Many of us writers cringe at the marketing and public relations steps needed to publicize our books and writings. (“I want to use my time for writing!”) But as we know, PR is an ever-increasing necessity for sales, speaking engagements, presentations, promotions, and notches on our vitae. The following suggestions, hopefully not too onerous, may be ones you’ve thought of, are enacting now, or would like to incorporate into your writing and writing-PR activities.
13 ways to promote and market your book on a budget
In today’s publishing environment, author involvement in the promotion and marketing of a book is critical to the success of a title. John Bond, Riverwinds Consulting; Kathleen Reid, VP and Commerical Lender for Medical Learning, Elsevier; and Diane Harnish, Head of Primal Pictures, Global Director of Academic and Government Markets, Informa Group, shared their combined marketing experience with authors who are both budget-conscious and market-minded.
These experienced marketing professionals from academic publishers focused on low to no cost ideas for how authors can become a partner in the marketing efforts of the publisher. After all, who knows the book better than the author? Below are some highlights from their 2019 Textbook & Academic Authoring Conference session, “Promoting and Marketing Your Book on a Budget”.
A public relations timeline to secure more media for your book
In a recent TAA webinar, “How to Secure More Media for Your Book and Brand”, Brian Feinblum shared his experience and expertise in public relations, especially as it relates to authors, their books, and their personal brand.
In addition to useful tips for how to approach and get media coverage (and some common mistakes authors make in trying to do so), Feinblum shared a timeline for successful execution of a publicity plan. The plan outlined below begins six months in advance of publication and continues 90-120 days after release.
Can my publisher really do that? Common author questions and answers from industry pros
At TAA’s 2019 Textbook & Academic Authoring Conference, industry insider Sean Wakely and royalty auditor Juli Saitz addressed some common questions authors have about what prerogatives publishers have in respect to publication decisions, calculating royalty payments, marketing, and rights, with hypothetical examples from their point of view.
Here are the questions and answers from that session, divided into five parts:
7 Basics of branding
In her recent TAA webinar, “You Got This: Marketing Strategies to Build a Signature Platform”, Dr. JoNataye Prather shared with attendees some excellent advice on developing a marketing mindset. Driven by a personal mission to “empower, educate, and inspire learners to achieve their degree dream”, Prather suggested that everyone should develop a mission statement as part of their marketing platform.
To do so, she said, “reflect on who you are and what you want to convey…this will define your business.” With a mission in mind, she then shared the following seven “basics of branding” to help build a signature platform.
Podcasting for academic authors: A ‘brand’ new experience
Academic authors do what we can to take charge of defining the perception of ourselves and our own work among our professional circle and potential future associates. We know that just leaving it to others to define us may send the wrong message—or worse, it may go nowhere at all. This process of professional branding can involve a lot of different strategies, but the one I’ll focus on now is podcasting.
Podcasting is simply distributing digital audio files widely over the internet. It’s been around for decades, but only recently has caught a wind and is steadily becoming a mainstream source of news and entertainment. Podcasts are most often consumed on mobile devices, which allow listeners to enjoy their favorite episodes while they commute, walk the dog, or mow the lawn.