Business Cards-Old School Marketing

During the four decades I was an attorney, each of the firms I worked with provided me with business cards. Boxes of them-500 a shot. If, over those forty years, I handed out a dozen of those cards in aggregate, that would be rounding up. You see, most of the people I met during my legal practice tenure already knew I was a lawyer, and since I never was one who wanted to cultivate clients, I didn’t hand them out to strangers. I just found this one stashed in the back of my wallet.

In retrospect, with a little self-analysis thrown in, I realize now that I saw those lawyer business cards as potential stakes for my creative balloon. Each one I handed out had the potential of securing me more firmly as a lawyer to this earth.

But they are also quintessential Old-School marketing.

When I first signed with BRW, Reagan Roth asked me what kind of social media presence had I established.

My response: “I have an email account.”

It was strongly recommended that – for marketing purposes – I enter the 21st century and expand that social media presence, so over the past five years I have set up FB, X, Instagram and Tik Tok accounts, and I also started blogging. All of this was new to me. But I quickly learned that I had to shamelessly market myself, if I wanted potential readers to check out my books.

When I started this blog back in 2021, my dear friend, mentor and literary colleague, Colin Broderick – Colin Broderick – told me that whatever I do, don’t make the blog primarily about the books.

’67 Impala & Fibonacci Sequence – The Wise Novelist

Make it about Claire, and a little bit about me.

What’s In A Name? – The Wise Novelist

Make the potential readers learn to care about me as a person (or at least find me to be a likeable eccentric) and then find me interesting as a writer. Colin is a very wise man.

I’ve written over a thousand of these blogs since then. Exposed all of my personal and family secrets (so go read them). Still at five magic readers.

Claire’s Theorem – The Wise Novelist

My wife, Lisa, was the one who suggested I should resurrect Old School Marketing and print Writer business cards. It was 2024. I was scheduled to attend the LA Bookfest (with my dear friend and brilliant female literary alter ego, Christy Cooper Burnett-one of her literary characters makes a Hell’s Kitchen cross-over appearance in FJM) shortly after Finding Jimmy Moran debuted.

Thank You LA – And Jasper! – The Wise Novelist

My sensible wife thought that when there’s hundreds of potential readers wandering around, it’s easier for me to slip them a card than expect them to remember the name the crazy person who accosted them and whispered in their ear as they wandered through the college campus looking at stalls with books in them.

I gave away almost five hundred cards that weekend. At that point, those cards only identified me as the writer of The Claire Trilogy.

So, in 2025, Lisa again suggested I restock my cards for my trip back east for my book readings. By then all five of my books had dropped, so I updated the card to reflect that the five-volume body of work was called “The Claire Saga.”

I handed out another box of cards during that trip.

A Night In An Beal Bocht Cafe – The Wise Novelist

Downey’s Bar & Grill – The Prodigal Son Returns – The Wise Novelist

Then, this year, Lisa suggested I replenish the cards again, as I had to present at a CU Young Writer’s Camp and at the Ft. Collins Comicon.

Living The Writer’s Life – The Wise Novelist

That worked out great because I handed those cards out like candy.

I realize now that Lisa had an ulterior motive. You see, over the past five years I have given away many thousands-of-dollars-worth of my novels. I just can’t bring myself to ask anyone to pay for my writing. I leave that to BRW and Amazon and B&N. And the truth is that if I can put a copy of my books in the right pair of hands, that reader becomes a walking advertisement. Luckily, most of my readers–and readers in general–are women.

So, over the years, there have been a lot of very pretty women carrying around copies of my books. Think of those hot models that hang all over the Lamborghinis at car shows. Intellectual eye candy. Perfect guerilla marketing.

But I’m hoping the cards work in my favor. The person I handed it to may actually keep it somewhere. Maybe in the back of their wallet or the bottom of their purse. They also make excellent bookmarks.

During this summer’s writer’s events I also scribbled my name on the back of the cards I handed out so in a hundred years or so, they may have some added value when sold on eBay.

So, that’s my lecture today on the Old Dog New Tricks analysis of Old-School-Marketing.

But now that I have two more novels dropping – Free R.A.D.I.C.A.L. (Jan. 2027) and Spark of Faith (May 2027) – I’ll have to update my cards to reflect those additions.

Hopefully, some of those already distributed thousands of cards will cause some of their receivers to actually buy and read The Claire Saga before the other two books drop. That will help pay for my next box of business cards.

Well, my fine, five readers, Monday is again upon us.

For me, since my retirement from the law, Monday has become a new friend.

But take heart, those of you who must launch themselves into a new work week. Have that last cuppa, and then head out for the commute to the office. But don’t forget to bring a copy of one of The Claire Saga books with you. Especially if you are a woman.

And no matter what else we get up to, let us make today a great one.