Generating Publicity for Your Nonfiction Book

If you’re a first-time published author (or about to be), it’s almost certain that these words have become your oft-repeated mantra: exposure, exposure, exposure…must get exposure. Whether you’ve chosen to go the traditional route, the self-publishing route, the POD route, or some variation thereof, all publishing roads lead authors to the same dilemma: “Now that I’ve published a book, how do I go about getting enough publicity to actually sell the thing?” 

The key to successfully publicizing and marketing your book, according to Joan Stewart (a.k.a. “The Publicity Hound” www.publicityhound.com), lies in great part in the quality of the homework you do before you write your book. “One of the problems that authors run into when they write a book is that they haven’t stopped to figure out who their market is,” says Stewart. “When they call and I ask them who their target market is, they often say ‘everybody.’” To which Stewart’s standard reply is, “Okay then, you have to launch a campaign to everybody.” This, of course, simply isn’t feasible. Instead, it’s best to have a crystal clear idea in your mind about who your book will serve. “Books that are written for niche markets are much easier to market, of course,” says Stewart. “Your PR campaign is much easier, since you only have to market it to people who are in your target market.”

“It’s particularly difficult to market novels that don’t have a niche,” agrees Fern Reiss, CEO of PublishingGame.com and Expertizing.com and author of ten bestselling books, including The Publishing Game series, “so I tell all novelists to incorporate something marketable into the story. For example, if you’re a dog lover, use a golden retriever as a character. If you love knitting or golfing, work that into the story...or work in a specific place, hotel, or famous restaurant as a setting. If you’ve got something tangible and marketable in your story, you’ll have more built-in sales opportunities.”

Once you’ve determined your market, the first thing you must do, according to Stewart, is to avoid pitching your book. With an estimated 175,000 new titles published just last year, Stewart points out that it’s little wonder editors are getting turned off by authors pitching their titles as news.

“The fact that somebody wrote a book isn’t news,” says Stewart. “You have to catch an editor’s attention another way. Sending your book unsolicited to the media is not the way to catch their attention. Your expensive press release materials will most likely end up in the trash or on an office giveaway table.”

The media, according to Stewart, doesn’t care as much about what’s in between the covers of your books as they do about what’s in between your ears—your brain , your expertise. “The media wants you to give them a great story or a lively TV interview…and they want you to do it without constantly hawking your book.”

The first order of business for the newly published, then, is to quickly establish themselves as an expert. Everybody loves an expert; the media flocks to them for quotes; newspapers call them for commentary on breaking news; they get invited on NPR as guests; and sometimes, they even get on the covers of magazines.

But just what constitutes an expert and—if you’re not one already—how can you become one? “Many people think to be considered an expert you have to be one of the top ten or twenty-five people in the world who knows the most about a particular topic,” says Stewart, “but that’s just not true.”

In fact, about four years ago, members of The National Speaker Association posed this very question, and in answer, developed a downloadable white paper, The Expertise Imperative, which categorizes and defines ten levels of expertise. Use this tool to assess where you currently rank on the “ladder” of expertise, and find out what it would take to move yourself up to the next rung.

In essence, the ability to label oneself an “expert” revolves as much around what you do than what you know. For example, experts write articles, they travel the speaking circuit, they serve as expert witnesses, they teach classes and give demonstrations, and they publish electronic newsletters, or blog. To be considered an expert on your topic, start to incorporate as many of these activities as you can into your overall publicity and marketing campaign.

Next, make a list of the media outlets that are in the best position to write about your topic. “This is where a lot of people go wrong,” says Stewart. “They take a broad-brush approach and send pitches out to all of the media. Pitches have to be customized to be effective.”

To customize your pitches, begin by researching media outlets. If you’re pitching an article to a magazine, for example, read the last three to six issues and pay attention to the writers and columnists. Columnists need good material for every issue, and if you’re up to date on what they’ve covered, you’ll have a better idea of how to pitch the magazine. The same advice applies to TV talks shows and radio shows. “Don’t pitch a show unless you’ve watched it for two weeks,” Stewart advises.

This type of research will pay off in the long run. “If you find a freelance writer who often covers your topic, and she works for five different publications, mention that you know about those five publications,” says Stewart. “The media respond better if they know you’re really paying attention to what they cover, how they cover it, and where they cover it. They’ll realize that you know what their audience needs.”

Once you’ve done your background research, create a “hit list” of ten or 25 media members. The objective here is not to compile a long list, but to compile a tailored list. Stewart says, “You can’t build relationships with 250 media, but you can build relationships with 25.”

To establish the relationship, Stewart advises contacting the journalist and commenting on something they’ve recently produced—especially if it ties into your topic and you can provide a missing statistic or some follow-up information. This type of approach will help you stand out among other writers in the field. Find out, also, how they want to be pitched—via e-mail, phone calls, snail mail letters—because you can’t assume they all want to be contacted the same way.

If you have a blog (and you really ought to have one), start a blog thread about a recent article one of your hit-list journalists has recently written. Then send the journalist a link to your blog. Once they see that you’re knowledgeable about the topic, the journalist may mention your blog in his or her next article.

It’s also a good idea to attend tradeshows related to your topic and visit the media room while you’re there. Then ask any media you meet how you can help them do their job better. If you give a journalist useful assistance in preparing an article, they’ll contact you again and again, Stewart says.

Speaking at book festivals, trade shows, civic organizations, local groups, service clubs, and professional groups is another great way to gain publicity for your book, according to Patricia Fry, author of The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book and president of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network). “If you have trouble speaking in public, I recommend Toastmasters,” Fry says.

“Have some material with you to hand out, something that reflects your product, but not necessarily a bulky press kit,” says Fry. “People like to put things in their pockets or pocketbooks, so make it small.”

If you do send a comprehensive press kit to a major radio station, newspaper, or magazine, hoping for a book review, “follow up with a phone call,” Fry says. “Sometimes the press kit will be stuffed on a shelf and forgotten.”

Generating your own book tours is another good way to gain publicity—and you can do one even if you are self-published. “Contact bookstores in an area you know you’re going to be in for a trade show or even a vacation, and ask the store owners if you can do book signings,” says Fry. “Then contact all of the local radio shows to see if you can get on air during the same time frame. Send the stores your books ahead of time, so they’ll be stocked before your arrival.”

Tying in your topic to holidays is another idea that tops publicity experts’ suggestion lists. For example, if you’ve written a romance novel, tie it in to Valentine’s Day in your media pitches. Better still, create your own holiday. Simply visit www.chases.com for an annual resource directory where anyone can go to declare a holiday for free.

“My friend Jacqueline Whitmore wrote a book on business etiquette and she christened July as National Cell Phone Courtesy Month,” Stewart says. “Now she’s using that month to pitch articles to national magazines with topics such as ‘The Top Ten Cell Phone Sins.’ The media loves ideas like this.”

Reiss suggests taking that idea one step further and creating your own national association tied in to your topic. "As an example, check out www.nawls.com, an association I helped author Catherine Jay create to help those interested in weight-loss surgery," Reiss says. “Creating an association can be as simple as announcing it via a website.”

Or for a fun alternative, start your own contest to generate publicity. “I received great publicity for a contest I started a few years ago called ‘I love my independent bookstore,’ says Reiss. “I gave away a monthly $50 prize to the best answer to ‘Why do you love your independent bookstore?’ Customers loved the contest because they got a chance to win $50 and free books, and bookstore owners loved the fact that I was supporting independent bookstores. The contest gained me name recognition in over 3,000 bookstores. All I had to do was send a press release to a national bookstore association, and the contest spread by word of mouth.”

Electronic exposure

The very best way to gain attention as an expert on the internet, according to all of our publicity mavens, is to have your own blog. “Search engines love blogs,” says Stewart. “Blogs come up higher these days than many websites because they’re topic-relevant and timely.” Include links to your articles and books on the homepage of your blog site.

The second most popular tool, and one that works well, is an electronic newsletter, which Stewart advises writers to publish frequently. “Don’t publish it any less frequently than every other week, because people won’t remember who you are,” he says. Someone has to see your name or product seven times before they’ll remember it, and you don’t want that to take seven months.” As for the content? Keep it simple. “Even if all you publish is three tips, get it in front of you readers at least every other week.”

Reiss reminds authors that to be truly effective, an e-mail newsletter must contain valuable information. “Don't save the best information for your paying customers and hand out the shlock to your e-mail newsletter readers,” Reiss says. “To keep people reading, you need to impart really useful information. My Expertizing e-mail newsletter, for example, provides a case study each month on how I got into the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, etc, with tips on how authors can extrapolate from my experiences to get themselves more media attention. It's not a throwaway newsletter—people pass it along to friends and colleagues.”

Stewart also advises writers to think in terms of creating other products to complement the book. “Books are low-profit products. Think of ways you can slice and dice your information into booklets, books on tapes, informational CDs, teleseminars, phone consultations, etc.” Then use your newsletter to sell all of your products.

Another venue—online syndication—is the first thing that Reiss recommends new authors work to cultivate. “Every website, e-zine, and newsletter needs a constant supply of new information, and there are loads of article banks on the web where you can submit your article for syndication,” says Reiss. “Just do a Google search for ‘submit articles’ plus your keyword, and see what comes up. It’s an invaluable way of getting established as an expert.”

Should you hire a publicity manager?

“I had a friend who hired a publicist who kept her hopping from TV shows to book signings for about eight months,” says Fry, “so in her case the money was well spent.”

But not everyone can hope to get such positive result from hiring a publicist. If you’re considering hiring one, Fry suggests using the same screening process you’d use to find an agent: make sure they’re familiar with your subject, make sure they have the right connections, and find out if they have fresh ideas that you haven’t already tried. “And you must talk to their former clients,” say Fry. “If the publicist says she doesn’t give out that information, you’re probably better off moving on to another one who does.”

Final thoughts…

Above all, diversify your approach to book publicity. “There is no one thing that will sell a lot of books,” says Stewart. “You have to try a lot of different things, create a momentum, keep repeating the things that work, and keep trying new things.”

Oh, and lest you think we forget the biggie that all new authors dream about: Don’t even think about trying to get on Oprah with your book—at least for the time being. “The first thing Oprah’s producers would want to know is how many other TV shows you’ve been on,” Stewart says. “You have to start out on smaller shows, and make all of your mistakes there. Oprah’s producers wouldn’t want you to bomb on her show. They’d want to see clips of some past interviews you’ve done—so get some TV clips first before you go for the brass ring.”