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Want to sell more books? That can only happen when your ideal readers discover it.

Your book’s press release is a tool that helps with that discovery process.

A book announcement press release summarizes your book, helps people understand how it will help or entertain them, and tells them a little about the author and why they’re the best person to write it.

Just the facts, ma’am

You write it as if you’re a journalist reporting on news that your book has just been published. It’s factual. There’s no hyperbole, exaggeration, or opinions.

via GIPHY

There are other types of press releases that are useful for book promotion, including tip sheets and event announcements (be sure to read, “Author press releases: 10 situations that deserve one and 4 that don’t“).

But this one is unique to authors. It’s on my list of five essential tools for authors.

A book announcement press release is a must-have in part because it’s so versatile. Get more mileage from yours (and the time you spent writing it) by using it these eight different ways.

1. Distribute it to the press with advance review copies of your book.

This is the most important reason to write a book announcement press release. You never want to send a review copy to the media without one.

When sending a print review copy, fold your press release and tuck it into the book.

If you’re sending an e-book, copy and paste the press release text into your email message.

2. Distribute it to a handcrafted media list without advance review copies of your book.

You probably have a good idea of which print and online publications might run a short new book announcement rather than write a review.

This is often the case with daily and weekly newspapers, city business journals, consumer and trade magazines, alumni publications, and some blogs.

Rather than pay a press release distribution service to blast your release to a large media list, handcraft your own list and email your press release to each outlet individually with a brief personal note.

3. Send your book’s press release to the press through a press release distribution service.

These web-based services charge a fee to send your press release to a large number of media outlets.

When using one of these services, be thoughtful about the media categories you select for your distribution list. For example, a regional travel book will do best with a regional distribution list, while a business book’s list should include business sections of large daily newspapers, city and state business journals, and business magazines.

There are several press release distribution options. I like eReleases. If you’re a member of ExpertClick.com, your membership includes press release distribution.

4. Post it in the news rooms of free press release distribution services.

There’s a big difference between paid and free press release distribution services. In fact, the biggest difference is that only one of them actually distributes your press release. (And it’s not the free services.)

With the free services, your release sits on the site waiting to be found.

But even that serves a purpose. When your release includes a link to your author website, placing it on these sites creates a “backlink” to your site. That can help with your site’s search engine optimization — SEO.

In addition, your press release might actually get found by a journalist searching one of these sites.

via GIPHY

5. Give it to bloggers when scheduling your virtual book tour.

A virtual book tour is a book marketing tactic that lets you share information about your book with blogs reaching your book’s target audience.

Your press release will provide the essential information bloggers need when deciding whether you and your book are a good fit for them.

6. House your book’s press release in the press room on your website.

Adding it to your online press room gives journalists researching your topic, you, or your book quick and easy access to the factual and objective information they need.

You want to make it as easy as possible for the media to write about you and your book. Giving them the facts about both facilitates that.

When you write it, include keywords that people will use when searching for books like yours.

It’s one more piece of content that helps your book get found online.

7. Provide it to meeting planners considering you as an event speaker.

Authors who speak usually present on something closely related to their book topic.

The book announcement press release summarizing your book reinforces your positioning that you’re a topic expert. It also makes you look like a pro.

8. Share it with colleagues, friends, and relatives who will support your marketing efforts.

Use it as the basis of the email you’ll send out alerting your contacts that your book is available for purchase.

How to write it

If your publisher will provide your book announcement press release, make sure they send it to you for your review and approval before it gets used. Don’t presume that they will get it right.

In-house publicists are often too busy to read the book and might be writing your press release from information in an out-dated book proposal. When you review it, you’ll be able to spot errors the publicist just can’t.

If you’re writing your book’s press release rather than someone else, save yourself hours and hours of time trying to figure out how to do it by downloading my e-book, Get Your Book in the News: How to Write a Press Release That Announces Your Book.

The PDF format is designed with a layout that  makes the step-by-step information easy to see and follow. The Kindle version has the same content but in a text-only format.

It has everything you need to create a book announcement press release that will work hard for your book.

Write your book’s press release once, use it many times

If you follow this advice, you’ll find that your book’s press release is one of the hardest working tools in your book marketing toolkit.

It took you time to write a quality book announcement press release. Maximize that investment by using it over and over and over.

Do you have a press release that announces your book? How have you used it?

(Editor’s note: This article was first published in April 2016. It has been updated and expanded.)

A book press release is the essential media relations tool that accompanies review copies or tells the media and other key influencers that your book is available, among other things.

And yet, too many authors don’t know how to write one that communicates the right information to the right people.

As a result, they lose valuable opportunities for exposure by distributing a document that doesn’t have the right information in the accepted and expected format.

Avoid these 5 mistakes

Because of that, many authors make deadly mistakes that ensure that journalists delete their book press releases quickly, before they’re even read.

Here are the mistakes I see authors making most often and how to fix them.

1. Creating a highly designed document.

This will definitely help your announcement stand out, but it will also grease the path to the digital trash can.

Press releases follow a specific format that begins with an attention-getting headline and looks like a news article. If yours uses the format that reporters, editors, producers, and bloggers need and expect, your press release has a better chance of getting read and used.

If it uses multiple font styles and sizes, a two-column format, and reads like you’re trying to sell the book, it’s called “sales material,” not a press release.

Journalists don’t like sales material. They like editorial content. And that’s what you want to provide in your book announcement press release.

2. Putting the author’s name in the headline.

We invest a lot of ourselves in our books, but because none of us are J.K. Rowling or Malcolm Gladwell, journalists don’t know our names.

Savvy book publicists and authors use that valuable headline real estate to communicate important information about the book, not the author. That’s what you want to do, too.

3. E-mailing the press release as an attachment.

Most business e-mail users won’t open attachments because of concerns about viruses and other nasty problems.

I explain the correct way to do it in “How to e-mail a press release to journalists.”

4. Housing it on your website as a PDF file.

Journalists don’t like working with PDF files because they often lose all formatting when they copy and paste the information into a new file. That means they have to find and reinsert paragraph breaks, and so on.

As soon as you create work for them, they lose interest (and who can blame them?). Give them what they want in the format they want. In this case, that’s text they can easily copy and paste.

Notice how easily you can copy and paste this article. That’s the goal for your press release.

Author Candy Harrington’s press room for her book, 22 Accessible Road Trips: Driving Vacations for Wheelers and Slow Walkers, is an excellent example of how you want to do this. At that link, select “press release,” then click on each option.

5. Not proofreading your press release.

If your press release is loaded with blatant errors such as spelling a word in your title wrong (I’ve seen it) or other typographical or grammatical errors, you’re saying to the recipient: “I don’t care about quality.”

That will encourage people to question the quality of your book, too. That’s not your goal, so proofread carefully. If you’re not good at that, find someone who is to help you out.

How to write a book press release

As an author, you’re the best person to write your book announcement press release. The challenge for most is knowing:

• The end goal — why this tool will help their book get noticed
• What to include
• What it should look like
• How to use it effectively

Help is here!

I’ve just updated my popular e-book, Get Your Book in the News: How to Write a Press Release That Announces Your Book. It walks you through the process step-by-step, gives you a template you can use to write yours, and offers 12 new examples of actual fiction and nonfiction book press releases so you know what yours should look like.

Get all the details on the book’s sales page, where you can learn more and purchase a snazzy PDF or the more ordinary Kindle version.

Taking the time to learn the right (and wrong!) way to write your book’s press release could make the difference between success and failure. It’s not hard when you know how to do it. When you follow the instructions in this book, you’ll have everything you need.

Do you have a question about book announcement press releases? Please ask it in a comment.

You send a book announcement press release, and every book needs one. This book publicity tool tells the media and others why and how your book will make a difference. It’s the author’s equivalent of a birth announcement.

It’s not optional — it’s a necessity. And because of that, it can be the single determinant of how much attention your book receives.

Potential impact of your book’s press release

Why?

When you send a book announcement press release with a copy of your book to reviewers, they skim the document to decide if the book is a good fit for their publication, website, and so on. If it’s badly written or doesn’t have the information they need, want, or expect, your book won’t be reviewed.

Simply put: If you want your book reviewed by media outlets and credible bloggers, you need a good book announcement press release.

It’s a multi-purpose tool

Book publicity is about more than book reviews, though. That’s why you need a press release for your book to get other kinds of valuable exposure, including:

• Interviews with local media outlets
• Short news items in newspapers and magazines
• Radio and TV interviews
• Blog interviews on your virtual book tour
• Speaking engagements
• Website traffic

Most traditional publishers will write and distribute book announcement press releases for their authors. If you’re self-published, you need to go the do-it-yourself route, even if you’ve never seen a press release before.

Get started with these tips

If this is a new concept for you, here are a few tips that will help get you on the right track.

1. Study what the big publishers send to the press. Use Google to find the press rooms of a few big publishers and read their press releases. What can you learn from them?
2. Search for press releases on paid press release distribution sites such as eReleases (that’s an affiliate link, which means I’ll receive a small commission if you use their services) and PR Newswire. Use them as samples that guide you.
3. Avoid the mistakes made by most new press release writers. They including putting your name in the title and ditching the expected format in favor of being unique or clever.
4. Take the time to learn. I wrote Get Your Book in the News: How to Write a Press Release That Announces Your Book so that you would have absolutely everything you need to know about how to write an attention-getting press release for your new book. Follow the clear instructions and you’re done.
5. Proofread, proofread, proofread. Your book announcement press release tells media reviewers, blog reviewers, and others what to expect from your book. If it’s loaded with mistakes, they’ll presume that your book will have lots of mistakes, too.

Your book’s press release can be the difference between success and failure. Take the time to write one that matches what media reviewers and others expect. It’s not hard when you have a little help.

Have you written yours yet? What has been your biggest press release-writing challenge? 

(Editor’s note: This article was first published in July 2012. It has been updated and expanded.)

If you’re looking for book publicity — free media exposure — you have to:

• Have an author press kit on your website
• Include the right elements with the right information
• Present it in a format that’s easy for all journalists to use

Are you making any of these common author press kit mistakes that are interfering with your ability to effectively promote your book? Don’t worry if you are — all of these can be fixed easily:

1. You don’t have an online press room with an author press kit.

Get out! No press room? No press kit? No media information? You need to read “Must-have online press room elements for authors and books” before you go any further.

Actually, most authors don’t have one, which means those who do are light years ahead of their competition when it comes to priceless book publicity.

When I’m looking for an expert author to interview for a magazine article assignment and have two choices, which one do you think I’ll contact — the one with a press kit or the one without? When I see an online press kit, I think, “This person wants to be interviewed. I won’t have to talk him into it.”

Unless you’re trying to hide from the press, you need one. It’s expected; it’s useful.

2. Your press materials are only in PDF format.

Here’s the problem with PDFs: You want journalists to copy and paste your press releases, fact sheets, bios, etc. In many cases, when someone copies text from a PDF and drops it into Word or another program, all formatting is lost. The journalist has to manually insert paragraph returns and so on.

That’s a problem.

So you want your press materials available in a format that lets people copy and paste easily. That’s plain text in the same way that the text on your “about” page is plain text.

Ditch the PDFs, even though you see publishers and publicists using them. They create problems.

Candy Harrington’s press rooms for each of her books are great examples of how to do it the right way. You’ll see how easy it is to copy and paste the text.

3. There’s no date on your press releases.

When your book announcement press release doesn’t have a date, I don’t know if the book is new or three years old.

Perhaps you’ve got a press release listing your bookstore appearances, but you haven’t included the year. A journalist compiling a local calendar of events won’t be able to use the information without taking extra steps to confirm that it’s current. As soon as you force reporters to take unnecessary steps, you lose them.

4. You don’t provide contact information.

This is incredibly common, probably because it doesn’t occur to you that someone might want to contact you for an interview or to ask a few questions.

Picture this*: A local network TV affiliate is searching online for local romance authors for a new twist on the usual Valentine’s Day segment.

The reporter finds your site, is thrilled to see that you have a press room, but can’t find your contact information on that section of your site, in your press releases, or on your site at all, for that matter (another common problem).

That will probably cost you that publicity opportunity.

5. There are no images.

Not that you need a lot of them, but you do need your book cover and an author head shot.

Make them available in both high-resolution (“high res” is 300 dpi or greater) and low-resolution (“low res” is less than 300 dpi) versions. Publications need high-res images; bloggers and websites like low-res.

6. You haven’t clearly identified the press room where you house your author press kit.

Label it clearly on your toolbar.

Title options include:

• Press Room
• Press Kit
• For the Media
• For the Press
• Newsroom

Many authors, experts, and others have a section identified as “Media,” which tricks journalists into thinking that they’ll find press kit elements there. What they find instead are reprints or links to articles or segments that include an interview with the author. That’s good — reporters like knowing that their interview won’t be your first — but it’s misleading.

If you have a “media” page that showcases your publicity success but doesn’t have press materials, add them so you’re both serving and attracting journalists.

Make sure you create an online press kit and house it in on your website so that you not only support your publicity efforts, but so that you improve your site’s search engine optimization — SEO — too.

Avoid mistakes by using templates

Need help creating your online press kit? “Build Book Buzz Publicity Forms & Templates” has a template and sample for every author press kit element, from your book announcement press release to your bio and sample question and answer sheet.

Learn more at http://buildbookbuzz.com/publicity-forms-and-templates/.

What do you call your online press room? Tell us in a comment.

_{*Channeling my inner Sophia Petrillo}

Today’s step is sharing the news here — whoohoo! And because this new e-book teaches authors, publicists, and publishers a step-by-step process for writing that essential press release that announces a book, I’m announcing it here by sharing my book announcement press release! Makes sense, right?

Got questions about the book? Just send me a note. I’m really excited about it because I know how much it’s needed. Here’s my announcement press release — learn how to write one like this in Get Your Book in the News: How to Write a Press Release That Announces Your Book. (Note that I’ve added the images here to add some visual appeal, but they are not “embedded” in the press release that I’m distributing to the media. I’ve included links to them at the end instead.)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Sandra Beckwith, sb@buildbookbuzz.com, 585-377-2768

Detailed new guide helps authors announce their books

FAIRPORT, NY — June 26, 2012 — A new e-book by a veteran publicist and book marketing coach teaches authors how to create the all-important press release that announces their books.

Get Your Book in the News: How to Write a Press Release That Announces Your Book (http://bit.ly/M2d7M1) by Sandra Beckwith is the only resource that takes authors through the press release writing process step-by-step. Authors, book publicists, publishers, and others learn to create a document that contains the information journalists need and expect in the format they prefer.

Get Your Book in the News distills Beckwith’s 25+ years of experience into a handy guide that offers readers:

• Nine ways to use an announcement press release to get publicity, attract book buyers to a website, or secure speaking engagements
• A detailed, 13-step process for writing a book announcement press release and a companion a fill-in-the-blanks template
• Specifics on who to send the press release to, when, how to send it, and how to follow up
• A list of the most common press release mistakes and advice on how to avoid them
• Formatting instructions
• A press release makeover
• Press release distribution service recommendations and other resources
• A bonus section with 11 actual press releases used to announce fiction and nonfiction books in several genres

“A book announcement press release is probably the most essential and versatile book promotion tool because it can generate book reviews, news items, author interviews, blog columns, and speaking engagements,” says Beckwith, who has won several national publicity awards. “Done right, it creates impressive and long-lasting exposure. Done wrong, it ends up in an electronic trash can.”

Beckwith, a book marketing coach and former publicist, helps authors learn how to be their own book publicists. She teaches the popular “Book Publicity 101: How to Build Book Buzz” course online and publishes Build Book Buzz, a free e-newsletter available at https://buildbookbuzz.com. She is also the author of three nonfiction books, including two on publicity topics, and an author publicity workbook.

Get Your Book in the News: How to Write a Press Release That Announces Your Book is available as a PDF for $9 on the author’s website at http://bit.ly/M2d7M1. For more information, contact Beckwith at sb@buildbookbuzz.com.

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Book cover JPG: http://bit.ly/KXT2HG

Author photo JPG: http://bit.ly/KJ2rS6

Media review copy: sb@buildbookbuzz.com

Contact: Sandra Beckwith, sb@buildbookbuzz.com, 585-377-2768

Have you seen a great book announcement press release online? Include the URL in the comments and tell us why it works for you.