Home is Where Publicity Starts: Making the Most of Your Local Market

By Corinne Liccketto

While national exposure is desired, such outlets are not the ideal place to begin pitching you and your book. Don’t neglect your hometown media outlets. Building local and/or regional awareness for your book will not only give you initial media experience, but also the necessary platform to take your pitch to the next level and attract national attention in the future.

• Tell your friends, family, neighbors and coworkers: Let those you see on a regular basis know your book has been published. Most likely, the people you’re close with will want to support you so leave your modesty behind and talk yourself up! You can’t argue with the snowball effect of word-of-mouth awareness.

• Contact your local newspaper: The key is to start small. Reach out to your county or town newspaper to let them know that you’ve written a book. Provide them with a synopsis of your book, the applicable audiences and, if possible, a review copy. That you are a local author means featuring you in the paper will provide ‘local news’ to the community. Journalists and editors encourage hometown recognition.

• Build upon your initial interest: So the small community newspaper wrote a feature about you, the next up-and-coming local author? Send the article clipping to the next biggest regional paper. Showing another media outlet that you’ve already been covered proves that you and your book are ‘newsworthy’; having former media exposure in your local market will open the door to larger, surrounding area outlets.

• Pitch to local television and radio programs: Does your book or message tie in with a particular event? Holiday? Community affair? If so, mention to the producers/program directors that you have a timely message to share with their listening or viewing audience. If you do not have such a tie-in for your book, remember that not you personally are ‘local news.’ Share with them the print exposure you received and send them your speaking points. The less work the producer has to do to put together the interview, the better!

• Hold a book signing: By holding a book signing in your community you have several advantages. Here are a few tips for promoting your local signing:

• Rally up the troops: Send personal invitations to your friends, family, coworkers and neighbors and encourage their attendance.
• Hang flyers in community stores and local businesses: Ask local business owners for permission to hang flyers in their stores.
• Encourage local and regional calendar event listings: Contact your local and regional newspapers and community blogs and event websites to encourage calendar listings of your book signing.

Bottom line: Don’t underestimate the power of your local media market. Starting with your hometown and expanding to surrounding regional outlets will help you start building media credentials for you and your book. It’s important to use your resources and first strengthen your media platform in your local market; you’ll have more appeal and credibility when pitching to the national outlets later.