After all the work of writing a book, the best reward is a book sellout!

In 2015, I wrote and published Sutter’s Sodas Satisfy: A Memoir of 90 Years of Sutter Drug Co., about my family’s business, which existed from 1903-1993.

I had a book signing at Burlington By The Book, in my hometown of Burlington, Iowa. It was an amazing success. I sold 99 books, every one that I had on hand, and the book store owner took orders for two dozen more that day. Here’s my to-do list of book sellout tactics that contributed to my success:

Writing a marketing plan.

Putting a plan on paper forced me to focus on public relations in advance, in addition to developing ideas for the event itself. I modeled my plan after ones I’d seen in books and on the Internet. Ultimately I didn’t do everything on the list, but I did much of it.

Develop a partnership.

Chris Murphy, the owner of Burlington By The Book, took the initiative to approach the Arts Center of Burlington, which resides next to his store downtown, and tell the assistant director, Hillaurie Fritz-Bonar, about the signing, about two months before it was scheduled. His enthusiasm was contagious, and Hillaurie came up with the idea to schedule a coordinating event involving “Pop Art” exhibits to draw people downtown to meet up-and-coming artists.

Build excitement in advance on Facebook.

Of course, we had a Facebook invitation page and I created a Sutter’s Sodas Satisfy Facebook page. But a key for my success was a page called “Pictures of Burlington, Iowa,” to which anyone can contribute photos (new and old). While I was writing the book and before the book event, I would post a vintage photo every few weeks. Some of these generated more than 300 likes and more than 100 comments. So when the book signing came around, people’s appetites had already been whetted.

Share part of the book in a blog.

My book signing was in May, and in March I launched a Sutter’s Sodas Satisfy blog using WordPress. Just like on Facebook, I shared interesting photos with a few paragraphs of information. On the right side of the blog’s homepage was information on the book signing. I promoted the blog via Facebook and Twitter.

Plan the book signing as an event.

I called it “Sutter Drug Store Homecoming and Book Signing” in press releases and on social media. I invited former employees and patrons to come meet other Sutter family members and reminisce. My mother, sister, and cousin were all there to greet people. And yes, many who attended were former employees and patrons who wanted to share their memories with me.

Be diligent about contacting local media well in advance.

I mailed press releases with copies of the book about a month prior to the event. The local newspaper did a large article with photos on the Sunday prior to the event (and covered it the day of). In the interest of full disclosure, I was a reporter at that newspaper in the early 1980s but almost none of that staff remain. The local talk radio station did a live interview with me on the Monday prior to the event.

Make the event participatory.

I had a poster board on an easel and colored markers and asked attendees to write memories using colored markers. Many did. It’s a treasured memento now, which I’ve shared on Facebook. I asked every person whose book I signed if I could have my photo taken with them. Most said yes, and my family took turns shooting photos with their iPhones. (You can see photos here on Facebook.) Another prop was a poster of a headshot of my great-grandfather.

Have promotional materials to give at the event.

My budget was limited, so I opted for business-size cards that simply stated the name of the book, my name and phone number, and the URL for the blog. I put a card in each book after I signed it.

 

I have two regrets from the day:

• I didn’t have enough books with me, so when I returned to Rochester, N.Y., I mailed enough for the additional orders and then ordered more from my printer.
• I needed a guest book that people could sign and include their email or mailing addresses.
• I also would have had my family who took photos record the names of each person they photographed.

My homecoming and book signing event was memorable in so many ways, and I’ll apply what I learned to future book signings.