QUESTION:
I have written The Las Vegas Showgirl Diet, and I need suggestions as to the best way to market it. I’ve sent out press kits and established a website. What’s the best way to locate individuals looking to lose weight? – Annoula Wylderich
ANSWER:
Obesity is at epidemic levels right now in the United States, so I don’t think you’ll have trouble finding people who want to lose weight. It’s just a matter of cutting through the noise. There are a million and one diet books on the market.
Here are a few ideas that might help…
1) Set up a “sexy” blog with a hook, which shouldn’t be hard considering the title of your book. Pictures are worth a thousand words, and videos are worth a million. Try something different. Make it visual.
2) Get some Hollywood starlets using your book. Give copies away to all the stars. Get one or more of them to endorse it.
3) Throw a party for the press complete with 21 of your friends, all of whom are Las Vegas showgirls. I bet that almost every male journalist and blogger will show up.
4) Try getting on the talk show circuit. Maybe your Vegas showgirl party can do the trick. Make sure to invite the talk show talent scouts and agents.
5) You need a good PR person, who can hype up your book, content and parties.
6) Get your showgirl friends together and go on a promotional road trip. Have someone working PR in advance and lining up radio, local TV and newspaper interviews. Book nights at local hotspots, where you put on a show and sell books. Share the profits with your showgirl friends.
7) Don’t forget social media sites, like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc. It’s true there’s competition for attention, but the barriers to entry are low. Put up a Facebook fan page. Tweet about all your exploits and adventures.
8) Get your friends to review it on Amazon.
9) Lastly go to sites like Author Advantage and Writer Services. They also provide a number of useful tips for writers.
10) In short, make yourself and your showgirl friends the brand and market them along with your book. I think the combination is a winner.
Good luck with this adventure. I hope these ideas help!
Wow, thank you all for your helpful suggestions. You've given me some great ideas and I will incorporate them into my current marketing efforts. I do have a Facebook site under my name where I include the book and website.
A good place to start would be the easy social media sites (ie Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc.) It's true there's competition for attention, but the barriers to entry are low- basically on these sites it comes down to whoever can spend the most time finding, and interacting with the target audience. These plus a well kept blog will get the ball rolling- from their you'll find that rather having to send out press releases, you'll start getting people contacting you asking you to write an article, do a book signing, etc.
Best of luck! (And great idea!)
If you want some help feel free to check out our services at http://www.momentumatmixtape.org
Get it on Amazon.com and Lulu.com to start with.
Then check out the blog Author Advantage:
http://www.authoradvantagemag.com/
Lastly, go to WriterServices.com
http://www.writersservices.com/wps/s3_press_cov…
Lots of good info on that site!
Wow, cool idea for a book. Very sexy title. I think you're halfway there. You need a good PR person, who can hype up your book and content. Check out this article on Founders Space about find the right PR person:
https://www.foundersspace.com/marketing-pr/whats…