A Twelve-Step Approach to P.R.

By Michael Drew - Dec 24 , 2008

Having worked with hundreds of authors the last twelve years, I’ve seen public relations campaigns of all shapes and sizes. But the most successful ones – the ones that helped relatively unknown businesspeople become bestselling authors – have three things in common: precise planning, relentless research, and exact execution.

Do you have the patience to plan? The commitment to research? The discipline to execute? If so, the following twelve steps, discovered at PRBLOGGER.COM, could put you on the road to a successful PR campaign.

Step 1: Do Research

Authors tend to pour so much into writing their books and not enough into understanding who they’re writing for, who can help them promote, and whether or not there’s even a market. Don’t make this mistake. Take the time to do your own research. Use the research other people have done for you. It’s out there. You just have to be diligent enough to retrieve it.

Step 2: Perform a Situation Analysis

When’s the last time you performed a good old-fashioned S.W.O.T. analysis? A well designed PR campaign will play to Strengths, avoid Weaknesses, take advantage of Opportunities, and guard against Threats. What are yours?

Step 3: Define Objectives

Establish what you want to accomplish up front and stay focused on the prize. What’s your definition of success? How will you measure it? What has to happen for you to pop the cork on the champagne bottle and celebrate? Set objectives that are measurable and attainable. When you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.

Step 4: Identify Publics

Who is your target audience? Do they represent a small and shallow pond, a vast but shallow bayou, a narrow but deep well, or a vast and deep ocean? Are they of one particular temperament, or many? Have you learned how to appease the individual preferences of these temperaments?

Step 5: Identify Stakeholders

Who are the journalists, reporters, bloggers, etc. that cater to your target audience? Learn everything you can about them, both professionally and personally, before you initiate contact. And then look for ways to become a source long before you try to become a story.

Step 6: Develop a Message

Create a message powerful enough to smash through the clutter and make an impact on your audience. The secret is salience (relevance). Saying something that matters to those you are hoping to reach. Take a cue from Ivan Pavlov and speak to the dog, in the language of the dog, about what matters to the dog.

Step 7: Strategize

You already know your objectives. Now it’s time to devise an overall game-plan that gets you where you want to go. Developing strategy requires a bigger-picture lens. If you have trouble seeing through that lens, consult with someone who can.

Step 8: Determine Tactics

If your strategy is designed to meet your objectives, then your tactics are designed as components of your strategy. Will you look to journalists and reporters to connect you with your target audience? Will you incorporate blogs, social media, and the Internet? The important thing is to determine the tactics and strategy that work best for your specific objectives.

Step 9: Create a Timeline

A good PR campaign is comprehensive and multi-tiered. It involves the coordination of many parts and individuals, including publishers, journalists, reporters, bloggers, endorsers, reviewers, experts and book clubs. You have to build in time to accommodate everyone and everything involved. As a general rule, start from your publication date and go back at least six months to begin your campaign.

Step 10: Budget

Developing a grand campaign won’t help without the time and money to see it through. Start with your budget in mind and strategize accordingly. It’s better to execute a modest campaign flawlessly than attempt to abandon a grandiose campaign unfulfilled. What you have is what you have. Stay within your boundaries.

Step 11: Prepare for a Crisis

You have no way of knowing when or what problems will arise, but you can be certain they will. Try to prepare for them. Plan as much as you can in advance, target your efforts, work diligently, and build buffers for the unexpected.

Step 12: Evaluate Your Progress

If you’ve ever been to a basketball game, you probably noticed everybody looking at the scoreboard when a shot is made. Apply this principle to your campaign. Keep score, not only when the final buzzer sounds, but also as you go along. You’ve set objectives, designed tactics, and defined strategy. You certainly want to keep track of how they are working.

Hopefully, these steps will help as you embark on a PR campaign for your next book. Remember to plan precisely. Research relentlessly. Execute exactly. And have a Merry Christmas.

Questions about how to plan, research and execute your PR campaign may be directed to Michael R. Drew at the Austin, Texas, headquarters of Promote A Book: 512-858-0040. You can also contact Michael via email at michael@promoteabook.com.