Do You Really Need a Publicist for Your Book? | Ep. 47

Send me a text!

Does hiring a publicist guarantee book sales? If you’ve ever wondered what the difference is between marketing and publicity... and whether you need both... this episode is for you. Many authors assume their publisher will handle book promotion, but the truth is, “you are your best marketer.”

If you want to launch your book successfully and get the visibility it deserves, this episode is packed with must-know insights. Host Allison Lane breaks down what a publicist actually does, when you might need one, and why marketing is the umbrella under which all book promotion strategies fall.

Learn how to take control of your marketing and set yourself up for long-term success.

🎧 Listen now and take charge of your book’s success.

What You’ll Learn:

• The key differences between a publicist and a marketer (and why it matters for your book).
• 3 essential marketing decisions you need to make before hiring a publicist.
• Why publicity alone won’t sell your book... and what to focus on instead.

Resources Mentioned:

• Free guide: “3 Steps to Your Successful Book Launch” https://www.lanelit.com/launch
• Join Bestseller Launch School → https://www.lanelit.com/bestseller-waitlist
• Send Your Questions for the Next Episode. → Click the link in the episode description.
• Have a question or request? Email me at [e-mail] 

Timestamps:

01:36 – Who’s responsible for marketing your book? (Spoiler: It’s you!)

02:49 – What does a publicist actually do?

05:53 – What a publicist won’t do for you (and why it matters).

07:55 – 3 steps to DIY your own publicity before hiring a pro.

09:40 – The biggest mistake authors make with PR... and how to fix it

Share this episode with an author friend who needs a visibility boost. Let’s get more books into the hands of the right readers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vqrhpTJ_dI 

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Episode Transcript

Allison (00:00):
The whole purpose of publicity is to reach the people

(00:02):
who need your message and yourbook.

(00:29):
Hey there and welcome back tothe Author's Edge, the podcast
that helps you navigate theworld of marketing and branding
and publishing.
And keep you from immersingyourself and drowning in a sea
of overwhelm.
I'm Allison Lane and I'm herefor you.
Today is another Thursday Q& Aepisode.

(00:53):
These are shorty episodes whereI answer your questions that you
send in.
Maybe you didn't even know youcould ask me a question, but
yes, you can.
And here's how, go to theepisode description at the very
top.
It says, send me a text, andthen you click it.
And then, you send to me a textwith your question.

(01:14):
It's that easy.
So, at the top of the episodedescription, it says, send me a
text and you can send me a textand I will answer it.
Yes, I will.
Today's question is sent in byDebra.
Hi Debra, who also sent me atext and I got it.
So, here's the question.

(01:34):
What's the difference between amarketer and a publicist and do
you really need both?
Ooh, good one, Debra.
Thank you for this.
And if you're new around here oryou're thinking, Oh my gosh, my
launch is coming up and mypublisher is telling me I need a
publicist.
You don't need to do anything.

(01:56):
But you're probably wonderingwho's responsible for getting my
name and my book out there.
Isn't it the publisher?
No, it's not.
It's a bummer, but you are yourvery best marketer.
You are your marketing director.
Marketing and publicitysometimes seem to overlap, but

(02:18):
they don't.
They are not overlapping.
Marketing is the umbrella.
Publicity is part of marketing.
They are not equal andoverlapping.
So, before I tell you whetheryou should invest in one or both
or none, let's define marketingand publicity.

(02:43):
Publicity is about gettingearned media coverage.
A publicist works to securearticles and interviews for you.
Industry mentions, this boostsyour visibility.
Publicist is a strategy to boostawareness of you.

(03:04):
It's one of many strategies thatboost awareness.
It's one of many strategies thatboost awareness inside of an
overall marketing plan.
That's why marketing is theumbrella and publicity is one
activity inside of marketing.

(03:27):
Okay.
Marketing also includes paidads, promotions, events, email,
newsletters, speakingengagements, SEO, website
development, branding, design,collateral, marketing materials,

(03:50):
giveaways, social media, itincludes everything.
Publicity is one of thosethings.
Okay.
So, a publicist's job is to getyou media coverage which is
fantastic.
If you need an extra set ofhands and you think there's so
much media coverage, I need apublicist to help me.

(04:13):
Awesome.
You should know that a publicistcomes at a cost and the usual
cost is anywhere from threethousand to seven thousand a
month for a two month minimum.
The thing is, the publicist isgoing to ask you for a bunch of
marketing tools and decisionsbefore they can get going.

(04:35):
And if you have not stepped intoyour role as your very best
marketer, you can do it now.
Here's what they're gonna askfor, and here are the things
that a publicist will not do foryou.
They're not gonna create yourwebsite, your headshot.
They're going to ask you, whatwebpage do you want me to drive

(04:58):
to?
What social media do you want meto drive to?
Where's your marketing bio?
And the photo that I should useto represent you.
Those are all your decisions andyour responsibility.
And they sound more intimidatingthan they really are.
That's why I like to teachpeople how to do this for

(05:20):
themselves so that they can puttogether their bio inside of an
hour instead of lamenting andwriting something that really
isn't marketing first.
You know, it's a big issue withbios is that they read like
autobiographies and they're notsupposed to be.
So, a marketer's job is todevelop your plan, but since

(05:45):
you're the marketer, you get todevelop the plan and what
success looks like for you.
It might be that you need todefine which media are
priorities for that publicistbecause they don't know.
They don't know where youraudience is or what your
audience cares about.

(06:06):
They're not writing yourspeaking points for you so that
you can stay on message orprovide a really good mic drop
moment.
They're not giving you speakertraining.
The other thing a publicistisn't going to do that is your

(06:26):
job is to gather the resultingarticle or podcast interview and
put it on your website, put iton social, write a blog about
it, create a video about theexperience of prepping for your
interview or traveling to yourevent.

(06:48):
It's your job to do all that.
And that's why I think beforeyou hire anyone, you should
decide what's important for you.
And how you're going to make thewhole process simple and easy.
This is what I teach in mybestseller launch school and

(07:11):
provide people all of the toolsthat you're going to be able to.
And this is what I teach in mybestseller launch school,
because I don't want you to hirea creative branding designer so
that you can spend 3, 000developing your palette.

(07:31):
That is not a good use ofdollars or pennies.
Instead, that's within mybestseller launch school of
here's how to decide and take 20minutes and make a decision
because there's always an easyway.
And that's my job is to give youeasy tools.
Publicity isn't going to do allof that for you, you're going

(07:53):
to.
So, do you need both?
Probably not.
The first thing you need is amarketing plan.
And to have a marketing plan,you need to know what the
options are for activities.
And then, how to make decisionsabout those activities.
For instance, if you know youwant to be on podcasts, you have

(08:14):
to decide which podcasts aregoing to reach your audience,
not which podcasts do you havecontacts too.
That's not the criteria.
The whole purpose of publicityis to reach the people who need
your message and your book.
So, you got to go where theyare, even if you're not, you

(08:35):
know, maybe you're not, maybeyou don't read that magazine.
But your readers do, so you'vegot to focus on the podcasts
that your reader's listening to.
The articles that your readersalso read.
And also you know, the eventsthey go to.
Ideal scenario is that budget isno obstacle, and you could

(08:59):
outsource everything.
But it's not realistic becausethat's not how the world works.
So, before we wrap up, here arethree quick action steps for
you.
Step one, define your goal.
Define what you want the endresult to look like.

(09:21):
If the end result and themeasure of your success is
building awareness.
Maybe you need a publicity planand maybe your publicity plan
includes a publicist, but maybeit includes using my templates
and joining my bestseller schoolor working with someone to teach

(09:46):
you how to pitch.
Step two, start small.
DIY your own publicity bypitching, you could guest blog
or you could test some of yourcontent on social and see what
sticks and what is engaging.

(10:08):
Step three, if you hire someone,choose a publicist for their
credibility and how they havekept other clients from going
for quantity over quality.
Quantity is not helpful inpublicity because a few

(10:33):
strategic decisions can help youreach the people that you need
to reach.
And then, use the result in allof your marketing, which again,
that publicist is not going tobe posting on your website for
you.
It all starts with you.
That's the answer and that's awrap for today's episode.

(10:57):
If you found this helpful, makesure to subscribe to this
podcast.
It helps the algorithm show thepodcast to other people who are
pursuing their same result thatyou are.
They want to get their book intothe world.
They want their journey as anauthor to be easier and simpler

(11:21):
and more fun.
And it should be, and it can be.
Make sure to subscribe.
Leave a review and share thisepisode with someone in your
accountability pod.
And if you don't have anaccountability buddy, Ugh, you
know what?
I'm gonna make a mental note.
I'm gonna do an episode aboutaccountability pods and

(11:45):
accountability buddies and whatto expect and how to make them
work for you.
Remember, if you have aquestion, send it to me, go to
this podcast episodedescription, click send me a
text and send that text to me.
Or you can email me, obviously.
I'm at [e-mail], andyou can check out all of the

(12:10):
services I provide, they're allon my website at lanelit.Com.
Thanks for tuning in to theAuthor's Edge.
And until next time, keepbuilding your author brand, keep
growing, keep boosting yourvisibility.
You are a big effing deal.