With the onslaught of eBooks and the demise of bookstores, some authors believe book signings are quickly going the way of the dinosaur and losing them valuable face-time with readers. Have no fear. The book signing isn’t going away. It’s evolving.

I truly hate to see so many bookstores closing their doors. The experience of walking through the aisles and flipping through the pages of hidden treasures can’t be duplicated, but there are additional venues authors can hold signings. And for those of you who don’t believe you can have a book “signing” if your title is only available in eFormat, keep on reading.

Tools of the Trade
Before I discuss venues for book signings, let’s discuss tools needed. In the good old days, after you arranged a book signing at your local bookstore you could arrive with a box of signing supplies such as promotional items, decoration for the table, mailing list subscription sheets and a great attitude, then call it a day. The bookstore would have the books ready and would take care of the exchange of money for your title(s).

Let’s say you have a book signing somewhere other than a bookstore or location where the retail portion of the signing is taken care of for you. Not too long ago, I remember authors pulling out those large credit card swipe things to accept credit card payments. Oh the horror! Thanks to smart phones, you can now accept secure credit card payments directly from your cell phone using tools such as Intuit GoPayment and Square Up. Many haven’t heard of Square Up or Intuit GoPayment, so I suggest creating a one page flyer that bullet points the needed facts about the secure credit card payment tool you use and have it laminated to display in your signing area.

At the time of writing this article, the small attachment needed to use the Intuit or Square Up tool was free from each one’s website. I mention this because I saw the attachment for the Square Up on sale in a department store and don’t want you paying for something that is free.

I like having a second person with me to accept payment, write receipts and manage the subscriber list, but that is not always possible. Do what you can to make the retail end of your signing as easy on the reader and yourself as possible. Same goes with accepting cash and/or checks. Do what works for you.

So now you can collect payments at your signing, but what if your titles are eBooks? What’s the purpose of participating in a book signing?  It’s the same as any other author—To sell books and connect with your readers.

When you’re at your signing event, if the customer has a smart phone or some other smart device, he/she can purchase your eBook(s) on the spot. Be sure to have the cover(s) and back cover blurb(s) of your title(s) laminated for display. Currently, Barnes & Noble and Amazon allow you to “gift” eBooks. The majority of eBook consumers purchase their eBooks from Amazon. If your customer doesn’t have a smart device to purchase your eBook at the signing, you can break out your smart phone and accept a secure credit payment using Intuit or Square Up, cash or whatever other forms of payment you are comfortable with, then “gift” the eBook(s) to them. I’ve also known authors who sell their electronic titles on CDs. Be sure to go all out and have nice CD labels and cases. These will be used the same way you’d use the cover of a print title to draw in readers.

With a print book, breaking out that pen to autograph copies for readers is a high many authors miss since eBooks have entered the market. Have no fear; you can still sign at your signings, even eBooks. Set up an account at Kindlegraph.com where you can personalize digital inscriptions (electronically sign your book covers) for readers. If you have a laptop or large smart device such as an iPad, you can sign the Kindlegraph at the event. Otherwise, the reader can request a Kindlegraph, and you can sign it when you get back to your computer. And yes, the Kindlegraph actually allows you to sign using your mouse pad or you can “adopt” a font to sign with. My writing using the mouse pad was horrible, so I purchased a tool called Bamboo Tablet that I connect to my laptop. The tablet is a large mouse pad that comes with a specialized pen for the device. With this pen, you can sign legibly, draw a happy face or whatever.

By the way, I do not like the name of Kindlegraph. It’s horrible. Why? Because the name implies it’s only for Kindle books. Granted, the eBook must be available on the Kindle, but the reader could have purchased the eBook from anywhere. For example, I have a Nook and purchase eBooks from Barnes & Noble, but because those eBooks are also available on Kindle, I can order a Kindlegraph for them. I will receive a PDF of the cover with the digital inscription. So if your readers have devices that can read PDFs and have Twitter accounts, then they can collect Kindlegraphs. Be sure to always carry business cards with your title information and let people know you are on Kindlegraph so they can find you later.

Now you can accept payments and sign your books—electronic and print—so we need venues.

Signing Venues

Do not forget brick and mortar bookstores. Whenever you can conduct signings at them, please do. Below are a few other places you can consider for book signings.

Beauty/Nail Shops – There is a long standing tradition in my community of beauty and barbershops being much more than a place to have your hair done.  Ask the owner if copies of your title(s) can be sold at the check-in desk. I find it best to have the owners purchase a few copies at 50% so they can make their profit. When the books move quickly, the owners will contact you for more books. Don’t forget to place at least two business cards with your book’s information within each book. Once you’ve grown your name within the shop, work with the proprietors to arrange signings at their locations and split the profit with them. See if you can find small pockets of your target audience here and there.

Book Clubs/Reading Groups (Online and Off) – Book clubs are an excellent way to spread the word about your book. Be sure to offer a group discount for your books. For example, if your price is regularly $14.95, for orders of five or more, the price is $10 per book when mailed to the same address. An excellent tool to find book clubs and reading groups is http://www.meetup.com/. Also tell the groups you are available for discussions. A discussion does not always require travel. Many book clubs are online and so are their discussions.

Book Parties – Do you remember Tupperware Parties? They were popular in the 70s and 80s. The host of the party would hold a Tupperware sell in his/her home. Book parties are the same concept, except with your titles. Be creative. If you have written an erotic book, also have a sex toy party. I’m sure your local sex toy shop wouldn’t mind helping you out. Same goes with book release parties. Be creative.

Fundraising/Charity Events – If you have a book that deals with domestic violence, breast cancer awareness, literacy… consider selling your title at events related to that topic. Even if your book does not deal with the topic at hand, you should investigate to see if the event has a nice pocket of your audience and/or give a portion of your proceeds to the event. Remember, you’ll have a better chance at hitting your target audience if your title involves the topic.

Libraries – The economy is hurting and many avid readers are returning to the library and so should authors. This is also an excellent way to get your titles into the library system.

Online Groups – Many of you are familiar with Facebook groups, but don’t forget about email groups such as the ones hosted on Yahoo. These groups were around well before Facebook and the established ones don’t look like they are going anywhere.  Find groups interested in your genre, join, get to know the readers and see about arranging discussions of your book for the group.

Organizations – One of my good friends belongs to a sorority, and one year they had this book event for my genre. Seek out organizations that would be interested in your genre and see about joining their events or arranging an event that caters to your genre.

Schools – From pre-school through college, schools are excellent locations for signings. Now don’t expect to just show up with a stack of book and start signing. You’ll usually need to give a speech of some sort and possibly have a question and answer session afterward. Of course, your material must be age and venue appropriate.

Stores/Clubs – From small boutiques to warehouses such as Costco, books are still good business. The larger the venue, the more difficult it can be to get inside, but it’s possible. Just be sure to have proper promotion of the event and understand that the majority of promotion for your title at events attend is always on you.

Traveling – Do you spend a lot of time waiting for flights or the train? Try this. Have a shirt made with your book cover on it and wear it next time you’re waiting for a flight. Be sure to have copies of your book, business cards and your trusty dusty Intuit or Square Up device. People strike up conversations with me and it usually turns into my telling them about my books and them wanting to purchase a copy or two. If you wear a shirt or something that has your cover on it, there are people who will strike up a conversation with you about it.

Vendor Events – Book conferences for your genre are a given, but don’t forget about other conferences and vendor events your target audience may attend. For example, I love Sci-Fi and went to a Sci-Fi conference in Las Vegas. They had Sci-Fi everything except book vendors. I wished I’d written a Sci-Fi book because I would have cleaned up.

T-Shirt – I know I’ve been going alphabetical until now, but I saved this for last on purpose. You can have a book signing just about anywhere at any time. Don’t let opportunities pass you by. The T-Shirt signing is an extension of the traveling book signing, but shows how you can have a signing just about anywhere. Consider having a few T-Shirts, tote bags or some other promotional item people will use out in public or at work (such as a mug) to give away and keep a few for yourself. Now wear your T-shirt or whatever to somewhere you go to frequently (such as your gym or physical therapy) that people don’t know you are an author. I was at an appointment and was wearing my Romance Slam Jam T-Shirt. The Romance Slam Jam is THE place for readers and authors of Black romance. Next thing you know, the assistant asked me about the conference and we were talking books. She in turn broadcasted that I’m an author all over the facility and next thing you know, I had sold all the copies of my books I had in my car and set up a book signing for the employees and members at a later date.

Caution
You’ll think I’m being contradictory, but I’m not in the big scheme of things. Yes, I said you can have a book signing just about anywhere, but you still must take your target audience into consideration. Book signings can be organic such as the T-Shirt signing I participated in, or they can be planned events. Please do not plan to take your books to the local Mc Donald’s after work today and set up a booth without investigation first. Those folks are at Mc Donald’s to get their kids a happy meal, not buy your book. Seriously though, think outside the box, but also think smartly. Investigate any planned venue and ensure you will get good bang for your buck.

Conclusion
The book signing isn’t going anywhere, it’s just evolving like the rest of the publishing industry. Mix and match until you find the formula that works best for you.

Deatri King-Bey

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for? Become A Successful Author will be used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author (eBook) for only $4.99 from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble  or print copies for only $7.99 by using the Contact page of this website and tell Dee know how many copies you’d like and shipping address. She’ll email the ordering information.

You have a blog, mailing lists, thousands of Facebook friends and Twitter followers, and ensure your messages are always informative and entertaining, but are your efforts translating to book sells? Enough sells to give you a high return on investment? You should be able to draw a direct correlation between promotion/marketing campaign you run for your title(s) and your book sells. You will not be able to get exact numbers, but you can measure what campaigns are increasing your sells and which are not. How? Analytics—aka the numbers game. Resist the urge to leave this discussion. I know many of you hate numbers or think you can’t understand them, but don’t give up before starting.

To make this easier for you, I’ll use myself as an example throughout. There are tools that I use such as Mail Chimp and Hootsuite that I mention from time to time, but don’t feel as if these are the only tools or even the best tools for your needs. Do your research and mix and match until you find what works for you. Once you understand the concepts, you can go out there and find what you need. Now let’s play the numbers game.

Seller Account
If you are a self-published author, whether you use Amazon, Barnes & Noble or whoever to sell your books (electronic and print), you should have access to reports that detail your sells. Many times these reports will show you your sales for the day. Whenever you run a campaign, be sure to watch your sells numbers. Hopefully, they will rise during the campaign. If you are not a self-published author, the best I can do is say watch your Amazon numbers on the product page of your book if that is where you are sending readers. Just remember that those numbers aren’t instantaneous.

Mailing List
I sent an announcement to one of my mailing list about my new title that included title information, purchase links and links to my website. The next day, I had a very nice showing on sells of that title. But did those sells have anything to do with the mailing list announcement?

Yes. It had a lot to do with that great showing. I know because I use Mail Chimp for my email list and it has an excellent set of reporting tools. The report clearly states how many peopled opened the announcement email and how many times each person opened it.

Great, so people opened my email—big deal.

Here comes the important part. The report shows click through rate, meaning it indicates how many times each link within the email was clicked. After all, what good is your email doing if people aren’t taking action from it? You want them to go to take the needed steps to purchase your book(s) and/or visit your website. To my great pleasure, the purchase links were clicked numerous times. Though this does not tell me if the person ultimately purchased the book, it does tell me they were interested enough to visit the purchase page. It also showed me people were interested in visiting my webpage and Facebook pages. The report also showed how many times the email was forwarded and all that good stuff.

So when you send out an email, is it opened? Are the people who receive it clicking through to find out more about your books or even purchase the book? If not, you need to find out why. First look at your list. Is it an opt-in list or did you just add everyone you had an email address for? Opt-in list will net you much more bang for the buck. Granted, opt-in list will not grow as fast as just adding names, but who wants a humongous list of people who aren’t going to purchase the book or even open the email?

Next look at your content. Is it informative? Is it interesting? What’s your call to action? Do you provide easy ways for your readers to purchase your titles and follow you online?

Finally, look at frequency. Are you sending out emails to your lists every day that repeat information—BUY MY BOOK. BUY MY BOOK? Have your emails become part of the noise that litters email inboxes and is ignored? Or do you rarely email your list and they’ve forgotten who you are? Finding that happy medium for frequency isn’t easy, but you need to find it for your audience.

Facebook/Twitter Type Media

In October I participated in an online discussion of one of my novels. I sent out an event invite to all of my “friends” on Facebook with the pertinent information and also posted the event several times on my Facebook wall. Did this translate to enough book sells or interest in my books to make it worth my time? Yes. And how do I know this? Because I use a tool called HootSuite, I draw statistic information from my website and I saw a bump in my sells numbers when running the campaign.

You can use Hootesuite for everything from scheduling posts on several sites (i.e: Facebook, Twitter) to in depth usage statistics of your social media accounts’ traffic. To get the full functionality of Hootsuite, there is a fee. I use Hootsuite for the posts scheduling and don’t truly use the statistic functionality, but it is there for you and extensive. Instead, I use the statistics from my website and sells information from my seller accounts.

When I do a social media campaign using Facebook or Twitter, I send potential customers to my website and/or somewhere they can purchase my title. Using my website statistics, I can see where incoming links were referred from and it breaks it down by URL. I can even see if someone is accessing my website from an email account. For example, it may say Facebook 6. That means six people from within Facebook clicked on a link and arrived at my website. Granted, you don’t know if your campaign directly sent those hits to your site or if someone else had a link to your site on their Facebook post that someone clicked on. If you just ran a campaign on Facebook, there is a pretty good chance the Facebook clicks to your website came from your Facebook campaign or from someone sharing your information about the campaign on their wall.

Are your campaigns getting you the bang for your buck? The pitfalls authors fall into with email lists are the same for other social media. Opt-in is always more productive than adding everyone whose information you can obtain. Be more than an infomercial, and contact people in a way that they look forward to your posts instead of wanting to run away.

Interviews/Guest Blogger

Blog tours are all the rage, but do they give you the bang for your buck? How much time—thus money—are you spending answering questions. How much time are you spending promoting to your email lists and social media (people who probably already know what you will be saying on this interview). One sure way to find out is look at the numbers. When the interview ran, did your sales numbers go up? What about traffic to your website?

One of the benefits of a blog tour is the interview/guest post usually stays up for a substantial amount of time. Months after your interview when you look at your website statistics, you may see that interview is sending traffic to your site. Or that interview/guest post may have been picked up and used on other sites that are now sending traffic to your site.

Blog/Website

There are basically three types of traffic you’ll receive on your blog/website. The “Usual Suspects” as I like to call them. These are the people who subscribed to your blog and/or RRS feed (another way to receive alerts regarding blog posts) and visit whenever you have a new post. Then there are those who are directed to your website from email campaigns, social media, interviews, search engines, other websites. The third set are the “Untraceables” as I like to call them. They somehow magically found your site by typing in the URL (web address). Seriously though, they were probably told about your website or saw some of your promotional materials with the website information.

The “Referred” statistic should become one of your best friends. I’ve found many hidden pockets of my target audience because my site was linked to (referred) from another site.  And as I said, earlier, you can see if people are coming to your page from Facebook, Twitter and anywhere else on the web you hang out, including links within emails.

Page hits are important also. What pages are visitors of your site going to? Are there pages that receive little to no traffic so you should consider deleting them? Are your pages too long? When you ran a campaign and pointed readers to a specific page, did that page’s count increase? Did other pages on your site have an increase in hits also or are viewers coming to the one page, then leaving your site?

Click through. On your website you’ll have calls to action, such as links to purchase your book(s). Once the reader arrives at your website, are they clicking through to purchase your book(s)? What can you do to your site to increase your click through number? How’s that back cover blurb looking? Is it pulling in the reader? Do you have fantastic reviews? What about your cover? Is the information on your site fresh? What about the look? Is it easy for readers to purchase your book or do you hide the purchase links? Remember, purchase and mailing list subscription links strategically placed go a long way.

Who is visiting your site? Did you just send out a new posts so the Usual Suspects are around. These are your loyal reader base and visit your site, even when you don’t have a new title out, to see what you are up to. Did you recently send an email campaign about a new title? If so, are you getting sells? What about a Facebook or Twitter campaign? Is your event being shared and retweeted (Hootsuite can tell you this)?

Final Words
I don’t want to throw you into information overload so I’ll end this here. Don’t be afraid to play the numbers game. Get in there and learn how to utilize the statistic tools available to you and master them.

Deatri King-Bey

If you found this post helpful, please use the share buttons to spread the word about it.

Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for? Become A Successful Author will be used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author (eBook) for only $4.99 from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble  or print copies for only $7.99 by using the Contact page of this website and tell Dee know how many copies you’d like and shipping address. She’ll email the ordering information.