Each year in North America, companies spend $3.85 billion on sports sponsorships and $2.1 billion on arts and social sponsorships.
Short and simple: I think every book and every author should have sponsors for their work. Here are a eleven reasons why sponsorship can boost the sales of a book and/or author.
1. Enhance credibility and legitimacy
Credibility goes both ways. A sponsor enhances your credibility and legitimacy as an author and, if you are well-known and respected in your field of expertise, sponsors gain enhanced credibility from your book as well.
For several editions of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, I sold around 30 sponsorships for $1,200 each. Each sponsor wrote a one or two-page informative article for the book that included a credit at the end that sold their product or services. These sponsors were guaranteed a printing of 10,000 copies for each edition. The sponsors received great value: exposure in 10,000 copies for their business, a case of books to give away to their clients, an implied endorsement from me (since I only let in sponsors I respected), and additional exposure via my website. In return, the sponsors essentially paid for printing the 10,000 copies of the new editions. That means I broke even on the book before I sold even one copy.
2. Get media attention
In addition to buying 100,000 copies of the photographic essay, The Meaning of Life, to give to people who test-drove a new model, Mazda placed 10-page excerpt ads in thirteen Time Inc. magazines, sponsored a CBS television show, and sponsored a photo exhibit display in a dozen upscale shopping malls. Since this promotion resulted in more test-drives and car sales, Mazda was happy with the results. Little, Brown was also happy. Besides selling 100,000 premium copies to Mazda, the book went on to become a national bestseller.
3. Promote a launch party
When Beth Ann Herman wrote her first novel, Power City, she deliberately embellished the descriptions of the Maserati owned by the novel’s main character. Why? In the back of her mind, she was hoping to convince Maserati to cross-promote her book with their cars. And, indeed, she was able to do just that. When her book was published, the book-signing party was held at the Maserati dealership in Beverly Hills. The dealership spent a lot of money to promote the party and her book.
4. Get support for a book tour
Janet Dailey’s novel, Tangled Vines, featured a story of true love set in Napa Valley. When Dailey went on tour to promote the book, Vichon Vineyards came along to introduce a new wine at the bookstores she visited.
Johnnie Walker Black Label sponsored Jennifer Egan, author of The Invisible Circus, as she did readings in alternative art galleries, cafes, and bookstores in six major cities.
5. Cross-promote a sweepstakes
Princess Cruises sponsored a travel sweepstakes to promote James Michener’s novel Mexico. Michener, who had lectured on previous Princess cruises, agreed to do so again. In addition, he gave press interviews while on board the ship.
6. Get featured in ads
You don’t always have to find a sponsor. Sometimes they discover your author or book and choose to feature them. In an unsolicited, unpaid cross-promotion, Calvin Klein featured a model holding a copy of Postcards by E. Annie Proulx in an underwear ad that appeared in GQ magazine. Great publicity for any book!
7. Get retail displays
Warner worked with Crystal Light to promote James Patterson’s Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas. Warner got book placement on Crystal Light supermarket displays, while the tea got play in newspaper ads for the book. Each side paid for its own ads, but each agreed to give the other placement. As Warner noted, “We’re reinforcing his name and hitting the women’s audience that his other books don’t tend to get.”
8. Share marketing costs
For No Boundaries, a book of nature photography from Creative Publishing, Ford Motor Company paid for a number of plugs, from a long distance shot of an SUV climbing a mountain to a slogan as the book’s title. As part of its sponsorship, Ford shouldered a share of both production and marketing costs and donated a vehicle for a contest.
9. Share production costs
For Artisan’s The Ford Century, a history of Ford and its effect on culture and business with a foreword by Paul Newman, Ford paid $150,000 in marketing costs and joined in developing the content and paying for production costs. As the book packager Tehabi noted, “Ford was really supportive of the fact that we didn’t want to dance around controversial issues. We don’t hide issues that might have been hidden in a promotional book.”
Collins used corporate sponsors to help underwrite the costs of producing their Day in the Life series. Sponsors included Kodak, Canon, American Express, and Apple as well as many hotels and airlines, plus some nonprofit associations and governmental agencies. Every sponsor was given credit in the front of each book.
10. Attract new audiences
Sponsors can often help you reach out to audiences you wouldn’t normally attract. One keep demographic that sponsors can often open up to authors is the people who don’t shop at bookstores or use libraries. That audience makes up more than 50% of people living in the United States. That’s a big audience.
11. Boost social media exposure
Most sponsors have large social media followings. When they sponsor you or your book, one of their commitments should be to promote your book to their social media followers. In turn, of course, you should promote your sponsors via your social media.
One reader wrote personally to me asking that I name the company that would like to sponsor her. Well, it doesn’t work that way. To get a sponsor, you have to work to create relationships with people working at a few targeted companies that want to reach the audience you are reaching with your book.
Sponsorships don’t just pop up out of the ether. They come about because you, as the author or publisher, work to create relationships with companies and groups that can benefit from your audience.
