The Butterfly Effects of Publicity

The benefits of any one piece of media coverage are rarely linear or predictable. It’s almost impossible to know how an op-ed, a review, or an interview segment will bounce around the information universe, who will hear it, and what successes and opportunities it will lead to. Some placements are more likely than others to drive sales, certainly, but readers are now scattered across a sprawling and ever-shifting set of digital venues, and tracking cause and effect is nearly impossible.

So how can authors capitalize on the serendipity of the media world? 

As long as an opportunity looks good—and it’s not a scam, AI or otherwise—and it shares an audience with your book, we think it’s a good idea to go for it, even if it’s on the smaller side. So if you’re wavering on accepting that podcast invite, consider that at the very least you end up with another interview under your belt, another entry for your media page, and another chance to hone your messaging.

One such example: one of our authors got a short review in their regional paper, which led to the local NPR-affiliate requesting an interview. They were able to post both links on their website and social media, and those hits likely had something to do with the invitation to the big book festival. 

Another: we lined up an interview on a SiriusXM station for an author—already a great hit. But it turned out that the host is involved with a think tank whose CEO heard the interview, loved it, and extended an invitation—and a substantial honorarium—to the author to speak at its summit. 

If you follow us at Book Publicity School, you’ve heard us compare promoting a book to running a small business, which is especially true with networking. The connections you make at a conference, a book reading, or even a comment thread, rarely announce themselves as important. But months later, one of them becomes a panel invitation, an introduction to a book club member, or a tip about a podcast that’s a perfect fit for your novel. 

The moral of the story is: when promoting your book, be open to opportunities of all sorts, even if you don’t see exactly how it will lead to book sales. We want you to welcome the chances you get, establish a whole bunch of connections, and see how they grow from there.