Question:
What’s the difference between advertising and publicity?
Answer:
Advertising is what you pay for. Publicity you get for free.
Now, which would you rather get? Coverage in the media you get at no cost or advertising you have to pay for? (And, remember, these days the “media” includes bloggers and other social media!)
Unless you are already a bestselling author or celebrity, paid advertising is just not going to sell enough books to recoup the cost of the ad. Books are low-dollar items; ads are expensive. Sit down and figure out how many books you will have to sell to see enough profit to cover the ad.
Interesting tidbit: Studies have shown that people, on average, spend less than 10 minutes reading an issue of a magazine — so, how many ads do you think they actually read?
Christopher Morley (1890-1957) once observed, wisely:
“When you sell a man a book, you don’t sell him 12 ounces of paper and ink and glue — you sell him a whole new life.”
And that’s the trick with promoting a book, fiction or nonfiction. How might the reader’s life change by reading your book? What might he learn (because you’re an expert on things in the book)?
I suppose today Morley might say: “…you don’t sell him 12 ounces of paper and ink and glue or 500 mb of digital product…” But the idea’s the same.
When sending out news releases or contacting the media (including bloggers!) be sure to make it clear how a potential book buyer will benefit from spending their hard-earned cash on your book.
Keep in mind that a potential buyer has four basic choices:
- Buy your book
- Buy somebody else’s book
- Buy something other than a book
- Do nothing and save their money
Remember #3 above — your competition may not be another book at all. It just might be a DVD rental, a cup of Starbucks coffee, a Big Mac, or a few gallons of gas for the family car.
If you want to get some of that free publicity — in the form of a book review or an interview or a feature story about you or your quote included as an expert in a feature article — you have to make your target audience want what you have to offer. Every journalist, blogger, and potential book buyer wants to know:
What’s in it for ME?
Answer that question in a compelling way…and you’re on your way!
Good stuff, Walt! I’m adding this to tomorrow’s post.
L. Diane Wolfe
http://www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com
http://www.spunkonastick.net
http://www.thecircleoffriends.net
You are, as always, too kind.
I’ve been reading your blog lately via RSS. RSS seems to be the only way I can keep up with all the great writing and publishing blogs these days.
Yours is always enjoyable!
Thanks,
Walt
I like the breakdown of the four choices a potential buyer has. Definitely something an author should keep in mind, both when you’re deciding what kind of marketing to do and when you’re approaching outlets, such as blogs to host you on your virtual tour.
Helen
Straight From Hel
Thanks, Helen.
Too often, authors focus on other books in their genre as their competition, something which is usually only a portion of the marketing challenge.
Walt
I’ve been writing forever it seems, and I learn more every day. A little like life, huh? Thank you for making things clearer for me.
Seems to me one of our missions in life, whether we accept it or not, is to keep learning. Some people appear to prefer to stop learning, some much earlier than others.
I try always to push the limits of what I know and can do. Maybe that’s why I’ve had six distinct, and quite different, careers over the past four decades.
Thanks for stopping in!