It’s no secret that word travels fast these days. The only problem is, not everyone knows how to get the word going in the first place! As an author, reaching a huge audience may not be your primary goal; instead, you may want to aim for a smaller audience first. This can allow you to advertise via word of mouth (for free!), gives fans an opportunity to stay updated on your new releases more closely, or could allow you to simply start slowly before really delving into the business. One of the simplest ways to do all of this is to contact local newspapers and provide them with information on your latest work via a press release.
Things can get a little tricky when it comes to creating press releases, so many people will hire another person to create some for them. Here are some quick tips on how to create a simple, short press release yourself:
- Keep it short! Press releases are not entire newspaper articles. Only provide the basic information: who, what, when, where…
- Have a book signing or reading coming up? Mention it! Give the location, time, and name of the place so that the locals can have the opportunity to support you.
- Make sure you have your contact information featured somewhere on the page. Include your name, email address, phone number, and perhaps your social media handles if you have them. The newspaper may use these to contact you with more questions.
- Have other published works? Include a brief list of some other pieces you have published, as well as where they were featured.
These are just a few ways that you can use press releases to promote yourself at a local level. That way, news can spread about your work! Just remember not to get discouraged in the event that the paper does not run your release; the editors may get a lot of queries like this, so it doesn’t mean that they don’t like your work! Another idea would be to search for bloggers that write about books or about the topic your particular work is on and send the release to them!