I have a special guest post today for Author Wednesday. Elaine Cougler stops by once again to share one of her marketing tools for promoting her books. She’s the author of the Loyalist trilogy, and last month she took on the arduous task of going on a cruise to market her books. Somebody has to do it, and I’d like to suffer for the cause one of these days! Here’s Elaine and what she has to say about her recent endeavor all in the pursuit of selling books and making new connections. 

Marketing Can Be Fun!

There I was sitting on the grassy hill overlooking the water at Bar Harbor, Maine, entranced by the two sailing ships directly before me. Since my husband and I were on my Authors and History Cruise up the east coast, sailing history filled my mind.

Contrast the small sailing ships of yore with the huge cruising ship we were on. Can’t you just imagine crossing the cold Atlantic rife with ice floes and blowing whales and endless water, gray more often than blue, roaring up and over the sides of your small vessel? Our ship held about 3,500 passengers and maybe another 1,500 crew. And we were high above the water level.

Here’s a view from the walkway that arced out over the water. You can see the small boats lodged against the deck and also the water below. That’s my husband in the background. Although the idea of walking out on a clear platform sounds scary, the actual event was pretty easy.

This dream cruise was the culmination of almost a year of planning and promoting. And it was a wonderful way to promote my Loyalist trilogy as the cruise touched both Canadian and American stops related to the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.

We sailed from New York to Halifax, to St. John, to Bar Harbor, Boston, Newport, and back to New York. Beautiful weather prevailed, except for rain in St. John. But the ship was fabulous. For this author, and for many on the tours, stepping where our ancestors had trod and hearing the stories of their bravery made history come alive. Beautiful fall colors enriched the scene wherever we went, and the air was cool but refreshing. Just thrilling.

I had not realized that in the months leading up to the cruise I would get so much publicity out of it. A local travel company, Expedia cruiseship Centres, did their own advertising and the owner, Bill Shaw, actually accompanied me on many of my author readings and talks to explain about the cruise. People everywhere knew about our adventure.

Publicity. It’s what every author wants and needs. And I got it for almost a year at very little cost to me. No wonder I look so happy in the photo.

One of my writer friends tells me I am the supreme marketer, a moniker I try hard to earn. Every day, I do something to help my books make it out into the big world. It may be a small thing taking just a few minutes, or it may be something that takes several days to complete. The important thing, I once read, is to be consistent, and the promise is that if an author markets every day for at least three years, she will have success with her books. Click here to read my blog post about this marketing practice. 

Marketing is easy to do when it includes a delightful cruise.

Note: Elaine arranged this cruise through her local Expedia cruise company. You might be able to arrange something similar by contacting your local tour agent. I’m certainly going to consider asking.

Check out Elaine’s books:

The Loyalist’s Wife

Amazon US

Canada

UK

 

The Loyalist’s Luck

Amazon US

Canada

UK