Are your sales on Amazon flat? Do you feel like you’re shouting into a void when you promote your book?
If only I had access to the general public on a regular basis where I could sell my books.
Have you ever thought that? Indie authors, traditionally published writers, or hybrids—we’re all looking for reliable, effective means of getting our work out into the world.
Well, I have a solution for you! It’s called “National Authors in Grocery Stores Program.”
This program partners with various grocery stores. It started in Texas, but now stores in the following states have joined the program: Alaska, Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.
Authors pay a yearly membership fee of $75.00. You then pay $25 for each book title. This gets your book entered into the grocery store’s vendor program. Once you have registered your title, it’s a done deal. You pay only once per each book ISBN.
Authors set up a table inside the store and sell to passing shoppers. You retain 62% of the sale.
December is the perfect time to enroll in the program. It takes about thirty days to get everything into the system, so you’ll be ready to sell in January. This will give you a full twelve months of usage from your $75 membership fee. If you enroll in April, your renewal will be due in January, regardless of whether you got a full twelve months out of your membership fee.
How it works:
You pack in what you need. Table, chair, decorations, books, etc. You set up. You pack back out when you’re done.
You can make a copy of your book’s back cover where the ISBN number is located and give interested shoppers a copy of the cover which they use to buy the book at the register. The cashier scans the bar code, the shopper pays, then she brings her receipt back to your table and you hand over a book. Or you can hand them the book. Some authors worry shoppers will steal the book, hence the back cover copy idea. However, in my experience, after you chat with the reader and sign their book for them, you’ve developed a relationship. I have had no books go missing.
You can set up shop any day of the week, but the most popular are Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Prime times are 3:00 – 7:00 on Fridays, and 10:00 – 3:00 on weekends. However, you can set up whatever day works best with your schedule. If you’re having a booming sales day, you may stay longer than you scheduled. If your sales are flat, you’re free to pack up and head home for the day. They arrange the schedule so only one author is there at a time.
Two of my friends in ACFW DFW Ready Writers have taken advantage of this opportunity, and they’ve both sold books by the hundreds. It requires a time commitment, but marketing our books is a continual hustle, and this one pays off. In four month’s time, I sold 75 copies of my books.
Interested? Contact Ray Depew at 845-699-6664 or at rayd792002@yahoo.com. Ray is not affiliated with the grocery stores. He is an author, like the rest of us, but has put this program together to make the unending job of marketing a little bit easier.
So, get out there and promote yourself. Good luck and may the sales force be with you.
Click to download the official regulations.