When Does Book Publicity Lead To Sales?

 

Book publicity can lead to book sales. How many sales is the question.

There is a lot that is uncertain when it comes to marketing and promoting a book. You can spend a lot of money and see few sales, especially if you did not spend it wisely – or you can generate sales on a shoestring budget if you work hard and smart – and get lucky.

So what can an author do to generate book sales – and can book publicity lead to something of value, not just book sales?

One approach to publicity is that an author try something and see if it works. Spend a little, but it is not always possible to do this. Sometimes timing is a factor. For instance, you can’t do a PR campaign where you send, say, 20 copies to book reviewers and then wait to see what happens. You may not know what happens for many months. The time to get book reviews, with certain publications, is three to four months prior to a book’s publication date. So, if you plan to seek book reviews, there is no trial period approach to be taken. You go all in.

But if you want to try some google ads and see how they perform, you can easily and quickly do more at any time. Authors should definitely diversify their portfolio, allocating some percentage of their time and money into: 

·         Social media

·         Speaking

·         Traditional media

·         Advertising

·         Giveaways

Publicity should yield sales of books but it depends on many factors. For instance, did you get enough media exposure with the right media outlets? Did you do a good job selling it in your interviews? Is your book priced right, look attractive, and readily available? Is it a timely book? Do you have a lot of competitors?

Some publicity will benefit authors even if they do not sell a lot of books immediately. For instance, publicity can help an author land some speaking engagements that pay a fee or allow for books to be sold. It gives the author third-party validation and looks good when featured on the author’s website. It might draw more connections on social media platforms. It might get people to visit your site where one can possibly buy other books, products or services that you might offer. Publicity also helps get your message out to many people, touching the lives of others.

Authors should have a marketing plan, diversify it, experiment, and go into this knowing there are pay-offs that consist of things beyond – or including – book sales.

Sometimes authors fail to get anything they wanted but a big bill, but like all of life, you need to invest a little to have a chance at gaining a lot more.

Learn, Grow, Succeed!!

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Brian Feinblum, the founder of BookMarketingBuzzBlog, can be reached at  brianfeinblum@gmail.com.  You can – and should -- follow him on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2021. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  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. For more information, please consult: linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.