Friday 23 May 2008

A Tisket, A Tasket, A Promotional Basket

One of my RWU members, Gina Ardito is putting together a gift package to use as a promotional prize at a conference. She asked for ideas. Her upcoming e-book romance, A Little Slice of Heaven, is a romance revolving around an Italian pizza restaurant. We came up with items like olive oil, pizza cutter, a bright red colander and a red-and-white checkered tablecloth along with a CD of her book.

We had loads of fun coming up with ideas, and it prompted me to contemplate what I would include in a gift bag with my books.

For The Space Between, I'd include a shark tooth necklace (I'm getting quite proficient at making them myself), a few artsy things like a paint set and small canvas and brushes. What else? A rubber snake? An inflatable dinghy? Sushi recipes?

For Bad Ice, I'd like to include a hockey puck (with my cover on it), a hockey sweater (with my cover on it), a gift card for The Beer Store (we can't buy beer in a convenience store), and... hm, what else? A smelly jock strap? Just kidding.

If you made a promotional gift basket for your book or future book, what would you put in it?

11 comments:

Travis Erwin said...

Instead of a basket your friend should have put her goodies in a pizza box.

My novel in progress is titles Plundered Booty and is a modern day pirate story so maybe I'd have to include rum but after that I'm at a loss.

Sandra Cormier said...

Oh! But she already bought the colander, so that wouldn't fit. What a great idea!

For the rum, you can include a gift certificate for a place that sells it.

laughingwolf said...

since most of my stuff ends up horror/fantasy, intended or otherwise, some magickal spells, runes, and imitation 'blades' should work ;) lol

jjdebenedictis said...

Gosh, this is a really good question. I have no idea!

*thinks*

Black hair dye and a gold lamé wimple.

Bernita said...

I don't know.
I write about ghosts.

BernardL said...

I didn't know there were promotional gift baskets. The one you listed for 'Bad Ice' is a good one... less the jock strap of course. :)

Chris Eldin said...

A coupon for my future books-HAHAHA!
Gosh, that's a tough one. I love your basket though. It's creative and fun.
:-)

Gina Ardito aka Katherine Brandon said...

Travis, yours would be in a treasure chest, of course. A pizza box is a little too unsturdy to hold the goodies, which included sun dried tomato pesto sauce and linguine, as well as a DVD of "Under the Tuscan Sun." Everything one needs for an Italian feast! Mangia!

Ellie Heller said...

Love the idea for yours, Chumplet. Maybe add a snow globe with a hockey player in it?

For my current WIP, I'd use a snow globe with a wind turbine in it or a ruined castle, some dried flowers, a copy of Shakespeare's a Midsummer Night's Dream, a kid's pretend cell phone and put it all in ...what...Oh, I know, a tourist bag from Niagara Falls!

What fun!

Sandra Cormier said...

Oh! Oh! In the Bad Ice basket, a Bobblehead doll of my hero Jason!

Bernard, promotional gift baskets make great raffle items at conventions, but I wouldn't expect to make a habit of it. It could get expensive, after all.

Kanani said...

Funny you should ask. I just got a SWAG bag from a fashion show I'm covering. You wouldn't believe the great stuff they give the press.

So...
My book is about a woman who saves a river and finds herself as well as love along the way.

I'd put in information about The Nature Conservancy, also some eco-friendly items such as jewelery made from recycled bits, an organic cotton t-shirt with the name of the book, and oh... a Marguerita blender!