Book PR and Marketing Questions Answered Part XVI: What’s on My Marketing Mind for 2024
By Ann Marie Nieves | February 12, 2024 |
I had Covid for Christmas. First time. I spent the holiday week quarantining in my basement and binge-watching The Morning Show. I was pissed. My husband was overwhelmed. Our kids were sad. Our hound watched over me figuring something was very wrong if we weren’t going out for our daily two-mile walk. January couldn’t come soon enough.
January 2024 has been the most meaningful month I’ve experienced in some time. Don’t get me wrong, Covid has left me with lingering headaches, brain fog (I write down everything and say it out loud), and an almost desperate need to drink Diet Coke at 3pm daily (not a custom habit for me). Ironically, Covid also gave me a chance to reset after an obnoxiously busy autumn.
So here’s what’s on my mind for 2024.
Consider your asks (I’m saying this nicely)
Many of you likely heard the news about author J.D. Barker’s booktok campaign to get influencers – mostly young females – to cover their private parts with his new book. There were other sexually charged asks, but this is the gist. As a publicist whose client came forward about Bill Cosby, I don’t take this behavior lightly.
Are marketers, publicists, and authors getting so desperate for a leg up that we’re pushing out predatory campaigns that objectify the very people who breathe life into our book community?
Shout-out to the influencers who came forward about this and publicly shamed this author and his campaign. Continue to lift our community as you do.
When I worked for PR firms in my twenties and early thirties, no campaign was implemented without the heads and the clients signing off. Our pitches were vetted and vetted again. Our bosses sometimes stood over our shoulders as we smiled and dialed to hear what we were selling to the media. As anxiety-inducing as those days were, I’m thankful for those lessons of strategy, preparation, control, and protection.
When they go low, we go high
I like Goodreads for what it could be. And thank goodness the company is finally addressing its review-bombing issue. We also need to address our behaviors on platforms like Goodreads. Aspiring writer Cait Corrain upended her career after she admitted to writing fake reviews that praised her forthcoming novel and blasted fellow authors in her genre. Please remember there is power in your review. And please remember that bullies never win.
How do you measure success?
Greer Macallister said the following in her recent WU post, “Whatever stage of your publishing career you’re in and whatever path you’re taking, I urge you to figure out your own definition of success.”
I think of standing still quotes… be afraid of standing still…if you’re not moving, you’re standing still.
One of the things I’ve experienced with clients in the past is this belief that they should get the same press, retailer promotions, signings, book clubs for every single book.
But the story is not the same. The month or year is different. The landscape has changed. Not only do you need to figure out your definition of success, but you also need to get comfortable with the fact that the definition should change.
Be a student
There are many ways to move forward. When you determine that direction, be prepared.
Sphere of control
I once had a client who believed she did my job better than me. It wasn’t just my job though-it was the job of the designer, editor, digital marketer, bookstore owner. When I realized we weren’t a team, that my counsel wasn’t heard, and that any work performed wasn’t noticed or credited, I knew deep down that this would be our last book together… I just had to accept it. I never had control and influence. And in trying to be everything and everyone, neither did my client.
“The only way out is through”
From Robert Frost’s poem “A Servant to Servants”. It’s easier said than done, but there is power in respecting those obstacles.
Think Like a Girl Scout
It’s Girl Scout cookie time and these mini-marketing mavens are our hustling in towns across America. I mean, who doesn’t love a Thin Mint? I’ll be honest, I buy about 30 boxes of Girl Scout cookies each year, mostly because I cannot say no to to the mini-marketers. They just thrill me with their sales skills. Yesterday, my daughter Arden came out of dance class and handed me a tiny slip of paper with nothing but a headline – Ruby’s Girl Scout Cookies! – and a QR code.
Be like Ruby.
The year of the newsletter
The SKM Report (by theSkimm’) declared 2024 the year of the newsletter. Read about it on LinkedIn.
How are you moving forward in 2024?
Ann-Marie Nieves (she/her) is the founder of Get Red PR, and an award-winning communicator with experience across a broad range of industries in both the business-to-consumer and business-to-business sectors. She has experience within all communications platforms including public relations, advertising, marketing, copywriting, website development, community relations, and social media.
I love everything you’ve said here, Ann Marie. There’s a lot of ick out there in the ecosystem and I’ve found myself cringing at times. Selling has never been a natural thing for me but I’ve become a student of the art now because I know I have to, and learning what not to do is instructive. The Girl Scouts seem to know that if you have a good product and you ask nicely, folks will buy it. I’m thinking Thin Mints.
I’m with you on Thin Mints.
So true, Ann-Marie. Thanks for reminding us about the basics of PR. I once fired a client who demanded I lie to the media. I yei! Thanks again! Debra
That could be dangerous…
♥️♥️♥️ This post!
Miss you!
Good reminders esp how to define success and that it can be in flux. On hard days it is good reminder to refocus myself on that.
A very dear client used to say – go get a glass of water. When you’re frustrated, jealous, not sure of what to do next – go get a glass of water. It won’t hurt – you’ll hydrate, get those steps in and hopefully, prepared to handle whatever hardship with a clearer brain and heart.
One of my goals this year is to wait 24-48 hours before signing up for anything I don’t know about, and limit a site to include maybe only one or two new ones this year. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve made an impulsive decision, and then discover months later, I never even started, and what’s more, I probably never will. There is always that FOMA thing that goes on. I constantly have to remind myself there is no magic bullet. Heck, just look at our society these days. There is not one way that works for everyone the same way every time. I guess we have to earn enough to pay for my mistakes, and hope that our wins are enough to live on–and to save some of it! Great post and a good reminder for me today!
Sharon – I’m going to follow your lead and wait 24-48 hours before signing up for anything. Thank you!
Ann-Marie…thanks. I write what I feel is good literature. I read what I feel from reviews and knowing authors SHOULD BE READ. I Honesty of self has always been my goal. If someone doesn’t see that, through what I write, who I follow, what I post…then they don’t see me.
Keep up the good work, Elizabeth!