A
full-page ad in the Sunday Book Review section of The New York Times is listed at $41,955, while a half-page ad goes
for $24,200. Compare that to the MSRP of
several luxury cars – BMW 3 ($33,150) Cadillac ATS ($33,215), or a Lexus ES
($38,100). Which one provides you with
better value?
Or
are you best served by a book publicity campaign that can run you $10,000 to
$25,000, depending on the duration and depth of service provided? As one who makes his living in book
marketing, I can tell you that your money – if spent wisely – will see a
pay-off when you utilize a proven book publicity pro to build your brand,
market your book, and publicize your messages.
Oh,
did I mention The Times charges extra
for things like color ($9,420 extra for a full-page)? If you want the back cover, add in another
$2,215. Willing to settle for your ad to
fall on page six, that’s another $1,000!
So the cost of a full-page, full-color, premium positioned ad on Sunday
costs over $53,000!!! That would cover
two Mazda Mazda 3’s or the price of two substantial book campaigns that could
last six months each – versus a single day, single publication attempt to
influence enough people to sell enough books to make it worthwhile.
You
get the point. I’m not anti-Times, nor do I think ads are
worthless. For a handful of companies,
full-page ads make sense. For 99.99999%
of all writers and publishers, a solid book publicity campaign that’s driven by
an experienced, paid advocate makes more sense.
Authors
and publishers try to get a grip on what they can do that will move the dial
and too many fall short when doing a few things in a half-assed way and they
are left to incorrectly conclude that nothing seems to help them sell books.
It’s
logical that we look for quick fixes – the big ad, the review at a key
publication, a morning TV interview, a paid speaking gig before a huge audience
– but we need to earn media exposure and place it into perspective. What most of us need is the fortitude to
persevere daily in a grass-roots campaign that builds up one’s brand while
incrementally increasing book sales. It
takes a lot of little things to add up into something substantial.
I
laugh when authors tell me a publisher “has publicity covered” or when an
author says “I should be on every major TV show” or when a literary agent
claims “Every bookstore should carry this book.” Really?
Don’t believe the hype. No one
has everything covered and the media and bookstores need constant reminders,
strong reasons, and lots of convincing to give coverage or shelf space to your
book. You’ll need to work at it.
The book marketing landscape is huge. There are hundreds of media markets out there. Do you have all 320 covered?
The book marketing landscape is huge. There are hundreds of media markets out there. Do you have all 320 covered?
There
are thousands of magazines, newspapers, major blogs, key websites, and leading podcasts
– are you advertising in any of them?
There
are thousands of bookstores across the US – are you speaking at any of them?
There
are well over 100,000 libraries in America – will you appear at any of them?
How
often do you post on Twitter, FB, Instagram, Pinterest, Linked In, You Tube and
leading social media platforms? How much
content – video, blogs, podcasts – do you create, and how do you disseminate
it? How are you going about getting more
connections and followers?
There’s
so much that could be done and a certain amount that has to be addressed every
single day. Don’t believe anyone is
doing everything that’s needed and don’t expect anyone, like the media or a
bookstore, will feel they should do anything for you. It’s up to you – be smart, be realistic, be
active – and get help.
DON”T MISS THESE!!!
Valuable Info On Book Marketing Landscape For First-Time
Authors
How Do We Make America A Book Nation?
Which messages should authors convey to the news media?
Do authors really promote the benefits of their books?
Scores of Best-Selling Book PR Tips from Book Expo PR
Panel
What is the payoff for authors to getting a million
clicks?
How should authors sell themselves?
The keys to great book marketing
Enjoy New 2018 Author Book Marketing & PR Toolkit --
7th annual edition just released
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.