How to Get the Media to Promote Your Book: Proven Strategies to Capture Media Attention and Skyrocket Your Book’s Visibility

(Posted on Saturday, June 17, 2023)

Author: Eric Schurenberg, Amplify Publishing Group Editor-in-Chief, Former CEO of Inc. and FastCompany

Congratulations! Your book is now all but finished—the manuscript has been approved, edited, and sent off to the printer. But you’re not done yet.

Now you have to make sure the world knows your baby is born, soon to be ready to be read. The best way to spread the word beyond your own network is through the media—the complex, ever-evolving, multiheaded ecosystem of traditional journalists, podcasters, newsletter writers, bloggers, and influencers. Their reach can not only help build your book’s sales but also raise your profile. The book you created can open many doors for you as a thought leader, but it won’t do so if no one has read it. And it won’t be read if no one knows it’s out there.

Your book publisher may undertake some publicity for you, and you can always hire an independent publicity firm. But be realistic. The overstretched publicity staff inside a traditional publisher must promote many books besides yours—some of them by celebrity authors who will always get the lion’s share of attention. The in-house publicist’s first goal is to maintain their relationship with bookers and editors at media outlets, not promote your book.

Publicity firms can give you more attention, but they are expensive. You should expect to pay between $5,000 and $10,000 per month. And they cannot work miracles. You’re likely to find that even professionals have a hard time rising above the flood of books swamping media inboxes each month. To put the maximum effort into publicizing your book, you will need to wade into publicizing yourself in tandem with that of your publisher or hired PR firm.

Now, that may sound quixotic. How can you have any effect when you are new to the field and don’t have a contact list full of media stars? Well, you’re probably not going to get yourself booked on Today or reviewed in the Washington Post right out of the gate. There is simply too much competition. Steve Levingston, the Post’s longtime non-fiction book editor, has just half a dozen book review slots a week and estimates that he gets 100 pitches a day from authors and publicists seeking reviews. But if you start at a realistic level—building a foundation among smaller media outfits, practicing your pitch, and building towards your ideal outlet—you might just do better than you expect.

Start by creating a press list that hits your target audience where they get their information

You almost certainly know your audience better than any publicist, and you have the clearest idea of where they get their media. Focus on those outlets. This will help you narrow down the number of options and find the outlets best suited to cover you. If you’re not sure, consider books that compete with yours: Where were they reviewed or otherwise covered? Find out the names of the editors or producers responsible for assigning or scheduling that coverage. Don’t limit yourself to just one platform, such as only print or only podcasts. The odds are that your audience gets its information on lots of different platforms. Explore them all.

Before pitching anyone in media, get to know them

Once you’ve identified the decision-maker you want to pitch, study their work. Do your best to understand what interests their audience and construct your pitch accordingly. In the introductory paragraph of your email, let them know that you appreciate their work and clearly explain how your book relates to their interests and/or beat and why it would be of interest to their readers or viewers.

Craft a pitch that helps you stand out

Remember that everyone in this communication chain is pressed for time, including you. So get to the point quickly. It helps to create a core pitch that you can customize for each different outlet but that you don’t have to recreate each time.

Before you put a finger to your keyboard, ask yourself the following questions:

What might inspire this journalist?
What makes my book or message topical?
How do I stand apart?
What problem do I or my book solve?
What do I want to happen after I send this email?

Open your email by explaining why you’re reaching out and letting your contact know that you follow their work and understand their audience. But keep it short. Then, offer a brief overview of your book, emphasizing why it’s especially newsworthy and why it holds special meaning for your contact’s audience and your contact in particular (if you can).

Be sure to give reasons why you, as an author, are worth paying attention to. The reasons could include your professional credentials, past press you’ve received, the size of your social media following, the endorsements your book has received, or any combination of the above.

Close with an ask that

a) they are likely to be able to grant and

b) helps them do their job.

At my former shop at Fast Company, for example, one editor was responsible for assigning stories relating to design, another for content related to social impact, and yet another managed non-journalist authors who contributed articles under their own byline. All three of them are barraged by publicists seeking attention. You’ll have a much better chance of being heard over the noise if you pitch your book on design thinking to Design Editor Suzanne LaBarre rather than to Social Impact Editor Morgan Clendaniel or to Editor-in-Chief Brendan Vaughan. Even if they don’t take you up on your pitch, they will appreciate that you took the time to avoid wasting theirs.

Follow up regularly, but not too regularly

Wait at least a week, if not two, before following up on any email you send. Be aware that it’s not unusual for a journalist to take several days or weeks to respond and, in many cases, not to respond at all. Don’t be discouraged. Instead, be thoughtful and professional when following up—try waiting until you have an update or new information to share with the journalist.

If you’ve followed up with someone a few times without a response, it’s time to move on to the next opportunity. You can always return to this same contact later if you have any game-changing developments to share.

Accept graciously when someone declines to work with you. You have everything to gain by keeping the relationship positive. For example, you can bounce back by pitching yourself as a subject-matter expert who can give commentary on a specific topic on the journalists’ beat. That kind of mention gets your name in print and gives you the chance to request your book and the purchase link included in the article. In many publications, you can propose contributing a column. Online publications are particularly fond of listicles—for example, “5 Ways to Engage Remote Employees” or “Top 10 Pieces of Advice for New Bosses.”

Consider offering giveaways, especially to radio, podcasts, and influencers. Giveaways garner interest in your book and have the added value of generating possible consumer reviews if the readers post on Goodreads or Amazon.

Play the long game.

Think of media coverage and the pitching process like pyramids. You need a strong, wide foundation in order to effectively build up to one great point at the very top. Start by pitching smaller outlets that make sense for your target audience. Outlets like local newspapers and niche podcasts can be great for this purpose. They can help establish you as a credible source of content and provide some social proof to journalists up the food chain. Plus, it allows you to practice being interviewed about your book with relatively low stakes.

Once you feel you’ve built a sufficient foundation, transition into midsized media, like regional newspapers, local TV programs, and other reputable outlets that stop short of being household names. After checking that box, you’re ready to go after the most competitive outlets, like major newspapers, popular podcasts, and primetime news programs.

Finally, remember that there are many ways, besides sales, to define your book’s success. The act of writing was no doubt a powerful way to crystallize the ideas you wanted to bring to light, and your book now serves as persuasive confirmation that you have something of value to say. But a book is likely to be just one element in a thought leadership portfolio that includes speaking, consulting, and board memberships. Maintaining a healthy relationship with the media can help on all those fronts.

In other words, remember that you are pitching the media, not just your book. You are also pitching yourself. So take the time to learn what makes each journalist or media outlook tick, and do your best to be helpful to them—as you would any client. Be courteous, persistent, empathetic, and, above all, patient, and you’ll see results.

Eric Schurenberg is Amplify Publishing Group’s editor-in-chief and a media executive, award-winning journalist, and the former CEO of Mansueto Ventures, the owner of Inc. and Fast Company media properties.

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