I’m traveling to two important events in April: the prestigious Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop in Dayton, Ohio, and the Wayfinding Women excursion to Ireland. My latest bestselling books are too heavy and cumbersome to carry and many people don’t want to haul them home, so I have the next-best marketing tool: a QR Code. QR stands for “Quick Response” and allows any URL to be scanned for instant access. To make a free QR Code from any website, go to several options including QR Code Generator. I have codes for my books and for my website.
To use the QR Code, download and open a QR reader on your smartphone, take a photo of the QR Code, and open the website. Most smartphones will automatically connect to the website after “seeing” the black and white squares embedded in the QR Code.
This QR Code allows potential clients and friends to instantly access my website without storing business cards or scribbling website addresses. Other marketing materials include the code to each book so it can be found and ordered on Amazon. I strongly advocate selling through local bookstores over Amazon, but the choices are different at a conference. Here are two examples of how I use the codes on my book marketing materials.
Midlife Happy Hour remains in the top 100 bestselling books for Midlife Management on Amazon.
- INDIES Finalist for Humor Book of the Year
- First Place for Midlife, Independent Press Awards
- Distinguished Favorite for Humor, Independent Press Awards
- 5-Star Review from Foreword Reviews
- Chosen to Premiere at the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Fall Trade Show
- Available in Paperback, eBook, and Audiobook
Midlife Cabernet earned hundreds of positive reviews on Amazon.
- Silver medal for humor, Independent Publisher Book Awards
- “Laugh-out-loud funny!” – Publishers Weekly
- “Erma Bombeck” – Foreword Reviews
- #1 Bestseller in Humor on Amazon
- Available in Paperback and eBook
I printed the QR Code on postcards to distribute at conferences. It’s more convenient that hauling books. There is one downside: Authors can’t autograph or personalize the books ordered through a QR Code. Maybe there’s an app for that!
