by Sherrie Wilkolaski
The other day I was talking with a colleague let’s call her “Sally” and she told me that she decided to finally take the plunge into the world of electronic books and bought a Nook. The funny part about this story is that she is in the business of eBooks. It’s not that she just touches eBooks she is a big-wig, in the eBook business. How could this be?
So I asked Sally, “What has been holding you back from buying an eReader?” Could it be that she works too many long hours and doesn’t have the time to read? Nope. She is an avid reader, loves her paperbacks and even checks books out of the library. Is it because there are eReaders lying around the office and so she doesn’t really need one at home? Not the case. Perhaps she already bought a Kindle or iPad for herself and one of her kids has taken hold of it. Again, nada.
The reason Sally held out so long on buying an eReader, was because she likes to read in the bathtub. That is her escape and she always takes a good old-fashioned paperback with her. I thought I must have missed some big announcement from Barnes and Noble about a new waterproof devise. Turns out the clerk at Barnes and Noble, told her to put her Nook in a Ziploc™ bag so it won’t get wet. Brilliant! As it turns out, this is a very common question.
This simple solution sold one more Nook for Barnes and Noble, so kudos to that sales rep. Sally is now enjoying her Nook while enjoying her bubble baths. So why did she run with a Nook vs. Kindle vs. iPad? For Sally it was the smaller size and she wanted a device that was just for reading ebooks. Now she is hooked and very clean.
What eReader do you own? If you don’t yet own one…what is holding you back? Tell us your story below…
---
Image courtesy of ozaidesigns.com.
by Jon Mehlman
The purpose of this article is to show how self-published authors like yourself can use the power of blogging as a powerful mechanism to bring quality visitors, leads, and customers to your site. It’s not intended to review the various ways of how to make money with blogging (like selling ad space, for example).
I love my job! I’m an Inbound Marketing Consultant at HubSpot. And every day I have an opportunity to positively impact my clients in a measurable way.
I use “measurable” in a very literal sense (no pun intended for you literary, self-published types out there) because the HubSpot software was designed by a bunch of metric driven techies. Since these techies are HubSpotters too, I’m sure they hear the same little voice in their head’s that I do. It says, “If you can’t measure it, it’s not worth doing.” So it’s satisfying to have analytic tools that can directly attribute the effect your blogging efforts to visitors, leads and customers. In fact, for the month of April 2012, Infinity Publishing generated 113 leads that viewed the Infinity Publishing blog prior to becoming a lead.
Sherrie at Infinity Publishing is one of my rock star pupils because she believed in the process and trusted the inbound marketing methodology. And while most of you who are reading this are not HubSpot clients, I have little doubt that folks like yourself, who are interested in self-publishing, can achieve similar results if you put forth the effort.
Much like your bathroom scale at home, the numbers don’t lie. When you put in the sweat equity and create remarkable content, which includes publishing captivating blog articles, you will see the results in the form of an increase in your traffic.
Now don’t get excited yet, because an increase in traffic alone isn’t going to get visitors to pre-order your next best seller. Not gonna happen.
What you need to do, if your goal is to convert visitors to customers, is create a holistic approach that converts a visitor to a lead and then shortens the lead to customer sales cycle. And the best part about it is that if you do it right, your visitors won’t even feel like they’re been sold!
Blogging is one of the best ways to get new visitors to your site. Think of it as your welcome mat to your home. It’s the first step in your sales process, right? Without visitors, you have no one to sell to and no opportunity to convert them into raving fans. So the first thing we need to master is how to blog to attract the right types of visitors to our site.
The 7 Most Important Blogging Best Practices that Led to Infinity Publishing’s Growth
1) Know Your Audience. HubSpot refers to this as buyer personas. Once Infinity Publishing became intimate with their buyer personas and understood their goals and challenges, it became easy to educate them, answer their questions, and solve their problems. By creating blog content centered around buyer personas, Infinity Publishing was able to establish themselves as a thought leader and center of influence among the publishing community
2) Blog Multiple Times per Week. Studies show that there is a direct correlation between blog frequency and customer acquisition. In fact, 78% of companies that blog daily have acquired a customer directly attributed to their blogging efforts.
3) Blog in a Conversational Manner and Don’t be Too Self-Promotional. Sherrie does a great job of not only selecting great topics to blog about (because she knows her buyer personas) but she also writes in a tone that’s easy on the brain. For example, in one of her articles last month titled Using Amazon Keyword Tags to Sell More Books, she starts out, “Over the weekend I was looking for a book on Amazon…” That’s brilliant! Sherrie knew that “Amazon” is pretty much always trending and would create a buzz and chatter among her followers. And you know what? She never mentioned Infinity Publishing in the entire article. Not once! And not only that, but she got 10 comments and 658 page views. But the best part is that 8 visitors read her blog post prior to becoming a lead.
4) Leverage the Power of Community by Featuring Guest Bloggers. There is power in numbers. Think about it. You get guest bloggers to carry some of the content creation load and at the same time, offer your tribe a fresh perspective with a different twist. But best of all you will get new inbound links, which is still super powerful in Google’s ranking factor. Your guest bloggers get a whole new set of eye balls by being featured on your blog which provides them with a new platform to reach additional followers who will potentially join their tribe too. Everybody wins!
5) Strategic Focus on Your Organic Keyword Strategy. By focusing on a small set of CORE keywords at a time, Infinity Publishing has increased the number of keywords that they show up for on the first page of Google’s search engine results page (SERP). Sherrie is able to rank on page one of SERP’s because she focuses on 10 – 12 keywords at a time. It’s important to note that you can slip in the SERP’s if you don’t continue to create content around those keywords, or get more inbound links. So like Sherrie, you need to constantly monitor your current rank, difficultly, monthly search volume, visitors and leads, and creates content around keywords that you need to rank higher for, based on what your data tell you. Once you see that one of your keywords has achieved its rank, move on to another keyword to focus on, but never forget the keywords that got you on page one of the SERP’s in the first place. A well designed keyword strategy will rule the day!
6) Ask Compelling Questions. It’s tough to build a tribe of followers without mutual dialog. A great way to engage with your visitors is to include a compelling question at the end of each blog article and encourage them to use the comments section to continue the conversation. Provide thought provoking questions to give your readers an opportunity to share their thoughts and ask their own questions of other people just like them.
7) Create a Holistic Inbound Marketing Strategy That Converts. By holistic I mean tying everything together so that your efforts are going to be rewarded. Ideally, every blog article you publish should have a call to action that’s aligned with the subject of your blog article. The blog article should tie in with your keyword strategy and buyer personas. You should have a relevant piece of content for visitors to download when they click on the call to action button that’s at the bottom of your blog article, as well as other pages on your site. The call to action buttons take them to a landing page where your visitor gives you their name and email in exchange for your “remarkable content.”
The magic happens when you begin to truly take the time to listen and get to know your buyer personas. What you’ll find are patterns and consistent themes of questions, problems, and comments. Once you begin to harness the power of your blog as a medium to answer their questions, solve their problems, and encourage their comments, you will begin to align what your followers want with what you have to offer. And that’s how you’ll grow your followers and your business online.
What are some topics of interest that you’re passionate about? What are other successful strategies that have helped you create meaningful blog articles and content that has grown your publishing business?
Jon Mehlman is an Inbound Marketing Consultant (IMC). Throughout his diverse career, Jon has held business development, marketing, and consulting roles in various industries including Wall Street, CRM software, financial services, manufacturing, and internet marketing software.
Jon’s “Ah-ha” moment came when he attended his first live HubSpotTVshow while at his previous company. His intention was to network and figure out the best way to partner with HubSpot. But when he got there, Jon realized that what he really wanted to do was work for HubSpot... and the rest is history.
For kicks, Jon loves skiing, cycling, and traveling with his wife and two boys, Jack and Theo. Jon’s been a long-time volunteer ski instructor with the Adaptive Sports Foundation, and has been a proud participant of the Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC), the largest fundraiser for cancer research in the United States.
He’s a graduate of Rutgers University with a degree in Marketing.
P.S. If you’re a prospect or just passionate about inbound marketing, I highly recommend Inbound Marketing University, HubSpot’s free internet marketing and social media training program that has certified over 2,500 marketers.
by Sherrie Wilkolaski
If you’ve gone to Amazon to buy a book, you’re probably already aware that you can take a sneak peak, or “search inside the book” before you place an order. Have you noticed that sometimes there isn’t a preview available? If there isn’t a preview available, then Amazon has not be provided that information at the time the book was published. The Search Inside the Book preview must be submitted to Amazon by the publisher, or if the author is self-publishing this task falls into their lap before it will show up and be available for viewing.
How do you submit a file to Amazon for the Search Inside the Book feature?
Amazon provides very easy instructions on how to get your files to them, for both eBooks and printed books. Follow their step-by-step instructions provided on their site, here is the link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=13685751
Why would you want to use the Search Inside the Book feature?
This feature provides a potential reader a true look at what they will be getting before they order a copy of your book. Nothing is worse than having someone buy your book and then they post a negative review because the book was not what they expected. Personally, I don’t like to buy a book without taking a look at the table of contents.
Can you activate your Search Inside the Book Feature after your publication date?
Yes! If you’re just learning about this fabulous marketing tool and your book was published a while back, don’t worry. You can activate your Search Inside the Book Feature at any time.
How long will it take before the Inside the Book Feature will be active on Amazon?
Amazon is very good with their turnaround time, so you should see your book file preview up on your Amazon book page within a few weeks of delivering to Amazon your book file.
This is such a powerful marketing tool for every author, make the most of it! Check out our free eBook, "Authors Guide to Using Amazon" click below to download.
by Karen Hodges Miller
A recent survey showed over 80% of Americans would like to write a book – but most never will.
In fact, in my experience, of that 80% who WANT to write a book, only about ten percent will ever start – and only about one percent of those who start will finish! After years of helping writers to complete their books, I’ve learned that the best way to finish is to schedule two to three two-hour blocks of time each week to work on it.
Think you don’t have that time? Here are a few tried and true techniques to help you find it.
1. Develop Your Vision. Why do you want to write a book? What do you want your book to do for you? There are as many possible answers to these questions as there are books and authors. You may want your book to inspire others, to help you build a business, to build your reputation as a writer, or all of the above. There is no wrong answer, only your answer.
2. Don’t Wait for Inspiration. How often have you said, “I’ll start writing my book when …” You are waiting for that special moment when time, energy and inspiration all come together. It may be when your kids are in school, the week they are in camp, or when you quit your job. But somehow, whenever those moments do arrive, something else always fills your time. There are clothes to wash, appointments to make, meetings to attend, and a host of other excuses. But if you are going to finish your book you must schedule regular writing time every week – and then make that time sacred.
3. Write About Your Passion. If you are not passionate about the subject of your book you are not going to want to spend the time needed to write it. Writing is hard work. There are times when you will have to give up evenings or weekends or Saturday afternoons to work on your book. Just because dozens of people have told you that you ought to write a book on a certain subject, doesn’t mean you should. If you don’t love it, find another topic!
4. Set Your Goals. A book is a big project. You can’t finish your book in one afternoon, or even one month. So set some goals for yourself. “At the end of one month I will have completed my outline.” “I will write one chapter per week.” “I will finish my books in six months.” Make sure your goals are realistic – then stick to them.
5. Give Yourself Rewards. Now that you’ve set your goals, reward yourself when you accomplish them. It works for your kids, why shouldn’t it work for you? Set small rewards for small goals – a relaxing cup of tea for finishing 1,000 words, for example. Set larger rewards for larger goals – a night of fun with your favorite video, popcorn and some friends to share it, for completing a chapter. And don’t forget to set a really nice reward for actually finishing your book!
6. Manage Priorities, Not Time. Make a list of your priorities, then divide these tasks into four categories: Urgent and Important, Urgent and Unimportant, Not Urgent and Important, Not Urgent and Unimportant. For example, a ringing phone urgently pleads for your attention, but is often unimportant. The two hours you block twice a week to work on your book are important but not urgent, so it’s easy to let something else slide into that time slot. How much of your time is spent on urgent but unimportant activities? Using this quadrant will help you see just how you are using your time.
7. Block Your Time. Now that you know what your most important priorities are, take out your calendar and start blocking in times. Block out the time spent on running errands, attending meetings, taking kids to activities. What time is left? Can you find two or three two-hour periods each week to work on your book? Once you’ve blocked them, make them sacrosanct. Only real emergencies should keep you from working on your book in those time periods.
8. Find the Right Place to Write. Writing takes concentration. You really cannot do your best work in the middle of the family room with the TV blaring and kids running around. Find a quiet corner where you can keep your work organized and easily accessible. Even if you live in a small apartment, make yourself a comfy corner where you can work without distraction.
9. Find an Accountability Partner. An accountability partner is someone who supports/nudges/nags you into completing a difficult project. Accountability partners can be used for everything from weight loss and exercise to writing your book. The relationship works best if each person has the opportunity to be both the nagged and the nagger. If the deal is only one way, it can devolve into something uncomfortably like the relationship between a parent and teenager – and that’s a good way to ruin a friendship. Both people don’t have to be working on the same thing, although that can be helpful. Just make sure that you and your partner have clear rules about the structure and type of nagging that will occur.
10. Why projects fail is failure to start. What’s the number one reason why projects fail? Failure to start. So pick a topic. Pick a time. Pick a place. Pick up a pencil. Pick out a file name for your new document. And write.
While over 80% of Americans say they want to write a book, most never will. Karen Hodges Miller offers her 25-plus years of experience as writer, editor and publisher to entrepreneurial authors who want to realize that dream. She holds a variety of workshops and seminars each year on book writing, publishing and marketing. Karen’s experience as a freelance business reporter gives her a fresh outlook on the creative world of writers and the practical world of business owners. As founder of Open Door PublicationsSM LLC Karen has helped dozens of authors bring their own ideas to market; the company published almost two dozen books since 2006. Karen began authoring her own series of books for authors in 2010. “Finish Your Book! A Time Management Guide for Writers” is a practical and inspirational guide for the busy writer who must find time to write while juggling a business and personal life. “Sell Your Book, Think Outside the Bookstore,” to be published in April 2011, includes over 100 practical, specific tips for book marketing along with interviews with a variety of nationally-known publishing and marketing experts. Learn more about Karen at www.OpenDoorPublications.com
by Sherrie Wilkolaski
Facebook continues to grow as the marketing platform of choice for just about everything – goods, services, and causes – so it’s an obvious place for authors to consider when you start marketing your book. To get the most out of your Facebook presence here are 4 things that every author should know:
1. Create a Fan Page
There are two types of Facebook pages – a profile page and a fan page. Profile pages are what individuals use to connect to friends, family, classmates and colleagues. Fan pages are used for promotion. They are perfect for building closer relationship with your audience and customers.
Every author should have a fan page. To set up a fan page, go to https://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php and follow the step-by-step instructions. Now that you have a Fan page you can promote your page on your website, in your ebook and in press releases.
2. Ask People to Like You
Your goal is to have people “Like” your page. Once someone likes your page, any updates you post to your Fan page will be visible in your stream. This keeps your fans engaged and keeps you and your books “top of mind”. This makes it more likely that next time a fan is looking for a new read, or recommending a book – you and your work will come to mind. To get your first “Likes” send a message to family and friends asking them to like your page. Ask current fans on your website to Like your page. If you are on Twitter ask your Twitter fans to Like your page. Anytime you receive media exposure make sure to mention your Facebook page.
3. Install the Facebook App for Authors
There is a great FREE Facebook app for authors that you should install on your page. To install the app go to: https://apps.facebook.com/authorapp/?ref=ts. It takes less than 30 seconds to get the app onto your page.
The app has these great features:
- Allows you to import your book information directly from Amazon.
- Allows your fans to buy your books with one-click.
- Allows you to offer a free chapter of your book.
- Allows you to collect email addresses from your fans so you can send email updates.
- Allows you to highlight upcoming book signings and event you are holding.
To learn more about the app you can visit:
http://bit.ly/ICInOp
4. Stay Engaged
The key to a successful Facebook page is to consistently update your page. You can decide on the frequency – at a minimum you want to post something new once a week. Your posts can be simple: something that inspired you (a picture, a quote, an interaction); an upcoming event you are holding; an update on the new book you are writing; a news article that you found interesting. It’s more important to post something than to post the perfect thing, so don’t spend too much time obsessing over what to post, rather, just put something out there.
By following these four simple steps you will be on your way to using Facebook as a successful marketing tool!
Tell us what you think about the Author App!
by Adam Eisenstat
Authors today, whether self-published or blessed with a traditional book contract, must do at least some marketing on their own (or hire someone to do it for them). If they want a book to achieve even moderate success, they should be prepared to dip a few toes or more in the muck of commerce, beyond the pristine realm of conferences and readings.
Nonfiction writers have traditionally been more comfortable with marketing, so for them the trend toward heightened self-promotion may just represent more of the same. Fiction writers, though, especially those inhabiting the rarified kingdom of literary fiction, are another breed—one inclined to view marketing as vulgar and mercenary. To many in this tribe, self-promotion is a contaminant that poses a threat to their art, even literature itself. (See anything Jonathan Franzen has ever said on the topic for an example of this attitude.) While in principle this may be true, in practice it is potentially fatal—to the lives of their books.
This poses a dilemma: if self-promotion is a sellout/distraction, yet rejecting it precludes a wider readership or a readership period (and a writer without readers is barely alive), what is the true artist to do?
Parallel Content Delivery/Ongoing Marketing Vehicles
One approach is to fashion a strategy that conflates art and commerce, by creating content/marketing vehicles that both supplement and promote the book. This strategy is expanded literature (EL). EL can incorporate the full range of social media, including Twitter, a blog, photography (via Flickr, Facebook, etc.), YouTube—anything.
EL annotates and expands the book; and functions, in part, as a repository for the wealth of texture/background—including history, reportage, topical parallels, etc.—that cannot all fit between the covers. EL helps to make the book come alive. Also, EL gives it constant visibility, thus making the book (and its wider subject) perpetually fresh.
With an EL strategy that is smart and well-maintained (this is key), the full potential of these platforms—especially the “social” dimension—will be realized through the convergence of content, promotion, and audience interaction.
-resized-600.gif)
Expanded literature (EL): content/marketing vehicles that supplement & promote the book
A New Paradigm: The Convergence of Literature & Social Media (Plus Merchandising)
EL represents a new paradigm—the convergence of literature and social media. Though the book is the central element and stands on its own, the concept lends itself to a multifaceted presence. It allows/inspires ample opportunities for new platforms, new content sources, and additional streams of revenue.
Even merchandising can be incorporated, in a seamless, cost-free way, via one of the produce on-demand sites that make customizing a multitude of items (clothing, accessories, home and office products, etc.) surprisingly simple.
-resized-600.gif)
A three-headed entity . . . mutant spawn of literature & technology, art & commerce
It is a truism that authors today must “get their hands dirty” with marketing like never before. The economic factors and (techno)logic behind this reality are indisputable, and quite well documented. (See every single blog and Twitter feed emanating from the legions of publishing professionals.)
Expanded literature can make this truism real, in a way that allows authors to promote their work without sacrificing integrity or vitality (though Franzen might still disapprove), and maybe gain a lot more readers in the process.
---
Adam Eisenstat is a writer and communications strategist with an extensive background in journalism, creative writing, and marketing communications. His blog is Meta-Media.net (along with BigSkyBrooklyn.com.)
Interested in learning more about Social Media? Check out Infinity Publishing's Lucky 13 Social Media Challenge for Authors. It gives you 13 ways to increase your social media footprint and build your online platform via a variety of social media and online resources.
Images courtesy of Adam Eisenstat.
by Maralyn Hill
Publicity is to books what oxygen is to lungs. Without it, sales suffocate and die. –Kent Carroll
Because marketing and public relations (PR) go hand and hand, I think of them as twins, they are almost the same. You can do a lot of online marketing, but you still need to know how to get attention from the PR community, line up interviews, send press releases and target the right markets. An ongoing effort is required. For example, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand was released in 1957 and continues to remain on the best seller list due to aggressive ongoing marketing and PR.
Since 2001, I’ve co-authored three books, edited numerous others, coached and assisted writers and journalists on marketing and the importance of PR. As someone who had spent 20 years in marketing and public relations, I’ve always been amazed that authors and journalists frequently don’t realize, if they don’t sell themselves, they are not going to soar to the top.
Writers like to write and frequently resent having to think about the other aspects necessary to be successful. Marketing and PR should begin at a book’s inception. This is true, whether independently published or traditionally published. One month is the maximum you will get in marketing from a main line publisher. Even in 1966, when Jacqueline Susann’s Valley of the Dolls was published, she recognized the importance of marketing. She was the first female author who sold over 30 million books. Now, if you don’t submit a marketing plan with your book proposal, it will be tossed and not even considered by an agent or publisher. The exception would be an author or celebrity who is already famous.
Since I focus so much now on writing about food, wine and travel, I encourage writers in this genre to venture into books. At first, independently published cooked books experienced problems with color limitations. This is not the case today, with more competitive color availability. Cookbooks and travel books have been popular a long time, and today, books on wines and spirits are increasing in popularity.
Here is the difficulty. If you go into a bookstore and look at the competition, how does your book stand out? First of all, would bookstores stock it? Then, why would a customer pick it over someone else’s? You need to give the buyer a reason. This is achieved with marketing and PR.
My suggestion is to invest in a professionally designed website. My own preference is WordPress, but in any event, be sure your website includes a blog. When you start blogging, whether you post travel tales, wine reviews, recipes, or any subject you are covering, your blog will keep your material fresh. You should link these posts to social networking sites and start to build a following while you are working on your book. Then you introduce your book and keep sharing information about it. People who connect online want to get something beneficial from your posts. It is up to you to provide it.
I know you might rather be working on your book, but invest thirty minutes to an hour a day to work online networking and blogging. This task will get easier as you go along, develop feedback and generate excitement.
Possibly, you are not willing to invest time in using a blog, social networking, sending press releases and lining up interviews, but you still want a successful seller. Then, your best approach is to hire a good publicist. However, even a good publicist cannot help you soar without your input. If you go that route, set priorities, goals and budget. Keep the twins on track and have your marketing and PR work together.
---
Maralyn Dennis Hill, http://www.theepicureanexplorer.com/2011/, is President of the http://www.ifwtwa.org/ and Editor-at-Large for CityRoom. She contributes to numerous publications.
The majority of Maralyn’s articles are now geared to the luxury market, spas, corporate retreats, business events, and culinary tourism, from simple to gourmet.
Maralyn’s description of herself: "I was born to travel and tell the tale. I’m energized by different cultures in every aspect of their lives, from food, wine, and destination, to how they conduct business. Travel represents a continual geography lesson."
by Dan Smith
A self-published client, Peter DeVico came to our firm for publicity support of his novel, From the Brooklyn Side, a classic “Mafia” story in the Goodfellas style. A first-time author, he had no name recognition and limited distribution – so getting the word out was essential.
After in-depth discussion, we learned DeVico had a near encyclopedic knowledge of the Mafia, its history and operation. The Sopranos was hot, so we decided to position DeVico as a Mafia expert, and developed a short release titled:
“From Buckwheats Hits and Empty Suits to Vigs and Little Joes:
Give Your Audience the Ultimate Mafia Trivia and Lingo Quiz.”
DeVico went on to do more than 50 radio interviews and was featured in the New York Times. Fiction to reality!
A few last tips for promoting fiction titles:
-
Refer to your novel as a “book” in the press release. Some producers are turned off by novelist-guests, and even if they call and discover it’s a novel when they speak to you, you’re still in a great position to sell them on the topic anyway.
-
Don’t compare yourself to well-known authors. Create your own identity. Trying too hard to build yourself up often isn’t as effective as presenting yourself professionally.
-
Develop a catch-phrase for yourself. If you refer to yourself as an “expert” in something, people will begin to refer to you as that when you’re introduced. In book promotion, the bashful perish and the confident prevail!
-
Learn the soft sell. Producers and hosts hate nothing more than a guest who refers to their book every other sentence. Let the interview come to you, and let the host do his or her job.
-
Never say never. Do every interview you can, regardless of wattage or location. Talk shows will drive book sales, but it will not happen overnight. Be patient, persistent … and have fun!
---
Dan Smith is the founder and president of TCI-Smith publicity, a full service book promotion and public relations agency with offices in New Jersey, New York, and London. He has personally conducted more than 250 promotional campaigns. Clients of TCI-Smith Publicity have appeared on virtually every major radio and television show, and been featured in top publications across the country. www.smithpublicity.com.
by Dan Smith
Talk to any book publicist, and you’ll hear the same thing: Getting broadcast publicity for a self-published or mid-list novel is at best challenging, and often nearly impossible. Unless your last name is Clancy, King or Rowling, chances are slim a radio or TV program is going to want you on the air to talk about your book. The reason is simple: Good interviews are usually based on real-life topics, and fiction – by its very nature – is creation by imagination, not real life.
If getting on the air to promote your novel is important to you, however, there is a way to make it happen. In many cases, it’s actually rather simple. But a word of caution: To do it, you’ll have to set aside your desire to talk about your book, and think like both a publicist and a producer. In other words, you’ll have to “play the game” that is broadcast publicity, and become a savvy self-promoter.
3 Steps for the Publicity Hungry Novelist
1. Forget about your book. Yes, you read that line correctly. The book, alas, is not what will get you interviews. In fact, it could keep you from getting on the air if you don’t play the game.
To get interviews, you must present producers with topics or show ideas based on your experience, knowledge or credentials, or on real-life themes in your book. Remember: No one wants to interview a book; they want to interview a person. For non-fiction authors, it’s relatively easy to extract helpful information or engaging topics from a book, and use the same expertise which enabled them to write the book to become a great talk show guest.
For novelists, however, literary creativity and an active imagination usually don’t add up to engaging interviews. But, most novelists base their stories on real-life experiences, sometimes without even knowing they did. That’s why you should forget about your book, and think about what caused you to write on a specific subject, include certain characters or use certain locales. Then, look at your own personal history, work experiences and personal adventures.
Secondly, look at themes in your book – the storyline, setting, characters. What is the basis or “topic” of the book? Does it involve controversial characters or interesting themes? What kind of research did you complete to accurately write the story and add depth to characters?
What you’ll find, most likely, is that there is a “topic” in your novel, whether from your own personal experiences or the story itself. Almost every work of fiction is based upon something “real.” Discover what it is.
2. Go angling. Based on what you came up with from Step 1, find an interesting angle.
Let’s say, for example, you wrote a novel about senior citizens who move out of a retirement center and into a private home together. Perhaps you came up with the idea after caring for your own parent, and seeing problems with senior care. You did a little research for your story, and discovered that very few seniors live together like many younger people do, and a little more research made you realize that there are really not many reasons why this is so.
You’ve discovered a topic: “Senior Group Living.” To jump-start your publicity campaign, you start a “movement” to launch awareness of senior group living. Now, you have something the media might find interesting. The market for this topic wouldn’t just be older people, but also Baby Boomers and anyone who cares for an older parent.
You’ve turned fiction into reality.
3. Give ‘em what they want.
Based on your idea of “senior group living,” you now need to develop a news release to get producers interested. Think about what you hear on the radio or see on TV when the host announces what will be coming after a break. Things such as, “After the break, find out why shacking up may not be just for young people any more.” That line is designed to keep you tuned into a program, and that’s exactly the type of effect your trying to achieve with a news release … getting the producer interested.
Important: Don’t write a press release the way you want to present it, but the way producers want to see it. Mastering this concept can make a world of difference.
Using the above example, you might try a question headline:
“Out of the Retirement Community and into Homes: Is Senior Group Living the Next Big Craze?”
Or, something controversial:
“Selling Grandma Short? The Cold, Hard Truth About Senior Citizen Living Options”
Perhaps you have a website to promote your book. Why not conduct a survey of seniors which assesses their preferences for living options? You might find that a very high percentage would be interested in living in private homes together. Since the media loves statistics and surveys, you might have created an excellent angle for print exposure:
“Survey Finds That 95% of Senior Citizens Would Prefer Living in Private Homes With Other Seniors.”
After you have the headline, the rest is relatively easy. Write a short, snappy one page release in typical “inverted pyramid” journalism style. Lay out the problem, give an example, and then introduce the solution or the angle of your release. Include 4 or 5 bullet points which can serve as talking points for producers and hosts, trying to make it so that that each bulleted item could stand on its own as a headline. Use the last paragraph to summarize your credentials and promote your book.
In three steps, you’ve turned what appeared to be a potentially impossible book to use as a means of getting on radio or TV, into a viable and interesting topic. If you can get the release into the right hands at shows, you’ll likely get calls for interviews, and opportunities to promote your book. Even if the topic is only tangentially related to your book, you will be introduced as “Joe Jones, the author of the novel ______,” and hosts (at least the good ones) will give you plugs for the book.
---
Dan Smith is the founder and president of TCI-Smith publicity, a full service book promotion and public relations agency with offices in New Jersey, New York, and London. He has personally conducted more than 250 promotional campaigns. Clients of TCI-Smith Publicity have appeared on virtually every major radio and television show, and been featured in top publications across the country. www.smithpublicity.com.
by Sandra Diaz
As a book publicist working with authors from all walks of life, I’m often asked to explain the difference between book publicity and advertising.
When a book is launched, the goal is to create awareness about the author and his or her title for a variety of reasons including sparking book sales, building the author’s brand, positioning the author as an expert, and attracting professional opportunities for the author such as speaking engagements, professional advancement, and future publishing options.
Publicity and advertising are two strategies employed to create awareness. Most people have a clear understanding of advertising since they’re exposed to it everyday as they watch television, read a newspaper or visit an online news site. Publicity, however, is seamless to most consumers as the author, person, product, etc. is part of the news.
In advertising, someone—the publisher or author—pays the media outlet for advertising space or airtime. The buyer has 100% control over what is in the advertisement and when it appears. The primary benefit of advertising is control.
With publicity, it’s the book publicist’s job to convince the media the author will provide readers or listeners with meaningful information—whether entertaining, insightful, educational, inspiring, or controversial—and then to make the author part of the news in some way. Examples of media coverage include feature stories, articles, book reviews, interviews, op-ed pieces, expert commentaries, etc. There is no payment from the author or publicist to the media for this coverage. Each of the parties involved–the media outlet and author–get something they want and need.
Put simply, the role of a book publicist is to make their authors newsworthy. The result gives the author immeasurable credibility. The benefit of being “seen on” or “featured in” well respected media outlets lasts long after a publicity campaign ends. The primary benefit of publicity is credibility, and when it works, it is priceless.
The best way to explain the difference between publicity and advertising is to pick up a magazine and find a story featuring an author, and in the same issue find an advertisement for a book. The article gives the author and his title credibility as the reader knows the magazine thinks enough of the person to incorporate him or her into the story. The advertisement gives the author exposure; however the reader also knows someone paid for this advertisement. Therein lies the key difference: credibility vs. control.
An important point authors should keep in mind is when the media does a story or interview, the publicist and author loses control. Publicists suggest direction for the coverage, but publicists can’t control if they cover the author, how he or she is covered or when. A producer or editor can do whatever they want and go in any direction. They may sing the praises of an author and his or her book, or spin the story in an unforeseen direction, including writing a bad review.
When you want planned, controlled exposure, advertising is the route to explore. If you are considering publicity, know there are no guarantees, but again, when it works, it literally provides coverage you can’t buy.
---
Sandra Diaz is the president of Smith Publicity. Hundreds of authors/publishers turn to Smith Publicity to build a brand, create awareness for their titles, spark book sales, and open doors to new opportunities. Smith Publicity has conducted 900+ book publicity campaigns since 1997 and has offices in New Jersey, New York City, Los Angeles and London. The firm has secured coverage for authors on virtually every major broadcast, newspaper, magazine and Internet outlet. www.smithpublicity.com