Friday, April 16, 2010
CHAPTER II BLOG POST # 11
A media blitz takes a lot of coordination and planning.
The ideal publicity campaign will begin with a bang the moment your book makes it to the bookstores shelves. There will be lots of ink, radio and TV spots. While the biggest push will be in the first three months, a well planned campaign should last an entire year. Success in the first three months will keep you book on the shelves hopefully for years to come.
FYI: The eternal paradox. To keep your books on bookstore shelves you have to move them off the shelves.
Decide What Type of Promotional Campaign is Right for You
If you have targeted your core readers then this should be easy. What type of publicity campaign is best for your book? A local interest book on Fishing the Back Lakes of Polk County, Florida would not merit a national publicity campaign but it would a regional campaign. A book on global warming would be, well, global.
Budget, time, drive and audience identification will determine which campaign is best for your book.
The three types of promotion campaigns:
1. Local.
Your regional city and the outlying towns. Your county even your state. In most areas you will be pleasantly surprised at how many bookstores, libraries and schools are within a two hour drive; and how many daily and weekly newspapers there are.
2. Regional.
New England, Mid-Atlantic, Southwest. Prairie states, the Northwest. Be sensitive to seasonal migrations. New York and Boston empty in the summer and most book signings and media appearances can be a waste of time.
3. National.
From sea to shining sea and beyond. A national book tour may include a few selected national cities or an ambitious cross county undertaking The major houses have identified certain cities that are ‘book buying’ cities, like New York, San Francisco, Atlanta, Washington D.C. (Especially for geopolitical stories) and areas like the Southeast. There are the second tier cities Boston, St Louis, Chicago, Los Angeles, and seasonal areas such as Florida in the winter, and Cape Cod and the Jersey Shore in the summer. Book well in advance especially for seasonally sensitive areas.
FYI: For Florida writers. There is a curious demand for Florida novels in the Los Angeles and New York markets.
The ideal publicity campaign will begin with a bang the moment your book makes it to the bookstores shelves. There will be lots of ink, radio and TV spots. While the biggest push will be in the first three months, a well planned campaign should last an entire year. Success in the first three months will keep you book on the shelves hopefully for years to come.
FYI: The eternal paradox. To keep your books on bookstore shelves you have to move them off the shelves.
Decide What Type of Promotional Campaign is Right for You
If you have targeted your core readers then this should be easy. What type of publicity campaign is best for your book? A local interest book on Fishing the Back Lakes of Polk County, Florida would not merit a national publicity campaign but it would a regional campaign. A book on global warming would be, well, global.
Budget, time, drive and audience identification will determine which campaign is best for your book.
The three types of promotion campaigns:
1. Local.
Your regional city and the outlying towns. Your county even your state. In most areas you will be pleasantly surprised at how many bookstores, libraries and schools are within a two hour drive; and how many daily and weekly newspapers there are.
2. Regional.
New England, Mid-Atlantic, Southwest. Prairie states, the Northwest. Be sensitive to seasonal migrations. New York and Boston empty in the summer and most book signings and media appearances can be a waste of time.
3. National.
From sea to shining sea and beyond. A national book tour may include a few selected national cities or an ambitious cross county undertaking The major houses have identified certain cities that are ‘book buying’ cities, like New York, San Francisco, Atlanta, Washington D.C. (Especially for geopolitical stories) and areas like the Southeast. There are the second tier cities Boston, St Louis, Chicago, Los Angeles, and seasonal areas such as Florida in the winter, and Cape Cod and the Jersey Shore in the summer. Book well in advance especially for seasonally sensitive areas.
FYI: For Florida writers. There is a curious demand for Florida novels in the Los Angeles and New York markets.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
