Week 14 Prompt

Marketing Fiction

1.       Bookmarks

I love bookmarks; I have probably 50 scattered around my house and I actually make my own from contact paper and pressed flowers from my itty-bitty garden. They are inexpensive and fun and can be tailored for dozens of different marketing campaigns. Bookmarks can be used for passive readers advisory with a new or bestselling title on the front and read-alikes on the back. I love the idea of creating bookmarks for specific authors too, ones that maybe have several titles and current bestsellers but whose older works aren’t as universally well-known, like Fredrik Backman or Matt Haig. Tying bookmarks in with current displays and book club selections is a great way to promote fiction too!

2.       Displays/Shelf talkers

Displays give you so many different options for promoting fiction. You can permanent displays with rotating inventory, like Page to Screen for books being adapted into films or shows, Books You May Have Missed, or Staff Recommendations. Other, temporary, displays can revolve around creating passive readers advisory for a current bestselling title or author, or creating genre spotlights for mysteries, historical fiction, sci-fi, etc. Using shelf talkers, especially color-coded ones, can keep the display going through the shelves and make navigating the fiction section a bit easier and still interactive.

3.       Book Clubs

Book clubs are an amazing way to not only garner interest in fiction but also promote your library as a social space. And with all the advances made over the last couple years, allowing for virtual meetings or even 24/7 book clubs, it is easier than ever for customers to attend and enjoy. Hosting different kinds of book clubs can allow customers to explore the fiction section too. A general fiction book club is great, that way you aren’t reading the same thing over and over, but I absolutely love the idea of a Perfect Murder mystery book club, trying to find the best executed murders and the ones that almost got away with it. Historical fiction is another great one, since there is so many different eras you can cover to keep it new and interesting every week. And tying in your displays and bookmarks to this month’s book club is easy and streamlined marketing.

 

Comments

  1. Tess B.April 21, 2021 at 12:10 PM

    I have never heard of a "shelf talker" before! That sounds like a wonderful addition, both to a general display and in terms of patron accessibility. Navigating libraries can be difficult, especially if the patron isn't used to the kind of layout the library is implementing. Shelf talkers sound like an easy setup that would benefit patrons in a positive way overall. And, as always, book clubs are a timeless classic! What better way to ensure that the patrons who want to interact about a certain title get that interaction than a book club? I really enjoy your reasoning and your post! Great ideas.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jessie FlemingApril 21, 2021 at 12:43 PM

    Creating author bookmarks is a great idea. Usually, I only see genre or bestseller bookmarks, but authors bring something new to the table. You can also feature read-alikes for the author on the back of the bookmark, exposing patrons to multiple suggestions at once. Connecting your bookmarks to current displays and programming like book clubs is also an excellent suggestion. Somewhere on the bookmark, you can advertise the book clubs or other library programming that goes with the bookmark's theme.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Taylor BurgerApril 22, 2021 at 12:21 PM

    I am trying to start a teen book club at my library, and I love the idea of your perfect murder club. I think the more specialized it is can sometimes be really helpful or it can be a barrier to some patrons. If there is a group of patrons who want to figure out how to get away with murder, I think that is fantastic and should be something we look at when creating groups. What do we have an interest in from patrons? What areas may need more help in getting participation and how can we do that? RA tools are so interesting and so diverse.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Daniel ThurstonApril 22, 2021 at 6:15 PM

    Hi Jennifer,

    I love the idea of having bookmarks with read-alikes. The library I used to work at had read-alike bookmarks for popular authors like Brandon Sanderson and C.S. Lewis. It could also be fun to have patrons color or even create their own bookmarks as a passive program.

    I hadn't ever thought of combining shelf talkers with the current display. That's a good idea to retain patron's interest as they browse the collection. I also love the idea of a themed book club, like only mysteries or only historical fiction. Have you ever been in a book club like this? If so, how did you like it?

    Thanks for sharing your post! It's full of great ideas!

    -Daniel Thurston

    ReplyDelete
  5. Storytime ScribeApril 24, 2021 at 7:04 PM

    Jennifer,
    That is so cool that you make your own bookmarks! That would be such a fun program to have at the library. To be honest, I have never really thought of marketing things with a bookmark before really looking into it. I have always assumed brochures or booklets were the standard, but bookmarks are so handy and I really want to see them used at my library.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Erin CataldiApril 28, 2021 at 2:10 PM

    Full points!

    ReplyDelete

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