by Mindy McGinnis
I've been thinking a lot about swag lately. In fact I have so many thoughts on swag they overflowed out of this post onto another group blog I'm a part of - Book Pregnant. Check out my marketing post over there today and see what I came up with for my neat-o swag item for my debut. NOT A DROP TO DRINK is nearly ready for a cover, so I need to ask myself where I want to put it and what I want to put it on - along with any pertinent links and maybe a picture of my face. And yeah, I totally admit that when it comes time to put my Irish mug on something and ask people to love it, I do start to feel a bit... promotion-y.
But it's not an ugly face, so that helps. From a marketing standpoint, anyway.
Every conference I've ever been to involves the "swag bag." Literally. It's a tote (with author / store / publishing house names printed all over it) that's jam-packed with business cards, bookmarks, postcards, pens, keychains, band-aid dispensers (yes), mints with personalized wrapping, and any other thing the author / pub house could think of to get the average person's attention.
And when it's all in a big fat pile like that, you learn fast what works and what doesn't. Poor quality printing and pixelated jpegs stand out like a sixth finger when we all know there's only supposed to be five.
Yes, business cards are fast, easy and cheap. Yes, pretty much everyone has them. So why do they continue to prevail? Exactly because they are fast, easy and cheap. When I want to direct someone to my blog do I want to just say the name of my blog and hope they remember it? Or take out a pen and scribble writerwriterpantsonfire.blogspot.com on a napkin and hope that 1) my writing is legible and 2) they don't mistake it for trash and throw it away later?
No, I really don't want to do that.
I want to hand them my card with the site on it and my other pertinent social media contacts (Twitter, Facebook, etc). Later they can find the site, bookmark it (or hey - follow me!) and then toss the card. Not a loss to me - I spent .08 on it and I already got my return if they visited the site. And if they couldn't give less of a crap about me or my blog? They throw it away, and that's .08 I'll never see again. Not a huge loss.
Big swag items are fun - printed shirts, hats, totes, teddy bears, underwear (you know I want that for Writer,Writer Pants on Fire, right?), but in the end they're serving the same purpose as the card - drawing attention to me or my blog. And after the person has gone to the blog, they might be thinking, "Well, that's great and all, but now I've got this shirt / hat / underwear I'm never going to wear again..." Yet because they've met you, or perhaps because they are keenly aware that you went that extra mile and spent real money on your swag they feel guilty throwing it away... so they keep it.
And if they're anything like me, they kinda resent the teddy bear with your name on it that they can't quite bring themselves to pitch. I don't really want my name associated with resentment, or even guilt if they do indeed go ahead and toss the stuffed critter.
What are some of the most effective forms of swag you've seen? Do you think swag can have impact without being expensive?
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Mindy McGinnis is a YA author and librarian. Her debut, a post-apocalyptic survival tale, NOT A DROP TO DRINK, will be available from Katherine Tegen / Harper Collins in Fall 2013. She blogs at Writer, Writer Pants on Fire and contributes to the group blogs Book Pregnant, Friday the Thirteeners and The Lucky 13s. You can also find her on Twitter & Facebook.
15 comments:
My husband does career stuff and the most useful stuff in our household tends to be pens and water bottles. Also notepads. (Small with a magnet rock.) A lot of bags come home, but they are always too cheap and just 'wrong' to be of any real use.
If you can get people using your swag then it is promotion that keeps on giving to you. So it's got to be good. It's got to be useful.
That's my take.
As a swag receiver, I like business cards and bookmarks - easy to hang on to or pitch without guilt. Anything consumable is good. If I see candy with an info card attached, I'll pick it up, enjoy the candy, and put the card in my pocket (or wherever). Larger stuff I tend to avoid. Just creates more clutter.
I haven't been to a conference yet so haven't seen much swag in the real world, but I think I'd agree with Linda & Jean. I love bookmarks :)
How about handing a business card of a business card maker?!
Jean - yeah I think in my case the water bottles are going to be the hand down winner!
LD - I'm so with you on that. I don't pick things up just b/c they're shiny. I'm like, "Okay, what will I do with that *after* I take it home?"
Jemi - Can't have too many bookmarks!
Alex - I would totally buy business cards from a business card maker that had the balls to hand out business cards.
My favorite so far has been a card & envelope for Terri Bruce's Hereafter. There's a little Death on it holding a rose. I'm going to give one to my friends for Halloween. :D Maybe they'll even go get her book!
Writer, Writer boxers! I'll set up a Google alert!
I think the front side is the business side ??
I've been working on business card printing for a while now and I guess that's the most default promotional item that doesn't seem to be promotional-y. I give business cards and for some reason, every time I do that, I hear someone saying "Like a boss," in my head. Well, at the very leat, you can keep it for yourself.
A friend of mine owns a company producing business cards in seattle. So whenever I am in need of cards to be given away to my clients and customers, I always giving him a phone call.
I have a big business directory because of all the swag items that I got last meeting with my colleagues. I think business card is still the best option if we don’t want to spend a lot of money.
Your observation is right and I agree with you. I want to start a small business for business card printing because it is easy to produce and earn in this type of business.
Making money out of doing this kind of business is good for those people who wants to have an extra income. Nowadays, it is much better if you have an extra source of income.
-Hugh Parizeau
The personalized items don't sound bad. Right, they serve the same purpose as a card, but that's one way for you to leave a mark on their minds. - Hudson
You can have a swag if your business is on the right path. By having a good enterprise resource plan, success follows.
Zachary Rodriguez
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