How Authors Can Use Groups to Raise Awareness for Our Books

Are you tapped into the small groups at your church? When I wrote my first children’s activity book, Trees of the Book, I intended to market it to teachers and home educators. I positioned it as a supplement to the Life Sciences curriculum and targeted those groups with my promotions.

But I was pleasantly surprised when the Children’s Ministry Leader at my church purchased copies of my book to use in Sunday School over the summer break. She explained that attendance was sporadic with families taking holidays and traveling, and new families visiting from other churches. She felt that my book could be used by those who attended every week, but also those who showed up only a few Sundays. It was a win-win. She kept the books at the church so those who attended weekly could use the same book, and those who only dropped in had a copy dedicated to them as well. At the end of the summer, regular attendees were allowed to take their books home.

This summer, the Children’s Ministry Leader purchased copies of my newest activity book, Adam’s Animals. She shared her delight that my book on animals fit well with her choice of Vacation Bible School (VBS) material from Group – Weird Animals: Where Jesus Love is One-of-a-Kind. Those children who attended day camp had a consistent curriculum with Sunday School. And those who’d never attended Sunday School were encouraged to attend because of the theme.

Do you have a book that could piggyback an existing church program? Maybe it could be used in an adult Bible study? Or as a giveaway for a Youth Group? Maybe it could be included in a gift basket for new mothers? Or as a retirement gift?

Consider the small groups that are running at your own church and think about where your book may fit.

Kimberley Payne is an award-winning author who combines her teaching experience and love of writing to create educational materials for children about family, fitness, science and faith. You can visit her website at www.kimberleypayne.com



 Links

Group VBS
http://www.group.com/vbs/weird-animals

View sample pages from Adam’s Animals
http://bit.ly/ExcerptsFromAdamsAnimals

Adam’s Animals available on Amazon
http://bit.ly/adamsanimals

Trees of the Book available on Amazon
http://bit.ly/TreesOfTheBook

1 Comments

  1. Janis Cox14 August 2014 at 17:13

    Great idea.
    I will try to work with this idea for my book Tadeo Turtle as it does have a curriculum all ready.
    Blessings,
    Janis

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