More Book Billboard Action

As noted in a posting some time back, one of the things that helped the Crosley book make it to the bestseller lists was advertising. In addition to advertising on radio and television, a lot of billboards advertising the book were put up in the Cincinnati area.

One is back--a big one on I-75 South, just as you cross the Ohio River from Cincinnati. You can see it here. The bottom lists the national bestseller lists the book has made.

Can this do the same for other books? Possibly. Would Crosley have sold as well without the billboards? Nearly. My own work in publicizing the book--both regionally and nationally--was a critical factor in its success. As with several of my earlier books (including one that sold 192,000 copies), I am promoting the book in several ways.

How? Captializing on Crosley's regional appeal, I've done radio and television appearances, as well as newspaper interviews. And I'm writing original articles (not excerpts) for general- and special-interest magazines. The articles I write serve as a sample of the book's content, and serve to draw readers to the book. They're attractive to editors, too, because each contains information that's not in the book, and each is written for a specific audience. I turn these out quickly, and I get paid for them, so everyone wins. I also make contacts--with trade journals, newspapers, and other publications that are located in cities tied to the book, or which have to do with themes in the book (radio broadcasting, aviation, etc.) These contacts often turn into reviews, or even features about the book's content that whet readers' appetites for more. And a few yield writing assignments. I also speak before groups (which pays well) such as historical societies and get in other kinds of promotion as I can.

These techniques are best used with non-fiction books, but most can be adapted to novels.
--Mike
http://www.michaelabanks.com