Anybody have bookmarks yet? I'm just starting to figure out what and how many of these I want. I know authors pass them out all over, and I'm not sure it's much use, but I guess I'll get some anyway. Anybody have any thoughts?
I bought 1000 rack cards (which are kind of the size of a paperback cover but about 3 inches taller) and 1000 bookmarks. I bought so many because the more you buy, the cheaper it is (I think it ended up costing me about $250).
Everyone LOVES the rack cards because they are big and splashy, but I find that I use the bookmarks almost 4 times as often as I do the rack cards. For one, they don't mail worth a damn -- I have to buy special envelopes. For two, they are bigger and bulkier feeling, so I tend to only include one with a mailer when I include multiple bookmarks (one for you AND your friends!). And bookmarks are terribly easy to whip out when you need a business card - just give a bookmark instead.
Next time I order, I'll probably do something like 300 rack cards and 2000 bookmarks. Oh, and don't put "Coming soon" or "Coming in December" on your cards or anything like that, because you will have plenty of leftovers even after release date, and you feel a bit chumpy sending out a bookmark that says "Coming in December!" if it's April of the next year.