the woes of book marketing

Yesterday was a bit of a bomb. I took a table at the Gimli Craft and Trade Show in the nearby community of Gimli, Manitoba. The cost for having a table at this event was $50, plus they expected a donation for their silent auction. I foolishly donated a copy of Chocolatour ($30 value) not realizing that some of the vendors were only donating items worth $5.

At the Gimli Craft and Trade Show, September 21, 2013.

Between the hours of 10 am until 4 pm, I sat and stood behind my table, smiling at passersby, greeting everyone who looked my way, and happily explaining how tiny flowers on cacao trees become cocoa pods containing between 30-50 cocoa beans, which in turn are magically transformed into chocolate through a series of processes. I had a collection of 8.5 x 11 colour photos that illustrated the harvesting of the cacao, cleaning the pods, fermenting, drying, and roasting the cocoa beans, and turning them into beautiful and delectable chocolate. I raved about Roselen Chocolates and let my passion for the world of chocolate shine through.

Most of the passersby seemed interested in the information I shared. They were fascinated by the cocoa pod I brought home from Peru, and they were impressed with the information and photographs contained in my book. They were interested in where4 to find great chocolate. But I only sold two copies of Chocolatour, despite the fact that I had a door prize of fabulous chocolates from Constance Popp Chocolatier for a lucky book buyer.

I suspect September may be a bit early for folks to be buying Christmas presents, and so my thought that there would be sales to people who were interested in buying the book as a gift was misconstrued. I lost money on this marketing initiative, but hopefully, it will bring future sales, and people to the chocolate events I was promoting. These include the chocolate dinner at McNally Robinson booksellers Prairie Ink restaurant on November 2nd, the chocolate extravaganza evening at Rembrandt’s Bistro on February 6th, and the Chocolatour to Switzerland from March 29-April 8th with Journeys Travel Worldly Women Travel Club.

I’d thought that being next to the fudge booth would be to my advantage. But everyone seemed interested in getting free fudge samples. Not in spending $25 or $30 on a book. (I was offering a deal to anyone buying more than one copy.) The fudge vendor tried to make me feel better by saying that the Interlake crowd doesn’t like to read much.

Jimmy wouldn’t even look my way when I came home.

When I came home from the Gimli event, my computer/internet connection wasn’t working and my cat wouldn’t give me the time of day (first time I’ve come home where he didn’t even look my way.) But today has been a brighter day in all aspects of the word. The sun is shining, the cat’s back to his cuddly self, I sold a book to a visiting friend, and plans are falling into place for my Chocolatour to California beginning on Friday. So I’ve learned … we take the good with the bad.

Tell me about your marketing triumphs or woes. Have there been events that you wished you’d passed on? Or others that turned out to be winners for you when you had reluctantly agreed to participate?