Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Market Your Book - Publicity And Promotion

By Annie M. Jennings

There are many book titles that you see on the shelves of bookstores and in libraries. They may have some of the best information, or tell the best stories that have ever been written. However, if the author was not marketed by a well known publisher or did not have the tools and ideas to show that book promotion and publicity market your book.

With the many online companies that will help you self-publish, once completed, the tasks of promotion and publicity fall into your hands. Depending on the topic, you will be able to find many local options to get your book and your face in front of a potential buying audience. However, be aware of many companies online that claim that they can help you. They will offer you online seminars on the proper procedures and techniques to get your book out to the public. Just be careful as if you published this piece yourself, you may have budget constraints and all of this can cost you quite a lot of money. What they will attempt to show you, in many cases, is the use of common sense. You will be exposed to marketers that are more interested in selling you stuff, more than they are interested in helping you sell your book, or at least make people aware that you wrote something of value. So, beware.

Depending on the size of the closest major city, you can find multiple chances to put your composition out to the public. Hopefully, some of these ideas will help you with your launch. However, know this. Although you have written what you hope will be a well received piece of literature, how you market the book and yourself will go a long way in establishing your success.

A more localized marketing plan, a plan that you can replicate, is truly guerrilla marketing, but can give you immediate feedback and sales, plus you get to meet your readers. There are some simple methods to do this, so it is important that you do as many things as you can to get your name, face and book, into the public eye.

Head down to your local bookstore. Everyone likes to sponsor an event. A book signing falls into this category. In some cases they may let you have a short discussion group explaining the topic and then have the opportunity to sign and sell some copies. It is possible that they will let you put up some posters and advertise your upcoming visit, so be sure to plan ahead. The idea of having a local author is usually good press, so you should contact all of the local newspapers as well.

There are so many local radio shows that likely will have a potential slot for you, especially if their show covers any topics discussed in your book. They are easy to contact and are always interested in entertaining guests, as a way to gather more of the listening audience. Every television station and newspaper is looking for great local stories. Contact them, explain the who, what, when, where, why and how's of your composition and you may find yourself sitting on the stage with a local television celebrity.

Please remember that these are public events. You will need to take some time to get prepared. The perception of the quality of your book will go hand in hand with your personality in promoting it. The better prepared you are to discuss the topic, the purpose, your motivation for writing it etc., the better it will be received.

Lastly, there are companies that will try to help you. The problem here is that they are interested in selling stuff, too. They will offer books and seminars that are designed to help you market your book. Your challenge is to determine how interested they are in helping you or selling you their stuff. In most cases, you can take your product to the public with an entertaining approach. Be yourself and market that. If what you wrote about has any appeal, you can find people that will buy your book. Just make sure that you are prepared, professional and personal. Good luck.

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