Mary Sullivan
A while ago, I blogged here about the types of promotional items available to authors and wondered which were the most effective. I received great feedback from visitors to the blog. After my first foray into utilizing promo this summer, I've come to the conclusion that my best piece was a postcard with a recipe on the front.
I chose a recipe rather than using my latest book cover so I could get more mileage out of it--so the postcard wouldn't get 'stale-dated' too quickly. There's an area on the back for attaching stickers with info about my latest Super.
At the convention I attended, the cards seemed to get lost in a sea of paper promotional items on the author table and I thought, Gee, that was a bit of a bust. However, in September I attended a fabulous annual book festival in Toronto called Word on the Street. It's an outdoor event that's held in a huge park and it's all about books and is a wonderful family affair, with booth after booth of books in every genre as well as oodles of children's books and local educational children's TV programs represented. As seems to happen every year, the weather was spectacular.
This year, I was invited to sign copies of my latest Super at the Harlequin booth and had a blast. Of course I brought along my promo items and handed them out and the reaction to the postcards was fabulous! So many readers were excited about trying the recipe and then emailing me with their results. Also, the cards were very well received at the table set up by my local RWA chapter. So…they were definitely worth producing.
I'd like to share my recipe here. I made it up for a potluck my daughter was having with a bunch of her friends but for which she had little time to cook, so I produced this bread that her friends loved. Here it is:
MARY SULLIVAN'S GUINNESS IRISH SODA BREAD
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 TBS. brown sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup olive of canola oil
1 cup Guinness
Stir together the two flours, brown sugar, baking soda and salt.
In small bowl, whisk together yogurt, oil and Guinness. Add to dry ingredients all at once; stir with fork until soft dough forms.
On lightly floured surface and with floured hands, press dough into ball; knead lightly 10 times. Place onto greased baking sheet; gently pat dough into a 7-inch circle. Sprinkle with a little flour. With sharp knife, score large X on top of loaf.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes. Tester inserted in center should come out clean.
Optional: add flax seeds or finely chopped nuts, if desired.
This bread is great served warm with butter.
I'll come up with a different recipe for next year's version of the postcard ;-)
(My favorite part of the book fair? I didn't see anyone walking around talking on cell phones or texting. The focus seemed to be strictly on books, and isn't that great?)
I'd like to give away a copy of my November Super, THESE TIES THAT BIND. For any of you who might have read July's BEYOND ORDINARY, this is the continuation of Remington Caldwell and Sara Franck's story.
33 comments:
Yummy post, Mary! I love the idea of recipes, but I never thought to put one on a postcard. Great idea. Postcards can be so much more attractive than sheets of paper recipes.
LOL It's strange to see a new post before bedtime.
You can also use a post card as a book mark. I have done this on numerous occasions. I like post cards for bookmarks as they fit inside the book and don't get knocked out when I'm traveling.
If I was going to bake bread I'd try this recipe as I love Guinness. Also I have most of the other ingredients on hand.
I love it when I go somewhere and nobody is using their mobile phones for anything. Being at a book fair would be awesome.
Love this idea, Mary. I may (probably will) not buy Guinness, but I would have picked up your recipe card on principle. I never turn down a recipe. lol. For a chocolate recipe... Maybe your whole back list.
Looking forward to your next extra - "Ordinary" book.
Oooo, I love bread. That sounds like a winner recipe, not a lot of kneading and no waiting around for it to rise! What a great idea for promoting yourself!
I read Beyond Ordinary. Will be getting Ties that Bind when it comes out. :)
The recipe idea is brilliant. That's something most people could use & appreciate. A keeper.
Mary
What a great idea. Every time someone bakes your bread, they will think of you.
Really clever. I bet it's tasty as well.
Thanks for sharing.
Toni
Great idea, Mary! Sounds like a recipe I'd like to try! I love a multipurpose promotional item. Like Kaelee, I'd use it as a bookmark, too, and since it's on a postcard, the recipe would be easier to keep in one of the recipe boxes and would be sturdier. All good things that will remind readers to look for your current books!
P.S.--I agree about baking now that the weather is cooler. Our last couple of summers have been so hot that I didn't even want to turn on the stove, much less the oven!
Yum! That sounds really good this morning.
I like that idea because finding good promo items is hard. You want readers to remember you and find whatever you're handing out to be useful. Think you've found a good one, and thanks for sharing the recipe. Looks wonderful for this time of year especially :)
How great, my three favorite things in one, books, baking and eating. Too good to pass up as a promo item.
Mary, I'm hoping that the recipe postcard stands out more than a recipe on a sheet of paper and that people will think of my books when they are baking ;-)
Kaelee, I've actually grabbed one of my postcards when I needed a book mark!
The book fair was pretty amazing. I love anything that promotes reading.
"Looking forward to your next extra - "Ordinary" book."
Thanks, Linda!
I'll have to come up with a chocolate recipe for my next card. I'll see what I can do ;-)
Snookie, I used to make yeast breads but don't seem to have time anymore so something like this soda bread makes a nice quick and relatively easy treat for company.
I wish I could eat it, but I'm allowed only GF breads. My daughter loves this recipe and so did my critique group, so I'm happy.
"I read Beyond Ordinary. Will be getting Ties that Bind when it comes out. :)"
Thank you ;-)
Marybelle and Toni, I'm hoping most readers will keep the recipe card and think of my books when they use it. It's hard to be commercially crass in considering promo items, but authors are called upon so often these days to promote their own work. I hope the postcards do the trick.
JV, I didn't turn on the oven once this summer! It's very cool, windy and rainy in my hometown today, though. Perfect baking weather.
Liz, I had a lot of trouble coming up with ideas for promo that wouldn't break the bank, but that also didn't just end up in the garbage can if people didn't like them. At least a postcard can be thrown into the recycle box ;-)
Gloria, you've hit the nail on the head--books, baking and eating. Three of my favorite things, too!
Books and baking. Love both.
Can't imagine going anywhere now that someone isn't on a cell phone. Just doesn't happen.
Looks like a good recipe. I like to bake, and I have a very simple recipe I make when we are at our family's cabin. It takes all day and I get a lot of writing in while waiting for it to rise.
The idea of promotion terrifies me. I suppose it is like changing diapers. Just comes with the territory. I do like the recipe card idea or book marks. I still read print books, and I don't like to fold down the corners as I save pretty much every book I buy.
I enjoyed BEYOND ORDINARY and look forward to the next one.
Sounds like a wonderful recipe. My sister use to make Irish potatoe bread and it was awesome. Must try this one. Great idea about putting on a postcard.
Great idea, Mary! I'll have to try your recipe - I do quite a bit of cooking and baking on Sundays and am always on the lookout for new recipes *g*
The book festival sounds wonderful
:-)
Kristina, I'm with you on the idea of promotion. It really intimidated me, too. I'm glad I finally made the leap and put some items together this summer. My advice is to be conservative and don't do too much. The costs really add up quickly.
Virginia, I love potato bread. I used to make it, but that was a long time ago. I stick to less time-consuming baking these days.
Beth, the book festival really was awesome. It was especially great to see so many parents out nurturing the reading bug in their children.
Harlequin had amazing deals on all of their books and every cent went toward supporting the festival, which I thought was pretty wonderful.
This reminds me of all the bread-making my mom and I used to do, especially in the Fall. The best part is the smell of freshly made bread from scratch.
It was 84°F here last Sunday. Today, the high was 50°F or so with rain and winds. Quite a difference, but it's a good thing. My hubby's birthday is Friday, so I need to bake his cake tomorrow. It will be bearable now that the temps are lower.
Mary, a new recipe never goes astray! Great idea for promotion. The book festival sounds wonderful. I love that people are still celebrating print books. I'm going to print out your recipe and try it next time I have the family over.
Hi Mary,
Thanks for sharing your great recipe and I would love to win your new book.
JV, I hope the weather holds until you get the cake baked!
Joan, it was great to see so many print books at the festival.
I'm going to "steal" the idea of the postcards. That's really nice.
I sometimes frame postcards to enjoy them a bit longer, or place them in a photoalbum just like a type of scrapbook.
The fair sounds great :D
Love the postcard recipe idea!
Love the idea! I have started trying to put all my favorite recipes on notecards.
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