Seems I've used this same topic on a post almost two months ago about marketing my Creative Blogging class. This post is about the local CRAFT FAIR we had yesterday. I organized a table for 5 local authors from our Heritage Writer's Guild to come and display their books for sale.
Photo of my friend Merrilee who is an artist and also sold some of her fun creations-quilted patterned apron-bibs and lovely artistic decorated family group charts. She is so creative and fun to be around. A friend indeed. We had a fun time visiting with one another and trying to market our own books and crafts to those attending the fair.
(See photo above l-r Lin, Beth, Russ, Marilyn and Betty-HWG President) I watched with amazement as one author friend Russ Estlack was very effective and sold 6 of his own books in less than 2 hours while some of us struggled most of the day, trying to sell just one book. This is how he did it, he made eye-to-eye contact with anyone passing our table and asked them a general question: "Do you read?" This was a hook to get them to slow down and come nearer to look at our display. Then he proceeded to tell them about several of the books on display ending with his own which is about the treatment of German Americans during WWII in the United States called "Shattered Dreams, Shattered Lives.
I learned much from watching him in action. One idea surfaced, I do not like to sell anything including my own books. But unless you have an agent or a book publishing company marketing your book, your choice is to sell or give them away. Then I got to thinking about how we all market our selves as we interact with others in our normal living. We try to sell our own value as a friend, teacher, etc. Maybe that is what blogging is about? What do you think? More tomorrow on that...