Radio personality and book marketing expert Suzanne Lynn shares creative ways to make you and your book stand out from the crowd
You’ve written a book and you think the hard part is done, right? Wrong. Now it’s time to let the world know about your book—and many authors find marketing a far bigger challenge than writing.
Recently I spoke with Suzanne Lynn (no relation) of Triangle Media about the art and science of book marketing. Here’s an edited, condensed transcript of our conversation:
Jacquelyn Lynn: If you're giving marketing advice to an author, either a new author or a seasoned one, what should they do?
Suzanne Lynn
Suzanne Lynn: The foundation of marketing as an author is a video interview. It's what everything is built on. It makes a heart connection. Remember, 93 percent of communication is non-verbal. So when you can have a video interview and see conversation happening and your potential readers can think, “You feel that way? I feel that way, too.” That common ground and that human touch, that human relatability is everything. And that's why it's really the foundation for us helping authors market for their small stage and for their big stage.
JL: If an author wants to do a video interview, who do they do it with? Aunt Mary?
SL: I’ve seen some authors try to do it themselves and it’s really difficult. When we do a video interview, we call it planned spontaneity. You need to make every second count, but you don't want it to be scripted and overly polished because you're having a real conversation. Nobody's going to relate if you're reading from a paper, so it's planned spontaneity. We send out a questionnaire so we have a guide, but if you laugh or cry or say something unexpected in the video, that’s what makes us human. That’s what makes us relatable. You want people to think, “I relate with you, we have a lot in common. I want to know more about you and your book.”
I’ve been in radio for 30 years and most of that was on the air. I’ve had thousands of authors request to be on my show and never one time did any of them ever send me any video or audio that showed me what kind of interview they would be or share with me what value they were going to bring to my audience.
A typical request from an author is: “Here's my book. I've written 60. I'm wonderful. I drive a Jaguar. I have 25 grandchildren. I love knitting or whatever.” And what’s sad about that is that we as on-air personalities need to know: What value are you bringing to my audience? Why do they care? Why do I want you on the air? And I need to see that you can speak well.
You need to have a professional video that showcases you, that lets producers and program hosts see a real, raw, organic conversation happening. Your book is a business and your video is a representation of your brand and your business.
JL: So authors need a professional video. What else?
SL: A professional press kit is critical.
Let me back up a bit. When I talk about small stage—small stage is everything that you have access to when you reach your arms out, it's everything that you can get your video and your book exposure for without asking permission of anybody else. It's your Amazon author page. It's newsletters, emails, social media, things like that. Things that you're able to take care of.
When you talk about big stage, that's where you're borrowing other people's audiences. You need to meet those people where they're at and share with them what value you're going to bring to their audience.
So having a professional media kit is hugely important. It needs to look professional and show that you can speak their language. It needs to tell them what you’re going to leave for their audience.
You may think, “I've got a one-sheet.” Let's talk about that one-sheet. Is it others-focused or is it author-focused? Does it have some bullet points about what you’re going to be giving their audience, about why their audience is going to care? Or is it all about you and your book?
Another thing that’s hugely important is a media pitch video. This is a 30- to 40-second video of you speaking directly to the media personality—the decision-maker—about the value you're going to give their audience. So this would be just you with your book and contact information on the screen.
Your media pitch video is a whole different approach. In your video interview, your body language is back. It's relaxed. It's welcoming the audience in. With a media pitch video, you are now in their space talking directly: “Boy, am I serious? You are going to miss out if you don't have me on your show now.”
JL: Something authors really need to remember is that it isn’t about them or their book. Yes, the goal is to sell books. But if you say, “Would you have me on your show so your listeners will buy my book?”, the answer will be no.
SL: One of the pieces of the video interview package we do is that we include marketing information to help you identify your target market. So if you're thinking about running Amazon ads or Facebook ads or something, instead of just throwing a whole pot of spaghetti up against the wall and seeing what sticks, you can run more targeted ads and truly hit your audience without wasting your time and money.
JL: Most authors, myself included, find marketing hard. Especially those analytics—if that’s not how your brain works, it’s a challenge, but you have to be willing to do it or the book isn’t going to sell.
SL: That's absolutely right. And that's why we don't take every author that we talk to. Our clients have to communicate well and be willing to do the work. We give you a full toolbox, but you’ve got to pull the hammer out. You’ve got to do the work.
If you're waiting for your audience to come to you, you’re going to be frustrated. You’ve got to know your audience and be in front of them, go where they are.
Another thing we do is run radio advertising at wholesale prices. We have radio stations around the entire country, and this is really been great for authors who are interested in speaking.
We have a Lexington author right now. In the 60-second radio commercials talking about her book, Conquering the Seeds of Destruction, she's also able to say, “I'm right here in Lexington. If you're looking for someone to speak at an event, think about me.” It’s working.
If it wasn't for a book and someone who's out there marketing it, sharing it, there are so many things we wouldn’t know. That's what books do—they educate, they entertain. And there's always people who are looking for experts to be able to speak on the topic their book is about. You have to make that emotional connection and it all starts with a good video.
JL: What else do you recommend?
SL: You have to find creative ways to do out-of-the-box thinking.
We have a package where we put Navy authors on tour in Naval museums and related locations. We might book them to speak on a submarine or at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York. We’ve created a tour and when we find authors that fit that tour, we plug them in. We run ads, we give the museums exposure, and our authors are visible in places where they’re not smothered with a lot of competition. We’re the go-to booking company for Naval museums.
JL: If people want to get in touch with you, what should they do?
SL: Go to our website, GiveMyBookWings.com, and get an idea of what our products look like. Watch the video interviews. Then use the calendar to book a time for us to talk and see if we’re a good fit.
JL: Thanks for sharing your advice and your wisdom.
For more information about Suzanne Lynn and her video book marketing services, go to GiveMyBookWings.com.
Watch the video of our interview:
Jacquelyn's latest book is Christian Business Almanac: The Ultimate Daily Guide for Kingdom-Driven Entrepreneurs and Leaders.
She is the author of the novel Choices (A Joyful Cup Story) as well as the nonfiction books The Simple Facts About Self-Publishing, Words to Work By: 31 devotions for the workplace based on the Book of Proverbs and Finding Joy in the Morning: You can make it through the night. With her husband, she is the co-creator of several coloring books for adults.
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