Monday, July 09, 2007

Identifying Your Market

I just got back from a selling trip. I walked about one block down the street to deliver a copy of Tales of a Texas Boy - Large Print Edition to a neighbor.

Last week, I posted flyers on the bulletin boards located on the mailbox kiosks in the 55+ manufactured home park where I live. I attached business cards to each flyer so nobody would have to remember the information when they get home. I should mention that the narrator, Eddie, is my father. The book contains mostly true (think Tall Tales) stories about him. My parents live across the street from me.

I got my first sale from this strange marketing technique. Of course, I also received a tour of the lady's garden when I delivered the book. That was a definite bonus. Her husband, like my father, is losing his vision. He can still read the large print editions, so my neighbor thought it was nice that she could get a book written about a man she chats with often.

Think global, sell local. Your best customers might be living right down the street from you.

4 comments:

  1. I so agree with that last comment of yours. In about a week, I'm putting up a little web-based venture and am going to market the hell out of all my blogging buddies. (Hey...some have got to be techies, right?)

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  2. At least they all use computers, eh?

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  3. Unless your name is Stephen King or you write about a protagonist named Harry Potter, books are sold one at a time, through word of mouth, platforms, and sphere of influences. That's just how it's done. Hopefully the reader in your neighborhood will tell others about your book in such a way to convince them to buy a copy!

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  4. Congrats, Marva.

    Good luck, Froggie.

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