Guest Post by Lynnette Phillips

http://lynnettesbookmarketing.blogspot.com

When customizing a plan to put someone’s ‘Book Marketing on Auto-Pilot’ I always stress the importance of issuing press releases. Press releases aren’t a daily task; they’re more of a special event. When something out of the ordinary is happening in connection with your book send out a press release.

Lynnette Phillips

Lynnette Phillips

Doing a reading at the library? Issue a press release. Appearing at a book signing? Issue a press release. Conducting a summer writing class at the Department of Parks & Recreation? Issue a press release. Send your release to the local papers for these types of events. (You can find a Press Release template on Google Docs.)

Posting an excerpt of your latest book on your website or being interviewed on Blog Talk Radio? Use a press release submission and distribution service online. I use PRLog.org often. Not only are they a free service and they’re easy to use (you just fill in their form), but you also get to see right away how many ‘hits’ your release has received.
Some people are intimidated by the prospect of writing a press release. If you’re one of these people try thinking of a press release as a 300-400 word article. You’ll want to keep the content brief since the news industry often uses press releases as filler pieces and this will increase your chances of getting into print. Online a shorter release is more likely to be read. Busy people are in a hurry to get on to the next thing, they have short attention spans.
Here are a few other tips that may help:
  1. 1. Your Title – This will be what determines whether your press release is read or skipped over. Make it strong, succinct and informative. Ex: ‘Romance Novelist Interviewed on Blog Talk Radio’s Lynnette’s Book World.
    *An Internet press release title needs to focus on SEO (tags or keywords).*
    2. Summary – Directly below the title you may want to include a 1-2 sentence summary expanding on the title. Lindsey Gray will share news and trivia about her latest release, the supernatural romance, ‘Redemption’, with Lynnette Phillips’ is the summary that appeared with the above title.
    3. Opening – Make your opening line clear and compelling and pack it with as much pertinent information as possible. I.E., The Lynnette’s Book World program on Blog Talk Radio, featuring Lynnette Phillips, is looking forward to hearing about ‘The Spell of Zalanon’ from its author Johnny Flora, on Monday, May 23 at 3:00 PM Pacific time.
    4. Body – When you’re planning the body of your press release start with the most vital and pertinent information first. Then you can follow with quotes and facts related to the event or to your book.
    5. Proofread – Maybe you’ve heard me say “Marketing is Promotion”. Promotion depends on making a good first impression. Typos, grammar and spelling errors don’t serve as a good first impression when you’re a writer. If necessary set your press release aside for a day or two so you can look at it with fresh eyes.
You may be wondering when the best time to issue a press release is. I like to plan for a Saturday release to take advantage of the weekend traffic.
The Key to Successful Marketing is Promotion!
Lynnette
P. S. Keep Your Amazon Author’s Page Updated via Author Central (bio, picture bibliograph)