If you’re doing PR for a new book, here’s a great idea you can borrow, courtesy of Dorothy Molstad, marketing manager for MBI Publishing Company in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Create a fun contest for the media, including ezine publishers and bloggers. That’s what she did to promote their book “Green Bay Packers: The Complete Illustrated History” by Don Gulbrandsen. It hits bookstores August 15.
Knowing I’m a Packers fan, she asked permission to send me the book. It arrived with a hand-written note that said:
“I’ll bet you’ll find many Packer fans read your newsletter if you print something about the book. I’ll send a copy to the most distant fan who responds.”
If you’re a Packers fan in a distant land, email Dorothy at dmolstad @ mbipublishing.com and tell her how many miles you live from me at 3434 County KK, Port Washington, Wisconsin.
The coffee table book sells for $29.95 and includes some interesting photos from yesteryear.
You can use publicity ideas like this one not only for new titles, but for books that have been on the market for several months, particularly when sales flatten. Publicist Lissa Warren says that’s what happens with most titles. But too many authors, she says, give up after less than a year. She was my guest during a teleseminar I conducted called “How to Revive a Dying Book Marketing Campaign.”
