My book has been out for three years, it’s too old for tradeshows and promotions.

We hear that pretty routinely. I put that in the category of “marketing myths,” because it just isn’t true.

Yes, everyone likes shiny and new, but what about us who want tried and true?

Case in point: why is Goodnight Moon still one of the top-selling children’s books every year? Ditto the games Sorry! or Monopoly.

[amazon_link id=”0694003611″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]Because there are always new audiences. Goodnight Moon was not in my childhood library, I didn’t even remember the book. But I found it when my own daughter was born, saw that it was an award-winner, so I bought it.

The same is true with marketing and promotion for your book, product, or service. There are always going to be new audiences. So even if your award-winning book was published in 2006 or your game launched in 2009, you have an audience that hasn’t discovered you yet!

It is just a matter of rebuilding buzz. Thanks to the pervasiveness of social, there are ways to reach your audience that may not have been valuable to you when you published your book. Let’s look at three ways for rebuilding buzz

Three Hot Tips for Rebuilding Buzz

1. Get out there!

Bookstore signings, toy store demos, school visits … Hands down, the best marketing “prop” you have, is you. People don’t want to talk to your manufacturer or ask your publicist questions, they want to talk with YOU.

One way to reach your entire demographic all in one place is to attend or be part of a tradeshow. There are always first-time attendees or people who weren’t there last year. How else can you get the attention of tens-of-thousands of people and meet with hundreds of them all in one place?

2. Refresh, Reuse, Renew

Did you issue a press release when you launched your product? Did you announce that your book won a Mom’s Choice Award? Pull out that media release or the email to family and friends. Freshen it up and send it out, and you’re rebuilding buzz! Here are some other ideas:

• Celebrating the 5th anniversary of your product launch?  Invite family and friends to share the news with their network.
• Did you just see a national news report about kids and the internet? Would your book about keeping kids safe online be helpful to your local news team? Let them know you’re available for interview!
• Share your expertise on a trending topic by writing an article for your blog or as a guest on a colleague / friend’s blog.

You get the idea. After you write that article or get that interview, be sure to send out a press release about it.

3. Get Social

I am a huge fan of mixing old school – like press releases and local media spots – with social media. It is a perfect combination for rebuilding buzz.

It allows you to use in-the-moment tools like Twitter to direct consumers to places where they can get more information about you and/or purchase your product. I recommend a website or blog over your online store or sites like amazon.com.

You probably don’t want to link to that October 2008 press release. Use that new press release or article and put it on your website or blog. Then include that link in your Tweets, Facebook or Google+ posts, etc.

As we have all discovered, marketing never stops. New tools and the passage of time create wonderful opportunities to re-introduce your product or service to new audiences. Rebuilding buzz is an opportunity not only to connect with consumers, but also rekindle the spark you felt when you first launched your product or service.