Books are the greatest gift of all time. Whether you love to curl up with a book on the back deck as the sun is setting in the west, or you prefer to load all your books on a digital device and consume them when traveling or while waiting in line, books are a wonderful investment.
Books can entertain, inform, and carry us away into new worlds. We can learn about any intriguing topic for a mere $19.95 (or whatever the actual price point is). But then, as an author and writer, I don’t need to tell you this. The question is, “How do we increase the visibility and readership of your fantastic book with others?” We need a bigger audience, and we want to do it in a way that doesn’t cost a fortune. But how?
If you’re looking to increase your own visibility and that of your book, then media is a fabulous way to do that. There are four types, which we have covered here recently, that offer excellent opportunities.
First, I have a few questions for you. Please answer the following:
- Do you know the four important buckets of media you need to be paying attention to and why?
- Are you creating your own content regularly so that the media can find you?
- Are you consistently adding contacts to your own networks, social platforms, and email list?
- Do you know the key media folks that write regularly on your topic? If not, do you know how to go about finding out who they are?
- Do you have a strategy for keeping in touch with your media contacts so that when you go to them for coverage, it doesn’t seem so out of the blue?
If you answered yes to all of the above, then congratulations. You are doing great work!
If not, then there is more to be done, and the best way to take advantage of the possibilities is to make sure you’re working all 4 media buckets mentioned above.
They all work together, so you first want to make sure you’ve created your You Media bucket, which is all your own content generation. This is so when a media person is working on a story and they’re looking for an expert, we want you to come up in their search.
Borrowed or rented media is social media. Now, social media isn’t for selling, it’s for connections, relationships, and networks. (Buying ads on social media falls into a different bucket.) There are some statistics that say this is changing somewhat – people buying books from mentions on social media – but the numbers are still very low.
Earned media is a different story. This is where you get coverage from someone else who says how great you are, rather than you announcing how great you are. They’re very different. Earned media is also where you have to jump through some hoops to secure it. Once secured, you can take those fabulous logos and put them on your home page, as well as in your media room on your website. In addition, there are many ways to leverage that kind of coverage, so it can serve you for a long time to come.
One of the author questions I am frequently asked is how to find the right media contacts. It’s why I’m doing a webinar with the Nonfiction Authors Association on how to find those leads. No sales pitch here though. If it’s not the best use of your time for building your audience, increasing visibility, and creating more book sales, then that is fine. If, however, you think it can help, then join us. All the info is in the P.S.
Bottom line
There is a lot of information to wade through when it comes to the media. More and more I see individuals offering a small piece of the whole pie. That’s okay, but it’s good to get a look at the whole pie too, so that you get an overall look at the landscape and then can create different kinds of campaigns based on what’s best for you and your book. Hey, I’m always on your side. Let me know how you’re doing.
To your success!
Joanne
P.S. As I mentioned, you can join me, along with the Nonfiction Authors Association members, for a free webinar on How to Locate Media Contacts coming up on July 28th at noon PT / 3pm ET. Recording sent to all who register. Register for the webinar here.
P.P.S. This is the song I’ve been enjoying lately. I ain’t worried.
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