Know Your Niche

Day 202

“Know your niche and how to market to people with similar interests.”

~ Joel Friedlander

I've been thinking a lot lately about publicity stunts that authors have done. Some of them make huge waves – like when Joan Rivers chained herself to a shopping cart at Costco because they wouldn't stock her book. Others leave people in awe, but make more silent waves – like the author who gave a free copy of her book to everyone on an air flight from wherever she was to the destination she used as the setting of her book. But there are also crazy stupid ones – like the author who ran onto Yankee stadium field during a game with notes about hurting the third basemen with the hopes of being recognized for his book…

The point is, before you do something to publicize your book, you have to know your audience. If you write to baseball fans, Yankee Stadium might be a great place to market, but breaking the law is generally a bad idea, and threats should never be a part of it. Author Jennifer Bell offered actresses $8 an hour to read her book and laugh about what they were reading, in very public places – like Washington Square and the New York Subway. This stunt landed her in the New York Times and other high profile places.

Marketing prompt:

Think about a publicity stunt for your book – you don’t have to shoot yourself in the arm or move next door to the person you’re writing about, but think of something that will resonate with your readers and then figure out how to get it done.

Days to go: 163

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