Sara Pinotti

Sara Pinotti – Marketer

*NON-FICTION * COOKBOOKS * LIFESTYLE * TRAVEL* Marketing professional with 10y+ experience in publishing and media (Penguin Random House)

Overview

Passionate UK-based storyteller with a love for content, data and audience engagement. Worked as Head of Campaigns at DK, Penguin Random House, and in Audience Development at multiple media companies (New Scientist, Reuters). Strong team management experience, passionate of digital marketing, content and data. I work with budget varying from as little as £2000 to £200,000+.


Would prefer to work directly with publishers in search of a freelancer but can also support non-fiction authors directly. I have extensive non-fiction lifestyle marketing experience, with a specialization in cookery, sustainability & gardening, and I worked across multiple other categories including travel, children's, licensing (Star Wars, LEGO, Marvel).


During my 5 years at DK I led numerous Sunday Times and Amazon bestsellers campaigns (Mary Berry's Complete Cookbook, The Finch Bakery, Down to Earth, Veg in one Bed, The Science of Cooking &more) and worked with celebrity authors (Mary Berry, Monty Don, Chris Bavin, Peter Snow, Santosh Shah, James Strawbridge, Jess French, Anthony Daniels &more).


Currently, I am focusing on content and audience development at Reuters, promoting via digital paid advertising sponsored and brand campaigns. I have audience acquisition experience and a strong practical knowledge of social media advertising.


I offer two main types of packages but can bespoke according to your needs.


360 Book Marketing Campaign: Got a book to turn into an Amazon bestseller but struggling with resources or can't find the right marketing strategy? Leave it with me! I have done it a thousand times. I can design a bespoke marketing strategy while adapt to your department's ways of working and budgets. From planning, to activating across multiple digital and print channels, organizing events, stunts and guerilla marketing, to coordinating with PR, I can turnaround a 360 marketing campaign for you, including being the main point of contact for authors and agents. I'll make sure we keep them happy and deliver against ROI.


Content and audience development: do you have content or products to promote but are unsure how to hit your audiences for maximum ROI? Look no further! I will listen to your requirements, understand your final goal, and promote your content/products via A/B testing, reporting on organic and paid digital campaigns using advertising business managers + Google Analytics, growing the target audiences that better convert for your brand, and building best practices to handover to your in-house team. Whether your goal is sales, traffic, acquisition or organic growth, I can help you putting the basics or refining your audience development strategy in 1-3-6 months.


A bit about me:

I started my career as a journalist in Italy, learning hands-on the importance of matching effective storytelling with the audience heart's choices, and with data. I moved to the UK 11 years ago to work in marketing for books, magazines and newspapers, and I seek exciting professional opportunities in the UK/Italy/Europe. I love to travel, eating street food, and finding purpose in what I do.

Services
Non-Fiction
Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits DIY & Crafts Health & Wellbeing Home & Garden Inspirational Travel

Work experience

Thomson Reuters

Jul, 2022 — Present

DK, Penguin Random House

Apr, 2021 — Apr, 2022 (about 1 year)

DK, Penguin Random House

Sep, 2017 — Apr, 2021 (over 3 years)

New Scientist

Jan, 2016 — Sep, 2017 (over 1 year)

Oxford University Press

Jan, 2014 — Dec, 2015 (almost 2 years)

Lettera43/other media companies in Italy

Jan, 2007 — Dec, 2017 (almost 11 years)

Projects

New Scientist Q1 Acquisition Campaign

+49,01% Print subscription YOY
+25,00% Print & Digital subscription YOY
+20,38% Digital subscription YOY
£88000 revenue

Project management from idea creation to sign off, working with internal designers on creatives, deploying across multiple print and digital channels (inserts, PPC, social media, email, webpush, display)
Reporting via Adobe Analytics and Google analytics

DK Christmas Campaign

Budget: £20,000
Channels: FB/IG, PPC
Amazon Sales: £23000 - tracked via Amazon Attribution
Promoting 17 different titles for Gardening, Children’s, History, Food, Hobbies and Travel
Organized photoshoot with inclusivity focus project managing all parts of it, from idea generation to sign off, book location, photographer and actors, art direction of the photoshoot, brief designers for the creation of bespoke backgrounds and assets, campaign deployment in-house and working with external digital agency, reporting to stakeholders

Ayla by Santosh Shah Marketing Campaign

1000 pre-ordered copies
#1 Food & Drink Amazon chart in pub week
500 signed copies sold via retailers including WHS online, indies and Irish retailers.

Jacket reveal on Tik Tok
Unboxing of first advance on Tik Tok
Recorded recipe Reels and Tik Tok in professional studio kitchen hiring a videographer and directing the shoot
Pre-order Facebook/Instagram advertising targeting fans of Masterchef while Santosh was on TV for the Masterchef Christmas Special
Retargeting advertising targeting Santosh’s Instagram followers and DK followers
Exclusive recipe Waterstone blog
Booktime interview
Fantastic Five Supper Club at Cinnamon Kitchen Battersea, to celebrate the publication of the book. Santosh Shah was cooking at the event together with Vivek Singh, Alex Webb, Philli Armitage-Mattin, and Bart Van Der Lee

Veg in One Bed Marketing Campaign

41000 visits to the Amazon product page
15000 copies in first 2 months, and over 100,000 just via Amazon in first 2 years
Doubled YR1 sales target in first two months of campaign
Generated over 3m impressions, exceeding the 600,000 planned
CTR across display and video was 97% above benchmark
Leverage on author social media followers (Youtube focus) for organic promotion including a special video series with content from the book

The Finch Bakery Marketing Campaign

6021 pre-orders Amazon, 250 pre-order signed copies WHSmith
Book n2 Bookscan Hardback Non-Fiction Chart pub week with over 20,000 copies in the first week
#3 Top 100 Amazon UK books the day after pub
145 Amazon reviews during first week, of which 99% are 5 stars

Book announcement
Cover poll to Finch followers
Cover reveal
Unboxing video
Signed copies for pre-order via WHS online
Leverage on authors social media followers (Instagram focus) for organic promotion (purchase nudge, cover poll, review screenshots, Amazon chart screenshots, competitions, reels)
Paid social from publication for 6 weeks (total est impressions 955,566, est CTR 1.46%, est CPM £0.28) split between:
A. Retargeting advertising to Finch Bakery Instagram followers
B. Further paid social with relevant geo-targeting/interest targeting via DK channels
Partnership with The Happy Foodie
Key PR slots support via organic social
Email marketing

Sara has 1 review

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Jutta P.

Jutta P.

Jun, 2024

It was a lot of fun working with Sara. I learned things I never knew of. I'm looking forward to working with her again in fall. Thanks again for everything, Sara! :-)
Sara P.
It's bee lovely working with Jutta. I am glad I could help her in setting up her book on Amazon and providing a social media calendar with assets. I look forward to collaborate again with her in th...
Read more

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