How to Best Build Your Author Brand to Gain Visibility - BM375

Susan Friedmann                                                                           00:46

Welcome to Book Marketing Mentors, the weekly podcast where you learn proven strategies, tools, ideas, and tips from the masters.

Every week, I introduce you to a marketing master who will share their expertise to help you market and sell more books.

Today, my special guest is Annie Scranton.

Annie started PACE PR as a solopreneur in 2010 and has grown it into a multimillion dollar international business that represents clients like Hintwater, Fast Company, Consensus Systems, and many others.

Prior to forming PACE PR, Annie worked for nearly a decade as a television producer, booking for major networks such as CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and ABC. Annie has also had experience writing for various outlets, including the Huffington Post, Law 360 PR News and many others.

Annie, it's an absolute pleasure to welcome you to the show and thank you for being this week's guest expert and mentor.

Annie Scranton                                                                              01:07

Thank you so much for having me.

I'm excited.

Susan Friedmann                                                                           01:36

Well, I'm excited too.

And as I told you before, I love ER, anything to do with public relations, something that has always been near and dear to my heart, I love to hear from you, and let's focus on the whole idea of how our nonfiction authors can really sort of stand out from the crowd and get their book noticed and get themselves noticed in this sort of crowded landscape.

Annie Scranton                                                                              02:38

The first thing I would say is that you have to be prepared to spend a lot of time working on the promotion of your book.

which as somebody who just finished writing a book, you really just wanna take a long nap after you finish the writing process because it's hard and laborious and can often take a long time.

But without putting a lot of time and energy and effort into the promotion, it could really not make the splash that you're hoping it can.

So what I mean by that is making sure that you are as active as possible on your own social media that you have done to the best of your ability, building out, like, your email list so you can send out updates when the book is coming out or available for preorder, etcetera.

And then the next thing you can do is really with or without the help of a policist or a freelancer or a PR agency is to start thinking of yourself as an industry expert.

Annie Scranton                                                                              03:17

a subject matter expertise in the field of which you have just written the book and then look for new stories that you can insert yourself into the conversation.

Think of ways that you could potentially write opheads or a LinkedIn post that are related to trends within the space that can relate back to your book.

And then, certainly, you you can and should be able to do your own research to really identify members of the media who would be in interested in knowing about this book and then hopefully positioning yourself in a way to get in front of them.

Susan Friedmann                                                                           03:51

1 of the experiences that you've had that many of our guests have not.

And so I really love the fact that you have traditional major network experience.

And I know that so many authors think they need to be on the Today's show or Good Morning America or one of the large shows, and they think that this is it.

This is like they just have to be on one of those shows, and they're going to be discovered, and then they're gonna be rich and famous and live happily ever after.

Let me know your opinion on that, please.

Susan Friedmann                                                                           03:52

Okay.

Annie Scranton                                                                              04:33

My opinion on it is, if you get on one of those major national morning shows, it can be a pivotal moment in anyone career or anyone's trajectory.

I mean, those shows have millions of viewers and then, of course, millions and millions more when they post the clips online or write a digital accompanying story to the segment.

So it can work.

But what we have found is that it also cannot be sort of that, you know, smoking gun moment, magic moment to make you, like, propel forward into limitless success.

I can share a quick story years ago.

Annie Scranton                                                                              04:47

This is more than 10 years ago.

I was working with an author, and she had written a book.

And we got her booked on live with Kelly and Michael.

So it was Michael Strahan.

Was Kelly Rook his host at the time.

Annie Scranton                                                                              05:13

And her book was about a lot of things, but part of it was about her personal journey through some different various personal challenges, and she had in the book about the importance of sleep and getting a good night's sleep.

So Michael and Kelly did this amazing segment with her where They brought a bed into the studio onto the set.

The 3 of them were in their pajamas and got into bed together, and we're talking about, okay.

Have nice sheets.

You know?

Annie Scranton                                                                              05:46

Turn off your devices, have a sleep mask, all that kind of stuff.

She did the segment, and it was, like, amazing.

She was so excited.

friends, family, people coming out of the woodwork that had seen her, but she is someone who's from Minneapolis.

So we also got her booked that same week on a Minneapolis drive time radio show, regular radio show, and she wound up selling more books from the radio show appearance than she did from this national TV appearance with live with Kelly and Michael.

Annie Scranton                                                                              06:05

So why is that?

Well, number 1, it's you have to know the audience of who you're reaching.

So while these shows that we're mentioning, national shows have huge viewership.

You should think about the type of viewer at home.

Most of the time, they are passive viewers.

Annie Scranton                                                                              06:13

They're not active.

Meaning, they're cooking breakfast.

They're getting their kids ready off to school.

They're also vacuuming the house.

while these segments are going on.

Annie Scranton                                                                              06:39

So that's number 1.

And then number 2, in a market like Minneapolis where she's from, immediately, people are going to wanna support you know, just naturally support somebody who's from their hometown or the place where they live.

And I'm still a big believer in radio.

people are still listening to, you know, at that time, they were probably listening more to drive time while you're driving.

So, hopefully, you're not doing anything else except driving and listening.

Annie Scranton                                                                              06:45

So it was more of an active audience.

The bottom line is is that you just you don't know.

Susan Friedmann                                                                           07:28

I love local media and my listeners know I often quote the fact that I live in a small town and anything that I put out to our local media, they pick up.

It's really interesting that people often forget that they can be a big fish in their own small environment.

They don't have to look for the national, which sounds great.

And funnily enough, I've got a similar story except that my girlfriend was on the Oprah show, and her subject is leadership.

And she was on this show you know, it was a great interview with Oprah.

Susan Friedmann                                                                           07:50

She's a great interviewee.

And, obviously, you know, Oprah is an amazing interviewer.

And She got absolutely zero response from that being on that show.

Now she uses that in any kind of publicity to say, yes.

I was on the Oprah show.

Susan Friedmann                                                                           08:03

But the fact is she doesn't say I didn't get anything out of being on that show.

And like you said, it was the wrong audience.

She wasn't speaking to her audience there.

Annie Scranton                                                                              08:46

You always get something out of doing these media appearances, whether it's Oprah or today's show or GMA, and etcetera.

But it actually is really incumbent upon the author or the guest who's being interviewed to understand and know how to best utilize that clip for their own marketing efforts.

So, you know, what we would recommend than an author do in a situation like this where maybe they get booked on a national show, but it doesn't actually maybe move sales or help them in that sort of very tangible immediate way.

Well, immediately, you put the clip or a photo on your website.

You immediately start doing social media posts on it.

Annie Scranton                                                                              09:30

you immediately send out an enewsletter blast with the clip.

You hopefully are able to engage with an SEO specialist so that way they can optimize that clip.

So it will show up in a Google search more easily.

there's a lot of these different ways to long tail it, but I think what it does really or how we like to position it is that these national appearances will grow your overall brand awareness, and they will certainly help to legitimize and add credibility to you and your book and your brand, but you cannot look at traditional earned media as a 1 to 1 in terms of I'm going on these shows, and it's gonna result in sales.

It just does not work that way.

Susan Friedmann                                                                           09:51

Yeah.

And it's very similar, and it's one of my soapbox pictures the fact that the same with Amazon just posting your book on Amazon and expecting Amazon to do the work, it doesn't work.

I mean, it's a myth that you think that you're going to be discovered and again get rich and famous just because you've got a book posted on Amazon.

Annie Scranton                                                                              10:05

Yeah.

I mean, that's wonderful, but there's I mean, how many books are posted on Amazon.

Exactly.

Mhmm.

You have you have to be dedicated to putting some kind of work and effort into the promotion of your book.

Annie Scranton                                                                              10:09

Otherwise, like, there really is very little chance it's gonna get recognized.

Susan Friedmann                                                                           10:25

Mhmm.

Let's talk about mistakes that you see authors make.

And I think you've, you know, mentioned a few of them, but let's look at some of the top mistakes that people make, authors make when it comes to promoting their book.

Annie Scranton                                                                              11:10

Well, I think the big one is to not do enough of it.

And I think the other one is a lot of authors may feel hesitant about putting some of their own money into the promotion of their book.

But especially for a first time authors, I mean, that's a big moment, and it should be one that's celebrated and recognized.

But I think sometimes authors can put some money or resources into maybe having a book party where they can, you know, invite bunch of friends and family and kind of celebrate their accomplishments, which they should.

I want to have a book party to celebrate myself or, you know, for marking this occasion, but it's not gonna really help me at the end of the day with getting more widespread attention.

Annie Scranton                                                                              11:23

So to look at it really as an investment that will hopefully be beneficial.

And so far as it will create more sales and more buzz, than the money that you put forward into it.

Susan Friedmann                                                                           11:44

Yes.

That's so true.

And it's looking at where are you going to be able to move that needle So it is going to either make sales or speaking engagements, training, coaching, Talk to us more about this whole concept of having a book and being a speaker with a book.

Annie Scranton                                                                              12:23

Yeah.

So, I mean, having a book and being able to add that to your speaker's bio will immediately, I think, make you more attractive as a potential speaker, I should say, to a college or university or to a corporation or at an event, it legitimizes you.

It adds credibility to your resume and to your brand.

So what I would recommend is to really think about the intended audience for your book.

who are the types of groups that would be most likely to read your book?

Annie Scranton                                                                              12:32

Is it millennial women?

Is it lawyers?

You know?

Is it people who live in Southwest Florida?

Figure that out.

Annie Scranton                                                                              13:16

And then from there, try to narrow in on trade associations, groups, organizations that are within those buckets.

and reach out to them or see if they have programming that you can look at from maybe the previous year, and you can sort of try to figure out who's the best contact to reach out to to position yourself as a speaker.

I would also say all authors should consider reaching out to their undergraduate college or university and letting them know.

that you are available, and maybe there's a talk that you could do within the school system there.

It's kind of figuring out who's everyone you know in your network And where are those opportunities?

Annie Scranton                                                                              13:24

And LinkedIn is a good way to start, you know, going through all your LinkedIn contacts and seeing who might be open to having a conversation.

Susan Friedmann                                                                           13:38

I love that idea of going back to your school, university college, where They know you.

It sort of has a slight touch of the local media.

You're one of them.

Yes.

The chances are potentially.

Susan Friedmann                                                                           13:52

them supporting you in some role even if in the first instance, it's a speech that's gratuitous.

And you're willing to do that because you never know where that might lead down the road.

Annie Scranton                                                                              14:25

Yes.

I think if you are not a very well known, you know, figure within your particular area of expertise.

it does make sense to accept non paid speaking gigs especially at the beginning of the book launch because it's more important to reach more people and have that larger visibility than it is to get a little extra money in your pocket.

At least that's the way I look at it.

And to your point about the local audience, well, where did you grow up?

Annie Scranton                                                                              14:41

Can you reach out to your local hometown paper and let them know that you grub locally and you've written a book, they're gonna be more inclined, you know, to have you write or to suggest an editor or a reporter or somebody that you can connect with.

I would definitely champion exploring those different options.

Susan Friedmann                                                                           15:00

Excellent.

Now you and I talked just before the show about your book, The Guide To Earned Media, I would love to hear more about the content of that What are some of the golden nuggets in the book that you would like to share with us?

Annie Scranton                                                                              15:36

Oh my gosh.

Well, I really just try to give the reader as much tactical and practical advice about how to go about grafting a pitch and then how to reach out to the members of the media in the most professional and effective way.

the golden nuggets or takeaways are when you're reaching out to media, please remember that they are very, very busy and that they are probably getting 100 of pitch emails every single day.

Every single day.

And what are they doing?

Annie Scranton                                                                              16:03

They're deleting most of them because they're either irrelevant or they don't make sense or they're just not that interesting.

you need to 1st and foremost make sure that you have a captivating and compelling subject line and opening sentence or 2 that will get their attention.

You need to make sure that you keep your pitch email very short and concise.

Nobody has a long attention span anymore.

to read, like, you know, a 10 paragraph email.

Annie Scranton                                                                              16:19

But really, most importantly is you have to do your research of the journalist that you are reaching out to.

What do I mean by that?

Read the stories that they have written previously.

Read them.

Actually, read 3 or 4 of them.

Annie Scranton                                                                              16:43

Look them up on social media.

Most journalists have public profiles.

Look them up and sort of try to get to know them a little bit.

And then I would say really try to use as much critical thinking as possible to figure out what is the best approach that you can take when you're reaching out.

There are not that many outlets or journalists that do straight up book reviews anymore.

Annie Scranton                                                                              17:13

maybe you wanna reach out to a journalist in that newsjacking capacity.

Oh, this big story just happened.

I see you're covering it.

I'm actually an expert in it, and I've written a book on the subject if you would ever like to quote me or need an expert, you know, to interview for a story of yours.

you might wanna think about reaching out to opinion editors where maybe you can take a concept or a chapter from the book and turn it into a 1000 word op ed that you can pitch that would be relevant for them.

Annie Scranton                                                                              17:53

You just wanna make sure that you are being as genuine and authentic.

But, also, flattery and compliments do go a long way with journalists in the media they don't get into it for the money.

I know I was 1.

And so you gotta remember that you're actually emailing a human, a person, on the other end of that email and to just try to, in whatever way you can, whether it's something you saw from their social media profile or you really loved a certain aspect of their last article that you read, say that.

Let them know that you are paying attention to what they're doing.

Annie Scranton                                                                              17:56

and that usually does go a long way.

Susan Friedmann                                                                           18:07

Oh, those are great tips.

Yes.

I mean, that flattery.

I mean, who doesn't like to be flattered?

Tell me what you read was so inspiring and the takeaways from that.

Susan Friedmann                                                                           18:35

But, again, obviously, you want to be genuine about it.

I think something that you had said earlier too was potentially looking at trends and maybe linking your press release or your articles to a trend in the marketplace.

Or even I know you have these calendar days now every day is a different topic, you know, a popcorn day or a cookie monster day or whatever.

Annie Scranton                                                                              19:07

It's true.

And you know what?

Now we all have chat GPT at our disposal whether you like it or not.

In those types of instances, it can be really helpful to ask them questions on what are any national or international holidays pertaining to the x industry, in certain name of industries, financial, psychotherapy, public relations, you know, and you will get a list of those dates in a matter of seconds.

And you're right.

Annie Scranton                                                                              19:38

Those are opportunities.

Also, just thinking of any big shared national holiday or event.

So Memorial Day, the Super Bowl Christmas, holiday season, etcetera, are there angles that you can sort of pitch and promote along those lines?

But I would also encourage all of your authors to read and follow trade and industry press that they are involved in.

Like, for example, I'm a publicist.

Annie Scranton                                                                              20:06

So I read PR weekly, and I read all the reports from the PR Council and PRSA on a daily basis.

And so there are trends within those that I follow for business purposes.

but also for my own marketing outreach.

So that's a really simple way to stay up on trends, and it might spark ideas for how you can sort of take those trends and then position them in a way to get the attention of mainstream media.

Susan Friedmann                                                                           20:34

Yeah.

That's fabulous.

And I'm, again, of her firm believer in trade publications because, yes, you could very easily in a niche yourself in there and be that big fish in a small pond.

You're differentiating yourself from your competitors because if you talk about leadership.

Or if you talk about sales, there are a zillion books on those subjects, but maybe not in the construction industry.

Susan Friedmann                                                                           20:44

or in, you know, some other remote industry.

But you could find yourself, as I say, being that big fish in a small pond there.

Annie Scranton                                                                              20:45

Correct.

Susan Friedmann                                                                           20:59

Absolutely.

Good.

Annie, if our listeners wanted to get hold of you and find out more about PACE PR and, of course, your brand new book.

How can they do that?

Annie Scranton                                                                              21:17

Sure.

Well, my is Annie Scranton, and I'm probably pretty easy to find on LinkedIn.

But our website is pacespublicrelations.com.

and you can email me or reach out to me through the website.

There's a contact me page.

Annie Scranton                                                                              21:22

My book is called The Guide To Earned Media, and you can find it on Amazon.

for presale.

Susan Friedmann                                                                           21:42

Perfect.

And we'll put a link in the show notes to that preorder so that people who are interested in media and learning more about how to earn media recognition they can order a copy because I know I'm going to because I love this stuff.

Annie Scranton                                                                              21:43

Well, thank you so much.

Susan Friedmann                                                                           21:46

You know, you've made a sale already.

So

Annie Scranton                                                                              21:50

There you go.

You gotta be out there promoting your book, people.

Absolutely.

Susan Friedmann                                                                           22:01

You have to be.

And, hey, if you can't do it for your own book.

Yeah.

It's even more challenging when you have to do things for yourself than doing it for somebody else.

Annie Scranton                                                                              22:18

It's a common refrain.

A publicist honestly, it's really easy to promote our clients and really hard when the tables are turned, and we have to promote ourselves.

But if you kinda look at your book as a little bit separate from yourself, it might be a little bit easier, you know, to go about it.

Susan Friedmann                                                                           22:29

Yeah.

I remember the first job I had in a PR agency, and they said, okay.

Write your own press release.

That was the most agonizing exercise.

Annie Scranton                                                                              22:35

Actually, I love that, and I'm gonna steal that idea for, like, a day.

Susan Friedmann                                                                           22:44

It's really hard.

I agonized over it, and I felt, you know, I turned to one of my colleagues and I said, could you write this for me?

Annie Scranton                                                                              22:47

My gosh.

That's really funny.

Susan Friedmann                                                                           22:59

So any event, Annie, as you know, we always end off with, you know, that final words of wisdom, that final golden nugget, what would you like to leave our listeners with?

Annie Scranton                                                                              23:13

Be a human, lead with kindness and authenticity and be as genuine as you can.

And if you combine that with hard work and research.

I do believe you would be successful in promoting your book.

Susan Friedmann                                                                           23:37

Amen.

Love it.

Thank you.

Well, thank you so much for sharing your wisdom.

And listeners, if your book isn't selling the way you wanted or expected to, Let's you and I jump on a quick call together to brainstorm ways to ramp up those sales because you've invested a whole lot of time Money and energy, and it's time you got the return you were hoping for.

Susan Friedmann                                                                           23:37

Go to brainstorm with susan.com to schedule your free call.

And in the meantime, I hope that this powerful interview box some ideas you can use to sell more books.

until next week, he's wishing you much book and author marketing success.

Here's how to connect with Annie and learn more about the services PACE PR offers.

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