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Jill Lublin: Publicity Strategies for Authors · The Daily Writer

• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: Jill, thanks so much for taking time out to be on the Daily Writer Podcast.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate this, and I'm excited about what we're going to be talking about today.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: I'm delighted to be here.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_01: So, this is a conversation about publicity for authors, but I think it might be helpful to start with the basics.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_01: And this is going to seem like a very baseline question, but what is publicity exactly and why do authors need it?
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: Well, here's the thing: every author needs publicity because the truth is, without it, nobody's going to know about your book.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: Nobody's going to know about your subject matter.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: And frankly, to me, it's beyond can just the book.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's also about people knowing your subject, getting them familiar with you, and creating what I like to refer to as the I've heard of you somewhere syndrome.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: That's really important.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_01: So, what happens to authors who who don't have publicity?
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, of course, we know that they don't get the referrals, they don't get the audience, they don't get the book sales they need, but are there some other consequences that would come from not really having good publicity?
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Number one, how about no book sales?
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: How about nobody knows about you?
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: How about the fact that um, you know, how are they going to connect to you?
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: Like, listen, I had a woman uh uh do a an interview, a podcast interview, and sold 43 books in 15 minutes.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Now that's what I'm talking about, right?
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_01: Love it.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: Isn't that great?
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: And without publicity, how can people say yes to you, connect to you, and frankly do good, do business with you?
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: So, what is it about?
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: Here's what I come across with a lot of times creative types, authors, introverts, and I know that's that's three different groups, but I'm kind of lumping them all in the same category.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: With introverted authors, of which a lot of people listening to this show are more introverted.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: Why do sometimes introverts have such a hard time with publicity and with putting themselves out there?
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: So, so a couple things.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, here's what I know about working with many introverts over the years.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: I I teach a virtual publicity course, and guess what?
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: People have been introverted who've been attracted to work with me.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the things I find when you're introverted, if you have a message that you know that you can say, that you can speak and relate to, um, what happens is your confidence goes up a lot.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: And that is a beautiful thing, right?
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: Have your confidence go up and and be connected to your message in a way that's powerful and simple makes a big difference.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and that confidence is such a key factor in, of course, not just your relationships, but it confidence in writing the next book and doing bigger and better things.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: So there's so many great things that confidence can bring us.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Well, confidence can bring you sales, confidence can bring you prospects, confidence can bring you people who feel connected to your message because, well, frankly, your message matters to them because they understand that your message is a powerful one.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm really big on your message matters.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: And no matter if you have confidence or you feel introverted, what I've seen is that when your message is focused and consistent, that then people connect to you so much better.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: And it makes such a big difference.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: How does a writer know if their message is not consistent or focused?
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: So um, a couple things.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: You will find yourself stumbling, you will find people ask you questions and you don't quite know the answers.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: You will find that you will start feeling like um and I'm umming and an awing, um, um, um, uh, uh, uh, to questions that people might be asking you.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: And that's how you know.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: That's that's great.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_01: Because I wonder if there are a little, I wonder if there are a lot of writers out there who are trying to put a message out there, but they're not getting the results that they want, but they don't really know that their message is not focused or that it's maybe they don't have the self-awareness, you know.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes, and I think I've certainly been in that that situation before where I'm going three or four different directions.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_01: I have people are kind of confused about what is it that you do, what are you about, and so forth.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: So is there a good way that a self-aware writer can look around and maybe see, hey, I'm not getting the results, maybe I need to have a more clear message.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: I guess that's really kind of at the heart of it, isn't it?
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: It's this self-awareness and desire to improve and to want to take what you're doing to a higher level.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I think listen, if you wrote a book, if you want to get yourself out there, um, the truth is you can write a book and can sit there, or you can create a message and have impact and make it matter and have people care about it.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: And guess what?
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: The way to do that is to get publicity, is to create that visibility factor so that people, as I like to say, then people are talking about you and what a difference that makes.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_01: What would you say are the most effective ways that an author can get publicity?
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_01: And I know that's a huge loaded question, but since you're the expert in this area, I'm sure there are some simple and very doable ways that that authors can start to get better publicity.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: So a couple things.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, number one, create, let's start it with the message, but a message, not like, oh, my book's out.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like my fourth book, The Prophet of Kindness.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: When it came out, um, I got a ton of press.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, Inc.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: magazine, Forbes.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: I've got literally seven Fox News interviews in the first eight days.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: And that happened not because the I had a new book out, but because I I like to call it push the right button.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it's really important that you push the right button.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: And that part of that is to find the message that matters.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: And the way to do that, the way to do that is to create a message that's focused on the power of what it is you want to communicate, not the book.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: So with the Prophet of Kindness, my message was we have a divided states of America.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: That was the message.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_01: So is there a sense in which sometimes we put the focus on the wrong thing because we think that the book is actually the thing when the book is just a vehicle for the thing and the the thing being the message?
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's a good way to put it.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's not just the book.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's the it's a bigger, um, it's a bigger question about what is it that people care about?
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: So I know y'all care about your books.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: Listen, I care about all four of my books.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: They're my babies, right?
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: And and the question is, what's the larger message and why should people care?
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and that is a great.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_01: I think that I'm I'm having four or five different thoughts here at the same time because this is such a helpful conversation.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: So, what I see many times is that writers tend to think, you know, again, the book is the thing, but the book is not the thing, it is a vehicle for something else.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_01: So, really, when we're writing a book, if it's a nonfiction book, we have to think about solving a problem, correct?
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_01: We have to really think about what that reader wants, what is our message, and how does our message benefit somebody else?
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: Because they really don't, our reader doesn't really care that we have a book out, they care that we can help them solve a problem.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: Would you say that's a fair way of saying that?
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: I like that.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: I like that.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I think that's a good way to say it.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: I, you know, I think that writers sometimes and authors get wrapped up in in um so much of the I'll call it technical details.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: Gotta get the book out, gotta forget.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: So this is a point I really want you all to hear.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: You need to start your publicity before the book is out.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: We started publicity for both Prophet of Kindness and my third edition of Gorilla Publicity almost a year ago.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: Why?
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: Because then we had some time.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: Then we had some time, and that made a big difference.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_01: What are some of the mistakes that that writers tend to make the most when it comes to publicity?
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, a couple things.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: You stay too focused on I wrote the book, I wrote the book, and not your message.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: You're not doing it early enough, like I just said.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I really want you to think about a three-month, six-month, and nine-month plan.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: That makes a huge difference.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: And um uh that you think the focus that the that we have the wrong focus, which to me translates to message.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: So true.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: That is so true.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: What can you tell us about visual materials that represent our brand?
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_01: So, right before I started recording on this, you mentioned I probably should get a new headshot.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: So that's one element of it.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, in fact, let's focus on that for just a minute.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: What are some things that we should keep in mind when we're getting a a new or an updated headshot for our website, for our book jackets, or any of those kinds of things?
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: Hmm.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: So um uh number one, you need a headshot that's less than a year old.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you need, if you can, put some good quotes on the back.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that's really important.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: And um I think that uh that what's really focused is is make sure that your backjacket gives people what it is they really want and what they need to know.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_01: That is that is really, really helpful because a lot of times on on the back cover of books, it'll kind of ramble on, but it's not really addressing a key need that you have.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_01: So so, in other words, we should maybe have copywriters help with this.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so well, you don't necessarily need a big fancy copywriter, but definitely good copy that focuses people on main points that they're gonna get if they read your book.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: Because when people pick up a book, what I've noticed is that they will look at the front cover, the back cover, they'll look at the table of contents, and then they buy the book.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, that's that's quick decisions that they make, and that's the easy part.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: So, what kind of things should we be looking for in a headshot?
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_01: Should we have so here's what I see on LinkedIn sometimes?
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, there's everybody has a headshot on LinkedIn.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_01: I see basically two kinds of headshots.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_01: One is that's kind of a posed thing, looks like it has kind of a traditional background, like a gray background or something.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_01: Then I see others that are kind of outside sometimes or things like that.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_01: You know, as we're talking to potential photographers, well, well, I guess first of all, should we hire a photographer to do this?
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so you know, yes.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I have to tell you, people, you know, put their outdoor pictures on or some, you know, not so good, not so good.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: So I I I really think um you gotta have a good photo, you know, pay for it, my friends.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: There are just some things that you gotta pay for and make uh make the commitment to.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that'll that'll make a that'll make a big difference.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_01: How much would you say what what is a good amount that we should budget for a good headshot?
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, anywhere between, I mean, depending on where you live in the world, um, 250 to 750, but I probably wouldn't pay more than 500.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: And so that would include everything um like the photographer's time, you know, the obviously having the digital rights to the photo and all that kind of stuff.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, absolutely.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_01: So would you recommend this is probably going to be a dumb question because I don't know anything about photography, but should we let the photographer decide where the location should be, or should we kind of think of locations and say, I want to have a picture taken at this location or this location?
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: I'm totally speaking out of ignorance here.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, usually a photographer has a studio.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: Now, obviously, in these days it's a little bit different.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but you know, I I know a photographer who's doing drive-by or socially distance photo shoots.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, interesting.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but you you know, mostly you need a close-up.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_01: That totally makes sense.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_01: And we should just have one headshot that we use across all social media platforms and a website, correct?
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_01: To make it consistent?
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, have one website, yes.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, that makes a big difference.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_01: That does that makes a lot of sense.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_01: What if someone wants to, let's say, uh aspire to get on Fox News, if they have a book and they you know they see the things that people like you are doing?
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_01: How what is the route to getting that level of publicity?
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, do you have to have a certain size reach?
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_01: Do you have to have certain connections at networks or TV stations?
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: How does that work when you're talking about kind of large media appearances?
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: So a couple different things.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so uh number one, I mean, I've been helping people get publicity for years, but done the easy way based on gorilla publicity, my book.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: And that is one of the great things to do is follow reporters.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: Look at producers of major shows, let's see what they're doing and um and you know how they're doing it, and connect so that you consistently get your word out there.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that makes just a huge difference and and the kind of thing that um others will connect to you about.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_01: So in the beginning, when we don't have that many followers or perhaps our audience is not that big, we shouldn't get discouraged, but just keep plugging away, keep putting stuff out there, keep making connections, basically just taking all the small steps that we need instead of assuming that we're gonna have this big massive audience or that we're gonna be on NBC, you know, two weeks from tonight or something like that.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_01: Is that kind of the way that this works?
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, it is.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, as much as I'd love to tell you all that, you know, tomorrow, listen, you could be on uh major shows in your not only in your city, but uh nationwide.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: If something breaks that's relevant to your topic, listen, I have a woman who wrote a book on dating.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: She all of a sudden, one day she spent, because my specific advice to her about, hey, I want you to become a dating expert on can a Democrat date a Republican and a Republican date a Democrat?
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_00: And she ended up doing one full day of live Fox News interviews, city after city, because she changed her topic to be relevant to what works for the market, which was the elections.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: Had she just gone, oh, I'm a dating coach, I wrote a book on dating, believe me, nobody would have noticed, but they noticed because she had the right message for the market, and she shifted it, made a huge difference.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, that's genius.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_01: So, how did you get how did you get interested in in publicity?
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_01: I'm curious about your journey into this into this field.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: So, um, you know, a couple things.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: I actually went to law school, and in law school, um, it was just not for me.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: I have a very creative mind, uh, which makes me great at what I do, like coming up with uh great stories and different ways to promote things.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: And um I frankly dropped out of law school and went to work in the music business, where I started it as director of promotion and publicity for independent record labels.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: So that's really where my career started.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_01: Fascinating, huh?
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_01: I would not have guessed that.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: That's what happened.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I guess I guess in my mind, I I had never made the connection of going from music to kind of what you're doing now, but it makes total sense.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's all publicity and and PR and everything.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: So that's that's really interesting.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, thank you.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I've been very blessed.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: So I know we're coming to the end here, but um, how else can I help your folks?
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_01: So I would love if you can share how our listeners can connect with you and um any free gifts that you'd like to offer and anything else that you want to mention as well.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, thank you.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: So a couple things.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I would love to support all of you with some great additional publicity tips.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: So check it out.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I put a free gift together to you for you, and you can go to publicitycrash course.com slash free gift.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's publicity crash course.com slash free gift.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: And um, please download that and and enjoy.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: And there's a lot of other wonderful free publicity things that you can do.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: And if you'd like to talk to me directly, jump on my schedule, JillLublin.com slash schedule.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: We'll bring you right in and then we can connect about what you need to talk about.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: Well, Jill, thanks so much.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate you taking taking time to be on the Daily Writers show.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_01: This has been fantastic, and you've given us some great tips.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: So thanks again.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate it so much.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: My absolute pleasure.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.