5 PR Tactics to Promote Your New Book

A book can be a great marketing tool to help you promote your personal brand and business. However, unless you are a well-known celebrity with a great publisher behind your efforts, the task of promoting it will be left to you.

Having worked with many well-known (and some not-so-well-known) authors and speakers over the years, here are a few tricks of the trade that could be more beneficial as part of your communications game plan.

1. Take advantage of the book for media coverage.

If your goal is to secure articles and editorials in specific magazines, publishing a book increases your level of credibility with journalists. They tend to hold those who have written a book in higher esteem than those who have not. After all, journalists are writers, many of whom would like to publish their own book. The same is true for those looking for television interviews, radio interviews, blog essays, and podcast appearances. Send a copy to key influencers. Use the book to open doors and chase the earned media.

2. Take advantage of the book for speaking opportunities.

Lots of publicity, exposure, and even sales can result directly from speaking at conferences and trade shows. As long as you can deliver a solid hour-long presentation or serve as a panel member, the book can help you make appearances in front of your target audience. The author of Book XXX has a lot of credibility with event planners. Be sure to mention it in your request to speak or even send a copy along with the appropriate forms.

3. Look for book reviews.

This tends to be a bit tricky, but it can pay off big. Getting a review with a key trade magazine and with Amazon and / or Barnes & Noble will give you instant credibility. Now you need readers to comment on the book. You may need to hand out books to friends and colleagues and encourage them to share their opinions on the site. Of course, you run the risk that someone may not like your writing or disagree with your opinions. But if you’ve done your homework and have a well-written article, you should receive dozens of favorable comments over time. You can even become an Amazon best-selling author in your category. Then you can use your success for even bigger and better opportunities.

4. Write an e-book before printing. As Ryan Holiday expertly explains in Growth Hacker Marketing, if you have the luxury of writing an ebook, it will provide you with a number of sound options to make your print edition more professional and more engaging to readers. The e-book allows you to make your work available to a multitude of targeted clients at a low cost. Then you can get feedback and see what they like and dislike. You can adjust the actual print version, improve the writing, and provide readers with an updated version when the print edition is published.

5. Add your book title and authorship to your email signature.

This is so easy and simple that it is often overlooked. If you send thousands of emails a year (and who doesn’t), why not use it as a marketing tool? Under your name put … “Author of 20 ideas that will vibrate your business … forever” or whatever the title. It lets your business colleagues, clients, friends, and others know that you wrote a book, that you are a thought leader in the industry (isn’t that what the book was intended to do in the first place?). know something to help them in their business activities. Who knows, you might get a few calls from people asking how they can buy a copy.