With this book and some dedicated time, you have the power to be your own publicist and launch a successful promotional campaign for your book. Many of the authors on the New York Times bestseller lists handle their own book promotion or only rely on the outreach of their in-house publicist. However, there are even more authors on that list who rely on the help of an outside professional.
As I outlined in the introduction, in-house publicists have many obstacles to overcome. They are usually responsible for promoting dozens of books each month without assistants or interns to help them with the some of the more tedious tasks. They are overworked and underpaid, and they can feel pressure from the higher ups because the fruit of their efforts is hard to quantify. It’s a common joke that if the book tanks, you blame the publicist. If a book is a success, you praise the editor for finding the gem.
If you’re assigned an in-house publicist by your publisher, you will have some support, but the question is: how much? Usually, what the in-house publicist is capable of doing on your behalf relates to the size of your advance and where you fall on his or her list of authors. Bigger advances mean your publisher made a bigger investment, which means they’ll invest in the resources to promote the book effectively. If you receive a smaller advance, they won’t have allocated the same budget to put into the promotion of your book. Additionally, some of it will depend on the media hooks in the book. If there’s a lot to work with, an in-house publicist may be more inclined to go the extra distance.
In addition to an in-house publicist, you may also be assigned to an in-house marketing person or social media lead. The marketer will be responsible for things like advertising, giveaways, and corporate partnerships. A social media manager or coordinator would assist with building your online platform, promoting your work to social media influencers, and creating graphics to share across various platforms.
A key point to remember is that anyone who works for your publisher is exactly that: someone who works for your publisher. Their loyalty isn’t to you, but to the book they acquired, and you are one of many, many books they publish each year. My clients tell me that one of the primary reasons they hired me is so they can have someone that’s working for them and that will only act in their best interest.
Let’s say you want to speak at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. There are limited spots available and your in-house publicist has a short list of authors she or he is submitting. Not everyone is included on that list, and your in-house publicist won’t always submit you just because you asked. The publicity team has identified the authors they want to push, and you won’t always be one of them. However, your outside publicist works for you, and if you want to speak at the Festival, they can submit on your behalf.
These kinds of politics also come up when it comes to retailer-specific promotions. Publishers have a budget to spend with Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and independent retailers around the country. They are constantly trying to keep everyone happy and go to great lengths making sure one retailer isn’t favorited over another. Therefore, they may be less inclined to run a promotion through Amazon or anything that’s retailer specific. But an outside publicist doesn’t have to be concerned with internal politics and keeping the retailer accounts happy. They can do anything that will generate sales for the book.
The main takeaway about hiring an outside publicist is that they work for you and do not operate within the confines of a publishing house. With your publisher, you will be dealing with an in-house publicist, marketing person, sometimes a social media manager, or even a sales rep. An outside publicist can be your point person for these many contacts. Ideally, all of these roles should be intertwined and work together to form a cohesive campaign, but more often than not, all these individuals work in separate departments and don’t always know what the other is doing. As an outside publicist, I am constantly filling in marketing on what publicity is doing, or sending recent media hits to the sales department so they can notify the booksellers. Promotional campaigns are most successful when all departments work together, so an outside publicist often plays a role in ensuring that happens.
When I talk to Big Five authors about the possibility of working together, nearly all of them ask me how the dynamic works between their in-house publicist and myself. Do they feel like their toes are getting stepped on? Does it result in them feeling like they’re off the hook and may promote the book less?
In most cases, the answer is no. Nearly all the in-house publicists we’ve worked with are happy for the additional support. And rather than dropping everything and leaving all promotions to the outside publicist, they’re more determined than ever to secure media coverage and make an equal contribution. Good publicists, inside and out, will work as teammates, not adversaries.
You may not have the budget for an outside publicist, and that’s okay. After reading this book, you have the tools and knowledge to fill in any gaps. But whether you’re hiring someone else or acting as your own outside publicist, it’s important to understand everyone’s role and figure out a plan for working together.
If you’re with a traditional publisher, they will assign you an in-house publicist. But if you’re on your own, or want someone to supplement your in-house publicists’ efforts, you’ll need to find an outside publicist. When it comes to in-house publicists, you don’t have much say in the matter, but it’s important to ask plenty of questions and be informed of their plans. When looking for an outside publicist, there are hundreds of us, all with different styles, philosophies, and specialties. It’s up to you to find the publicist that is the best for you and your project.
Whether you’re heading into the marketing meeting at your publisher or interviewing someone on the outside, there are several questions you should ask:
Your publicist’s primary role is to secure media coverage for you and the book, but if that media doesn’t reach your target audience, it’s not going to result in sales. You want to make sure the publicist understands the target audience and how best to reach them.
Some of this is a matter of opinion, so if they say they see your book being read by urban hipsters while you see it as more of a book club book, hear them out. They may have valid points. And if your in-house publicist wants to target the urban hipsters, you can probably find an outside publicist to hit up the book-clubbers.
As was outlined in the “Pitching” section, creating tailored pitches and diligently following up are key to securing review coverage. But there are many publicists who still send mass emails and don’t follow up on leads. It’s important to know which kind of publicist you’re talking to.
For follow-ups, you want a publicist who’s going to get on the phone. Many emails slip through the cracks and many radio producers don’t even check their email. Following up via phone is an important component in ensuring your pitch gets noticed.
It’s easy to get nervous and insecure when you don’t know when things are happening. Having a loose outline of when certain outlets are going to be pitched, when a blog tour will be launched, when you can expect to see coverage, etc. will help put you at ease.
All publicists should have a timeline for their campaigns, and although that timeline may shift based on the news cycle, holidays, and other factors, it should give you an idea of what they’re doing and when.
You want to have a good working relationship with your publicist, and agreeing on a communication style is a key part of that. If your in-house publicist says she or he only emails when she gets a hit or prefers to do everything via email, then it’s best to respect that. Also, letting your in-house person know that you’re on email all day or that you’re only available for calls later in the evening will help set the expectations so both of you can communicate more effectively.
If you’re hiring an outside publicist, you want to find someone who gels with your communication style. If they don’t do phone calls, but you are really more of a phone person, then that publicist isn’t right for you. You also want to make sure they work well with your in-house team.
I find that the most frustrating working relationships are a result of poor communication and expectations that aren’t grounded in facts. By asking the right questions up front, you are able to set appropriate expectations and have a clear line of communication, avoiding problems down the road.
There are dozens of ways to effectively market a book, and for every possible marketing tool, there’s an agency that specializes in it. There are publicists and PR companies that focus on many aspects of book promotion (publicity, marketing, social media) and there are others who specialize in one aspect of a promotional campaign. In some cases, it makes sense to hire someone who does it all, but if you have strong support from your in-house team in certain areas, then it may make sense to hire someone who specializes in other areas.
As the pool of traditional media shrinks, so does the amount of PR firms who only handle traditional media. But they’re still around. These companies specialize in traditional media placement and focus all their energy there. If your in-house team is focusing all their efforts online, or you’re self-publishing and you feel comfortable with online media outreach, then it may make sense to enlist this type of company.
However, there are two caveats when it comes to hiring this type of publicist. The first is to think about your audience. Is traditional media the best way to reach them? Is there a reason your in-house team is focusing online? If your target readership doesn’t consume traditional media, then it doesn’t make sense to invest money in a traditional PR firm. The second is whether or not securing traditional media is realistic. Most book reviewers don’t review self-published books, and unless you write nonfiction, it may be hard to book radio and TV as well. No PR company will guarantee media coverage, so it would be a shame to invest a lot of money without seeing any results. Additionally, traditional media doesn’t tend to move the needle when it comes to e-book originals. If your book isn’t available in print, or if it is but not widely distributed to bookstores, then traditional media may not make sense.
Remember, if the goal is to sell books, then you should invest your time and money in initiatives that will reach that goal. Traditional media really only works if that’s how your target audience receives their information and if your book is on bookstore shelves nationwide.
With the surge of websites and blogs, we’ve also seen a surge in online-only publicists. Some of these companies focus on blogger outreach only, while others execute more comprehensive online campaigns. As with everything, the key is knowing your audience and the best outlets to reach them. If your readers get all their information online, then it would make sense to work with an online-only publicist.
With these companies, the caveat lies in experience and approach. There are many bloggers who now call themselves “publicists” and will pitch your book to all their blogger friends. These amateur publicists are usually more affordable, but less effective and professional. Everyone has to start somewhere, so I’m never opposed to giving a new person a chance, but it’s always a good idea to know their previous experience and to ask for references. If they’ve only worked on a handful of campaigns, but those authors were happy, then it’s worth giving them a shot.
Online publicity companies often vary in their approach. I’ve seen proposals from companies that say they’ll contact 1,000 bloggers or at least 500 online outlets. These trigger suspicion for two reasons. First, there is no way someone is writing 1,000 tailored pitch emails to these outlets. If they’re contacting that many bloggers, it means they’re using an email-blast format, which seldom yields the best results. Second, when they’re pitching to that many outlets, how many of those outlets actually get a decent amount of traffic or are tailored to your specific book?
Our database consists of about 500 high-traffic blogs, and we comb through that database regularly to eliminate outlets that don’t blog very often or whose content has decreased in quality. Does that mean we don’t have the same reach as these other companies? Maybe. But it could also mean we’re just more particular about who we put in our database.
Even with those 500 blogs, we don’t contact every blogger for every book. We use our various filters to identify the top 30 or 50 who are most likely to give that book a positive review. As this book has outlined, a successful campaign is not about the quantity of reviews, but the quality, and not all online-only publicity companies share that philosophy.
Since the launch of Twitter and Facebook going public, the role of Social Media Manager has been in high demand. Everyone from celebrities to Fortune 500 companies to nonprofits have seen the need for an individual or a team to manage these various social media platforms and create a content strategy.
Most authors I talk to would be thrilled to turn their social media duties over to a professional and have them off their plate. There are many talented tweeters out there who have a solid understanding of social media strategy and capturing an author voice, but regardless of their talent, there is no substitution for authors posting themselves.
However, social media managers can work in a variety of ways. Some will be your voice and tweet, Facebook, etc. on your behalf. Others will assist you in crafting quality content, create graphics to accompany that content, and post at the optimal times throughout the day. Some will interact with other users, as you; others won’t. There are also social media pros who only consult, going through your various online platforms and offering recommendations on how to make them better.
If you are a tech-zero or know that you will never, ever have an active social media presence, or are a huge bestseller who doesn’t have time to manage their platforms, then hiring a professional makes sense. But if you have the capabilities to handle your own social media platforms, even if it’s a pain and a chore, then I recommend sucking it up and doing it. If you need assistance, you can always hire someone to consult.
If you feel that you and your in-house team have the publicity front covered and you have a budget to spare, then you may want to consider hiring a marketing or advertising company to assist with promotions. As was outlined in the previous section, there are many different marketing and advertising opportunities available to authors, and since these companies do it for a living, it may make sense to employ their help to ensure you’re spending your money wisely.
The advantage to hiring these companies is that since they are buying ads and initiating campaigns for multiple clients, they often receive a discount or are able to get into promotions that have a higher minimum buy-in. For example, Amazon has a minimum ad buy of $10,000 per year. That’s usually more than one author can afford. But if an advertising company is buying space for multiple authors, they can reach the minimum without passing along the entire cost to one author.
Additionally, most reputable companies have a clear understanding of what works and what doesn’t. You may be interested in certain ad buys or marketing initiatives, but if those haven’t proven effective, they’ll let you know and recommend more appropriate places to spend your money.
That being said, there are certain reasons to be wary of marketing and advertising companies. First, you should understand that you’re not only paying for the ad space, but you’re also paying for their services. In some cases, you could place the ad yourself without the additional fee of a company. Second, because they work with vendors and have minimums to spend each year, some companies will attempt to sway you in a particular direction, even if it’s not in your best interest. Again, reputable companies will let you know which ad buys are worth the investment, but other companies may be more loyal to their vendors than their clients.
The last caveat is to be wary of any company that is plug-and-play or offers one-size-fits-all packages. I’ve seen a number of companies that offer a shopping list of ad buys and marketing efforts that authors can sign on for, regardless of what makes sense for their book. If you’re hiring a professional to assist with marketing and advertising, they should do more than just place an ad for you. They should be consulting on which initiatives make the most sense and steer you away from those that don’t. Since every book is different, doing the same campaign for every book means a large percentage of their titles aren’t being marketed appropriately.
Speakers Bureaus specialize in securing paid speaking engagements for clients. Their team of lecture agents are paid a commission for each engagement they secure, and while they usually focus on nonfiction authors and celebrities, a handful of fiction authors that use them as well.
Like hiring an outside PR or marketing company, the advantage to hiring a speakers bureau is that since this is their primary job, they have more contacts and better relationships with event coordinators and venues. And since they only take a cut of what they book, there’s limited investment and risk on your part.
While the commission structure is appealing, it can also work as a disadvantage. Since it’s in their best interest to book the client with the highest honorarium, most lecture agents are more focused on their celebrity, athlete, or media pundit clients. These are the folks bringing in $10,000 honorariums, sometimes more, so they’ll push them before they’ll push you. Additionally, since the speakers bureau assumes all the risk and initial investment, it can be difficult to get on their roster. Most authors have to work up to the larger honorariums on their own, or with the help of their publicity team, before applying to speakers bureaus, and even then, if they’re on the lower end of the honorarium spectrum, they may not be getting booked as frequently as they’d like.
If speaking is something you want to do on a regular basis and have it be a part of your revenue stream, then I recommend seeking out potential speakers bureaus. There’s no risk on your part, other than the time it takes to submit the application, and since most bureaus don’t require exclusivity, you’re able to apply to more than one and increase your chances for getting booked. However, if you haven’t done any paid speaking engagements yet, I recommend starting smaller by booking things on your own and building up your résumé before taking the time to apply.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a key when it comes to discoverability, so many businesses enlist companies to improve their SEO. There is no shortage of companies and individuals claiming to have the secret to boost SEO through a range of marketing techniques, keyword searches, and metadata.
I’ve talked to many authors, primarily in the nonfiction space, who are interested in hiring someone to boost their SEO and ensure their website shows up first in Google searches. And the conclusion I draw with every conversation is that these authors are looking for an easy way out. They want to throw money at the problem and be done with it, rather than relying on organic marketing techniques to boost their ranking.
When I first started freelancing, I wasn’t showing up in Google searches. There was another Dana Kaye, a journalist who died of lung cancer, who would always show up on the first page. Searching for “Dana Kaye books” or “Dana Kaye book review” would produce my name, but a general search would push me to the second and third pages. However, the more I wrote, the more I published, and the more inbound links I received, the higher I climbed. Within a year, I was the first 5 entries in Google, and Dana Kaye the journalist was pushed to page two.
This didn’t happen overnight. It took an active social media presence, regularly publishing, and generating inbound links to push me up in the ranks. And while there are companies who claim they can do it overnight, I believe Google is smart enough to recognize those tactics and will prevent them from working.
If you’re concerned with your website and where it’s showing up in searches, you can always hire a web developer or SEO specialist to offer a consultation. They’ll be able to identify if there’s anything wrong with your website or other factors that may be hurting you in searches. But more likely, they’ll tell you what we’ve already outlined in this book: Google juice comes from generating inbound links, posting pertinent content, and updating your website on a regular basis.
Because there are so many agencies and individuals, specializing in a wide range of areas, it can be difficult to know which one is the best for you and will provide a return on investment. There are many talented publicists and marketers who care about the success of the book and have the experience and skills to deliver on their promises, but there are many more who will take on anyone who can cut a check, make promises they can’t deliver on, or just don’t have the skills and experience necessary to execute a solid campaign.
The tricky part about finding the right PR company is that most of them know how to pitch. I’ve lost out on contracts to publicists who promise the client the sun, moon, and stars, and have an engaging Powerpoint to go with it. We pitch media for a living, and therefore, most publicists talk a good game and know what it takes to get a client to sign on the dotted line. But just because the publicist presents an impressive presentation and promises to deliver on any media you can think of, doesn’t mean he or she is the right person.
So, when you interview publicists, I recommend paying attention to the following warning signs.
As we addressed in the “Traditional Media” section, securing media coverage is never a guarantee. You can have a great lineup of interviews and newspaper features booked, but if something huge happens in the world, your fluffy author piece is going to get bumped. No publicist can guarantee a certain amount of media coverage or placement in certain publications.
There are a handful of publicists I’ve met that work on a pay-per-interview basis. They are only paid when interviews or features are secured. Many authors find this appealing because, like lecture agents, there is minimal financial risk. However, like lecture agents, these publicists are going to focus their attention on the clients with the easy pitch. If they go out to a round of media contacts and no one bites, they’re not going to invest more time chasing down those leads. They’re going to move on to a client who’s more media friendly, and you’ll be left without any publicity for your upcoming book.
I know many authors who have spoken to other publicists who have guaranteed them they’d hit the New York Times, USA Today, or other bestseller lists, and I am still appalled when I think about this fact. Bestseller lists are a ranking system, and making those lists not only depends on the sales of your book, but the sales of everyone else’s books as well. You can sell thousands of copies in a single week, but if 10 other books sell hundreds of thousands, then you’re not making the list. On the flip side, I’ve seen books that sell less than a thousand copies make the list because it was a slow week in their category. There have been many authors (and a couple noted celebrities) who purchased large quantities of their own books in an attempt to tip the scales, and have still come up short.
Making a bestseller list is not up to one person. Anyone who guarantees you bestseller placement is making false promises, and I question their understanding of the industry. Run.
Whenever anyone asks if they should hire anyone, whether it’s a publicist, a web designer, or a handyman, my response is always the same: have you been able to find three people with similar projects who can vouch for them?
The best way to know if a publicist or marketer is reputable and will be able to do right by your book is if other authors are able to vouch for him or her. In the interview process, I recommend asking for three references, but not just any references—authors that are similar to you. A huge New York Times bestseller may have great things to say about his publicist, but that doesn’t mean the person knows how to market a debut or a struggling midlister. Nonfiction authors don’t make the best references if you write fiction, because the promotional process is so different. If three authors say that hiring this publicist was a good idea, and their books and goals are similar to yours, then it’s indicative that this publicist would be a good fit for you. But just because you met one vocal author who vouches for a particular publicist doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the right fit for you.
As I mentioned previously, I do believe that everyone has to start somewhere. If you had contacted me in early 2009, I wouldn’t have been able to provide three author references because I only had one client. If you are considering going with someone newer and more affordable, then I recommend asking for non-client references. Ask to speak to any in-house publicists, book critics, or producers he or she has worked with. If there aren’t enough clients to vouch for services, media and publishing people can be the next best thing.
Before we take on any client, we must read their book. How could we possibly market something we haven’t read? Additionally, we only take on a small percentage of the authors who query us, because the book may have a great marketing hook, but if I don’t feel it’s a good book or it just doesn’t gel with my reading tastes, then I don’t feel comfortable standing behind it. But I am continuously shocked at how many publicists say they don’t need to read the book to offer a proposal.
As an author, you want to have a publicist that can get behind your book, understands the content, and ultimately, believes in the project. Your publicist should be able to understand your target audience and pull out “off the book page” marketing angles, but it’s very difficult to do that without having read the book. Even advertising and marketing companies we’ve worked with say they want to read the book before offering a recommendation, because again, how can they know which ad buys will yield the best return on investment if they don’t understand the target audience and secondary themes of the book?
When you interview publicists, take note of whether or not they ask to read your book prior to offering a proposal. If they don’t, you can offer to send the manuscript and see what they say. If they don’t express a need or even a desire to read your work, then I wouldn’t trust them to promote it.
Whether or not you hire outside PR, marketing, or advertising does not determine the fate of your book. I am confident that by reading this book you have the necessary tools to execute an effective promotional campaign. But should you decide on hiring the professionals, it is key to ask the right questions, determine which type of company best fits your needs, and watch out for the warning signs before signing on the dotted line.