June 2025 Doing marketing for a book coming out soon? Part Two on vital print collateral

Most authors or soon-to-be authors know they need to work on marketing their book as well as writing and publishing it.

Last week we introduced a two-part post on print collateral for first-time authors who are lining up their marketing.

We reminded folks that not all marketing is digital, critical as that is. There are times when you will be appearing in real life, so to speak, and need some vital pieces that represent you, your book, and your brand.

We mentioned that print collateral is the marketing term that describes the bits and pieces, print or digital, that talk about your book and promote your author brand.

If you are an author, you are a businessperson or need to at least think like one. And if you want people to remember you, tell other people about you, and sometimes just literally see you, you need some things for those face-to-face encounters.

I believe every author needs these three most basic real-world items:

·       Business card
·       Bookmark
·       Retractable (pull up) banner

Last week we talked about business cards and bookmarks, and the importance of a well-thought-out graphic theme that coordinates with your website and fits your brand. [If you want to see that post, you can find it here.

But we didn’t discuss those banners, because they deserve a post on their own.

I’m a big fan of pull up banners because they have a lot more visual presence and will survive multiple uses.

You’ve all seen them, and there’s one in the photo with this post, but basically the way they work is that the banner unrolls up from the base like an old-fashioned roller window shade upside down.

They cost a few hundred dollars, but should last years, and work best indoors. You can find a dizzying array of them online but if you aren’t familiar with how they work, get some input from someone who does. You will determine what width and height you want, so you will want to think about the places you’ll be using it when deciding that.

I find people tend to be too conservative about the size banner they get. You want it to be at least 6 feet high, so it’s visible over the heads of most people at an event. Other people think a tabletop banner works fine, but I would argue that is fine for a secondary banner or for places that won’t allow you to have a floor banner, but not as the primary banner you have.

And for those of you cringing a bit because you feel a six-foot banner is too bold, don’t judge the size by how it appears in your home. Public spaces like churches, stores, and convention centers are large spaces with very tall ceilings and your banner won’t look too large. You do want people to notice it.

You’ll also want to imagine yourself showing up somewhere as the professional author who will be having to quickly set the thing up while people are standing there watching you, so get something easy to manage. I’d say sturdiness and ease of assembly are more important than ease of carrying them.

The best ones have a base with a bit of weight in it and are about two-three feet or more wide, and come with a telescoping pole that connects the top of the unrolled banner to the base. The whole thing should then be free standing without any additional support needed. The graphic gets printed onto vinyl and will withstand multiple times of rolling and unrolling.

They will be a bit unwieldy to carry, admittedly, and if you fly often for speaking engagements, you should consider also buying the travel bag with a shoulder strap for carrying the banner onto a plane.

I’ve seen ones that fold into a carrying case that’s a nice suitcase size, but those may sacrifice sturdiness and that’s a problem you don’t want.

There are other options of course. There are tall banners that aren’t the roll up type, but have metal poles that crisscross in the back to hold the banner upright. They are less expensive, and I have purchased them for projects I worked on, especially when we needed several banners. You can make those work, but those truly are best used by the very nimble who either already have three hands or can be assured of borrowing someone else’s when it comes time to assemble. Plus, after a few uses, I’ve found I’m generally also looking for something to lean the banner up against to keep it upright.

There are other newer, more expensive types of banners also that may be better for you.

You could also make do with a poster on an easel but only do that if you mount it on a firm board. Don’t try to get something that rolls up because then you have to figure out how to keep the thing lying flat while on that easel.

But the poster on a foam core board has its own issues. Someone has to fit them into a vehicle and drive them to places and still keep them from getting damaged. You can reprint the same artwork of course the next time you need it, but at a cost of $40-50 per time, you may find the pull up banner more economical in the long run and likely more convenient.

There are some other considerations as well to keep in mind when doing this planning and designing of the banner, and to reiterate, you should think about this at the same time you are doing your business cards and bookmarks. Prices can also vary by a lot for producing them. If you would like to get some help with this, let me know as we at Buoyancy PR have trustworthy resources with reasonable prices who can help you get all of this exciting preparation done.

By the way, if you are reading this and are not quite at the point of needing these items, do yourself a favor and start paying attention to the banners you see around you. Many churches and businesses use them, and a great place to see what others have done is at conventions and trade shows, such as the Christian Product Expo (CPE) coming up in August where many authors will be doing book signings.

Let me know if we can help you in any way as you think about your print collateral.