When you promote a new book release, chances are good you'll send out at least one press release. And one of the biggest book launch press release mistakes I see authors make is sending a release with nothing newsworthy to say.
That fact that you're releasing a new book is very rarely newsworthy on its own, unless you're a well-known author. Instead, you can increase your chance of getting media coverage by doing, or tying your book to, something newsworthy.
This week's quick tip highlights an effective way of doing this.
Tie Your Book to a Worthy Cause
If you want more than your local media outlets to care about your new book, try associating your book with something bigger than itself. A charitable cause your potential readers can get behind is a great option.
This is something I used to encourage musicians to do back in my music PR days, and it was highly effective there too. In their case, we would get groups of musicians together to organize benefit shows, and the press outreach revolved around that. Attention for the artists and their latest albums were important side benefits.
Authors don't generally put on as many events as musicians. But that doesn't mean there aren't opportunities. And just like musicians work together, you can sometimes partner with other authors.
Focusing on the Books
Nonfiction authors can have a clear benefit here in that their books might be directly tied to a nonprofit's cause. For example, if you write books about pets, you might partner with a local animal shelter where they'll let you promote your book at one of their "meet and greet" events for the pets, and you'll set aside a portion of your profits (at the event, or for a longer period of time) to donate to the shelter.
That's not to say it can't work for fiction authors too. Maybe your novel touches on a topic you care deeply about and there are nonprofits you could partner with in cross-promotions or events.
Focusing on the Authors
Your book doesn't even have to be directly related in every case. For example, you might get together with other local authors to host a reading and book drive event to support a local school, library, or children's hospital that might be in need of new books. In that case, your press outreach would focus more on the authors than the books, but the end result of increased visibility and potential sales is the same.
So tell me. How can you make your book more newsworthy before sending out your next press release? Feel free to share other ideas in the comments.