The pharmaceutical company I worked for last year generated a lot of positive PR and media buzz by offered to restock the supplies at free community clinics. They even sponsored their own free clinics and would offer basic screenings at local elementary schools in neighborhoods where parents might not be able to afford proper health care. Local news stations, newspapers, and magazines would pick up the story and publish it. I noticed that sales were slightly higher during the few weeks that followed the release of these stories.
Everyone appreciates a company that gives back to help make their community a better place. They feel obligated to buy from a company when they’ve reached out to help their family, friends, and neighbors with free products or services. Authors can give back to the community as well to help promote their product, which is their book. An author can donate a few copies of their book to a struggling school or library. This shows the community that the author believes in the importance of literature to the point that they are offering supplies to fill the library shelves for others to practice reading. When dropping off the books, the author can offer to read it to a classroom of kids. The school and children will enjoy this honor and will appreciate the author making the time to brighten the children’s day.
It’s likely the school will invite the local newspaper or news crew to cover the story and take photos. At this time, the reporter will want to ask you questions and give you an opportunity to promote your book. You can share the title of the book and announce when it will be available to the public and where they can buy it. This also gives you the opportunity to give a brief summary of the book along with a cliff hanger that will leave others wanting to read the book for themselves. When people see that you are helping the kids in their neighborhood, they’ll think highly of you and you will gain their respect. When they see your name in the future, they will be more inclined to purchase the book and read it for themselves. They’ll feel obligated to support the person that cares about their kids.
The cost of donating the books is minimal compared to the benefits you will enjoy from the positive PR. If donating a few copies of your book is simply out of budget, you can still donate your time by reading it to a classroom. This only takes a few hours and will still signal to parents and the community that you care about their children. Additionally, the local news and newspaper provides a platform for you to spread the word about your book and get the title of it out to the public. Capitalize on the opportunity to give a great summary that will encourage others to read the book and your others publications. Giving back to the community is a great way to generate positive PR for the author and the book. The benefits far outweigh the minimal cost!
Adam Bruk is a marketing specialist for an online sunglasses company. When he isn’t busy analyzing retail trends in reading sunglasses, he enjoys golfing, cooking, and traveling.
Adam,
Thanks a lot for the ideas.
PR is so important. With all the noise out there, it’s so important to get noticed-but in a class way.
The Franchise King®
Joel Libava recently posted..Introducing James, a Downsized Middle Manager
Thanks for sharing such a wonderful piece of content. That’s absolutely true. PR is very much essential to get a good exposure on the Internet. PR has the potential to spread a word from one corner to the another.