by Erin Mitchell
I’m going to go way out on a limb here and share a basic PR/publicity truth: Not all press is good press.
Some of it, in fact, can be a big fat waste of time. Time that could be spent reaching an audience that will actually be interested in—and want to buy—your book. Unfortunately, for too many people and (and around) book publicity, the goal is too often quantity.
I saw a good example of this earlier this week, when Julie Klam tweeted about having just “bombed” on Mancow. For those of you who don’t know…
Julie Klam’s latest book, LOVE AT FIRST BARK, is about people and their dogs. In it, the dogs don’t fight and nobody ends up bloody; quite the opposite.
Mancow is a radio shock jock. He was one of the first; his show morning show premiered in Chicago in 1994. And when I describe him as a shockjock, I’m not exaggerating. This is the guy who got waterboarded on live radio.
Mancow’s show is national because it’s syndicated. It airs all over the country. A lot of people listen to it. Add to this that Mancow’s website has a Featured Books page (books that have been featured on his show), it seems like an ideal book publicity target, right? Right?
No. Categorically and absolutely, no.
I don’t mean to criticize the publicist who booked Julie on Mancow. Fact is, she likely lives in New York. She’s never heard Mancow’s show. Wouldn’t know him if he came up and bit her. All she knew about it is that it’s national radio. And she must have written a helluva pitch to get Julie booked at all so she’s probably quite good at her job.
Still, it was a waste of time—hers, Julie’s, and even Mancow’s. Julie’s book won’t make Mancow’s site, either; the last book that did was in August, the story of defending John Wayne Gacy told by his lawyer. It might be a fantastic book—I have no idea—but those who update the site aren’t going to put LOVE AT FIRST BARK up there next to it. His typical listener is not one who will rush out to buy it either.
And so, back to the point: Not all publicity is good publicity. In this case, I would have rather the energy spent on arranging that interview be devoted to, say, arranging a visit to a library for Julie. That would have resulted in book sales.
So what’s an author to do? First and foremost, be sure that anyone working on your marketing or publicity efforts has read your book. Sounds like a duh, but really…just…don’t assume it. Next, talk with everyone involved about your audiences. Think broadly, but realistically. Just because you’ve written a dark noir doesn’t mean grannies won’t love it. At the same time, certain media outlets—online and radio especially—have very distinct audiences. Spending 37 minutes discussing “use cases” for your book will result in more sales.
You might well not be familiar with every media outlet with which you interview. If you don’t have time to visit each site, be sure to ask for a three-bullet summary before heading into an interview. If you see any flags—red, orange or otherwise—ask more questions. If you’re not convinced that a media opportunity is right for you or your book, it is ok—preferable, even—to decline it.
Even with all that, not every interview is going to be a home run, and not every marketing tactic will demonstrate enormous ROI. But with a bit of attention, you’ll at least minimize the duds.
