Public Relations

**This article is the first of a series on effective public relations.

Marketing Your Book Using Press Releases
No matter how great your distribution channels are, your book won’t sell if the public doesn’t know it’s available. Even if you’ve never thought of yourself as a “PR” person, you’ll be amazed at how easily you can take on that role in the process of marketing your book. As the author, you are uniquely qualified to tell others about your book.

Publicizing your book is largely a process of catching the public’s attention through the media. You must generate news about your book and learn how to use the media to get that news before the public. You need to develop skills in crafting newsworthy media releases, forming media contacts, and managing those contacts effectively. You also need to be committed to an ongoing public relations campaign; persistence is your greatest tool in this effort.

Using Press Releases and Media Kits
Press releases, also known as news releases, are one of the most effective ways to capture the public’s attention. The best press releases are short, simple, and effective. These one-page announcements of newsworthy events associated with your book can be sent by themselves, with a review copy of your book, or as part of a larger media kit.

Writing a good press release takes some understanding of how and when the release is to be distributed. It also requires a keen editorial eye and a strong understanding of the market served by the media outlet receiving the release. Here, you learn how to craft an attention-grabbing press release and use it most effectively. You also learn how to put together a full media kit for any media outlet.

Understanding How Press Releases Work
You use press releases to generate publicity for your book. By sending notices to the media about your book’s release, your speaking engagements, author signings, and other events associated with your book’s publication and distribution, you provide news sources with the information and materials they need to keep your book before the public eye. Your press release may foster contacts from the media, reviews of your book, and requests for interviews.

A press release is news, however, not an advertisement. You must be sure, therefore, to build your release around a newsworthy event. Here are just some of the reasons for sending out a press release about your book:

• To announce the release of your book
• To highlight the relevance of your book’s topic to a recent, controversial, or otherwise newsworthy event
• To announce your appearance at a major event (local or state fair, community gathering, writing seminar, book reading/signing, etc.)
• To announce articles published by or about you
• To announce sales promotions, the availability of free samples, or upcoming demonstrations you’ll be offering in relation to your book
• To announce that you’re starting a newsletter or e-zine
• To announce the launch of your own Web site or online service
• To announce that you’re offering a class, seminar, or workshop
• To announce an upcoming appearance on radio or television, or the publication of an in-print interview
• To announce upcoming holiday events or programs with tie-ins to your book’s topic
• To announce the anniversary of your book’s release date or a sales milestone
• To announce your book’s appearance on a bestseller list
• To announce your book’s winning of an award

Writing an Effective Press Release
You don’t have to be a great journalist to put together a powerful press release. The most important rule is to keep it simple. Press releases should follow a basic Associated Press style; they tell the reader the “who, what, where, when, and why” of a newsworthy event associated with your book, and present that information in an “inverted pyramid” style. That simply means that the most important information—the basis for the entire press release—appears at the beginning of the release, and the remaining information diminishes in importance as it moves down the page.

Formatting Your News Release
Some media outlets receive hundreds (even thousands) of press releases each day, so it’s important that your press release is easy to read, complete, and compelling. Using the right format is a critical first step in this process. The press release should contain no more than one double-spaced page of information that includes these major elements:

• A boldly formatted line reading ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***, which lets the media outlet know the information can be published as soon as its received
• Contact information for more information, including name, phone, e-mail, and fax details
• An attention-catching headline
• The city and state from which you’re releasing the news, followed by the first and most important information the release is conveying
• Two or three additional paragraphs of text that provide the remaining information for your release
• A final paragraph that provides a brief author bio or information about the publishing company distributing your book
• Three pound signs (###), centered below your final paragraph, to indicate the end of the document

Writing Great Content
When determining what content to include in your release, remember that you are conveying news associated with you and your book. Your headline should powerfully and immediately announce that news:

“Food for Thought Author Discusses Controversial Animal Rights Issues at Upcoming Seminar”
“‘Holiday in the Park’ Festival to Include Book Signing by Local Author”
“Money in Your Pocket Author Gene Willard Takes Financial Advice Online”
“Local Fitness Author Encourages City Workers to Be Big-Time Losers”

Your headline’s goal is to catch the reporter’s eye and draw it down to your opening paragraph. It should give the reader an accurate heads-up about content, but it’s a taste of the news to come, not the whole story.

Your first paragraph should concisely state the important facts of your press release. Who and what the release is about, when and where the associated event took place (is taking place or will take place), and why the event is worth knowing about or participating in. Be sure to describe your book in this first important paragraph of text.

The next few paragraphs should offer important ideas and information that expand upon those basic details. The final paragraph of the news release should include a brief author bio and, if appropriate, information about the book’s publisher or distributor. Remember that your press release will be used to generate news, but it won’t necessarily be reprinted word for word.

Remember, that each press release is relating news about a single event associated with you and your book. Keep the content of the release focused and concise, and offer some information that’s truly useful for the media outlet you’re contacting. Here are some other important tips for writing great press releases:

• Remember that you’re writing for editors, so be clear, concise, and accurate. Check spelling, dates, and details carefully.
• Include your book’s Web site address along with other contact information for arranging interviews or requesting review copies.
• Don’t use boxes, pictures, or other graphic elements in the document; these things tie up fax machines and consume ink, which will irk many editors. Overly “designed” documents will also look like ads, and might be tossed out without a further glance.
• Don’t include pricing or ordering information; your press release cannot be worded as a solicitation piece (you’ll read more about this later).
• Don’t embellish your piece with overblown hype and worn clichés such as “a must read” or “soon-to-be-bestseller.”
• Don’t bill your release as groundbreaking news unless it is groundbreaking.

Writing Press Releases for Online Media Outlets
The Web is one of the world’s most commonly used research tools. Journalists search the Web regularly, for article research as well as for news releases. As many as 60 percent of people with online access use the Web to find news, and nearly all journalists go online every day. Therefore, you’re wise to incorporate Web news sources in your public relations efforts by sending selected sites copies of appropriate press releases.

When customizing your press releases for use online, remember that most people will find your information as the result of an online search. Therefore, you’ll want to be sure your press release contains terms that are likely to come up in searches conducted by people interested in your book and its topic. Although your press release should be structured with the same “inverted pyramid” form and directed content advised for releases targeting other media outlets, be sure to use as many “searchable” terms as possible in the body and headline of your document.

**Adapted from Your Voice in Demand: The AuthorHouse Guide to Marketing and Promoting Your Book 2005