Marketing 101: The Art of Publicity, or How To Be a Shill In the National Media

Do you have cable television? If so, check out C-SPAN2 some afternoon, and you’ll probably catch a glimpse of “BookTV.” This program, though about as exciting as anything else you’ll see on C-SPAN, features journalists interviewing authors about recent books, and it’s fascinating if you’re into the world of publishing because you get to see authors attempting to generate buzz for their work. Some of them pull it off with great success by looking great on camera and offering interesting quips, while others look terrible and ramble on about things that no one cares about.

But whether the authors do a good job or a bad job, they’ve got a great reason to participate in the program: it doesn’t cost them a dime.

That’s the difference between advertising and publicity; while advertising is paid for, publicity is free. I advise small publishers to avoid advertising because it’s a waste of resources, but I encourage small publishers to actively pursue publicity for three reasons:

1) Publicity generally features products for much longer than an advertisement might.

2) Publicity is generally presented in a favorable light that does not generally raise a consumer’s subconsious defenses against advertising.

3) Publicity lends an air of authority or importance to the product or author.

Publicity doesn’t just include C-SPAN2, either. Here are some of the ways a publisher or author can find good publicity for a book:

a) Reviews: Many publications and websites review books. Some of them (such as Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and Library Journal) only review books prior to release, but others (such as Time, Newsweek or The Washington Post) review them once they’re published. Many of these sources are extremely selective and will only review a handful of the books sent to them for review, but they carry weight with book buyers and librarians, so they are worth the trouble.

The positive side of a review is that it can pique reader interest in a title by summarizing key points and praising the book for its strengths or unique qualities. The negative side of a review is that the publisher or author has zero control over what the reviewer says; if he or she dislikes or does not understand a title, the resulting review can dissuade consumers from checking into the book. This is why it’s especially important to only solicit reviews from sources that will offer favorable coverage. The conventional wisdom that “any publicity is good publicity” does not apply in a day and age when consumers can access reviews instantly over the Internet instead of vaguely trying to recall if a review for a product was positive or negative.

Every publication handles reviews differently, so it is wise to either contact the publisher ahead of time for review submission guidelines or to check their website for more information.

b) Interviews: Many newspapers and magazines are constantly looking for new and interesting feature articles. Setting up an interview or a profile with a journalist can be a rewarding experience for all involved, and it’s not nearly as hard to arrange as it sounds. In fact, many of these can be arranged at the local level!

Unless you live in a place like New York City where a published writer can be found on every corner, local newspapers are a great place to start since the angle of “local person gets published” always makes for an interesting feature piece. To arrange an interview, call your local paper and ask for the features editor. Explain that you are publishing a book soon and that you’re a resident of the area, and that you would love to set up an interview if they would like to talk to you. If the editor isn’t interested, offer to leave your contact information anyhow, and tell him or her to please contact you if he or she has a change of heart. Once your book is published, be sure to send a copy to the features editor as a gentle reminder that you are interested in talking. Persistence is key; editors’ opinions on what might make a good article change from day to day as reporters struggle to come up with new ideas.

Most areas have more than one paper. Where I live, there’s a metropolitan newspaper, a fairly large local paper, and several smaller papers. There’s also a free paper that gets distributed to selected parts of the county. All of these are fair game. My hometown paper might be interested in running a spotlight on me since I graduated from the city’s high school almost ten years ago. My local paper might be interested in profiling me since I own a publishing company located two blocks from their offices. My college paper might be interested in interviewing me since I’m a business student starting a company. The metropolitan newspaper might want to do an article on authors in and around the area, and use me as the hook to talk about self publishing. The only limitation is my willingness to contact these papers and arrange interviews.

Many areas have at least two or more local news channels on television. Most also have at least one talk radio station. Contact them, ask for a features producer, and offer an interview. If they decline, see if you can set up a pre-recorded interview they can use when they need a filler story. As with the newspapers, be sure to offer your contact information if the producer doesn’t seem interested; he or she may have a change of heart down the road, particularly if you remember to send along a copy of your book.

National media interviews are much harder to land, but if you think a particular publication or show might be interested, contact them! Many will allow you to conduct interviews over the phone, and some shows can interview you via teleconference instead of having you in the studio. If you have been featured elsewhere, be sure to bring it up; national shows love to jump on the bandwagon.

Specialty media interviews for sources that reach your target audience are likewise difficult to set up, but once you do, they’re worth the trouble since they appeal directly to the people to whom you’re trying to sell books. So, if you’ve written a book on or about cycling, be sure to contact the various cycling magazines to see if they’d like to talk to you. If you’ve written about the history of the rubber chicken, contact magazines about humor, consumer history or novelties. There are more magazines and newsletters out there than anyone can ever keep track of; search for them actively!

In all of these circumstances, keep a small contact file so you can remember whom you spoke to and what was said. I recommend keeping a recipe box with index cards that include the contact information of each source on one side and a summary of your contact sessions on the back.

As for the interviews themselves, as silly as this might sound, remember to talk about your book when you answer the questions. Journalists have the responsibility to make the interview interesting for their audience, and they are not as concerned about plugging your book as you’ll be. Answer their questions, but try to refer to your book as much as possible without being annoying about it. Generally in television or radio interviews, you’ll have some idea of what the questions will be beforehand and you’ll be able to plan your responses.

c) Visiting local schools, churches and organizations: If you’re working on a book that can appeal to a specific audience like children, teens, churchgoers or local charities, don’t be afraid to set up visits in places where you can reach them!
Schools are fairly easy to get into; simply call up the principal of each school you’d like to visit and offer to give a free talk on becoming an author to students. Have a format in mind before you make the offer; if you can entertain an entire assembly, pitch that. If you feel like you can only handle a room full of interested students, pitch that. In either event, plan to offer a reading from your book, and offer to donate a signed copy to the school library. I would suggest you keep your planned presentation between 30-45 minutes at the longest if it’s an assembly; 15-30 minutes is generally the right length for a classroom visit. I would also advise not selling your book to students unless you are invited to; instead, give them a handout with a link to your website and information on how to order the book if they’re interested.

Colleges and Universities can also be wonderful places to visit, especially if they have campus bookstores that frequently host signings. Often, student unions, student writing workshops and campus events committees are happy to speak to authors about coming to visit. Student business organizations may be interested in hearing about the business of publishing. Some of these events can be well attended (with hundreds of students if they’re promoted properly!), so don’t be afraid to take advantage of them.

I’m not keen on visiting churches during religious services to attempt to sell merchandise (it is disrespectful to those who take their religion seriously), but I do think it is acceptable to visit groups who meet in the church on weekdays to talk about your book. I would only recommend visiting churches if you are writing a book that will offer them some spiritual value. With that said, churches are often receptive to authors and enjoy inviting them to visit, so don’t leave them out if they are part of your target market.

Local community groups (especially those pertaining to libraries, reading circles or writing groups) may be interested in having you come and speak to them, especially if you’ve written something that ties into their organization or community. Many of these groups meet at libraries or bookstores, where you may be able to reach additional consumers if you offer a signing at the end of the session. Often, the format for this sort of visit is a reading with a question and answer session.

And those are just some of the ways you, as an author or publisher, can promote your book; there’s still the world of Internet promotion, which I’ll cover in another article. This should be plenty of work for you now, so go get started!

Writing Scraps

by Sean J. Jordan