Do you remember when?

By Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief, Southern Writers Magazine

Direct Mail Catalogs were the craze. Yes, I know, you still get some in your mailbox.  But, did you know they are on the rise again? People get these catalogs and it’s like looking in a store window. 

They love.

They can choose gifts for any season right there in that old comfy chair. They don’t have to bother with a computer screen, clicking back and forth; they just have to turn the page. 

Authors are always looking for a great way to market their books. Well, here is one that is “out of the box” marketing for your books. A catalog. Yes, that is correct I said a catalog.

If you have quite a number of books published, then you can use the catalog to bring attention to your older books.  The catalogs can be anywhere from four pages and up. It depends on the amount of money you want to spend. But, keep it comfortable for them to hold in their hands.

And what a better time than now…Christmas is just around the corner and people are going to be looking for gifts they can buy. What better way than to deliver them a catalog of your books, with pictures of the covers, descriptions and a place for them to send you their order. Why send it…because this way you can autograph the books for them. If they go to the stores, they won’t have that “autographed” copy to give for a present to Uncle Joe who just happens to love World War ll fiction stories or to Aunt Jane who loves her cup of tea in the afternoon while curling up with a delicious romantic novel.

Now I admit, if you prefer not to send the books from your home, you can always have them go directly to your page on Amazon or Barnes and Noble and enter their orders. And, If you don’t want to mail your catalogs you can always build an online catalog. However, there is something special about getting the gift directly from the author.

The whole purpose of the catalog is to bring all your books to the attention of the reader. Having something in their hands, they can keep, and order whenever they need a gift or bookmarking on their computer.

After all, authors are trying to build relationships, and this is an excellent way to do just that.

If you want to know more information, email staff@southernwritersmag.com.