The Power of Traditional Media in Building Author Visibility

Written by:

Emily Gett

In recent years, the online book community has experienced significant growth. Dedicated pages on social media, colloquially known as ‘Bookstagram’ and ‘BookTok’, are modern-day book clubs, with readers and authors alike sharing reviews and recommendations to followers.

This ever-increasing emphasis on social media can be overwhelming and may have led you to feel that a traditional media campaign is no longer relevant. However, in this article, I will outline the biggest reasons why a conventional media campaign remains incredibly valuable to authors publishing their work.

Local supports local

A traditional media campaign enables you to target specific regional locations relevant to you or your book. Locals love to support other locals, and certain areas of the UK have a great deal of local pride. As a result, they would be more likely to want to hear why their town was the perfect setting for your novel.

A journalist writing a piece for a regional newspaper may also promote events you are holding locally, such as book signings or Q&As, which is a great way to get word out about the book and supporting events.

Local radio stations have huge loyal listenerships

Local radio stations reach thousands of listeners every day. Whether that be in the car, at work, in doctors' waiting rooms, or shops, there are numerous opportunities for people running their daily errands to come into contact with local radio. If you can secure a radio interview, you can take advantage of that huge listenership to promote your book to people who will naturally be interested in you as a fellow local.

Radio interviews are also a fantastic way to promote yourself, as listeners get to hear about the book directly from you, as the author. No one knows your book better than you, so you are uniquely placed to use your passion for the subject to convince people to read your book.

Typically, ‘Bookstagrammers’ and ‘BookTokers’ favour genre fiction, in particular romance, fantasy and young adult. Generally, they cater for a younger audience who use social media regularly and like to receive recommendations this way. Your book may not fall into these particular genres, or you may find that your target audience doesn’t intersect with the demographic of people who use these platforms regularly.

For example, if you are marketing a non-fiction title with a niche subject matter, you may find it better to approach targeted magazines and websites that will have a readership already invested in the subject matter. Or if your intended audience skews older, they are more likely to get their book recommendations through traditional media like local newspapers or magazines.

Value of traditional print media

Seeing a review of your book, interview, or feature in an established publication lends credibility to your work. Readers will tend to have a loyalty towards certain newspapers or magazines and an absolute trust in what they say.

Be aware, though, that securing coverage in print media is also much more challenging. Many publications have reduced the number of issues they release per year, and book editors will receive press releases for hundreds of books, all vying for valuable page space. Therefore, if your book is featured, you can take pride in knowing that it has been selected as part of a carefully curated list.

There are thousands of reviewers on social media, each recommending and reviewing hundreds of books. Although all coverage is a win, it can be hard to stand out on social media compared to print media due to the sheer volume of books being promoted.

Support from a publicist who has a range of contacts

With a traditional media campaign, you will be assigned a publicist who will use their expertise to write a press release and spread word of your book to a bespoke list of media contacts. They will use an industry standard PR platform to find contact details for relevant book editors, journalists or producers - information that isn’t always publicly available.

Compared to running an active social media account yourself, a traditional media campaign, run by publicity professionals, is relatively hands-off for the author. Your input on the press release is, of course, valuable, but once this is agreed upon, your publicist will handle all the pitching and bring any opportunities to your attention. You also have the benefit of working with a professional who has established strong relationships with media contacts through repeated collaborations. These contacts will trust that your publicist is only sending them books worth looking at.

If you aren’t sure where to start with starting a relationship with a publicist, we can help. We run publicity campaigns on behalf of our authors, executing hundreds of campaigns annually on their behalf. We’d love to chat to you more about how we can help you publicise your book.

A great way to accompany digital marketing campaigns

If you still think that your book would benefit from digital marketing, traditional media can be a great way to support and boost the visibility of your digital campaign. By implementing both types of campaign, you are targeting a wide range of demographics, covering all bases and maximising your book's visibility.

Imagine someone reads a glowing review of your book in a local magazine, and then later that day logs on to Facebook and sees a post about the same book. The potential customer is engaging with your book across multiple platforms, which will help build recognition. This could be the nudge they need to order a copy.

Harness the power of traditional publicity

Even in today's digital age, a traditional media campaign is a powerful way to spread the word about your book. A feature in a newspaper or magazine can give your book the gravitas that social media alone cannot achieve. You are also able to target regionally, taking advantage of loyal readerships and listenerships who like to receive their recommendations from a trusted local source.

Feel like a traditional media campaign is right for you, but don't know where to start? If you choose to self-publish with Troubador, you can choose from a range of marketing services, including media marketing, where you will be assigned an experienced in-house publicist to run your campaign. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.