Wednesday’s promoting tip for authors (#1 of 2)

I Need a Killer Press Release, Now What?, Janet Meiner Thaeler’s recently released book, provides a roadmap for authors interested in creating and distributing compelling announcements of their upcoming books & events.

Authors will gain a perspective on how online press releases work, as well as detailed information about how and where to distribute press releases that will attract the attention of search engine attention and the attention of editors and journalists who can take your press release to the world.

Contents

Written by a veteran public relations and social marketing expert, chapters detail best practices for every step involved in preparing and distributing online press releases, including topics like:

• Newsworthy press releases. Find out what qualifies as a newsworthy press release and how to create them as quickly as possible.
• Writing for the Internet. Topics include headlines and what makes writing for the Internet different than writing for print.
• Search Engine Optimization. Find out why your press releases should be as carefully optimized, with keywords and the right URLs, as your website.
• Online distribution. What are the options  and how do you choose between them? What kind of costs are involved?

Beyond the press release

I Need a Killer Press Release, Now What? A Guide to Online PR also describes additional ways authors can get their message out by contacting bloggers, guest posts, and using Facebook and Twitter as part of an ongoing online press campaign.

There are also additional resources, such as lists of blogs about online press releases, helpful websites, press release distribution sites, tips, and sample e-mail pitches.

Perhaps the best summary of this importance of I Need a Killer Press Release, Now What? comes from a comment by Joan Stewart, the well-known Publicity Hound:

Smart Publicity Hounds know that SEO, done correctly, will help Google find your releases, give them good ranking, and deliver them to people who are searching for the type of information you’re writing about. This book should be must-reading for journalism students, PR pros, publicists, and anyone who writes their own press releases.

I Need a Killer Press Release Now What? is available in both e-book and print formats from Amazon.com and the publisher, HappyAbout.info. Amazon.com also distributes it as a Kindle Edition for their popular e-book reader.