In a crowded, hypercompetitive, and oh-so-noisy marketplace, book publicity isn’t getting any easier. To succeed, especially at the highest levels, it’s important to know why a book matters.
I’m not talking about peppy platitudes, gross generalities, or heaven forbid, shameless self-promotion. I’m talking about current, concrete relevance — in the here and now, in the real world — preferably communicated in a sentence or two.
I call this “the so-what.” And in respect to every media decision maker — whether in print, broadcast, or digital — it answers an all-important question: Why should I care?
So allow me to ask: Do you have a so-what for your own book? And if so, what’s it like?
Is it timely and specific? Is it sounding an alarm? Issuing a call to action? Illuminating a hot topic? Igniting a national conversation? Solving a problem? Exposing misinformation? Questioning the status quo? Sparking a sense of urgency?
Anything?
To create a powerful so-what, carefully consider your target audience or market. Then ask yourself 12 key questions.
- What are my targets’ major pain points in this moment?
- What current issues or events are keeping my targets up at night?
- What present-day problems must my targets solve to be more successful or secure?
- What newly emerging opportunities should my targets know and care about?
- What newly emerging threats should my targets know and care about?
- What are the day’s hot topics and how are they relevant to my targets?
- What late-breaking news do (or should) my targets most care about?
- What in the modern-day zeitgeist is holding my targets back?
- What new or increasing misinformation should my targets be warned against?
- What big, audacious questions are my targets asking or seeking answers to right now?
- What stories are my targets telling or wanting to hear in these times?
- What new or below-the-radar research and data should my clients know about today?
The so-what is the secret sauce in book publicity. Create yours now, and equally important, learn to communicate it with ease. Albert Einstein said, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” Your so-what is no different.
Then, as you pitch your book and ideas to the media, you’ll be able to artfully answer that all-important question: Why should I care?