I'm going to say up front that I am choosing to remain anonymous on this post b/cse I used to work for a book PR company (x) and have chosen to use some of MOD's services
. If you want to disregard this message b/cse of that, feel free.
Part of the issue here is that the world of publishing, and therefore the world of marketing/publicity for authors is changing at an amazing speed, prompting numerous different business models. I think that part of the reason why MOD's lists of services is rather vague is based in part b/cse what you as an individual author may be different than what another author may need. Therefore, what they can and will do for you may be very different.
The business model, in general, of a self-published or small-published author is very different than that of a traditionally published author. That is going to make a huge difference in what you may feel that you need as far as marketing and publicity are concerned.
Also, a big part depends on what you as an author feel that you are capable of doing. Someone who is wealthy may not mind spending a lot of money on book trailers or book tours, etc, whereas other authors have to be more frugal. So budget is one factor, and another is comfort level. Do you freeze up during live events? If so, they may not be for you. Etc etc.
The best way to figure out whether or not a company can work with/for you and whether or not the money is worth it is to pick up the phone (old school, I know) and have a conversation. You may be an author who is comfortable blogging and would like to set up a blog tour or you may hate blogging and want to find some other way to amplify your message.
Something else to remember, publicity and marketing are not the same thing. Marketing is about building a brand and then amplifying that brand so that you build a lasting relationship with your consumers (from my understanding of it, anyway).
Publicity is more about driving people to your product and hopefully increasing sales. (Having articles about your book signings in the local papers, press coverage of charity events, etc) Publicity (aside from the cost of the publicist, of course) is free coverage of you and your product provided by the media. So radio-shows, podcasts, newspaper articles, etc.
I feel I can speak to only what Ms Fusco has done for me at the present time and whether or not I feel like it was worth the money.
I asked her to do a competitive market analysis. So she sent me a questionnaire so that she could figure out what I would feel a)comfortable doing and b)what I felt like I could do consistently for the long term, as well as questions about the book, etc
She then studied the "competition" to see how three other writers who have a similar target demographic, reach their readers through their website/social media and live events.
Then I received a literal binder full of her findings. Page after page of not only my own current strengths and weaknesses but also that of the competition.
She then came up with a plan for the best way I could reach my readers. I can't tell you how helpful the suggestions were. I suddenly went from a writer with no clue to a writer with a plan. A plan that I was able to use immediately in the construction of my website and for my pre-launch schedule. I'm still constructing the website, but that's another story.
Essentially, we found possible ways for me to reach readers that I was both comfortable with and that my competition wasn't already doing. It put me into a "void" in the current market that no one else was filling.
Would this be worth the money to somebody else? I can't say, we're all different, but for me I feel that it was money well-spent.
As for the Facebook ads, I have no idea about how effective they are, all I hear are anecdotal pros or cons from people. I think a lot of the effectiveness of ads in general depends on a) how well the ads themselves are designed and b) how the ads are targeted. Having a good ad design can make a big difference towards driving actual sales, and I have no experience in that department, so I for one, will seriously consider having her help me with a ad design.
With Facebook it's especially difficult because it is hard to tell whether or not the click-throughs translate into a sale. But as I said, my book is not released yet, so I have no Facebook ads and no numbers one way or the other as to how all of this drives sales.
All I can say is that I'm happy with the services that I've received. But again, I have no release yet, so I have no numbers to share.
This is where "marketing" becomes difficult to define, because it focuses more on building lasting relationships with the consumer and less on numbers tied to one specific book.
I suggest that if you are looking to find the best way to promote your book, that you a) set a budget b) ask your publisher (if applicable) what they are willing to do to promote you and your work c) figure out what you are happiest to do (blogging, live events, etc) d) call a number of different book marketing companies and ask specific questions e) ask to speak to current clients and see how they feel.
So far, I am a satisfied customer.