The role of an online book publicist continues to evolve and change with the times. A book publicist’s job changes at the same pace as magazines, newspapers, social media, blogs, podcasts, and radio shows do.
Today’s fast-paced, changing environment requires all online book publicists to keep updated with the online world and current events. A successful publicist can tell powerful and original stories supported by video, photography, and/or other visual works. In the past, the visual components would have been the media’s responsibility, but now PR professionals not only influence the content that the media shares but also how it is packaged. Content development, PR strategy, and project management are part of today’s book publicist role.
After close to a decade of experience in traditional and online book publicity, we have seen first hand the changes, challenges, and successes of managing the constant evolution of how our society communicates and what technologies we use to consume new information. At Talk+Tell, we have taken a proactive approach to all of our author clients and the books we represent to maintain and develop new contacts in the digital and traditional media outlets.
How an Online Book Publicist Can Help Authors
An online book publicist can help authors reach their readers in masses. For new authors especially, PR is an important tool for building brand presence and trust among readers. For example, at Talk+Tell, we worked on an article with HuffPost and one of our authors, resulting in over one million reads in the first 24 hours and a James Beard Nomination.
Great PR can help an author achieve the following three things:
1. Brand identity
Readers trust established authors, and PR can help generate brand identity and reader recognition.
2. Build reader interest
PR can play a vital role in a strategy that generates reader interest and drives book sales. Particularly for new and emerging authors, a strong PR campaign helps to set the narrative, create brand buzz, and form a brand following.
3. Grow reader trust
Readers typically buy books from authors they trust, and personalized PR is just one technique to capture the attention of a potential customer. Seeing an author mentioned in a positive story in the media or recommended by an influencer can be a priceless piece of PR – it generates trust.
PR for Nonfiction Books and PR for Fiction Books Are Very Different
Nonfiction and fiction are two VERY different categories of books. A book publicity strategy for a nonfiction book will look very different from one for a fiction book. Therefore, they need different publicity strategies that understand their genres and readers.
What a nonfiction book publicist will do
Publishing nonfiction books is a great way to grow your brand, build your email marketing list, grow your business, and get more speaking gigs. However, a nonfiction book needs its own custom strategy in terms of PR.
Book publicity for nonfiction books is its own breed of PR. At Talk+Tell, each of our PR campaigns and strategies is customized to the author, the author’s brand, and the author’s book. At Talk+Tell, our nonfiction authors have used their book to increase revenue, become Thought Leaders in national media outlets, done Tedx talks, and have become bestsellers.
What a fiction book publicist will do
PR for a fiction book focuses on building the brand for the book versus the author’s personal brand. Rarely will you find a feature interview on a national media outlet with a fiction author unless that author is already established. In most cases, you will find interviews were done around a fiction book’s content and value. For fiction books, you will find full-feature about the book, where the feature shares why people are falling in love with the book’s characters and storyline.
A fiction book publicist will focus on getting media coverage for the book itself. They will work with the media to recommend the book as one of their top reads or write a feature about how it differs from others in its genre.
4 Signs You Are Ready to Hire a Book Publicist
1. You have a budget for PR
Unfortunately, there is no way around this – PR is not free, and it is not always cheap. However, PR is worth the investment. So often see authors spend thousands on self-publishing their book, only to get no attention from readers or the media. PR will help you reach new readers and establish credibility all at the same time.
2. You no longer have time to do it all yourself
You want to spend less time learning how to do PR and more time writing that next book – the more books you write, the more profits you will make.
3. You are ready to rise to the next level
You have worked hard on your marketing and have a strong foundation of readers who love your book. But now it is time to take it to the next level – you want more. You want to win awards, get testimonials from bigger names, etc. You want to become a bestseller who can reach more readers.
4. You understand the value of PR for your book
PR isn’t a short-term, immediate-gain investment. It’s a long-term investment in your future as an author that requires care and patience. PR is an excellent way to build your digital footprint and spread the word about your brand. PR is a way to reach millions of people all at once.
For us at Talk+Tell, long-term brand recognition is a huge part of what we consider success. And, if you’re anything like us, you know that this kind of strength and strategy can make all the difference.
The Do’s and Don’t’sDon’t’s of Hiring a Publicist
DO research publicists before reaching out to them.
Always hire a book publicist who has experience working with books and authors similar to yours. In addition, you want to work with an online book publicist who has experience in your book’s genre.
DO send a brief, concise introduction.
First impressions matter. It is important to introduce yourself and share what your book is about and your PR strategy goals. Don’t be afraid to be honest and brag about yourself a little bit. You wrote a whole book – that is already something to brag about!
DO find someone you mesh with personally – and, more importantly, who you trust.
At the end of the day, you are working with an online book publicist to tell your unique story, which involves making yourself a little vulnerable. A publicist-author relationship involves honest conversations. Therefore, it is important you are comfortable with your publicist to keep the meeting and communication style open.
DON’T hire someone who makes big promises
If a book publicist is making big promises to you – stay clear. The only promise a book publicist can honestly make is that they will work hard on your behalf. They of course, can also share how they will realistically meet your goals and what you can expect each month, but promising you the world is unrealistic.
DON’T hire a publicist just because you want to be famous
Publicists need a why and a story behind making you famous (unless you are a Kardashian, of course).
DON’T hire someone without setting objectives and goals
Your PR strategies should always be aligned with an objective. If you have no objectives or goals in place, you will not see results in a PR strategy. A PR strategy for your book needs to work towards something.
Here Is Our Checklist for Finding an Amazing Book Publicist
Hiring a book publicist will be one of the most significant decisions you make as an author. Yes, I know what you are thinking: “Of course you would say that, you are the founder of a self-publishing and PR company.” But hear me out!
I truly believe your relationship with your book publicist is one of the most sacred relationships in the publishing industry. I mean, your online book publicist is your voice in the world. They are the ones who will share your message, your book, and your story with the media and with future readers. Therefore, you want to choose a book publicist very carefully.
Here is a list of recommendations to look for in a perfect publicist:
1. Consider their philosophy
How do you find out about a publicist’s philosophy? By reviewing their website and social media accounts. Does their online message resonate with you? Do you think you would be a good match?
2. Look for that spark
Do they light up and get excited when discussing your book and its potential? Do you get along well with them? Do you enjoy talking to them?
Chemistry in any relationship is very important – you want to work with and hire someone you get along well with and enjoy being around.
3. Look at their results
Another great way to explore whether a book publicist is a great fit for your book is to research their results. Ask them what results they recently produced for other authors. If their results are similar to what you are looking for, you know you are on the right track.
So, when you’re looking for your perfect book publicist to help you promote your book, it boils down to these three questions:
• Do you have a shared philosophy?
• Is there a spark?
• Do they have a successful track record of producing the kind of results you’re looking for?
If the answer to all of these questions is yes – BINGO, you have a winner!
Conclusion to Everything You Need To Know About An Online Book Publicist
With over 300,000 books being released each year, the competition for readers has never been more fierce. So how does a book stand out? The answer is book publicity and strong marketing. Hiring an amazing book publicist can give you the edge your book needs to attract new readers and increase book sales. When hiring an online book publicist, make sure they have experience in your book’s category and genre.
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