Market A Book With Top Publicist #AnnieJenningsPR
Want to market a book like a PR professional? If so, the first thing to realize and accept that marketing a book includes many methods or outreach and exposure.
These ‘market a book’ strategies include sharing your book on social media, being active in social communities and creating a website that showcases your book. More promotion strategies are getting booked as the guest on radio talk show interviews, TV shows such as local big city TV and appearing in influential online media website.
‘Market a book’ PR strategies and ideas:
- Share valuable information on social media about the message of your book – seek to help, not to sell.
- Actively engage on social media
- Optimize each social platform to create an advantage
- Create a website that centers around your book
- Or create an “about the book” page on a developed site
- Get booked on radio talk show interviews for high impact exposure
- Get booked on TV shows in various cities in the USA
- Appear as the expert in influential online media outlets
- Get booked on podcasts that have an audience that is a match for your topic.
Many of our authors tell us they sold a significant amount of books by throwing a book launch party or scheduling an author signing at their local bookstores and inviting all their friends. Promotion a book works best using two strategies. These are getting up close and personal with your target audience and building brand with third party pass through endorsement. Pass through endorsement is when you are the quoted expert or author in a big brand media outlet.
Some authors say that they increased their book sales by holding workshops and talks where they would offer the book for sale at the event. This marketing strategy is known as “back of the room sales”. Back of the room sales can be very lucrative to the author as your audience has had the opportunity to get to know you as you showcased your talent and ideas in your event. They want more of you and what better way than to buy your book?
‘MARKET A BOOK’ IDEAS: If the author’s goals were to use their book to showcase their knowledge, experience and insight to land new and potentially lucrative business growth opportunities such as speaking events and consulting opportunities, the author’s book would be waiting for each attendee at the event on their chair at no charge. Powerful!
Below are some additional ways to market a book so you can enjoy increased sales, branding and exposure:
- Throw a book launch party to market a book
- Schedule author signings at book stores such as Barnes & Noble
- Invite all your friends and their friends – make it an open house to meet new people and learn more about the author
- Ask your friends to hold a book party for you where you can do a chapter reading to market a book
- Hold workshops and talks about your subject matter
- Sell your book via back of the room sales
- If you wrote your book to attract speaking and consulting opportunities, give every attendee a book for free. Be sure to include your website, email and contact info on the back of the book as well as in the about the author section. You can even use the top right corner of the first page or two of your book for your contact info. It works!
AUTHOR PR TIP: Other authors tell us that when they are booked for a speaking event they ask the event coordinator to order a book for everyone. This way, the authors sell their book in bulk to the event at a reasonable price.
Annie Jennings is a national publicity expert with her firm having booked over 25,000 media placements in less than half the time they have been in business.
That’s a lot of media bookings!
But importantly, Annie and per professional publicists have tremendous real publicity experience successfully booking with the major brand name media. They have trusted and professional relationships with the media that are rooted in many years of working together.
Annie Jennings PR enjoys a high-powered status with the media built through consistency over time and always pitching a well-prepared segment or story idea with a qualified guest, author or expert.
Now with millions of self published authors reported by Bowker.com connecting with the media is more difficult than ever.
Producers, bookers and journalists report that they receive hundreds of pitches per day. Because of the sheer number of pitches, Annie Jennings PR possesses an earned media advantage. The media opens an Annie Jennings PR pitch because of our professional booking history with them. To an author, expert, speaker or anyone seeing book marketing or exposure, Annie’s ability to reach the media marketplace becomes a tremendous advantage to you. The publicists at Annie’s firm go out to the media with intent to deliver the media placement to their clients. This is a great mindset to have as our team focuses on outcomes that are important to our clients goals, objectives and media strategy only.
Book marketing tips for pitching the media
Anyone pitching the media should know the profile of the media outlet. It is important to the process to discover what type of guest or expert matches the profile of their media outlet. Media follows a certain protocol for booking. And they have to produce content that would be interesting to their audience.
At #AnnieJenningsPR we like to call it THE MATCH GAME. Each media outlet has a responsibility to provide content that matches their profile. This builds loyalty and loyalty also means the outlet enjoys consistent ratings. Ratings mean a higher commercial value of the advertising time on the show. It all makes sense. However, sometimes this concept of matching the profile of the audience is hard for people to understand. Some authors like to think they can be the exception to the rule, but in reality, I have never found it to work that way. There are general rules – or guidelines – of booking that works for the show or media outlet.
So playing THE MATCH GAME is the first thing to keep in mind when preparing for your media outreach.
More booking marketing tips
Go where you are welcome.
Don’t pitch to where you don’t stand a chance of getting booked because that is costing you time and opportunity. And time is limited each day so you want to make the most of your pitching efforts.
Also consider your reputation with the media. You want to keep your name and your reputation stellar. This means that the media might be more likely to open your emails or answer your phone calls because they know that you will treat them with respect and be on target with your idea or pitch.
Market a book tips to help you create strong relationships with the media
Be the author or expert that is easy to work with for the media. Always have a good idea that is a good fit for the outlet and don’t pitch to the media unless you are prepared and confident. Be able to answer the question “why is your idea or pitch a good match for my media outlet?” That’s how you get repeat media placements.
Following our smarting pitching strategy you can create an advantage for yourself. The media may call you for the next media opportunity as you have already built a relationship.
This is an important marketing tip for you. I have given over 500 publicity talks where I share valuable media strategy. I always ask those pitching themselves to understand that they should stop blasting the media. The media is just getting too much in their inbox.
Blasting out an un-targeted pitch ruins marketing for everyone who does not already have a relationship with the media. The media has so many emails to review, so many pitches to consider and so little time. The truth of the matter is if you do not match the profile of the media outlet you will not get booked. The end. So knowing this, why blast to anyone and everyone?
It is better to work with a seasoned professional who has a track record of success booking the media that you feel will have meaning and value to your overall goals and book marketing.