Liz Bemis and Darynda Jones: The Promotional Blitz
Wednesday, February 16, 2011 at 11:41AM Expert-In-Residence Week at Pitch U
Pitching Your Book to Readers (Book Promo Video) - post 2 of 3.
Note from Diane, Founder and Chief Pitch U Alchemist: Monday we took a look at the creation of a booktrailer video (pitching the book to the reader).
This next installment shows you how this video fits within the entire promotional campaign.
**POST YOUR QUESTIONS all week. This is your chance to get answers about an important aspect of book promotion.**
The Chain of Events Leading to Book Launch
#1 Win Award; Sell Book.
Darynda sold her book in August of 2009, just after the Romance Writers of America National Conference in Washington DC, where, not unsurprisingly, she won the Golden Heart Award for Best Paranormal Romance. FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT didn't come out until this month.
#2 Launch Author Website.
We launched her website (www.darynda.com) in Mid-September of 2010. It was about this time that the real work began.
#3 Advanced Buzz - Publisher.
St. Martin's began passing out Advance Reader Copies like they were candy at Indiebound, Goodreads & Authorbuzz.
They racked up phenomenal quotes and reviews from NYT Bestselling authors, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Amazon Vines, and others.
They secured co-op space (front of the store) at Barnes & Noble, Borders, Books-a-Million, etc.
#4 Shoot Video Footage.
The week before Thanksgiving, we shot footage for the video, and I worked on production in late November and early December.
#5 Launch Book Website.
In December, we launched the book site (www.firstgraveontheright.com), with everything you see there now, except the video and the audiobook.
#6 Advance Buzz - Author.
In January, the preview of the audiobook was released and posted to the book site and Darynda's author site.
Also in in January, Darynda began a blog tour to create advance buzz – and because this book is just so much fun to talk about!
That month, the February issue of Romantic Times came out, featuring Darynda on the cover.
The incredibly fabulous JR Ward, who gave Darynda a glorious review, made FIRST GRAVE the first pick of her new book club.
#7 Release Frenzy!
Then everything happened at once on Release Date: February 1, 2011:
· The book hit the shelves.
· The video was released & St Martin's Marketing department sent a newsletter with the video embedded.
· Darynda appeared on multiple blogs.
· A Google Content Network advertising campaign launched (targeting fans of paranormal fiction, JR Ward, Sherrilyn Kenon, Mary Janice Davidson, etc.)
· A Facebook advertising campaign launched (similar target market as Google Campaign)
Note: The advertising campaigns lasted only a few days. The key was to make the internet "All-Darynda-All-the-time" for a very short time, then let the word-of-mouth buzz do its part.
On Friday, we'll talk about the results from this campaign!
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Liz Bemis is the Founder and Creative Director of Bemis Promotions, a firm specializing in websites, print and multi-media materials, promotion, strategy & branding for authors.
Reader Comments (9)
In other words, you all went for an all-out shock wave of Darynda. Brilliant. It'll be interesting to read your post on Friday to see what the results were for the campaign.
My question is, how do industry professionals decide on which books get this full frontal promo, and which don't. Honestly, the premise of this book is AWESOME. It's definitely something new. Is this part of the reason it's been promo'd so well? Darynda, did you realize there was going to be this kind of push (not that an author would want it any different ) to get your title out there?
Thanks for the great info, and as before, I'm tired just imagining all the thought/work that went into this. What fun though!
Hi Candi!
I will say that I pretty much won the lottery when it comes to agents, editors, and publisher's backing and believing in this project. While I have no idea how many authors get this kind of treatment, I do know I am ridiculously grateful to have them in my corner, and that includes Liz Bemis. She is amazing. A nice, professional website means so much more than people realize. Foreign rights buyers were looking at it, scouts for those buyers, booksellers, etc. It's all part of the big picture, and Liz has created an amazing picture. She has worked closely with my publicists at St. Martin's Press to ensure the best launch outcome and has coordinated her efforts accordingly.
As for how they decide, I'd have to say someone in the house must be completely in love with your project and be willing to back it and fight for it tooth and nail. My editor has done just that. She is amazing and has ensured First Grave the very best promotional efforts out there. They even did t-shirts! It's all been so very cool. I think a unique idea and a well-told story are key, of course, but so much goes on behind the scenes with literally dozens and dozens of people involved. It's like an orchestra!
Just now found this from Twitter post! Looks fantastic so far--everything I need! I'm sure I'll be posting questions a little later!
This is terrific! A perfect 'how-to" of where to begin with book promotion and helps remind us that books are not born overnight. My background is in marketing and while I understand the basics, each audience has it's own approach. The whole package was really outlined here. Thanks so much for this resource!
Just thought of a question...how does an author go about finding someone to promote their book? Is it best (or realistic) to find a firm that is local or are most authors not even in the same city as the firm they choose to help with promotion? Thanks!
Candi,
I love that!:D
I think Darynda hit the nail on the head! It takes a special book which the Publisher really thinks will go big. In this case, Darynda has gotten the full treatment, and I've been extremely honored to be part of this.
PI - Thanks for stopping by!
Brenda, thanks for stopping by. Publishing has its own set of marketing rules, different than any other industry.
As to how to find someone: Talk to other writers whose videos/sites/etc you like. Find out who's happy and who's not. Interview potential promotions people/web developers/video producers/publicists carefully. Don't just ask What do you and how much do you charge, but also what's your process! Make sure you've had a phone conversation. You don't want to hire someone who you find difficult to work with on a personal level, no matter how brilliant they may be.
I don't think you necessarily need someone who's in your same city. Case in point, I'm based in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Darynda's in New Mexico. I think if you find someone who has the experience and expertise, and he or she is someone you feel comfortable working with, then you could work with someone halfway across the world. Between instant message, phone & email, you can easily keep the lines of communication open!
Hope that helps!
Liz,
Thanks so much for the follow-up and yes, it does help! I figured all of that but I'm glad to hear that word-of-mouth is still a good way to get connected and actually working via tele and online communicaitons is becoming more the norm. Definitely broadens the options!