Are you still shying away from using social media as a marketing tool?  Here are some things social media has done for me that might change your mind:

Social marketing is really working out well for me, when I can’t afford to travel for expo’s, conventions or networking.  I have met many new people, had more opportunities and more people know about me and my books.

Remember, when using social media, consistency is key, just like with a blog. Keep ‘em coming back by posting regularly and with helpful information!

There was so much talk about how this years Book Expo was going to be smaller, less attended by industry vendors and visitors and so much less of a networking experience than previous years because of the smaller size.  It is true that there was only one floor of the Javits Center this year and less people but I found that to be to my advantage.  Less booths to visit, so more time talking to the folks I wanted to talk to, less crowds to get through and a much more relaxed atmosphere.

According to the Book Expo of America website there were 21,919 people that attended the book expo this year, and there were over 29,000 industry professionals in attendance in 2009 and 20,000 in 2008, though the 2009 and 2008 numbers include vendors.

I came prepared to meet publishers I had been published by, that I had met at other networking events and to speak to publishers who might be interested in my book ideas.  I brought business cards I had made up especially for the BEA with pertinent information that publishers would be interested in (how many on my mailing lists, my platform information etc) and a few press kits.  I did very well meeting and talking with publishers all day on Wednesday and found 4 publishers interested in my work that took my press kits and cards.  I have already had 2 publishers calling me about my book idea since I have been back!  I landed my first book deal by attending the BEA so that was my goal this year as well.

I really enjoyed the book expo being smaller, less crowds, less waiting to talk to people you want to meet and talk to and less walking!  I received a newsletter that had a review of this years BEA and they called it “boring” and said “that it was not a venue for doing business and that if you hear differently it is simply propaganda from the BEA folks”.

I am not affiliated with the BEA and in my opinion it WAS a venue for doing business and that is not at all propaganda for the BEA.  I definitely found some publishers interested in my work and am sure I will get another book deal out of the contacts I made there.  In my opinion if you go to the BEA with a clear goal, set up appointments and present yourself in a professional way you can make good contacts and do business attending the BEA.  I have attended for the last 6 years and have always had good luck in gaining work and meeting and networking with people that I keep in touch with in the industry.

Some things I noticed at the expo this year was that some of the vendors were late in setting up their booths and when I tried to talk to them, they were to “busy” setting up and asked me to come back later.  Others were so busy talking among themselves they would literally just ignore you while chatting or texting or just walk away from the booth leaving it unmanned.  This is fine, I take that to mean they are not serious and if that is how they approach their business, I am not interested in working with them anyway.  So by doing this they really did me a favor and saved me from wasting time with them.

I was looking to talk to publishers of business books since that is what I write and in some cases the representatives that I approached at a publishers booth didn’t know who was in charge of the business books, or just didn’t know where they were but they weren’t worried about it.  They would ask me to come back later or would just tell me that someone was there that was in charge of the business books but they didn’t know where they were and would walk away.   I am still trying to figure out why they were there, maybe to get a day out of the office, or to network with other publishers, but certainly not to meet new authors or look for new talent.

This surprised me since the economy is still in the toilet and the publishing industry seems to be suffering but maybe not enough for them to focus and really try to get the most out of the Expo.  On the other hand the folks in the digital publishing sector were outgoing, friendly and helpful.  Maybe because they know this is the wave of the future.

So, what did I learn from attending my 6th year at the Book Expo?

In closing I want to say that the publishers I did speak with were very open and friendly, spent time talking with me to see if I was worth their time and could be an author that would write a book that was relevant to their company and asking about my platform, other writing and marketing experience.  Attending the Book Expo was once again, a rewarding experience for me that will result in a paying job and hopefully in getting to know more people in the industry that I met at the expo and now email with and work with in the future.