A
study published in The New York Times
(March 9) about how fake news spreads a lot faster and wider than real news
shows one clear thing: The more
sensational, unbelievable, controversial, or outrageous something sounds, the
more willing people are to retweet and post it on Facebook. This is a lesson
for authors promoting their books.
So
how can you capitalize on this?
Simple: Create news about you and your book in the
style of fake news.
So
how does one do that?
1. Pick
popular topics, such as things relating to news of the day, politics, money,
celebrities, sex, parenting, etc.
2. Have
a catchy headline that makes a statement sound questionable yet
believable.
3. Show
urgency and importance – that something great or bad can happen if some action
is – or isn’t – taken.
4. Use
a powerful visual to lure people in.
5. Set
up a good vs. evil story line. Speak in
extremes.
6. Quote
respected sources.
7. Raise
a question where the potential answer sounds explosive, unreal, or wildly
unlikely yet tantalizingly possible.
Fake
news is not carefully crafted news that sounds real but isn’t. It is more typically a story that sounds like
it can’t be real yet elements of it lure us in and fool some people. The lines between fake and real news are
blurry.
However,
please note I’m not encouraging you to craft fake news. I’m saying you should leverage what’s true
and present it the way fakers do, because their style attracts more
attention. Interestingly, fake news
styled itself after real news, so in the end you are imitating fake news that
imitates real news!
Fake
news has spread, in large part, due to Donald Trump. He lies, passes theory as fact,
opinion as reality, and criticizes legit news services to the point a certain
part of the population believes in made-up news or doesn’t know enough to doubt or refute
the faux news.
Straight
news is boring and doesn’t get passed around via social media the way salacious
fake news is shared like a wildfire.
Make your story sound unbelievable, but have the facts to back it
up. Be outrageous, but be accurate.
Anyone can lie, cheat, steal, or say bullshit to get ahead, but you can learn from
what they do, apply it to the truth, and come out on top of the book publicity
game.
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Brian
Feinblum’s insightful views, provocative opinions, and
interesting ideas expressed in this terrific blog are his alone and not that of
his employer or anyone else. You can – and should -- follow him on Twitter
@theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels much more
important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by
BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2018. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in
Westchester. His writings are often featured in The Writer and
IBPA’s Independent. This was named one of the best book
marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2018 as one of the
top book marketing blogs. Also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best
resource."
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