Marketing and Media Advice Please. (Especially US)

Manny · Jul 21, 2008

The site is up, running and selling copies of my book already. (It will be visually improved quite soon) I expect it to be available on Amazon, B&N, etc. in a matter of weeks. I have started to get the links all over the net, am already on page one of Google with some searches, have done most of Flash Gordons free publicity list like Authors Den, etc. already, have put it on Google booksearch and done what seems to be the obvious stuff from my reading here. (No blogs or personal networking sites yet though)

I am at the stage now where I am looking for some specific advice about promotion and marketing through the media.

The demographic that is my target audience is 30-60 year old single/divorced men. They are usually American, but also Australian, Canadian, English and a sprinkling of mainland Europeans (English speakers). The US is the biggest market for my book.

As the topic of Russian and FSU women can sometimes be controversial, I am thinking that I can make it of interest to journalists if it is presented correctly. The areas I am thinking of targetting are:

*Radio.
*Magazines catering to men.
*Newspapers.
*Other web based media. (Increasing backlinks and getting generally "out there" more.)

So how does one get a foot in the door of this aspect please? Do I need a US based publicist? A campaign by a PR company? One of these deals with PRweb or similar (see my other silent topic in this room) or must I approach diffeernt media avenues personally and individually?

Also about review copies: Who should I send them to and how should my case be presented to them? I not aiming at the NY Times but the odd review in a well read US paper might be nice.

Do I go down the professional press release road? Do I write any press release myself or let a marketing pro do it? It is very easy to surf the web and find any number of companies wanting to take hundreds off me for press release packages, but do any of these avenues actually work?

Any advice much appreciated.

Manny · Aug 10, 2008

What, nobody has an opinion after three weeks? :flag:

Siddow · Aug 10, 2008

Hi!

You can write your own press release and send it out. Look for contact info for newspapers in someplace like this.

cletus · Aug 11, 2008

Try this website: http://www.radiopublicity.com/

If you sign up for the free list of whatever, you will get some tips e-mailed to you, and eventually The Radio Publicity E-book that is advertised on there for $49 will be offered to you at a "Special Discount Price".

The topic of your book seems controversial enough that you should be able to get yourself some radio interviews. No matter how seriously you may take the subject, I would suggest having a light attitude when discussing the book and being prepared to be the butt of more than a few jokes from certain types of DJs and listeners doing call ins - familiarise yourself with American radio programes by listening to them over the internet whenever possible so you know what to expect if you go on-air. If you want to continue doing radio interviews, above all else, the interviews have to be entertaining. If you go out with a straight sales pitch the producers will hate it and not invite you back or reccomend you.

If you are an entertaining interview, you can pitch show producers a few times a year by tying your book in with current events. I imagine if you kept an eye on the celebrity gossip pages you could pitch something like "If (Paul McCartney/Brad Pitt/whoever is the latest celebrity divorcee to hit the news) had married a Russian bride, they would not be having their current marital problems." Also keep an eye out for articles quoting divorce rates, single men unable to find love, etc.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

ResearchGuy · Aug 11, 2008

Manny said:
What, nobody has an opinion after three weeks?

It is a vast, sprawling topic. Rather overwhelming. (I'd missed the post before or I might have chimed in.)

You might want to study Dan Poynter's Self-Publishing Manual.

Much should have been done before the book was published (significant review venues want ARC in hand months before publication), but better late than never, I imagine.

Also:

Stephanie Chandler's The Author's Guide to Building an Online Platform: Leveraging the Internet to Sell More Books and her book From Entrepreneur to Infopreneur: Make Money with books, E-Books and Information Products

--Ken

Manny · Aug 14, 2008

ResearchGuy said:
You might want to study Dan Poynter's Self-Publishing Manual.

I have a copy already at your recommendation sir.

ResearchGuy said:
Much should have been done before the book was published (significant review venues want ARC in hand months before publication),

Yes the book taught me that, but I didnt read that section until the other week.

I shall peruse the other links offered. More advice most welcome folks.

ResearchGuy · Aug 14, 2008

Manny said:
. . .

I shall peruse the other links offered. More advice most welcome folks.

In my humble opinion, your book is compelling and very marketable, both to the intended audience (men interested in seeking a Russian bride) AND in others who find the topic interesting in itself. I think there is continuing potential for publicity, as every instance of a man who has found a Russian (or other Former Soviet Union) bride is a possible focus for a human interest story. As are those who have been taken in by schemes that a reading of your book could have protected them from.

And the cover is dynamite.

Not to mention that there may be stories in the fact that much of the advice is generalizable to other man-seeks-wife situations.

--Ken

Manny · Aug 15, 2008

research guy said:
And the cover is dynamite.

On our forum there is a six page topic on the book cover. Some of the Russian women we have were not amused, but most saw the intended parody of it.

research guy said:
In my humble opinion, your book is compelling and very marketable, both to the intended audience (men interested in seeking a Russian bride) AND in others who find the topic interesting in itself.

Thanks Ken. Had it not been for the highly professional assistance of your good self, it would not be available yet at all. Those who have read it up to now all seem to think its all good stuff. A few of the folk at our forum assisted in some elements, and a few have sold to existing forum members already. We have a topic on that also here.

research guy said:
I think there is continuing potential for publicity, as every instance of a man who has found a Russian (or other Former Soviet Union) bride is a possible focus for a human interest story.

I am hopeful I can get some US radio airtime this way. I reckon I could pull off radio quite well. I have done one or two radio interviews before. I am putting together an approach to one of the main UK stations today, they have a phone-in debate each afternoon, and I am hopeful they will run the "Mail Order Bride" topic as a phone in. - enter guest author - :tongue

Sophia2 · Aug 15, 2008

Manny said:
The site is up, running and selling copies of my book already. (It will be visually improved quite soon) I expect it to be available on Amazon, B&N, etc. in a matter of weeks. I have started to get the links all over the net, am already on page one of Google with some searches, have done most of Flash Gordons free publicity list like Authors Den, etc. already, have put it on Google booksearch and done what seems to be the obvious stuff from my reading here. (No blogs or personal networking sites yet though)

I am at the stage now where I am looking for some specific advice about promotion and marketing through the media.

The demographic that is my target audience is 30-60 year old single/divorced men. They are usually American, but also Australian, Canadian, English and a sprinkling of mainland Europeans (English speakers). The US is the biggest market for my book.

As the topic of Russian and FSU women can sometimes be controversial, I am thinking that I can make it of interest to journalists if it is presented correctly. The areas I am thinking of targetting are:

*Radio.
*Magazines catering to men.
*Newspapers.
*Other web based media. (Increasing backlinks and getting generally "out there" more.)

So how does one get a foot in the door of this aspect please? Do I need a US based publicist? A campaign by a PR company? One of these deals with PRweb or similar (see my other silent topic in this room) or must I approach diffeernt media avenues personally and individually?

Also about review copies: Who should I send them to and how should my case be presented to them? I not aiming at the NY Times but the odd review in a well read US paper might be nice.

Do I go down the professional press release road? Do I write any press release myself or let a marketing pro do it? It is very easy to surf the web and find any number of companies wanting to take hundreds off me for press release packages, but do any of these avenues actually work?

Any advice much appreciated.

Well that is a lot of questions and a good marketing pro would spend 2-3+ weeks preparing a full proposal, implementation, budget and timing plan for you.

In the UK we have a government agency that charges a small amount to launch new products with PR in export markets. e.g. Last time I used the service it cost £50 for writing the press release for each country. In this case the press release was sent out from New York to US media. You require a lot of professional help. I feel sure that you must have a similar set up in the USA provided by the government to assist start up companies. I recommend that your first port of call is your regions department of trade to find out what free and other services are on offer for new exporters. In the UK there is also grants available for exhibiting and trade visits.

PR and promotions can be very work intensive and there are many different types of campaigns. Many people think that PR sells, it only sells if it has a response mechanism. For instance a well known celebrity was writing for a national magazine in the UK, she liked and reviewed the product. We had 4 small lines in the national magazine with her advising people to buy the product. The phone didn't stop ringing for 2 weeks and we sold £2,500 worth of product.

However, it sounds like you require a niche market approach to ensure maximum results from your budget. For advertising look at the largest internet dating websites and talk to google advertising.

You can also buy trade books that the PR industry use and these list the publications in particular market sectors.

Sophia

Sophia2 · Aug 15, 2008

PS If you wish to share a press release for feedback just let us know.

If the press release is good it can create amazing results. I once did a press release for a therapist when doing the marketing for an exhibitions company.

The headline was 'What's UPSIDE DOWN about therapy"?

The teacher/therapist provided what is known as inversion therapy. This press release was sent to al media including television and it resulted in a BBC TV documentary being made about the guy and his work. He never looked back after that and his career took off.

It feels like Oprah would be a good one for you as well.

Sophia

Manny · Aug 15, 2008

Sophia2 said:
In the UK we have a government agency that charges a small amount to launch new products with PR in export markets. e.g. Last time I used the service it cost £50 for writing the press release for each country.

I am in the UK. Do you have a link to this please?

ResearchGuy · Aug 15, 2008

Sophia2 said:
. . .
It feels like Oprah would be a good one for you as well.

Sophia

Oprah is besieged with books and has no interest in one that is not from a publisher who can have many tens of thousands of copies on bookstore shelves when the author is on the show. No POD book will get past a low-level assistant or mail clerk.

Local talk shows, maybe. Oprah or other top-tier national programs, no.

(Not to mention that Oprah's audience is women, NOT the target for the book!)

--Ken

cpickett · Aug 20, 2008

Just found your post today.
I would also recommend http://www.publicityhound.com There are a lot of resources and she offers a great free ezine/newsletter.

Also, try http://www.plannedtvarts.com It's an odd name, but it is all about book promotion and much of it is related to mainstream media like TV and radio.

Another standard in the bookmarketing world of course is John Kremer and http://bookmarket.com

He will be offering an e-course soon about using the internet for promotion so it might be something to stay on the lookout for.

flashgordon · Aug 23, 2008

Press releases work very well if done right. I have a list of free press release sites that you may want to use. I've gotten national interviews based on using these free press release sites.

Radio interviews are great as well. At this point, I think your best bet is to do a press release and then begin contacting specific niche sources for interviews, reviews, etc. You may also want to think about writing guest articles or columns for magazines and use the byline to further promote your book.

Marketing and Media Advice Please. (Especially US)

Manny

Manny

Siddow

I'm super! Thanks for asking

cletus

I'm a king bee

ResearchGuy

Resident Curmudgeon

Manny

ResearchGuy

Resident Curmudgeon

Manny

Sophia2

Sophia2

Manny

ResearchGuy

Resident Curmudgeon

cpickett

flashgordon