The Power of Publicity

by Dana Lynn Smith

When you're sending out press releases and publication announcements for your book, be sure to include every organization that you belong to, including business and professional organizations and social and hobby clubs. Many organizations list member news in their newsletters. Also include your college alumni organization (whether or not you're a member), your hometown newspaper, and media in the town where you currently reside.

Another potential source of publicity is organizations and publications that are relevant to the topic, storyline or setting of your book, even if you're not a member or subscriber. You never know where publicity will come from.

Here's a great example of the power of publicity. Patty Shafer, who is the author of the Annie the Texas Ranch Dog series of children's books, recently landed a short feature and photo in Texas Co-op Power. If that doesn't sound like a big deal, consider that Texas Co-op Power is the highest circulation magazine in Texas, mailed to 1.2 million households and businesses that receive power through an electric co-op. The magazine regularly features Texas people and places and has an estimated total readership of 3 million. That's a lot of free publicity!

Patty's books also come with a terrific marketing hook. Annie the dog is owned by a park ranger and each book features an adventure in a different Texas state park, in a different area of the state. That opens up a whole range of regional promotional possibilities.

Keep your eyes open for opportunities to get publicity for your own books!

To learn more about promoting books with publicity, I recommend these two how-go guides from literary publicity expert Sandra Beckwith:

Get Your Book in the News: How to Write a Press Release That Announces Your Book will teach you how to create a release that contains the information that journalists need and expect. While this book focuses on crafting and distributing a "book announcement" press release, much of the information is also applicable to other types of press releases that are used in book promotion.

Publicity Forms and Templates is the ultimate guide to writing a variety of press releases and media kit materials for all types of books. This step-by-step guide includes dozens of fill-in-the-blank templates to make it easy for you to create professional quality publicity materials.

Comments

[Sandra Beckwith]

Thanks for sharing information on my resources, Dana. I love your example! Patty Shafer has certainly figured out how to write books with built-in publicity hooks. It will definitely pay off in awareness and sales.

Sandra Beckwith