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Wednesday, May 08, 2013

The Indie Life: Postcards and Cover Keepers

Once again, it's time for another round of Indie Life. This month, I'd like to share with you an idea for possible book promotion. We could all use more help with that, right?

Sherry Ficklin, one of the members of the Scene 13 group blog, has started a program that will benefit both readers and writers. It's called Cover Keepers, and it's a way for readers and writers to connect. Basically, writers send in signed postcards of their book covers and blurbs, and readers sign up to receive them. You can learn more about this program here. The first batch of covers is scheduled to go out in June. If that's too soon for you to get cover postcards made, don't worry; covers will be sent out every month. Be sure to read the requirements here first.

In case you were wondering, yes, I'm part of this program. You can get covers for Lyon's Legacy and Twinned Universes through Cover Keepers. Here's a picture of what they look like:

I decided to put QR codes on the back, along with the blurb. The QR code brings up the book on Amazon. If you search, you can find several sites out there that will create a QR code from any link for free. (I think I used QuickQR). Then you can save a copy of the QR code and take it to any site to have your postcards made.

In addition to sending these postcards to the Cover Keepers program, I plan to bring some with me to WisCon and display them on the BroadUniverse table. Maybe I can send these promotional materials to other conventions as well.

Please let me know if you have any questions about the Cover Keepers program or the postcards. If you have any marketing tips you'd like to share with your fellow indies, please do so in the comments.

For more Indie Life, check out the links below:


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9 comments:

  1. Alex J. Cavanaugh5/08/2013 5:45 AM

    That's a cool idea. Is it for Indie authors only? I know my publisher sends out postcards, mostly to libraries and science fiction conventions, but they might be interested in that program. (Because at the moment, I am completely out of the postcards they sent me.)

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  2. Sandra Ulbrich Almazan5/08/2013 6:07 AM

    Alex, no, it's for all types of authors, and publishers can sign up too.

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  3. PT Dilloway5/08/2013 8:00 AM

    I should make up some postcards and send them out like all those junk mail ones I get.

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  4. Sandra Ulbrich Almazan5/08/2013 8:39 AM

    Personally, I wouldn't mail them unless I had a targeted list. That's why they'll be useful for cons, since I know the attendees like SF/fantasy.

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  5. Cherie Reich5/08/2013 12:01 PM

    Oh, wow! That's such a cool idea! Thanks for letting us know about it. :)

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  6. Sandra Ulbrich Almazan5/08/2013 12:23 PM

    You're welcome, Cherie!

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  7. J.L. Campbell5/08/2013 3:13 PM

    Hi, Sandra,
    That's a cool idea. Writers are always thinking of innovative ways to market their books.

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  8. Nick Wilford5/08/2013 4:11 PM

    QR codes? That's new to me. Every day's a school day. Thanks! And more promotion ideas are always welcome.

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  9. Anonymous5/15/2013 1:11 PM

    So incredibly creative. Excellent idea. I can't wait to see how this turns out!!

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