Hello, readers and writers!
I’m sure some of you might know that I’ve been working an internship over the last eight months. I started in July of 2018, and I’ve been enjoying a lot of what I learn each week working with a PR company that helps authors. I get to see the behind-the-scenes on how it all happens, and I’m going to share a few tips with you all.
Tips I believe my internship would be okay with me sharing, of course. I’m not giving away any decade-old secrets or anything like that. These are just some things I’ve learned over the last few months that I’m going to take with me on my indie journey after I’ve finished working with them.
Research and Spreadsheets
As a PR company, there is a lot that goes into researching. For our clients, we have to research media outlets, potential book reviewers, and more to get the word out about any of our authors. Not only does the research expand to our own client, but we also have to do an ample amount of research on competition.
Who am I often researching?
- Book reviewers
- Bookstagramers
- Booktubers
- Podcast or Radio hosts
- and mostly Bloggers
I’ve learned that one of the key elements to spreading the word about your novel is to do extensive research on who would be interested in reading your story. If you can’t pay someone to research these outlets for you, then research for yourself and make some spreadsheets that’ll help you organize these different contacts for future releases or follow-up emails.
Pitching
I often see professionals talking about pitching on Twitter, but I had never worked on pitching for in general, especially not on my work. I had maybe emailed two or three book reviewers about my first release like years ago at this point, but of course, I didn’t do it as professionally as I’ve been learning.
Here are a few tips I’ve learned so far:
- Be direct from the subject of the email and beyond. Whoever you’re pitching to needs to know exactly what they’re getting themselves into.
- Adding talking points, especially any that you know will interest the person you’re pitching to, can make a significant impact on their response to your pitch. If you’ve already given them some topics to play with when interviewing you or completing a review, they’re going to enjoy using those helpers.
- Be personal in your email. Finding out a good first name to the person who owns the email address is a good start. People feel more likely to respond when the email doesn’t feel like spam.
- Add reviews/testimonials if you can into the body. Creating excitement and hype for your material is a good thing and it will make more people want to read the book.
Don’t be afraid of writing a pitch either. Sometimes it can be intimidating, but they really do make a difference when you’re reaching out to other professionals in the industry.
Organizing Social Media
I’ve known since I started writing professionally that social media had a lot to do with becoming an author. Creating a social media presence isn’t necessarily about sales, but it is about creating a comfortable environment for future or past readers to become acquainted with who you are and what your brand is all about.
Many people might not enjoy the connotation that comes with the word “brand,” but social media is all about branding. Establishing yourself and your platform online will create a more intimate relationship with your readers. Having them close can also help with writing as they’re there to give their opinions and jump into any discussions about your work or future projects.
My internship has mostly shown me how to create more engaging and authentic content. I’m often praised for my ability to create fun content, and I’m hoping I can do a lot more with the information we’re needing to get out there each day.
My one piece of advice for you here is to create content you enjoy and you know your readers would enjoy and then stick to a schedule. You don’t have to post super often, but if it’s consistent, people will more likely continue to engage.
Thank you for reading my blog post today!
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Madison Diaz Writes 