Dan Smith, CEO of Smith Publicity, appeared as the guest on this month’s SkillBites Show, where he shared a number of tips for authors to promote their books:

1. Authors should begin promoting their books as early as possible, and should think about how they will want to promote their book even before writing the book. Knowing how the book will be used can help an author write a book that can be more effectively promoted.
2. Getting publicity for a book is a powerful way to spread the word about the book and the author, whether by radio, TV, newspaper, podcasts or other media. When an author is interviewed by the media, it’s a terrific credibility boost for the author, and the author can share the interview on their website, in marketing collateral, in social media and other places.
3. When determining the right strategy for book publicity, Smith Publicity considers the topic of the book, the author’s background and whether there is a reasonable opportunity to secure media interest. Only after determining that they can help an author do they then discuss the appropriate services that fit within the author’s budget.
4. Authors can gain media exposure for their book themselves if they:
   1. Are willing to educate themselves on how to gain media exposure;
   2. Have the right personality to promote themselves;
   3. Have the ability to write a good press release;
   4. Know their target market;
   5. Are willing to put in the time and effort to determine which media outlets cater to their target market and determine the right contacts at those outlets
5. Common mistakes that authors make when doing the publicity themselves include:
   1. Sending a press release out on a news wire without any personal approach or follow-up;
   2. Being too overtly promotional;
   3. Writing an amateurish press release;
   4. Responding inappropriately to rejection;
   5. Cold calling media personnel;
   6. Not educating themselves on how to conduct a publicity campaign.
6. There are many good resources to help authors educate themselves on book promotion, including:
   1. www.Goodreads.com;
   2. www.NetGalley.com;
   3. The Smith Publicity website, www.smithpublicity.com, which has many free resources and tools, and a helpful newsletter;
   4. www.BookMarketing.com, run by John Kremer, author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Book.
   5. Various podcasts and blogs.
7. Regarding social media, it is widely expected that authors will promote their books on social media, but this should be considered just one tactic out of a set of tactics for promoting a book. Also, it is much more effective if the author is active on the social media channels being used to promote his or her book. If the author isn’t actively posting, then a post about the book won’t have as much credibility.
8. When determining which publicity firm to hire for a book marketing campaign, talk to multiple firms and do research on them to ensure a good fit or connection with the firm. Read their testimonials and even follow up with some of the people who gave the testimonials. Make sure the firm has experience in the same genre as your book. Remember, there are no guarantees that the firm will be able to secure media exposure for your book.