Your ad may be lost in the crowd

An ad can get easily lost in the bombardment of advertising people are con-

stantly exposed to. Every day, you’re flooded with advertising. It’s literally

everywhere. Companies do just about anything to capture your attention,

even for a split second, to promote its message. Because you’re exposed to

so much daily advertising, many of you may automatically phase it out of

your minds. Imagine yourself reading a magazine or newspaper and skipping

over the ads or pulling out those little insert cards and throwing them into

the trash. When you listen to the radio or watch TV, do you switch the sta-

tion/channel when the ads come on? Because of these habits, advertisers

have an even harder job of promoting their products.

When the roles are reversed and you become the advertiser, you have to find

innovative ways to communicate your message so people pay attention to

when it’s seen or heard. For paid advertising to work, you need to

-

 Create a highly effective ad, carefully targeting your audience

-

 Have the budget to ensure that your ad is seen multiple times by your

audience

-

 Choose the best possible media outlets to advertise with

One mistake and the money you invest in advertising may be wasted.

Advertising can be expensive

Mass media advertising can be costly, but you want to reach the most people

possible with your campaign. So where do you draw the line and how do you

get your name out there?

Many authors and publishers find that paid advertising to promote a book to

the public isn’t the best way to spend what limited advertising and marketing

dollars are available. Niche advertising, in conjunction with a public relations

campaign and other grassroots marketing efforts (see Chapters 18 and 19

for more about publicity), often works much better and is a better use of

resources. With niche advertising, you find specific magazines, newspapers,

newsletters, web sites, or other publications that cater to a small but tar-

geted audience. These publications typically focus on a narrow topic. If you

can find a niche outlet that relates to the topic of your book, advertising in

that publication virtually guarantees that you reach the perfect audience

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