We hear a lot about using social media for marketing these days—it’s the brand new baby that everyone is interested in, and it’s so cute and cuddly. But there’s still a place for traditional marketing and publicity, and it absolutely should be a component of your marketing plan.
Unfortunately, if you haven’t been lucky enough for someone to have hired you a publicist, it’s extremely difficult to get yourself on a local TV station, let alone achieve the Holy Grail of national exposure. If you don’t have experience as a publicist, trying to use traditional media to market your book can be both daunting and frustrating.
If you don’t have that kind of experience, especially if you’re an introvert and a bit hesitant about promoting yourself, I strongly suggest that you get some help. That could be a family member or friend who has professional marketing and publicity experience, or it could be a company that specializes in literary publicity and marketing. At the very least, it would be a good idea to ask for some basic direction about the best practices in the industry today and get some templates for press releases. It’s important to know the culture of the industry so that you can approach people without breaking the rules of engagement—you don’t want an editor to feel like you’re harassing him or her when you’re just trying to promote your book.
So using traditional media to publicize and market your book should be part of your plan, but if you don’t have professional experience in that area, you’re probably going to need to do some research or get some help in order to be effective.