Do you like SWAG? by Paty Jager

~ patyjag

While I enjoy writing my books more than promoting or marketing, I do enjoy coming up with items to give away as swag. S.W.AG.= Something We All Got. I had to look that up! LOL I didn’t realize it actually meant something.

Anyway, as I chortle over the definition… With the new series I needed bookmarks. My awesome daughter to has designed most of my covers and all of my bookmarks and swag, came up with this design for my Spotted Pony Casino Mystery bookmark.

And because I’m headed to Bouchercon this month and wanted items to give away during the event, she also designed these chocolate poker chips I’ll be handing out. I wanted something that said “Casino Mystery” and was lucky enough to find a promotion site that made custom chocolate poker chips.

The one on the left is fuzzy due to the setting on my camera.

For my Gabriel Hawke fans, I ordered these fun flashlights for Bouchercon last year. A conference that never happened. Good thing flashlights hold over well. 😉 Worried about transporting this on the plane, I asked a security person when we took our grandson to the airport if they would be allowed and he said, “yes.”

Over the years I’ve given away ereader covers I made, Dream catchers I’ve made, and I hand out small tote bags with purchase at the Sumpter Flea Market twice a year. The bags do help. I had one woman tell me that seeing someone carrying one of my bags reminded her she needed more of my books. I am finding out that while I’ve picked up swag over the years that didn’t move me to purchase a book, it does seem that a bit of the freebies handed out do help to sell the next book by an author.

For Bouchercon, I also made a 4″ x 6″ chap book with the first chapter from each of the first books in my mystery series and my Romantic Suspense trilogy. I’ll be handing those out during my “Speed Dating” event. I’ve made several of these over the years that I hand out at conferences. I have one that is the first book of my historical western romance series. One that is the first chapter of the first book of my trilogies or series with Native American elements. And one with the first chapters of my mystery books, like this one, only minus the new mystery series.

As an author what are some of the things you’ve given away over the years? As a reader what are some of the items you’ve received that you kept? Did that every remind you to look for a book by that author?

SINCE WRITING THIS POST BOUCHERCON HAS BEEN CANCELED. So the swag will have to wait for another conference.

Published by patyjag

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 50 + novels, novellas, and short stories of murder mystery, western romance, and action adventure. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.

11 thoughts on “Do you like SWAG? by Paty Jager”

    1. Roxanne, When I first heard the word swag, I thought what a weird name but okay. I should have looked it up years ago! Glad I could enlighten someone else, too!

      Like

  2. I love working on SWAG, Paty. I see you really have the process down, too. Not surprising. You seem to have everything down! I just had some pens with my logo made up and plan to give them out at my next conference, which sadly, is not Bouchercon but Left Coast Crime. One of these days I hope to meet you at one of them!

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Personally, I’m not a fan of swag except bookmarks–no one can have enough bookmarks. I do think reader love swag–but I’m not sure it sells books. You do have some great ideas. The most I do these days is have a printed list of my two series books in order.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi Marilyn, Yeah, I’m sure all but the bags and bookmarks rarely sell a book. But I like being generous and I have fun thinking up things.

      Like

  5. You have an impressive inventory of SWAG, Paty. Mostly I’ve done bookmarks but for the Anita Ray series I made recipe cards the size of postcards, with a book cover on the opposite side. Those seemed to attract people. You have some great ideas.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. HI Susan, Thanks! I think swag is the one promotional thing I like to do. LOL I like the recipe cards idea for your series. My swag usually draws people over to my booth, then I snag them with pitches about the series.

      Like

Comments are closed.