Book Promotion - Print And Broadcast Media PR Case Study

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We first spoke to Mark Woods the author of Planet Parent via Twitter. Mark was looking for better book promotion for his next book Planet Parent. He then put us in touch with his publishing house Crimson Publishing. The imprint Planet Parent is published under is WhiteLadder Press.

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Our post on a Digital PR case study has been very popular so we wanted to share lessons learnt from a Print and Broadcast media book promotion campaign. First you will find a brief summary of the book promotion secured. After this are the key takeaways from running a book promotion campaign.

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We also owe a huge thank you to Rachael who played a vital role in promoting the book to print outlets.

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Book Promotion Secured

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The Sun's book column were the first to take a copy of the book and write a piece about it. We were thrilled to secure the book column section of The Sun. As you can see there were many others who took copies of the book. Additionally there were a plethora of online blogs that took copies as well.

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So what can you learn from this print media campaign?

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Key Takeaways

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1. The Pitch: Although the author has had some best selling books in the past this was not what we led with. The key part of the pitch was the knowledge and interesting statistics that Mark could share in interviews or articles.

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The focus was on the value he could provide to interviewers or articles on the topic of parenting. Demonstrating the unique insights on offer was key to securing media.

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2. Expertise: This was crucial when it came to saving time and securing results. You don't necessarily need someone with existing relationships in your niche but it really helps. Rachael who specialised in securing PR in the parenting industry proved invaluable. She was able to contact the necessary media outlets immediately. She knew exactly who to target and this saved a large amount of time.

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Her established relationships also provided confidence in the material we were providing. We always bring in relevant experts when the campaign requires it.

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3. Endorsements: Okay so not every author will be fortunate enough to gain an endorsement from Kirstie Allsopp.

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That said it doesn't have to be someone quite so famous. A respected author or individual in your niche is a great start. Essentially it is social proof for potential reviewers, journalists or interviewers that you know your onions. In many cases the endorsements really helped to persuade journalists.

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4. Be Ready: Whilst running the book promotion I received a call from the Broadcast Assistant at BBC Coventry & Warwickshire. She called us at 1PM and asked if Mark could make the Trish Adudu show at 3.30PM. No time to complain about short notice amidst a PR campaign! We got in touch with Mark and he was available fortunately.

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You have to be flexible and ready for anything. The requests could some at anytime and best to jump at each opportunity.

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5. The Controversial Press Release: If you have read our piece on what we learnt from 200+ book marketing campaigns you will know we aren't huge fans of the press release. We prefer pitching ready written articles and have found great success with this. Rachael insisted we send out press releases to print and broadcast media. She was the expert here so we followed her lead. It really worked in this instance. Her press release was excellent and I believe largely responsible for this success. Here are a few key tips on what to include:

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• The headline is very important. Something that grabs the reader and that they could immediately see as an article in the publication they write for.
• Limit your pitch to one page and include the word count for the reader of your press release.
• Editor's notes. This is a great place to pick out the key facts for the journalist. What others have said or really interesting items they can use.

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6. Follow up: Journalists are always trying to keep on top of an overflowing inbox. Just because you didn't hear from a journalist the first time you reached out doesn't mean you should give up. They may have simply not spotted your email or it wasn't right at the time. Fast forward a month and their editor may be looking for a piece in your niche.

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7. Track Everything: We use a simple Google Spreadsheet for this. Nothing fancy. It allows us to track what is working and what isn't. The campaign can then be optimised. This can be anything for trying different headlines, pitches and outlets. A great way to save time and increase results.

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We hope you found this article on book promotion useful. If you have any comments or questions please leave a comment below :)

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