Starting Here
This past week I’ve had a bit of fun promoting Cashiers, my little town, on my facebook. This is where it starts for me. This is where I live, this is where I write. I spend a lot of time on the road traveling to other places to sell my books, but Cashiers is where I go when I head for home.
My little promotion began on voting day when I posted on my facebook that I’d driven through the crossroad on Voting Day ......
This is a small place in the universe, but it’s where we all start, where we all work. This is where we need to support each other. Buy Locally was a motto a few years ago, and it’s one I believe in. I support all the businesses in our little town. When one shuts down and the store sits empty, it effects everyone. We’ve got a new candy and ice cream store in town that just opened. It’s a little non-descript building that frequently sits empty along the edge of the road and they’ve hand painted signs and pegged them into the ground. I’ve heard their homemade fudge is worth the stop. Dave and I will be stopping there for ice cream cones this summer. Not because we need ice cream, but, because we’re glad to have the little building open, happy for a young man to be working and pursuing his dream, pleased to be sharing our space in this little town.
What does this have to do with selling books? Authors, or any other marketer, who thinks they don’t need local support, needs to rethink their marketing plan. Start where you are, no matter how small. Throw your support to others who are also trying to sell something, trying to make a living, trying to make a difference. I’m not saying “you scratch my itch and I’ll scratch yours.” I’m saying “I like and appreciate what you do and I’m going to tell everyone I know about your business.” Period. Don’t worry about who’s scratching your itch. You will need to scratch it yourself, maybe for a long time. But, if you support your base, your home, your town, your people…the rest will come. Start where you are to develop a good business plan, develop professional relationships, support other small businesses, (yes, you are a small business!) and never bad-mouth or post anything negative about another business. It will pull your base right out from under you. Selling requires optimism, positive reinforcement and joy. It also requires buyers.