AEG Publishing Strategic Book Publishing Author's Gain Exposure at BEA-NYC 2009 with PR

It’s not just Marketing, it’s Public Relations

Knowing how to set up your specific title for marketing is one of the keys that can make the difference between a good book and a good book that sells. Doing the same under the PR banner will yield greater resolve. Authors are so excited at seeing their life’s work finally materialize that they forget the journey has just begun and now that they have a publisher…boom instant book sales and national media. While this does happen, this is not the norm; yet, it’s very possible and it did happen for some of our authors at BEA.

Becoming an author is building a business, we have to develop and nurture the brand and get readers and the public to see what makes them great. Public Relations maps it out, designs it, coaches the client and looks at the big picture/advises and guides the entire process from start to finish and manages to tie the loose ends. It also looks out for damage and crisis communications control and handles accordingly. A big job, but fun and rewarding if you love what you do and many times you know you are a part of something great.

I like to utilize industry events and functions, particularly those in cities where most of the industry is centered, in our case New York, as it is essential in establishing solid and profitable relationships with media, vendors and other trade insiders.

When preparing for a conference/expo, I first get familiar with the event if it is my first time attending. I make the appropriate calls to my existing base as well as peruse the expo’s roster of guests/exhibitors. The next step is listing and making pre-arranged meetings at the event with appropriate buyers/vendors. Finally, I go through clients I’m working with that will be good candidates for opportunities for buyers and vendors.

In the beginning it’s good to let the client continue spreading the word among their own peers and associates while I not just get familiar with the client, but I can start building behind the scenes relationships with distribution channels, stores and putting the word out to media. By doing this we have a clear path and head start into the PR campaign. Here are three case studies using this method –

Success Story 1:

Michael McCoy and Jean-Marie Heskett, authors of Through My Mother’s Eyes
This is an example of clients that not only have a compelling, triumph of the human spirit story, but fierce determination companied with a positive attitude and using their resources well, we are accomplishing many opportunities. Their sales took off to a good beginning by first building a website, gathering a following before the book was released and then once live utilizing speaking/signing opportunities through their Northern California network – then came the news that Comcast/CNN was interested and ran a month long 5 minute news segment during the entire month of March. While this was going on, I got their title stocked in two top 50 Borders stores, in Houston, TX and in Santa Rosa, CA with interest for more stores later this year. I also proposed that they should attend the Book Expo America in NYC. We worked together and I put them as a key feature of the PR media room during that weekend. The expo turned out well as we landed interest from 12 media and distribution vendors for their title.
Success Story 2:

Dean Junkans, author of The Anatomy of Investing
The author is a prominent investment officer of one of America’s top banks (endorsed by them as well) and an example how the sign of the times can benefit a project in more ways than one. Junkans had already had numerous interviews in the trades as well as a prime time appearance on CNBC. During the first month, this title sold almost 1,000 copies. The author is very active and in demand, both in his career and as a speaker so for the first 6 months, I worked at establishing the distribution and further building his campaign leading up to BEA. Due to the author’s schedule, I opted-to work totally on his behalf as his publicist. I garnered 16 distribution deals and media interest at the event; had he been there the deal results would be doubled or tripled because author presence makes a difference on important topics and I would have him available for questions.

Success Story 3:

Robin Conrad Sturm, author of Breathing Life into Dance
This is a classic overnight success story. It’s a book that showcases the beloved art form from a teacher’s perspective, but brings a touch of class to everything around it. The author is as genuine as they come and very willing to learn and assist where needed. I managed to convince her to join me at BEA where the highlight of the day came when Kathie Lee Gifford took not only a copy of the book for an appearance on an upcoming episode of the Today Show, but after I sent her in the green room to go meet her, Ms. Gifford dropped what she was doing, putting her other engagements on hold in order to go talk with Robin for a moment. By the end of the expo’s duration, I had acquired 12 more distribution and media deals for this title.

Now the hard part is following up and finalizing all the paperwork of the meetings, but it’s something to embrace when you start see it all take shape.

In all these examples there is one tie that binds them together as winners in a circle; they have PR that is working for them to make things happen. For the most part these books have enough uniqueness and are self qualifying but they have a brighter future because they have representation. The PR representation they are getting is important because someone needs to know the audience, and the audience is not the end consumer but the buyers and the media – that is what can make the difference for your title as well.

AEG PR Media Room Press Conference Photo-Op & AEG Author Press Photo-Op at Booth

Get a PR/Marketing Assessment for your project, contact: Miranda Spigener, Director of PR & Book Marketing/Publicist
713-456-3629 PR Office Direct
AEG Publishing Group, Inc. 845 Third Avenue, 6th Floor – NY, NY10022
pr1@strategicbookmarketing.com

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