by Scott Lorenz | Author Advice, Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Book Publicity, Book Publishing, Marketing a Book, Promoting a Book, Speaking Gigs
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Communications
Book publicity can change an author’s life. Don’t put off the most important part of publishing a book. Book marketing costs money but obscurity costs more!
Authors will often wonder what book publicity all about is and ask me about the benefits of marketing their book.
Here’s a list of 127 reasons authors should seek out book publicity.
1. An agent will ‘discover’ your book and offer to represent you.
2. Publicity is Free. Advertising costs money.
3. Your book marketing will spark ideas for new offerings.
4. You’ll get good (WOM) word of mouth advertising.
5. You’ll become the go-to author the media seeks out.
6. You’ll get new business because of all the publicity.
7. You’ll create positive energy generating more good book ideas while book marketing
8. Book publicity success will lead to loyal employees.
9. You’ll be a more driven, optimistic, and secure author.
10. Other authors will be blown away by your book publicity.
11. Book publicity will pay off because you’ll be able to work less.
12. Your book will inspire you to create another product or service.
13. Well-known TV shows will reach out to you because they’ve ‘heard of you.’
14. Readers will become loyal to you and demand you write more!
15. Demand for your services allow you to raise your prices.
16. Third party media endorsements will result in new business, speaking engagements.
17. Media stories about you will help your website show up first on internet searches.
18. Celebrities will be reaching out to you to learn more about your book.
19. Those who previously never paid attention to your book want to be your friend.
20. Random strangers come up to you and remember you as an author they saw on TV.
21. Your Amazon.com orders will skyrocket.
22. Your book publicity will help you create a name for yourself in politics.
23. New found ‘fans’ will ask you for your autograph.
24. Your book promotion will turn into sales.
25. The online ads for your books will lead to sales and consulting deals.
26. You’ll get more inquiries for your business or practice.
27. Your book marketing will spread across the Internet
28. Your employees will be proud of working with you.
29. Legislation that you initiate or inspire gets enacted.
30. When the economy gets tough, your book will keep you thriving.
31. You’ll be invited to prestigious events
32. Customers will gladly buy your book.
33. Book buyers will ask for your book in stores.
34. You can charge a higher price for your books
35. Since people are pre-sold about you and your book they’re predisposed to work with you.
36. Book publicity is more credible and therefore more believable than a paid ad.
37. Media outlets will reach out and offer your book more free publicity.
38. You may have the opportunity to write a syndicated column about your book
39. You may get paid keynote speaking engagements.
40. Book deals will come to you.
41. Your book will be purchased by a major company for promotional purposes
42. Your compensation as an author will grow over time.
43. Book publicity will help you become well-known in your specialty.
44. You’ll get your own TV or Radio show.
45. Those who were skeptical about your book now own it.
46. Big-name media outlets will feature your book.
47. You’ll make $$$ speaking about your book.
48. Your book publicity will help you brand yourself.
49. Major magazines will feature you and your book on their front covers.
50. Your book will become so popular that it’ll be time for you to host a radio show.
51. Framed articles about you and your book will decorate your office
52. Articles about you and your book will get shared all over Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter etc.
53. Well-known personalities will endorse YOU!
54. Your book promotion will pay off because you’ll buy your dream home.
55. Your writing techniques will be taught at schools globally.
56. Your book will create a business big enough to franchise.
57. People will be inspired and positively impacted by your book.
58. Significant mistakes will be prevented thanks to your work as an author.
59. Issues you discuss during your book publicity will be taken seriously.
60. Those who appreciate you and your book want to be in your company.
61. Lots of money will come your way when you act as a celebrity endorser.
62. You’ll make money when ideas from you book are licensed.
63. Book groupies will follow all of your public appearances.
64. You’ll be flooded with bulk book orders by organizations who love what your book.
65. Your message becomes part of the lexicon of the language.
66. Major stores will want to sell your book to their customers.
67. You’ll get discounts from those who are interested in a business opportunity.
68. Promoting your books to international markets will be possible.
69. Your book promotion will motivate others to pursue their dreams.
70. The cause outlined in your book will receive grant money from foundations
71. Your family will admire your achievements and be inspired by your success
72. Your children will be inspired by your success.
73. Your closest friends will proudly brag about your book
74. Book promotion will be more fun than you think!
75. Once your book publicity efforts pay off, you’ll enjoy greater self-esteem.
76. Your book publicity success will inspire you to take better care of yourself
77. Others will view you as an author and expert.
78. You’ll have an edge over your competitors
79. Your customers will see your book solidifying a positive image.
80. Investing opportunities will come to you from venture capital companies.
81. Your success as an author will attract experts to help you.
82. People will take your advice to heart.
83. Your love life will improve as a result of the fame your book publicity has brought you.
84. Your name will be in the databases of TV & Radio producers and journalists.
85. Your book publicity will earn you various awards and nominations.
86. Your legacy will be as a successful author.
87. Other authors will covet your level of success.
88. Your book will be at the front and center at indie and big box bookstores.
89. A commencement speech at your alma mater will be offered to you.
90. Those who once looked down upon you as an author will now see you everywhere.
91. Other people will become passionate about the cause your book revolves around.
92. The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and The New York Times name your book a BESTSELLER.
93. You’ll make more memories with your loved ones.
94. You’ll be a media darling and will be recommended as a “Great Interview.”
95. Your book publicity will connect you to people you would’ve never crossed paths with.
96. Your success as an author will give you more faith in yourself.
97. Your book publicity will lead you to earn an honorary doctorate degree.
98. Your debts will disappear thanks to the great results of your book marketing.
99. You’ll be outlived by the legacy you leave as one of the greatest authors.
100. You’ll get a ‘command’ performance by the President of The United States.
101. An early and wealthy retirement will be your option.
102. Words you invent for your book become household terms.
103. Your success as an author will allow you to achieve even more than you ever thought.
104. Your book could be turned into a movie.
105. You could get a deal to collaborate on a new book with a well-known author.
106. Your book will win awards at major book festivals.
107. You’ll be asked to sit on a panel of expert authors at writer’s conferences.
108. Your book will be required reading at universities worldwide.
109. People will buy your book to send to their Congressman.
110. A book award will be named after you and your book.
111. Your book will attract a global audience.
112. Young children will look up to your success as an author.
113. Aspiring authors will consider you their role model.
114. Traveling the world and marketing a book will become your reality.
115. Millions of people will follow you on Twitter.
116. Cruise ships will be calling you talk about your book.
117. The dream life of fame and fortune will now be yours.
118. Once you’re famous and don’t need it, Banks will want to loan you money.
119. A TV producer will want to collaborate on a new series on your book.
120. Your side of the story will be told to the public thus helping your lawsuit.
121. The U.S. Senate will ask you to testify about issues in your book.
122. New laws will be passed as a result of your book.
123. Book publicity is like a drug, the more you get the more you’ll want.
124. Your book publicist will work for free… (Ok that’s not happening!)
125. Marketing a book will become second nature to you.
126. You’ll accomplish what you’ve always wanted to do i.e. make money & get a movie deal.
127. The more book publicity you get the more publicity YOU’LL GET!
The Bottom Line: Book publicity can change an author’s life. Don’t put off the most important part of publishing a book. Book marketing costs money but obscurity costs more!
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://www.WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at [email protected] or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
Would you like help promoting your book?
If so, tell us a little about your book. What is the title? Do you have a publisher? What is the publish date? How many pages is your book? What is the cost? Do you have web site? What is your specific goal I.E., to make money, raise awareness, get the attention of an agent or publisher, sell the story to a movie or TV studio or something else?
Submit the form below with this information and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!
Would you like help promoting your book?
If so, tell us a little about your book. What is the title? Do you have a publisher? What is the publish date? How many pages is your book? What is the cost? Do you have web site? What is your specific goal I.E., to make money, raise awareness, get the attention of an agent or publisher, sell the story to a movie or TV studio or something else?
Submit the form below with this information and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!
by Scott Lorenz | Author Advice, Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Book Reviews, Social Media
by Scott Lorenz
Westwind Book Marketing
“Reviews are a third-party endorsement of your work. They give the potential buyer assurance the book they may buy is worthwhile.” Scott Lorenz, Book Publicist
“We are still trying to get reviews. It is worse than pulling teeth though. Unfortunately, I used up the reviewers I could threaten bodily harm to with my first book!” Exasperated Author
One of the most difficult things to do is to get people to read and review your book to help get the buzz going. How would you like to get your book into the eager hands of reviewers, bloggers, members of the media, librarians, booksellers, and educators before it was published? Ever wonder how some books have 50 reviews the day of publishing? Want to know the tricks of the trade? One way is through NetGalley and their 450,000 readers.
NetGalley is a service that allows authors and publishers to get reviews of their work before and after it is published. Members get galleys before others, read books digitally, share feedback, and become part of a reading community. There are also built-in benefits beyond the review, including advance promotion (more about that on their website: https://www.netgalley.com/
“What an author will get from NetGalley, but may not always welcome, are reviews that are about as truly independent as can be,” said Tom Barry, author of Saving Jay and When the Siren Calls. If you can’t handle the truth or someone’s version of the truth don’t do it!
“We work with over 400 publishers, indie authors and small publishers who are incorporating NetGalley into their marketing and publicity activities,” says Kristina Radke of NetGalley. We work in all genres, and the formats we support are ePub (converted to Mobi for Kindle devices and apps) or PDF.”
The reach is often beyond the NetGalley platform. “NetGalley does encourage its reviewers to post outside NetGalley, on places such as a personal blog, Amazon or GoodReads. It does not, however, guarantee or require this to happen,” says C.E. Kilgore, a self-published author of Science Fiction, Space Opera, and Contemporary Romance.
Check out The Science Fiction Writers Association who have a special rate with Net Galley. https://www.sfwa.org/member-links/netgalley-application/
“NetGallians are not only strangers but staunch supporters of good fiction, like Templars defending a holy artifact,” says J.S. Leonard, author of Modern Rituals. “They care only to support excellent writing.” One thing Leonard discovered with NetGalley are his “superfans,” those individuals who read the book, love the book, and tell everyone they know.
“NetGalley is so huge, your books are getting listed next to some pretty big name titles, and that can sometimes do wonders at getting your book noticed. It’s a great chance to discover new authors and for authors to be discovered by new readers,” said Melissa Pearl, author of The Elements Trilogy.
“NetGalley is about marketing for authors/publishers, in addition to connecting with readers, and we have to keep in mind the game of trying to reach as many readers as possible,” said Keary Taylor, author of The Eden Trilogy, The Fall of Angels Trilogy, and What I Didn’t Say.
Corrin Foster of Greenleaf Book Group says that their publishing firm uses NetGalley for nearly every title that they publish as a way to reach active and influential reviewers. “The NetGalley community is fair and transparent with their reviews, responsive to collaboration, and an invaluable resource for generating early reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, blogs, and social media which carry a lot of weight with general consumers. We value our relationship with NetGalley and their members very highly,” says Foster.
Some authors believe NetGalley is costly, but as a book publicist, I can attest to the fact that the cost of soliciting, shipping and following-up is pretty costly in terms of money and time too. Author C.E. Kilgore is concerned that the site has little reader/reviewer vetting process.
NetGalley admits this, but they believe that publishers and authors know best the readers who are most useful for them. When a reviewer requests a book, the author or publisher can accept or decline the request after reviewing their profiles. The price for a listing range from $399 to $599 for six months with the higher fee including a marketing boost and newsletter placement.
Want to save money? NetGalley works in partnership with the IBPA (Independent Book Publishers Association). They have a NetGalley program that makes it very easy for small and self-published authors to participate at a discount. Click here for more information: https://www.ibpa-online.org/page/netgalley.
The Bottom Line: NetGalley is a great way to obtain pre-publish reviews and is yet another resource available to authors and publishers to reach a community of avid readers.
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://www.WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at [email protected] or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
Would you like help promoting your book?
If so, tell us a little about your book. What is the title? Do you have a publisher? What is the publish date? How many pages is your book? What is the cost? Do you have web site? What is your specific goal I.E., to make money, raise awareness, get the attention of an agent or publisher, sell the story to a movie or TV studio or something else?
Submit the form below with this information and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!
by Scott Lorenz | Author Advice, Author Spotlight, Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Book Publicity, Book Spotlight, PR Stunts, Television
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Communications
PR Stunts get a bad rap because many are either ill-conceived or poorly executed. But I like them and have been involved in many successful ones.
One recent PR Stunt of note paid huge dividends when Elon Musk sent a TESLA into outer space. The car had an astronaut behind the wheel and the radio played David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” about Major Tom. Who didn’t talk about this fantastic just-for-fun extravagant stunt? It was the best one I’ve seen in years. Funny thing, nobody is really calling it a ‘PR Stunt’ but that’s exactly what it was… a beautifully executed PR Stunt. When you have a perfectly performed stunt that catches people by surprise and makes them smile, you got ‘em. The value of TESLA went up and the photos did the talking.
Cowboy digitally signed his book
One very creative author I know personally pulled off a PR Stunt that even I was impressed to read about. He rode his horse into “publishing history” by becoming the first author to conduct a book signing and an e-book signing on horseback.
Author Carew Papritz, a working cowboy, rode his horse in front of a Barnes and Noble in Tucson, Arizona and digitally signed his book The Legacy Letters on his iPad in front of a cheering crowd. He made some press and history at the same time. Check out this video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKEsxqmzs9g
One of the keys to the success of a good PR Stunt is the mashup of two disassociated things: cars in outer space, horses in book stores and in one I did last year, hot air balloons and violins.
Violin in a Hot Air Balloon
As a book publicist and hot air balloon pilot I take to the skies like some people play golf. It’s my main recreation. One day I met a University of Michigan Music Student, Stuart Carlson, and asked him to join me on a balloon flight and to bring his violin. The result: 42,000+ plus views of two videos on YouTube and Facebook. Here’s ‘Hail To The Victors’ https://www.facebook.com/HotAirBalloonMichigan/videos/10153980344308667/
How can authors benefit by using this technique? Think about the bigger picture. Don’t just focus on selling books. Think about how you can connect with readers on a personal level. Let your audience know you’re both a person and a writer. By that, I mean let your audience glimpse into your personal life. Share things that are important or interesting to you. You can share details on your website, blog, and social media outlets. Utilize your mentions on Twitter and generate conversations with your followers on a personal level. Respond to comments on your blog or on review pages of your work. By sharing more details about yourself, you’ll provoke commonalities between your fans, ultimately appealing to more people.
If you are a romance writer, share with the audience your love of cooking. If you’re a mystery writer, illustrate your travels abroad and how a visit to a particular city was woven into your book. Connect with your following on whatever level you can. Your goal should be to reach as many new audience members as possible. To do so, dig deep into your being and ‘open up the kimono’ and show the audience who you really are, pen aside.
The Bottom Line: PR Stunts Work!! Take a page out of Carew Papritz and TESLA’s book and appeal to your audience on an emotional level; it’ll get them to connect with you on another level and it may get them talking about you too!
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://www.WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at [email protected] or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
Would you like help promoting your book?
If so, tell us a little about your book. What is the title? Do you have a publisher? What is the publish date? How many pages is your book? What is the cost? Do you have web site? What is your specific goal I.E., to make money, raise awareness, get the attention of an agent or publisher, sell the story to a movie or TV studio or something else?
Submit the form below with this information and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!
by Scott Lorenz | Agents, Author Advice, Author Spotlight, Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Book Publicity, Book Spotlight, Books to Movies, Books to Read, Hollywood, Interviews, Radio, Social Media
Remember- All Movies Start with the Written Word – All of Them
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Book Marketing
Movies, like books, sometimes have humble beginnings.
Remember the movie The Elephant Man? It was a true story about a nineteenth-century sideshow freak who was saved by a doctor portrayed in the movie by Anthony Hopkins.
THE ELEPHANT MAN, portrayed by the late John Hurt, continues to be a gold standard for artful cinematic creativity today. The movie is from Academy Award-winning film producer Jonathan Sanger.
How did this movie come about? Was it an agent’s pitch? No.
Was it an award-winning script? No.
Did experienced screenwriters create this masterpiece? No.
Was it adopted from a book? No.
I recently met up with Jonathan Sanger in Hollywood when my firm Westwind Book Marketing arranged a book signing and special big screen showing of The Elephant Man at the Egyptian Theatre. Mr. Sanger introduced the movie to several hundred people where he retold the incredible story of how this movie came about.
Where did the script come from?
His babysitter handed it to him to read! That’s right, his babysitter. Sanger took the script and said he’d read it and promptly set it aside… for about a year. Then one day he came back from a trip opened his desk drawer and there it was… staring at him like an obligation.
What did he do? He read it – and he loved it!
His book “Making the Elephant Man: A Producer’s Memoir” gives us an insider’s look at the creation of one of the first ever indie films and a box-office smash, as well as a peek into the early careers of movie greats David Lynch, Mel Brooks and Anthony Hopkins.
MAKING THE ELEPHANT MAN – A PRODUCER’S MEMOIR, in Paperback and Kindle is available on Amazon or on the author’s website www.JonathanSangerProductions.com View the book trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ohr4OwPsIk.
Few members of a film audience appreciate the intricacies of the myriad aspects of making a film. Sanger takes his experience as the producer of THE ELEPHANT MAN and opens a powerful discussion on the evolution of cinema, how he ‘discovered’ a script written by ‘unknowns’ Christopher DeVore and Eric Bergren finding “it was exactly the kind of story I would want to make, a historical biography about a wretched soul who had nonetheless lived an extraordinary life” – the true story of 19th century grossly deformed John Merrick, known as the Elephant Man working in a sideshow in London who was treated by a kind Dr. Treves.
“When I wrote this, I was teaching a course in independent film and using my experience with this film to teach,” says Sanger. “I realized that it would be great to get these stories down and put them in a book.” For every movie he makes, Sanger keeps a notebook about the crew, the schedules, what they ordered for lunch, and other details. He was able to tap into notes from 30 years ago that brought the whole process up fresh in his mind, including the strong emotions that gripped him upon first reading the script.
“Human stories have always moved me,” says Sanger. “I like movies about people who are outliers, who are not in the mainstream for one reason or another, even if they are famous. It’s not something I’m actually seeking, it’s just a trend I’ve noticed over the years, about myself as a producer.”
Sanger’s latest two movies, both follow similar themes. In Chapter and Verse, a reformed gang leader returns to Harlem where he gets a job delivering meals. Marshall is based on a true incident in the life of Thurgood Marshall, when he was a young lawyer, long before his appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Written with passion, Sanger’s memoir takes us with elegant prose and many black and white photographs through the presentation to Mel Brooks who helped propel the young Sanger’s project into the hands of neophyte director David Lynch, the details of finding the proper crew, the cast (John Hurt, Anthony Hopkins, Sir John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Anne Bancroft), the location, the anxieties of meeting deadlines, the technical hurdles of creating a film about such a character – facing struggles at every turn. Even the final showing of the completed film to an audience of professionals, whose silence terrified Jonathan, until he learned the silence was due to the emotional impact of the story – an unspoken Bravo!
Brooklyn-born Jonathan Sanger is a highly respected producer and director of major films, television series, and theatrical productions, having earned twenty Academy Award nominations, and winning three.
In 1976, Sanger moved to Los Angeles, where he worked for Lorimar Television on network television series The Blue Knight and Eight Is Enough. In 1978 he was Mel Brooks’ Assistant Director on High Anxiety, which led to a long professional association. For Brooks’ wife, Anne Bancroft’s feature directorial debut film Fatso, Sanger served as Associate Producer. During this period Sanger had acquired the rights to the script of The Elephant Man – his first production which led to a successful career in both producing and directing films – films such as Frances, Without Limits, Vanilla Sky, Flight of the Navigator, The Producers, and Code Name: Emerald.
The Bottom Line: A good story well written delivered to the right person can be the ticket to incredible success. Remember- all movies start with the written word. All of them.
Check out this New York Post article about Making the Elephant Man https://nypost.com/2017/02/19/how-the-inner-pain-of-a-circus-freak-became-a-surprise-hit/
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://www.WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at [email protected] or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
Would you like help promoting your book?
If so, tell us a little about your book. What is the title? Do you have a publisher? What is the publish date? How many pages is your book? What is the cost? Do you have web site? What is your specific goal I.E., to make money, raise awareness, get the attention of an agent or publisher, sell the story to a movie or TV studio or something else?
Submit the form below with this information and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!
by Scott Lorenz | Author Advice, Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Book Publicity, Book Publishing, Interviews, ProfNet, Promoting a Book
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Communications
As a book publicist I am always on the lookout for effective ways to reach book buyers and the media. One way is to utilize a service called ProfNet. As one of its first users I’ve seen ProfNet become one of the most important ways of reaching the media in a non-intrusive way.
Here’s how it works. A reporter, freelance writer or television producer is assigned a story. Unless they know someone, who is an expert on that topic, they’ll need to find someone to interview. So, the reporter will place a query on ProfNet requesting an expert with certain qualifications and who could speak to a certain issue they are writing about. They’ll include a deadline, contact information and their media outlet.
These queries are compiled by ProfNet and are emailed out to thousands of publicists, experts, authors and other subscribers multiple times a day. I personally read just about every set of queries as they could contain a big media opportunity for my clients. On any given day there could be queries from the NY Times, Good Morning America, Women’s World Magazine, NPR and just about anybody you could think of.
I’ve landed clients in all the above-mentioned outlets and hundreds of others as well. One reason it works so well is that the media is looking for the expert rather than you or me (the publicist) pushing my client on them. In this case they actually have a story they’re working on and NEED an expert.
Who in the media uses ProfNet? Meet freelance writer Lisa Iannucci. Lisa has written many articles for consumer and trade publications including Weight Watchers, Muscle & Fitness, Parenting, Shape, ePregnancy, SkyGuide Go (American Express), American Health, USA Weekend, Parenting, New York Magazine and more. She has also written for New England Condominium, The Cooperator, Business Travel News, DDIFO (a Dunkin’ Donuts trade journal), Sports Travel and more. She is constantly on the lookout for interesting experts and authors to interview for her various freelance assignments.
Authors are perfect for Profnet because of their built-in credibility since they wrote about the subject matter covered in their book. The media likes people who have credentials and are authorities and experts.
Here are key tips to remember when responding:
1. Note the deadline. Get your response in well ahead of it.
2. Answer the question or query directly. Keep your email short and to the point. Nobody has time to read a dissertation.
3. Google the reporter or the publication if you are not aware of them. Get every edge you can as you’ll be competing against others who want the coverage too.
4. Remember Radio likes “sounds.” Television likes a “visual.” Online services like links and Print likes everything! So, cater to the medium in your response.
5. Put “ProfNet Query” in the subject line
I pitched one of my authors to a ‘major consumer magazine’ about her Hollywood makeup book as they were looking for the latest in Blush/Luminizers/Contouring/Makeup. Another author of mine wrote a book about Type 2 Diabetes and was quoted extensively in a highly regarded association publication with two million readers because the ProfNet query asked for tips about Type 2 Diabetes and insurance.
On another occasion, I responded to a ProfNet query from the New York Times who was desperately looking for someone to comment about a financial issue at 6pm on a Friday night. Got that one too!
ProfNet is not free and is billed on an annual basis. Authors can sign up directly or work with a publicist who subscribes. For more information visit: https://profnet.prnewswire.com/ProfNetHome/What-is-Profnet.aspx or call 800-PROFNET (800-776-3638) or email: [email protected]
The Bottom Line: Authors, put ProfNet into your marketing mix. By proactively promoting your book to the media you can become the Go-To-Expert on your topic. Do it today!
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://www.WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at [email protected] or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
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