Book marketing or book publicity: what is more effective?

Marketing is a guaranteed way of getting the publisher or author’s message out there (the message being “buy this book” in its many iterations), but that guarantee requires an investment. Marketing can get very expensive, especially when trial and error are involved (and that is almost always the case.)

If your publisher pays for a banner at BookExpo or an ad in Publishers Weekly or a local outlet or sets up an ad campaign on Facebook, Amazon, Bookbub, or any of the hundreds of book marketing websites out there, it’s all to provide visibility for the book in hopes of a sale.

Those all provide visibility but not credibility since they come from someone with a vested interest in the book’s success. Still, they’re necessary, since you know what happens when no one knows about a book: no sales, which makes it harder to sell your next book.

Marketing has a shorter term effect, its goal is to drive measurable results (sales) within a given period, and the results will depend on your in-house marketing team’s (and/or your own) skills. Ads always fall under marketing.

When done well, marketing leads to increased book sales that can be tracked, but since readers are bombarded with ads all day, any successful book ad really needs to stand out. So, perfectly written copy and show-stopping graphics are a must.

Don’t hesitate to ask your publisher about their marketing strategy and budget for your book, as well as who will be in charge of it. They will tell you. But know that not all presses have a budget or even a dedicated staff member for marketing. Some outsource it, some have a person doing marketing, PR, cover design, social media, and a ton of other jobs in one… You can also gauge this by what they’ve done for similar books, as well as from your advance and your cover.

The size of your advance is a good indicator of your book’s marketing budget since your publisher’s goal is to recoup their investment manyfold. Books with massive advances get the bulk of a publisher’s marketing budget. (Yes, this puts midlist authors at a disadvantage, which is another conversation…)

Your book’s cover design is also an indicator of marketing strategy. Is your publisher riding the wave of a trend or going for a more classic look? Do they see your book as evergreen or as a quick hit&fade? It affects the allocation of the marketing budget over time.

This is where we should mention pre-order campaigns, ads in seasonal or annual publications, etc. However, this primer is already getting long, so maybe next time.

Learn what makes readers click “buy,” keep up with your chosen platforms’ algorithms, study current trends, monitor your competition carefully, watch what your publisher does for your book and similar titles. And ask your publisher what they’d like you to do, then follow it. (Easier said than done? Yes. But a must.)

Publicity is what you DON’T pay for, so it provides both visibility AND credibility. Being interviewed or profiled in national or local TV, radio, papers, podcasts, your book being reviewed, excerpts being published, and so on are all results of publicity outreach.

The effects of publicity are much longer term than the effects of marketing tend to be. Publicity establishes you as an author. It is the reason why you know who So-And-So (insert any big-name author) is.

If an ad in a major paper costs $3,000 and it’s clearly an ad, but an interview costs $0 AND serves as proof that the author is interesting enough to interview, which one is more valuable? This is why getting publicity is harder/more competitive than marketing/advertising.

Your publicist will develop the press kit and other materials for your book, some pitches, but you’ll need to do a lot of the outreach yourself if you want to make sure your book reaches far and wide.

You can always ask your in-house publicist for a list of media they’ve contacted, study the list, and try to find similar, smaller outlets based on that. Send your list to the publicist to weigh in on. They’re happy to collaborate with proactive authors.

Your publisher’s in-house publicist will target major/first-tier outlets. You’ll need to work with her on reaching second-tier media and, in most cases, digital media outlets. Those are considered the author’s responsibility, just like pitching op-eds, companion pieces, etc.

Meeting more media pros, reading the press other authors in your genre receive and knowing who covers what, sending out timely and relevant pitches (in coordination with your publicist, so you don’t step on her toes!)

Neither is “better,” and both are necessary. As you see above, book publicity and book marketing are separate disciplines requiring different skill sets, and to make your book a breakout or even a success, you need to develop and then utilize both. Or hire a company to do it for you. (Plugging ourselves here…. As you know, we do both! Let your author friends know.)

If the pandemic has proved anything, it is that readers are eager to read books and also to connect with authors in as many ways as possible. They love reading author interviews, enjoy attending virtual events, and are shopping for audiobooks to listen to while undertaking DIY home improvement projects and whatnot… It’s a great time to be a writer and promote your book. You just need to know what you’re doing.