All I Ever Needed to Know about Promotions, I learned from a Press Release

Happy Monday! Wow, okay, that was way too cheerful for a Monday morning, but gotta get it started somehow. So, today is industry news on the TKA blog, and I'm sure that some of the agents might have some other news to add, but I thought I would go ahead and promo a little article I read last week. As you guessed from the title of this post, the article's name is "Free Mass Publicity: Press Releases That Get Published" by Cheryl Bolen in September's edition of Romance Writer's Report (RWA publication).

If you feel lost about publicity and promotions, this is the best place to start. If you can write a successful press release, you can do a publicity campaign. Interestingly enough, I had a conversation at the Chick Lit party at nationals about this very topic. All the mechanics of a successful promotions campaign is those of a press release (and to quote Ms. Bolen). They are:

Finding the "News Peg"
Timeliness
Slanting Your Release

I read this article on the elliptical (got a 60 mile walk ahead of me, now!) and was so happy to see someone write what I have been thinking since July. So, don’t delay and be sure you read this article as well as other info on how to make your press releases quality.

There is so much to say on this topic, but to sum it all up…

You want to write your press release so the editor doesn't have to think a moment about what to do with it, just print it! Give them a ready to publish story complete with hook, relevant information, and answers to the "So what?” or “Why is this important for us to print?” Make sure you know what real “news” is and how to MAKE your event, book signing, release, etc… “real news.”

Press releases can get you A LOT of mileage if you know what you’re doing. But, do be aware that just because you write a stellar release, it doesn’t mean it will be printed. Unfortunately, that’s just the way of the world. Still, if you can make your information “real news,” understand the timeline in which your intended works, and write the story for them… you have all the basics for a great campaign!