When
I broke into book publicity three decades ago, many authors took advantage of
the new desktop publishing technology of the day and printed newsletters. Publishers would fax press releases to the
news media. And chain bookstores ruled the country’s book ecosystem. No Internet.
No Amazon. Television ruled the
media with cable TV growing fast. Things
have changed since then, but the basics are still the same.
Think
about it. Authors need some method to
have their book sold and distributed.
They need some means of media to inform others about their book. Whether people get their news from Facebook The New York Times, Fox, or CNN.com, authors still need to do today
what they did back in 1989 or 1959 – promote!
And
whether they do book signings at a Barnes & Noble, speak at an indie
bookstore, or do an ad promotion with Amazon, the name of the game is securing
book sales through the existing channels of the marketplace.
Whether
you take out a print ad in People
magazine, an FB ad, a Google Adsense campaign, hand out fliers, email people,
speak somewhere, or put up a billboard, you have to make sure that you have a
targeted, timely, and interesting message that appeals to people’s perceptions
of desires, fears, wants, and needs.
The
sure way to promote would include these evaluations of any campaign:
1.
What
is the cost to you in money or time?
2.
How
many people will you reach?
3.
How
defined and targeted is the recipient list?
4.
When
is the best time to pursue this outreach?
5.
Which
campaigns should you conduct in total – and how many simultaneously?
6.
What
type of message and presentation would work best for the medium chosen?
7.
What
are your competitors doing that you should do?
8.
Is
your approach diversified:
A mix of traditional media, social media, speaking, direct marketing, and advertising?
A mix of traditional media, social media, speaking, direct marketing, and advertising?
A blend of free vs. paid media?
A balance between media types: TV, radio, print, and online
A mix of social media: blog, podcast,
website, Twitter, FB, Linked In, You Tube, Pinterest, Instagram.
A mixture of content created by you – and about you.
9.
Lastly, are you able to measure results and draw proper conclusions so that you can rejigger your formula for marketing and publicity success?
Lastly, are you able to measure results and draw proper conclusions so that you can rejigger your formula for marketing and publicity success?
In
the 80’s and 90’s they used to say sex sells.
Images of hot, provocatively positioned, barely dressed women would sell
everything from magazines to cars.
Today, it seems, cutting edge technology, images of dogs, and societal
unity sell things.
It
doesn’t matter what the trend of the moment is or which media is used to convey
your message. The real key to successful
marketing and promoting a book is you, your message, and your ability to
consistently and perpetually press the flesh.
Nothing comes to the shy or quiet types.
No one looks out for you. No one
is looking to discover you. Only you can
get out there and trumpet yourself.
You
have more options available to you now than in the history of society to share
your message. You have more ways than
ever to sell your book. You have all of
the freedom to write what you want, publish when you want to. Don’t stay on the sidelines or make
excuses. Jump in and market your book
the best you can. Experiment. Take risks.
But remember: No matter the tools
of the day to get your story out there, it still comes down to you driving the
bus and pulling out all of the stops.
DON”T MISS THESE!!!
How Do You Become
An Influencer?
Where’s Your
Literary Megaphone?
Have You Set Your Book
Marketing Goals?
The Book Marketing
Strategies Of Best-Sellers
Step out of your book marketing prison
Do authors have the right
attitude to succeed at book marketing?
While popularity of social
media grows, traditional media still leads the conversation
Authors should see book
marketing like going to a gym regularly
How to model success of
authors for your own book publicity
How to be persistent when
marketing books effectively
How authors convince media
of their uniqueness
Authors should zoom in on
book marketing now
How authors can
communicate better when promoting a book
How authors can
sell more books
No. 1 Book
Publicity Resource: 2019 Toolkit For Authors -- FREE
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 ©2019. 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.” He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America.
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