Ever wondered how a budding self publisher can get
made a book known to the world?
The bad news is that no one can give you a
sure fire formula that can guarantee you achieve this.
The good news is that
Press Releases can offer the first time author an affordable, proven way at
potentially getting a massive amount of media attention!
So What’s a Press Release?
For
the author, a press release is a great way to share news about your new book.
The key here is that it needs to be newsworthy, i.e. it’s interesting or
important enough that news publishers would want to report it.
A press release
is a statement prepared for distribution to the news media announcing something
claimed as having news value with the intent of generating media coverage. In other
words, the aim is to get your news item published so you get lots of free
advertising!
The First Important Element
The
press release is generally around 500 words in length and the most critical
part of it is probably the headline. You have one chance to impress so make
sure your headline stands out from the many hundreds of other news releases
that journalists skim through daily.
The Second Important Element
Find
the right angle; make sure your press releases are written in a newsworthy
manner- is your news release relevant to some other current major news items?
Remember this is not a advertisement, and if you overhype your press release
you will be ignored.
The Third Important Element
Make
sure you include a good call to action; whether it’s to contact you for more
information or to buy your book. Ensure all the relevant contact details are in
place, if those details are not there, your news released will be trashed.
The Final Element
Your
press release needs to be distributed to press distribution services that
journalists actually read, and that provide good coverage. If you go for the
free press releases you are going to get what you pay for: nothing!
We utilise a proven press release service in
Australia, which has a reach of several thousand journalists Australia wide in
TV, radio and print.
In the US, we use PR Newswire which is the same
distribution service that many professional publicity companies and Fortune 500
companies use. With PR Newswire, your news release will reach over 250,000 US
news subscribers, and over 30,000 journalists and bloggers, including outlets
such as USA Today, NY Times, and Washington Post.
In summary, press releases
are a great way for the self publisher with a tight budget to potentially gain
massive attention for their book without selling the farm. It would be a real
loss to any author who misses out on utilising this tool.
Hope you enjoyed this article!
Regards,
Terence Tam
Bookpal.
***
Charlotte takes novel approach to
book launch
Students from St Mary's Primary School
performed a scene from Charlotte Calder's new book for young readers titled The
Ghost at the Point. It was the perfect way to introduce everyone to the book
which features a cast of "goodies and baddies" in a thrilling
historical mystery to make your spine tingle.
It was the first time the Library had
hosted a performance for a book launch and it tied in well with the National
Year of Reading celebrations which promote reading as fun.
Author Charlotte Calder was thrilled
with their efforts and was impressed to see her story come to life before a
large crowd of family, friends and well wishers.
The book launch was supported by Boomers Bookshop and
ABC Centre. This is Charlotte's sixth book to be launched at the Orange City
Library and supported by the Central West Writers' Centre. Well done everyone!
***
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