Home Sweet Home: How Local Media Can Jumpstart Your Publicity

July 2nd, 2009 Uncategorized by Editorial Team with 2 Comments

By Abigail Davidson

America was built on small towns. Some grew up into cities and some kept their hometown look and feel. Regardless, there is camaraderie among people in your hometown.

Local publicity is a great way to help a first-time author get your “feet wet” in a more comfortable arena. WinePress understands this vital area of promotion and offers the Hometown Promotions package to our authors.

Here are 5 ways to guarantee a warm welcome from your hometown media:

1. Be involved in your community

Rotary, sponsoring local events, Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts, school boards, PTA, libraries, food banks, etc. are great ways to prove your commitment to your home town. The more people see your involvement, the more they will trust you and want to support your work.

2. Offer something in return

When you plan a book signing, make it an event that appeals to locals. Give away local chocolate, postcards, or coupons to local businesses with the purchase of your book. If appropriate, schedule a reading of your book and share a brief story of growing up in your hometown.

3. Connect personally

Word-of-mouth is one of the greatest forms of publicity so make sure to get connected! Don’t just Twitter – meet people face-to-face. Make sure you talk about your book, even while it’s still in production.

Drop by local boutiques, bookstores, coffee shops, salons, (even City Hall!) – anywhere you can share about your book in a casual setting.
Don’t be afraid to plan ahead – offer your book as a “gift” to sell in local shops once it’s released.

4. Be proud of your hometown

Wear it on a t-shirt or a hat; promote your hometown!

5. Be confident of your message

There’s a big difference between confidence and conceit. Confidence is a quality of role models. When we see someone who steps out to do something great, it shows confidence in themselves and their ability. Writing a book is not a small matter. You’ve worked hard; you should be confident. Make sure you act that way.

Abigail Davidson has worked with WinePress Publishing since February of 2005, promoting WinePress authors through radio, television, print and Internet.

She also works closely with other WinePress staff on advertising and marketing to help WinePress authors build a publicity campaign that makes sense for their unique needs.

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Editorial Team

The editorial team for WinePress of Words includes Carla Williams (Editor in Chief), Laura Christianson (Managing Editor), Josiah Williams (Creative Director), and Thomas McGee (Design and Development).

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2 Responses

1. Martha Axmann says:

   November 13, 2009 at 5:37 pm

   Abigail,
   Thank you for your suggestions. To do a book signing, do I just ask the local book store if they will allow me to do this and do they do the publicity about it or do I have to do that?
   Also please tell me more about the blog in my name and how I put something on it.
   Thanks,
   Martha Axmann
   She Won the Race

   Reply
   • laura says:

     November 16, 2009 at 4:35 pm

     Martha,

     Contact the Community Relations Manager at your local bookstore and ask about their guidelines for author signings. Some of the chain stores do their own publicity, but many bookstores will ask you to handle the publicity for your signing. Most bookstores allocate a very small portion of their budget towards author book signings; it’s a good idea to inquire about their policies, and volunteer to do whatever you can to make the signing a success.

     If you volunteer to teach a little workshop in conjunction with your book’s topic, for instance, that has the potential to draw more people in than just a signing.

     Reply