Do you have books sitting in your garage that you haven't

sold yet and looking for ways to move them? Then you will

want to know about these five outrageous ideas that aren't

difficult and can be just plain out fun.

Dede Hall, author of The Starving Student's Cookbook had

very poor sales for her books. Then one day an outrageously

light bulb moment appeared. She added an inexpensive

skillet with the book and shrink-wrapped them. Then she

took 150 of them to two stores that she thought wouldn't

sell them. Yes, to her surprise, all 150 sold in two days.

Dede stumbled on an outrageous idea and it worked out big

time. She sold over 100,000 copies in a few months. Where

did she sell them? Thought you would never ask. Price

Clubs and Kmarts.

Do you have a book that could be packaged with something

else and create outrageous sales for yourself? It's

Christmas time and no it isn't too late. But before you

dart off to come up with an outrageous idea for your book,

continue reading so that you can get all the facts.

Another cookbook was repackaged with a scarlet ribbon and

some imported cinnamon sticks and then sold at department

stores in the housewares and gift sections. The book

couldn't sell at $5.95 but flew off the shelves at $10 and

went into second printing in 30 days.

Would your book sell well in a three-ring shrink-wrapped

binder? Why not create and audio or CD version of the

material. Just read directly from the material. You do not

have to be fancy. Add "read by the author" language to the

outside in big letters. Or maybe "F*R*E*E Bonus, Limited

Time Offer, Free Audio read by the author" in big letters.

Another key is to look for an item that makes the package

larger than the book. This requires a larger space and then

bigger visibility.

What about a book on money? Add a mug labeled,

"Millionaire" and watch it fly off the shelf. Do not forget

the second part of the formula -- the place you are going to

sell it. When you add the mug, it is now considered a gift

item. This opens the doors to more stores and places.

Try all the independent gift shops, especially at the

airport. They are always looking for these type of unique

combinations.

Have an exercise book? Add a "walking meter" with it. The

one that measures how many miles you are walking. Have no

clue what they call those things but I have bought three

over the past few years. Again, now it is a gift item. How

about contacting a sports equipment vendor and selling them

copies of your book that would be a freebie for a limited

period with a purchase.

Get the store to add a sign, "limited quantity and watch

them go even faster. What is great about this angle is that

gift stores, department stores and similar stores are much

more open to add things to their shelf. They will work with

you much better than a bookstore.

Now that you brain is going a mile a minute with ideas, best

wishes for selling many more books!

Catherine Franz, a Certified Professional Marketing &

Writing Coach, specializes in product development, Internet

writing and marketing, nonfiction, training. Newsletters

and articles available at: http://www.abundancecenter.com

blog: http://abundance.blogs.com

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