In my everyday work, I get to talk to many authors about different promotional ideas from BookBub ads to promotional items for giveaways. One thing I often tell authors when it comes to picking those giveaway items: think outside the bookmark! As great as bookmarks are, just about every author has one, so what can you do to be different? Here are my top picks for unique & wonderful book swag authors have used to promote their books.
Anna Banks’ Egyptian scented bath bomb for her book Nemesis
Anna gave these amazing bath bombs away to those who preordered her new book, Nemesis. I love this idea because it relates back to her book (Egyptian theme), it is useful, and it encouraged readers to preorder. Check out her Facebook post here for more info.
Eric R. Asher and Krazy Krow use Squishable
Back home and back to work today. Happy has kindly accompanied me. #plush A post shared by Kate Tilton (@k8tilton) on
Hugh Howey and Kate Tilton use custom flash drives
Customized flash drives are a perfect way to spread your ebooks and provide something of lasting value for your reader. Use a custom flash drive as your digital business card or as a super perk for preorders.
I got 25 drives from USB Memory Direct to test out and I have to say they really leave an impression! I was able to add my Author Assistant 101 video along with a note including everything on my normal business card and a little welcome message. I brought these with me to Digital Commerce Summit and I certainly got a few compliments.
Hugh Howey has a great video showing off the custom flash drives he had made for his WOOL series, it’s worth a watch!
Farah Oomerbhoy and Z Brewer use wooden bookmarks
These custom made bookmarks come from Sass and Slash Creations and are absolutely epic. If you are going to go with the bookmark idea invest in a unique and durable bookmark (think wood, metal, plastic). Not only will the bookmark stand the test of time, readers are also more likely to use the bookmark with other books, keeping your name front and center.
AD Starrling has 3D models for her latest book launch
She shared a bit about her experience with me to share with you all.
“Giveaways are a super fun way to reward your fans and I love doing them. To date, I have given away signed paperbacks, ereaders, earphones, audiobook download codes, bookmarks, computer mats, fridge magnets, posters, post cards, and gift cards. This time around, I wanted to do something incredibly special for my fans to celebrate the launch of Origins (A Seventeen Series Thriller Book 5) on February 21st.
Origins is the best book I have written to date and it deserved an incredible swag for its launch. I decided I would do something unique to the Seventeen series that would appeal to both my male and female fans. After polling several of my author groups, I decided to see if I could have the birthmarks of the main protagonists of the series and the crow that features prominently in Origins made into 3D models.
A couple of hours of research unearthed the lovely Isaac Hanners of Cumulative Designs on Etsy. My book designer gave me jpegs of the birthmarks and crow from the series and Isaac rendered these into 3D models.
These are currently being made in the US and will ship to me next week. Each model will be about 15cm tall, 10 cm wide, and 2-3 cm deep. I’m offering the crow for the Origins launch and will offer the others in future giveaways. Oh, and I’m getting some for myself!”
What fun book SWAG have you used? Are you inspired to try something new? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
I created a book-relevant swag bundle for the first book in my fantasy series, Rise of the Reaper. My partner and I produce this stuff for a living, so we put our equipment to good use and I made a reporter bag, keyring, badges, and a coaster. My partner also made me a wad of tickets for the fictional aquatic sport that appears in my books 🙂 As a final fun thing, I made up a tiny treasure chest with a bottle of ‘Oracle’s Tears’ that would make sense when the book was read, as a more whimsical gift. The bag etc all feature either the sign I had designed for one of the taverns in my book, or the logo of the aforementioned aquatic sport, Aquattrox.
It was all a lot of fun and the book reviewers who were kind enough to respond and take my book on got a ncie surprise. Many were kind enough to post images of Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/riseofthereaper/
All but the first image are the things I sent out 🙂
That is amazing Lorna! Exactly what I encourage authors to do. It is better to have a few really nice pieces of book SWAG to promote the series than a bunch of things that are likely to end up in the trash. Paper bookmarks are fine for events and such but when you are looking to launch your book and get buzz going that little something extra makes all the difference. 🙂
Ooooh! Those flash drives are neat! 😀 And the plushies! I wish I could do plushies. My characters would probably object. Or shoot them. Or slice and dice them.
Yes! I love my flash drives! I’m aiming to budget to order more when I have more running with Author Upscale Academy. 🙂
Plushies are the best!!! Maybe what you should be giving away is a punching bag ;).
This has been on my mind a lot lately so thanks for some great ideas! I’ve been working on something small but different than pens and bookmarks and silicone bracelets that I could send to have included in swag bags for a July conference. There will be 350-400 bags so cost is a bit of an issue but, with dozens of authors contributing, space will definitely be. When I worked for an engineering company and they were going to conferences as exhibitors, they always looked for things that were unique that people would use/hold in their hand. One year we got some really cool staple pullers that went over really well.
I love the idea of the flash drive. While that might be cost prohibitive for 400 bags, it’s certainly something I’ll be looking into for future fan giveaways. As for the swag bags, you’ve really got me thinking!
My pleasure!
These ideas are certainly intended for larger giveaways, instead of a book or books with some bookmarks pairing up a book with one of the above makes for a much better giveaway prize to boost up a launch.
When it comes to large scale giveaways like the one you are prepping for, something smaller and more cost effect is wise, and as you mentioned something a little different that can be held and used is a good way to go.
For something like that, I’d think about things like mini flashlights, match boxes, screen cleaning cloths, etc. For larger companies, a flash drive is certainly an option, but for most authors doing 300-400 flash drives for one event would be beyond the budget.
I hope this helped fuel your imagination! Your comment has my wheels turning on a follow up post of smaller items to use for large scale promotions. 😉
What a great post! Kate, I can think of many ideas for swag to fit my latest novel release, but as a new author with a small readership, I’m a bit stuck figuring out how to get the swag out there. I’m not doing conferences or book signings and don’t have a huge mailing list. Any ideas of how to increase readership or get my name out there with the use of awesome swag?
Hi Leslie!
I’d suggest looking for authors in similar genres and doing a joint giveaway. You might also look at sending nice swag packs to influencers in your genre (bloggers, Youtubers, Instagramers, etc) to help spread the word. I hope that helps!
Thanks! I will look into that…
My pleasure!
Hi Kate – Just found this piece on Indies Carnival and thought I’d share my swag. I’m a crime writer with a background as a homicide detective and forensic coroner. I grabbed a box of stringed toe-tags from the morgue and turned then into my business cards. They’ve got the generic deceased info boxes on one side and I put labels with my logo, etc on the other. They make great conversation pieces and bookmarks. Also, no one ever forgets the guy who uses toe tags as his calling card. 🙂
Hi Garry, thanks for stopping by and sharing your unique swag! Using toe-tags is super creative and definitely makes an impression! I’ve never seen that done before. I’d love to see some pictures and feature you in my next unique swag post if you are interested!
I printed T-Shirts for each of my main novels so far. I give them away as door prizes, for joining my street team, and also sell them for $10 barely covering my costs (about $8.30 US per shirt.) The are no walking billboards and I some folks have sent pictures to me of them in famous places! http://desertedlands.com/in-the-world/
That is awesome, Robert! T-shirts are a great swag item. There is so much you can do with t-shirts and they do help spread the word about the book. 🙂
My pleasure!