4 Tips for a Successful Book Signing Event
A book signing event is a great way to spread the word about your book and connect with your target audience. To ensure your next book signing event is a success, consider the following tips from a leading book marketing agency:
- Help promote the event – Don’t rely on the event host to do all the promotional work for you. Work together with the host to promote the event so that you can spread the word to as many people as possible. Promote the event on your website, blog and social media profiles. Also contact the media and send an e-newsletter announcing the event to everyone in your address book and ask them to forward it to their friends. Don’t simply say, “Come to my event.” Offer something to your contacts, make it special for them! If you’re a non-fiction author, tell them you’ll be providing valuable information for them. For novelists, plan interactive group discussions about the topic of your book. Give something to get something back!
- Provide promotional materials – A bookstore or library will want to advertise the event by displaying posters and announcements at their location. These promotional materials should include an image of the author and/or the book cover. It can be difficult for the event host to find a good hi-res photo of authors and their book covers, especially with new and indie authors. When you confirm the book signing event, ask the event host if providing photos or promotional materials would be helpful.
- Make it an event, not a book signing – Don’t plan a book signing where you just sit at a table waiting for people passing by to come talk you and get a book signed. Rather, create an event where you can engage your readership and speak. Engage with the audience by doing a reading of the best excerpts of your book. If you’re a nonfiction author, consider doing a presentation on a topic related to your book.
- Be prepared – Be prepared for the event by practicing your presentation or choosing the excerpts you wish to read to the audience beforehand. This will reduce nervousness and also increase your credibility in the eyes of your audience. Also be sure to bring a couple of pens, in case one should run out of ink, as well as extra copies of your book for people to purchase.