3 Steps to Parlaying Random Encounters Into Book Sales (Without Being Pushy)
By Guest | May 16, 2016 |
We’re pleased to introduce today’s guest Nicole Waggoner, author of the novel Center Ring, and award-winning teacher of upper-level English and Literary Criticism courses. Beyond her literary acumen, Nicole has an uncanny gift for connecting with random strangers on and offline and parlaying her new friendships into book sales. She’s here to tell us about how she does it — in a way that is not only subtle and anything but “sales-y,” but also wins people’s hearts.
You can learn more about Nicole and Center Ring on her website, and by following her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Welcome, Nicole.
3 Steps to Parlaying Random Encounters Into Book Sales (Without Being Pushy)
Imagine you’re standing in line at the post office. You’re tired, but definitely not as tired as the lady with two fussy kids directly behind you. You’ve been there, and it’s not pretty. So you offer to let her cut in front of you.
The next night you’re in line at the movie theater concession line, waiting to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens. You strike up a conversation with a man who also has tickets to see the movie. You share some laughs over the franchise’s reincarnation.
You may think these random encounters may sound like nothing but inconsequential connections, here today and gone tomorrow. And it may seem they have nothing whatsoever to do with writing or books. But quite the opposite: for me, each one has turned into an opportunity to sell books.
As a recently published debut author, I know the feelings that accompany the many stages of the publishing process all too well. After years of hard work and waiting followed by the uncontainable excitement of getting to hold a final copy of the novel in your own hands at last, the biggest, most nerve-wracking question sets in: will anyone actually buy it?
You may not think that connecting with random strangers would make for a great sales strategy, but this grassroots approach has worked like a charm for me. Without realizing it at first, I built up a method for steering unplanned conversations toward Amazon shopping carts without being predatory or feeling in the least bit slimy.
Over time, I honed it and began to call it my “Simple, 3-Pronged Intro-Pitch-Sale” approach.
Here’s what it looks like:
Step 1 – Be where your (potential) audience is.
As authors, we are natural-born recluses. But spending too much time in our sacred, solitary writing space is not exactly the best way to gain exposure. On the other hand, even in this age of social media , getting out there and mingling with real-life people whose real-life interests might dovetail with the themes in your book can have an amazing multiplier effect.
For instance, I write about women and the complexity of our juggling act as mothers, professionals, friends and lovers. Finding my audience means spending time in coffee shops, mommy hang outs and young professional haunts. If I were writing a sci-fi novel, I might be better off hanging around a comic book store.
Once you’ve put yourself in the middle of the action, make the most of it. Make eye contact with the people around you. If you’re comfortable with it, try greeting everyone that comes near your station. Aside from getting to pat yourself on the back for using good manners, greeting people can lead you to a deeper conversation.
Be sure to have a paper copy of the latest book you’re reading on hand. This is a great conversation-starter about all things literary. Once conversation’s underway, mention, at the right moment, that you’re a writer. More often than not, your new stranger-friend will ask what you write. Give him or her a VERY abbreviated synopsis of your book — we’re talking under 30 seconds and high-level. I simply say, “I write about women and how we juggle our roles…” then wait for the isn’t that the truth expression on their faces.
Boom. You’re in.
Step 2 – Keep your pitch flowing with the conversation.
If the person you’re speaking with seems interested, that’s the time to share a little more information. For example, I might describe a couple of characters I think she or he will relate to, or explain more about what I’m working on or thinking about at the moment.
Make sure to leave your new acquaintance time to respond and share. Ask for his or her reaction to your material and learn about what they might be interested in. I may not have thought that the Star Wars screening was a goldmine of potential-reader interactions — and was there for my kids not myself — but when the man in line with me started drawing connections between one of my characters and his wife and sister in-law, I saw that as a perfect opening.
Step 3 – Seal the deal with a business card or bookmark.
Once you’ve established a rapport and potential interest, offer your business card, bookmark or whatever piece of marketing collateral you carry with you that provides all the essential information to help them connect you to your book. My card has my social media contact information and author page URL, and a picture of my book cover with the Amazon URL.
It’s really like magic. In my experience, most people pull out their phones and like my author page while we’re still hanging out. Even more surprisingly, over half of the people I’ve spoken with have gone onto Amazon immediately and put the book in their cart. I’ve never asked any of these people to buy my book or to like my page, they’ve always done it voluntarily.
It always helps, too, to have hard copies with you in your tote and to be prepared to take an electronic payment through a service like Square.
In addition to the movies and the post office, I’ve sold books to strangers I’ve chatted with while watching our kids play side by side at the zoo, who’ve been seated near me at a restaurant at lunch hour and much, much more. Recently, while I was leaving a restaurant, a woman complimented me on my brief case. T I thanked her and told her I really liked it because of how easily it attaches to carry on luggage during travel. Then I mentioned I was a writer and that I write about a group of sisterfriends. The fact that they were four women catching up over wine was the perfect intro to give my ‘hook,’ since my novel, Center Ring, begins when one character walks into a girls’ night out with a secret to tell. They each bought a book on the spot and one has since bought two as gifts from Amazon.
Remember, though, that there’s a fine line between positioning yourself for organic opportunities and aggressively pushing for sales. You should always be in the mindset of someone who is just out and up for a casual chat and never cross over into the territory of stalking people. If you say “hi” to the person who just entered your local coffee shop and that person gives you a terse “hello” in return, maybe that’s not the right moment or the right person. And if the person you’re speaking with seems the least bit indifferent, let it go.
So next time you’re on a plane and you meet a friendly flight attendant who asks about the cover of the book you’re holding, let him know it’s yours, or if it’s not, let him know you’re a writer. You’ll be amazed at how easily this will pique his curiosity. And who knows, you might wind up in a situation like I did on a recent flight where he decides to start a reading group and ends up buying copies for the whole crew!
Have some tricks and tips to share? The floor is yours.
Many thanks to today’s guest.
You can read more WU guest posts by visiting this link.
The perfect, maestro’s touch, both in the method and your way of telling about it. Seems effortless! Thanks so much for this, Nicole. I think my big weak point is leaving an opening for folks to respond; need to work on shutting up after that nice hook you described.
My pleasure! Thank you for reading!
Love this. The less than 30 second pitch is key. As well as knowing your audience. YOu’ve done this well–great examples!
Thank you for reading! It’s been a fun ride to say the least!
Great advice, Nicole. I’ve followed the same path, and it’s really been quite easy. Even if you don’t sell a book, which isn’t necessarily the goal, you’ve spent your time getting to know a stranger, making the time (insert waiting in line, dining, etc) more enjoyable.
I printed mini bookmarks through a printer called GFX. They print in any quantity over 100 cards, allowing for several designs, and the mini bookmark size is perfect for carrying in one’s pocket or purse.
Next on the agenda: stop by local bookstores and places that sell books, providing them with free bookmarks for their customers. I’m also organizing several ‘display’ books to leave in busy cafe’s and waiting areas (with the business owners permission). Inside the front cover is a sticker noting where someone can order should they want to read more, and how they can take a free bookmark from the front counter.
One brick at a time!
Dee Willson
Author of A Keeper’s Truth and GOT
What a wonderful idea! Thank you for sharing!
I have a friend who was fearless in meeting women. One night we were in a NoHo restaurant jammed with singles. You couldn’t get near the bar. It was dense packed with pretty, smart-looking city girls.
My friend was single but, like me, older, let’s say not passing for forty anymore. Plus he’s a nerd. An uber nerd. A professor of advanced computer stuff with a research institute created just for him at an Ivy League university. I’ve known him since high school.
“Let’s go somewhere else,” I said.
“Nah, I’m goin in!” he said, heading for the bar like a GI hitting Omaha Beach on D-Day. He said, “I’m getting a phone number!”
“How?” I asked. “I mean, what’s your pickup line?”
“No idea,” he said, and plunged in. Five minutes later he was back with a drink and a phone number.
He’s married now, as am I, which I guess is analogous to being a writer comfortable in his solitary writing space, as I also am. The idea of hitting the literary equivalent of the singles scene again is that intimidating.
Worse, this is the age of Tinder. You sell, or not, as fast as a finger swipe. This post helps. Thanks, Nicole. Can I book you for a manuscript makeover as well?
Hi Ben! This story reminds me of my husband (aerospace engineer) and a strategy he and his engineering friends called “Fishing with Mike”! I offer manuscript coaching and have one spot left for the summer. There’s more information on my website :)
Great post Nicole. I’m at that tipping point now myself – A free novella out and my first novel coming up next month, and am amazed at how interested and supportive everyone is, as if I were an interesting or endangered species they are trying to protect and support. As a natural introvert, at first it was hard to talk about my writing, but I am gradually warming up to offering to let them read my books. Tentative requests to friends for ARC final proof readers has people clamoring for the books. Offers of free books online (obvious to me, they are lures to my newsletter signup page) has people responding , “How generous!” And they just genuinely seem to want to buy my book! We’ll see, I don’t expect to make the NYT best seller list with this first book, but you are right, people want to be included in the process. Last night when I offered my gardener a copy of the novella and she was beyond thrilled – said it was like being invited into a secret inner circle. I”m sure she’ll tell everyone she meets about it. and now I have to order those book marks.
I, too, have been blown away by the support! My novel ends on a cliffhanger with a note to go to my website to read the first chapters of book two in exchange for signing up for my newsletter. Congrats on both the novella and for your upcoming release!
I write YA and middle grade. When my kids were still of that age, they’d have friends over. I made sure to instruct my children to mention that I was a writer (child labor laws do not apply since I don’t pay them). Within minutes, copies of my books are floating around the room. My 12 year-old niece does this voluntarily, finding me new fans from time to time. I think I owe her ice-cream.
And yes, always take advantage of the check out lines and such. People, for some odd reason, find authors fascinating. I don’t tell them that we’re just stubborn fools who get a thrill when we sell 2 books in the same week.
Thanks for the post!
My nine year old son is a born promoter. I should give him a cut of what he has sold…or maybe not :)
Conversations about writing and reading come up organically more often than we’d think. When it does, I wait until a good time to say I’m a writer. Then I wait until the person asks me what I write. While I give my uber-quick response, I hand the person a bookmark with the URLs of my stories on it. I’m still mostly new at this part of the game, but I’m getting better.
You are such a natural, Nicole. I find it hard to *talk* about myself (writing is so much easier, LOL), but when there’s an opening about “what do you do” I’m able to say that I write.
I used to travel a fair bit when I was younger. All conversation would stop when I said I was a scientist. I was taking dance lessons at the time and wondered what the response would be if I told people I’m a dancer and gosh, were they interested! And now when I say I’m a writer, I discover that everybody has a story to tell, a book inside them (and many want me to write it for them, but I have to tell them I have too many of my own stories to tell). Invariably they want to know if I’ve been published. Since I primarily write for the school/library market and children’s magazines, I tell them that their kids probably know my work :) And after that we talk about kids. I need to start carrying bookmarks and business cards with me.
It sounds like you’ve got the perfect hook!
You have given some great advice which I have tried out some, lately I’m not as mobile as before so I do social media.
I’m glad you tried a few of the tips! It gets easier with every “pitch”!