Published:

03/19/2011 04:25pm

Why Seek Publicity for Your Books? By Shel Horowitz

Publicity is getting the word out about your product, service, and/or ideas. It brings visibility, credibility, opportunity, and sales.

Publicity provides the seal of approval of a trusted outside source: a journalist. Like testimonials and awards, this third-party validation helps the buyer choose your book in the crowded marketplace. It also means that a lot more people hear about your book.

When you get free publicity rather than pay for advertising, you give up control over the content. But you have the added legitimacy of being chosen to represent your field. Because news coverage at least pretends to be unbiased, it is more valuable than advertising; you get, in a sense, a testimonial—a disinterested, credible party who thinks you’re worthy of positive attention. Many people take news coverage more seriously than advertising—and may be more likely to be influenced by it than by a paid ad.

And sometimes, publicity leads to more contacts that advance your career: a meeting planner contacts you to see about doing a speech, a different journalist sees the story and wants to cover you as well, a company president sees the article and decides you’re the perfect consultant to get that company out of a rut. In short, the book becomes a doorway to far more lucrative ventures.

Oh yes, and don't forget that sometimes, an article or a TV or radio interview can actually motivate people to go out and buy that book! Especially if you make it easy by including your website, your phone number (toll-free is ideal), and some kind of special offer.

(Portions of this tip were taken from Shel's books Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers and Grassroots Marketing: Getting Noticed in a Noisy World.)

Which would you rather read? "Electronic Privacy Expert Releases New Book" (snore!) or "It's 10 O'Clock-Do You Know Where Your Credit History Is?" Shel Horowitz writes press releases, sellsheets, web pages, copywriting that tells "the story behind the story" and gets you NOTICED. Find Shel at GreenAndProfitable.com