For quite a while now I haven’t posted about Corporate Sponsorship as I was busy finishing up my two latest books.

The Journey that’s Ours – the follow on from The Power that’s Ours and Down The Linea photographic coffee-table book about the train line that runs between Cape Town and Simonstown, commuting over 3.5 million people per month.

Being kept busy with these 2 projects as well as constantly being batted down by Corporates – because I’m not a registered NPO, NGO, or Charity organisation had sidelined my initiative to help promote literacy within South Africa.

However, for me to publish both of these books I needed financing. Banks aren’t interested as I’m not prepared to hand over my life to them and as I had a huge contact list of Corporates within South Africa I decided to alter my tack and once again approach all of the companies I’d previously. Call me tenacious, pig headed, or downright stupid, but that’s what I decided to do. My offer to the them is; for them to qualify for a much discounted price per book (about 35% less than the suggested retail price), all copies personally signed,  and a company branded book-mark (The purchasers logo and message) they have to purchase a minimum of 50 copies. This makes an ideal staff, client, Xmas gift or  staff incentive.

The thing about dealing with Corporates is that the decision making wheels can grind slowly and there can be quite a bit of legislative challenge like- there is a limit  within certain sectors that companies can spend on their clients, and branded gifts are not always welcome. So to side-step those potential hazards  the book mark is branded and not the book, and the purchase price well within any cap set. (This offer still stands, so if you are interested I’m contactable on gary@garyhirson.com)

On the proposal it’s mentioned that I’m the published author of The Magic that’s Ours and The Power that’s Ours with a short blurb about each book.

At the beginning of this week I received a call from a massive Corporation saying that they’d like to meet with me but that I must bring sample copies of all my books. These kind of calls don’t come along all that regularly so you can only imagine at what speed my head was spinning. I was a wreck with anticipation. Besides a pending order for the coffee table book, they placed an order for 1000 copies of The Power that’s Ours. These 1000 copies will be branded with their logo on the cover and a personalized message from the sponsor’s page. (Obviously no legislation constraints here). There was no hassle that I’m not a NPO, NGO or Charity organisation.     The decision maker saw the value in the books and that was enough for her to make the decision within an 8 hour period. Supersonically fast for a Corporate.

So is Corporate sponsorship seeking worth it?

In an 18 month period I’ve sold over 2000 copies via this avenue while only selling a few hundred via bookstores.

If you can find like minded decision makers, have the patience to wade through the legislative bog and are not in a rush for a positive response, then the answer has to be YES!

 

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