marketing 104 promotion and public relation

Marketing 104 – Promotion and Public Relations

Promotion

In a world where readers have the choice of thousands of books, promotion tools can effectively prompt the readers to choose yours.   The challenge of using promotion is to get new readers and turn them into long-term fans.

As with anything, your Promotion Strategy has many components:

©      Objectives – who are you targeting

©       Message – should be consistent with your positioning – reinforce your book

©       Method

Reader Oriented promotions –

-  discounts

- contests

-  loyalty promotions

- build the identity – tee shirts, luggage tags, use a color scheme if you can

Trade Oriented Promotions

- co-op advertising of similar books

-expand into new markets – bundle similar promotions

- create excitement – use themes or twists in displays and fishing letters

©      Effort  -  the amount spent depends on the estimated effects over time especially when trying to acquire new readers – Objective and task approach – estimate how many new readers make it worth your while to engage a certain promotion campaign.  If your objective is to get your name out, decide how much you want to spend on the promotional campaign.

Promotions can be very effective in acquiring new readers.  Once you have built a base, it is important to keep the attention of your readers so that they continue to buy your books.  Keep your message consistent but fresh. 

Public Relations

While it may be difficult to measure the exact effect of public relations, many professionals consider it a cost-effective means of communication.  Having your books featured in a press release or on a local news show is valuable exposure.  When information about you or your book appears in the media, it usually appears to have more credibility than if the same information appeared in a paid advertisement. 

PR Objectives:

• Build excitement – get readers to talk about your books
• Create News -
• Generate interest – target interesting twists and events in your book to persuade the reader to buy it
• Develop a relationship with readers – e-newsletters maintain contact with readers
• Build your name – your message should be consistent with what you write
• Provide value – your newsletter or blog can list interesting facts or events associated with your book. 

Public relations is an important way to communicate not only with your readers and potential readers, but also members of other audiences that can affect your marketing performance.    But a PR approach must be integrated into an overall marketing strategy and provide a consistent message to work.