Connecting with Local Businesses as an Indie Author
How connecting with businesses in your community can go a long way
As indie authors, it can sometimes feel as if we are small fish in a big ocean.
With major publishing houses opening doors and opportunities for signed authors, it often leaves indie authors wondering — where can we get our big break?
Meanwhile, indie authors often overlook a resource right in their backyard — local community businesses.
Did you know that, as an author, working with a local business gives you access to their already established community?
And often, local businesses want to work with other local creatives and entities within the community, as it can be mutually beneficial.
What to know before reaching out to a business for a partnership
Research
Before you head into any kind of deal, you should conduct your research about the business.
To start, begin looking at their online presence.
Do they have active social media pages? And if so, do they regularly spotlight their vendors and special items? How up-to-date is their website?
Seeing all of these aspects upfront will help you know what you can expect from the business in terms of how up-to-date they keep their customers as well as how their customers will know about your product.
In addition, it’s important to visit the business, if possible, to see their layout.
Seeing the business in person will give you an idea of how your products will be showcased, what areas of the business will see the most traffic, and what you can expect before speaking with them.
Questions
You will likely be speaking with the business you plan on partnering with via email, phone, or in person.
Don’t be caught off guard. Go into these conversations with a plan. And ask the questions you need answers to.
Now, if you’re wondering what you should be asking, here are some ideas:
How is the foot traffic here?
What are your busiest times of the year? (You can also ask month or week)
What is the process like for vendors partnering with you?
Who should I contact if I have any concerns or questions?
Do you have a general idea of where my products will be showcased?
What is the ideal price point for your customer base?
Do you spotlight vendors on social media?
How do you drive traffic to the business? (Special events, sales, etc.)
In addition to hearing all of this great information, your asking these types of questions shows you are serious.
What else should you remember?
When meeting with a business to be a potential vendor, be sure to come off as professional as possible.
This means you should:
Have your products ready for them to view upon meeting them
Have a business card to hand them for future contact
Arrive promptly
Shake their hand and make eye contact if it’s in person
Be prepared
Have your website and social media up to date
However you speak with this business, you must be prepared and professional.
Because if partnering with this business goes well, it could lead to partnerships with many other businesses in the future.
Types of Local Businesses Authors Can Connect With
Coffee Shops
Coffee shops typically have a loyal clientele. Customers who stop in a few times a week or at least once a week. And in addition to this, they often have customers who hang around the shop to read or work on their computers while they sip their coffee.
Here are some examples of partnership opportunities and ideas:
Hosting book signings (offer to help market the event)
“Local Author” shelf (offering to provide a shelf for their customers to peruse local authors is a great olive branch)
Writing meetups (meeting for writing critics at a coffee shop can bring more authors together and provide the shop with business)
Leave-behind bookmarks or postcards (see if they have a community board you can post a bookmark with your QR code on)
Partnering during slow weekday hours (you providing an event or bringing people in during this time of day can prove mutually beneficial)
Looking around to ensure it’s the right fit is key, but once you find it, it can be a huge payoff.
Bookstores
While many chain bookstores such as BAM and Barnes and Noble only work with the big publishing houses and signed authors, there are often overlooked independent bookstores or thrift book shops.
What to know before reaching out for a partnership:
Creating a relationship with the staff members of the bookstore before reaching out is helpful. When you stop in, make sure to make small talk or ask about how the store came to be. Make yourself memorable.
Supporting the store before asking for support is important. Can you promote the store on social media? Can you tell your friends about it? Can you share an event or sale they are having?
When the store has events, be sure to attend as consistently as possible. This shows support for the store, strengthens your relationship with them, and makes you memorable.
Thinking of themed events, you can pitch the store as opposed to ‘buy my book’ is going to go further. For example, instead of asking ‘Can I do a book signing?’ try, “I write thrillers set in Pennsylvania woods. I’d love to host a discussion on building suspense in small town settings.”
Libraries
Libraries are a magical resource that is often free and has a huge community reach. However, as more libraries become more open to the idea of working with indie authors, we need to remember that it’s a slow climb.
Consider offering them:
Workshops for the community (writing, children’s -based cover art sessions, and more)
Teen writing talks (many libraries have teen clubs, and maybe you can offer one where teens come with a short story to read, and we offer insight and feedback)
Local Author Panels (many libraries host local author events where they can sell their books, do readings, or even talk about their genre)
Summer Reading Programs (What can you offer their summer reading program? Opportunity for children’s authors)
Boutiques and Gift Shops
Many local businesses in the boutique and gift shop category align with specific topics that could offer a good pairing for an indie author.
For example, perhaps you have a non-fiction story or even a fiction story loosely based on a local event like the old railroad station in the middle of town. Perhaps partnering with the tourist gift shop or the museum gift shop could be a terrific opportunity.
Or another example, perhaps you write children’s books, and your local children’s museum is looking for items to sell in the gift shop. Could you even come up with an activity kit they could sell with your book?
Thinking outside the box and at what is available within your community that aligns with your books is key here.
Schools
As authors, we need to package and pitch ourselves to schools in a way that shows we are valuable.
For example, school PTO’s/PTA’s are always looking for presenters to come to school events throughout the year. And so are school librarians, especially when it comes to Read Across America week.
When it comes to approaching schools, you need to know:
What can you offer?
Schools need a presenter who can do more than simply read their book. So, this means having a plan for your visit. Do the children create book covers? Do they make art based on the book? Do they create a craft?
Basically, it comes down to — what interactive thing can you provide?
Perhaps if you know another children’s book or young adult book author, consider partnering with them to do an event together for a school. This provides more for the school to do and less pressure to perform as a single author.
The fact is, people love supporting people from their own community.
And when we make small connections within our communities, it can lead to bigger opportunities.
So, as an indie author, take the big leaps, make the connections, and see where it goes.