PR for Poets

What is PR for poets?

There's not a lot on it.  Most of the PR for writing is focused on generalized writing.  There are resources out there, though, if you look hard enough.

Approaching the sale of poetry, though, is or can be a little different.  First of all, how exactly do you want to sell your poetry?  Is it a poem you want to sell?  A picture of a poem?  Maybe a book of poetry or chapbooks?  Maybe you want to put your poem or a few lines on a novelty item like a keychain, tote bag, or pillow.

That's the first step - is where you plan to sell it.  If you are selling pieces of poems or single poems, then you can use an online service that prints pictures on things and use those - maybe sell them at craft shows.  As far as books go, I've found that selling them at readings or giving a reading and selling them later has generated the most sales for me.  The next avenue that has been useful is email.  Then, of course, there's social media.  Pick the SM avenue that works for you - where you engage the most with your audience.

To be honest, I'm still learning how to generate PR for myself and my poetry.  It's a learning process for me. I think you have to explore all your options and then pick one or two that really work for you and start you focus there.  The rest, then, will hopefully start to fall into place.