What many authors fail to realize is that pitching, landing, and doing earned media interviews is just the first part of the equation. Then you want to leverage those fabulous interviews and features to get tons more visibility, which can then lead to many more sales.
The problem is, most authors send links to interviews out onto their social channels and post them to their media page, but then that’s it. They forget about it. What’s worse, even when they do post to their social channels, they forget to tag the very media that did the coverage, as well as any of the other pertinent people who will help them promote it. And then they wonder, “Why isn’t there more ROI from all the things I am doing? Is publicity and marketing even worth it?” Um, yes it is, but you have to use what you land.
The old saying, “You don’t know what you don’t know” applies here. And if the people you’re surrounding yourself with don’t know what they don’t know, well, you just end up doing the same things over and over and over again and getting the same results.
I believe it was Albert Einstein who said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Things keep changing. We have to change too, and that’s just the name of the game in this world. So let’s see if we can shed a little light on this, shall we?
When it comes to content creation and leverage, either through your own media generation or that of earned media, you need to be strategic about what you’re going to share and to whom you are going to share it. Read that sentence again.
This is where knowing your target market comes into play.
Of course, this is a fundamental truth in all of book publishing, marketing, and publicity: Who is your target market and where can you reach them? Then, what do you do?
We’re going to assume you know your target market, where they hang out, and how you’re going to reach them (but if you don’t, then message me.).
You’re landing interviews. That’s great. What’s next?
Social channels:
When you share on your social channels, don’t just say, “Here’s my interview. Listen to me.” Who is intrigued by that? You could complement the host and point out how well he or she understood what you were trying to convey during the interview. (The host will like that!) You could start with the hook and get the reader to want to hear more of what you have to say, or point out the most interesting point in the conversation. Whatever it is, make it so people feel compelled to listen.
Share a lot:
Be sure you share your interview many times on your social channels. Most people see other people’s posts in their news feed. They aren’t going to your profile specifically, and most are certainly not going to your website, so take advantage and use the leverage of where people already are. Share it multiple times.
Other platforms:
Share the interview or feature on all the platforms that you’re active on. Not only that, you should share them at least a handful of times either a few days apart or a few weeks apart. Go ahead and change the little introductory portion, because that would be smart to do. And don’t be shy about this. Don’t post once and just forget about it. This is how you get many more eyeballs on what you are doing.
Where else:
Include links to your interviews in other places too, such as your newsletter, or in your autoresponder series when people opt in to what your offers are. This will give you all kinds of additional credibility and can absolutely add sales, not only for your book, but for anything else you may be selling.
Media Page:
As a business owner and author, you should already have a media page on your website, so be sure and feature your interviews there too. Here’s a link to my own media room page on my website if you want to take a look as an example.
Ads:
You can use portions of your on-camera interviews as part of the ads that you’re running. It’s great content for your retargeting or top of funnel ads.
Features and articles:
When you get valuable pieces in Forbes, INC., Entrepreneur, etc., you get lots of additional credibility and your lead costs go down.
Speaking gigs:
Your clip will help you with getting the attention of meeting planners and conference organizers, both virtually, and to a limited extent, on the ground too.
Media invites Media:
And, this one I’ve shared many times, but it’s worth mentioning again: Use your existing media interviews to get MORE interviews when you include the original link in any upcoming pitches.
Website:
Make sure to use the media logos on both the media page of your website, and for the top-tier media hits, include them on your home page or landing page, too.
Bottom Line:
You already have so much content. Like compounding interest, leverage the media you’ve already received for additional media interviews, increased credibility, and more sales.
And, as always, if you need some help figuring out what’s next, or what strategies will work for you, email me. I’d love to hear from you.
To your success!
Joanne
P.S. Spring is in the air. The flowers are blooming, and often one’s fancy turns to love. Elise LeGrow, is one of my favorites doing a pop tune that is sure to get stuck in your head. — You’re welcome.
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