Ah, swag…those golden gems you get from your favorite authors. As a reader, what’s your personal fancy? Bookmarks? Perfume? Pens? As an author, what do you consider a beneficial advertisement? Here are my personal top three preferred methods for getting my name “out there.”
First, I must to confess to not doing bookmarks. Since most of the books I read are digital, bookmarks seem a bit…obsolete IMO. (And sincere apologies if I’ve offended anyone!) But I’d rather put my money towards something that doesn’t have a 99% chance of getting recycled. Something like…pens.
Along with business cards (which are an absolute must) I think pens are the next best thing to sliced bread when it comes to swag. Everyone loves a good pen. Plus they’re easy to keep in a bundle in your purse to be given out with a business card or two.
I use PensXpress (http://www.pensxpress.com/.), but others have used National Pen Company (http://nationalpen.com/.) I think PensXpress is a teensy bit cheaper, though… I chose a white pen with red accent/lettering because I think it lends it’s to the hot, steamy romance. *wink* You can get 150 pens for about $60+ s/h, plus the initial setup charge $16. Some might consider that’s a bit pricy, but I think it’s well worth it for a quality pen.
I recently got a mailer from Amsterdam Printing with a freebie pen. I usually ignore these types of ads, but this pen had a stylus at the end for use on touch screens. I’m not crazy about the imprint on it because it’s so hard to read. But that was my fault…I LOVE cursive writing. Next time – if there is a next time – I’ll know to not go with the Lucida Handwriting font. Once more, I chose to go with red and got 50 pens for $.99 each. Again, kinda expensive, but it writes smooth and can be useful if you’ve got fat thumbs for texting on your smart phone… *grin*
Another swag item that I love are necklace charms of my book covers. Jesse over at Sky Pirate Productions is the bomb! http://www.skypirateproductions.com/. She’s sooo great to work with. You can get 10 charms (mixed/matched in either gold or silver) for seventeen bucks – which includes shipping. Yes, you have to make and/or buy the actual necklace, but you don’t have to be an arts and crafts person (because I certainly AM NOT) to make your own. A quick trip to the local hobby store, buy some bulk gold/silver chain, a few tools like the split ring plier, a package of clasps and ‘o’ rings and you’re set. Or, if you’re like me, go to Kohl’s, buy multi-strand, plain necklaces and take them apart. Add a clasp on one end, an ‘o’ ring on the other and voila, you’ve got one of a kind necklace, specific to your book.
The last piece of swag I’d like to talk about is something my DH got me for Mother’s Day. A Lynda Bailey mug. LOVE THAT MUG! He got it from http://www.personalizationmall.com/. It was under twenty bucks, including shipping. Talk about a memorable piece of swag! Practical, stylish and perfect for sitting on a peep’s desk at work – especially if their name isn’t Lynda Bailey… ha!
So there are my top three swag items: pens, necklaces with my book covers and a mug. What are some of yours? Leave a comment for the chance to win a “swag” package from me!
