While BookPros does not provide marketing services for those authors who are self publishing a book, we do provide information to help them market their books themselves, free of charge. We also provide publicity services through our sister company, Phenix and Phenix Literary Publicists.

Marketing and publicity differ in that marketing focuses on selling the book to booksellers or consumers, while publicity focuses on gaining media coverage for a book and thereby increasing its visibility and exposure in the marketplace. Media coverage often results in increased sales, but the primary goal of publicity is to get an author's name and book title in the public eye. We encourage our authors to actively participate in their publicity campaigns and carry out their own marketing efforts. Direct mail campaigns and promotional tools such as posters, postcards and bookmarks may help an author increase book sales. An information-packed website is another excellent marketing device.

Direct mail campaigns involve sending out promotional materials to specific geographical areas, which can help those self publishing a book by getting the word out about their books. Library mailings are also effective, often resulting in word-of-mouth promotion from librarians and visitors. Libraries do not return books, so the placement is almost guaranteed. Direct mailings sent to newspapers, magazines and book reviewers can increase the chances of media coverage through exposure such as book reviews, feature stories or author-submitted articles. Ideally, such coverage would positively impact book sales.

Direct mailings may also target bookstores to increase the likelihood of book orders. The American Booksellers Association has a membership directory on its website, www.bookweb.org. Using this and other directories, BookPros sends its catalog of published books to more than one thousand independent bookstores around the country in order to promote our authors who are self publishing a book.

The success of an author who is self publishing a book depends on his or her commitment to and involvement in publicity and marketing efforts. We encourage our authors to try to secure as many book signings and in-store events as possible. Posters, postcards and bookmarks can help make for a very successful event. Posters draw attention at book signings and book fairs and should always look professional. They are targeted at people on the move, so they should catch the viewer's eye easily. Please contact BookPros' print department for questions about printing these materials.

For those self publishing a book, postcards are a good way to alert people of the release. They should include a color copy of the cover art, the author's name and website, the ISBN and the price of the book. Marketing research has shown that full-color postcards attract more attention than postcards with one or two colors. Coated postcards look more dramatic and last longer, but are more expensive.

Postcard prices can vary substantially depending on colors, coating and size. Postcards may be printed on one or both sides, which also affects the cost. Some printers have mailing lists and will actually mail the postcards for an author once they are printed. Some will also design the postcards based on specific information from the customer.

Bookmarks are a great marketing tool to hand out at book signings when you are self publishing a book. Some bookstores will allow authors to leave their bookmarks in the store after an event, although some do not want the author's contact information printed on the bookmarks, because they do not want customers to make contact with the author directly. A good way to get around this is to have a rubber stamp made with your contact information to stamp on the bookmarks you hand out directly to customers.

At BookPros/Phenix and Phenix, we encourage our authors to play an active role in the success of their books. In conjunction with a Phenix and Phenix media campaign, marketing works to increase name recognition for authors who are self publishing a book.

For more information about BookPros' publishing and publicity services, please browse our website, visit our online chat to speak with a project consultant or give us a call at (512) 478-2028.