You are done with your book. Great for you. Your book might be great, yet it won’t be a success if you don’t get it into the collective consciousness of the public. So, no time to relax. Unfortunately, your book couldn’t sell itself. It needs you to make that happen. Generally, book publicity starts with selling yourself.
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How to Get Publicity for Your Book
Getting book publicity requires some legwork. That is especially true if you are a first-time author seeking help. This legwork starts with understanding that your book is a tool for attracting media attention. Your book is a tool for marketing yourself as a brand. Even better, it is a tool that can promote your ideas, products, or services. And the best book promotion is the one that directly reaches your ideal audience.
Your legwork to a book PR will be easier if you start with the tactics below. But before that, it’s important to understand one thing. Being featured on a talk show or in The New York Times is fantastic. But it doesn’t mean you are going to boost your book sales. All in all, your goal is to make money. And that’s nothing to do with getting the biggest reach possible. Instead, book publicity is about getting the biggest reach possible among your ideal readers.
Tactics for Getting Book Publicity
#1 List Your Publicity Goals
A way to successful book promotion starts with a good publicity plan in place. We all want to start big and go high. Yet, reality proves the contrary. Start your book PR on the right foot by outlining your goals.
- Do you want to focus on radio shows?
- Are you interested in reaching social media influencers?
- Wish to make your book the most talked about on Twitter?
Don’t be afraid to start small. There’s nothing wrong with that. But of course, don’t aim too low. Instead, make sure your goals sound realistic. If you can reach your goal using existing connections, that’s a win-win.
#2 Create Your Brand Using an Author Media Kit
Want to get a radio or TV interview? Great. Then you know that no one interviews a book. Instead, you are the hero of the discussion you can spark. Remember, an interview is a You talking, not about your book. And a newsworthy author media kit could be a reason to get that You talking.
It’s a matter of seconds. How many? Probably 10 or 20, but that’s all about it. You have only several seconds to get the attention of a journalist/blogger/producer/editor. They get tons of media pitches every day, but only a few of those get their attention.
Thus, your media kit should include your book cover, your photos, bio, a pdf of your book, its description, and up to five key ideas from it. For extra impact, you can even add a book trailer and a press release.
#3 Define Your Customer Persona
Who is your end-user? You can’t make the next move while you can’t identify your target reader. Who would want to read your book? Is your book aimed at children, sports fans, or science fiction buffs?
Understand the age group and demographic of your readers. Also, pay attention to where your readers go to find suggestions for new books. Online or in-store? That will help you approach the right media. As a result, it will help you reach your ideal audience.
#4 Write a Press Release for Your Book
A numerical headline starting with the words “Did you know” and no more than ten words should be your goal. Thus, you can vastly increase your chances of getting noticed by an editor/publisher/journalist/blogger. The same goes for paragraphs. Try to do your best to keep them short. The best practice for a press release is two paragraphs in total. If you can’t convey a compelling message in two paragraphs, you’d better find another topic.
TRy to walk in the shoes of a producer or editor. Being professionals in their niche, they expect a press release to be professional and of the highest quality. No one denies you are a good writer. Yet, that doesn’t mean you can write a quality press release. The good news is you can always get assistance from professionals. But if you want to do it yourself, you have to learn the best practices and follow industry-accepted formats and styles.
#5 Park Your Books on a Website
Being an author doesn’t mean writing books only. An author website is a must for everyone who’s looking to expand their reach. For an author, a website is a spot for You talking. It’s a place where you can build a community and turn occasional readers into superfans. Moreover, there is no more excuse for not having a website because of a skill gap. Today the choice for building a site on your own has no end in sight. Remember, the way to your book publicity lies through your website. So get a home for your books and then blog, blog, blog.
#6 Know Where Your Most Devoted Target Audience Is and Go There
To define where your customer persona hides, you need to go to every corner of the Internet. The coolest thing is that you can find them with a single click on a mouse. Social media has the power you won’t get anywhere else. But don’t make a mistake and try to connect with everyone. It’s a good rule of thumb to choose two social media sites to work with and focus on your book PR there. No matter what platforms you’ll end up with, focus on consistent engagement.
#7 Reach Out to Influencers | Book publicity
When it comes to your book PR, it’s hard to imagine another more impactful way to your book publicity than through influencers. Bloggers, podcasters, authors, or anyone with an established platform and a strong email list can notice you indeed if you reach out to them first. So picture this: one brief mention of your book, and you can reach out to thousands of new potential fans. A way to go.
There are a lot of influencers in your niche. So first, identify at least one of those and reach out to that person. Tell them who you are and shy not to tell them why to mention you.
#8 Go the Extra Mile and Hire a Professional PR Service
Sound overwhelming? Consider using PRNEWS.io service to start as effectively as possible. Tackling everything at once is a bad way to go. Instead, focus on one tactic and let professionals help you with your book publicity.
Whether on your own or with a professional PR service, successful book publicity takes time. The only difference is that the latter offers you a list of specific books news sources to popularize your book quicker. So you at least save a great deal of time and do other important things. It’s up to you to decide which way to go, but creativity and proactiveness are best.
Need help? You can always start with press release templates and personalize them up to your needs.
Book Publicity FAQ Section
How to do PR for a book?
Every book PR starts with the promotion of the author. No matter the genre of your book – fiction or nonfiction, personal brand promotion is the key to successful book publicity.
How much does book PR cost?
It depends on what services you’re looking for. There’s no menu of pricing, but you can shop around for options. Also, think twice whether you want a one-time thing or an opportunity to build a relationship. In the end, ‘You get what you pay for’ takes it in the book promotion.
How to format a book publicity release?
To format a book publicity release, you need to learn the best formatting guidelines. The best practice is to keep it fairly short, up to 300-500 words. Ideally, one page with two paragraphs. In addition, make sure it contains your contact details, release date, headline, and the content itself.
