How to Promote YOUR book on Amazon discussion

One of our group members kindly suggested that I start participating on our discussions more often. Thanks for reaching out John! So I thought I'd share a quick blog post I sent to my authors last month. Hope this is helpful :)

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You don’t need to be a PR guru or expert to properly pitch media outlets.

When looking to get exposure for your book, you do however, need to understand how the receiving side (the media outlets) think and operate.

Media outlets get swamped with 100′s of emails and facebook messages every day from authors, musicians and actors just like you. So the question becomes how do you stand out?

Simple. Be simple! A proposal that is short, brief and under one page is what you want to achieve. A pitch that is easily scannable, on topic and professional is a great strategy.

Below are the bullet point items of what to include when pitching your book to media outlets. We continually find that authors who follow this short, simple, but to the point formula get the access they are looking for when approaching media outlets.

Author Formula To Use When Pitching Media Outlets:

1. Open with 2 -3 sentences, introducing who you are, your book(s) and what you want from the person you are contacting (i.e. to be a guest blogger on their site, to get an interview, to be considered for future segments on a podcast, etc.)

2. Add 3 – 5 bullet points about why your book or platform is relevant, compelling, and timely.

3. Add 1-2 sentences about why you’re expertly positioned to be talking about this genre to this specific media outlet.

4. Insert a brief author bio with your high-level accomplishments (to re-enforce you are a legit/less risky solution) and your availability.

5. Close your pitch with the ways for people to reach you. Include your email, phone, skype, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin information and more. More is better as you never know what communication platform that particular person prefers and it is your job to make it as easy as possible for this person to work with you.

Now go forth and pitch those media outlets! I hope this was helpful and feel free to send in your success stories, tips or final drafts to comment on. I love helping authors help themselves and am always standing by for anyone who wants to get in touch. Good luck!


Kait Neese
@KaitNeese

Thank you for the great tips! Would you also have some insight into how to find the right person to contact? I wanted to reachout to the local paper but would love a tip of how to find just the right person.

Thanks!

Honestly I would find them on Twitter. Right now companies know they need Twitter but they dont know how to integrate that role/function into the company or who should be the proper person to do it.

So odds are its usually the CMO, Marketing Director or someone higher up evaluating the channel for whether or not the company should fully integrate this into their 2014 budgets. THUS twitter is being watched right now and if you can impress them or get their information on twitter you can sometimes by pass the traditional gatekeepers and go straight up to the decision makers.

Kait wrote: "One of our group members kindly suggested that I start participating on our discussions more often. Thanks for reaching out John! So I thought I'd share a quick blog post I sent to my authors last ..."

Thanks, Kait. Though I have three novels, this is the first time I'm actively making an enveadour to promote my book. Your formula, Kait, is of great help...

Authors of Mystery/Suspense/thriller and all the subgenre are welcome to submit their book deals.
This is multi-platform promotion and it's FREE--yeah, really. Here's Author information page: http://allmysteryenewsletter.com/auth...

Hi R.P. I used this link in your message sent all my info and got a message back, page couldn't be found.

i have a different twist to promoting to the media. i ask folks to write letters to the editor of my local paper or to the paper of the city i' m performing in. this has been very successful! a newspaper reporter friend of mine said that reporters always scan the letters looking for new stories. over the past 5 years i've had over 15 letters to the editor written in 4 different papers about me! yes it seems shameless but my message wasn't in the same pile as the press releases. when i' m at an event i pass out post cards with the letter to the editor info and a brief example of what i'd like them to say! if i get some positive feedback online i do the same thing. here is an example: i was asked to teach a group of camp counselors how to provide a quality camp experience for campers using my book Campfires, Stories, And Songs. after the training i gave each of the 22 participants one of the letter to the editor postcards and made my request. two letters were in the paper two weeks later and i had received a phone call from a reporter wanting to know who i was! he said the paper had received 15 letters but only published 2. they did an article about me and my book which caused a great deal of interest in me, my program and the book. give it a try its a different way to contact the media!

Awesome info, thanks Kait! And awesome comments, too. Mike, that's a great idea.

If you do want to reach larger masses of people, social media and the internet is your only option. My book actually talks about how you can visualize the way to use each medium. http://viestcreed.com/book/technology/
This is my first time publishing but I find that having a strategy like this makes the process less intimidating.