In the last couple of months I have learnt a lot about sending press releases and have managed to get quite a lot of publicity for a previously unknown, self-published author. To date I have been in three papers, a magazine, and on the radio, and I did it without any PR training or experience. It has been a very interesting learning experience. I wanted to share what I had learnt about sending press releases as I think it will be valuable information and hopefully help some other writers out there.

Journalists Want Stories

Remember journalists are always looking for their next story, it is their job, and if they are sent something which could potentially save them from hunting for one, then you are making their job a hell of a lot easier for them. If you package it in the right way it should be like selling candy to a kid.

The more sensational the better

Journalism is a business at the end of the day, and journalists are in the business of selling stories. They want interesting pieces that people want to read and the more sensational the story the better.

What is different about your book?

Try to think of unique ways of selling your book to the journalist who will be reading your press release. There are many books out there these days so it is unlikely that you will be given space in a paper for merely publishing a book if you are an unknown author. What is different about your story? Perhaps you travelled in Italy and met your soul mate there and that inspired you to write your romantic novel. Maybe you were bullied at school and decided to write a YA fantasy about a boy who got bullied and became a karate champion; could be a great angle to use for publicity. My book is about a student who became an exotic dancer and is loosely based on my own experiences of working in gentlemen’s clubs in London and Australia, which has proven to be a good way of getting publicity so far. If your experiences relate to the book you have written then highlight this as this will make your press release more interesting.

Come Up With A Catchy Headline.

To start the press release you will need to come up with an interesting headline. Use this as the subject line in your email. It needs to sound news worthy, the same kind of thing you would see as a headline in a newspaper. I have used several so far, for example;

“Student Strippers Exposed In A Sensational New Novel.”
“Young Mum Uses Lap Dancing Experiences For Raunchy Novel.”

I know not everyone has worked as a stripper previously to writing their books, but everyone has their own story to tell in life and different publications will be looking for different things. Try to think of something original and grabbing and maybe tailor it slightly to the person you are sending the press release to.

Get Their Name!

Ring the paper and ask who would deal with features, book reviews etc. Get their name and direct email. You may even get the opportunity to speak to them, so prepare what you are going to say. Make sure you are to the point, most journalists are busy people and you want to get over as much information as you can as quickly as possible. Then tell them you will send them a press release.

Introduce Yourself

Write a very brief introduction at the beginning of the email. For example,

Dear Tony Peters,

I am a local author who has recently published a romantic suspense novel, based on my experiences as an exotic dancer in London.

I would love it if you could feature me in your magazine as I feel the book will appeal to your readers.

Below is my press release and I have attached some photos,

I hope to hear from you soon,

Emmy Yoshida
(CONTACT DETAILS)

Keep It Short & Sweet

I usually stick to about four paragraphs. When writing your press release, ask yourself; what questions would a journalist be asking if they were interviewing me about my book? Make a list and write down all your answers. Try to include the most interesting answers in your press release. Obviously you will want to include who you are and your background, what your novel is about, where it is available to buy etc. If you have impressive sales figures then include them as well. Stick to one A4 sized page and no more. Write it as if it were an article in a tabloid! If you’ve written a book this should be a piece of cake.

Photos

Even if you hate having photos, you should get some done, the more professional looking the better. Attach one or two pictures of you with your book and a book cover image. If they decide to write the story they have all the information they need to do so. Recently I was in a paper I had sent a press release to and I didn’t even find out about it until the following week through a friend. As I was saying before, journalists are busy, they just want to be able to knock out a story and move onto the next one as quickly as possible!

Best Day To Send?

I am still learning about all this myself, but from my experience mid-week is the best time. Mondays a lot of journalists are out writing stories, so Tuesdays and Wednesdays are a good time. Mid-week in general is the best time for cold-calling from my experience doing tele-sales in the past, and that is basically what you are doing, selling yourself!

Follow Up

If you send a press release in the morning then call that afternoon. Chances are the journalist you sent it to will be sitting at their desk and if they haven’t seen your email already then they will open it up while they are on the phone to you. Don’t bug people too much though, if you have spoken to someone more than twice I would leave it at that, they’re obviously just not that in to your story. Don’t appear to be desperate, nothing is more off-putting in any situation than desperation. Fortunately there will be someone else out there who will be interested if they are not.

It’s A Numbers Game
If you ask most sales people the key to their success they will probably say persistence. The more people you send your press release to the better chance there is of it being used. If it’s not working try altering it slightly and making it more appealing.

N.B As I said before I am still learning about all this myself so if you have any winning formulas that you use for press releases or general tips please leave a comment below. I really hope this post helps you to get some publicity for your book!