Take A Monster Truck Approach To Book Marketing

I took my eight-year-old son to a monster trucks show this past weekend. We both loved it and marveled at these big-wheeled performers. But witnessing these car-crushing, mashmobiles also stirred up a lesson that is applicable to book marketing.

Monster trucks, at their core, are ordinary pickup trucks stacked on top of huge tires. Their engines are loud and reverberate through the arena. They thrust their sizeable weight on top of defenseless parked cars and look like unstoppable ogres. But it’s really just a show, an image. They sound and look scary, but they are just loud, large toys. The fans root for destruction – for metal and rubber to go flying, for trucks to spin out of control, or for drivers to flip over. It is the one place that is safe and legal to root for a crash.

So what is the analogy to books? Books are packaged entertainment. Sure they can inform, inspire, enlighten, and instill values. But they can entertain us. The characters, the words, the subject matter can all be supersized like a monster truck. Inflate the imagination, to rise above these enormous tires. Be willing to have the courage to go where few drivers go and be ready to bump into obstacles.

These trucks give off a persona or image. The drivers have cool names like “Bone-Crusher” and the trucks are colorfully designed to invite fans to root for them. My son and I rooted for one that looked like a dog. You too, can dress your book up with outrageous individuals. When you draw your characters make them a little cartoonish, like a monster truck. I guarantee you that readers will remember them and talk about them. If you’re not crushing the competition, go into rewrite. And go check out a monster trucks show.

Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog 2013 ©