For me, part of being an independent author has long meant going to vendor events and selling my books myself. Easily, this is the majority of my sales. I sell roughly 100 copies of my titles at vendor events per year. If you’re an independent author (or a small publishing house) and you’re considering vendor events, I’d highly recommend them. In fact, I tell people that all the time.
If you’re thinking of trying it, feel free to reach out with questions. But, for now, here’s a few of my tips or recommendations.
- Get the appropriate licensing for your state. It varies by state so do your research. If you’re in Arizona, you’ll need a business license and a TPT license, at least.
- You’ll need product. At any given moment I have 5-15 copies of each of my titles on hand. I have 10 available titles right now and 5 of those are available in both paperback AND hardcover. That means I have a LOT of product around here. Plan for where you’ll put them and how you’ll keep them packaged and ready to go between events. I suggest sturdy boxes (keep the ones they ship to you in, if possible).
- Things besides books make a booth really appealing. Bookmarks, stickers, tote bags, mugs, key chains, or even t-shirts are always a way to class things up. I give away bookmarks and stickers at my booths but I also sell other things. They don’t always sell, but they make things look nicer and more professional.
- Speaking of professional, you’ll need display materials. You’ll need to consider tables, table coverings, displays, awnings/covering, and lighting (if applicable). Reduce and combine boxes as much as possible. Consider how you’ll get all the boxes in (I highly recommend some kind of sturdy cart or flat-bed). Consider plastic bags of some kind for making purchases easier to carry.
- Inventory everything often. I inventory all of my products before and after an event. I use Square as a way to maintain my inventory, charge customers, and send invoices. You certainly don’t have to use them, but you’ll need something!
- During an event you’ll need a quick pitch. What’s a one-sentence hook you can give for your book (or books)? Have it ready. Make sure everyone who helps or hangs out at your table knows it as well.
- After an event, inventory has to be done again. I rebox things when I’m packing up at events and consider it a victory if I can throw away at least one empty box. But when I get back home, it’s always time to reinventory. I have to make sure nothing got damaged while it was on display or traveling, I have to make sure nothing went missing (that’s happened once), and I make sure it’s all packed away nicely. Then, it’s time to reorder anything that is low.
- Host giveaways for longer events. Ebooks or audiobooks make GREAT giveaways because you can email customers after you get home from an event to send the product. I keep a little signup jar on my table to collect all the slips. Be careful with this if you only have one available title. You’ll find people won’t buy it if there’s a chance they’ll win a free one. This works best if you’re raffling ONE title but have others for sale.
- Have specials. You’ll need signs that advertise the price for customers. Make sure the prices are simple and reasonable. If possible, offer special pricing for an event. Personally, I include sales taxes on my sign so the price customers see is the price they’ll pay. You can ALWAYS save money by buying more than one title at my booth because my best prices are bundle prices. Customers want to be supportive but they also want a deal.
- Participate in giveaways or raffles if they’re offered by the event. Many of the events I’ve done over the years will raffle items for attendees. They’ll ask vendors to donate something that can be raffled. ALWAYS do this. I’ve seen many customers walk by the raffle booth and take notice of who participated and who didn’t. I’ve also seen sales of the title I offer for the raffle spike because interest in the raffle pulled them in.
- Don’t stress about sales. In fact, I don’t even check them during events. Hand out bookmarks, talk to people, and relax. If your bookmarks have your information on them, you may even notice an increase in ebook or audiobook sales after the event has ended. I typically notice a spike in digital sales about 3-4 days after an event as customers get home and go through the marketing materials they picked up.
- Share event information on social media. Before the event, during the event, and even after. If you host a raffle, pull the name live on social media. The more you can talk about the event, the more likely it is that people will see you online and remember to either visit you or look you up. If the event has hashtags, USE THEM.
- Enjoy yourself. After having done many of these events I can tell you the best advice is to have fun. Customers can tell which authors don’t want to be there, are only stressing about sale counts, or generally would rather be anywhere else and those booths get bypassed. Talk to people and have fun! Remember, even talking to someone who doesn’t buy a book is still good marketing. They know you have books now and they’re more likely to either look you up or remember your name later.
That’s it for my vendor advice (for now). If you’re curious about anything else, ASK! As I say, I’ve done many of these so I’ve learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t.
If you’re in the area, I’ll be at the Tempe FanCon January 27th so you can always come out and see all of this LIVE.