Try these fresh marketing ideas to hook your audiences and sell more books!

1. Send a personalized letter with reader reviews or comments about your book.
2. Produce a buck slip or sell sheet about your book and include it in a membership mailing — or ask a sponsor to include it in one of their mailings.
3. Develop a cross-referenced list of titles. When you ship a book, insert a sell sheet about a related title.
4. Test a new campaign (email and/or print) to learn what inspires your target audience to act and improve your response rate. Variables can include:
   • Different email subject lines
   • A new offer or price point
   • A different call to action
   • A new list or segment
   • Enhanced personalization
5. Acquire new lists. Review your sales for common titles, organization types and business functions. Based on these demographics, look-alike list services can help you identify and purchase lists.
6. Add a PURL (personalized URL) to your email or direct mail piece that links directly to the web page for your book. This creates a customized experience for the recipient and supplies you with new data.
7. Offer a free PDF of a section of your book in exchange for information (e.g., an email address or a response to survey).
8. Offer a discount for prepaid book purchases. You can do this through discounted or prepaid gift cards — e.g., $200 for $250 worth of books. A great way to boost profits, as prepaid sales are rarely fully used.
9. Create incentive programs, rewarding customers with “Book Dollars” to use toward a book, other merchandise or a retail gift card. Ideas include:
   • Starting a frequent buyer program (e.g., a punch card for a series of titles)
   • Printing a trading card for several books and distributing them to customers and prospects (in mail campaigns, with association mailings, at events, etc.). Those who get the full collection win.
   • Asking customers to write a review for a book
   • Soliciting “likes” for posts on Facebook or LinkedIn, or comments on a blog
10. Start a “squares” grid for the Super Bowl, March Madness or other sporting event, assigning each of your best customers a square. Email them showing the prizes they could win. Great PR and client appreciation!
11. Send a thank you email, postcard or letter to each buyer and give them the opportunity to write a review of the book (be sure to include a link to your review page).
12. Post book reviews to social media, along with a “Buy Now” link to your site.
13. Add a “Buy Now” link to each of your authors’ blogs.
14. Set up a blog for each book you sell to generate comments and build SEO for your site. Convert the bloggers to brand ambassadors.
15. Create book-themed promotional items to build awareness of your titles and/or as gifts to send with shipments.

Cross-Media Book Marketing Campaign To increase interest in your books and better target your marketing, try this integrated marketing approach.
• Initiate a PURL (personalized URL) campaign via email and/ or direct mail, enabling each recipient to select or suggest the books or content that are most relevant to their work. • Based on their answers, direct respondents to a web page for the book(s) that best fits the titles/ content they describe.	• If you develop a new book based on their suggestions, send a personalized letter or postcard to relevant respondents. Include a picture and description of the book and copy that reads, “You spoke, we listened… The topic you are interested in is now available.”	• Once the responses are compiled, you can further engage customers by creating content that matches their request. • You can also promote books based on the responses you collect. For example, “75% of our members think this topic is of critical importance this year.”
Campaigns like this provide immediate feedback on who should receive follow-up information and what information they should receive. It also identifies those with no interest, which helps reduce printing and postage costs. The result will be more engaged customers and prospects — and, ultimately, more sales for you.