Friday, November 1, 2013

How Evelyn Cullet publicizes her books

I asked Evelyn to write about how she publicizes her books. She has real chuzpah. I think you'll be impressed. Here's what Evelyn had to say.


I’m in constant marketing mode. Starting close to home, I send out notices and bookmarks to all my friends and relatives and ask them to spread the word to everyone they know. And then there are the announcements on my social networks. I try to book local library and woman's book club talks when I can. And if I can't give a talk, I'll attend a writers event or a craft or food event where I'll hand out bookmarks to anyone who'll take one. I even pass out bookmarks when I'm at the supermarket or at the drug store. I always keep copies of my novels in my car, and have even sold my novels to store customers. I'm one of those authors with absolutely no shame when it comes to promotion.

Last year, as I was waiting at the Little Rock airport for a plane home from Arkansas, I asked the proprietor of a small bookstore at the airport if he would hand out some my bookmarks to his customers, and to my surprise he agreed. How's that for blatant self-promotion?


I was recently featured in a local newspaper column and got a lot of phone calls and emails about that. And a few people have actually stopped me in stores to say that they saw the column about me the newspaper. So the word is spreading.

My daughter talked the owner of a coffee shop into putting my bookmarks on her counter. And I may even be invited to do a book signing there. I don't know how that will work out, but anything's worth a try. Stay tuned. 

I created a decorative pin out of a small photo of one of my book covers and I wear it everywhere. It's a great conversation starter, and then I usually go into my explanation about what my novels are about and hand out a bookmark. Needless to say, I carry bookmarks wherever I go.

I tried doing paid advertising with an online mystery magazine. That lasted seven months, which resulted in zero book sales, so it was a complete waste of my meager marketing budget. But I always enjoy doing blog tours and being a guest author on blogs like this one. Thanks for having me on your blog, Janet.




Bio:
Evelyn Cullet enjoys playing the piano, is an amateur Lapidary, and an organic gardener. She and her husband live in a suburb of Chicago. Love, Lies and Murder, the prequel to Masterpiece of Murder, is her latest novel.

 
Love, Lies and Murder
In this prequel to Masterpiece of Murder, Charlotte Ross's world is about to crumble. The man she loves has announced his engagement to another woman. Charlotte’s friend, dubious globe-trotter and mystery author, Jane Marshall, is back in town; but when she stumbles upon the gruesome body of the town’s millionaire industrialist, Jane becomes too wrapped up in the murder to help Charlotte in her embarrassing attempts to stop her ex-lover’s wedding. Charlotte is endearingly impractical as her impulsive choices lead her into and out of peril with only the wry and often misguided Jane to advise her as she discovers that people are not always who they seem--and a single error in judgment can prove fatal. 


Love, Lies and Murder - Amazon -  http://tinyurl.com/kbdpxg3
Masterpiece of Murder - Amazon - http://tinyurl.com/9jjl5xc
Website and blog: http://evelyncullet.com/


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