“Advertising, promotions, and publicity are the three core areas of book marketing,” but what are the differences?
- Advertising: any paid advertisements in any type of media (most books are given little for advertising, as it is not very effective, and an ad campaign usually cannot reach a desirable number of readers, unless you’re a best-seling author or your book “has already been successfully publicized.”)
- Promotions: “discounts, displays, and co-op funds that publishers offer booksellers.” The amount of promotional material a bookseller is given is “based on its volume of business with the publisher the previous year.” These include things such as posters, bookmarks, book displays, and postcards.
- Publicitiy: “getting your book mentioned in any form of media. Publicity earns you the legitimacy of a third-party editorial endorsement, can reach large audiences, and requires relatively little spending. Publicity is where your greatest opportunity lies to contribute to the shape and scope of your compaign. The right media coverage for your book can stimulate measurable sales results that turn your book into a success.”
Publicity requires little money but lots of time, “an open mind, curiosity, polite persistence, and a certain level of boldness.” What you contribute to your publicity campaign can significantly impact your sales.
Between 200,000 and 300,000 books are published each year. What makes your story unique? Your answer(s) will play into tomorrow’s topic, your Target Audience.
Yikes. I should probably get this book and freak myself out a little more about publicity/marketing. Sigh. Can’t a writer just write anymore?
Nelsa
Great break down of the main areas of marketing. Makes a lot of sense, especially with internet publicity–I really think that’s becoming the man way to publicize now. Thanks for sharing this!
Getting your book mentioned in a public media. I’ve gotten most of my book recommendations from blogs. They are the most useful way to get your book talked about. I might have to check this book out your mentioning here.
I have so got to put more time into this. It is not something I enjoy. None of us do, I know. It’s not creative, but work and although I know there are rewards at the end, I am so not looking forward to it. But breaking it down that way, it does look easy. Thanks!
I will readily admit that my novel could be very niche (speculative-historical with some religious overtones and a lot of sword swinging action) but I hope to be the best that niche has ever seen.
I’ve been bumping into my taregt audience quite a bit lately and spreading the word as surreptiously as I can. because I sure don’t want to be annoying about it.
Yikes – I can do most of that, but “a certain amount of boldness” may just be beyond me!! We’ll see when I get there 🙂
I used to work in a small business where most of our self-promotion was publicity. It’s a ton of work, but it really can pay off! It often takes longer than just paying a venue to advertise, too, but IMO it’s more effective–customers are trained to know what an ad looks like and distrust it, but I feel like if they “discover” something through a third party they’re more likely to check it out.
Well this sure gives me a lot to think about! Thanks for posting this! It will definately come in handy when I do actually get my first novel published. 🙂