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Since it is Spring Break around the country, the normal Monday marketing interviews will start up again on Monday, April 12th.
I thought I would answer some of the questions I have gotten offline about book marketing and publicity. A few have asked about me and my "day job" of running my own marketing and publicity business.
What exactly do you do?
Besides write....I own my own marketing and publicity business (bilaninc.com) where I help companies market their business. I also help small businesses develop marketing materials and publicity campaigns.
Do you help authors with their marketing?
Yes. I've done just about every job in marketing, from planning to execution--author school visits, booking conferences, swag and promo pieces, curriculum/learner guides, bookstore tours, online marketing and book publicity campaigns.
Because I love to read and write children's books, my favorite is working with children's authors in their marketing or book publicity needs. So much so, that I give 30% off my standard prices to SCBWI members and 20% off to other authors. I can do any of the following:
- Designing and creating swag packages, such as bookmarkers, postcards, posters, bookplates, stickers
- Planning and executing online publicity campaigns, including blog tours
- Creating a marketing strategy/plan for authors/book releases
- Identifying niche outlets for publicity and marketing
- Creating supplemental materials, such as discussion guides, curriculum guides, and event kits
- Coordinating book release parties, bookstore signings, and tours
- Writing press releases and pitch letters, bios and background materials
- Customized backgrounds for twitter, blogs, and web sites
- Manuscript and query critiques
What should authors look for when hiring marketing or publicity professionals?
There are so many people doing marketing these days especially with the amount of layoffs.
- Know what you want and what you are getting.
- Always ask for references and samples of their work.
- Get written quotes and compare.
- Be sure to read the fine print.
- Do your research.
- The publicity potential of your book.
- Good communication.
- Reasonable prices.
This really depends on the person. There are some people who want to hire a book publicist to handle everything because they can't be bothered. There are others who only want certain things done.
If you want a publicist - prioritize your needs and your budget. Use a publicist for things you can't do yourself. For example, I find most authors need:
- Professio
18 Comments on My thoughts on book publicity!, last added: 3/31/2010Display Comments Add a Comment
Shelli those are great services you offer! Thanks for the great info!
Wow. This is one of your best posts ever. Thank you, Shelli - you rock! :-)
Awesome advice! I've bookmarked this one - even though I'm still in the revising stage :)
i love every interview you post on here. even though i'm nowhere near worrying about publicity, it's good to be little more informed. to get a better idea.
Great advice and information! I can't imagine trying to do this for someone else! What a great skill to have!
Great post! Thank you so much for sharing all these tips!
Shelli, that was a gold mine of a post!! Thank you! And what a generous offer, both the discounts to SCBWI members and the free phone consultation to access what kind of help a particular author might need. Thanks!
Thanks Shelli! What a wonderful post.
Thanks for the information!
Lots of helpful information in here. Thank you!
You always have such great posts. Thanks for all the info.
Shelli, I don't know how you have time to do all you do! Very impressive.
U R awesome girl! Great post.
Hm, interesting advice. Marketing alwasy overwhelms me, but I'm slowly getting the hang of it!
I always like your personal posts the best. Thanks for the info.
Shelli--Thanks for sharing what you do in such a great way. It was really an informative post.
Thanks for sharing, I am marketing my first children;s novel - Ghostnapped and finding it very time consuming for little reward. So you thoughts are very helpful
You are so talented and full of awesomeness! Great post, great advice. I'm saving up my money to hire you, girl!