marketing my book

It’s been fun having launch events to introduce chocolate lovers to my new book, Chocolatour, A Quest for the World’s Best Chocolate. But I now have to get serious about marketing my book and selling copies on a broader basis.

book marketing strategies

Rather than focusing on single copy sales, I have plans to market Chocolatour through chocolate shops and events, destinations that might like to help me promote the book because it promotes their locales, and opportunities to share my knowledge of the world of chocolate to interested groups.

The Wine & Chocolate night for the Worldly Women Travel Club was the first example of such an event. I was able to share my knowledge of chocolate, chocolate makers, and chocolate destinations, sell a few books, and make plans to take a group of chocolate-loving women to Switzerland for a customized Chocolatour from March 29-April 8, 2014.  Stay tuned to https://chocolatour.net for details about the trip. We’d love to have you join us, but space is limited as customized itineraries such as the one we are preparing work best when the group is relatively small.

Another event that we have planned is a Chocolate Discovery Dinner at McNally Robinson Bookseller’s Prairie Ink restaurant in Winnipeg on November 2nd. Chef Karen Nielsen has promised to make the fabulous chocolate rum mousse featured in the recipes chapter of Chocolatour in addition to a couple of other delicious dishes that will showcase the versatility of cocoa as a flavouring agent. The capacity for this event is just 24 lucky diners, so if you would like to attend, please register at http://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/X39488/doreen-pendgracs/exploring-many-flavours-chocolate#.Ui0Wn-DHMQJ.

I’m also working on partnering with another local venue to do a very special chocolate evening. Eventually, I will spread the chocolate love and arrange chocolate events in cities across North America. The marketing of Chocolatour Volume I will co-exist with the researching of Chocolatour Volume II.  So off I go later this month to San Francisco, to meet with some of the city’s finest chocolate makers, and then to Pasadena California, for the Los Angeles International Chocolate Show on Oct 6th.

Being a hybrid author means having to market the book following publication and arrange media coverage whenever possible. Be sure to check the September 25th Winnipeg Free Press for a feature article on Chocolatour by Alison Gillmor.

If you’ve written a book about a niche subject, you may be able to adapt a similar strategy of creating events that will help market your book and establish yourself as an expert in your chosen subject. It’s a lot more fun that sitting at your computer and using social media to attract attention to your book.

Please share ideas about any successful marketing initiatives you have engaged in to promote your book. I’m sure there are a lot of creative people out there who have done amazing things to attract attention to their projects.