Amber L. Carter's Blog, page 74
February 10, 2012
Like, let's say that you wanted a book to say, "To the most important person in my entire life, who has inspired me to great things. To you, I owe everything." You could get that here. It would probably be a lie, but that never stopped me from asking other
Big news, errr'ybody - the Holiday Chick Online Shop is open again!One, I did this so you could get yer signed copies of Holiday Chick delivered right to your doorstep. Take note, long-distance lovers.
Two, I did this so you could get a print copy of Holiday Chick for a better price. Even with shipping & handling, the total price is still less than what you'd have to pay to get the book on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. (Not, however, if you bundle the book with Game of Thrones series, The Hunger Games trilogy, or the box set of Twilight in your Amazon or B&N shopping cart to take advantage of their free shipping perks. But I don't really know you that well and so it's not really my place to comment on your shopping or reading habits.)
Three, I had to get the online store set up for the upcoming pre-sale of my next book.
One + Two + Three = Awesome job, me.
Go ch-ch-ch-check it out.
Like, let's say that you wanted a book to say, "To the most important person in my entire life, who has inspired me to great things. To you, I owe everything." You could get that here. It would probably be a lie, but that never stopped me from asking other
Big news, errr'ybody - the Holiday Chick Online Shop is open again!One, I did this so you could get yer signed copies of Holiday Chick delivered right to your doorstep. Take note, long-distance lovers.
Two, I did this so you could get a print copy of Holiday Chick for a better price. Even with shipping & handling, the total price is still less than what you'd have to pay to get the book on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. (Not, however, if you bundle the book with Game of Thrones series, The Hunger Games trilogy, or the box set of Twilight in your Amazon or B&N shopping cart to take advantage of their free shipping perks. But I don't really know you that well and so it's not really my place to comment on your shopping or reading habits.)
Three, I had to get the online store set up for the upcoming pre-sale of my next book.
One + Two + Three = Awesome job, me.
Go ch-ch-ch-check it out.
Like, let's say that you wanted a book to say, "To the most important person in my entire life, who has inspired me to great things. To you, I owe everything." You could get that here. It would probably be a lie, but that never stopped me from asking other
Big news, errr'ybody - the Holiday Chick Online Shop is open again!One, I did this so you could get yer signed copies of Holiday Chick delivered right to your doorstep. Take note, long-distance lovers.
Two, I did this so you could get a print copy of Holiday Chick for a better price. Even with shipping & handling, the total price is still less than what you'd have to pay to get the book on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. (Not, however, if you bundle the book with Game of Thrones series, The Hunger Games trilogy, or the box set of Twilight in your Amazon or B&N shopping cart to take advantage of their free shipping perks. But I don't really know you that well and so it's not really my place to comment on your shopping or reading habits.)
Three, I had to get the online store set up for the upcoming pre-sale of my next book.
One + Two + Three = Awesome job, me.
Go ch-ch-ch-check it out.
Like, let's say that you wanted a book to say, "To the most important person in my entire life, who has inspired me to great things. To you, I owe everything." You could get that here. It would probably be a lie, but that never stopped me from asking other
Big news, errr'ybody - the Holiday Chick Online Shop is open again!One, I did this so you could get yer signed copies of Holiday Chick delivered right to your doorstep. Take note, long-distance lovers.
Two, I did this so you could get a print copy of Holiday Chick for a better price. Even with shipping & handling, the total price is still less than what you'd have to pay to get the book on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. (Not, however, if you bundle the book with Game of Thrones series, The Hunger Games trilogy, or the box set of Twilight in your Amazon or B&N shopping cart to take advantage of their free shipping perks. But I don't really know you that well and so it's not really my place to comment on your shopping or reading habits.)
Three, I had to get the online store set up for the upcoming pre-sale of my next book.
One + Two + Three = Awesome job, me.
Go ch-ch-ch-check it out.
Like, let's say that you wanted a book to say, "To the most important person in my entire life, who has inspired me to great things. To you, I owe everything." You could get that here. It would probably be a lie, but that never stopped me from asking other
Big news, errr'ybody - the Holiday Chick Online Shop is open again!One, I did this so you could get yer signed copies of Holiday Chick delivered right to your doorstep. Take note, long-distance lovers.
Two, I did this so you could get a print copy of Holiday Chick for a better price. Even with shipping & handling, the total price is still less than what you'd have to pay to get the book on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. (Not, however, if you bundle the book with Game of Thrones series, The Hunger Games trilogy, or the box set of Twilight in your Amazon or B&N shopping cart to take advantage of their free shipping perks. But I don't really know you that well and so it's not really my place to comment on your shopping or reading habits.)
Three, I had to get the online store set up for the upcoming pre-sale of my next book.
One + Two + Three = Awesome job, me.
Go ch-ch-ch-check it out.
Like, let's say that you wanted a book to say, "To the most important person in my entire life, who has inspired me to great things. To you, I owe everything." You could get that here. It would probably be a lie, but that never stopped me from asking other
Big news, errr'ybody - the Holiday Chick Online Shop is open again!One, I did this so you could get yer signed copies of Holiday Chick delivered right to your doorstep. Take note, long-distance lovers.
Two, I did this so you could get a print copy of Holiday Chick for a better price. Even with shipping & handling, the total price is still less than what you'd have to pay to get the book on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. (Not, however, if you bundle the book with Game of Thrones series, The Hunger Games trilogy, or the box set of Twilight in your Amazon or B&N shopping cart to take advantage of their free shipping perks. But I don't really know you that well and so it's not really my place to comment on your shopping or reading habits.)
Three, I had to get the online store set up for the upcoming pre-sale of my next book.
One + Two + Three = Awesome job, me.
Go ch-ch-ch-check it out.
February 8, 2012
Domestic Partnership
It was quiet and dark, when I woke up in the middle of the night to find myself nestled snugly in between Ella The Dog and Chris. Ella's sweet head was resting on my hip, and Chris' left arm was wrapped around me, holding me close to him while he slumbered. I could feel, rather than hear, the deep, rhythmic breathing of their still-uninterrupted sleep. As my eyes slowly opened against the full moonlight floating through the window, I thought, sleepily to myself before drifting off again, I have a family.
It was the happiest thought, and the end of an era. I've been really happy with my life as a single girl, and for a long time. Lucky, too. These past couple of years have been the most adventurous, heart-swelling, exhilarating time of my life. Then I met Chris. Someday I will tell you the story of us, because it's a good one, and one worth telling. But for right now, I kind of love keeping it as something special, a secret, just between us.
But what I will tell you is that on Sunday, I ended my full-time adventures in the Northwoods of Wisconsin and moved Pooks and I to a Minnesotan metropolis to pair our lives with Chris, his hilariously wacky son Dax, and Ella, their energetic and overly-affectionate dog. To blend our little family with theirs. It's not something I could have imagined for myself as little as a year ago, yet it's more magical than anything I could have planned.
There's new adventures to be had: While Pooks is super excited about the extra daily attention she'll receive from her two new favorite boys...when it comes to Ella, not so much. Do I buy Dax tons of toys and candy right away, or do I spread them out to about one a day so as to slowly work my way in as The Awesomest Person On Earth? Can a person be too happy about having a Keurig Coffee Maker? Does getting super excited about the future purchase of a Dyson vacuum cleaner instantly suck out all of your street cred (It's so brilliantly designed! And fun to use! And LOOK AT IT!)? And why has no one told me about Adventure Time before? Is there a whole new cool crowd of people that I have to try to befriend on Twitter now that I'm going to be attending a lot of kid's movies, science museum exhibits, children's theater productions, and swim lessons? Has anyone else gone on a drive-thru tour of their town to see how many free dog biscuits they can procure for their adorable canine car companion?
So this is going to be my new year. I'm pretty excited about it.
It was the happiest thought, and the end of an era. I've been really happy with my life as a single girl, and for a long time. Lucky, too. These past couple of years have been the most adventurous, heart-swelling, exhilarating time of my life. Then I met Chris. Someday I will tell you the story of us, because it's a good one, and one worth telling. But for right now, I kind of love keeping it as something special, a secret, just between us.
But what I will tell you is that on Sunday, I ended my full-time adventures in the Northwoods of Wisconsin and moved Pooks and I to a Minnesotan metropolis to pair our lives with Chris, his hilariously wacky son Dax, and Ella, their energetic and overly-affectionate dog. To blend our little family with theirs. It's not something I could have imagined for myself as little as a year ago, yet it's more magical than anything I could have planned.
There's new adventures to be had: While Pooks is super excited about the extra daily attention she'll receive from her two new favorite boys...when it comes to Ella, not so much. Do I buy Dax tons of toys and candy right away, or do I spread them out to about one a day so as to slowly work my way in as The Awesomest Person On Earth? Can a person be too happy about having a Keurig Coffee Maker? Does getting super excited about the future purchase of a Dyson vacuum cleaner instantly suck out all of your street cred (It's so brilliantly designed! And fun to use! And LOOK AT IT!)? And why has no one told me about Adventure Time before? Is there a whole new cool crowd of people that I have to try to befriend on Twitter now that I'm going to be attending a lot of kid's movies, science museum exhibits, children's theater productions, and swim lessons? Has anyone else gone on a drive-thru tour of their town to see how many free dog biscuits they can procure for their adorable canine car companion?
So this is going to be my new year. I'm pretty excited about it.
February 3, 2012
I GOTTA make me holla, honey-boo-boo!
The above title is partially from and courtesy of the amazing Alana, who for the past four weeks has been holding steady as my Most Favoritest Person In America. She is also responsible for the phrases "git monnnaaaaay!", "Honey boo-boo child" and "Go-Go Juice " being added to my everyday vernacular.
Get More: TV Shows, Full Episode Video, Reality TV Shows
Also, for special romantic occasions, I like pull out my "Alana's Talent Dance, As Performed By Her Momma" (skip ahead to the 4:15 mark for the magic) for Chris. It gets him so excited that, when I'm done, he's ready to skip making out altogether and just go to sleep.
Anyway. In three days it's going to be my birthday. Typically, when it's my birthday, I like having a whole month devoted to it. "But it's my birthday," I'll declare, when wheedling friends into meeting me for a happy hour arranged specifically to fit my schedule and location. "But it's my birthdaaay!" I'll whine, when people have the audacity to make other plans that don't include me during any point in the month of February. "Buuuut it's my birthday," I rationalize, when I or anyone accompanying me has a moment of hesitation over whether or not I really need that Starbucks beverage, ice cream cake, new book, or cute scarf.
And I'm happy to report that many other people - whether willingly or begrudgingly - have fallen in line with this type of personal birthday thinking. But this year, I'd like to do something a little different.
This year, instead of interrupting your internet trolling to write happy birthday on mah Facebook or dragging yourself out to a birthday happy hour, I'm asking peeps to gift a copy of the Holiday Chick eBook to another friend. It costs a dollar, Amazon and Smashwords makes it easy to give a copy to anyone (all you need is their email address and all they need is a computer - Smashwords does PDF files for people who aren't fancy e-reader owners), and you get to look like a pal by giving someone else the gift of a new book.
And I mean, if you still want to do the thing where you sit there and think, "I'll give you what I want to give you for your birthday" and you still want to take me out for drinks at Starbucks or buy me a Dairy Queen ice cream cake, that's your prerogative, moneybags. But since it's only a dollar, gifting an eBook of Holiday Chick is both more fiscally responsible and admittedly less selfish (for you. Not for me). And, frankly, this might be your only chance to take my special day as a way to strengthen your friendships with others, instead of shunning them in favor of me like you're usually supposed to do. I'm letting you off the hook this year. I'm encouraging you to do something different, something special, for others.
Except for my parents and brothers. You guys still have to send me money. To make my birthday extra-special and show me that you love me by spreading the birthday cheer and supporting my dreams by giving an eBook of Holiday Chick to a friend, go here.
To not support me in my dreams and refuse to make this, the only 33rd birthday I'll ever have in my entire life, a happy one and be a real jerk who won't just do the one thing that I ask them to even though it would make me and the other people around them so, so happy, go here for Smashwords and here for Amazon.
Get More: TV Shows, Full Episode Video, Reality TV Shows
Also, for special romantic occasions, I like pull out my "Alana's Talent Dance, As Performed By Her Momma" (skip ahead to the 4:15 mark for the magic) for Chris. It gets him so excited that, when I'm done, he's ready to skip making out altogether and just go to sleep.
Anyway. In three days it's going to be my birthday. Typically, when it's my birthday, I like having a whole month devoted to it. "But it's my birthday," I'll declare, when wheedling friends into meeting me for a happy hour arranged specifically to fit my schedule and location. "But it's my birthdaaay!" I'll whine, when people have the audacity to make other plans that don't include me during any point in the month of February. "Buuuut it's my birthday," I rationalize, when I or anyone accompanying me has a moment of hesitation over whether or not I really need that Starbucks beverage, ice cream cake, new book, or cute scarf.
And I'm happy to report that many other people - whether willingly or begrudgingly - have fallen in line with this type of personal birthday thinking. But this year, I'd like to do something a little different.
This year, instead of interrupting your internet trolling to write happy birthday on mah Facebook or dragging yourself out to a birthday happy hour, I'm asking peeps to gift a copy of the Holiday Chick eBook to another friend. It costs a dollar, Amazon and Smashwords makes it easy to give a copy to anyone (all you need is their email address and all they need is a computer - Smashwords does PDF files for people who aren't fancy e-reader owners), and you get to look like a pal by giving someone else the gift of a new book.
And I mean, if you still want to do the thing where you sit there and think, "I'll give you what I want to give you for your birthday" and you still want to take me out for drinks at Starbucks or buy me a Dairy Queen ice cream cake, that's your prerogative, moneybags. But since it's only a dollar, gifting an eBook of Holiday Chick is both more fiscally responsible and admittedly less selfish (for you. Not for me). And, frankly, this might be your only chance to take my special day as a way to strengthen your friendships with others, instead of shunning them in favor of me like you're usually supposed to do. I'm letting you off the hook this year. I'm encouraging you to do something different, something special, for others.
Except for my parents and brothers. You guys still have to send me money. To make my birthday extra-special and show me that you love me by spreading the birthday cheer and supporting my dreams by giving an eBook of Holiday Chick to a friend, go here.
To not support me in my dreams and refuse to make this, the only 33rd birthday I'll ever have in my entire life, a happy one and be a real jerk who won't just do the one thing that I ask them to even though it would make me and the other people around them so, so happy, go here for Smashwords and here for Amazon.
February 2, 2012
The 99 Cent eBook Battling Ground: WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON, HUH?
There's been a lot of chatter over the 99 cent eBook debate. (Actually, it could be more aptly described as hysteria rather than chatter...). In case you haven't been plugged into it, here's the high points of the controversy: 1) A handful of authors, mostly ones who have written series, priced their eBooks at 99 cents early in the digital-and-self-published-book game and suddenly became best-selling authors.
2) Publishing houses and some independent authors are upset about this because - and I know this is going to surprise you - you don't really make a lot of money by selling a copy of your book for 99 cents.
3) However, readers really love this pricing model because you get to try out new, unproved authors and their books for little to no remorse-buying risk.
4) BUT IT'S CHANGING EVERYTHING THAT WE KNOW ABOUT PUBLISHING AND BUYING BOOKS! AND IF WE CHANGE EVERYTHING ABOUT THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY, THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT WILL END... OR, EVEN WORSE, PUBLISHING WILL BECOME LIKE THE MUSIC INDUSTRY, WHERE PEOPLE NOW ACTUALLY HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE THEIR OWN ALBUMS AND/OR INFORMED CHOICES ABOUT WHAT THEY CHOOSE TO LISTEN TO. In January, I changed my Holiday Chick eBook pricing from $1.99 to 99 cents and saw an immediate spike in sales (aka, my eBook sales for the month of January was over half the total number of eBooks that I sold in 2011). However, it *was* hard to not to look at the numbers sold and calculate inside my head how many more royalties I would have earned if I would have sold that number for $1.99. I make 34 cents every time I sell an eBook on Amazon. 56 cents if I sell it on Smashwords (which makes it available on the NOOK, iPad, Sony readers, as well as via PDF version and other this-might-be-compatible-with-what-you're-rockin' versions). In laymen terms? Selling 20 books on Kindle will barely get me a seasonal beverage at Starbucks...and it definitely will NOT get YOU a seasonal beverage at Starbucks if you happen to be accompanying me.
But the thing is, I know myself and how I operate as a reader: If I know and love an author, $1.99 is nothing to me when it comes to buying their book. However, if I have no clue who this person is, $1.99 and 99 cents could be the difference between whether I give them a chance and whether I don't. Cheap? Maybe. I also take into account that I value paper copies over digital...and I've also been known to buy an eBook on the cheap, read it, and if I love it, I'll buy the paper version to put in my library. That's two sales for one person, neither of which would have happened if that 99 cent price point hadn't gotten me in the door.
I understand and sympathize with the arguments about value of work. It took me a long feckin' time to write Holiday Chick. It's a big-ass book, and I worked really, really hard on it. I understand where authors are coming from who argue that their price should reflect that value. But the answer to that is: No, it shouldn't, because the reader doesn't give a shit about how long it took or how hard it was for you to write that book, just like how I don't really give a shit about how it long or hard (heh) it was for a production company to make my favorite movie. If you are offering more value in the actual product than other are - such as visuals, photos, or salacious gossip about people I hate, etc - than yeah...your price point could arguably be higher. But then the real question all comes down to this: Do you want to sell your books? Do you want to sell them to a lot of people? Or do you just want to make a lot of money off of any single book that is sold?
I started out wanting to make the most money I rationally could from a single book sold. When you're a first-time author, sometimes you have the mentality of "Let's try to make as much money as we can before people realize we're a hack and run us out of town!" Yet the more I learned and the longer I was in the game, I started to realize an unshakeable rule about the buying and reading of books: People who love books, talk about them. They tell their moms, their buddies, their sisters, their husbands, their kids: I just read this book. I loved it. You should check it out. And the easier you make it for their moms, buddies, sisters, husbands, and kids to pick that book up, the more you're going to sell. And you're going to make it easier by putting your book on accessible, multiple platforms and pricing it at a point that's an absolute no-brainer. So that's it. END OF STORY. If you don't price your eBook at 99 cents, NO ONE IS GOING TO BUY IT. And they're not gonna like ya, either! And then you're NEVER going to become a best-selling author, and then EVERYONE is going to laugh at you and your STUPID dreams, and you'll wish you had NEVER even thought about even WRITING a book, and you should just GIVE UP and become a receptionist and have some kids and then DIE.
Or just do what you want. I guess I don't really care - this is just what I'm doing, and it's working for me, so.
Talk to you guys some more tomorrow.
2) Publishing houses and some independent authors are upset about this because - and I know this is going to surprise you - you don't really make a lot of money by selling a copy of your book for 99 cents.
3) However, readers really love this pricing model because you get to try out new, unproved authors and their books for little to no remorse-buying risk.
4) BUT IT'S CHANGING EVERYTHING THAT WE KNOW ABOUT PUBLISHING AND BUYING BOOKS! AND IF WE CHANGE EVERYTHING ABOUT THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY, THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT WILL END... OR, EVEN WORSE, PUBLISHING WILL BECOME LIKE THE MUSIC INDUSTRY, WHERE PEOPLE NOW ACTUALLY HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE THEIR OWN ALBUMS AND/OR INFORMED CHOICES ABOUT WHAT THEY CHOOSE TO LISTEN TO. In January, I changed my Holiday Chick eBook pricing from $1.99 to 99 cents and saw an immediate spike in sales (aka, my eBook sales for the month of January was over half the total number of eBooks that I sold in 2011). However, it *was* hard to not to look at the numbers sold and calculate inside my head how many more royalties I would have earned if I would have sold that number for $1.99. I make 34 cents every time I sell an eBook on Amazon. 56 cents if I sell it on Smashwords (which makes it available on the NOOK, iPad, Sony readers, as well as via PDF version and other this-might-be-compatible-with-what-you're-rockin' versions). In laymen terms? Selling 20 books on Kindle will barely get me a seasonal beverage at Starbucks...and it definitely will NOT get YOU a seasonal beverage at Starbucks if you happen to be accompanying me.
But the thing is, I know myself and how I operate as a reader: If I know and love an author, $1.99 is nothing to me when it comes to buying their book. However, if I have no clue who this person is, $1.99 and 99 cents could be the difference between whether I give them a chance and whether I don't. Cheap? Maybe. I also take into account that I value paper copies over digital...and I've also been known to buy an eBook on the cheap, read it, and if I love it, I'll buy the paper version to put in my library. That's two sales for one person, neither of which would have happened if that 99 cent price point hadn't gotten me in the door.
I understand and sympathize with the arguments about value of work. It took me a long feckin' time to write Holiday Chick. It's a big-ass book, and I worked really, really hard on it. I understand where authors are coming from who argue that their price should reflect that value. But the answer to that is: No, it shouldn't, because the reader doesn't give a shit about how long it took or how hard it was for you to write that book, just like how I don't really give a shit about how it long or hard (heh) it was for a production company to make my favorite movie. If you are offering more value in the actual product than other are - such as visuals, photos, or salacious gossip about people I hate, etc - than yeah...your price point could arguably be higher. But then the real question all comes down to this: Do you want to sell your books? Do you want to sell them to a lot of people? Or do you just want to make a lot of money off of any single book that is sold?
I started out wanting to make the most money I rationally could from a single book sold. When you're a first-time author, sometimes you have the mentality of "Let's try to make as much money as we can before people realize we're a hack and run us out of town!" Yet the more I learned and the longer I was in the game, I started to realize an unshakeable rule about the buying and reading of books: People who love books, talk about them. They tell their moms, their buddies, their sisters, their husbands, their kids: I just read this book. I loved it. You should check it out. And the easier you make it for their moms, buddies, sisters, husbands, and kids to pick that book up, the more you're going to sell. And you're going to make it easier by putting your book on accessible, multiple platforms and pricing it at a point that's an absolute no-brainer. So that's it. END OF STORY. If you don't price your eBook at 99 cents, NO ONE IS GOING TO BUY IT. And they're not gonna like ya, either! And then you're NEVER going to become a best-selling author, and then EVERYONE is going to laugh at you and your STUPID dreams, and you'll wish you had NEVER even thought about even WRITING a book, and you should just GIVE UP and become a receptionist and have some kids and then DIE.
Or just do what you want. I guess I don't really care - this is just what I'm doing, and it's working for me, so.
Talk to you guys some more tomorrow.
January 31, 2012
Lemme just give you my card.
A common promotional tool among authors is book cards. The ones you typically see are postcard size and include an image of the cover on the front and information about the book and the author on the back. You typically see these at book fairs, readings, and hanging on bulletin boards outside of your local coffeeshop or bookstore.
And they're relatively effective - out of the dozens I've grabbed on my out of a coffeeshop or book reading, I've personally followed up by checking out the author or purchasing the book roughly 80% of the time.
So when it came time to think about the different promotional tools and tricks that I wanted to try, book cards were at the top of my list. But because I am an incredibly unique and special individual, I wanted to do something a little different and off-the-beaten-path of the traditional card. Behold! By MOO Cards -
The first set are biz cards based on my Facebook Timeline. I was able to design and receive these cards thanks to a special Facebook and MOO Cards cross-promotion (proof positive that sometimes it is worth it to be on the internet past midnight). They list my name, my blog, and my location on the front, along with my Facebook profile picture and seven alternate images from my Facebook Timeline history (I had the ability to select which images I wanted featured. So of course wolves figure prominently into the line-up).
The back of the card quotes my 2 Million in 2012 blog post, and lists my Facebook profile, my phone number, and my email address.
The second set are MiniCards and are based solely on the book. The front image is my book cover.
And the back of the card includes a small blurb about the book, lists the different locations and platforms where the book is available, and, lastly, lists this blog's web address.
That's my hand.These cards were courtesy of MOO Cards Klout Perk. Which means that both sets of cards cost me a total of absolutely nothing.
Besides just passing them out to everyone at all the parties I'm constantly being invited to or throwing them up in the air and making it rain when I'm in the streets, I'll be slipping these babies into books on the sly at bookstores and libraries. They'll serve as a surprise bookmark and guerrilla promotional tool for you and yours when you happen to pick up a book that is identical or similar to the same demographic or subject matter that Holiday Chick most represents*.
Which means that they will not be found in or near any copies of Moby Dick, because that book is feckin' borin' and does NOT have any awesome scenes containing sex and/or feelings.
*While so brilliant that it could be automatically assumed that I thought of it myself, I cannot take credit for this idea. It came to me courtesy of Chris, mind-master, jedi producer, and an extremely attractive maker-outer.
And they're relatively effective - out of the dozens I've grabbed on my out of a coffeeshop or book reading, I've personally followed up by checking out the author or purchasing the book roughly 80% of the time.
So when it came time to think about the different promotional tools and tricks that I wanted to try, book cards were at the top of my list. But because I am an incredibly unique and special individual, I wanted to do something a little different and off-the-beaten-path of the traditional card. Behold! By MOO Cards -
The first set are biz cards based on my Facebook Timeline. I was able to design and receive these cards thanks to a special Facebook and MOO Cards cross-promotion (proof positive that sometimes it is worth it to be on the internet past midnight). They list my name, my blog, and my location on the front, along with my Facebook profile picture and seven alternate images from my Facebook Timeline history (I had the ability to select which images I wanted featured. So of course wolves figure prominently into the line-up).
The back of the card quotes my 2 Million in 2012 blog post, and lists my Facebook profile, my phone number, and my email address.The second set are MiniCards and are based solely on the book. The front image is my book cover.
And the back of the card includes a small blurb about the book, lists the different locations and platforms where the book is available, and, lastly, lists this blog's web address.
That's my hand.These cards were courtesy of MOO Cards Klout Perk. Which means that both sets of cards cost me a total of absolutely nothing. Besides just passing them out to everyone at all the parties I'm constantly being invited to or throwing them up in the air and making it rain when I'm in the streets, I'll be slipping these babies into books on the sly at bookstores and libraries. They'll serve as a surprise bookmark and guerrilla promotional tool for you and yours when you happen to pick up a book that is identical or similar to the same demographic or subject matter that Holiday Chick most represents*.
Which means that they will not be found in or near any copies of Moby Dick, because that book is feckin' borin' and does NOT have any awesome scenes containing sex and/or feelings.
*While so brilliant that it could be automatically assumed that I thought of it myself, I cannot take credit for this idea. It came to me courtesy of Chris, mind-master, jedi producer, and an extremely attractive maker-outer.
