As an author, you are likely looking for the highest possible visibility for yourself and your books. There are countless ways to achieve your result. One is with press releases, also known as press releases.
However, many authors never consider adding press releases to their marketing mix.
If you’re not using the power of press releases in your marketing, you may be missing out on a lot of opportunities.
Paid vs FREE
There are many ways to boost your efforts. There are free services you can distribute to, but your reach may be minimal.
There are many paid services that will give you a lot of traction, but if you are on a budget this may not be the way to go.
With the release of my latest book, I got excellent results from PRWeb. My communications were picked up by thousands of media. However, there is a cost for the service.
This can be cost prohibitive for anyone on a budget, but the scope may be worth reconsidering budget constraints.
How much is your time worth?
The first thing to determine is how much your time is worth. If you have more time than money, manually distributing your posts may be your best option.
However, if you are on a budget, using services that get featured in the news are a great option.
The fastest way to get your press release out is to use a service like PRWeb. There are also industry-specific services that can get you in front of the right media in record time.
A quick Google search will show services in a variety of industries.
You can search virtually any industry to see what is available.
Before you jump into paying for distribution, do your due diligence. Check with others in that industry to determine if the investment is worth it.
Local media
If you plan to do local book signings, your local media may be the way to go.
Local media include:
• Daily newspapers
• Weekly publications
• Monthly magazines
• Radio stations
• TV
When sending press releases to local media, you need to send them out in a timely manner. Weekends are not usually the best time to submit your information.
How to send your communication
In the past, you had to fax or mail your information. Today, you can often post directly to the media outlet’s website.
Avoid sending your press release in a mass email. The authors mistakenly believe that sending their press release to as many people as possible, journalists and non-journalists alike, is the best way to increase the likelihood that the media will “grab” them. This is not true.
It is better to send a smaller number of very specific people instead of attacking a group of people who do not care what you are doing.
You can also distribute to groups on social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn. Twitter is another viable source for posting information about your book.
Writing the statement
The conclusion is the following; Press releases work and should be part of your overall marketing plan.
Take the time to write press releases to get more visibility for your books.