Whether you’re a fashion designer, a biologist, or a marketer, you know you’ve made it big when your peers look to you for guidance and direction. One of the greatest ways to alert your audience that you are an expert in a certain field is the show off your “know how” and what better way to do this than to write a book! Jean Blacklock of Prairie Girl Bakery has done just this, and done it well—making Prairie Girl Bakery our latest #BrandsOnQ.
Releasing a book is a proven PR strategy and a natural progression for many brands and celebrities as they gain a following . The release of a sought after book will often set off a chain reaction of media hits, brand awareness and an increase in social following; leading to an increase in sales and a noticeable return on investment (ROI).
We’ve seen it with bestsellers such as Mindy Kaling’s Is Everyone Hanging Out With Me (and Other Concerns), Sophia Amoruso’s #girlboss and Lena Dunham’s Not That Kind of Girl. Prairie Girl Bakery’s Jean Blacklock is right on trend with her newest release of The Prairie Girl Cupcake Cookbook. These bestselling books solidified their author’s position in their chosen field by directing people to see them as experts.
Releasing a book is a goldmine for media hits. It gives media outlets a reason to feature a new brand and a new reason to revisit a brand they have already covered. Jean Blacklock says “publishing a cookbook has resulted in a tremendous amount of “free” media.”
The Prairie Girl Cupcake Cookbook got Prairie Girl Bakery countless media hits, as can be seen by glancing at their Buzz about PGB page. Coverage spanned across the country, through different mediums, and is still growing — reaching millions of potential customers in only three months after the release of the book.
Our co-founder Tanya Dodaro knows from experience that “becoming an expert in your industry is one of the best ways to attract media attention for your brand.” On Q client, best selling author and world renowned public speaker Tim Cork published his second book in 2013, called G3 The Gift of You, Leadership and Netgiving. “We devised a one month media relations campaign including a media outreach and a book launch event. Media outlets began to show interest in G3 and Tim Cork was featured in The Globe and Mail and the Huffington Post.”
Prairie Girl Bakery definitely took a leap with releasing a book and it has been a successful venture with an increase in overall brand awareness. Blacklock is no stranger to leaps or to publishing books, having established herself as an expert by writing a book in her previous career as a lawyer and financial executive. As Jean wisely said: “To stay doing the same thing, even if it is successful, will not keep a business in the game longterm.”
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