I get asked a lot about marketing packages for media. People want to know how to present them, what's in them, etc. I have been asked over and over again to write articles on the subject, so here you are: a brief crash course on marketing packages for media. Your marketing package is your calling card. It will introduce you and your small press to the people you need to help move your press forward. Make it interesting, exciting and entertaining. Capture their attention and make them want to see, read and listen to what you've sent.

Your marketing package should include reviews you have received for publications, information on current projects, and any reviews from your most recent title when they are available. Include a head shot (black and white is the least expensive, but color really catches the eye and many people require it), a bio (if you don't have a bio, create one, or get someone to create one for you), a cover letter, and a business card.

Your cover letter, should be limited to one page and should be packed full of concise well formatted information-much like a sell sheet. Try to limit your marketing package to 7 or 8 pieces of information. You don't want to overload them and you want to save some excitement for later! Keep them a little curious.

You'll want to compile three types of marketing packages for media: one for newspapers, one for distributors, and the other for teachers/professors. The most economic form of sending a marketing package is the digital marketing package; however, many people still do not accept this form, so please ask them before randomly sending out information about your electronic marketing package, as it will just be considered spam. Before you send any marketing package, you need to get permission first. If you don't get permission, your product has a very low probability rate of ever getting to its destination and even less of a chance of getting read and listened to.

There are publishers who think that their publications are the only thing that will speak for them. They believe that their publications alone will open the doors to newspapers, radio interviews, etc. They won't. You must have a proven track record as well as a "certain" style and look. It is after all the first thing they see before they ever read one of your publications.

After you have sent your marketing package, make sure to follow up with a phone call to make sure your marketing package has arrived safely. Then wait three weeks before you begin follow-up calls. Don't just send the package and expect them to call. Remember, they get hundreds of packages from publisers just like you every single week.

Follow up and get noticed-but don't become an annoyance or you will be ignored!

Regardless of your genre, whether it's westerns or crime fiction. romance or non-fiction, decidely you will share something with writers of other genres: the need for promtotion of what you have written.

While the world wide web has made available new sytems of marketing to authors, from websites and weblogs to sites like myspace, facebook, and the small press exchange, there is still something to be said for meeting readership where they make themselves available -- small press book fairs, conferences and conventions.

Conventions are held globally, regardless of the season. Any small press publisher who is serious about examining the industry beyond the superficial level, would do well to make time to attend at least one small press book fair, or conference per year.

Some may require travel and other expenses: ie hote, table rentals, the cost of promotional materials, accommodations, but above this all you may justify expenses because of the ppportunity to exposeyour name and work to a new audience that is afforded you. You will not make great sales every time, at every event you attend, but you have at least the chance to get your name out! Word of mouth remains one of, if not the strongest, marketing tools for authors and small press publishers.

Publishing a book is something many would-be small presses start-ups have done only to quickly realize that the more difficult task is to get folks to buy it and read it. Even giving it away free is no guarantee that you will get respectable audience for your new title. Compare this to a weblog, where you will start getting hits in a few hours! Small presses should fully appreciate and understand the power of weblogs to attract interest quickly and to deliver their message with more efficiency than any other publishing medium ever before.

Should all small presses start their own blogs just because? No, but blogs offer great opportunities for new marketing, or rather, new PR. But as always one must be clear on the objectives before starting to communicate.

For example, a small press may use it to share and clarify strategic choices or you share some of their know-how with the world.

The big difference with traditional marketing and advertising is that blogs are notfully controlable. That's the nature of blogging. And a real blog has the possibility to comment on blog posts turned on. So your readers will build your image along with you with you.

Before you begin, however, make certain you have your strategy and objectives figured out, and communicate them consistently.

You are able to reach your huge audience without having to worry about the huge regular production costs that go into printing and producing traditional ads.

What about TV and radio? Unfortunately, big media is controlled by a few powerful individuals with their own interests to push. Today, weblogs are gaining ground and influencing public opinion in a much more powerful way than traditional mainstream media. I believe that small presses who understand the true power and advantages of a weblog are surely bound to be much more successful.