What Helps Authors Get Media?

Authors who write amazing books will struggle to get media coverage for their book. It’s not easy. To get media takes time, money, luck, connections, and a number of strategies- all while competing with 7500 newly published books every day. So, what can an author do that may help his or her chances of getting media coverage?

1. Hire A Publicist. 

2. Actively Pitch Media On A Timely Basis. 

3. Be Persistent, Resilient, and Opportunistic. 

4. Localize or Regionalize A Story Where Possible. 

5. Build Buzz By Getting Paid Professional Reviews Pre-Publication. 

6. Have The Backing Of A Major Organization, Celebrity, or Expert . 

7. Tie Your Book Into Something On The Calendar - A Relevant Holiday, An Anniversary, An Honorary Day-Week-Month, or Special Time Of Year. 

8. Time Into The News Cycle & What’s Trending-Hijack What’s In The News Or Ride The Coattails Of Others /Big Events.  

9. Anticipate Trends And Pitch Ahead Of Them.  

10. Confess A Secret Or Reveal A Truth. 

11. Unleash Wild Predictions Or Accusations. 

12. Make Outrageous Statements Or Demands. 

13. Offer An Exclusive, Expose, or Something News-Breaking. 

14. Hold An Interesting Event.  

15. Pay An Influencer To Prop You Up 

16. Media Begets Media- Get Some & More Will Follow. 

17. Call In Favors From People You Know That Are In The Media Or Whom Know Such People, 

18. Exploit personal experience: overcoming addiction, abuse, poverty, loss, disability, or arrest. 

19. Create a resume: don’t lie, but shape it to tell a story -- develop your media persona. 

20. Channel your energy, resources, and creativity not just towards your writing, but to your PR efforts. 

21. Use your gift-your ability to communicate with words and images- to promote your work. 

22. See PR as a means to an end, just like passing tests leads to a school degree, or where creating a resume leads to a job. 

23. Shape your image-think of yourself as a business and develop a tagline. 

24. Set the tone and image of who you are or want to be seen as- by what you say, do, and look like. 

25. Identify a media outlet’s targeted demographics. Based on whom they tend to reach, did you revise a pitch that appeals to that demographic? 

26. Craft a customized pitch that would appeal to that specific outlet, based on the outlet’s past guests or story experts and subjects covered. 

27. Do your homework about the personal preferences and life of the specific editor, producer, host, or writer that you’re pitching. 

28. Look, based on the media outlet’s format or style, how your story idea would fit in to how they interview people or cover an issue. For instance, do they use graphics, have call-ins from listeners, use a panel format, or allow to talk for longer than a sound bite? 

29. Time your outreach to match when the person you seek to reach is available and mentally open to receiving pitches - or avoid calling when they are on a deadline or in production.  

30. Communicate clearly, concisely, and with confidence. Act as if the media will say yes. Assume success - but work diligently to achieve it.  

31. Act with urgency, persistence, and creativity. Keep reaching out to the media and give yourself a fighting chance to break through! 

Need Book Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2023. 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 award-winning blog has generated over 3.3 million pageviews. With 4,400+ posts over the past dozen years, it 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 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. He has been featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald. For more information, please consult: www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.