If you’re the founder of a small business, or an entrepreneur, or even in charge of marketing for any type of business, then you already know the type of opportunities that presents themselves around the holidays. Marketing staples like “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday” have set sky-high customer expectations and defined the roles you need to play in terms of promotion. Customers and potential new clients expect “big things” during this time of year. Those companies that deliver have a better chance of earning new business.
During Black Friday this year, for instance, we offered a 25% discount on our full-color children’s illustration packages. It was the first time we ever offered such a deep discount on all our artistic styles across the board. But we had just introduced over 20 new styles to our offerings and we wanted to announce them in a big way. Mission accomplished!
We always offer a “fun” or “big” promotion during the month of December, too. Before last year’s “Best book of the Month” contest, our December promotion was typically the awarding of a free publishing package. In fact, if I’m remember correctly, there was one year when we awarded 3 free publishing packages during the month of December. Last year, of course, we held a “Best Book of the Month” contest during which we reviewed all the manuscripts submitted for publication during December to select the one we determined to be the “best.” The author of said manuscript received not only a credit of his publishing package, but an additional 10%, in an effort to “mimic” traditional free publication and an advance.
Nowadays if you want attention, you do something with one of Apple’s products (iPhone, iPad, etc). So this December, we are giving away a free Apple iPad to the author of the best manuscript we receive at the Diamond or Pearl publishing levels. See all the details here.
Not only is this a fun incentive to new authors to publish with their best work, but it also “wets the whistle” for the iPad Edition option we will be announcing in early 2011. You heard it here first.
President of Outskirts Press 