Wanted: Your Marketing Input

[tom.collins]

I'm in the hardest and slowest part—the back and forth as the editor proposes and I dispose.  But the process is near its end, and my fourth mystery, The Claret Murders, will finally be available to readers.  The next step is promoting it, and I can use all the help I can get.  So please, share your fantastic ideas with me.

The new mystery will available in both print and ebook editions.  As with my other mysteries, it will be available from Amazon for the Kindle, Barnes & Noble for the Nook and Apple for the Ibook.  In addition to the generic mystery market, the book should have special appeal to two specific groups of mystery readers—first, to those who enjoy fine French wines, particularly the great wines of Bordeaux, and second, to  those living in and around Nashville Tennessee.  Not only is the story set in the Nashville area, the events occur during the recent 500 year flood that the area is still recovering from.

Here are some of the promotional ideas I’m considering:

• Purchase a list (preferably an e-mail list) of mystery readers who also purchase wine and/or who live in the middle Tennessee area.  Has anyone had experience using a purchased list and would recommend a particular list provider?  I’m currently considering e-mail list from ConsumerBase.
• Emailing the host of wine related blogs and asking them to spread the word. Should I offer a free printed copy of the book or just ask?
• Participating in Bookdaily.com who distributes the book’s first chapter to their participating readers.  Has anyone done this and what were the results?
• Using a promotional service like Pump Up Your Book! or Smith Publicity to arrange for interviews, blog tours, etc.   Have any of you used such as service?  What service do you recommend?  Did the investment pay off for you?
• I am also considering approaching wine stores and businesses mentioned in the book with an offer to place a point-of-sale display in their establishment on a contingent basis, which is they pay me nothing until the books sell.  Has anyone tried this?  Do you have a display source you recommend?

Am I overlooking a great marketing idea?

  
PS: I have produced a trailer.  Go to YouTube and search on Claret Murders.   If you have a great idea for using the trailer to excite prospective readers, please share it.

 
Thanks.

[tom.collins]

Thanks for the info--very helpful.

[Steven Gomez]

Hi Tom,

I am new to these forums, but I have a history in wine, and your book sounds very interesting. As luck would have it, I just posted a coupe of guest articles, and one deals with hosting a reading in a tasting room, which sounds like just the thing for you. You can find the first blog listing at http://www.the1940mysterywriter.com/1/post/2012/05/new-guest-post-b...

You may want to connect with any local wine organizations to help you contact tasting rooms in your area, or if you happen to know or are a member with a particular winery, perhaps set up an event with them.

Good Luck!

 

[Mark Tillmann]

There is of course the dreaded facebook