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newsletter archives
May 2011 - Marketing Through Associations
Associations provide a sense of community for a group of people that gather together to support a common interest. Although the exact number of associations is difficult to determine, statistics from 2009 tabulated over 90,008 trade and professional organizations and 1,238,201 philanthropic or charitable organizations. (ASAE.org) The Encyclopedia of Associations is a comprehensive source of detailed information that provides addresses and descriptions of professional societies, trade associations, labor unions, cultural and religious organizations, fan clubs, and other groups of all types.
As you begin to market your book, is useful to take a broad look at the various categories it might fit into. Visualize your book at the center of a large spider web, and how see wide a web you can weave with your topic. Don't be afraid to be a bit creative and stretch the limits of your subject. One of our bookhitch premium listings is for a new title on the topic of bullying, When Your Child is Being Bullied: Real Solutions for Parents, Educators and Other Professionals. The most logical, first-glance audience for a book that addresses this subject matter is educators, parents, teachers, school administrators, guidance counselors, and psychologists. Each of these groups has corresponding associations, such as the PTA, National Education Association (NEA), American Counseling Association, or Schools Against Destructive Decisions. But by answering a request through HARO (Help-A-Reporter Out) under the category of Lifestyle and Fitness, a whole new market of possibilities emerged in two areas: community and health-related topics. This information opened up a new, secondary group of associations in the outer circles of the authors' original web, such as the Canadian Public Health Association, the American Camp Association, the American Medical Association, and the National Association of School Nurses. In lieu of a traditional review, a nod from an association that is directly related to your book's topic can go a long way towards promoting your book. Subsequently, the bully book authors' were able to secure an interview.
This type of book promotion might be a more obvious route for non-fiction titles, but works of fiction can benefit from this marketing tactic as well. According to book publicity expert Sandra Beckwith, "You can use your content to identify promotion allies. Is your protagonist an athlete in a wheelchair? Connect with groups such as the National Wheelchair Basketball Association or the Wheelchair Softball Association. What about the professions of the people in your book? Does it feature a secretary? Contact the Association of Executive and Administrative Professionals."
Associations are usually heavily involved in publishing activities to promote their goals through member newsletters, magazines, websites, membership directories, yearbooks, seminars, charity events, etc. Authors should take advantage of this additional media outlet for promoting their own books.
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