One of my staff recently told me a story about when he was working at a big PR firm in New York during the explosive growth of the Internet in 1996. He found himself in a boardroom filled with top music industry executives and magazine editors, to pitch them on getting online.

“We don’t care about the Internet,” was the overall general response. “It’s never going to have an impact on our business.” Well, today with iTunes, Yahoo and other music service providers, the music industry is a shadow of its former self. Thank goodness the book industry caught on before that happened.

In fact, the e-Book revolution is in full swing today and the statistics are absolutely staggering.

According to figures released last week by the International Digital Publishing Forum, in the first half of 2010, e-Book revenues for the U.S. surpassed all of 2009. And, in the last quarter of 2009, sales were actually double that of the first 9 months. So, with the holiday season upon us, and the popularity of the e-Book growing so exponentially, last quarter sales in 2010 actually have the potential to equal all of 2009!

Another statistic I found very interesting is that now (according to annual reports, SEC filings and press releases from industry leaders) 44 percent of all books sold in North America are sold on Amazon.

Moreover, Erik Qualman, in his book Socialnomics – How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2009), states that in 2009, 35% of all Amazon book sales were for the Kindle, an e-Book reader. This has caused others to enter the race, most notably Sony, Barnes & Noble and Apple with the iPad. Finally, Borders has introduced its new e-Book service, where they are giving many titles away for free and selling the rest. The amazing thing is that the stats are moving so fast, no one can agree on the exact percentage of e-Book sales.

What we do know is that e-Books are hot and are here to stay. And, for obvious reasons. The cost of e-Book publishing and distribution is far lower than traditional publishing with no printing, packaging, storage or postage; not to mention the preference of the consumer who enjoys immediate satisfaction with a download of his favorite book on his computer, smart phone, e-Book reader or PDA (personal digital assistant).

The wonderful thing is that even older books are finding new lives in e-Book form, so authors who have titles that are three, four, ten or even twenty-years old, are finding new customers via the e-Book solution.

And, what I find exciting, as a PR professional, is that the e-Book growth plays directly into some of my most effective strategies and tactics for authors, for branding themselves and their books.

Working with print media before the holidays is one of my favorite tactics. Every demographic is served by print media; whether it’s coverage in newspapers, magazines, trade publications, highly trafficked web sites or popular industry related blogs, you can reach the audience you want.

More importantly, with VISA and MasterCard spending tens-of-millions of dollars promoting their branded gift cards as great holiday gifts for family and friends, and the incredible explosion of e-Book sales during last year’s holiday season, it’s easy to see how the progression of e-Book sales will play out this year.

The beauty of a good publicity campaign that garners print coverage is you get double exposure, since all publications now have an online version. Moreover, once it appears online, it’s often repurposed and syndicated, discussed on forums and on social networks, so that it may actually reach as many as eight to ten times more people than the readership of the original publisher of that article.

Combine that with the fact that more people are reading their news online than offline for the first time in American history, PR professionals like me are provided with a simple and powerful formula:

• Get print media for clients
• Allow print to repurpose media online
• Encourage clients to promote this coverage on their web sites
• Online readers are then exposed to the client and their books
• Awareness of the author and their books grow
• Informed consumers – with gift cards burning yuletide holes in their pockets – find themselves a few mouse clicks away from buying books they read about online

Now, the quality of the book, the interest level of consumers and how well it’s received in the marketplace all have a significant impact in how well a book does. But, sometimes, even the best PR campaign can’t defeat issues without these elements in place. However, one thing is certain: There is no substitute for a successful publicity campaign that puts you and your book (whether an e-Book or a printed book) in front of consumers. And, since the fourth quarter just started, when should you get busy on this?

Right Now!

Marsha Friedman launched EMS Incorporated in 1990. Her firm represents corporations and experts in a wide array of fields such as business, health, food, lifestyle, politics, finance, law, sports and entertainment. She consults individuals and businesses on a daily basis and is frequently asked to speak at conferences about how to harness the power of publicity. Outside of the office, she is also the founder of a non-profit organization called the Cherish the Children Foundation. In 1996 the White House recognized her charity which sets out to raise awareness of the plight of underprivileged and foster children.

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