July 4th Opportunity
By Fern Reiss
Savvy book folk will wait to take their July 4th holiday until several days after the 4th.
July 4th—and, indeed, almost any government holiday, including Labor Day and Memorial Day—offers a wonderful publicity opportunity for the right author.
Because businesses and government institutions close early for the weekend, journalists, as always on these holidays, are left with space to fill, a shortage of people to interview, and nothing much to say. So they cast around looking for new sources and unused press releases.
Your chances of being picked up by even the national media increase exponentially at such times.
Now, even the most optimal time of year will not garner you PR unless you have some sort of hook. You still need a news angle, a reason that journalists should cover your story now. You’ll still need to do a fax blast, or an email blast, to get them the press release, and it still needs to look professional, or most papers won’t pick it up. But unlike the rest of the year, your hook needn’t be as compelling, simply because there will be a whole lot less competition out there.
See how short this article is, compared to its usual length? That’s the same position in which newspapers nationwide find themselves: Too much white space. This week, the newspapers need filler.
So instead of planning to take off early this week for the holidays, think about whether it might not be worth your while to stick around and generate some book PR. You can always go on vacation next week—after reaping the rewards of July 4th. Enjoy.
Fern Reiss is the CEO of Expertizing.com/PublishingGame.com. More information on Fern’s books (“The Publishing Game: Find an Agent in 30 Days,” (literary agents) “The Publishing Game: Publish a Book in 30 Days,” (self publishing) and “The Publishing Game: Bestseller in 30 Days” (book promotion) and Fern’s upcoming Publishing Game workshop at Canyon Ranch can be found at PublishingGame.com. More information on positioning yourself as an expert and being quoted by the media, along with Fern’s Expertizing Workshops at the Ritz Carlton in Boston (September 19) and Manhattan (October 4) can be found at Expertizing.com
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