I’m talking about the press release — also known as a news release or media release.

I know the value of press releases to authors firsthand: My first book contract came as a direct result of a single press release that I wrote and distributed to a carefully handcrafted list of media outlets nationwide.

The one-and-a-half-page press release announced a printed subscription newsletter I had created to help explain male behavior to women. The results? Here’s a sampler:

• The newsletter was featured on the first page of USA Today‘s “Life” section exactly a week after I mailed the press release to the media with the first newsletter issue.
• It was profiled on the first page of the second section of The Wall Street Journal.
• I was interviewed by CBS‘s top investigative reporter, Bernie Goldberg, for a segment on the third episode of “Eye to Eye with Connie Chung.”
• I became the darling of morning drive-time radio coast-to-coast , doing hundreds of interviews about the lighter side of male behavior.
• I won a Silver Anvil award, the Oscar of the public relations industry, for the global publicity generated by the press release campaign.
• Most importantly: I got calls from literary agents and book publishers who asked me to turn the newsletter into a book (which I did, publishing WHY CAN’T A MAN BE MORE LIKE A WOMAN? with Kensington/Zebra).

That’s why it kills me to see how few authors are using press releases to build buzz or, just as bad, using them incorrectly.

Let’s talk press releases

So . . . when Dana Lynn Smith asked me to talk about authors and press releases for her Savvy Book Marketer podcast this week, I did a little cheer in my chair.

I hope you’ll listen in to learn why you should be using them, how to write them, and how to use them effectively to build media and other buzz for your book. Our interview lasts just under 30 minutes, so grab a hot cup of coffee on this frigid day (it was -7 when I woke up this morning) and listen to our conversation on the Savvy Book Marketer podcast at this link:

Savvy Book Marketer podcast 

If you have a press release question after listening to the podcast, please come back here and leave it in a comment so I can answer it. Thanks! 

So . . . there’s a special place in my heart for children’s books and the people who create them. I do as much as I can to help them get the word out about their books through my newsletter, this blog, and my participation in a group on LinkedIn for authors of children’s books. I’m happy to say that I can do a little more today by reviewing a new training program offered by one of my favorite sources of excellent book marketing information, Dana Lynn Smith of the Savvy Book Marketer site.

“How to Sell More Children’s Books” recorded training

Originally presented as a live Webinar, Dana’s new “How to Sell More Children’s Books” training program is now offered in a recorded version, which is what I used.

It is, as my older daughter’s cheerleading squad used to chant, A-W-E-S-O-M-E! (Spell it out loud, pausing after the E, and clap a few times.)

Here’s what I like about it: While Dana starts the program saying that it’s about the strategy behind promoting children’s books rather than instruction on how to execute tactics, she shares a huge amount of “here’s how you do it” information for her recommended tactics.  In fact, she gets very specific — for example, telling you what she thinks most children’s book authors are doing wrong when promoting their books and how they can fix it, or explaining how to get booked as a speaker at schools.

The program starts out slowly as Dana eases us into it. The information covered in the first few minutes about the importance of a quality product and knowing your target audience might be information you know already. But it doesn’t take long for her to get into a rhythm and start doing what she’s really good at — giving you the shortcuts and insider tips. I particularly enjoyed Dana’s advice on maximizing your presence on Amazon.com and her review of the many elements of an online book launch.

Top 10 promotional tactics

I listened carefully as she reviewed each of her top 10 promotional tactics for children’s books because I wondered where she thought social networking fit into that list. Like me, she worries that authors put too much of their effort into social networking. To make sure that time is well spent, she offers recommendations about which networks to use and shares the names of two that are specific to children’s books (make sure you’re using them — they seem pretty important).

Throughout the webinar, Dana refers to the 47-page resource guide that’s part of the program. By the end of the almost one-and-a-half-hour program, I couldn’t wait to open that PDF file and click through it to see which resources she recommends for e-mail list management (I’ll add one: iContact) and postcard printing (and another from me: Vistaprint).

The Children’s Book Marketing Resource Guide is worth the price of the program by itself. It has links to resources (including two of my books, I’m proud to say) as well as articles where children’s book authors can get more detailed information about topics ranging from who’s buying teen books to how to write great author blog posts. It includes samples of relevant materials, too — websites, bookmarks, a speaker flyer, and more.

A few tips

Here are just a couple of things to note if you’re interested in this program:

• There are a few different ways you can learn. You can watch a recording of the original presentation online (you listen to Dana as she moves through the PowerPoint presentation), listen to just the audio file, or listen to the audio file while you click through a PDF of the PowerPoint slides. I listened to the audio file on the treadmill while clicking through the slides on my iPhone.
• Right now, when you download the audio file, it indicates that the program is 2.5 hours long. It’s not. It’s 1.5 hours — which I only discovered after I thought, “There’s no way I’ll be on the treadmill for two-and-a-half hours!” As it turns out, a glitch in the recording system added an hour of “hold” music after the end of the presentation. Dana is working on editing that file, but in the meantime, don’t let that scare you. Plan on spending about 1.5 hours watching or listening.
• Take Dana’s advice and create a folder just for the materials in this training program. There’s the audio file, the PowerPoint PDF, an article, a sample speaker flyer plus a template for that tool, and the resource guide. Downloading all of it into a dedicated file makes it easier to find and use all of the information offered.

By the way, Dana also has similar training programs for fiction and nonfiction. I haven’t watched them so I’m not reviewing them here, but if you know people who might be interested, send them to this link for fiction: http://bit.ly/WloqTt and this one for nonfiction: http://bit.ly/WpBmmU.

Finally, I want you to know that I am one of Dana’s affiliates, which means that if you purchase her program based on my recommendation, she will give me a small commission. I only recommend products and programs that I have used — which is probably pretty clear in this review. My goal is to share information that will help you. This program does that.

What has been your most successful strategy or tactic when promoting your children’s book?

I generally recommend the do-it-yourself approach for tours rather than hiring a service because as the author, you can add that important personal touch that can make the difference between success and failure. This is especially true if your book serves a niche market — a book on how to build a house with straw bales, for example, rather than a more general market romance novel.

The thought of researching, planning, and executing your own virtual book tour — also known as an author blog tour — can be overwhelming, though, right?

Not anymore.

Step-by-step guide

My friend and colleague Dana Lynn Smith has created an incredibly detailed, step-by-step guide to the process that’s useful for:

• Authors
• Virtual assistants
• Book publicists
• Book publishers

I like — and recommend — Virtual Book Tour Magic: The Secrets to Planning a Successful Book Promotion Tour not only because I’m one of Dana’s affiliates, but because she provides very detailed instructions alongside her practical advice and resources. It’s actually a training package more than an e-book because it includes two bonus reports and a tour planning worksheet that makes it a snap to keep track of all the details for your tour.

Discover different tour options

In Virtual Book Tour Magic, Dana not only explains the different tour options, she also tells you how to do each of them — from start to finish. Want to run a contest as part of your tour? You’ll learn how. Wondering how to research potential tour hosts? Discover how easy it is. Need to find blogs that specialize in reviews? Dana leads you to them – and offers so much more. Screen shots as illustrations and links to examples or resources online makes this book stand out from other resources.

Dana is incredibly thorough — which is why I continue to recommend her book marketing training programs. There’s no fluff — just useful information.

If you’re planning on taking a virtual book tour in the next few months, make sure you check out this e-book on Dana’s website, where you can review the detailed table of contents and learn more about the bonus materials that complete the package. You won’t be disappointed.

What’s keeping you from going on a virtual book tour to promote your book? What’s your biggest obstacle?