PR for Books

I see lots of red flags. The website looks sleazy. There's no info on staff (so you can't check credentials) or successful campaigns (so you can't check competence).

Beyond that, it looks to me as if this outfit is primarily a press release email blast service. Unless press releases are carefully targeted and followed up on, they are among the the least effective of all book promotion methods. Also, it's likely that the "largest and most up to date media database" consists of email addresses harvested from the Internet. If this company's emails make it past people's junk filters, they'll probably be treated as spam. I got lots of these mass PR things when I was a book reviewer, and I always deleted them.

They also do book trailers. The samples on the site aren't awful, but they're generic and boring. Plus, aren't book trailers pretty much over?

Love your cover, by the way.

- Victoria

I work in Sales for a pretty large UK Distributor/Wholesaler. If they were the UK's leading PR firm, I would have heard of them and I haven't.

prForBooks.co.uk?

http://prforbooks.co.uk/

Anyone used them?

I've tried to search but am getting not a single hit? Don't know if I've done it wrong..

Thanks in advance!

Check this thread:
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?304993-PR-for-Books

Ah. Thank you. I did think it was nigh on impossible that no-one on here had heard of them.

They're oddly furtive about who owns the company. The website's registrant is Nick Stolberg (Buy a Great Domain), but "the registrant is a non-trading individual who has opted to have their address omitted from the WHOIS service" (https://www.whois.com/whois/prforbooks.co.uk). However, Buy a Great Domain's address can be be found elswhere:

Old Croust Farm Hadlow Down East Sussex TN22 4EL
http://website.informer.com/Nick+Stolberg+Buy+A+Great+Domain.html

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PR For Books is a division of PR For Less (http://www.prforless.co.uk/), the registrant of which is the equally secretive SKS Enterprises. SKS Enterprises formerly owned domainvaluationservices.com, the address of which is the same as that given above.

There is an SKS Enterprises Limited but I can't find a connection to either Nick Stolberg or Old Croust Farm:
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/07249103

aliceshortcake said:

They're oddly furtive about who owns the company. The website's registrant is Nick Stolberg (Buy a Great Domain), but "the registrant is a non-trading individual who has opted to have their address omitted from the WHOIS service" (https://www.whois.com/whois/prforbooks.co.uk). However, Buy a Great Domain's address can be be found elswhere:

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You know there are good reasons to not have your personal address including in your domain Registration. It makes web stalking by disgruntled exes, employees, etc much easier, and it helps keep personal/home life separate from work life.

I generally advise people to pay the extra fee to have their domain made a private registration. I don't really see that's relevant.

Authors are writers and not book marketing experts and that's how it should be.

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This is what made me side eye them. Yes, writers may not be marketing experts but we can try!

This covers the whole spectrum and includes newspapers, consumer magazines, book trade publications, bloggers, online, and radio & TV outlets. As well as covering all national media our PR Package also includes the targeting of local and regional media to ensure any 'local interest' opportunities are not missed. We can also provide you with a half-price promotional book video trailer available to clients using our PR service.

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I never seen a book on TV, excepts when it gets a movie deal or it's huge authors. What they are promising seems unlikely!

Tell The World About Your Book for Just £99 Extra.

Why not tell the world about your book with our low cost add-on of just £99 (Normally £199) for an International distribution of your book's PR. This covers the distribution of the PR to all the relevant book and media contacts in up to 230 countries worldwide for just one single add-on rate of £99. If your budget allows this low add-on is highly recommended and will promote your book to several thousand additional media contacts and publications worldwide.

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There it is!

I see no social media, just a phone line, and it just seems to weird. Pass!