PR and Marketing Exposure Builds Credibility and Influence

You’ve worked with me for months on your pet book project. We’ve finished, and it’s ready to go to press. Now it’s time to consider the future of the book, and for many authors their writing and speaking careers. Some authors want to try it on their own. Perhaps they have budget considerations, which is understandable; however, when you’re factoring your publishing costs, especially for those authors who want to expand their speaking careers and their books are part of their platforms, you have to think about the PR and marketing portion. 

In fact, if you’re considering working with a hybrid publisher like 3L Publishing, I strongly advise you to consider the PR and marketing with equal weight to the publishing. I can point to book after book in my catalog where the PR investment wasn’t made and the sales never took off. Authors often mistakenly believe that once the book is released, it will generate sales on its own. They hope for strong word of mouth, and yes, word of mouth is great, but it can’t go “viral” unless that word of mouth is coming from a bigger stage (wide exposure).

 

You also may not realize that just gaining credibility as an author, who wants to speak to groups, can become a better sales channel than just general sales. Now it’s not always the case. I’ve seen books just through media exposure race to number #1 on Amazon. However, you can have BOTH ways work or just one way work. That said, you can have nothing work if you don’t promote your book.

 

So, let’s discuss the two-for-one approach, which means getting great general sales AND being invited to speak, which translates to back-of-the-room sales. When you’ve got both areas sparking sales, you’re doing great! I personally have had wonderful success with back-of-the-room sales. The more media exposure you get that puts your name on something that enhances your credibility, the more likely people are going to (a) know your name (b) believe you know your stuff, and (c) ask you to speak, which gives you an opportunity to shine and enjoy more sales.

 

Sometimes authors don’t see the direct value of PR unless it translates into general sales. Yet as your building your author reputation and following, it’s important to be validated. Book reviews are great, and they also give your book credibility, but sometimes they don’t result in direct sales – and sometimes they do generate sales. Either way you’ve won the promotion race. ALL exposure (even bad press) elevates your name and gets your book’s title out there. Even bad press sometimes creates curiosity and generates sales (I know, crazy, right?).

 

The bottom line: you have to do book marketing and promotion or you won’t sell anything past friends and family. I walk my own talk. I am being profiled in an upcoming issue of Prevention Magazine. The article isn’t related to publishing, but it will keep 3L Publishing’s name out there and build my reputation. I never tell anyone to do something I don’t do for myself. 

For more information, contact via email: info@3LPublishing.com or log on to the website at www.3LPublishing.com.