Throw me a pitch: Hiring an advertising agency

Creating an effective advertising campaign

requires an understanding of how advertising

works, an intimate understanding of what you’re

trying to sell, and a strong knowledge about the

people you’re trying to reach. Working with a rep-

utable advertising agency to help you advertise

your book could be an extremely good investment.

An advertising agency has the following roles:

-

 Helps you determine the target audience for

your book

-

 Figures out how to reach your audience

-

 Creates an advertising campaign that fits

within your budget

-

 Deals with each media outlet directly to

coordinate your advertising

-

 Handles the creation or production of your

actual ads

Advertising agencies charge different fee struc-

tures, depending on the types of services

offered. Your best bet is to sit down with several

advertising agencies in your area and hear their

pitches. In those pitches, you need to look for

an understanding of your book and your target

audience and how the agency can best utilize

your available ad budget to reach this audience.

You can find advertising agencies listed in the

Yellow Pages, seek out a referral from someone

you know, or read agency profiles in publica-

tions like Advertising Age or AdWeek. You can

determine an agency’s competence based on

the work they’ve done for other clients

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