The reason marketers bang on about press releases is that they work – a press release for a book should not be so different.
I have hesitated to write this article. It feels like I would only cover things that authors, being writers, already know. However, as publishers seem to have no clue, I figured that maybe I should. Here, then, is how to write a press release for a book.
What is a press release?
A press release is a well formatted short document that does 90% of the article writing work for journalists and reporters. Good press releases are interesting and get the time pressed journalist most of the way to meeting a deadline.
For this reason it should be written in the style and tone of an article. It should also be news worthy. For authors, a new book release, a signing tour, an award, or anything else the least bit interesting is news and can go in a press release.
For this article, I will focus on writing a press release for a book but the principles cover just about anything you do as an author. The same principles apply to writing a blog post (more or less).
How to write your press release
Focus on one topic
Step one, consider your audience. Your press release has two audiences. The people that will read the article that it is turned into and the journalist or blogger that has to work with it.
What does your audience find interesting? Whatever that is, focus on that. Your book might have a lot of themes but focus on the topic or themes that will interest the people you are addressing. It might be that you write three or four with a different focus for each target. That’s fine. Just one topic per release.
Use a good headline “hook”
Just like a blog post you have 65 to 85 characters to get reader attention. The headline should summarise why this press release is interesting.
I am not going to cover how to write a headline. Headlines are in themselves a big topic. To do them justice, they need a post of their own.
The chances are the journalist and their editor will change the headline to suit their publication but a good headline will get you in the door.
You may want to follow up with an equally enticing subheading.
Open with a bang
As an author, you are probably tired of hearing how the opening chapter matters. The opening paragraph is just the same. You have 50 to 70 words in which to work some magic. By magic, I mean to show the reader why this news is interesting. Give them the “short and fast” version.
If you search for press release templates you will find more than you know what to do with.
Some advice opening with “For immediate release”. You can ignore that. Never send out a press release that is not ready to go.
Generally the advice is to start with the location. Again this might sound good but a quick call to your target outlet will soon clear up what they look for. Ask the publication what they look for in a press release and what format they prefer and simply do that.
Answer the questions
Readers that are interested will have questions. Answer then. Quickly. Who is it about. What is happening, Why, where, and when?
If that sounds like the second act of your book, that’s because it is the second act of your press release.
Your job here is to inform. This is no place for opinion so do not preach.
You almost certainly want a quote, from the book or from a review. Get at least one quote in there but probably no more.
End with a call to action
You want to sell books so make sure there is at least one link to a place to buy the book. Even if that place is Amazon.
All the facts that someone needs to make use of your news goes here.
Finally some house keeping
Press releases end with what is called the “boilerplate”. It is the same (more or less) every time. Who you are and why they should care about you as an author. Sing your own praises because no one else will.
If you have a blog or website, include a link to it. If you do not have one, you can get a free blog from Author Buzz (that’s right here).
After the boilerplate goes contact information. That’s where the journalist or editor can reach out to fact check and ask questions. Your name, email address, and telephone number are needed at the very least.
If you have a press section of your website, link to it. A press section is information that the press can use – pictures quotes, biography, and so forth. If you lack one, make it before you carry on. A WordPress page with some information and a few relevant pictures is fine.
Formatting your book’s press release
Do not try to get cute with this part. A press release is a business document. Stick to the same fonts your target publication uses. If in doubt 12 point Times New Roman for the body and slightly larger for the headings.
Likewise, don’t try to embed pictures. That makes a nightmare on the other end. Link to useful images or attach them to the email separately.
One last check
Before you do anything else, check and check again. You need to find every mistake and correct it before that goes out.
If you can, ask someone else to look over it. A fresh pair of eyes can be a great help.
What to do with your press release for your book?
You can pay a lot of money for PR syndication but the truth is 90% of PR syndication is bunk.
Put it on your blog. Then email the press release to local papers, trade magazines and whoever else you identified during the research part of writing.
Most people in public relations build up a database of email addresses. If you want to send out effect press releases for books, you need to do that too.
You can also send it to us. If you took the time to create a free Author Buzz account, you could slip it into my queue as a contributed article. Chances are, if you put it my queue, there is so little work left for me to do, it will get published. I am lazy and over-worked. Take advantage of that.