5 Tips to Make Your Book Fair Appearance a Success

Last year was my first time participating in a book fair.  I published my novel, What Goes Around Comes Around, six months prior and wanted to get the experience of going to a book fair. I attended the Soulful Chicago book fair on July 13, 2017. It was a great experience and I will be there again for this year’s event on July 15. I had so many lessons learned from my first event that I wanted to share with you so you don’t make the same mistakes I did. I did sell books but I could have done so much better if I had followed the tips I am going to share with you.

Marketing is a must especially when you consider the sheer number of books being published each year. In 2016, more than 600,000 ISBN’s (international standard book numbers) were purchased by independent authors. With so many new books coming to market, authors have to work hard to get noticed. A great way to sell books, meet potential fans, and increase your mailing list is to participate in a book fair.

I spoke with Asadah Kirkland founder to the Soulful Chicago Book Fair and together we came up with these tips to make your book fair appearance a success!

#1 Make Sure You Can Accept Credit Card Payments.

When you are closing in on a sale you do want to be able to accept credit card payments.  It has been estimated that 75% of sales are done by credit cards and/or debit cards. You can purchase a credit/debit card reader attachment for $10 that will allow your cell phone to process payments. I lost out last year because I could not offer this option. Set-up for this service is really quick and simple.

#2 Engage With Customers

Don’t stand behind your table. Get out in front make eye contact, give a confident smile and say hello. Ask them what they like to read. Get customers talking and work in information about your book. You need an elevator pitch for your book. This pitch should be 30 seconds (the amount of time it takes to ride an elevator) and whet the appetite of the potential customer.

#3 Beautify Your Booth

There are lots of things to see at a book fair so it is important for you to make your booth reflect your book. Bring a tablecloth, book stands that display books at different eye levels, and use retractable signs. (Any signs or banners should include either a book cover or author image and contact information, as well as any other marketing visuals pertaining to you and your work.)

Consider doing a giveaway and make that prominent at your booth. You want to attract customers to stop by so you can tell them about your book. Offer them a bookmark, pen, or pencil with the name of your book on it.

#4  Keep a Mailing List Sign Up at Your Table

Once you have people stopping  your both make sure that you can continue to connect with them via social media and email. A mailing list is very important for book marketing. Make it possible for readers to connect with you regularly! Have a sign-up sheet for a mailing list at your table so you can update people with your reading projects and share tips with them. This mailing list should be computer generated and include a picture of your book along with a section for key information such as name, email address, phone number and social media handles. Once the fair is over you can reach out to those who came to your booth with another soft marketing pitch.

#5 Lights! Camera! Action!

Keep a camera handy to take pictures of willing customers and book sales and put them on your website and social media channels! Ask people who stop by your booth if you can record a 30 second spot of them talking about your book that you can post online. This is a great way to advertise and have fun with your patrons. Pro tip: always make sure you get someone’s permission before using their photo for anything.

I can’t wait to update you about the book fair.

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