I often work with authors who’ve made the unfortunate (and completely understandable) mistake of thinking they’d receive ample marketing and PR support from their publisher, only to find out once the book arrived that wasn’t the case.
While in an ideal world, we’d start a book launch campaign 6 months in advance, getting PR post-launch is not only possible– it can be crucial for keeping your book top of mind for your audience.
For example, I worked with an author whose debut how-to business book launched two years previously. He was gearing up to pitch agents for his next book and wanted to maximize his profile. In 3 months, we were able to land him 9 podcast interviews, including two with pods that have over 500k listens per month.
In another case, I was able to get my client quoted (and their book mentioned) in one of the nation’s largest newspapers over 10 years after their book came out. They were working with their agent on finding a publisher for a revised edition and needed to boost the original edition's profile to attract publishers.
In both cases, we focused on connecting their expertise with hot topics in the news cycle.
Other ways to land placements even after your book has been out for a while include:
- Targeting smaller podcasts that cater to your specific readers. While smaller pods still get tons of pitches, you have a better chance of getting an interview with a pod that focuses on your niche. These smaller podcast interviews add to your media list and are a great way to come to the attention of the people most likely to buy your book.
- Writing a guest blog post or oped about relevant current trends that tie into your subject matter or personal biography. If you can’t mention your book in the article, you’ll probably be able to mention it in your bio.
- Collaborating with other authors on creating a live or streaming event and pitching it to local or relevant media. When you add additional people to the panel, the date of your book publication matters less. Make the event interesting and novel, and you can leverage it for media coverage.
There are many ways to turn your less-than-stellar pre-launch media coverage into a post-launch buzz. Don’t get discouraged, keep reaching out to media contacts, and send me a DM if you’d like to set up a personal PR strategy consultation.
