Chapter 12

DIY Online Book Publicity

To amplify your message and grow the reach of your brand and book you’ll need to consider publicity. If you are working with a publisher they will provide publicity support, but it’s also a good idea to consider options to augment their campaigns. There are two ways to go about getting attention in the media: One is to hire experts to help you reach the media, and the other is to do the legwork yourself. I’ll be honest: Publicity is not rocket science. If you are committed to the process, you can do it yourself. It will take you longer and you will certainly spend many hours chasing opportunities, but you’ll save money. When you hire a PR expert, you are hiring them for their time, expertise, and contacts. Unfortunately, results are not guaranteed. Trust me: That fact is as frustrating for us in the field as it is for you.

There’s another thing to consider, and this may be difficult to hear: If you are self-publishing your book, you will probably get fewer reviews than if you were published by an established publisher. This is simply the truth. I totally understand the reasons to self-publish, but it’s important to be aware of the implications of that decision on your publicity prospects. It definitely means that you’ll have to focus more time on guest blogging and interviews.

Choosing the right public relations firm for your book

If you decide you want to hire a PR firm for your book, here are some important considerations:

1. Know your needs and goals. Before you begin your search, think about your PR goals. What is it that you want? Do you want to be on TV? Do you want reviews in newspapers? Or do you want to build exposure online? Whom do you want to reach? Do you know your target demographic? How long do you want to work with a PR agency? Do you want to work with a PR agency for a onetime book or project or for multiple projects longer term? Once you identify your goals, you’ll be able to find an agency that can help you achieve them.

2. Get a referral. Your search should always start by asking your agent, publisher, or fellow authors for referrals of people they have worked with to get some names to begin the process. You can compare and contrast the agencies you consider and find the one that’s the right fit. You can also work the process backward and find a successful book that’s in the same realm as your book, and then find out what PR firm that author used.

3. Do your research. Look up the agency online. Check out their website and social networks as well as their current and past projects and testimonials. Find out how long they have been in business and what types of people they work with. In our connected age, it’s easy to do your homework ahead of time to be able to narrow down your list based on your research. Make sure the agency you select is connected in the social media world. If they are connected digitally, they will be able to help promote and advise you in the social media space.

4. Reach out and make contact. Begin contacting several firms to pick the one that is right for you. Collect information on prices, timelines, and availability. Find out more about their area of specialty and expertise. Make sure your book is the type of book the PR agency does an effective job promoting. Now you can narrow your list further.

5. Set up an interview. Once you’ve narrowed down your list based on your budget, goals, and timing, you should set up an interview with each PR firm by phone or in person. A good firm will want to talk with you as well to make sure the fit is perfect. They should also encourage you to talk with other PR firms. Before you schedule the interview, give the firm the opportunity to learn about your book so you can hear their ideas and decide if you like what you are hearing. Ask questions just as if you are interviewing someone for a job. Find out the publications and media outlets where they have built relationships. Remember that a good PR agency should have an established network of media contacts. Make sure the agency you are talking to understands your brand. You can even request a preliminary proposal of how they would go about publicizing your book. Good PR agencies have strong track records.

6. Make the decision. The most important part of your decision process should really be your instincts. It’s all about knowing and liking the PR agency you are going to work with, because if you don’t like the person initially, you will most likely be dissatisfied in the long run. Did you establish rapport upon initial contact? During the interview phase, which firm stood out? What agency do you like, respect, and trust the most? In the end, go with your gut and you will make the best decision for you and your book.

Along with results, a good PR agency should give you valuable information for building your brand and amplifying the exposure you are getting. In the end, it is all about the collaboration, so pick your team carefully.

DIY publicity

If you decide you want to do the publicity work yourself, focus on the Internet. Traditional media (newspapers, magazines, TV, radio) require great contacts and long lead times. In either case, before jumping in please read a book or take a course on the topic. It’s easy to make mistakes, and you certainly want to avoid those when it comes to publicity.

What I can tell you is that as a busy author, online publicity will be a lot more effective for you. Online publicity, however, is not for everyone. It takes patience and a thick skin, since you may face rejection and silence. Authors often ask me what is the top website for generating sales. It’s a legitimate question, but the answer is not necessarily obvious. In my experience, there is no single site that generates sales for every kind of book. Because the web is so segmented, different sites impact different books, so it all depends on your audience. One of our clients asked us to reach out to sushi sites to help promote his novel. When I asked him why, he said, “Because Katty [the main character] loves sushi.” Now that may seem reasonable, but have you ever seen a sushi site featuring a novel just because the main character liked sushi? Probably not.

Another client asked us to get his book featured on the homepage of gap.com. “The gap.com? The people who make jeans?” I asked, confused. He said, “Yes, because their customer is my demographic.” This may seem like a creative idea, but have you ever seen a book on the homepage of gap.com? Probably not.

Your time is limited and the Internet is vast, so try to manage your expectations. If something has never been done before, it’s probably a long shot. So the first order of business is to make a list of websites and blogs on your wish list. It’s okay to dream here and list the New York Times, but you also need to have a realistic list. Remember the work you did in earlier chapters on readers, goals, and dreams. It’s worth looking at it again to help focus your attention on what you can achieve. The first thing to do is to build a list of websites and blogs that cover your topic. Note their URLs, social media feeds, and any contact information. Just remember your audience, which is often not as big and general as you may think. Pull out your work on Know Thy Reader. It will help you narrow your efforts.

When authors come to me and say, “I want to reach book bloggers or mommy bloggers,” I often have to tell them that bloggers have very specific tastes, and these tastes are more specific than they may realize. For example, when reaching out to mommy bloggers, it is really important to know the age of their kids. Pitching a teen parenting book to a mommy blogger with a baby won’t get you far. Pitching a sci-fi novel to a blogger who loves historical romances won’t work either. Sending a World War II book to a blogger who covers the Civil War will make for a cranky blogger, and sending a press release to the wrong person may actually get you blacklisted. So if you want to take on this work, please approach it carefully and diligently. A misstep can be damaging for your brand, and unfortunately Google has a long memory.

Once you’ve made your list, you’ll need to write a pitch. I know it’s counterintuitive, but I hate press releases. They never really work for us. I find that having a conversation is a much better way to get the attention of the person on the other end. If you have done your research, it will be a lot easier to pitch the blogger and editor with something specific. It’s better to pitch fewer people individually than pitching hundreds of people in one mass email.

Online publicity checklist

Search for blogs.

If you are looking for bloggers to review your book, look for the ones who have already reviewed books. One of the ways you can narrow your search is by doing a Google search for a competing book. If you only search for the name or title, too many things will come up and it will be a chore to figure out which ones are reviews. However, you can do a Google search for the author’s name or book title in quotes and the phrase “book review” or “interview,” and you will get much more refined search results—for example, “Brene Brown” “Daring Greatly” “Book Review.”

Know their beat.

The best piece of advice to any author trying to build a relationship with bloggers is to build it through mutual respect, trust, and consistency. Make sure you know the blogger’s focus and area of interest.

Work with a range of bloggers.

It’s good to know how much traffic a blog has, but don’t dismiss bloggers with less traffic. It is important to look at the full reach of a blogger. Sometimes blog features from smaller blogs can generate more chatter on social networks. It’s a good idea to follow them on Twitter, “Like” them on Facebook, and check out their social networks like Goodreads. Some bloggers post reviews on multiple sites so they can be more valuable for that reason alone. Remember also that placements on niche sites (those with less traffic) can sometimes be more effective than placements on a large general-interest site. You can work with bloggers who post reviews of your book, and those reviews can take on a life of their own. Reviews on sites like Twitter, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, LibraryThing, and Facebook all increase the search visibility of a book and its author. On these sites the reviews or features are all fluid and viral. They do not stay where they are created—they often take flight and have a much broader life than just the traffic on that original blog.

Make things easier.

Understanding the needs of bloggers and online editors will help you work with them. Make note of the type of coverage they specialize in. Do they like to interview authors, review books, do raffles, or post guest blogs? Then make sure you send them the materials they need in a timely fashion. If you promise them a review copy of a book, send it quickly.

Approach bloggers one at a time.

Every time I say that, people either roll their eyes in disbelief or try to sell me on the benefits of mail-merge mass email. But here’s the honest truth: You are better off reaching out to 50 bloggers one at a time than to 500 via a mass email. You’ll actually get better results. Is it time-consuming and labor-intensive? You bet. Is it worth it? Yes!

Don’t push.

Without follow-up nothing will come of your pitching, so you need to find time to follow up and develop skills in asking without being pushy or rude. Every good publicist masters the delicate art of begging.

Represent good content.

Don’t send out press releases, articles, or op-eds that are not written well. Make sure the content that leaves your hands always looks professional and does not have spelling or grammatical mistakes.

Be consistent and professional.

There are a few endorsements from bloggers on our site, and I read them as market research for this book. Many noted that being consistent and professional is important to them. They also like it when you use their names.

Keep notes.

All of these tips are fine, but unless you keep track of your research they’ll be difficult to implement. At FSB, we have several fields in our custom-designed database that help us develop relationships with bloggers. We record when the contact was added, by whom, and any notes about their likes and dislikes. We also keep track of all the books sent to every blogger and which ones then featured our books. This practice allows us to learn more about the blogger with every interaction and send them only the books they would be inclined to cover. You can use a spreadsheet or database to keep track of your PR work. It’s a good idea to keep thorough notes so you don’t get confused about whom you’ve contacted and what the results were.

If you are doing your own publicity, consider developing an ongoing dialog and relationship with the bloggers. Share their information and be generous. Everyone appreciates a digital nod these days. Help them before you need their help.

Once you have searched for bloggers and pitched your book, you will need to wait for responses. If editors/bloggers request the book, your pitch is working. If not, you’ll have to use another pitch. Try connecting your book to something in the news or a new study. When you do get a response, pounce on it. Attention is fleeting, and you don’t want to wait. If the editor/blogger asks for a book or an interview, accommodate them right away.

Then in a couple of weeks follow up and make sure they got the book and ask if there is anything you can do to help. That’s the cycle. It’s not difficult. It’s not rocket science. However, it requires lots of time and patience. Contacts with the media are worth so much because a publicist’s relationship with an editor will boost your chances of getting a feature. If you are willing to put in the work, you can build the same contacts and relationships within your niche. It will just take some time.

Research tools

New tools show up all the time, and if I find a cool new one I will post it on my site at www.fauziaburke.com.

Social Mention. This site allows you to search an author, company, or topic across the web. You can get results from 100 social media sites in one place. My favorite part is that it gives you sentiment (positive, neutral, or negative) of the mentions all over the web, along with top keywords and top hashtags. It’s handy.

TweetReach. This is one of my favorite sites. It allows you to search a topic, author, handle, or name and see how many people were reached by those tweets. You can also see who sent the tweets and how many followers they have. This is a helpful tool to search for people who have influence.

TwitterCounter. I love this site. It allows you to see the Twitter stats for any handle. You can see if the trend is for gaining followers or losing them. It also shows you how many tweets are made every day by any handle. TwitterCounter is useful for research and for monitoring the success of your Twitter feeds, especially if you have multiple accounts.

Google Trends. If you are working on a news topic, this is an excellent source because it gives you insights into the amount of traffic and geographic visit patterns.

Twazzup. This site allows you to filter news from live Twitter content. It’s helpful to see trending topics and influencers for a given subject. It’s better for searching topics than for an author’s name.

Klout. One of the most popular Twitter research tools, Klout measures influence rather than just the number of followers. It’s not without controversy, however, since many believe its metrics aren’t accurate.

PR quick links

Alltop.com. This site has top stories and blogs on every topic imaginable. Pick the topics that relate to your book and check out curated information.

PR Daily from Ragan’s. They have a great newsletter called PR Daily with tips and ideas.

HARO.com. Help a Reporter Out connects journalists on deadline with expert sources. It’s a good idea to sign up for the free newsletter and then pounce on any opportunities you can. We have gotten some good hits from it.

Cision. This is a software program that offers media contacts. It’s not cheap, but if you are willing to spend the money it’s a great way to find up-to-date contacts.

Other ways to get publicity

I like online publicity, and I accept my bias, but don’t ignore other ways to get attention. Just do the things that you enjoy:

• Look for trade association meetings, industry conferences, and conventions in your field and find opportunities to speak. You can submit a request to be a panelist or make a presentation. No matter what your field, there’s likely a circle of influence you can tap into for connections and leads. Make sure you write up a speaker’s page on your website highlighting the topics you speak about. Take photos and videos to turn the event into a multimedia opportunity to share on social media.

• One of the best ways to become known as an expert in your field is to host a free webinar and help other people. You can share tips and strategies and take questions from callers or questions posted on your website or through a conference call. Not only will you be helping people, but you can also promote your website, your social media sites, and your book.

• Use a variety of places (website, blog, social media) where you can post information, expand your features, publicize your book, and share your successes.

• Submit your blog to media outlets or other sites in your niche. The more eyes on your blog, the better. Each time your blog gets mentioned or posted, so does your name and the link to your website. Over time, this is the best way to increase the Google ranking of your site.

• Today people are looking for an authentic connection with you. Posting a video where you talk to your online community lets readers feel more connected to you. Video blogs are another way to share your expertise and passion and grow your digital presence.

• Reach out to niche communities for reviews and interviews, and write content for other sites so your name has better Google visibility.

• Social media is an excellent way to build relationships, but don’t forget the value of face-to-face meetings, phone calls, handwritten notes, and emails. It’s good to focus on important influencers, but leave room for accidental connections. Social media networking can be serendipitous—an online connection could lead to an important face-to-face meeting.

• Attend conferences for the opportunity to network, connect with other people, get referrals, and expand your network. You can promote yourself and your expertise with your business card and by following up after the conference is over. Remember to connect with your new friends in all your social media outlets.

All of these activities provide more exposure for your book and help to establish a strong digital footprint. My advice is to chat it up, be social, and continue building a social network. Build credibility and keep the lines of communication open.

Tip for #BusyAuthors

The idea that you only promote your book during a narrow window around the publication date is an outdated concept. Today you should have a long-term strategy.