Before we get to the article, there are two housekeeping notes:
1. The next chapter in the serial release for The Samson Effect, Chapter 3, will be released at 8:00am This morning. You can read it at the Samson Effect Serial Release Site or you can start by reading Chapter 1.
2. The new video for my newsletter subscribers is out. For Twitter users, you will love this one. I walk you through four tools that show you how to increase your productivity by scheduling your Twitter tweets. If you are not a subscriber, you can join the newsletter for free and watch the video today, and you will also get over 45 minutes of free video tips just for signing up now.
Now, on to Sandra's marketing tips for us today.
5 tips for writing a book announcement news release that will get used by the press
By Sandra Beckwith
As I prepare for the June sessions of my two book publicity e-courses for authors, I'm reminded of the importance of the book announcement press release. It's often sent to the media with a copy of the book and included in the book's press kit. It's not the only media relations tool you'll want to use to generate book buzz, but it's an essential resource when your goal is to tell the media and online outlets read, watched, or listened to by your book's target audience that there's a new book they'll want to know about.
Because this is such an important tool – and because there is a trend among inexperienced publicists to turn the announcement into an advertisement that journalists will reject, not embrace – it's important to understand how to write a release that will get read and used.
Here are tips designed to help you avoid common and costly errors with your important announcement release.
1. Use the traditional news release format. This includes your contact information, a headline, and your announcement written in a journalistic style. Study the press releases at www.prweb.com and www.prnewswire.com for examples. Don’t use graphics, multiple columns, or different fonts, sizes, and colors.
2. Remember that you are not the news. Your book is the news. Unless your name is recognizable, don't put it in the headline. "New book details secret World War II plot" is more compelling than, "John Brown's first book is about World War II."
3. Avoid using superlatives. A news release announces news in a factual way, so limit your descriptive text to the facts. This isn't a book review expressing an opinion – it's an announcement that a journalist would like to copy and paste into a publication. That's why you want to avoid language – "fabulous," "best-ever," “fascinating" – that you won’t see in a news story.
4. Distribute your announcement release in text format, not as a PDF file. It is easy to copy and paste text from an e-mail or from a Web site; it is hard to copy text from a PDF file. The more you make somebody work to use your information, the less likely they are to do so.
5. Tell us where to buy the book. This is the key chunk of information most often omitted in the homework assignments submitted by students in my book publicity e-course. Remember to include the title, publisher name, publication date, price, and information about where it can be purchased.
In addition to distributing your release to your targeted media outlets – including online options such as blogs – post the release on your Web site so it can be found by search engine users. Your goal is to get your news in front of the people who are most likely to buy your book.
Sign up for my free book promotion e-zine, Build Book Buzz, at http://www.buildbookbuzz.com and receive a free special report, Beyond the Press Release: 10 Exciting Book Buzz Ideas That Will Take You to the Top. Learn more about my two "Book Publicity 101: How to Build Book Buzz" courses at http://www.buildbookbuzz.com/workshops/book-publicity.htm. The next courses are June 1-26, 2009.
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