Angela Hursh leads an outstanding team of marketing and training professionals at NoveList, a company dedicated to helping libraries reach readers. A 2023 Library Journal Mover & Shaker, she has also created courses on LearnwithNoveList.com designed to help library staff learn how to create effective marketing. Before her job at NoveList, Angela led the content marketing team for the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. She also has more than 20 years of experience as an Emmy-award-winning broadcast TV journalist.
Have you ever wondered how your community discovers books? Here’s a spoiler alert…
It’s not just on your shelves! A new study explores the discovery habits for books in Canada, the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand. I’ll give you the highlights and three smart marketing tips for each area that you can do to promote your collection in this episode of The Library Marketing Show.
Plus, we’ll give kudos to a library for a program that promotes Freedom to Read without being partisan or political.
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode’s topic? Do you want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. Thanks for watching!
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Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
We are now firmly in the second half of the calendar year. I don’t know about you, but when I worked in a library, this was the time I usually started to “drag” a little. I was tired and uninspired. (Hey, that rhymes!) I needed a little boost… someone to remind me to focus on what was important.
I’m here for you. These are the eight things I want you to focus on as you move into the next six months. This is also a great post to share with new hires who work on library promotions. The eight principles listed below are the most valuable tips I can offer to help you center your work and find direction.
And I’m curious… do you think I missed anything in this list? Add your guiding principles to the comments!
8 Tips to Focus Your Library Promotions
1. Plan ahead — don’t just react.
This is my number one tenet because so many of the library staff members I work with say they feel like order takers! They are asked by different departments and branches to promote the things that are important to those people, which allows no time to create a strategic library marketing calendar or campaign that supports the library’s overall goals.
Effective marketing is proactive, not reactive. You want your promotions to be holistic, covering all the channels where your target audience is located (see item #4). List the goals you want to achieve over the next six months, and create holistic campaigns. Before you know it, you’ll have a full editorial calendar.
And I know this might sound scary, but be transparent. Share your calendar with the rest of your coworkers. Inform them of the overall goals and provide them with regular updates on the content you share and the results you are achieving. At the end of the year, let everyone know how you did.
This will help educate your coworkers about marketing! Many of them probably think marketing is reactive. They don’t know how much planning and coordination go into an effective campaign.
2. Promote the benefits, not the features.
Listen, I know this one is hard. But your community is looking for a solution to their problems.
So instead of saying, “Use our personalized reader recommendation service”, highlight how your service solves real problems, like helping readers to find the right books for them (because, let’s be honest, there are SO many good books out there!), or helping readers who feel like they’re stuck in a rut, reading the same things over and over again.
You want your readers to think of the library, not Google or Goodreads, as the best place to find a book.
3. Tell more stories of how the library impacts lives.
User-centered storytelling, like Loyola Marymount’s Library Fans video series, connects emotionally with users and shows the library’s impact on real lives. These stories are more memorable than stats or service lists.
Storytelling helps your community to see how others are using the library and imagine how they might use the library too!
4. Meet your audience where they are.
Use the channels your patrons prefer. And remember, you don’t have to be on every channel. You just need to be on the right ones.
The channels you choose should match the preferences of your primary audience segments.
Teens and college students? Think TikTok and YouTube Shorts.
Parents and caregivers? Facebook groups and email are the best way to reach this audience.
Adults over age 65? In-person outreach and local newspapers or printed newsletters can be most effective.
Most importantly, don’t try to build an audience on the channels your patrons don’t use. How do you know which channels your audience prefers? Use metrics (see #8) and surveys to pinpoint where your energy will be best spent.
5. Consistency builds brand recognition and affinity.
At the Fourth of July parade two weeks ago, I instantly recognized the library’s entry coming down the street, even without my glasses. How? The color scheme of their banner and vehicle! (As an aside, I was sitting right in front of one of the branches, and the cheering that rose from the crowd when the library drove by warmed my heart.)
You can have the same impact. Use your brand logos, color palettes, and tone across channels. Patrons should instantly recognize your library’s content, whether it’s on a digital sign, flyer, or Instagram Story.
I know this seems like a constraint to some of my more creative readers, but the discipline pays off with instant brand recognition.
Beyond your brand colors and logo, remember to name your services clearly and tie all services to your library (e.g., “Consumer Reports from Maple Tree Library”).
6. Empower your advocates.
Your best marketing tool might be your most loyal library users. Feature them in campaigns and encourage user-generated content. When your superfans talk about how much they love the library and how it impacts their lives, people will listen!
Encourage staff to promote programs on their own social media (with branded templates or messaging prompts).
And provide your Friends group or foundation with a marketing kit: shareable graphics, key talking points, and event blurbs.
7. Always be repurposing.
Library marketers are asked to create a lot of content! Just like you may do in your home, you can reuse and recycle some of that content to help ease your workload and ensure your best content is seen on multiple channels. You can do that by:
Repurposing blog posts, newsletters, and program guides into social media snippets, videos, or infographics. Share this content with local media and community partners.
Turning book displays into short videos for social media by adding trending audio and creative elements like stickers.
Clipping moments from author talks or storytimes for Instagram Stories, YouTube Shorts, or TikTok videos.
Breaking down long blog posts into carousel posts or pull quotes for your homepage, digital signs, or social media posts.
8. Measure what matters.
Your metrics are key to guiding your marketing strategy. And listen, I’m the first person to admit I can easily go down the rabbit hole of data and measure everything.
But my boss coaches me to only spend time measuring the things I need to help make the decisions that will guide my future library marketing actions. That means I don’t obsess over likes and followers.
Instead, I track engagement metrics like watch time on videos, shares of social media posts, and read time on blog articles. I also urge you to use UTM codes like Bit.ly and Google Analytics to track campaign sources, so you know which channels are driving traffic to your library and which pieces of content resonate most with your community.
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Meta is, once again, making it more difficult to promote your library on Facebook and Instagram. I’m going to give you the latest social media update on this and show you one tiny little workaround that may or may not help you, depending on how you manage your social media. That’s all ahead in this episode of The Library Marketing Show.
Plus, kudos go to a library that was the site of a serendipitous experience for a local reporter!
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode’s topic? Do you want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. Thanks for watching!
Subscribe to this blog, and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address. Then, click the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:
Hashtags. They’re not dead, but things are changing, and the way we should use them is also changing.
There’s a new article from the Content Marketing Institute that outlines the changes to hashtags. I’m going to go through it with you so you don’t have to, and give you some hashtag-specific tips for each social media platform in this episode of the Library Marketing Show.
Plus, we’ll give kudos to half a dozen libraries that won a big award.
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode’s topic? Do you want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. Thanks for watching!
Subscribe to this blog, and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address. Then, click the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:
Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
Ray Holley, the communications manager for Sonoma County Library, is fascinated with economic development and planning. When he took his current job at the library in 2018, one of the first questions he wanted to answer was… what is the return on investment of a library?
Ray commissioned a respected local economist to conduct an independent study of the library system’s economic impact. The result? A headline-grabbing finding: For every $1 invested in the library, the community received $3.42 in return.
Ray knew this would make for great press coverage. He strategically timed his pitch, used an existing relationship with a reporter, and landed a feature story on the front page of the paper. That story sparked ongoing conversations about the value of libraries and gave the library system a powerful stat they continue to use in marketing and advocacy efforts.
As a former newspaper editor, Ray knows how to frame a story in a way that earns coverage. In a recent panel for the online event“Putting Principles Into Practice,” organized by the Library Marketing Conference Group, he joined me and another former journalist–turned–library communicator, Leslie Marinelli of Forsyth County Public Library, to share insider tips on how libraries can achieve better media coverage.
Libraries have great stories to tell. But getting the media to listen isn’t always easy. Here are the top 10 practical tips that Leslie, Ray, and I shared for getting your library into the news.
1. Know your media market size, so you can tailor your approach to press coverage.
Knowing whether you’re in a small, medium, or large media market helps you tailor your approach and your expectations.
To determine the size of your media market, you need to identify your Designated Market Area (DMA). DMAs are geographic regions determined by the reach of local television stations and are used to define local television and radio markets.
You can find your DMA by consulting Nielsen’s DMA rankings, which are based on population size and the reach of broadcast signals. The top 25 cities on the list are considered large markets. Medium markets are numbers 25-100 on the list. If your area is listed at number 101 or lower, you are in a small market. Why does this matter?
Small markets may be more receptive to informal pitches, good stories, and contributor-written columns.
Medium markets might have a mix of overworked reporters and community-focused outlets. Relationship-building and persistence are key in these markets.
Large markets typically have more gatekeepers and higher competition for coverage. You’ll need a strong angle, professional press materials, and sometimes long-term relationship nurturing to break through.
2. Learn what’s truly newsworthy.
Tip from Ray: “There’s what library staff think is newsworthy, and then there’s what reporters think is newsworthy. Your job is to bridge the gap.” How do you do that?
Focus on stories that have a community impact, emotional appeal, or broad interest.
Think strategically. Don’t pitch everything. Pitch what’s most likely to get picked up. Look through your local newspaper, magazine, radio, and TV stations to see what stories they normally cover. And check their social media accounts to see which stories receive a lot of engagement. They’re more likely to respond to your pitch if they think it will draw attention to their platforms.
Highlight grand openings, author visits, new services, renovations, or impactful patron stories. Those are usually sure bets for press coverage.
3. Personalize your pitches.
Tip from Leslie: “I don’t send out very many formal press releases. I prefer casual emails — sometimes with emojis — and it works better for my small market.” Leslie talked about this approach in depth in this post.
Know your market (see tip #1). It can help you decide how best to approach reporters. For example, in smaller communities, informal, friendly outreach can be more effective than polished press releases.
Use conversational language.
Personalize your email to each journalist, especially if you’re targeting a larger outlet.
4. Build relationships with reporters.
Tips from both Ray & Leslie:
Read or watch the media in your market. Know who’s covering what.
Reach out with thanks, praise, or helpful information, even when you’re not pitching a story.
Say yes when reporters ask for quotes or information and respond quickly.
Ray reads the paper every day and sends personal follow-ups after he sends his press releases. Leslie has even gotten coffee with the editor of her local paper. And when I worked at a library, I often invited reporters for a personal, behind-the-scenes tour to get to know them and vice versa!
5. Pitch less, but pitch better.
Tip from Ray: “Too many press releases can cause outlets to tune you out. Be strategic.”
Avoid sending releases for every single event, especially small, localized programs.
Always follow mass press releases with personalized outreach to key contacts.
When a brand-new library branch opened at Forsyth County Public Library, Leslie wrote a formal press release, and she packed it with everything a reporter might need: quotes with emotion, accurate stats, and ready-to-use details. That preparation led to multiple front-page stories, including this one, and a professionally produced video by the local government, something Leslie couldn’t have done on her own as a one-person team.
6. Time your pitches well.
My rules of thumb:
Big events (e.g., author visits, renovations): Send your release 4–6 weeks out, with a reminder a week before.
New services: Send your release 1–2 weeks ahead.
Awards: Send your release 1 week ahead. If you want to send it earlier, include an “embargo notice” which specifies that the news outlet can’t publish or air anything about the story until a specific date. Newsrooms will honor embargoes.
And always include:
High-resolution images or video that the press can use to add visuals to the story if they can’t get a reporter to the scene.
Human-sounding quotes. For example:
Corporate-speak quote (what not to do): “You can see our dynamic approach to customer service is essential to our strategic initiatives.”
Human-sounding quote (what to do instead): “We’re adding an online, real-time reading recommendation service because we wanted to do a better job of helping people find the books they want.”
Clear, simple language. As you write, you’ll want to avoid jargon, focus on benefits to the public, and make it easy for reporters (and readers) to understand. For example:
“The library is opening a brand-new branch with more space, updated technology, and a dedicated children’s area to better serve the community.”
“This program gives families a chance to enjoy a free movie night together, right at the library.”
7. Write the story yourself.
Media outlets are short-staffed. If you can provide a full article or press-ready content, your chances of getting coverage go up, and you control the message.
Leslie prepares a media packet to distribute at every Library Board meeting, complete with pertinent figures, dates, quotes, and the correct spellings of people’s names so that it’s easier for her local reporters to write stories about the library. This saves her reporters from having to go digging for information, and it leads to much more accurate news stories, which is a win-win for both the library and the newspaper.
Bonus: Offer to write a monthly column for local papers or magazines. Leslie turned her proactive event roundups into a recurring feature!
8. Be your own news channel.
Tip from Ray: “We break our own news via newsletters and email. It gets our message out without relying on the press.”
Start a blog or email newsletter and communicate directly with your community. Ray’s library has an entire news page with newsletters and blog posts to make it easy for reporters and stakeholders to see the latest library news.
Share bite-sized stories with elected officials, nonprofits, and other community partners.
Build a “partner relay” list to quickly spread info during closures or tech issues.
9. When things go wrong, work to control the narrative.
If negative press is brewing, you’ll need to move quickly.
Ray says that when a change in how content was communicated upset some internal staff, one of them contacted the press, claiming the library was turning its back on DEI values. He immediately pulled together a response team, wrote talking points, coached his colleagues, and scheduled a call with the reporter, who happened to be someone he had previously hired!
Because he acted fast and came prepared, the story was successfully reframed to highlight the library’s expanded and ongoing commitment to DEI. It ran as a positive feature instead of a negative exposé. Some other tips include:
Have talking points ready, as Ray did.
Role-play interviews with your spokespeople.
Use your own platforms to clarify or correct the record.
On that last point, while I was working in marketing at the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library, one of our biggest challenges was the lack of accessibility in several of our historic Carnegie-era branches. We knew renovations were needed and were preparing to ask voters to approve a levy to fund them.
Just as we were in the planning stages of the levy, a Vietnam veteran went to a local news station and shared that he couldn’t access his neighborhood branch because it had no elevator or wheelchair ramp. (Here’s that story.) It was true, but it didn’t mention our plans to renovate the branches.
Instead of ignoring the coverage or going on the defensive, we reached out. I invited the veteran to return to the library for a follow-up story, this time focused on what it would mean to him if he could fully access library services. We recorded an interview and shared it on the library’s YouTube channel.
That heartfelt video helped us take control of the narrative and became a key part of our campaign messaging when it came time to ask the community to vote “yes” on the levy.
10. Show gratitude.
Tip from Leslie: “Send thank-you notes. Nobody gets them anymore, and reporters remember.”
Praise good stories, thank writers publicly and privately, and copy their bosses when appropriate. It builds goodwill and earns more coverage next time.
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What if I told you that posting less frequently on social media could actually help your library reach a wider audience? I know it sounds backward, but I think I’m on to something here, and I’ve got some data to prove my theory!
So we’re going to talk about why fewer posts lead to more engagement in this episode of The Library Marketing Show. Plus, we’ll give kudos to a library system that just released a beautiful and tangible way for patrons to take a piece of the library with them wherever they go!
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode’s topic? Do you want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. Thanks for watching!
Subscribe to this blog, and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address. Then, click the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:
Did you know that there’s a trick you can use to increase the number of followers on Facebook and LinkedIn for your library’s page? It’s pretty easy. And it only takes about 10 minutes once a year!
I’m going to show you how to do it in this episode of The Library Marketing Show. Plus, I’ll give kudos to a library for a simple but impactful book display idea.
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode’s topic? Do you want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. Thanks for watching!
Subscribe to this blog, and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address. Then, click the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:
Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
My former employer recently purchased sponsored content in the local newspaper to educate the Cincinnati community about all the library has to offer. When I saw the ad, I knew exactly what they were doing: Trying to drive more use of the resources they spend so much time and money curating for the community.
I’m frustrated by the fact that many regular community members are unaware of the existence of these databases. It’s great if you have the money to promote them. But most libraries have no advertising budget. So, how do they drive the use of the databases?
This is a marketing problem I want to address with this post. It’s vitally important for your library to boost usage of your databases so you can make the case to keep the budget you’ve set aside for them! A year-long promotional plan with strategic key messages can help you build awareness and turn occasional database or library users into regular users who rely on your library for information.
This plan goes beyond the normal “Did you know we had that?” campaign. It focuses on the core problems each database solves for your community. This method will effectively explain to your community why the database is essential to their life. Here’s how to do it.
Identify the problem the database solves
Your first step is to set aside time to play with the database yourself. This “playtime” is how you’ll uncover the real value of the database.
Pretend you’re a curious patron exploring it for the first time. What features catch your attention? What tools are easy to use? What specific problem does this database solve for your community? Is it saving students time on citations? Helping job seekers prep for interviews?
Write the problems down as you explore the database. Those problems will be the focus of your campaign. This will keep you from promoting the database with language that sounds generic, like “access to great information.”
Generic benefits are too vague to meaningfully connect with or interest your patrons. They don’t address the real-life needs of your community. And they make your library marketing sound like every other piece of marketing content out there in the world.
Call the database by its name and tie it to your library
Patrons usually have to sign in to the database using their library card, and that action can create a separation in the mind of your patron between your library and the database.
Using the name of the database builds name recognition for the resource. And, with a consistent, deliberate effort to add your library’s name to each database, (“NoveList Plus at the Maple Tree Library” or “Consumer Reports from the Maple Tree Library”), you will begin to create a connection in your patrons’ minds that solidifies all that your library provides.
Promote one database each month
Create a simple month-long campaign for each of these databases. Consider:
Who is the ideal patron who will benefit from this resource? This is your target audience for the month.
What channels are best for reaching your target audience? Focus your library promotions on those channels only.
Set goals for the month. How much of a usage increase will you be aiming for? This number will likely be different each month. Be sure to write your goals down and check at the end of the month to see if you’ve accomplished them.
12-month database promotional plan
I’ve put together a calendar of promotions to get you started. I’ve also identified the problem each database solves and suggested two potential key messages for your campaigns. Don’t you have one of these databases? Feel free to substitute any resources you wish for any month!
January: Homework Help Database (e.g., HelpNow, Tutor.com)
Problem it solves: Students get help with homework they might not receive at home due to busy caregivers, the cost of private tutoring, or a lack of subject expertise. These databases also typically offer test prep and FAFSA help.
Potential key messages:
Homework help is one click away. Get free online tutoring, test prep, and more—all from the comfort of home.
Test prep without the stress. SAT, ACT, and more—no expensive classes are required.
February: Full-Text Academic Research Databases (e.g., JSTOR, Academic Search Premier)
Problem it solves: Gives users access to credible, peer-reviewed sources with no unreliable websites or paywalls.
Potential key messages:
Say goodbye to paywalls. Find full-text articles for your next paper—free with your library card.
Need solid sources without the stress? These articles are 100% human-written and citation-ready—no AI, no trouble.
March: LinkedIn Learning or Career Skills Services
Problem it solves: Free training in business, tech, and creative skills for career growth.
Potential key messages:
Learn new skills. Land the job. Free classes in Excel, coding, communication, and more.
Your next promotion starts here. Learn in-demand skills on your schedule, at no cost.
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A viewer wants to know if her library should have a separate Instagram account for her teenage audience. It’s a great question!
I’m going to share some pros and cons. And spoiler alert… my “cons” list is longer than the “pros” list… in this episode of The Library Marketing Show.
Plus, I’ll give kudos to a library that took a popular meme and made a funny and effective social media post relevant to their audience.
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode’s topic? Do you want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. Thanks for watching!
Subscribe to this blog, and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address. Then, click the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:
Super Library Marketing: Practical Tips and Ideas for Library Promotion 