Google has new rules about press releases. Writing them simply to get links back to your site and create Google synergy is no longer a favorable action but there are still plenty of positive reasons that authors should use online press releases.
After all, when it comes to selling more books, there are other entities to impress, besides Google, in the bookselling world. Think of people like book readers, book reviewers, bookstores, publishers, media-hungry folks looking for a good story, bloggers looking for someone to interview, radio and TV stations looking for the next great guest on their program.
Still not convinced? Here are nine reasons that writing press releases every 30 to 90 days should be part of your yearly book marketing strategy:
1. Exposure. This goes without saying. Wonder why no one is buying your books? One good reason may be they simply don’t know your book exists. Let people know.
2. Expansion. A well-written press release will expand your audience beyond the market you are now reaching.
3. Excellence. Sending out press releases is a powerful way to let potential readers know about all the great things your book has to offer.
4. Excitement. A press release promotes your book as something new, interesting, and exciting to look at. Get folks to move beyond ho-hum and put a few sizzling tidbits in that leading paragraph to hook them into finding out more about this new, great read.
5. Authority. Press releases call attention to you as an author. You become the expert when you present facts, figures, and compelling reasons why your book is important to the reader.
6. Credibility. Do you have a media page on your author site? If so, listing your press releases is a definite sign that you are a professional writer in the book world. When the press wants to know more about you, this is the first page on your website they will want to look at. Not only can you list your own press releases in this section, you can also link or display other news events about your book.
7. Relationship. One of the most powerful things Wheatmark stresses to all their authors (new and old alike) is the importance of building strong reader and media relationships. Start locally with newspapers, radio stations, magazines, and blogs in your area and move outwards. If you send out a press release to your local paper three to six times a year, they will start to recognize and remember you.
8. Proactive Mindset. It takes work to write a press release. You have to think about what to write, get creative about how to present your book, and be bold and courageous in presenting the powerful ideas your book offers. Writing positive things about your book gets into the very fiber of your thinking processes and builds up a positive self image for the person who probably needs it the most: You.
9. Elevator speech. Can you succinctly tell someone about why they should read your book? A well-written press release starts out with one or two sentences that nail that speech down. Once you have written a few press releases you won’t even have to think about what to say at your next networking event. You will have already implanted those words in your head and they will pop out without a struggle. Nice.
Hopefully, I have convinced you of the importance of press releases. If you want to read more, here are several links to fuel your press release thinking process.
Get free publicity with provocative press releases.
How to sell more books with news releases.
Press release sites for authors.
If you’re an author and feel stuck in your book marketing, get a jump start by learning about the best and latest book marketing strategies in the Authors Academy.
