Book PR and Marketing Questions Answered Part XVIII: Show Up
By Ann Marie Nieves | June 10, 2024 |
At Orange Theory Fitness (OTF), where I torture and nurture myself each week, the trainers like to say, “How are you going to show up for yourself today?” Entering the OTF building, walking up the two extremely long flights of stairs, and starting each block of torture exercise, is me showing up for myself. This is my time to sweat, set free the to-do lists forever running through my head, and pretend like I’m a thin, athletic goddess. No phones, laptops, husband, hound, or children. And for the rest of the day, I am a better me.
A few weeks ago, I attended a celebration of life ceremony for a long-time client, Sharon Rowe, the fearless founder of Eco-Bags Products, the first reusable bag company. One of Sharon’s friends talked about the various sayings she lived by, which were chronicled in her book The Magic of Tiny Business. SHOW UP was one of Sharon’s tenets in business and in her personal life. Having worked with Sharon since 2006 or so, I saw her show up time and time again. She asked questions, responded quickly, worked hard towards goals, stated her case, recognized and celebrated achievements, boosted the morale of those around her, joined organizations, gave to charities, mentored, continuously encouraged women in business, counseled entrepreneurs, and understood the importance of pleasure, family time, community, and planet.
So what does this have to do with PR and marketing? Well, everything.
- Show up for your writing community.
- Show up for your craft.
- Show up and listen to those with critique and counsel.
- Show up for your readers.
- Show up for debut authors.
- Show up for the authors who are struggling.
- Show up for the newbies trying to break into the book world.
- Show up at the events.
- Show up for your publisher.
- Show up for your PR and marketing team.
- Show up for your social media platforms.
- Show up for the media who write about books and your particular expertise and those who want to interview you.
- Show up for book influencers.
- Show up for bookstores.
- Show up for your public self.
- Show up for your private self.
- Show up for your hobbies and passions.
- Show up for your family and friends.
Every time we show up, we feed our creativity, boost morale, gain insight, increase our visibility in the industry, and build community.
When Sharon hired the marketing firm I freelanced for in the early aughts, her goal was to be on The Oprah Winfrey Show, despite never having seen it. What working woman with children watches daytime TV, she asked. (That’s for another post. ) You, we collectively told her. You’re the working woman who will watch this Oprah show, so you understand what it is you want. Well, she showed up…ECOBAGS® were given away to the audience of Oprah’s first Earth Day show, forever solidifying Eco-Bags Products in the zeitgeist. It was a moment so many showed up for and continue to do, carrying those bags to the market each day.
Who or what are you showing up for?
Got PR and marketing questions, drop them in the comments.
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 this post on showing up! That’s where the magic happens. Thank you. Requiescat in pace, Sharon Rowe.
Thanks, Sharon. I know you are right. I wish I was less of an introvert. It seems the older I get, the less energy I have for marketing.
Nancy, I’m an introvert too. We have to take extra good care of ourselves after exerting all that effort towards marketing, but that downtown feels so much better.
Thanks, Vijaya.
Showing up here to say thank you, Ann Marie. Those are two very powerful words.
Thanks, Susan!
I just shared your post with my fellow authors in a small publishing house. Thank you for reinforcing this extremely important principle.
Carol – thank you so much! Really appreciate it.
Powerful wisdom here, Ann-Marie. Thank you!
Love this reminder. It’s actually quite simple, isn’t it, and you don’t have to be an extrovert — I’m not. Last week, Mr. Right and I went to two art openings — one for an artist who’s a dear friend, and one to support our town’s newly revived First Friday Art Walk. At both, we cheered friends and learned details about the process of media we know nothing about. And at both, we unexpectedly met readers of mine who had just bought books and were thrilled to meet me, leaving all of us smiling. I also met a woman opening a new maker space in a barn outside town who invited me to her open house — I went, even though I hadn’t finished the day’s chapter, and formed a new connection. All nice, easy interactions, though I deliberately I didn’t see anyone except Mr. Right and the cat and the garden the rest of the weekend! But my own work and my mood got a boost. Showing up, whether for others or ourselves, is the gift that keeps on giving.
Leslie, I’m smiling big! What a lovely weekend you had. You totally get it.
I’m surprised at this article. The title leads the viewer to think — ah, this will contain intel on how to frame words for a PR campaign for the book. Where to use that PR. Which media to use. How to apply key phrases from the manuscript to attract attention. Oddly, you answer none of those questions. The Show up list is very superficial. Why not talk of the details that are needed?
Tom Pope
Self publisher/Fiction Coach
This is a series. Those points are covered elsewhere in the series.
Thanks, Julia!
@Tom Pope – The search function to find previous PR and marketing articles on the Writer Unboxed site is very useful. Do try it! Hopefully, you’ll learn something useful.
Thanks, @Ann-Marie! Just today I was thinking about how tired I was of reading pr-folk/agents/editors….writing about all the things that ‘don’t’ work. I love your positive holistic wisdom.