One-on-one marketing sells books

  On any given day John Shors may attend three or four book clubs -- always talking about the same book, "Beneath a Marble Sky." Shors is the book's author.

When the book-- an historical romance about the building of the Taj Mahal-- came out in hardback, it earned good reviews and mediocre sales. When it came out in paperback,Shors added a pesonal letter at the back of the book encouraging book clubs to book him for a personal engagement.

200 book clubs later, Shors' book sales are going great. It's number 350 on Amazon and getting 5 star reviews.

Book clubs are not the only people intriqued with Shors marketing strategy.He caught the eye of CBS Newsman Harry Smith. You can read his story or watch the video (beware you do have to watch some advertising before the interview  begins).

There is a second interview with just Smith chatting with Shors. You can watch that video as well.

Shors told Smith that his goal is to attend 1000 book clubs. He's booking book club discussions  through 2007.

A couple of years ago author Lorna Landvik ,"Patty Jane's House of Curls" visited my book club. It was great. Landvik lives in Minneapolis and she regularly attends book clubs in the cities. However, from a marketing perspective talking to the hometown crowd is probably not the best way to reach a wide audience.

Shors is taking  the book club personal appearance to a new level by making virtual guest appearances.Whether on a speaker phone or video conference-Shors visits these book club without stepping into their livingrooms--he is a virtual guest.

Watch the back of your paperbacks. I have a feeling that more and more authors will soon be hopping on the virtual book club tour.