The point of hiring public relations specialists is because they can access a population you haven't been able to otherwise. Public relations specialists enjoy exclusivity with certain organizations and interest groups that may mutually gain from featuring your work, but tend to only deal with PR professionals directly. And, because they have wide social influence, they can help your book reach a mass population in a very short period of time.
The biggest advantage of hiring a public relations specialist is to break into your target market. They'll craft a genius press release and bam, suddenly news wires are picking up and spreading the word about your new book to their social networks. If you're wondering what generates other big bloggers interest, news stations calling to interview you and organizations ready to host you, this is how it happens.
It pays to release your book with a big PR bang. It also helps break you into the blogosphere. An instant portfolio will attract other bloggers to you- they'll want to interview you and feature you on their blogs because they want to ride the cloud and be featured with a popular author too.
1. Friend bloggers in your subject area. The easiest ways to connect are through direct emails and Twitter shout outs. Instagram is gaining traction in the social media sphere for authentic interactions as well.
Reply to or shout out a blogger via Twitter or Instagram that you want to connect with. Offer a short comment or compliment and openly post your email. Maybe they won't reply, but perhaps one of their followers will. Choose an email where you'll maintain your PR and marketing contacts and put it out there. You'll be surprised how many people get back to you.
Depending on the blogger's specific audience, decide what type of reach best fits their target. Perhaps you offer a recipe, maybe a giveaway of your book, in some cases an interview and in certain scenarios an excerpt. Whatever you choose, make your intentions clear and present it in a way that makes it sound special for their readers as well as acknowledging the great favor they're doing for you.
Tip: if you're considering whether you need promotional copies of your book, the answer is yes! Many bloggers won't do guest posts without a sample beforehand. You can be choosey and only select bloggers that have large followerships, but be ready to offer books to those who make the request.
2. Friend bloggers in your subject area who are published authors. Everyone wants to promote their work, new and seasoned authors. Offering to promote their work on your blog or other social media networks in return for sharing yours will get you noticed by their followers.
To get a big PR push, look for certain holidays or "noted days" (think national doughnut day or nurse's day) when you pitch authors. They'll appreciate the thoughtfulness and if they didn't think of it, will likely now get on track to feature your work on a day like this as well.
Feeling confident about getting on the PR wire? Take advantage of your professional PR specialist while having fun connecting with other bloggers to promote your work. Have a PR experience that worked well for you? Share with other readers now.
Keep the Faith and may the Force be with You!