There are dozens of ways to pitch your book to the news media
and in social media. Certainly, you want to highlight the merits of your book
and let the contents sell itself. You can also link a story idea to your
background experiences or credentials, if they are relevant, timely, or
interesting. You should explore these33 tie-ins as well:
Holidays or Seasons
Craft a message that links your book to a holiday. Perhaps
your book involves romance, sex, relationships, dating, etc. Link a story to
Valentine’s Day. Maybe you wrote a book about careers. June is a good month to
tie into, as a generation of new workers graduate school. Or maybe you have a
diet book and January’s New Year’s Resolutions is a good tie-in. Look at the
calendar and look at holidays or periods of time (i.e. Sept is back-to-school,
March is spring cleaning, November is the holiday gift season, etc.).
Honorary Days, Weeks, Months
There are special days to honor every food, hobby, illness,
and facet of life. Consult www.brownielocks.com to find a long list of these days.
Anniversaries
There may be a special anniversary coming up that relates to
your book. For instance, let’s say your book focuses on an event. Is this the
10-year anniversary of that event? Perhaps you wrote about something historical
– like the 100th anniversary of the Women’s Right to Vote. Perhaps
you wrote a biography of someone famous. Is it 50 years ago that he or she
died? Or maybe this would have been their 200th birthday? Think of
how many years have passed since some mile marker pertains to what you wrote
about – and use this as an excuse to push a story.
Best-Sellers
If your book becomes a best-seller, that becomes a story
angle. Perhaps other books on your subject matter have become best-sellers. You
can try to piggyback on their fame and show how your book is different/better.
Awards in other fields and industries may tie into your subject as a timely
excuse to link your book to something in the news. Maybe a Nobel, Grammy, or
Oscar was given to someone that your book can be used for comment on.
Awards
If your book wins an award, push that in your pitch to the
media. Perhaps other books on your subject matter have become award-winners.
You can try to piggyback on their fame and show how your book is different/better.
In The News
Pay attention to what is making headlines, internationally,
nationally and locally. Can you link your story, thematically, to anything you
see out there? For instance, if your book discusses the history of war or
peace, tie into a current war or peace movement. Perhaps your book is about
divorce and you see a famous couple got divorced. Or maybe your book is about
wealth and being an entrepreneur and a story comes out showing how Jeff Bezos
surpassed another billion-dollar benchmark in his wealth. Associate yourself
with the news. It’s called newsjacking.
Corona
This is the hottest story in 2020. It will be with us, in
some form, in 2021, too. However, you can make your message corona-connected,
do it.
Legislation
If
the government proposes, passes or defeats legislation relating to your subject
matter, look to comment on it and tie it to your book.
Trends
Whatever is popular online or in the real world, feel free to
comment on and tie your story to.
Studies
If any studies are released, say by a college or government
or major organization, and they relate to your book’s subject matter, craft a
story to connect them.
Polls/Surveys
What do polls and surveys say? They give us a statistical
snapshot of how people act or think. If they comment on things that you speak
about, find a story idea to link them together.
Predictions
Look back at past or current public predictions from others
and tie your book into those predictions. Or maybe you want to make predictions
of your own.
What-If Scenario
Come up with an interesting what-if scenario and show how
your book may answer or shed light on something that people have wondered
what-if about.
Lobby
You can lobby or advocate for something – a change in a law, demand
for some accountability by the government, or a change in a business’ practice.
Make a demand in a press release for change.
Question Authority
Do you raise questions that allege wrongdoing by authorities?
Are you able to reasonably drum up claims against trusted individuals? Do you
use the power of asking questions to turn your book into a source for a news
story?
Breaking News
Do you have something to say that exposes a secret, sheds
light on a news-worthy event, or provides a legitimate claim about news-worthy
people?
Celebrities/Politicians/Athletes
Like influencers, celebrities, actors, musicians, athletes,
and politicians are popular for a reason. And their fame and notoriety can be
helpful to selling yourself if you can latch on to their coattails, either to praise
or vilify them.
Inventions/Products/Services
Did Apple announce a new iphone? Did a new company suddenly
burst on the scene with a cool gadget? Did Amazon offer a new service? Comment
on new products/services/inventions if it connects to your book somehow.
Crimes
Did you commit a crime? Know someone who did? Suspect someone
has done so? Comment on anything you experienced, witnessed, know about, or is
in the public domain as it relates to crime. People love a good story about criminals
and their crimes.
Weather
Could your story have a weather link? Weather means disaster:
hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, heatwaves. They cause death, destruction,
accidents, fires, food shortages, droughts…and alter the landscape for
building, traveling, etc. Can you connect to any of that?
Social Media - Blogs, Podcasts, Video, Posts, Tweets
If you determine there
is a popular or important video, tweet, post, podcast or blog out there, feel
free to tie yourself to it. Attack the posts of others or show how your book
further discusses whatever that popular post says. You can also use your won
generated social media content to help create interest in your book or a news
worthy story. How? Well, if your social media connections total tens of
thousands or more, mention that in your pitches. The media likes to know that
an author can bring their social media followers along for the ride.
Events
Online or in-person events, conferences, conventions, etc.
are good excuses to craft a story that connects what they did with what you
write about. For instance, if an annual conference took place about child
safety, and your book covers parenting in general or specifically child safety,
well, chirp about it now. Further, you can create your own event and stir up
news coverage.
Movies/Songs/TV Shows/Games
Anything that people are familiar with or talk about can be a
good reference point for you to craft a story that links your book to. Did a
show just feature something that relates to your book? Was there a breakthrough
in what a show discussed or the type of actor/actress it hired that ties to
your book? Did you want to criticize Hollywood for not covering a topic that it
should be – which is coincidentally the subject of your book?
Influencers
Do you have a comment or story about an influencer – or what
he or she said or did? Internet influencers are like celebrities in music,
sports, or Hollywood. Use gossip, facts, or theories to stake a claim that
connects your book to them.
Profession/Industry
Does your pitch relate to a specific profession or industry? Sometimes
you can take a general topic, say a book about rising up the corporate ladder,
and specifically send out story ideas that target a profession. So now your
story is: How to rise up the corporate ladder at entertainment companies. How
to rise up the corporate ladder at accounting firms. How women can rise up the
corporate ladder. How the real estate industry stifles eager corporate ladder
climbers.
Religion
A good controversial area, along with sex, politics, race,
gender, and money is religion. If you can involve religion in your story idea,
do so respectfully, but go for it.
Non-Profit
Do you have a non-profit angle? Maybe you donate some book
proceeds to a non-profit? Maybe you criticize or support certain non-profits?
Maybe you launch your own?
Common Every Day Events
Sometimes you need to align your media pitch to fit in with
what millions of people do daily, from chores, to commuting, to being sick, or
saving for college.
Myths
Debunk myths or assert why some myths are true.
Rules/Laws
Challenge, criticize or support current or proposed laws or rules
(such as those at a school, business, or public facility) and act as an
advocate and stir up some controversy.
Tragedy
Exploit a tragedy. Yepp, you heard me. That is part of your publicity
playbook. People are rubberneckers. Tell us about pain, loss, or death – we will
listen. If you aren’t discussing your own tragedy or that of another close to
you, tackle a publicly known tragedy and insert yourself into it.
Top 10 Lists
Come up with your own interesting Top 10 list on something relevant
and interesting – or comment on existing lists and show what role your book
plays in terms of what those lists cover.
Advice
Can you offer sound advice that helps resolve an issue, solve
a problem, or help others address a concern? Offer it up!
Learn, Grow, Succeed!!
The Ultimate
2021 Book Marketing Guide
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-ultimate-2021-book-marketing.html
Don’t
Pardon Book Industry Scoundrels, Failures & Losers
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/12/dont-pardon-book-industry-scoundrels.html
Authors Need to Know
Why They Write Books
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/09/authors-need-to-know-why-they-write.html
Authors
Want Their Drop-The-Mic Moment
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/authors-want-their-drop-mic-moment.html
Do Writers Know
The Power They Wield?
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/do-writers-know-power-they-yield.html
The
Rights, Responsibilities, & Resources Available To Writers Today
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/the-rights-responsibilities-resources.html
How
Authors Should Build A Platform
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/10/how-authors-should-build-platform.html
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
©2020. 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.
