by David Tandet
Nah.
Ads and PR are still different.
If Stephen King loves your new novel and writes an article saying so? PR. It’s an unpaid plug that’s sure to boost public perception of your baby.
Then you buy space on the 10 hottest book discussion websites quoting King’s endorsement? That’s an ad. Bought and paid for with rock-solid, good old-fashioned credit.
The first one? Prayed for (as the saying goes).
Second one? Paid for.
Got it?
Now BOTH, conceivably, could be part of the entire marketing process:
Should you plan on upping printings of the book to 10 gizillion, since that King comment is sure to increase demand? Schedule more signings? Increase the ad budget to pay for more web, TV and radio space focusing on the book? Plan for an expanded horror division, since this new horror book could mean bigger things are coming that way for your company? It’s that total planning/execution marketing pie.