Get The Word Out – Marketing Your Book Through Press Releases

Press Releases

You might have thought of press releases as a tool used solely by marketing and public relations firms, but you couldn’t be more wrong. Anyone with news to tell and the money to tell it with can write a press release and submit
it to the media. According to Matt Coers, composing and sending a press release is a must-do for any published author, famous or not.

“In my opinion, whenever anyone publishes a book, they need to issue a press release, and it’s easier than it sounds,” he said.

In short, a press release is a written piece directed to the media announcing news. As a writer, you may feel tempted to embellish your press release with long, drawn-out details, but avoid the temptation to do so. A good press release contains the basics about your news, as well as contact information for any media interested in more information (or even an interview!) Overly-embellished press releases are often viewed as time consuming to read by the media, and tend to end up in the garbage can. When putting your together, think “straight and to the-point.”

After your release is finished, the next step is to submit it to the masses. This can be done directly by you or through a wire. We will cover the latter soon, but for now, let’s focus on how you can be proactive in submitting a release. Believe it or not, the most valuable outlet for your news can be right in your own backyard.

As a newly-self published author, local media may take a particular interest in your achievement, so take it upon yourself to personally submit your press release to them. Weekly, monthly, or even bi-monthly publications lack the constant deadline pressure of a daily newspaper, so the news of a published author “from their hometown” could very well qualify for a human interest or feature story. Prior to sending anything out, telephone the receiving publications and ask which format they prefer their press releases in (email or regular mail), as well as the name and title of who you should address them to. It may also be a nice gesture to include a complimentary copy of your book for the reviewer to keep. Research the Internet for media outlets in your city and state and send away!

When saturating the news media is your objective, you may have to go a step further than the do-it-yourself route. If this is the case, then another option for submitting your press release is to send it out via a wire. A variety of services are available that will do this for you, however be prepared to pay anywhere from $200 to $600. No matter the cost, their reach is vast, and according to Coers, if you can afford a wire service, it is well worth the money.

“There are services that will submit your release to the wire for a fee,” he said. “PR Newswire.com and BusinessWire. com are the most journalist-friendly services, while PRWeb.com is more for the online crowd – the bloggers.”

You can learn more about self publishing books at www.wwaow.com.