There are many ways you can tell the world that your book is ready to read. You can blog about it, tell people via Twitter, hand out free copies at your local library, post it on your Facebook and use other creative ways you think of. All of these ways could generate some buzz about your book, but if you’re really serious about selling copies, you need to take it one step further with a press release.

You may ask “why do I need a press release and what value does a press release add to my book marketing campaign?” While it may seem old fashioned, a press release is still the most accepted way of promoting anything, in your case, your book.

A press release is professional and concise, and it gives the receiver a substantial chunk of information. A press release is also the best way to target different kinds of media – organizations that are probably not following you on Twitter. Some of the media outlets to which you could distribute your press release include, newspapers, magazines, radio stations and local bookstores.

The main goal of a press release is to generate more press for you and your book. By giving someone a brief overview of what your book is about in your press release, they will be able to know if they should follow up with you to possibly conduct an interview or book review.

Here are some details to include in a press release:

• What your book is about
• How someone could order it
• Some information about yourself
• Any interesting facts that make your book stand out to the media

To potentially get an interview or book review, you must have a professional and well written press release. Considering how many press releases are sent and received by the media every day, media outlets must be picky about which press releases they choose to spend time on. A press release that contains errors or does not meet AP standards will be disregarded, so make sure that your press release is as professional as it can be. You may want to consider having a press release specialist write your press release for you. Wordclay offers a variety of these services that even include distribution of your press release – an aspect that is important to the success of your press release promotion.

Positive press about your book is not something that will happen over night or without any work by you. You must be proactive in getting your book positive press. A press release is an excellent place to start because of its professional, widely accepted format and versatile distribution.   

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