The win-win of branded books

It does not matter how good your book is if no one finds out about it. If no one knows about it no one will buy it. But isn’t the  point of writing a book that lots of people read it? You wrote it to be read, right? If an author’s goal is not to sell enough copies to at least break even then maybe that author should question whether it is worth all that effort? It is with this in mind that I am impressed when one of our authors wants to publish a book fully aware of its potential to be used by other people and given away as a promotional tool.

This year at Summertime we have been delighted that two of our authors have been invited to supply branded versions of their books to clients. From the author’s point of view that’s great news because it means they don’t have to write a whole new book and from the client’s point of view it’s brilliant to be able to give away a book that is clearly branded with their logo but that they have not had to write, edit, design and publish. Better still, the cost of producing a branded version of an existing book is relatively low, which means we can afford to supply, say 300 or 500 copies for much less than it would cost to buy the original version.

In January, Valérie Besanceney, author of B at Home, was invited to provide several hundred copies of her book, My Moving Booklet, to a Swiss international school for them to give it to their departing students. It was win-win. The school put their logo on the cover and a letter from the principal inside and Valérie sold a lot of copies of her book. As her publisher we simply had to hire a designer to adjust the designs and produce and ship the books. Everybody was happy.

But when, a month later, Elizabeth Vennekens-Kelly sold not one but two versions of her book, Subtle Differences, Big Faux Pas, she was over the moon. Her book is a handy guide for any new or fairly new expat and is packed with examples of cross-cultural accidents and advice. For example, did you know you should leave your shoes outside the front door in Asia and that there are some countries where you must look a person in the eye and others where you should not? A valuable book indeed and so it was inspired of a Belgian relocation services company to want to give away copies of Elizabeth’s book. Here’s what the president of BRC, one of Elizabeth’s clients says about their reason to purchase several hundred copies:

It made sense to personalize the book as we feel it contains lots of practical information for our clients and their HR support. It is also a good way to support Elizabeth’s work and make them aware of what services she can offer. The book provides valuable information on the do’s and don’ts when you live abroad but it isn’t heavy and boring reading material like some of them are. Our expats have commented that they enjoyed reading the book.

Vriendelijke groeten, kind regards
Viv Hermans – President
Brilliant Relocation Center
www.brc-relocation.com

As a giveaway, a book is a relatively low cost item, yet due to the information it contains can have a high perceived value. People tend to keep books when they are given them as a gift too, which keeps the company behind the branded version regularly in the mind of the recipient.
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So, authors, if you are thinking of writing a book, stop for a moment to consider its potential as a promotional giveaway. It may be the best business decision you ever make.