What is the difference between marketing, advertising, public relations, promotions, media, and publicity, as related to books?
Marketing is figuring out what the “market” or “typical buyer” is for your book. This may include a target based on demographics, income, age, home owner status, past book buying history, or subject of interest. Publishers target a specific market in order to predict sales of a particular book. Public Relations refers to any time an author meets the public, for example to talk about the book. Ads and promotions are usually used in connection with this type of outreach. Advertising is coverage that you pay for. Ads ignite a subliminal awareness of a product, but they may not create a personal pull or play upon an emotional connection that moves you to buy the product. Ads can cost anywhere from $50 for a 1/8″ space in your local newspaper, to $120,000 for a full-page color ad in a national magazine. to $1,000,000 for a thirty second ad on TV during the Superbowl for example. The merits of your book are based only on what the ad copy says. Anyone can buy an ad, provided they can afford t
