
walking by and helped me pull my boots and body out of the sucking mud. You have to laugh, or you’ll cry!
To make an inexpensive promo item, 1000 of them,
I had to bustle around three towns finding bargain material and cloth-cutting
equipment (You’re saying ‘ka-ching’
right now, aren’t you?) Cutting blades
go dull quickly, I can’t cut straight lines, the plan for stamping material
requires heating 1000 pieces of material…you get the picture. More money and way more time consumed than I
planned. You have to laugh.
QR codes.
Some of you read my blog entry about how I learned the value of QR codes
as a promotional resource. See the
adventure here: http://blog.rolynnanderson.com/
I’ve got those squares on everything: banners,
business cards, post cards. Yes, even
emblazoned on a tee-shirt. On a
tee-shirt? Did I think ahead about how
people would be pointing their droids at my chest, trying to scan my QR code so
they could download website? Did I
contemplate the problem that my curves might prevent a ‘good scan?’ Will I have to walk around with my shirtfront
pulled taut so the population has a proper reading of my chest?
Really, you have to laugh about all the risks we’re
taking and pickles we get ourselves into…or we WILL cry. Yes, indeed, there’s a lot of laughter in my
house, these days. How about yours? Rolynn
SUSPENSE SPIKED WITH ROMANCE
LAST RESORT on sale now, print &
download
Wild Rose Press: http://tinyurl.com/682vwgv
Web: http://www.rolynnanderson.com
Blog: http://blog.rolynnanderson.com/
FB: http://tinyurl.com/63vsnmt
15 comments:
This sounds all too familiar. LOL. What was that "inexpensive promo item" that you went from town to town in search of fabric. I don't want to make the same mistake :-)
Definitely have to laugh or cry and sometimes do both. Thanks fort a fun post.
Great post. I'm in the promo stage of my first book right now and it is way too time consuming, but the results hopefully will be well worth it.
LOL! Thanks for the chuckle, Rolynn! I feel your pain.
:-)
Kylie, the 1000 snafu involved microfiber screen-cleaning cloths. Glad I gave you, Beth, Emma and Maeve a laugh today. Makes me happy, too. Rolynn
Rolynn, I will remember to avoid that "good" promo idea. Thanks for sharing.
Oh, Rolynn, so funny. Thanks for sharing. I guess in one way or another we've all done things we'd rather forget. But you're right. Laughing is the only way to handle it. Oh, that and heading for the nearest batch of chocolate (or whatever your personal preference happens to be).
Darcy! Chocolate! Yes! Make my Dove milk chocolate or Dove white chocolate. Add any hard milk or dark chocolate See's Candies. Okay, when I'm desperate, I'll take Hershey's. Laughing and chocolate...best medicine!
I have often wondered if chocolate doesn't improve, I mean sweeten the mood and the writing.
LOL Rolynn. I feel your pain, and share your laughter. Thanks for the chuckle.
Thanks for the comments, Mona and Mac. Group laugh, it is! Rolynn
Oh, the T-shirt. I can picture it now. Love it!!!
Thanks Rolynn for a smile, a laugh, and inspiration. I have thousands of Russian Giant Sunflower seeds from my summer crop. I want to use them as a promo item, but I have to write a book about sunflowers, call sunflower or something.:)
After going to RWA conferences, the one thing I still use from the goodie room is magnets and pens, although the condom certainly caught my attention. My sweetie took over the magnetic bookmark, so that's his favorite.
Morgan, planning a novel from a promo is a stunning idea (it doesn't take much to get us off and running on a story, does it?) But if you've already got a novel with a 'sunny' character, use that :-) Thanks for the savable promo tips. You know, I have nothing magnetic in my house (okay, my DH is)...is that a trend that's going to kill the magnet promo? Sigh!
Great post, Rolynn. You're right--we have to laugh about this crazy writing adventure we're all one--or we will cry.
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