Toni/Leigh: We're delighted to welcome Christopher Irvin to the Femmes today, talking about a perennial subject for writers and anybody trying to promote their work: SWAG! I confess I have myself been both overcome by swag lust, picking up items I will never use, and confused by when to press my own swag on people. Chris may have the best answer I've ever heard.
Bookmarks, postcards, business cards, pens… the elusive koozie.
Go to any writing or comic convention and you'll find tables chock-full of the stuff, advertising the latest and greatest from those in attendance. Arrive late and it can be tricky to locate a tiny corner to add yours to the amorphous mass…of SWAG.
Don't get me wrong—I love this stuff, both handing it out for my own books, and chancing upon something new that catches my attention (a horror publisher's 'syringe pen' became a great conversation starter at work). But what does it achieve? These tables can be overwhelming and disorganized, crowded with hundreds of items, and having seen more than a few on the last days of conventions, it's depressing how much of it goes straight into the trash or recycling bin.
Like much of marketing, return on investment for SWAG is difficult, if not impossible to calculate. How can we make better use of these tools? Time and circumstance will differ depending on the event and the audience, but here's an idea that's proved useful for me:
I recently sold books for the first time at a comic convention. I laid them all out on the table along with their corresponding bookmarks and business cards. In contrast, the artist next to me had only books on display. His reason? People who pick up free material are less likely to make a purchase. It gives them an 'out,' a way to leave the table feeling like a transaction has taken place. Will they buy a book later? Maybe, but how many times have you taken a bookmark/business card and actually followed through? For me, the number is very few, if any. Certainly much less than creators would hope for. This artist's contact information was in his books, so if someone truly wanted to support him, they'd have it. It's a half-joke, but also true—if you really want to support a writer/artist, buy a book.
It took me until the afternoon to adopt my neighbor's strategy (I had several interactions throughout the morning in which people expressed interest in my work, only to half-heartedly ask for SWAG before heading back into the sea of convention-goers, never to be seen again.) That afternoon and the following day, I hid my SWAG and only gave it out along with purchases as a little 'bonus.' The surprise from customers at the unexpected, albeit small, gift made for a more meaningful experience.
This strategy, in theory, improves your return on investment by making sure your SWAG accompanies people who have already been exposed to your work, thereby increasing the quality and chance of recommendation by word of mouth.
I'm not here on a campaign to end the SWAG table, or tell you not to drop off bookmarks at your favorite bookstores, but let's be smart and thoughtful in who walks away with our stuff in their SWAG bag.
Christopher Irvin is the author of Safe Inside the Violence, Burn Cards and Federales, as well as short stories featured in several publications, including Thuglit, Beat to a Pulp, and Shotgun Honey. He lives in Boston, MA with his wife and two sons.
"This is a collection everyone should read -- particularly if you've ever dreamed of writing this kind of fiction." - LitReactor on Safe Inside the Violence.
Great post, Christopher and Toni.
I too, have been trying to figure out the "right" swag to drive traffic to the blog. The home-made lapel pins for Bouchercon were successful enough that I will be investing in mass-produced versions for B'con NOLA.
Who knows where the stickers with the BOLO Books eyeball will end up, but they were virtually pennies, so more than worth the investment.
As for the syringe pen, I got one too and have had many conversations about it with co-workers at the day job. It's creepy, but effective - I guess. :) (No, I didn't buy the book, yet)
Posted by: Kristopher | November 18, 2015 at 06:00 AM
Thanks, Christopher, for a terrific -- and useful post. I will hold the bookmarks until after readers by the book. Welcome to the Femmes.
Posted by: Elaine Viets | November 18, 2015 at 04:29 PM
Thanks, Kristopher & Elaine! Appreciate the read and comments.
Posted by: Chris Irvin | November 19, 2015 at 10:25 AM