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There’s more to book promotion than “Oprah.” Every author wants to appear on a national television show, but there are other media outlets in the world, too. Try every venue you can think of to promote your book. The more widely you cast your net, the more interview opportunities you’ll have.
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| Enlist a partner’s help. Authors don’t like rejection, and the media doesn’t like to reject authors. In fact, the media doesn’t much like to communicate with authors for just that reason, so if you’re working on your book promotion campaign with a book publicist, great. Otherwise, ask your spouse or assistant to make those overtures to the media on your behalf – and specify him or her as the media contact on your press materials. |
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| Be aware of breaking news stories, and if your expertise ties into that happening, then let media outlets know you’d be available to offer your expertise … immediately. |
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| Contact your alma mater’s media outlets. Every college and university (and just about every high school) in the country has a magazine, Web site, or at least a newsletter in which they can announce alumni news. |
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| The more available you are to do interviews, the more opportunities you’ll have to do those interviews. If you have a day job, arrange to take at least some days off so that you can have greater flexibility. Work around the media’s schedule – they’ll have little incentive to work around yours, unless you’re already a household name. |
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| Send out books. No matter what your budget, you have to send out some books (and probably more books than you’d like) to score interviews. Books and postage are relatively inexpensive compared to losing book promotion opportunities. |
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| Tune into the media. Television and radio shows appear (and disappear) constantly, and new columnists (and even new magazines and newspapers) emerge all the time. Keep an eye on what’s happening in the media, and stay on top of how your topic might fit in. |
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| Factor travel costs into your budget. The media will not pay your travel expenses, although they may pick up the travel costs if other panel members (who aren’t selling books or products). |
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| The media will not provide audio or videotapes of your appearances, and don’t expect them to provide clippings, either. To ask for them will mark you as an amateur. You don’t need audio tapes, and if you want videotapes, use a transcript service. For print clippings, use Google or a clipping service (if you insist on having a hard copy). |
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When you’re scheduling an interview, capture all the information you need the first time. Have a checklist of questions to ask by the phone and by the computer. Media people are busy, and they’re notoriously difficult to get ahold of … so clear up all the details (time zone, duration of the interview, the show’s name, etc.) during your conversation or email exchange.
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