Yen Cheong over at the Book Publicity Blog recently posted a helpful list of firms and freelancers that do book publicity. Each listing indicates the type of books that firm or person deals in, so you can quickly find the ones who handle non-fiction.

You’ll find that most of the publicists are based in the US, though I did see one firm from Germany and there may be other international firms tucked away on the list.

Regardless of how it was published, just because a book exists, does not mean readers will buy it. For sales to happen, you have to find innovative and cost-effective ways to let your intended audiences know about your book.

Many authors have already developed a potential readership through their blogs or their interactions on other Internet-based communities. If you haven’t, finding these communities of interest and participating in them is not difficult. One of the easiest ways to make your product known to them is to sponsor or participate in a contest.

Let’s look at two examples of blogging/interest community contests.

Example #1:

The blog badge pictured above is part of a publicity campaign surrounding the release of Cell Hell: 55 Cell Phone Users You’d Like to Silence by Dr. Mike O’Malley. Bloggers can grab the badge at the publisher’s site when they enter the blogging competition. It’s certainly a great way to engage a larger audience in thinking about the author’s topic. At last count, the site had gathered 46 entries. That’s 46 different bloggers writing about cell phone etiquette (and 46 different blog-reading audiences hearing about the topic) in competition for $1,000 in prize money donated by the author.

There are only two problems: First, the prizes are awarded randomly in the end. There is no reward for blogging skill, for depth of engagement in the topic, or for audience discussion in which the author could participate. Second, contest entrants are obligated to link back to the contest announcement on the blog of origin. They aren’t obligated to link back to, or even mention, the author’s book sales site or the book itself.

Example #2:

Once Written is an eclectic site offering a variety of features and information for both writers and readers. The mix of audiences does make for a slightly strange editorial mission, but both readers and writers are part of one larger group: bibliophiles, or people who love books.

Each month, the site hosts a number of book giveaways. This contest, like the rest of the site, features an eclectic mix too. There is literary fiction, popular fiction, non-fiction, and sometimes poetry or children’s books.

According to information on the site, authors can participate in the giveaways for $75 plus the cost of the books and shipping. While this is definitely a bargain promotions package, there are still no links to book sales or publishers’ sites.

The Take Away?
Obviously, you can spend as much or as little on book promotion as you like. Analyzing these two examples is a great place to start identifying promotional channels. What do you think — in these two examples, does the pay-off match the expense of sponsorship or participation?

If want to talk up your book on the radio, here’s your big chance. There’s no budget required and no fussing with press releases or media contacts. Plus, you get all the time you want to say whatever you want.

No, it’s not a dream, it’s BlogTalkRadio (BTR).

BTR gives you the tools and the platform to have your very own Internet radio show – for free. The site’s FAQ sums it up nicely:

The web-based service allows you to host a live Internet radio show and take callers from the phone. [You] can copy and paste a Flash player on [your] site or blog so listeners can click to listen. The shows are also made available as a podcast via RSS and iTunes. Your audience can listen online or on any mp3-friendly device.

All you need for broadcasting is a phone and Internet-connected computer.

BTR is a great opportunity for authors to promote their books through discussion, interviews, debate, and listener participation.

A couple of the large publishing houses are already taking advantage of the publicity opps and have set up their own “stations” within the site. HarperCollins, for example, runs Authors on Air.