Take a Taste!

I got a friendly note from a reader Jurgen Wolff who enjoyed the Five Tips to Increase Online Book Sales post.  He shared a  idea that he used with great success. 

"Thanks for your blog’s five tips to increase online book sales. I have been using another technique, namely printing a "Writer’s First-Aid Card" for what to do when you get stuck, and offering it free to writing conferences.   The card is the size of an index card, and it’s printed both sides (color both sides). It contains a list of tips for what to do if you get stuck.

I wrote to conference organizers and offered to send them as many as they wanted, to include in their welcome pack or to pass out at the conference, or to put on a ‘freebies’ table. Requests have varied from 40 copies to several hundred."

Jurgen clearly understands the philosophy of sharing your expertise as a way of letting potential clients "sample" you.   

I think this is one of marketing’s most overlooked and underused tactics.  Blogging will change that to a degree — but outside of blogging, how can you give potential customers a chance to take a taste?  And if you don’t do it — why the heck not?