Featured Writer: Reina Salt

Graveyard Blues (Night Blues)
A sticker campaign

     This picture is actually larger than the sticker. Also, on the sticker is the price and web address for the download. It is a fairly inexpensive way to make your novel ubiquitous and a fun way to involve friends in your sales.
     Everybody loves stickers. I have one of these on the cover of my laptop at the moment and hope to add more from other writing friends. I'm going to see if I can get Reina to stop by and give us more information on costs, the businesses that make stickers or even how to print them at home. This is a step away from the Internet and it's a good one. Stickers placed in strategic areas, on doors, escalators, even bathroom stalls, can stay forever and have a way of becoming part of the accepted scenery. When they are in plain public view, it can also change the way the author is perceived by the public. Your name is known. Someone says "Reina Salt" in the area where Reina lives and everyone remembers the sticker. They feel like they already know her, even if they haven't read her work. It's an inexpensive and brilliant way for the world to become familiar with the author. So, by sending stickers to your friends in your social network, you can easy paper the entire globe with your name.

      Reina Russell

As far as stickers go, I used printrunner.com for full color custom printing. The stickers came out really nicely and true to color, which is important. I went with a run of 250 stickers measuring 2" x 2.75" for about $30. If you order, be sure to ask for proof copy first, so that you can be sure that your image fits the sticker size. Bigger size means bigger cost, so you don't want to pay for blank edges that don't even have your stuff on it. It also doesn't hurt to look on google for coupon codes for sites like this, so be sure to do that. I think that I did, and ended up with something like free shipping.

They also do magnets, posters, and business cards, but the great thing about getting stickers done is that it doubles as a business card, really. If you keep a small handful of them with you at all times, you're ready to give someone one when people ask for it. Which happens pretty often, actually.

On Twitter and Facebook, I had some nice success flat out offering free stickers to people. It's a cool design by the talented Troy Dilport, and it's accessible, so people wanted them. One guy put them on his guitars! For the cost of a stamp, it's a good investment in regards to visibility and reaching out there.