Feeling proud for persuading a local radio station to air a half-hour interview with you? Excited that your favorite podcast featured you as a guest? Or maybe you’re super stoked about getting a two-page spread in a national magazine?
If you’re like most author publicity seekers, you’re content with whatever you can get. If you’re a real Publicity Hound, however, you know the fun is just beginning. The challenge, of course, is to turn one media “hit” into multiple hits. It’s not that difficult. In fact, recycling publicity is like rolling a snowball downhill and watching it get bigger and bigger.
When you get author publicity, here are 11 ways to let the world know—and sometimes get even more.
Here’s how to make the most of your author publicity:
1. Mention Author Publicity in Your Email Signature
Think of all the people you email in just one day.
Let’s say you’re a parenting expert, and your comments on how to discipline children have been included in the latest issue of Parents magazine. Include an enticing one-liner in your email signature. It might look like this:
“See my 3 secrets for disciplining kids, in the August 2018 issue of Parents magazine.”
2. Share Media Mentions with People on Your Email List
Subject line: Great news to share with you….
Body: I want to keep you in the loop about some cool author publicity I got this month in Parents magazine…
Notice that all but the first word in the subject of the email are lower case with three periods at the end. These little touches make the email look more personal.
When sending email to a group of people, don’t include all their addresses in the “CC” area. Instead, send the email to yourself and put their email addresses in the “BCC” area so they can’t see each other’s addresses.
3. Send a Press Release to Your Alumni or Professional Magazines
The short release, accompanied by a head shot, should explain the publicity you received and why. You can excerpt a quote from the article.
Don’t forget to identify yourself as an expert, if you are, and mention the title of your book. (See How to Become an Author Expert and Strut Your Stuff.)
Most of these publications have a section for short news items about alumni or industry professionals.
4. Reuse the Same Press Release or Pitch
Send the same press release to your weekly newspaper as well as to magazines published by your professional associations. Include a head shot. That’s what I did when PR Tactics, a national newspaper for the public relations industry, printed an article I wrote. I wrote a press release about it, sent it to my local weekly newspaper, and a reporter called me for an interview. I got a half-page story about my business, with a photo.
5. Add the Logos of Media Where You Have Appeared to Your Website
You don’t need a Media Room or an online media kit to do this. Dan Janal—an author, speaker, and book coach—uses this banner on his website to show visitors which media have covered him:
Here’s a smaller version in which he pairs the logos with his headshot:
6. List Your Media Mentions Elsewhere on Your Website
List your media hits on your website under a navigational button that says “Press Room” or “Media Buzz.” Kathleen Watson, author of Grammar for People Who Hate Rules, presents a list of all her media hits and reviews in her online Press Room. It includes an audio of a radio interview.
I wrote about Kathleen in a March 2017 article on this blog under the headline How to Hitch a Ride on Someone Else’s Holiday to Sell Books, and explained how she piggybacks onto National Grammar Day for publicity.
Sure enough, that headline and an excerpt from my blog post were included in her list. Don’t forget about blogs that mention you!
7. Write a Blog Post about How You Got Your Publicity
Did you do an in-studio interview at your local TV station? Describe the station and how you prepared for the interview.
Did a journalist do a Skype interview with you? Did that feel awkward, always trying to remember to look at the camera and not at the screen? Link to the article. Or embed the podcast or video into your blog post.
If you have a podcast, you can devote a show, or part of a show, to your media hit.
8. Include Your Most Impressive Mentions in Your Author Bio
Jane Friedman, an author whose expertise is creating business strategies for authors and publishers, wrote this paragraph within her bio:
9. Share Your Publicity All over Social Media
You can host a Facebook Live event talking about your interview with a major magazine. Include the publicity hit in your LinkedIn bio. Tweet it. Is there a photo of you in the TV studio that you can share on Instagram?
10. Use Media Mentions at Real Life Events
Frame newspaper and magazine articles about you and display them at author events. Take them to book signings, book fairs, conventions, and seminars where you have a vendor table.
11. Ask for Referrals
For example, when you’ve done a radio or podcast interview, ask if the host knows of other shows that might be interested in having you as a guest. Many hosts travel in the same circles and would be happy to refer you to a colleague who needs a great guest.
These are just a few examples of how to think beyond your original publicity hit. How do you promote your publicity? Share in the comments below.
Photo: BigStockPhoto
