Monday, October 1, 2012

SWAG, baby! (5 Reasons Why I Chose Mine)

Happy Monday, all!
Well, after much stress, my edits are about to be finally sent off to my editor! Whew!!

I will have more good news to share that I'm pretty excited (but also slightly stressed) about.
Can't say what yet, but very soon...

Anyhew...for me, October is conference time. My NJ chapter of RWA has their annual conference in about two weeks and I'm so excited to go!

As you know, at every conference there's usually a "goodie" room for...well, goodies, AKA promo items or swag.

I was going to do a bookmark--and I still might do one--but I was looking for something different. So I decided to go with a highlighter with my name/website on it.


WHY?

Because I personally like useful swag.

Swag that won't be eaten (although I love chocolate) or thrown away and forgotten.

Something that people will most likely pick up and put in their tote bag.

Something that will stay on someone's desk.

Something that is for brand/name recognition purposes.

Will swag help sell my books? I don't think so. Or at least, not right away.

Do I run out and buy a donut at Dunkin' Donuts when I'm watching baseball because that company hung a sign on the field? No. But if I'm in the mood for a donut the next time I'm out, I might stop there since it's a name I recognize.

For me, it's just about getting my name in front of a new crowd of people.

There are a ton of places that will do cheap quality promo items, but I recently found a new one called Discount Mugs.
Don't let the name fool you! They do more than just mugs and the prices are pretty good. Check them out. It's a fun site.

I'll be signing books at the conference's Literacy Fair and will also be giving out those highlighters with my books!


What about you? What's your favorite kind of swag/promo item to give out or get?

Do you think promo items serve a purpose or is it a waste of money?

*****************************************************************
Also,
I wanted to mention Justine Dell and Sarah Fine's charity auction/fundraiser going on:


Do you want get some AWESOME books? Cool swag?


AND help raise money for Suicide Prevention?



 BLOGGERS, WRITERS, AGENTS & AUTHORS are...



UNITING FOR A CAUSE



Please visit Justine's blog for more details!
Some great books are being offered up (including one of mine) :)

37 comments:

Scarlet Wilson said...

Gorgeous swag Jennifer. I gave away chocolate stapled onto calendars and bookmarks at my last conference. Did you get your highlighters from the discount migs website?

Kerry Ann @Vinobaby's Voice said...

That's pretty clever. I'd pick one up, for sure. I didn't realize some states have RWA conferences. Thanks for the heads up, and have fun!

Wendy Paine Miller said...

Love the highlighter idea! Swag baby!

Now I'm going to think about useful things to use when my turn comes. And oh it shall come. :D
~ Wendy

Anne Gallagher said...

Love that idea of highlighter. I would sooo pick that up. I don't do swag yet, but I have some ideas about the future.

Can't wait to hear your big "secret".

Diane Estrella said...

I like your swag pick. Useful and something people can see your name on everyday. Love it.

Can't wait for your exciting news. You are on a roll baby! :O)

CJ Kennedy said...

I prefer useful swag: pens, paper. Love your highlighter.

Kristi said...

I'm with you...I definitely prefer useful swag, and that highlighter is TOO CUTE.

Have fun at the conferences...can't wait to hear about it when you get back! :)

(sidenote: now I'm thinking about donuts)

Sutton Fox said...

Great idea, Jennifer. Love useful swag.

Have fun at the conference!

Bossy Betty said...

Congrats in sending in your edits!

Love the swag!

Old Kitty said...

Bookmarks are a must and I love bookmarks oh but your highlighter pen idea is BRILLIANT!!! Yay!!! take care
x

Jessica Nelson said...

What a great idea!!! I'm going to check out that website. Thanks!

Linda Kage said...

I like useful swag stuff best too! The highlighter is a GREAT idea! Thank you for the charity auction/fundraiser link!

Sandra Orchard said...

Love those highlighters! I can't say that free swag has ever prompted me to buy from a certain author, but I do appreciate it, so it probably elicits good will in me toward the author and ultimately be a contributing factor toward buying one of her books.

Julie Jarnagin said...

Very cute. And I don't really use bookmarks anymore because I love my Kindle. :)

Cindy R. Wilson said...

Yay, can't wait to hear your good news! And I love useful swag, too! Bookmarks are super cute and fun, but something useful is great for me!

LTM said...

Hey! I LOVE that bookmark! and I always like getting swag. I'm kind of a gift lover that way. Good luck w/the conferences and great work on being done! :o) <3

Carol Kilgore said...

Love the USEFUL swag! Thanks for sharing the name of the source. Gonna check them out.

Nancy said...

I love your highlighter. I think pens are a great idea, too. I have used one up by a favorite author, but I can't throw it away. It's like you are giving a little part of yourself with a cute, small gift. Yes, I do think it would help sell books, too.

Connie Keller said...

I love the highlighter idea! I'll have to visit the website.

Maria Zannini said...

Useful swag all the way. I have more bookmarks than I'll ever need.

Good swag is anything the reader will see regularly. I'm particularly fond of magnetic calendars or Post It notes.

Karen Lange said...

I like some promotional stuff, like pens and mugs and that really cool highlighter of yours! :)

Livia Peterson said...

Gorgeous and useful swag! I would use it in a second for many of things! :)

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

Aren't you clever? Your swag will be the absolute highlight of the give-aways. (Sorry. Couldn't resist.)

Anonymous said...

That highlighter is pretty cool. What a great idea for a giveaway item.

Chelle Sandell said...

Oh yeah, baby! I love me some swag. LOL. I like the author refrigerator magnets.

Terri Tiffany said...

Wow! You have lots of fun news and exciting things going on now:) So what is coming up for you???
I love getting notepads as I use them all the time. Used to give them out when I owned a store,.

Carolyn V said...

What a great swag idea! I personally love when I get practical promo stuff. And you're totally right about the name recognition. It works.

Southpaw said...

Swag is awesome, but useful or fun swags is best. I tend to visit the site of anyone with swag. It's kind of like if they have swag they must have a cool site...

Walt Mussell said...

Chocolate is definitely the best SWAG of all, but I admit I don't remember who gave it to me afterwords.

Theresa Milstein said...

That highlighter is so cute! What a fun idea.

Can't wait to hear your news.

BECKY said...

I love your highlighter! GREAT idea and I would definitely pick one up, use it, and remember you! Oh..and some of the stuff, as you mentioned, usually gets lost and forgotten.Can't wait to hear your newest news!

BECKY said...

I forgot to say I LOVE the picture of Austen Powers!! Yeah, Baby!

Rula Sinara said...

Love the swag and reasoning. I like practical things too.

Cheryl Klarich said...

Hi Jennifer! I do love swag--the highlighter is a great choice (cute colors are involved).

Have fun! ;)

(I'm so happy to support Justine and the Out of Darkness Foundation!!)

Unknown said...

Love the idea of the highlighter, Jennifer! And I agree with you that name recognition may very well foster a sale in the future. Have a blessed weekend~

Darcy Flynn said...

I love useful swag! Picked up several good items at RWA12! Ate the chocolate and threw the paper away! I still have the useful stuff! Thanks for the website link. I've already bookmarked it!

Name: Holly Bowne said...

Your highlighters look so cool!

Since I'm not at a level where anybody would need/want swag with my name on it (yet! ;o) I'll share what I've liked in the past. I guess my past favorites have been tote bags. I get a lot of use out of them!