Book PR Forensics For Authors

 

You may have heard of criminal forensics, where labs test physical evidence from a crime seen, including DNA fragments and fingerprints. You also might be familiar with accounting forensics, where experts go in and uncover where money is hidden or accessed illegally through fake or covered-up transactions and tax filing inconsistencies.

Now, allow me to introduce you to book marketing forensics.

It is time to put your book publicity activities under a microscope. You need to scrutinize your efforts and see what has worked — what hasn’t — and what you should be doing, but have not tried.

So, how does one audit their book marketing campaign?

First, match your efforts against results. Look at your goals and see how far off you are from achieving them.

Second, examine your resources utilized against your ROI. Did you best use your time, money, mindshare, and efforts?

Ask yourself these questions:

* What are you doing?
* How well are you doing it?
* How could it be done better?
* Should this activity be increased, decreased, replaced, or stopped?

* What else do you need to be doing?

Explore each key area that you could be utilizing for marketing and determine if you are involved, and if so, to what degree, as it relates to each of these:

* Cresting A Website, Press Kit, and Marketing Materials
* Having A Blog or Podcast
* Being Social Media Active
* Securing Traditional News Media Coverage
* Networking
* Applying To Book Awards
* Advertising
* Garnering Consumer Reviews
* Paying For or Pursuing Professional Book Reviews
* Nailing Testimonials
* Generating Bulk Sales
* Speaking Engagement Procurement

Assess whether your tank is full of each of these resources:

* Marketing Skills
* Publicity Knowledge
* Money To Fund Marketing Initiatives
* Help Available For Outsourcing
* Time Devoted To PR
* Experience in Sakes and Marketing

* Positive Attitude

* Energized

* Focused, Confident, and Opportunistic

 

Additionally, perform some book marketing forensics on your targeted reader. Do you know who should be buying your book? Where to find them? Methods to reach them? Have a good offer to induce a book sale?

 

Lastly, audit your format and distribution capabilities. 

 

Is your book available in as many formats as readers have a demand for, so that they can 

consume the content how they wish and at varying price points, including:

 

* Hard cover

* Trade paperback

* Mass market paperback

* Ebook

* Audiobook

* Gift Edition

 

Is the book available through multiple retail outlets, including places like, but not limited to:

 

* Barnes & Noble

* Books-A-Million

* Indie Bookstores

* Amazon

* Target

* Wal-Mart

* Apple

* Your Website

 

Your book deserves better. You can be doing better. I can say this most assuredly without needing to read your book or talk to you. It is a safe assumption that your book is under-promoted and not sold to its fullest potential. 

 

You have the capacity to do and achieve more. Apply book marketing forensics to your situation. See what needs improvement, make a plan, and take corrective action. Now.

 

Need PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with 3.6 million page views, 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!

 

About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2024. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.6 million pageviews. With 4,800+ 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 director of publicity positions 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 hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, 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. His first published book was The Florida homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.