A2R Marketing: Bugs and Books

Sometimes this marketing thing is a blast.

I love trying different ideas to reach readers. I’m a little guy trying to market in the big bad world against deep pockets and robust promotional machines. The relentless marketing effort can be a slog, so changing it up once in a while is what I need to keep me and my peeps fresh.

Over one year ago, I launched a bug dedicated to Jessica Wyeth, horses, and my books. 

A bug? Yes. A geocaching travel bug.

Jessica Wyeth's Travel Bug

Geocaching consists of boxes hidden in public places. The boxes may be as big as an ammunition box or as small as a lipstick tube. Inside, a journal to log a find may be joined with trinkets of all sizes and values – from key chain fobs to rare coins. Caches are listed on Geocaching.com and estimates state over one million boxes are in the United States alone. Once a muggle finds one box, the quest for more treasure is on.

A travel bug is designed to travel from cache to cache and it’s fun to see where a bug has been and to decide what new place to bring it. Some wander happily around the globe and others have a mission. The bug I created is dedicated to finding unique equestrian locations.

This map shows Jessica’s bug’s travels. Bug started in a cache near Jessica’s childhood home of Hamilton, Massachusetts. From there, Bug has traveled to New Hampshire, Quebec, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York. While I’ve been busy tapping away on my stories, Bug has traveled over thirteen hundred miles. Oh, and the horse thing? Sometimes, Bug ends up near bridle paths and equestrian centers. The kayak place in Quebec has me stumped.

This is where I confess to having a smattering of nerd in my DNA. I think this is really freaking cool.

So, you ask, how does this equate to marketing?

Bug and Book prior to launch

I can see the data of when and where Bug has been spotted or moved. Via Amazon’s author services, I can see when and where my books are sold. I get a kick out of lining up the data and seeing why sales happened. I’m not talking about a hundred books being sold, in fact, I’m pretty excited to see a clustered few, but when I see action in a part of the country I don’t have a large presence in and trace it back to Bug, I geek out. For a little bit of effort a year or so ago, I created an evergreen promotion. One fan who discovered my books even wrote a review and posted it on Goodreads. She loved the serendipity of discovering my books via geocaching and was intrigued enough to read “The Charity.” Oh, she loved the book, too. So, Goodreads Reader, if you’re out there and sampling this blog, I love you, too.

I’m not suggesting you go out today and buy a travel bug tag and sprinkle the universe with tchotchke. In fact, I’d recommend against it. I struck on something that fit for me. I love hiking, have long been a geocaching fan, and was going to launch a travel bug anyway just because I think they’re fun.  

Bug's page allows folks to post pictures and they definitely have fun with this. This boy was out hiking and caching in Ohio with his dad when he came across Bug and another pal. Next thing Bug knows, she’s in New York! 

Bug in a dinosaurs mouth? Gotta love it.

Seriously, how many layers of wow can you find?

I have never met this geocaching photographer,
 but somehow I know we'd get along great.

Maybe one more. I'm offering a reward. Read on!

A2R Marketing: REWARD! Jessica Wyeth and the Travel Bug

The best stories leave readers feeling like they have lived inside the pages of a book. When the setting is realistic, readers of fiction are taken deeper into the characters' lives and suspend their beliefs long enough for the writers to weave their tales. Readers of The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, are rewarded with many blogs on locations featured in the book and film locales. Lovers of the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer flock to Forks and La Push, Washington and visit towns of the Quileute tribe. Readers love being surrounded by the physical world their beloved characters inhabited. It extends their enjoyment of the stories and writers love active and engaged fans.

I've heard from readers who feel as if they have walked in my main character's shoes. I've decided to take things one step more...pun somewhat intended. Now I'm offering a reward to do exactly that.

For you muggles out there, listen up. Geocaching combines hiking with treasure hunts. Geocachers hide boxes in different locations accessible by the public. Over two million people worldwide enjoy searching for caches that can be as big as an ammunition box or as small as a pill vile. Once a cache is found, a log is signed and a small item may traded. A twist on the typical seek and find is a travel bug. These 'bugs' are trackable objects that geocachers move from cache to cache. The best bugs have a purpose, like trying to get to China or finding the best dog parks in the U.S.

On New Year's day 2015, I placed a travel bug named "Jessica Wyeth's Travels" somewhere in Jessica's hometown of Hamilton, Massachusetts. If you go onto the Geocache site, you'll read these details:

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You'll have to find the bug to read the tracker numbers!

Mission:

This travel bug is dedicated to Jessica Wyeth of Hamilton, Massachusetts. Help Jessica travel and find the best places horse lovers can go to fuel their passion.

Jessica is an expert equestrian and is passionate about all things horse related. Help this bug travel to equestrian themed locations: Bridle trails? Race tracks? Farms? Homes of famous horse lovers? Places of real or fictional horses or their owners? A statue featuring a horse? Birthday party pony rides?

Or even better, if you've read her books, bring this bug to places from her story around Massachusetts, Kentucky, Wyoming, Utah, Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Description:

Jessica Wyeth was born with traits she couldn't hide: beauty, cunning, an innate ability to survive and the desire to travel.

Jessica is the main character in "The Charity" and (upcoming in 2015) "The Troubles." She's had more than a bit of trouble hiding as an accused murderer. Now she's tangled up with terrorists.

There's a reward for helping her travel bug roam the world in search of all things horse. Post a name in your geocache comment, and you might see that name used in a story. Jessica needs friends and your suggested name might become the person who helps her! That name could also be transformed into a character in a short story.

So, let this bug travel the world in search of an equine experience, and have fun! 

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You read that right! I'm offering a reward. I'll be watching the travels of this bug and the comments very carefully. (I'll also be watching the comments on this blog post, too!) If you find the bug, post your discovery and a name you'd like to see in a story. It can be your name or one you make up, but be warned - the character may have some unsavory traits you might not like associated with your real name. I'm busy developing the third book in Jessica's series, and she really, really needs a friend or two. I write short stories too, so your suggested name could end up in one of those as well. Through the power of social media, I promise to notify you if I use your suggested name.

If you've read this blog before, I had great ambitions to make a puzzle geocache. This travel bug is one step closer to making that happen!

So, exercise your sense of adventure, creativity and body all at the same time! Don't sit on your tush reading! Get outside and enjoy the day! Have some fun!

More on A2R (Author to Reader) Marketing can be found here.