Friday, March 23, 2018

How To Fix A Broken Book PR Campaign



Are you underperforming when it comes to getting book publicity and if so, what can you do about it?

In order to fix a problem, you need to  properly assess it.  Identify, thus far, your book PR campaign’s strengths, weaknesses, challenges and opportunities. What areas have potential for success – and which ones have proven to be unviable?

Underperforming doesn’t just mean you aren’t achieving results that you hoped to achieve or even thought reasonably possible to obtain. It means you are below expectations or the norm.  You know you can still do better. So how will you fix this mess?

Start by identifying what has worked so far.  Think about why it worked.  Continue with that approach.  Was it the angle pitched?  Wasn’t it something you did to convince others to cover your book?  what was the method used to reach the media (phone vs. mail vs. in-person vs. snail mail)?  Did you have a connection that was leveraged?  Was there a tie-in to the news cycle?

Then look at what hasn’t worked.  What could be modified or overhauled about your approach?

Next, look at upcoming opportunities. Are there upcoming story angles that you should utilize, given the news cycle or holidays or honorary days that are coming up to tie into?

Sometimes an under-performing PR campaign needs to have goals or revised ones – and it needs a rededication or commitment to achieving them.  Will you spend 20 minutes a day on PR?  An hour?  Two hours?

Another area to explore is that maybe you need help.  Are you prepared to hire someone to help you market and promote your book?

Look at what you can expand to and try that you haven’t yet explored.  Try seeking bookstore signings or using Goodreads if you haven’t yet done so.  Look to calling people to present yourself as a speaker or look into buying digital pay-per-click ads.  Look to fellow authors to trade resources and leads.  Think – and act -- differently if you want different results.

Your other option, in reaction to an underperforming campaign, is to simply, stop trying.  Shut it down and write it off as a big mistake and simply move on with your life.

Okay so that would be a bit premature, extreme, and unproductive, but in certain rare cases it might be the way to go.  Perhaps you guessed wildly wrong about your book’s potential appeal and it’s time to stop the bleeding.

But most authors are bullish about their books and every book needs time and resources to succeed.  Take a good look at things and seek to make changes and improvements. By retooling your book publicity campaign you’ll have a chance to make it a success.

DON”T MISS THESE!!!
Yes, this is how you get your book reviewed

What is the payoff  for authors to getting a million clicks?

Do you think like a book marketer?

How should authors sell themselves?

The keys to great book marketing

How Authors Can Capture The Media’s Attention

Big Marketing Lessons From My All-Time Top 10 Blog Posts

Enjoy New 2018 Author Book Marketing & PR Toolkit -- 7th annual edition just released


Brian Feinblum’s insightful views, provocative opinions, and interesting ideas expressed in this terrific blog are his alone and not that of his employer or anyone else. You can – and should -- follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels much more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2018. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s Independent.  This was named one of the best book marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. Also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best resource

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.