A writer aiming to self-publish her first book treated me to coffee recently to “pick my brain” about the marketing plan I used to promote my self-published book. I wasn’t sure how much I could help her. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Each book, depending on its genre and target audience, requires its own personal marketing plan—like a custom-tailored suit. My book, I reminded her, is a memoir. Hers is a cookbook! But for the pleasure of her company—and free coffee—I said I could clue her in about books, friends, and websites that help me. I also offered one simple approach she could try out right away.
What is it? Two 5 ½” x 8 ½” size flyers, or “seeing double”
You can fit two of these marketing flyers on one regular size page by making two columns. When you finish, print the page and cut it in half. Bingo. Double the pleasure, double the fun.
Click here to download a sample of my “seeing double” flyer.
The following is a simple step-by-step “help doc” for creating your double flyer. Forgive me, for many years I wrote technical documentation in the software industry, including tedious instructions found in drop-down Help menus of software applications. These days, they have a “Tell me what you want to do” search box up there on the Menu bar. Cool!
Creating an easy-peasy marketing flyer for your book
1. Open a new Word document and on the Layout menu, select Orientation. Then select Landscape.
2. Again, on the Layout menu, select Columns. Select Two.
Note: The goal is to create content in the left-hand column, then copy and paste it into the right-hand column. Voila, you have a page containing two copies of the same flyer! Genius! And the small size of the flyer makes it easy to fold and put in your purse, etc.
3. This may seem obvious, but to begin, place your cursor in the top left corner of the page—in the left column—and insert a small photo of your book’s cover, preferably in color, if you have a color printer.
4. Beside the photo, type your book’s title and subtitle (if there’s a subtitle) using font size 12. Bold it.
5. Below the title, but still to the right of the photo, add this information: your name, the book’s genre, its cost, whether it’s in paperback, hardback, and/or eBook, and where it is sold. Even include the ISBN number, if you want.
Note: For the rest of the content, I use font size 11 so it all fits in the column.
6. Below that, list any awards the book won, succinct quotes from reviews of your book, etc. Maximum of 7 lines.
7. Below that, create three headings for the following sections and plug in the content. Consider the number of lines I suggest for each section. Perhaps use red font for these headings to make them stand out.
a. What it’s about: Summarize the story. Use part of your book description, which may be on the back cover of the book. Six lines.
b. Why [book title] matters: Tell why it is unique. What about the story is different than any other? Is it non-fiction with content important to society? Eight lines.
c. A taste of [book title]: Offer a short, poignant quote from the book. This is a free sample of your writing from the story you slaved over. Show off! Three lines.
8. The last section is your author bio. To make your name stand out, put it in UPPER CASE and bold it. Six lines.
9. Select the book cover photo and all the text you just wrote.
10. Copy and paste the selected content into the column on the right. Save the document. Tweak content to fit in the columns, if needed.
Adapting this template
Customize the template for your book’s needs. Make it work for you. Be sure it reflects your good intentions and isn’t filled with marketing jargon that people hear all the time. The point is to spread the word about your wonderful book in a quick, easy-reference manner. Like a two-minute elevator pitch, only on paper.
Using your mini-marketing flyers
I tuck one of these flyers in the front of every book I sell in person. At book events, I have a stack on the book-signing table. You never know where these flyers might end up—hopefully not in the trash, but in the hands of another person besides the one who buys your book, like one of their friends at work, or a relative who may consider getting their own copy. Show your flyer to bookstore owners who offer to sell your book on consignment. Ask permission to place a stack of flyers on a shelf near your publication, making it visible to browsing customers. And be sure you put a flyer inside each copy of your book on that shelf in the bookstore! Do it yourself. Get as creative with this process as you can. Never underestimate the power of a little flyer with a big message.
Niki Kantzios
Thanks for the great idea! The hardest part of being a writer is certainly not the writing…