Build Buzz

Find this blog at its new home

2011-07-15T16:28:00.000-04:00

I've moved this blog to its new home on my website: http://buildbookbuzz.com/blog/.

If you subscribe to this blog, you should continue to get notices when I post new content. If you aren't getting those notices, just visit the new location and subscribe again there.

Thanks!

Authors and public speaking: 5 reasons to be an author who speaks

2011-03-11T17:38:00.000-05:00

When my humor book, WHY CAN’T A MAN BE MORE LIKE A WOMAN?, was released, I learned about the power of a book when people with budgets are looking for speakers. I heard from Fortune 500 corporations that included Corning, Kraft, and Xerox, and from organizations that needed a light-hearted, upbeat keynote speaker. I was happy to oblige and accept flattering fees for my presentations around the country at sales meetings, networking sessions, and women’s events.

So . . . when Publicity for Nonprofits: Generating Media Exposure That Leads to Awareness, Growth, and Contributions was published, my book marketing plan included securing paid speaking engagements that would allow me to:

Provide nonprofits with information they could use immediately to generate publicity
Sell books
Leverage the book to earn more through speaking fees

In addition to meeting all three goals, I was paid as much to speak about the book’s topic as I was to write the book! Clearly, the time it took to pursue paid speaking opportunities was well worth it for me.

Is it worth it for you? Here are five reasons to consider becoming an author who speaks:

You can share your message with more people. You have something to say, right? That’s why you wrote the book. Speaking lets you present your core messages in person.
It can lead to more paying work. Many consultants speak to generate leads. If you’ve got a book and you consult on your book’s topic, public speaking can not only generate more speaking invitations, it can also fill your inbox with requests for information about your professional services.
It supports your expert positioning. Whether you acknowledge it or not, you’re considered an expert on your book’s topic. This applies to all types of authors – from nonfiction writers to novelists to memoirists. When you add “speaker” to your list of credentials, you further underscore that expert status.
Your admirers want to hear from you. Whether they deserve it or not, authors are admired by non-authors. For reasons that are hard to understand, many think authors are “cool.” People like to hear what cool people have to say.
You can earn more money from your book. Sure, you can – and should – accept unpaid speaking gigs offered by local groups or association conferences. But why limit yourself to unpaid opportunities? Why not take that experience to organizations that have money to pay speakers?

I realize that many authors are introverts who find the whole concept of speaking in public too stressful to even consider. But I know from the messages I receive in my e-mail inbox, from the questions my Book Publicity 101 students ask, and from the inquiries I read on writers’ forums that many, many authors are pursuing this option. They ask:

“How do I respond when a meeting planner asks, ‘How much do you charge?’ ”
“How do speakers’ bureaus work?”
“What topics are in greatest demand?”
“How do I find paying opportunities?”

I’ll be asking these and other questions when I interview speaking industry expert Mary McKay during a Build Book Buzz teleseminar on March 29, 2011. During From Author to Speaker: How to Get Paid to Speak, we’ll tap into Mary’s three decades of experience booking more than 2,200 paid speaking engagements to learn how to find and secure these opportunities. To learn more, please visit http://bit.ly/dQVzJS.

If you speak about your book's topic, tell us why.

Is your blog quotable?

2011-03-08T13:33:00.000-05:00

Journalists are quoting from blogs more often. Is yours quote ready?

My local newspaper recently quoted from a college president's blog when it needed information for an article. If my newspaper is doing it, yours probably is, too.

As somebody who interviews others and is interviewed herself, this is a bit alarming. First, bloggers in general are more casual about their writing than journalists are, which means their "facts" might not actually be "facts." There's more heresay, less fact checking for accuracy. If journalists are using them for information, are they also using some kind of vetting process to make sure the source is reliable and responsible? Second, I'm thoughtful about what I say to the media when I'm interviewed. If a "quote" is pulled from my blog, I'm deprived of the opportunity to make sure what I say is appropriate for the situation or the audience.

I realize my opinion doesn't matter so to make up for that, here are suggestions for anyone who might or wants to be quoted from their blog:

Get it right. Think of the harm you could cause if your facts weren't really facts.
Choose your words carefully. Take any chunk of your content -- especially a rant or something inflammatory -- and picture your mother reading that in her newspaper or hearing it read by a broadcaster. How does it sound now? Is that what you really want to say -- or the tone you want to use?
Monitor your emotions. If you don't want to be quoted, don't get all emotional on us. If you do want to be quoted, tell us how you really feel.
Pick your topics carefully. To get quoted, blog on big news current events and do so with a unique perspective. If there's a possibility you'll be quoted whether you want to be or not, stick with the topics you know well to minimize the chance that your shared commentary will be attacked by those who might know more.
Add appropriate "about me" information to the blog. You want to be identified appropriately.

This trend will only grow as media outlets continue to cut budgets and ask staffers or freelancers to do more with (or for) less. Quoting from existing material -- whether it's a blog, a book, or an interview elsewhere -- takes less time than securing a personal interview.

Has content from your blog been lifted and quoted by the media? How did you feel about it?

Top elements to include in your online news room

2011-02-15T13:34:00.000-05:00

TEKgroup International, Inc., an organization that helps companies create online news rooms, offers a list of the top 20 elements to include. A large corporation should consider including all of them; a small business can get away with incorporating about half of them. Here's TEKgroup's list followed by my recommendations for smaller operations in order of importance.

TEKgroup's top 20 elements in their order of importance:

Searchable archives
PR contacts
News releases
Background information
Product info/press kits
Photographs
Help/FAQ
Crisis communications
Events calendar
Executive biographies
Media credentials registration
Financial information
Info/interview request form
News coverage
Video
Social media page
RSS feeds
Audio
Blog
Twitter feed

Here are mine for smaller organizations, including nonprofits, in order of importance, based on the information I look for when looking for article and interview sources:

PR contacts
News releases
Background information
Product info/press kits
Photographs
Searchable archives
Executive biographies
Social media links (not page)
Blog
News coverage

Why did I select "PR contacts" as the top item? Because more often than not, I'm at a company's online news room because I need to schedule an interview and I'm looking for somebody to help make that happen. And yet, surprisingly enough, this information can be hard to find (and some companies make it impossible to find by not offering it at all). If it takes too long to find a media contact, I'll move on to your competitor.

TEKgroup also recently released results of its survey on how journalists are using digital media, online newsrooms, and social media to write, researchn and report on news stories. Not surprisingly, the 1,500 journalists surveyed want access to helpful information at a company's website. Download the report here.

Be your own book publicist

2011-01-21T17:48:00.000-05:00

When it comes to book promotion, most authors are either paralyzed because they don't know what to do or where to begin, or they're throwing money at the latest tactic because they've heard that's what everyone else is doing. I understand both, but neither is good.

The chronic, widespread paralysis is caused either by a lack of information or information overload -- either you're clueless about what you should be doing, or you've read so much about book promotion that you can't sort out what does and doesn't apply to you. The "tactic of the month" approach comes from a lack of information about the best strategy to use -- and every book deserves its own strategy.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself when starting the book publicity and promotion process:

Who did I write the book for?
Where do I need to be to reach them? What do they read, watch, or listen to? Are they online, offline, or both?
What's the best strategy for reaching them? Should I leverage my networks, tap into the research I did for the book, or focus on a specific tactic?
How much time do I have for book promotion?
What are the most cost-effective tactics, and will they help me get my book title in front of my target audience?
What promotional activities do I enjoy the most, and are they the types of things that will help me reach the right people for this book?
Is there anything I should outsource to someone who's better suited for the task?
What are the one or two things I have time for that will have an impact?

If you want to sell copies of your book, you have to promote it yourself -- there's just no way around it. And you've got to answer these questions if you're going to make progress. Learn what will make a difference with your book -- not anyone else's -- when you register for "Book Publicity 101: How to Build Book Buzz," the popular e-course running from January 31-February 25, 2011. You'll learn more about what works and what doesn't, the best options for your title, and, best of all, how to do it! We've got a few more openings for the course, so join us and enjoy the benefits of personal coaching in a group forum environment.

The press release isn't dead yet

2011-01-19T17:49:00.000-05:00

I'm sure that Heather Whaling's Ragan.com column, "10 alternatives to sending a press release," caused many people to breathe a sigh of relief. For whatever reason, non-publicists are often intimidated by press releases. I sometimes get the impression in my workshops that people would rather give a speech than write a press release. For those who don't like them, you'll find a couple of different options on Heather's list that are a good fit for your communication style and ability, so give it a read.

I'd like to take her column a step further and offer reasons why you still want to use press releases, though. There's a lot of chatter about whether these tools are still effective now that we've got Twitter, Facebook pages, websites, and so many other ways to get our information in front of our target audiences. They are. And here are five reasons why:

A well-written press release will still get used. This is especially true when you're sending it to weekly newspapers, smaller dailies, trade magazines, e-zines, and other outlets that are looking for the information you're offering because it's relevant or important to their readers, viewers, etc. And by "well-written," I don't mean award-winning. Just get to the point quickly and include the facts. (If you're an author writing a book announcement press release, read my tips on how to do that. If you want a fill-in-the-blanks template, you might like this resource.)
A distributed press release is an aggressive alternative to the more passive options on Heather's list. Oh yeah, sure, you can put a YouTube video up there or write a blog posting about whatever you've got going on, but people -- including journalists -- have to come looking for it. When you send a press release, you're shouting, "Hey! Look at me!" (And oh-by-the-way, make sure that any press release service you use actually sends the thing out. Some of the free sites don't -- your release only sits on their site waiting to be found.)
When your press release gets picked up, you're reaching people who aren't on your e-newsletter list or missed out on your blog tour interviews, etc. You're expanding your audience and building your business.
A press release posted in your website's press room is a two-fer: (1) It helps search engines find your site and all your organization has to offer while (b) it provides journalists searching for information about your topic with helpful or relevant content presented in a format that works for them.
When you become known as someone who provides good information in press releases, you get added to journalists' contact databases. They'll start calling you for interviews without you reaching out to them because they trust and respect you. And that's when your publicity program shifts to automatic pilot.

Why do you think press releases are still effective?

Doing good? Tell somebody about it

2011-01-06T16:31:00.000-05:00

Waste Management’s High Acres Landfill in Perinton, N.Y. seems to be an ongoing source of community controversy. Most recently, the landfill’s expansion proposal was opposed by residents concerned about air quality and other issues. I haven't seen or heard much positive publicity for this site in the local news -- outside of its cameo appearance in an early episode of "Undercover Boss" on CBS -- until recently. An article in our weekly community newspaper announcing that High Acres received national recognition for its "green" community relations activities seemed like a nice change -- but it also made me wonder why I didn't know more about what the company does right.

I learned through the article that High Acres was recently honored as the Wildlife Habitat Council's Corporate Lands for Learning Rookie of the Year. The award recognizes the company’s work to be a good neighbor by creating a more than 400-acre wildlife habitat for community-based activities. These include Eagle Scout projects, bio-diversity and college field studies, migratory bird reviews, habitat enhancements, removing invasive species, public trails, and presentations to local groups.

There’s no doubt that High Acres management is trying to counter negative perceptions of the landfill and its environmental impact by transforming some of its acreage into an impressive community resource. But I live in Perinton, I'm an outdoorsy-walking/biking/hiking-kind-of-gal, and I'm a media consumer, so how is it that I'm not more aware of High Acres' contributions to my community? I suspect it's possible that the company's communications resources are focused on responding to criticism and complaints about the proposed expansion or other negative issues and don't have enough time for positive community outreach. Or maybe they're doing it and I'm not in the target demographic. (But as a taxpayer, how can I not be?)

It's not enough to be a good corporate citizen -- people have to know about it, too. National recognition for facilities like the High Acres Nature Area is validating, but that doesn't help much if the local community is unaware. Companies of all sizes need to find a way to spread the word about what they're doing right so it helps diminish the impact of perceived wrongs. And if you can't share news of positive activities or accomplishments through the media (because, well, they like controversy more than they like stories about class field trips to a corporate-owned wildlife habitat adjacent to a landfill), then go straight to the people:

Invite local groups on guided tours.
Develop environmental educational programs for schools.
Staff a booth at local festivals and engage passerbys not with brochures but with wildlife or other tangibles that will entice them to visit or learn more about the habitat.
Present a wildlife slide show at the library.
Teach a class at the recreation center.
Host technology recycling events.
Lead guided birding tours.
Identify the community's key influencers and invite them to volunteer or serve on advisory committees.

It's possible that High Acres does all this and more and yet isn't on my radar screen. Regardless, High Acres obviously understands that when a business has any potential for controversy, it's important to counter that by giving back to the community, as it does. But you have to also tell the community what you're doing, too. The old Nike slogan -- "Just do it" -- isn't enough.

How to plan and execute a virtual book tour

2011-01-03T14:28:00.000-05:00

My guest column today over at the Savvy Book Marketer blog addresses how to plan and execute a virtual book tour. I've provided step-by-step information along with a fill-in-the-blanks "pitch" form you can use and a sample pitch.

The information on how to plan a blog tour isn't limited to authors, though. It's relevant to anyone promoting a product, service, mission, cause, or organization. Check out the blog post and tell us there, or here, what you think and how we might be able to help you even more.

How to sell more books on Amazon

2010-12-21T15:02:00.000-05:00

Book marketing coach Dana Lynn Smith has just introduced another helpful short book in her "The Savvy Book Marketer" series of how-to guides. How to Sell More Books on Amazon*, a 38-page resource available in PDF or Kindle formats, answers a lot of the common questions I receive from authors on this topic, from how to secure "five-star" reviews to the best ways to increase your book's visibility in Amazon's search results page.

Dana explains that the best way to sell more books on this popular (but mystifying) retail site is to make it as easy as possible for people to purchase. Tell them what they need to know before buying, show them what they'll get, and deliver it in the format they want it in. What I like the most about this and the other books in the series, though, is that she takes you through the process step-by-step so there's no question about what you need to do. I can't underestimate the importance of this. Her instructions are clear and specific, and she includes screen shots to help you find what you're looking for on the page in front of you on your computer. This book tells me what I need to know, then holds my hand through the process.

Whether you're working with a traditional publisher or self-publishing, you'll benefit from this quick read. How to Sell More Books on Amazon helps authors discover how to:

Increase the sales appeal of your book page on Amazon.
Help shoppers find your book amid the millions of competing books.
Give customers a real bookstore experience by letting them sample your book's content.
Use reviews to draw customers to your book and persuade them to buy.
Profit by selling your content in alternative formats.
Enhance your personal profile and author page.
Boost your profits with Amazon's affiliate program.

Take the mystery out of getting the most from your Amazon sales page. Get more information here.

What are your tips for selling more books on Amazon.com?

*Affiliate link

Marcia Yudkin talks about Publicity Tactics

2010-12-10T10:09:00.000-05:00

I liked marketer Marcia Yudkin's new book, Publicity Tactics: Insights on Creating Lucrative Media Buzz, so much that I provided a back cover blurb and asked her to do a Q&A here. The book distills Marcia's wisdom and years of publicity experience into short chunks of information that are easy to understand, read, and act upon. I think what I like most about it is that Marcia really gets you thinking about how to apply specific publicity tactics to your own business -- whether you're a solo, a small nonprofit, an author, or a small business.

Here's our Q&A. I hope you find it helpful. Feel free to ask questions -- I'm sure Marcia would be happy to answer them.

For those who don't know her, Marcia Yudkin is the author of 6 Steps to Free Publicity, now in its third edition, and 13 other books. She has a knack for engineering public attention for clever ideas. Her publicity clients run the gamut from a urologist selling guaranteed vasectomy reversals to entrepreneurs releasing ingenious new mobile phone apps.

Your new book, Publicity Tactics, helps small businesses, nonprofits, authors, sole practitioners, and others discover the things they can be doing to generate priceless publicity for their endeavors. What's the best starting point for all of them - where should they begin when they start thinking about how to secure publicity?

Start with the word “who” – whose attention are you trying to attract? If you have a local business, the answer might be “people within a 10 mile radius of my bakery.” If you’ve written a romance novel, it would be “people who love reading romance novels.” If you’re an architect, you’d answer “people within 100 miles who want a new or renovated house.” Rarely is the correct answer “everyone.” Once you’re clear on the target market for your publicity, you can identify the media that reach that group. And then you’re on to thinking up a publicity angle.

From your experience, what's the hardest thing for people to do when they're trying to generate publicity? By this I mean, what do they struggle with the most? Why?

Coming up with the publicity angle tends to be hardest for people. They tend to feel, “Who, me? Us? Who would ever pay attention to us?” The truth is that people featured in the media are not necessarily extraordinary. It’s more like this: When light is shined on them in a certain way, they appear interesting. If you know how to step into the light in the proper way, you’ll come off as interesting also. There are so many kinds of light possible to step into, you’re bound to find several of them feasible. That’s actually a major emphasis of my book.

What advice would you offer small businesses and others about identifying what's newsworthy in their businesses?

Think small. Rather than try to imagine what the media would find interesting about your business as a whole, look for little things you are doing or that you know that are new and different or unusual and useful.

For example, I live out in the country, and yesterday I got my hair cut at a new salon in the next town that is struggling to build its clientele to the point that it doesn’t even have a business phone listing yet. We were talking about a problem I’ve been having with my hair that the salon owner said may be attributable to minerals in our well water, and she said she knew a product that specifically counteracted the well water. That was news to me, and I’m certain it would be news to lots of people in my area who get their water from wells. All she has to do is email a local reporter that she can provide information for a story on the effect of well water on hair, and I’m pretty sure that would prompt a story.

If you wrote down the content of every conversation you had with customers in the course of a day, I guarantee there would be at least three or four topics amongst them that have the makings of newsworthy media angles.

What are people not doing to get publicity that they should be doing?

The main thing they’re not doing is simply not trying. Every few years I do a round of my colleagues asking them for new press releases and publicity success stories, and I’m always amazed that even those who have experienced the power of publicity in the past just let things ride for years before trying again. Publicity can cost little or nothing, and the payoff can boost your credibility and visibility for years.

What are some common mistakes organizations or individuals make when it comes to publicity?

One common mistake is turning away publicity by not leaping to take advantage of opportunities. Recently I wanted to feature an artist who’d won a certain kind of grant in my Marketing Minute newsletter, which goes to nearly 12,000 people every week. When I wrote to the email address on his web site, I received a canned reply saying that he was way too busy to reply to every email personally. I wrote again and was simply ignored. Talk to any journalist or broadcast producer and you’ll hear the same experience – a shocking number of people simply don’t understand and take advantage of their good fortune when a chance to get publicity shows up on their doorstep.

Another common mistake is trying to bully the media person into doing things your way. That rarely works and only alienates someone who may move around from one media job to another and never give you another chance.

For example, I’ve seen advice on the Internet that when someone asks you for an interview, you should agree to it only on the condition that the media outlet gives out your contact information during the interview. That’s terrible advice. You shouldn’t set conditions when a media opportunity comes your way. Instead, you can provide an incentive for them to give out your contact information, such as by offering a free report or video especially for the audience of that interview. This works most of the time.

What do you think is the easiest publicity tactic in your book to execute, and why?

If you’re opinionated and like to write, you should write letters to the editor of publications read by your target market. Each one, just two or three paragraphs, takes you half an hour or so to write when you’re fired up about something you’ve read. When I had a letter to the editor published in Inc. magazine, I got one new client immediately and nice notes from several clients who’d seen it.

Interestingly, when I published a column in my newsletter with tips on writing letters to the editor, I received a couple of replies asking me how that counted or worked as publicity. You see, whatever puts you positively into the public eye boosts your credibility and visibility and often brings opportunities that you might never have thought up on your own.

For example, there was once a little piece in the Boston Globe about a book I’d just published. It may or may not have influenced people to buy the book, but more interestingly, it prompted a talent scout from a TV production company south of Boston to contact me about a corporate video opportunity that a few years later turned into a chance to create a demo program for a public TV show.

What's the most important tool in the publicist's toolbox?

Creativity. Think up an angle no one has used before, and it can get people stampeding to give you publicity. Sometimes it’s just a matter of new words. For example, in the days when people thought of car rental companies as having only new cars for customers, a business owner changed his outfit’s name from Bundy Very Used Cars to Rent-a-Wreck, and within days CBS News was there doing a feature on the company.

How can businesses use social media to get publicity?

Whether it’s blogs, online videos, Twitter or Facebook, social media are a form of publicity in and of themselves, taking you directly to the public without the intervention of the media.

Be mindful of the persona you use in social media – if you engage in name-calling, sarcasm, vindictiveness or any kind of outright dishonesty, this can work to your detriment. I once landed on a blog where a consultant was not only bitingly critical of companies he did not agree with but also nasty to people commenting on his blog who had a different point of view. How in the world was that supposed to help him get clients?

One way to use social media to get traditional publicity is to follow reporters, newscasters or talk show hosts whom you like on Twitter, Facebook or their blogs and to post interesting replies there. This can get you into a follow-up story or into a personal exchange with the media person that leads to a seemingly unrelated publicity opportunity.

Would you like to add anything else?

Just thanks, Sandy, for the chance to talk to your readers! May you each have your 17 ½ minutes (or more) in the spotlight.

Have you got a question for Marcia? Please use "comment" to share it.

Study reveals how journalists gather information

2010-12-01T14:51:00.000-05:00

A new study from TEKgroup International and Bulldog Reporter reveals trends in how journalists use the Internet and other resources to research, follow and report news and feature material. (TEKgroup creates online newsrooms for companies, but doesn't offer a news release about the survey results in its own newsroom. How ironic.)

It's important reading for anyone who works with the media to generate publicity. Here are a few highlights (which I could have copied and pasted from a press release if one existed ...):

Nearly half of all journalists report visiting a corporate website or online newsroom at least once a week and more than 84% report visiting a corporate website or online newsroom at least once a month. Yet more than half of journalists agree that when they visit organizations’ websites, it’s often difficult to find media contact information or press materials that address their interests.
Nearly 3/4 report they read blogs to keep up with the subject they cover.
The number of journalists using social media sites to do their job has risen dramatically. (Unfortunately, it doesn't tell us how they use them.)
79% prefer to receive news and information via e-mail.

Read or download a copy of the survey after completing a form at this link.

How can "content" help you promote your business?

2010-11-01T16:33:00.000-04:00

"Content marketing" (also known as "information marketing") involves using editorial material -- articles, podcasts, videos, white papers, newsletters, etc. -- to deliver high-quality, relevant, and valuable information to your target audience. It's a common marketing practice. According to Junta42's 2010 Content Marketing Spending Report, 59% of marketers planned to spend more on this strategy in 2010. Junta42 also reports that the average business marketer spends 33 percent of its marketing budget on creating content and getting it out there to customers and prospects.

Why are they spending money on making useful, helpful information available online and elsewhere for free? Here are a few reasons:

It helps position them as the experts in their fields.
Prospects discover that the information source is the best resource for the product or service they're researching (and customers are reminded of this).
It generates Web site traffic because of the impact information has on search engine rankings -- and Web site traffic can lead to sales.
It helps educate.
The online exposure generates publicity when journalists discover that an individual or business shows up consistently in search engine queries

The U.S. Postal Service's free marketing magazine, Deliver, is a great example of how a large organization embraces and implements content marketing (disclaimer: I'm a regular contributor to the magazine and its companion Web site). Deliver educates marketers about the various USPS products and how to use them wisely while providing best practices, case studies, and ideas about how to create successful direct mail campaigns. Wells Fargo does the same thing for small businesses (I've contributed to their content marketing as a writer, too), providing free how-to information designed to encourage trust.

Content marketing is simple and easy. All you do is share what you know. It's a smart strategy that can be easily impletmented by organizations of all sizes. In fact, it's easier for entrepreneurs and others in smaller organizations to do this because there's less of a distance between the person with the information that has to be shared and the person who turns it into shareable content. (In many cases, they're the same!) And with fewer layers and less bureaucracy, it takes less time to approve and share the content, whether it's an article, video, audio interview, booklet, or special report.

Here are a few examples of how I use content marketing for my small business:

Free e-newsletter loaded with tips and advice, and a free special report for those who subscribe: http://www.buildbookbuzz.com/
How-to articles on my Web sites: http://www.buildbookbuzz.com/articles/book-news-release.htm, http://www.sandrabeckwith.com/articles/index.htm, http://www.nonprofitpublicity.com/articles/index.htm
Articles on sites that feed content to newsletters and blogs: http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=2757490 and http://www.articlealley.com/article_197176_64.html

There's a lot more I need to know about this topic . . . and when I need to learn something, I find someone to teach me. In this case, you get to learn, too! On November 15, I'm hosting a teleseminar with content marketing expert Stephanie Chandler. She's going to be talking about how this topic relates to book marketing, but her information and concepts can be applied to any type of organization, product, or service. (Learn more here.) I'm looking forward to asking her the questions that will get you the information you need to begin using content marketing. Look online for more information, too -- the companies that provide content marketing services are, of course, good about providing free information about this strategy!

How do you use content or information marketing in your business?

Chilean miners get media training...should you?

2010-10-19T17:21:00.000-04:00

I love that the Chilean miners received media training while still in the mine. We should all be this prepared before we face the press, right? Anyone who hopes to be interviewed by the media -- whether it's because of a crisis or a whizbang new product launch or the next best-seller -- should get some practice in front of a microphone before heading into the media glare.

How much training you get and who provides it depends on your budget and location. Business people, authors, and nonprofit leaders in major metropolitan areas can work with a local consultant who specializes in preparing people for media interviews. Google "media training" and your city for a list of consultants.

Those in smaller markets usually don't have access to these specialists, but can still do well working with a local public relations (not advertising) firm. Make sure you ask who and how many they've trained before and check references. Also consider hiring a local TV newscaster to moonlight for you. Veteran broadcasters know what questions you'll get asked, how they'll be asked, and what a good answer sounds like. Like consultants, local broadcasters can coach you in how to react and respond, how to speak in sound bites that will make sure your interview gets used, and what to avoid saying.

The miners were smart enough to get help. Learn from their experiences and line up your trainer now.

Have you received professional media training? How did it help you?

5 common Facebook faux pas

2010-10-15T16:41:00.001-04:00

Do you make any of these social networking mistakes? We're all guilty of Facebook faux pas from time to time. It's only when we repeat them continually that we run the risk of being unfriended. Here are some of the mistakes I see regularly and why they're a problem:

Being ridiculously self-promotional. Several colleagues at a recent meeting said this was their biggest Facebook pet peeve. I can relate. A few weeks ago, I received a Facebook invitation from someone who included a promotional message with her friend request. I thought that was odd, but gave her the benefit of the doubt and accepted the request. This was followed by a similar advertising message from her on my wall: "I'm glad we're friends. I think you'll be interested in my product X and my service Y." It's not the best way to start a relationship -- in social networks or in face-to-face networks.
Writing "happy birthday!" to someone on your own wall. OK, this is funny when my Mom does it, but when the rest of us do it, it's kind of silly. Here's how to avoid this: Go to your home page. Under "Events" in the upper right, you'll see the names of any Facebook friends with birthdays today. Click on the name; that will take you to the birthday girl's page. Write your message on her wall.
Saying something mean on a wall that you wouldn't say to someone's face. AWKward. This gives us too much insight into your true character. Ick.
Writing private messages on your friend's Facebook wall. These messages make the rest of us uncomfortable. It's like we're eavesdropping. Use the Facebook e-mail system instead. Here's how: Go to your friend's profile page. Under his picture, you'll see "Send (name) a message." Click on that and you'll get an e-mail window.
Sending "you should 'like' this page" messages to all of your friends rather than sending it only to people who might actually be interested in the business or product. If you're in Michigan and the page you "like" is for a local business, don't send the "I like this page and I think you will too" message to your friends in other parts of the country. Keep it local. (This applies even if you're paid to do this for clients.) Most people don't mind occasional irrelevant messages, but when you do it a lot, you're going to lose friends. (And maybe that's not a bad thing.)

I like how Facebook lets us be our own forum moderators. Let's help these people out by taking advantage of our ability to be in control of our own content. When someone writes something on your wall that's better suited to a private conversation, delete it. (Move your mouse to the end of the first sentence. The word "REMOVE" appears. Click it.). Then respond to the question or comment through your Facebook e-mail inbox -- it's a quiet way to suggest the right way to handle sensitive or private topics. Similarly, when someone writes something on your wall that makes you uncomfortable, delete it, because if it bothers you, it will bother someone else, too.

What's the most common Facebook faux pas you've seen? Tell us!

Author explains how to create sound bites that resonate

2010-10-04T16:29:00.000-04:00

resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform AudiencesThe following information is excerpted from a press release I received today. The tips for creating memorable sound bites apply to media interviews, presentations, and written communications materials. This is a topic we've covered here before (see this posting on how to create compelling sound bites) because it's important. Talking to the press is a waste of your time -- and theirs -- if what you say doesn't get used. Here are Nancy Duarte's tips for making sure you offer memorable sound bites:

At a time when people are tweeting, blogging, e-mailing, and more 24/7, the best way to genuinely connect and create change, says author and CEO Nancy Duarte, is via truly human, in-person presentations. She stresses that everyone in every company should know how to present and communicate that company's messages with clarity and passion.

"Great presentations are like magic," says Duarte, CEO of Duarte Design, author of the new book Resonate: Present Visual Stories That Transform Audiences.

"It takes a lot of work to breathe life into an idea. Spending energy to understand the audience and carefully crafting a message that resonates with them means committing time and discipline to the process. Think about it this way: You likely spend countless hours collaborating and innovating to put forth really good ideas. You should spend just as much energy ensuring they are delivered in a way that is impactful. The payoff is that learning how to present in a captivating way—be it at a formal event or to a client across the conference room table—can be your competitive edge in a business environment where too many companies are confusing communication with noise."

Just as Duarte's first book, Slide:ology, helped presenters become visual communicators, Resonate helps presenters make a strong connection with their audiences and lead them to purposeful action. The book is simultaneously an explanation, a how-to guide, and a business justification for story-based messaging. It will take you on a journey to a level of presentation literacy that very few have mastered.

So how can you make sure you present information in a way that truly resonates?

"If people can easily recall, repeat, and transfer your message, you did a great job conveying it," says Duarte. "To achieve this, you should have a handful of succinct, clear, and repeatable sound bites planted in your presentation that people can effortlessly remember. A thoroughly considered sound bite can create a 'Something They'll Always Remember (S.T.A.R.)' moment—not only for the people present in the audience but also for the ones who will encounter your presentation through broadcast or social media channels."

To help you get started creating presentations that really stick with your audiences, here are a few tips on how you can incorporate repeatable sound bites:

Create crisp messages. Picture each person you speak to as a little radio tower empowered to repeat your key concepts over and over. "Some of the most innocent-looking people have fifty thousand followers in their social networks," says Duarte. "When one sound bite is sent to their followers, it can get re-sent hundreds of thousands of times."
Craft a rally cry. Your rally cry will be a small, repeatable phrase that can become the slogan and rallying cry of the masses trying to promote your idea. President Obama's campaign slogan, "Yes We Can," originated from a speech during the primary elections.
Coordinate key phrases with the same language in your press materials. For presentations where the press is present, be sure to repeat critical messages verbatim from your press materials. "Doing so ensures that the press will pick up the right sound bites," explains Duarte. "The same is true for any camera crews who might be filming your presentation. Make sure you have at least a fifteen- to thirty-second message that is so salient it will be obvious to reporters that it should be featured in the broadcasts."
Use catchy words. Take time to carefully craft a few messages with catchy words. "For example, Neil Armstrong used the six hours and forty minutes between his moon landing and first step to craft his historic statement," says Duarte. "Phrases that have historical significance or become headlines don't just magically appear in the moment. They are mindfully planned."
Make them remember. Once you've crafted the message, there are three ways to ensure the audience remembers it: First, repeating the phrase more than once. Second, punctuating it with a pause that gives the audience time to write down exactly what you said. And finally, projecting the words on a slide so they receive the message visually as well as aurally.
Imitate a famous phrase. "Everyone knows the Golden Rule," says Duarte. "'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.' Well, an imitation of that famous phrase might be 'Never give a presentation you wouldn't want to sit through yourself.'"

To learn more about the author's work, visit http://www.duarte.com/.

Message development: 6 steps to creating messages that make a difference

2010-09-21T18:37:00.004-04:00

Message development is an essential step in your publicity planning process and yet, many of us forget to spend any time being thoughtful and strategic about what we want to say when we're interviewed by the press. You've heard the cliche: "Failing to plan is planning to fail." That's especially true with media interviews. How will you make sure you communicate the key points about your project, mission, product, service, book, organization, whatever if you haven't given careful thought about what you really need to get across in your precious time with that journalist?

If you aren't clear about your messages each time you communicate with the media, your publicity will be less effective. Message development for all types of businesses and organizations involves six steps:

Define the issue. Take into account what your audience knows about the topic and what you bring to the discussion. What makes you different, special, better with regards to the issue or topic? Gather any relevant statistics, too -- you might need them to help make your point.
Create draft messages. Brainstorm possible messages, but remember: You want messages that resonate with your audience, not your staff. That's why knowing your audience -- and what they do and don't know about the topic -- is important.
Test draft messages. Don't test them in the workplace. Try them out on people you want to influence. Listen carefully to their responses and take their input seriously.
Refine the messages. What language seemed to resonate with the people in your test or focus group? What language confused them? Where did they get confused? Take all of this into account...and try again.
Test again. The repeat testing is important because you want to be certain that your key messages are appropriate and can influence the behavior you're looking for.
Adjust again. Keep making changes -- and testing -- until you're confident that you're using language that will generate the reaction you want.

As you work on your messages, make sure they:

Contribute to your goals.
Resonate with the people you want to influence -- even if this means they don't resonate with you.
Get used in interviews in some form. If they don't, work on them some more.

Once your messages are final and you're confident they communicate what you want them to, work them into media interviews, press releases, Web site text, social media communications, marketing materials, etc. You might need to massage them to meet the needs of these different communication vehicles, but stay as true as you can to the language because you know it works.

What's the best message you've seen?

Word of mouse: 10 ways to master nonprofit guerrilla social media

2010-09-15T16:32:00.000-04:00

My guest blogger today is colleague Chris Forbes, co-author of Guerrilla Marketing for Nonprofits. Chris and I met in the virtual world several years ago when he reviewed my two publicity books on his blog. I'm now happy to reciprocate, putting a spotlight on his book (I like it so much that I provided a "blurb" that appears on the inside).

Chris writes here about social media for nonprofits, but his ideas can apply to small businesses, solo-preneurs, authors, and others. Here's what he has to say:

Guerrilla marketers know a good deal when they see one. And social media is a very good deal for guerrillas because they focus on reaching individuals instead merely selling their ideas to markets. With a little time, energy, and imagination, nonprofit guerrillas deepen their relationships with their clients and supporters and increase the frequency of exposure of their message to the people they want to reach by using social media. To get the most out of social media, it is important to make strategic use with a plan. Below are 10 ways your organization can master the use of social media.

Message: In order for your message to have any impact for your cause, it has to contain your message. A funny or interesting video, even if it becomes a very popular online phenomenon, is useless to your nonprofit if it doesn’t get people to take action.
Meme: The message of your viral outreach needs to be easy to grasp without explanation and easy to pass on to others.
Meeting: Find the media that your target audience likes to use and go where the people are. Media researchers estimate 60 percent of adults belong to a social network, but most only belong to one. Spread your virus in a variety of networks.
Manage: Funnel the contacts you make in social media toward your Web site or blog. Make your Web site the second tier of your social media strategy. The third tier is when people register with your site. Mobilize the people who sign up on your site to take action and help spread the message.
Material: Give people the content they need to pass along your viral marketing. Provide assets for your audience to make their own videos, allow them to put their picture in an e-card, do anything that helps to put themselves into the story line and send to their contacts.
Mobilize: Make it easy to pass your content through word-of-mouse. Choose the video tools that allow you to embed your videos directly into Facebook, blogs, etc. Social bookmark tabs need to post you link and teaser copy into other sites.
Medium: Make your content a good match for the medium. Long videos will not be watched as much as shorter ones. Break up paragraphs in articles and write lead sentences remembering they may also serve as the teaser copy for the links when they are visible on other sites.
Marketing: Your content needs to have links back to your sites and copy that promotes your organization. Don’t leave the “More Info” section blank; include good copy using your key words and links.
Metrics: Watch the statistics. Check not only how many people view, forward, or tweet your content, but track how many click through and take the next step with your message, too.
Momentum: Start the ball rolling by forwarding your content to the networks of your intended target. Leave room in tweets for people to “re-tweet” (RT). Prime the commenting by starting the first comment on links and posts you put in other networks. Push your virus into new networks until it takes off on its own.

What's the most effective social media tactic you've used? Why do you think it worked?

How to announce your book with an e-mail blast

2010-08-25T14:13:00.000-04:00

What’s the best way to announce your book via e-mail?

I’ve received quite a few book announcement e-mails lately, including some that were trying to achieve “Amazon best-seller” status. Sadly, most of the messages were not very compelling. More often than not, they were self-congratulatory (“I’ve achieved my dream!”) or self-serving (“If you buy my book on Amazon at 11 a.m. tomorrow morning, my book might become a best-seller!”). Some were brief: “My new book is out. Here’s a link where you can buy it.” Others were rambling. None of them told me why I’d want to buy the book – what was in it for me, the reader.

I don’t want you to repeat the mistakes I keep seeing in my inbox, so I’m sharing seven tips that will help authors with any level of marketing experience write a book announcement e-mail message that isn’t obnoxious, annoying, offensive, or downright sad :

Start with the text from your back book cover. It should tell us why we will want to buy your book, right? You might need to massage it to make it more personal, since e-mail is such an informal means of communicating.
It’s not about you. It’s about the person you’re writing to. Tell me what your book will do for me. Will it educate, inform, entertain, enlighten? What’s in it for me? How will your book improve my world, help me improve someone else’s world, or help me forget about my world?
Include a link where we can purchase the book. Seriously – you’d be surprised at how many messages omit this.
Forget the “help me make my book an Amazon best-seller” plea. Unless you are my total BFF, I don’t care if your book is a best-seller. All I want to know is whether I’ll like or need your book or whether I know someone else who would like it. If you feel compelled to be focused on that best-seller-for-five-minutes-on-Amazon plan (and my newsletter readers know how I feel about these campaigns), at least share information about your book, too.
Don’t come on too strong. You might suggest that it makes a nice gift, but don’t tell me that I “should” buy it for everybody on my holiday gift list.
Ask me to share your news with my networks. If I know people who will want to know about your book, I’ll help spread the word. But sometimes I need to be reminded.
Remember that the quality of your announcement reflects the quality of your book, so make it as high-quality as you can. I received one this week that looked like a ransom note, with multiple fonts and sizes. And I know this wasn't what the author intended. You don't need to have a professionally designed, all-HTML'd-up message, but you do want something that reflects the quality of your book.

Send your announcement to as large a list as you can assemble, remembering that some people will be more interested in this news than others. And some are just naturally better at sharing and forwarding. And whatever you do, make this just the starting point for your book launch. There's lots more you could -- and "should" -- be doing.

Have you ever purchased a book based on an e-mail blast announcement? Why?

"Be your own book publicist" course for authors runs September 6-October 1, 2010

2010-08-24T17:16:00.000-04:00

I teach an e-course called "Book Publicity 101: How to Build Book Buzz" that helps authors learn how to be their own book publicists. It addresses the biggest challenges most authors encounter when they realize they have to handle their own book publicity and promotion. They are often overwhelmed by the prospect of getting the word out because they don't know where to begin and would rather be writing than promoting.

The typical author:

Struggles to figure out what to do first to promote or publicize the book.
Is uncomfortable with promoting and would rather remain in the background.
Doesn't know which activities will have the greatest impact on the book’s visibility.
Hesitates to use social networking tactics because they're not sure how to.
Doesn't quite understand why and how to schedule a virtual book tour.
Isn't sure how to approach and pitch traditional media outlets in the most appropriate way.
Might not be clear about the book's target audience or how to reach it through the media.
Wants to do as much as possible to publicize a book without spending thousands on a publicist.
Hears that getting on radio helps sells books but doesn't know how to do it -- or if it's a good idea for the book.

If any of this describes you, I can help you get over, under, or around all of your obstacles in this interactive and engaging four-week online course running September 6-October 1, 2010. It's taught in an easy-to-use forum where you will learn, practice, implement, and grow. Because you can come and go according to your own schedule -- whenever it's convenient for you, not me -- this option offers you maximum flexibility and learning potential.

Learn more about this very affordable and interactive course here (you can see testimonials from happy students there too); send me a note with questions.

Don't confuse NewsBasis with ProfNet or HARO

2010-08-11T11:41:00.001-04:00

I recently learned about a new service that links journalists with sources. It's in Beta mode now, which allows test users to provide suggestions for making it more useful. I signed up as a journalist to use this service, NewsBasis, because I wanted to see how it worked and how it might differ from other services that are currently available, including ProfNet, a paid service, and HARO, a free one. I was intrigued enough by the site to invite founder Darryl Siry to do a Q&A here and he obliged. Here's our conversation.

What, exactly, is NewsBasis?

NewsBasis is a communications platform for journalists and companies to enable for effective and efficient media relations.

What is your goal for the service?

I'd like to be the standard technology platform for media relations, whether you are a journalist or on the other side of the table. We have a ways to go and lots of features to develop before we get there, but we are off to a good start.

How does a journalist use it?

Journalists can use our service in several ways:

They can search our database for expert sources and company points of view, to find sources or story angles
They can post specific requests to engage users. Users are notified based on their saved keywords or based on how the request matches their profile.
They can use the platform for researching articles using the real time media notification and annotation functionality.

How does a publicist or corporate communicator use the service?

PR folks and company folks can use the service in the following ways:

Embed their points of view in articles so that journalists can discover them when they search
Respond to specific requests from journalists that match their interests or where they can be valuable
Fill out their profiles so that Journalists find them in searches and NewsBasis can automatically route relevant requests to them.
Discover relevant news articles in real time using our media notification service (in the "news" tab)
Use the private annotation and sharing capabilities to collaborate within their teams.

Clearly, this service has more features than others. Why do you offer them – did you survey journalists about their needs, and did they request them?

It's a combination of my personal experiences and feedback from journalists, corporate comms folks and PR agency folks.

Do sources (companies, PR firms, etc.) pay a fee to access the journalist requests and if so, how much?

The service is free during the Beta. Eventually we will announce pricing for corporate and PR users but we expect the price to be very reasonable.

From what I can tell by clicking around the site, it uses a passive system. By that I mean that sources need to come to the site and search for opportunities they can contribute to. In contrast, other journalist-source matching services like ProfNet, HARO, and ReporterConnection push the queries out to the sources through e-mail messages. Tell me more about why you don’t connect your journalist and source users by e-mail.

We want to focus on relevance above all. If you are a corporate user of NewsBasis, you can set up saved keywords so that any requests that match your saved keywords are routed to you by email. You can scan all requests on the site if you'd like but I think a better approach is to set up various keywords and make sure your profile is complete and very descriptive so you will be notified when something relevant is posted.

The site requires users to install Google Chrome. Why? Are you concerned that requiring that extra step will discourage some users who won’t want to install the software?

It doesn't require that you install Google Chrome - what it was doing was recommending to Internet Explorer users that they install a small program provided by Google called "Chrome Frame" to allow our application to work better in IE. Admittedly, this has caused some confusion for users and we are working right now to make this step unnecessary. Still, we think that everybody should use Chrome or Firefox, since they are far superior to IE and operate on open standards.

What’s the most important thing that publicity seekers need to know about NewsBasis?

That NewsBasis is not HARO or Profnet. It is a very different service that allows you to embed you or your client's point of view directly in articles. This is a powerful way to promote your thought leadership program or get your messages out.

Similarly, what’s the most important thing that journalists should know about it?

That NewsBasis is a resource that will make it easier for them to get their jobs done more easily and effectively.

+++++++++++++++

I can't offer an opinion of the service because I haven't used it yet to find sources, but I'll note that it's more complicated and has far more "layers" than ProfNet, HARO, or ReporterConnection. I think those layers and features will be more appealing initially to very tech-savvy users. Those who are uncomfortable with technology might find the options intimidating and not take advantage of them. To sign up as either a journalist or a communicator hoping to connect with reporters, visit http://www.newsbasis.com/.

Viral "epic nervous breakdown" video helps startup get distribution

2010-08-05T15:15:00.000-04:00

Counter to what many think, your business is never too small for major media exposure. That's why I like stories like this one about Vital Energy, an energy drink created by a couple of recent college grads who have been selling it into stores themselves. These guys created one of the funniest product videos I've ever seen and, as hoped, it has gone viral, with more than one million online views. The video is going to be featured on a TruTV cable show and is being considered for MTV's Pranked.

Haven't seen the "epic nervous breakdown" video starring the (poor) mother of one of the founders? (She is a friend of a friend, who tells me the mom is normally pretty calm.) Here it is:

Most of the press surrounding this adventure has been in the trade and local media, which is the ideal mix for the company at this stage. Local media exposure is crucial to getting local distribution, particularly in Wegmans supermarkets. Starting locally helps them get the bugs out of their systems and learn as they do. If the guys can get the drink into their local Wegmans stores, they can probably get it picked up in other Wegmans supermarkets throughout the Northeast.

The trade publication exposure supports their distribution efforts. They don't have much much conventional consumer media exposure yet, but that's OK -- before they get on Good Morning America or Regis & Kelly, they should have much more widespread distribution.

I suspect these guys have a lot to learn yet about product manufacturing, distribution, and marketing, but their product video is sheer genius. Congratulations to them. I hope they enjoy fabulous success and are in a position to mentor other young entrepreneurs in the future.

August 6, 2010 is deadline for Nonproft PR Awards

2010-08-03T15:24:00.000-04:00

The entry deadline for the Nonprofit PR Awards is August 6, so act quickly to submit your entry in categories ranging from from media relations to crisis management to corporate partnerships. This year's winners will be honored on November 3 at the National Press Club and featured in a special awards issue of PR News.

The awards are open to all associations, nonprofits, government agencies, NGOs and their agency partners.

The awards program is sponsored by PRWeb and presented by PR News. Please take a moment to thank them. Sponsors make the world go around.

How will you communicate with your customers in a crisis?

2010-07-28T12:18:00.000-04:00

A denial-of-service attack at an online service I use reminded me of how important it is to have -- and follow -- a plan for communicating with customers during a crisis.

In this particular situation, the Web site providing the service was down for hours. With no explanation from the company about what was going on, frustrated customers like me could only make assumptions about the reason for the outage and when service would be restored. The next day -- a full 24 hours later -- the vendor sent an e-mail explaining the situation. The message noted that during the crisis, the company was posting updates to its Twitter account. Oh, so going forward, I can learn what's going on through your Twitter account? And that account name is . . .? Whoops -- you didn't include it!

It's obvious to me -- and by now, to this company, I hope -- that sending this "Yikes! We've been attacked!" message would have been more helpful to puzzled customers while the company was working to fix the problem. It doesn't need to be long -- two or three sentences is enough -- put it does need to be sent. And that message should inform us that we can stay current on the status of the problem by going to the company's Twitter page -- and giving us that complete, clickable URL.

It's likely that customers weren't informed about the cause of the problem until after the fact because the company wasn't prepared for a crisis. Not smart. Regardless of the size of your company, you're probably going to have a crisis of some sort at some point -- and you're going to have to communicate about it. Even sole practitioners are at risk -- what if you were in an accident and incapacitated or had a death in the family and had to leave town (and your projects) quickly? On the other hand, some companies are well-prepared to deal with the media when there's a crisis, but their crisis communications plan overlooks one of their most important audiences -- their customers. They focus on damage control with the press, assuming that it's okay for their clients to learn about it from the news. It's not.

Take the time to write down the procedures you need to follow during a crisis -- and make sure everyone involved in executing those steps has a copy of the plan. Imagine the various problems that could occur, and prepare accordingly. In the situation I've described here with my vendor, there was no need to communicate with the press, but what if the outage had been caused by an angry employee who not only sabotaged the company's operation but took employees hostage and was threatening violence, too? You'll want the police involved and you'll have no choice but to communicate with the press, as well. Do you know today how you would handle that? And does everyone else in the company?

You can find lots of good information about crisis communication planning on the Web. There are also several helpful books available, including Crisis Leadership Now and Keeping the Wolves at Bay. The size and depth of your plan and the level of detailed involved will depend on the nature of your business, potential problems, the size of your company, and so on. You might be able to write it yourself using common sense and logic. However you do it, just do it. And then run your business in a way that makes sure you'll never need it. Don't we all wish BP had done that?

Want to get on The Today Show? Get in the Wall St. Journal first

2010-07-22T13:08:00.004-04:00

As I've noted before, "The Today Show" on NBC gets segment ideas from The Wall Street Journal, so if you want to be on the TV show, get into the newspaper.

Case in point: Yesterday's WSJ ran the article, "Kids Quit the Team for More Family Time," and the morning TV program piggybacked on it for this story today featuring the family in the WSJ. This happens regularly. Publicity begets publicity.

Booklets make great publicity generators

2010-07-21T15:58:00.005-04:00

I see many entrepreneurs and others creating free and helpful booklets or special reports to drive traffic to their Web site, distribute in stores or at events or trade shows, or to help them build a marketing mailing list. But I don't see many of them using these free booklets to generate publicity for their businesses -- and that's a lost opportunity. Offering a freebie through a press release sent to on- and off-line media outlets is a quick, easy, and cost-effective way to reach people (and potential clients and customers) who wouldn't otherwise find you.

How do you use publicity to extend the reach of your booklet? Here's how.

Make sure your booklet is truly helpful, not just a company brochure disguised as a booklet. The press won't share your offer if it isn't worth sharing. (Don't have a booklet yet? Get advice on how to create one from Paulette Ensign.)

Write a press release announcing that you're offering the free booklet or report. Keep it short and sweet. Announce it, describe what's in it, tell people how to get it.

E-mail the release with a link to your booklet online to your media list. (You can also attach a PDF of the booklet to the message, but many are reluctant to open attachments from people they don't know.)

You're done.

Pretty easy, isn't it? As with all publicity efforts, there's no guarantee that your announcement release will get used and you won't be able to predict or control when it's used. Still, if just one outlet shares your offer with people who could become customers, the minimal effort involved has been well worth it.

If you sent out a press release about a free booklet, could you trace or track the results?

Are you sure you want to reject that interview opportunity?

2010-07-14T17:03:00.004-04:00

I've been hearing from journalist friends lately about "the one that got away" -- more specifically, the article sources who passed on interview requests because the national publications involved were "too small."

Um, Mr. or Ms. Well-Known Enough to be Considered but Not Exactly Famous Either, are you sure you want to do that? Do you really want to communicate to journalists who write for multiple publications that you are, as my little nephew would say, "specialer" than those who agreed to do interviews? Perhaps you don't know that the journalist you rejected today with the "your publication isn't important enough to me" explanation could be someone in a position to interview you for your dream media outlet next week, next month, or next year. You've burned a few bridges . . . and what did your mother tell you about that?

We all need to be conscious of how we use our time so that we put our energy where it will have the greatest impact on our businesses and careers. But I'm not sure this applies to interview requests from the press. You can find your biggest client through exposure in a small-circulation magazine or newsletter. You can also be discovered by your dream media outlet through interviews in local, regional, or niche publications or outlets. Publicity does beget publicity while arrogance with the press can, quite honestly, keep you from reaching your goals.

Think twice before turning down that next unexpected, "you're not on my target media list" interview opportunity. You won't know what you'll miss out on when you say, "No thanks," but when you respond with, "I'd be happy to talk to you," you'll discover more possibilities than you might imagine.

Did something good happen to you after you did an interview with a media outlet that wasn't on your target list?

Get more publicity by including your competitor in your press releases

2010-07-05T18:27:00.004-04:00

It's counter-intuitive, but referring to your competitor in a press release can help boost the pick-up of your news or information. Why? First, it gives the impression that you might actually be objective -- not usually the case with press releases. Second, when your press or news release is built around a list of the "top" this, the "best" that, or the "most popular" something else, it can be hard to leave them out.

How does this work? One of the best ways to get media attention is to offer a "best of" or "most popular" list. A list must include products or services that aren't yours -- otherwise, the list has no credibility. If you chose them carefully for reasons based on retail geography, product features, cost, or something else that's relevant, you can position your brand appropriately while boosting your pick-up by offering to the press what appears to be fairly objective news and information that is actually useful.

Here are a few examples of how this might work:

The maker of a product such as BlindWinder, which stores dangerous blind cords, can send a press release on "the most appreciated baby shower gifts." The list could include BlindWinders, the enormously popular What To Expect When You're Expecting book, the new Pampers designer diapers getting lots of publicity right now (and why not piggyback on that?), or anything else the manufacturer uncovers in research on this subject.
A private school looking to boost enrollment can offer advice on how to select a private school by focusing on its strengths while comparing itself to competitive schools that stand out in other ways. For example, if your school has no athletic program, emphasize the athletics of a competitor because you're not going to attract the family looking for a top athletics program anyway. If one of your school's strengths is its affordability, make sure the most expensive private school in the area is on the list, with its cost emphasized.
The author of a summer grilling book can offer a list of the best new cookbooks for outdoor chefs. The list will include the author's book first, followed by a flattering critique of four others, all selected because they emphasize foods or cooking styles not covered in the author's book.

Be strategic about the other products or services you select to include in your press release that offers advice in a list form -- chose a competitor who doesn't necessarily share your specialty or is on the other side of town and won't draw traffic away from your business. But do include them. You'll enjoy far more success that way.

Have you used this tactic before? What was the outcome?

6 top TV talk show interview mistakes

2010-06-30T16:12:00.003-04:00

It's an exciting moment when you get that call inviting you to be a guest on a TV talk show. It doesn't matter if the show is local or national -- it's a big deal for you and your business. A TV interview seen by the people you want to communicate with can make a big difference in the success of your product, business, or service.

So don't blow it.

Here are the top mistakes I see made by talk show guests on national and local TV shows:

Forgoing media training. Don't appear on national television without at least a few hours of professional media training. When you appear stiff or frightened or your voice is noticeably shaky, we don't absorb your messages because we're distracted by your body language. Professional training will help you relax and be your usual confident self. You know your stuff -- get a little help presenting it in the big time.
Locking your hands together on your lap. Are you afraid they'll run off the set without you? When you're off camera, you use your hands when you talk, so don't tie them up when you're on camera. You can't appear (and feel) natural if you're not using your hands to help you make a point or give your comments emphasis.
Relying on your memory and not your knowledge. Don't memorize what you want to say and then recite your messages like a bad cue card reader. You know your subject better than anyone -- that's why you're on the show.
Not preparing enough. You want to make the most of this opportunity and there are no do-overs with live interviews, so prepare for the event by watching the show so you know what to expect. Give some thought to the questions you'll be asked and practice your answers. Ask a colleague or friend to critique your answers -- too long? short? dull? -- and presentation -- flat? scared? low-key? Which of your anecdotes does the best job of making your point?
Wearing distracting or inappropriate clothing. This is a problem for women, especially. You don't want anything around your face that will distract from what you're saying, so no large earrings, flamboyant scarves, or heavy necklaces, even if they reflect your personal style. We are easily distracted and you want us to focus on your words, not your accessories.
Getting too comfortable. Sit on the edge of the chair with your back straight so you're more energetic and animated during the interview. This is important because an energetic demeanor is more engaging for viewers (and channel surfers) than one that is low-key and relaxed.

Remember, too, to listen to how you're greeted. I've blogged about this knee-jerk "thank you for having me" response no matter how the guest is greeted, and while it's entertaining for people like me who notice these things even if we shouldn't, it's not how you want to start your TV conversation. Listen, respond, listen, respond.

What's your best tip for TV talk show interviews?

How do small businesses use e-mail and social media for marketing?

2010-06-24T16:39:00.004-04:00

AWeber Communications just announced results of its e-mail and social marketing survey of more than 2,500 small businesses. The most popular tactics at the moment involve using e-mail and social media options to spread content to additional mediums. More than one-third (36 percent) shared information about their e-mail newsletters on Twitter, while 35 percent delivered blog posts via e-mail.

Here are the survey highlights:

E-mail marketing continues to bring significant value to businesses with more than 82 percent of respondents planning to increase their e-mail marketing efforts over the next year.
The more social media grows in popularity among consumers, the more attention it will receive from marketers. Almost 70 percent of small business marketers are employing some sort of social media tactics and a majority (77 percent) indicate that integrating e-mail marketing and social media is either “very important” or “moderately important.”
The most popular tactics at the moment involve spreading content onto additional mediums such as sharing e-mail newsletters on Twitter (36 percent) and delivering blog posts via e-mail (35 percent).
Nearly 50 percent of respondents indicated that behavioral targeting (sending specific e-mails to people according to previous messages they've opened or links they've clicked in the messages) increases their conversion rates either significantly or moderately.
More than 66 percent of respondents indicate they intend to use behavioral targeting as well as sales tracking in their campaigns over the next 12 months.
54 percent of respondents indicate they intend to use Facebook as a tool to help build their e-mail lists.
Nearly 20 percent of respondents indicate that integrating e-mail marketing and social media increased customer loyalty.
Almost 12 times as many respondents said that e-mail marketing ROI is more easily measured than social media ROI (61 percent versus 5 percent).

How are you using e-mail and social media marketing to help get the word out about your business?

Personalize your media materials

2010-06-22T16:45:00.003-04:00

Follow the lead of college communications offices and boost your success rate with your media relations materials by personalizing them as often as possible. When you make it clear why your news or information is relevant to the outlet's audience, you increase the chance that it will be used and shared.

When colleges announce the names of students selected for the Dean's List each semester, they don't send one release listing all the names to every hometown newspaper. They use technology to create individual press releases for every market with a name on the list. These PR people know that newspaper editors would never comb through a long list looking for the hometowns in their circulation area -- it's just too much work for too little reward.

Similarly, if -- for example -- you're supporting a new product test marketing campaign by sending a press release to local media outlets in the three market cities, change your release title and e-mail subject line for each city from "Acme Beverages tests unique new beverage in three markets" to "Acme Beverage selects Indianapolis for one of three test markets for new beverage." This personalization makes the local connection as clear as possible.

Similarly, a national organization announcing a new intiative to local markets can provide the name, phone number, and e-mail address of a local contact or chapter leader so that the media outlet has someone local to call to uncover specifics about the impact of the initiative on the specific community. Announcing the 25 finalists in a national competition? Personalize the announcements going to the media in each of those finalists' hometowns. Sure, it takes more work to use technology change the headline and first paragraph of each of those announcements -- and then to make sure that each one goes to the correct media outlets -- but the increased pick-up (and resulting exposure) makes it well worth the effort.

Geographic personalization makes the difference between lackluster and exciting results.

How Consumers Want to Hear from Nonprofits

2010-06-16T14:10:00.005-04:00

Struggling to figure out how much emphasis to put on new versus old media? According to the Cone Trend Tracker, while new media offer powerful ways to reach and engage consumers, nonprofits will have more success communicating messages or calls to action by using traditional media, advertising, and events.

The 2010 Cone Nonprofit Marketing Trend Tracker online survey reports that while word-of-mouth is tops, mobile messaging is last. Here's a ranking of the most effective approaches, according to survey responses; use it to help guide your marketing and promotion strategy and tactics:

81% by word-of-mouth from family or friends
80% through traditional media (e.g., newspapers, magazines, television)
74% in advertising
69% at events
66% in the store, on a package or at the register
64% through standard mail
59% through e-mail
49% through social media channels (e.g., Facebook, blogs, YouTube, Twitter)
29% on mobile devices (via text messaging)

It wouldn't surprise me if this information applied to communication from small businesses and other organizations, too. What has worked best for your nonprofit?

How to Host a Book Contest

2010-06-11T12:11:00.004-04:00

Need to know how to put together a book contest? The current issue of Build Book Buzz will tell you how to use this promotional tool to help call attention to your book. Learn the most important steps to follow and see how one author has done it by subscribing to the free e-newsletter at www.buildbookbuzz.com.

You'll receive this issue as soon as you subscribe through June 22, 2010. There is no online archive.

Vocus Acquires Shankman's HARO

2010-06-10T14:31:00.003-04:00

Press release distribution company Vocus, which owns one of my favorite press release distribution services, PRWeb*, announced today that it has acquired HARO. HARO -- "help a reporter out" -- is publicist Peter Shankman's service that connects journalists with sources. Shankman has done an admirable job of building his ProfNet copycat into an impressive source of income for his business. While financial terms weren't disclosed in the Vocus announcement, we can assume that Shankman did very well.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Vocus will do with the service. I'm sure they're smart enough to keep it free.

*affiliate link

Do You Care About Al and Tipper?

2010-06-03T09:52:00.006-04:00

I tweeted yesterday about how the news of the Gore break-up presents authors who are relationship or divorce experts with an opportunity to pitch themselves to the media as talk show guests or article resources. It also provides local therapists and counselors with an opportunity to provide local commentary on a national story with their local media outlets. Publicity is -- like it or not -- all about being opportunistic. Why let your competitor do that noon TV talk show interview about why marriages end after 40 years when you could be doing it? It's a sad situation, but it's a business opportunity for some.

I was surprised, then, when a usually savvy author of books on other topics commented on my Facebook page, "Like who cares? . . . There are a lot more important things to worry about." Well, yeah, of course there are. What to have for lunch today is one of them. But his question made me realize that I care. While other recent high-profile breakups haven't moved me much, this one has left me sad.

Here's why this one bothers me. If those lip-locking love birds can't stay married, who can? I haven't been able to pull it off, but people like the Gores made me feel that is is possible. When I saw all that they've endured and accomplished as a couple, I was reassured that living happily ever after with a spouse is possible.

Oops -- maybe not.

And while some are wondering if Tipper gets half of the Internet, I'm thinking about couples and happiness. Sure, they've grown apart blah blah blah and maybe splitting gives them the opportunity to find happiness with a new soulmate yada yada yada. I get it. But still, I feel like somebody has popped a balloon in front of me. I want to believe that when you stay married that long, you will pick out a long-term care facility together, too. You'll always have somebody watching your back . . . or wiping the drool off your chin.

Where are you on this? Do you care, or, like my author friend, are you completely unmoved by the end of this marriage?

How to Promote an Event

2010-06-01T15:36:00.004-04:00

The Journalistics blog ran a great piece today about how to use social media to market an event. Let's expand on that topic here and review how to use traditional media to market an event. Most situations benefit from a combination of both. Include as many of these elements or tasks into your planning as possible:

Create a plan with a timetable. Events have lots of moving parts and if you don't have a large staff, you'll be distracted by the logistics and forget about publicity components if you don't have it all on paper with a calendar that reminds you when to do what.
Incorporate newsworthy elements. Maybe it's the "first" or "world's largest" whatever, a local media personality as your emcee, or a celebrity speaker.
Uncover and use all of your pre-event publicity angles. Those elements above are key here -- who cares if you've got newsworthy angles if you aren't using them to get media coverage? I was once responsible for planning and publicizing the first beach snowshoe race, a charity fundraiser sponsored by a beverage alchohol brand. It was covered by national TV media only because I alerted them.
Make a pitch for on-site media coverage. It's too late to generate attendance at this point, but the exposure is good for your image, product, cause, or service.
Look for ways to get publicity after the event, too. Hire a professional photographer to take candid photos you can send to weekly newspapers and add to your newsletter and Web site. Was it a fundraiser? Send a news release announcing how much money was raised and how it will be used. Did the event break records? Share that information with the press.

You can't afford to overlook either social or traditional media when promoting your event, so make sure your plan incorporates as many tools and tactics from both as possible.

Op-Ed Submission Lists

2010-05-27T14:08:00.004-04:00

Op-eds -- opinion pieces that appear on the editorial pages of newspapers and some magazines -- are popular communications vehicles for nonprofits because they allow those organizations to advocate for a cause or help spark change.

I've shared tips for writing an op-ed that will get read here; these apply whether you hope to place your essay with the local paper or with several newspapers around the country.

Once you're satisfied that you've written a clear and compelling essay, e-mail it to the right person at each newspaper. How do you find out who that is? If you're just sending to one newspaper, call and ask. If you're an organization with a national audience and cause, you can pay a distribution service such as Cision to e-mail your essay to an up-to-date list at the papers you select. If you'd rather compile your own e-mail address list, use the resources below that I've found online. I can't promise they're current, but if you get an "undeliverable" bounceback message, go to that newspaper's Web site and find what you need there.

Please note that national newspapers such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today require exclusivity. But can you send it to both the Topeka Capital-Journal and the Charlotte Observer? Absolutely. And if you can personalize your essay for each market you're sending it to, you'll have a better shot at acceptance.

Here are links to lists. Google will help you find the information you need for newspapers not on these lists (what a great job for an intern!):

http://www.thestruggle.org/op-eds.htm
http://view.fdu.edu/default.aspx?id=3324
http://www.joemitchell.biz/marzipan/oped.htm
http://www.theopedproject.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=65

Bestselling YA Author Megan McCafferty Adds Unique Signature Feature to Booksignings

2010-05-13T10:06:00.005-04:00

I don't usually post my Build Book Buzz newsletter content on my blog, but this week's Q&A with bestselling YA author Megan McCafferty is such a hit that I'm sharing it here. Thanks for this opportunity go to my daughter Jessie, who met Megan at an event at Syracuse University this spring. As soon as Jessie said, "Mom! She did Barryoke!," I knew I had to investigate.

EXPERT VIEW: Q&A with Bestselling YA Author Megan McCafferty

Our guest expert this week is Megan McCafferty, author of sloppy firsts (Three Rivers, 2001), an ALA Top 10 Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, an ALA Popular Paperback, and a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age. Its sequel, second helpings (Three Rivers, 2003), was also selected to the NYPL list, and was a Booklist Editor’s Pick for one of the best novels of 2003. charmed thirds (Crown, 2006) was an instant New York Times bestseller and a NYPL pick. fourth comings (Crown, 2007) and perfect fifths (Crown, 2009) also made the New York Times, USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly, Book Sense, Barnes and Noble, Borders, and other national bestseller lists.

I’m completely charmed by Megan’s signature booksigning feature: Barryoke. It’s a unique and clever way to let the real Megan McCafferty shine through and connect with her fans. It also gives the rest of us something to think about: Is it possible for more of us to incorporate signature features into our events, too? Here’s more of the story; I hope it inspires you to think beyond the traditional approach and, like, Megan, have a little fun.

Q. Tell us a little about your booksigning and speaking schedule. You speak frequently on college campuses, right? Why?

I love appearing at colleges because these are the readers who have literally grown up with the Jessica Darling novels. They’re the ones who tell me, “Your books got me through high school.” Or, “I hated to read until I read your books.” They appreciate my series on a profoundly personal level that makes what I do so rewarding.

Q. How many appearances do you make a year on average?

About 10. Every year since 2006, I’ve had a book come out either in hardcover or paperback. For each of those publications I did bookstore signings in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut—convenient locations close to my home in Princeton, N.J. When Perfect Fifths came out last year, I also went to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. I would have loved to travel more, but as the mother of a young son it’s hard for me to spend so much time away from home, especially when all these events are scheduled within a few weeks or even days of each other to maximize the early sales that are necessary for getting on the bestsellers lists.

When not plugging a just-published book, I do appreciate opportunities to travel outside the tri-state area for literary festivals in places like Tucson, Baltimore, and the gorgeous island of Antigua in the Caribbean. My college visits have brought me to UCLA, Wellesley College, and Syracuse University, among others.

I also do “off-the-record” events that aren’t open to the public. I’ve gone back to speak at my high school several times, and I’m giving a speech at the annual conference for New Jersey Association of Library Assistants in June.

Most of my job is spent alone—just me and my laptop. It’s fun for me to get out of my office—and my own head—to connect with all different audiences.

Q. What is Barryoke? Is this a product of your imagination or did you pick it up from somewhere else?

Barryoke is Barry Manilow karaoke. As far as I know, I’m the first person crazy enough to have come up with such a thing.

Q. How (and why) did you introduce Barryoke in Perfect Fifths? What’s the connection to the story?

Barry Manilow’s songs appear in all five books, often during key moments during the on-again-off-again romance between Jessica Darling and Marcus Flutie. The climactic scene in Perfect Fifths involves these two characters singing “Can’t Smile Without You” on stage in front of an audience consisting entirely of members of the (fictional) Tri-State Chapter of the Barry Manilow International Fan Club. I didn’t plan for Barry Manilow’s music to serve as the cheesy leitmotif for the series, but I like how it played out.

Q. You now perform Barryoke at your booksignings and speaking engagements. Why? What made you come out of the closet with your singing?

Growing up, there were only two jobs I ever wanted: Writer or singer. Neither of which were the most practical careers, right? I’m lucky the writing worked out.

After 10 years and five books, I knew Perfect Fifths would close out the series. I wanted my events for this book to be more like a celebration, a going-away party of sorts. I took voice lessons for 10 years and was very involved in musical theater as a kid and all throughout high school and college. I sang in a semi-professional a cappella group in my mid-20s, and had a hard time finding another performance outlet after I left it. When it came time to arrange the events for Perfect Fifths, I thought to myself, “Hey. I love to sing. There’s a big signing scene in the book. I have a captive audience. Why not?!”

So I invested in The Official Barry Manilow Chartbusters Karaoke CD and made The Official Barryoke Bag for collecting requests from the audience. I never know what song I’m going to sing until I pull the request out of the bag. I always give a prize to the person behind the winning request—always a copy of Perfect Fifths, but sometimes I’ll throw in a Barry Manilow T-shirt or Barry Manilow International Fan Club pin. It’s totally fun and ridiculous and every time I open my mouth to sing “Mandy” or “Copacabana” I can’t believe that I made up this silly thing called Barryoke and that there are people who actually want me to do it!

Q. How many times have you seen Barry Manilow perform, and why so many?

I’ve lost count. Four, I think. The Showman of Our Time has still has got some pipes on him. It’s been a while since my last show though. The immobility of his face is starting to trouble me.

Q. Does Barry know about your Barryoke?

I don’t think so. I haven’t heard from him or his people.

Q. What’s the audience reaction?

Judging from the looks on their faces, it’s something like this:

“Is she really gonna do this?”
“OMG. She’s totally doing this.”
“Hahahahaha. She did it…and it was AWESOME.”

Q. Perfect Fifths is the last in the Jessica Darling series. What are you working on now?

I just turned in the first draft of BUMPED to my editor. It’s a dystopian YA novel set 25 years in the future in which there’s a global infertility virus and only teenagers can get pregnant. An apocalyptic comedy, I’m calling it a cross between Heathers and The Handmaid’s Tale.

Q. Will you do something equally creative at your signings for this novel?

I have an idea for something I could do, but I’m not sure if I will. It has to feel right, and I won’t know if it feels right until I’m closer to publication.

Q. Anything else you’d like to add?

I’m not much of a blogger, but interested readers can always keep up with me on Facebook and Twitter. Oh, and if you search for “Megan McCafferty” and “Barryoke” on Youtube, you can see the magic of Barryoke for yourself. (From Sandy: Here’s my favorite!)

Please visit www.buildbookbuzz.com to subscribe to the free Build Book Buzz publicity newsletter for authors.

Learn How to Promote Your Book May 31-June 25, 2010

2010-05-12T11:10:00.003-04:00

Need help publicizing and promoting your book? My e-course, "Book Publicity 101: How to Build Book Buzz," can help! It addresses the biggest challenges most authors encounter when they realize they have to handle their own book publicity and promotion. They are often overwhelmed by the prospect of getting the word out because they don't know where to begin and would rather be writing than promoting.

The typical author:

Struggles to figure out what to do first to promote or publicize the book.
Is uncomfortable with promoting and would rather remain in the background.
Doesn't know which activities will have the greatest impact on the book’s visibility.
Hesitates to use social networking tactics because they're not sure how to.
Doesn't quite understand why and how to schedule a virtual book tour.
Isn't sure how to approach and pitch traditional media outlets in the most appropriate way.
Might not be clear about the book's target audience or how to reach it through the media.
Wants to do as much as possible to publicize a book without spending thousands on a publicist.
Hears that getting on radio helps sells books but doesn't know how to do it -- or if it's a good idea for the book.

Do any of these points describe you? I'll help you over, under, or around all of your obstacles in this dynamic four-week e-course running May 31 through June 25, 2010. It's taught in an easy-to-use forum where you will learn, practice, implement, and grow. Because you can come and go according to your own schedule -- whenever it's convenient for you, not me -- this option offers you maximum flexibility and learning potential.

Learn more about this very affordable and interactive course here; e-mail me at sbATbuildbookbuzz.com with questions.

How to Prepare for a Newspaper Editorial Briefing

2010-05-05T14:42:00.004-04:00

Want to convince your newspaper to take a stand on your issue and write a favorable editorial? Schedule a newspaper editorial briefing – a meeting where you meet with the newspaper’s editorial board to educate its members about your cause, why it’s important to the community, and why they will want to support it.

Here’s how to do it:

Research whether or how the newspaper has covered your topic in the past to gauge what the people you're meeting with might already know about it and whether there might be a bias.
Contact the paper's editorial page editor to request a meeting.
Prepare a briefing sheet to use as a meeting agenda and handout. State the problem and outline barriors to solutions. Explain why it's important to readers. Describe the impact. Conclude with your solution.
Create any necessary educational materials to leave behind -- backgrounders, position papers, copies of research documents, etc.
Determine who will speak. Plan on using 15 to 20 minutes to make your case, then answering questions.

Even if the board decides not to write an editorial endorsing your position or solution, an editorial briefing is still a wise investment of your time. The board representatives will be more informed about your topic and you'll have started the relationship building process with an important media gatekeeper.

For more information about how to plan and prepare for newspaper editorial briefings, see chapter 8 in my book, Publicity for Nonprofits: Generating Media Exposure That Leads to Awareness, Growth, and Contributions.

Have you participated in a newspaper editorial briefing? What was the outcome?

Marymount Manhattan Writers' Conference is June 3

2010-05-03T10:40:00.003-04:00

Marymount Manhattan is hosting its annual fiction and non-fiction writer's conference on Thursday, June 3, 2010, at the school in Manhattan. Often referred to as "the best small conference in the land," this year's event features best-selling author David Baldacci and Cathie Black, president of Hearst Magazines, as keynoters. It includes a book publicity panel.

Panelists at the conference sponsored by the Parker Pen Company include:

Nelson DeMille
Mary Higgins Clark
Linda Fairstein
Bruce Jay Friedman
Ben Cheever
Patty Marx
Malachy McCourt
Daphne Merkin
Susan Isaacs
Christopher Lehmann-Haupt
Cynthia Ozick

The impressive lineup also includes editors, publicists, literary agents, and publishers on a dozen different panels.

Registration fee for the day, including lunch, is $185. Learn more here.

Help Journalists Do Their Jobs

2010-04-30T14:10:00.003-04:00

Publicists exist to make sure their employers or clients are portrayed favorably in the news. One of the easiest ways to do that is to be responsive when a journalist requests information. It's too bad more publicists don't know this.

I had a frustrating experience with a nonresponsive publicist this week, but it wasn't nearly as annoying as my colleague's experience today. She writes for a custom (sponsored) publication that requires that her non-expert sources be customers of the sponsoring company. It's a huge, nationwide company, so that's not much of a challenge.

One of her approved sources for her current list of assignments is a public relations firm. "Great!" we all think. They know how this works, right?

Hahahaha. Not so much.

She e-mailed her request to the firm's owner, asking if he could address one of several topics she's writing about for a series of articles. His response didn't answer her question, but he did make it clear that he wanted to talk about getting his clients interviewed for the articles, too. After an exchange of several e-mail and voicemail messages, he still hasn't answered her direct question: "Can you talk about one of these topics?" She also doesn't know if any of his clients are customers of the sponsoring company -- again, a requirement. So she's moving on to other sources who aren't (a) making her job harder than it needs to be and (b) trying to manipulate the situation.

I know, I know. He owns a PR firm so he's more interested in getting publicity for his clients than he is for his own firm. I get that. But it would have been much wiser for him to say, "Yes, I can address that first topic on your list, or "No, I don't have experience with any of these situations" and THEN added, "I'd also like to find out if any of my clients can help you. Would you mind if I asked a few if they are clients of Sponsor XYZ? Even if they're not right for your current list of assignments, they might be good sources in the future."

It's not that hard to be helpful. Publicists who understand this will be earning their fees, while those who don't won't be delivering the results their employers or clients think they're paying for.

Do you have a favorite publicist? Offer a shout out here in the comments section.

Has Facebook Replaced Forums for Conversation?

2010-04-28T11:32:00.005-04:00

After attending the American Society of Journalists and Authors annual conference on Friday and Saturday, I went online Monday morning to plug into the conference chatter on the forums at Freelance Success and ASJA sites. I had attended a few excellent workshops and wanted to congratulate and thank the speakers publicly so that those who order the conference recordings had input from an attendee about the sessions that were "worth" purchasing. I also wanted to learn more about the quality of the panels I couldn't attend so that I knew what to listen to when the recordings become available.

Usually, by the time I get around to this, there are a few "what did you like about ASJA?" threads already in the works. This year, there were none. N.O.N.E. One showed up on Freelance Success later in the day, but I still can't find anything on the ASJA site where members are talking about "good" panels that will guide those who want to listen to the recordings.

But there's a lot of chatter on Facebook among those who did and didn't attend, with people asking about conference highlights, insights, tips from the panels, and so on. So I'm wondering: Has Facebook replaced forums for conversations? Are those of us who have become accustomed to networking with colleagues in a forum environment shifting our chatter to Facebook? It's certainly working that way for me. And based on what seems to be a decline in volume of threads on the forums where I've been active in the past -- and this is an anecdotal observation only -- I think I'm not the only one who is doing less professional chatting in forums and more on Facebook.

What about you? Are you using forums less to ask questions, learn, and share information and using Facebook more instead? Why or why not?

Connect with a Nonprofit for a Win-Win

2010-04-21T16:04:00.004-04:00

Businesses that support a cause can gain exposure and boost their revenue while making a difference. Eastside Cafe, a small neighborhood restaurant with a heart, knows that supporting nonprofits is not only good for the community, it's good for business and employee morale. The restaurant recently raffled off donated art to raise funds for Haitian orphans. Past fundraisers have benefited a local hospice home and the community's animal shelter.

Interested in doing something similar? Here are tips:

Select a cause that resonates with you and your life experiences, that has a relevant connection to your business, is important to your employees, or is favored by your customers. If there's no logical connection to the business, its employees, or your customers, you'll have a harder time maintaining enthusiasm and support.
Start with a small project or activity so that you aren't overwhelmed.
Use as many communications vehicles as possible to generate interest and support -- your Web site, customer newsletter, Facebook fan page, Twitter, press releases, and so on.
Involve employees in the planning. They'll be more committed to the activity -- whatever it is -- if they feel some sense of ownership.
Announce the outcome. Did you raise money? Collect donated merchandise? Recruit volunteers? Give us closure by telling us about your success.

Connect with your community, as Eastside Cafe does, and do well while doing good.

How Good is Your Media List?

2010-04-15T16:20:00.003-04:00

How did you compile your media list? Do you know who's on it and why they're on it? Is everyone on your list likely to be interested in your news or in a position to give you publicity? While we often want to share our news with as many media outlets as possible, we also want to share it with the right people. When we extend our reach too far, we waste time and money and dilute our publicity efforts.

Case in point: A UPS package I received this week. The box was sent to "Frances Cerra Whittelsey, Small Busi Freelancer" at my address (sorry, Frances). I'm a freelance writer who writes frequently on small business topics, but I'm not Frances. The box included an invitation to a mail order clothing retailer's fall/winter collection preview in New York City and a small gift from the catalog. (Thank you, Retailer I Will Not Embarrass By Naming, for the luggage tag.)

I got the impression from the 3x5 card with 4-point type that small business writers are invited to the event with the expectation that they will write about how businesses can order custom garments embroidered with the company logo from this new collection. It's a stretch, but I appreciate the logic.

But why would they invite a freelance writer who lives seven hours by car from Manhattan to a press event there? Because, as I learned during the many years I lived in the Midwest, lots of people outside New York State don't realize there's this whole big state north of New York City. It makes me wonder: Do publicists who live outside California invite everyone with a California ZIP code to a press event in Los Angeles or San Francisco, in spite of the size of that state? If you're doing an event in Dallas, do you invite journalists from Houston?

In any case, publicists, please note: N.Y. does not equal New York City. Reduce your UPS budget by checking a map or ask your media list provider to do it for you. Remember: It's not always about the quantity of your list -- it's about the quality, too.

Teleseminar Playback Link; Answering More Questions Here

2010-04-09T11:19:00.002-04:00

I did a free teleseminar on April 7, 2010, answering callers' questions about how to build book buzz. If you missed the call but would like to listen in because, as one listener told us afterwards, "Ms. Beckwith oozes with information," here's the link where you can listen online or download the audio file.

Because we had so many people on the call, we couldn't answer all of the questions submitted as part of the registration process. I thought it might help to answer a few more of them here. I received several versions of the questions below. Please note, too, that with so many different book categories out there, it's hard to offer a "one size fits all" answer:

Q. How long before a book launch should I begin promoting my book?

In some situations, you should be laying the groundwork while writing the book by establishing relationships with key influencers. When it comes to straight publicity and promotion -- getting the word out -- you should have your detailed plan in place at least six months before your publication date. You'll need to be doing certain activities (depending on your situation) that far in advance -- maybe even earlier than that.

Q. How useful are "meet the author" book signings in generating buzz?

I wrote an article about that; you can read it here. I always encourage authors to put their efforts into reaching as many of the people in their target audience as possible, and book signings don't generate the numbers that you can get with publicity (getting the word out through the news media).

Q. How can I connect with the most people about my book without going face-to-face and without spending a lot of money?

It depends on the book and its topic, but publicity is very cost effective. So is reaching niche audiences through blogs.

Q. My book was released March 19 and the press release is out. How do I generate media interest other than the press release.

Again, depending on the book, there are many, many things you should be doing to get the word out about your book. Sending out a book announcement release is just the beginning. There are too many to list here -- plus some of the ideas I might suggest won't be appropriate for your book -- but I teach authors how to do this in "Book Publicity 101: How to Build Book Buzz." The next course runs from May 31-June 25, 2010.

Collaborate to Reach Your Publicity Goals

2010-04-01T15:53:00.006-04:00

When Anthropologie opened its first store in New York State outside the greater New York City area at Eastview Mall near Rochester, N.Y. earlier this year, its low-key publicity staff let the mall's marketing director take the lead with the local media.

The results were outstanding. It was, after all, big news not only for the upscale mall, but for area Anthropologie fans, who have long asked the mall to deliver their favorite store. Shopper enthusiasm for the store's quirky interior and unusual merchandise bubbled over to the local press, which gave the grand opening impressive -- and priceless -- air time and exposure.

While the retailer's corporate publicity department established parameters, it allowed the mall's marketing director to act as its liaison with the press. The marketing director made the "pitch" to her media contacts, coordinating telephone interviews with the chain's corporate staff.

What smart collaboration! In many cases, when multiple entities are involved, each puts a lot of energy into trying to control and influence communication with the press. In this case, Anthropologie provided the framework while leveraging the media relations expertise and contacts of someone in the market who works with these journalists continually. The local liaison absorbed the chain's positioning and messages and executed the publicity portion of the grand opening in a way that respected Anthropologie's preferences.

This is a case where, as Aristotle said, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Join Our Free Book Publicity Teleseminar on April 7, 2010

2010-03-29T17:43:00.001-04:00

My colleague Terry Whalin, a publisher, author, and former literary agent, has talked me into doing a free Q&A teleseminar for the subscribers of his newsletter (Right Writing News; subscribe here) and I’d like you to join the call, too, if you can.

It’s Wednesday, April 7 at 8 p.m. EST (7 p.m. Central, 6 p.m.Mountain, 5 p.m. Pacific) and will last just an hour.

Terry and I are going to talk about my favorite subject: How to build book buzz.

He uses a fun approach for these calls: Participants submit questions in advance. That way, we make sure you get just what you need from our Q&A session. So . . . if you could ask me ANY question you wanted about how to build buzz for a book, what would your question be?

Here's your chance to ask me directly and get registered for our call on Wednesday, April 7, 2010. Go to http://www.askbuildbookbuzz.com/ to register. Once you do, you can download my free special report, Beyond the Press Release: 10 Exciting Book Buzz Ideas That Will Take You to theTop. You will receive the complete report when you ask a question and register for this teleseminar.

After you submit your question, you’ll find out how to get phone and Webcast access to Terry Whalin and me for our LIVE telewebcast, April 7th, 2010. Don't worry if you can’t be on the call -- go ahead and sign up anyway. The entire teleseminar will be recorded and everyone who signs up will receive an e-mail with the replay link.

I hope you can join us. I will share lots of helpful information -- information you're asking for -- so I know it will be good use of your time.

The Skinny on Amazon Bestseller Campaigns

2010-03-24T13:36:00.002-04:00

A recent posting on a writers’ forum asking about the Amazon bestseller campaigns got me thinking. The author asked if forum users thought she could create her own campaign without purchasing a pricey program that tells you how to do it.

These bestseller campaigns rely on a simple concept: Buy the book on a certain day and the author will give you lots of free electronic downloads – books, booklets, audio files, and so on – as a reward for purchasing on that specific day. You can create one of these campaigns without purchasing a system if you know the formula, have saved sample messages you have received from others who have employed this technique with success so you know what language generates action, and if you’re already a skilled marketer and copywriter.

Here’s the basic formula:

Set a sale date for your campaign a few weeks into the future
Compile a list of e-zine publishers or marketers with large mailing lists that already reach your target market; convince list owners that folks on their list would welcome a marketing message about your book
Scour the Internet for reports and other free products that should be interesting to your target audience and secure permission to offer them to people who buy your book on the designated day
Write a series of marketing/sales messages that need to go out to all of the lists
Create and implement a marketing plan to support your campaign
Create a Web page to house links to all of the free downloads
Have a system in place to get the URL for that Web page to everyone who buys your book on Amazon.com on the designated bestseller day

I understand the appeal of these campaigns to authors. Really, I do. But they’re not as effective now as they were when the concept was novel a few years ago. Let me explain a little bit why, and then I’ll explain why these campaigns make me uncomfortable.

They’re less effective because they rely on electronic mailing lists comprised of people who are savvy enough about Internet marketing by now to know how these things work. Unlike your Great Aunt Tilly, who might think that getting all of these free e-books when she buys a book on Amazon is a super duper deal, the people on these lists are a little jaded. Been there, done that. They have already received these freebies or others like them elsewhere in their travels and discovered that they didn’t have time to read or use them. The novelty has worn off. So…the return on investment for bestseller campaigns might not be as great today as it once was.

Why do these campaigns make me uncomfortable? Because they aren’t authentic. Campaign book buyers are often buying a book they have no interest in simply to get the freebies. They’re either interested in the free content or they are people who can’t resist a bargain – shucks, for $12.43 on Amazon, they get lots of stuff they didn’t have to pay for – “a $563 retail value!” If it works as hoped, authors end up selling their book to people who would never have bought it otherwise – which seems a bit like a scam to me.

Yes, I’d love to claim bestseller status for any of my books, but honestly, I’d want the buyers to make the purchase because they want to read the book. It’s a bit of a purist attitude, I know, and maybe it’s one that will cost me a few royalty checks at some point. And I’m all for adding incentives to make the purchase more appealing, but making those incentives available only on one day? That’s like admitting that your book won’t sell without them and I’m not willing to do that.

What do you think about these campaigns? If you've done one, what were the results?

Register Before Monday to Get ASJA Writers Conference Discount!

2010-03-19T15:59:00.007-04:00

The 39th Annual ASJA Writers Conference is April 24 & 25th, 2010. I'm in; are you? You have just 48 hours left to cash in on big savings and take advantage of the early registration discounts that expire at the end of the weekend (http://www.asja.org/wc/2010/2010fees.php.)

You won't want to miss this year's expanded schedule offering 20 sessions on Saturday, including specialized tracks geared toward writers at all stages of their career. Whether you're just "Getting Started," are a "Beginner" or "Advanced" writer, or fall somewhere in the middle as an "Intermediate" writer, there are panels just for you. There's also an all-new Technology track that will walk you through things like how to use the hottest "must-have" gadgets geared toward writers and how to put Twitter to work for you.

Here are a few of the highlights from our friends at ASJA:

Querying 101: Make the most of your first impression. Senior editors at three major magazines give inside tips on the best way to introduce yourself, what to include in a really great pitch, when it's too soon to follow-up, what subject lines grab their attention, and more. You'll also get some examples of their favorite pitches and letters of introduction.
Creating Kill-proof Copy: Cut out edits. Editors from three major national magazines tell how to avoid common mistakes that result in multiple edits, pieces getting killed or, most importantly, not being considered for future work.
Posting for Dollars : Why not get paid to blog and tweet? Learn how to brand your blog, develop your platform, and get paid for those posts and witty tweets. Hear from editors who hire freelancers to blog and tweet as well as writers who are earning money with each click.
Content into Cash: Create and Sell Information Products: Give your income a hefty boost by creating and selling e-books, reports, and instruction manuals, and more. Come hear how to turn your intellectual property into information products without the involvement of a book or magazine publisher. (I'm a panelist on this one.)
Links, Friends and Tweets. Using Social Networking: Blogging, tweeting, connecting and podcasting can open doors with editors and agents. Hear how to increase your social networking platform and learn just how social editors expect you to be.

For up-to-the minute news about the conference, be sure to follow the conference on Twitter at @ASJA2010.

I'll be there; I hope you'll join me!

Are Facebook Fan Pages Effective Marketing Tools?

2010-03-17T12:06:00.005-04:00

Harvard Business Review reports in the March issue that companies using Facebook and its fan page application to market themselves to customers can significantly increase:

Sales
Word-of-mouth marketing
Customer loyalty

According to research at Rice University's Jones Graduate School of Business cited in the article, Facebook fans of Dessert Gallery (DG), a popular Houston-based café chain:

Made 36 percent more visits to DG's stores each month.
Spent 45 percent more of their eating-out dollars at DG.
Spent 33 percent more at DG's stores.
Had 14 percent higher emotional attachment to the DG brand.
Had 41 percent greater psychological loyalty toward DG.

Does this apply to other businesses? When Duck brand duct tape used its fan page to introduce its digital camouflage duct tape to its nearly 1 million Facebook fans, the company sold hundreds of rolls online in minutes.

What's the best use of a fan page that you've seen?

5 Publicity Myths

2010-03-11T16:29:00.006-05:00

You don't need special skills or experience to generate publicity for your business, organization, product, or service. And you definitely don't need to be discouraged from trying to get media exposure by people who tell you otherwise. Here are the top five publicity myths I'm seeing and what you need to know about them.

You have to express yourself well in writing. Sure, it helps to be articulate and get to the point quickly, but if you've got a great story to tell, it will shine through, whether you write "your" when you mean "you're" or make a few spelling mistakes. Journalists are more forgiving when the source of a good idea is somebody who doesn't write or pitch for a living.
It's important to send your news to as many media outlets as possible. In fact, that could get you in trouble. You want to send your news to the most appropriate media outlets. That might be a handful, it might be 100. Be realistic about who might care about your story.
You must have media connections. If you've researched your targeted outlets and determined which reporter/producer/gatekeeper is the right person to receive your pitch and if you've got the right story for them, you don't need special connections. I once placed a story on the front page of The Wall Street Journal through a reporter I had never communicated with before. It was a good story and I got it to the right person.
Fairy dust is a must. Effort is what's really required. Make the effort to offer a good story, understand what your target media outlets use, find the right person to pitch to, and express your idea clearly.
If you don't experience immediate success, you must be doing something wrong. Sometimes you're in the right place at the wrong time. One of the keys to publicity success is persistence. Don't give up. Learn as much as you can about why your idea was rejected and use that knowledge with your next pitch. Your skills will improve with practice, and so will your success rate.

This isn't rocket science. You can do it yourself. Take the time to learn about the process and how it works, and you'll be better prepared to enjoy the success that many others who don't do this for a living -- including retailers, physicians, consultants, authors, and nonprofit leaders -- experience on a regular basis.

The Real Winner in the Childish Milkaholic Lindsay Publicity Stunt is E*Trade

2010-03-10T15:57:00.007-05:00

Lindsay Lohan's silly $100 million lawsuit against E*Trade over its milkaholic baby commercial sure has gotten the troubled actress back into the headlines, hasn't it? Yes, people are laughing about the baseless lawsuit, but they're talking about Lindsay Lohan again. And when you crave attention, you don't care what people are saying about you -- all you care about is that they're talking about you.

While Lindsay is foolishly pointing out a possible-but-not-likely connection most of us never even saw in the funny commercial, the E*Trade brand is getting a lot of priceless publicity it didn't ask for and couldn't buy. I hope the company will leverage adult Lindsay's narcissistic legal challenge by creating a blatant parody video with the milkaholic baby Lindsay ranting about how she will file a counter-suit citing defamation of character. It will go viral quickly.

Today's news reports addressed the lawsuit; tomorrow's should feature lighthearted interviews with E*Trade's marketing team having a little fun with this. I hope they milk this for all it's worth.

How to Submit Your Books for Review

2010-03-03T10:19:00.004-05:00

This posting originally appeared in the February 10, 2010 issue of my free e-zine, Build Book Buzz. A subscriber asked me to offer it here, too, so she could link to it from her blog. I hope others find it helpful, too.

Our guest columnist this issue is my friend and colleague, Dana Lynn Smith. Dana is a book marketing coach and author of several books, including The Savvy Book Marketer's Guide to Selling Your Book to Libraries. For more tips, follow @BookMarketer on Twitter and visit Dana's book marketing blog. Get a copy of the Top Book Marketing Tips e-book when you sign up for her free book marketing newsletter.

Book reviews can be a powerful marketing tool for books of all types. Potential customers learn about books by reading reviews in newspapers, consumer magazines, professional journals, newsletters, e-zines, book review Web sites, online bookstores, and other blogs and Web sites. In addition to bringing books to their attention, well-crafted book reviews also help the reader determine if a book is a good fit for them.

Submitting books for review can be time consuming and the costs can add up quickly, but the selling power of reviews is well worth the effort. You can save time and money by planning in advance, being selective about where you send review copies, and following submission guidelines exactly.

Competition for reviews in newspapers and book review journals is fierce. When submitting review copies to publications, make sure your book's subject matches the audience and the book meets the publication's review guidelines. Some publications review only certain types of books and some only review prior to or within a certain time after publication. For example, The New York Times only reviews books available in retail bookstores.

Book reviews in newspapers are getting harder to come by, but many special interest magazines and newsletters do book reviews or mention books in articles related to the book's topic. Use a search engine or library reference desk media directory to find consumer and trade publications or check the magazine database at Wooden Horse Publishing (there is a small fee).

Bookstore buyers and librarians base many of their ordering decisions on reviews in the major book review journals. Eligibility and submission instructions vary by publication, so be sure to read the requirements carefully.

Online book reviews can also be a great book marketing tool. Having lots of good reviews on Amazon.com can boost sales, especially for nonfiction books where customers are comparing several different books on a particular topic. There are numerous other Web sites that feature book reviews. Even if reviews on these sites don't generate many sales, they are a good source of testimonial quotes to use in your marketing. Use a search engine to look for book review sites and book blogs related to the type of book you write.

For a list of online book review sites, along with tips on getting reviews on Amazon.com and other Web sites, read Annette Fix's article about online book reviews at the WOW! Women on Writing Web site. Yvonne Perry at "Writers in the Sky" has also compiled a list of people and organizations that do book reviews.

Use caution when sending review copies to individuals who request them. Some people have good intentions, but simply won't find the time to write a book review, while others offer to write reviews mainly as a way to get free books. If you don't know much about the reviewer, it might be a good idea to politely inquire what other book reviews they have done and where they were published.

"I sent copies of my book to book bloggers who responded to my e-mail that they indeed wanted to review the book, but who never reviewed it. I later realized that I wasn't anyone to them, so my book got buried in the avalanche of books they receive," says Phyllis Zimbler Miller of MillerMosaic.com. "I found that bloggers on my virtual book tour and book reviewers whom I connected with through social media were much more committed to actually reviewing my book."

Several publications, including Kirkus Discoveries and Clarion, offer paid book review services. In addition, many online book review sites will guarantee a review within a certain time frame in exchange for a payment. However, the practice of paying for book reviews is controversial. Some people think that paid book reviews are biased since they are done for a fee and that it's a waste of money. Others maintain that paid reviews are just as fair as other reviews and that reviewers need to be compensated for their time.

Librarians and booksellers know which publications do paid reviews, so reviews from those sources won't carry much weight with them. But paid reviews might be seen by consumers and they could generate good quotes for book marketing purposes. If you do use paid reviews, be cautious about investing too much.

Wherever you choose to send your galleys and review copies, plan ahead and get them out as quickly as possible. And, whenever customers give you good feedback on your book, be sure to ask for permission to add their quote to your testimonial list and ask if they would be willing to post their comments on Amazon.com.

Why Media Coverage Usually Covers More than You

2010-03-02T07:23:00.009-05:00

When The Wall Street Journal does a front page story about eyelash products, I pay attention, especially when I've just seen a "Today Show" segment on eyelash enhancers a few weeks before. But it's not because my thin, light lashes need help. It's because I know that one of the brands featured in the publicity has got a good campaign rolling and I'm wondering which one is the machine behind the excellent national media exposure. It's hard to tell because each of these pieces uses multiple sources and features competitive products.

And it wouldn't surprise me if one of the marketing executives at the company funding the campaign is disappointed in this exceptional exposure because it is not all about his product.

Anyone pitching the media on a new trend/product/service needs to understand that 9 times out of 10, it will not be about you and only you. When it's only about you, it's an advertisement, not an article, and publicity is about the news side of the business, not the advertising side. This is important because it's one of the biggest issues I see among those who are not informed about how the publicity process works. Their expectations are unrealistic (and nobody has taken the time to educate them and manage expectations).

Tip: When pitching a story or segment on your new product/service/trend, do the legwork for the journalist -- identify others they should interview to get a complete and well-rounded story, provide industry statistics, offer to help acquire appropriate illustrations or graphics.

Even when a media outlet profiles you, it's not always just about you -- the writer will often talk to co-workers, competitors, or friends to round out the story.

Back to the eyelash enhancers: Kudos to the team using the media to bring these products to our attention. You're doing a good job of it. And if one of your clients is complaining that the news coverage also puts the spotlight on competitors, show him this piece.

How a Story Unfolds on Campus

2010-02-18T10:02:00.011-05:00

A few weeks ago, my daughter, Jessie Assimon, and a colleague attempted to drop off copies of Jerk Magazine, an award-winning student publication that Jessie currently edits, at Syracuse University's Graham dining hall. Most of the student publications -- and there are a lot of them because of SU's outstanding S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications -- are distributed at the dining halls, dorms, and other heavily-trafficked locations on campus.

But not anymore.

A Graham employee who doesn't like Jerk's content told the students that he didn't want the magazines in his facility. What followed is well reported by the school's newspaper, The Daily Orange, and its TV station, Citrus TV. The outcome? The university is enforcing a "policy" that hasn't been published or shared with the magazines before: Student publications can't be distributed at campus dining halls. It doesn't matter that magazine staffers -- including at least one faculty advisor -- didn't know about the policy. It doesn't matter that the magazines have been distributed in dining halls for years. It doesn't matter that a major university with one of the top journalism schools in the country has made a decision that doesn't seem to support freedom of speech rights.

It's interesting to see how a small event -- a foodservice employee blocked distribution of a student publication at a dining hall -- snowballed into a big campus story involving faculty, staff, administration, and students. It wouldn't surprise me if the resulting policy changes (they don't say they're changes, but they are...) help this story get some attention off-campus, too.

How to Learn More About Publicity

2010-02-15T13:59:00.007-05:00

How do you learn how to be your own publicist? Good books, courses, and workshops are helpful and I recommend them. But I also suggest using Google and Twitter alerts to learn more about specific publicity topics. It's like having a crash course delivered to your inbox on an ongoing basis.

Alerts for carefully-chosen keywords used in Twitter tweets or anywhere on the Web (delivered via Google alerts) will help you find the many educational, instructive blog postings with the information you need. But it won't always come to you exactly when you need it -- that's what a good in-the-moment Google search is for.

Google and Twitter alerts serve many other purposes -- they can be your online clipping services, too -- but you can't beat them for providing "here's-how-to-do-it" information from some of the top experts in any field. Twitter, in particular, is an essential component of my ongoing professional development. It not only helps me learn -- it helps introduce me to the people who truly know what they're talking about on a specific subject. These people might then agree to write an article for my book publicity e-zine, do an educational teleseminar, or be a guest blogger here.

I offer free instructions on how to set up Google and Twitter alerts available for download here; it's not hard and you'll be ready to roll in minutes. The hardest part is figuring out which terms to use -- and the terms you're searching for should change over time. For example, you might set alerts for "social media release," "press release tips," or "how to pitch" but cancel those once you feel you have learned as much as you need on that subject. From there, you might set alerts for "press release distribution." (You'll note that these all make good Google search engine terms when you add "how to" to your search phrase, if you need the information now.)

Authors: try "social networking authors" or "book publicity"
Small business owners: try "small business publicity" or "solo publicity"
Nonprofits: try "nonprofit publicity tips" or "charity publicity tips"

Play around with your alert terms -- if you get too many, make adjustments. If you get too few, try something else. Other people know more about how to generate the perfect search term than I do (and if you're reading this, I'd love it if you'd share them). I find that just giving it my best shot and then tinkering gives me all the alerts I need to stay informed.

Creating Your Own Brand

2010-02-08T11:44:00.011-05:00

What can help you stand out as you're promoting your product, service, cause, book, or issue? Brand consultant and author Martin Lindstrom (Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy) recently explained how to create a personal brand on The Today Show. His goal was to help jobhunters, but it got me thinking about how it might apply to my situation as a small business owner, and, in turn, how it might help the authors, business owners, and nonprofit leaders I try to help through this blog. During the interview, he was talking about defining an individual's brand, but his advice can apply to companies and organizations, too.

Here are this five tips:

Define who you are and aren't. I think this is the hardest for most people because it requires focus. It forces us to ask, "What do I want to be known for?" Then ask, "What am I probably known for right now?" I am somebody who does her best in any given situation. When I turn in a writing assignment, it's as good as I can make it. When I teach a publicity workshop, you're getting everything I can possibly offer in the timeframe allotted. But who is this important to -- me, or my clients? I should find out. More importantly, though: Who are you?
Become well-known for one thing. Again, it's about focus. You can't be all things to all people, so learn what's most important to your target customer and decide if that's what you can deliver.
Create an air of mystery. In the publicity business, you can do this by consistently delivering top quality results and not yakking the whole time about how you did it. When I was doing PR work for clients, they used to ask me where I kept my fairydust. Now that I share my "secrets" through workshops, it's a little harder to be mysterious.... But how can you do this in your own business? I think that concept of being good at what you do but not talking about how hard or how easy it is makes for a good first step.
Create a signature look. My "signature look" is not wearing sweatpants to the supermarket so I should probably spend a little time on this one. Lindstrom's signature look is black clothes -- an approach shared by actor/singer Mandy Patinkin, who once commented that he always wears a black t-shirt and pants when he performs because he doesn't have to worry about what matches. Your signature look should align with client or customer expectations.
Leave a personal mark behind. What can you leave with people that helps them remember you after you're gone? If you use a business card, it should be atypical -- something that stands out and is relevant to your personal brand. For some it could be good advice, for others, it might be a free sample. Be creative with this one.

Going through this process -- addressing these five points -- is an interesting exercise. I don't have all the answers for myself yet, but I will soon, because I think Lindstrom's advice is solid and relevant to my business. Have you done something like this already? What was the result?

Developing a Multimedia Publicity Plan

2010-02-03T17:23:00.005-05:00

Business writer Randy Hecht recently interviewed me about online press rooms and social media releases for AT&T's "Real Marketing Solutions" small business newsletter. Her article is concise, clear, and helpful. If you're working to understand ...

How to reach your target audience through the press
What differentiates a social media press release from a traditional press release
How to create an online press room

... you'll want to read the article. Download and save Shift Communications' social media press release template, too. It will give you a headstart.

How are you using social media releases?

How to Be Found

2010-02-01T17:40:00.007-05:00

How do you make sure customers and prospects will find you in a competitive marketplace? I used to think the marketers at Wegmans, one of the best supermarket chains in the country, had that figured out.

But that was before I saw the full-page ad for the chain's liquor store, Century Pittsford Wines, in Saturday's daily newspaper.

The ad tells us that the store, which is about a year old, is ditching the daily newspaper in favor of e-mailed ads. As my cousin Nancy used to say when we were kids, "Icky doo."

Here are four reasons why this is both disappointing and unwise.

I already get way too much e-mail. In fact, I made a conscious effort already this year to unsubscribe from as many lists as possible. I'm trying to cut down on the inbox clutter not add to it. And do I want to get e-mail that reminds me that I have a vice (merlot...)? I think not.
This strategy assumes people know the store exists. You aren't going to get people to your Web site to sign up for e-mail messages if they've never heard of your business.
Many of us cluster our errands geographically. I can get my groceries, buy my wine, fill up my car, and get my tall-extra-hot-skinny-vanilla-latte at Starbucks all in one block just a mile from my home on a Saturday afternoon. I'm not going to remember that I can do much of that five miles away in Pittsford and take advantage of the good prices at Century Wines because I don't even remember to stop for gas half the time. Unless...unless...I see the store's full-page ad in my Saturday morning paper and I'm reminded that the prices are lower there. I have to be reminded. (And see point # 1 about e-mail reminders.)
Daily newspapers across the country are suffering. Ours is no different. It needs advertising support to survive. Withdrawing this weekly ad feels like a betrayal to my newspaper. Based here in the Rochester, NY, area, Wegmans is an exceptional corporate citizen. The philanthropy coming out of that company is remarkable. I see the newspaper ads as an extension of that community service. But I also think they're necessary for marketing purposes.

You need to stay top of mind with your customers, especially if you're in retail. Remind me, remind me, remind me -- and then remind me again. And remind me on my terms, not yours. You can't convert me from my preferred reminder system -- that weekly Saturday morning ad -- to yours -- e-mail. It just doesn't work that way. Before making this kind of change, be certain you know how your customers want to hear from you -- and then listen to what they tell you.

4 Ways to Find a Good PR Firm

2010-01-26T14:04:00.004-05:00

You've decided not to do your own publicity (in spite of my encouragement) and want to outsource the work. How do you find a good PR firm for your publicity project? Here are a few things you can do to make sure you land with a trusted agency that will generate realistic results:

Ask around. Have you seen other nonprofits or businesses enjoying impressive media exposure? Contact the organization to find out if they used an agency and if so, which one. Would they recommend them?
Ask journalists at your targeted media outlets to make a recommendation based on their experience. They know which PR firms bring them good stories, sources, etc., time after time.
Call the president of your community's PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) chapter, describe your needs, and ask for the names of a few members who might be qualified to do your work. (Use this link to get a chapter listing and contact information.)
Post a message on a public relations forum. When looking for a crisis communications specialist for a client, I joined a PR forum so that I could ask for assistance identifying a qualified consultant, and got several great leads. My client ultimately retained one of the individuals recommended by list members and was pleased with the outcome.

Once you've identified a few potential firms, you'll want to make sure they're a good fit for you and your assignment. "How to Hire a PR Firm" provides guidelines for the next step.

What methods would you add to this list of tips?

4 Ways to Kill a Pitch

2010-01-22T16:29:00.003-05:00

I smile when I get bad pitches from publicists -- they're blog fodder. I heard from many publicists this week who sent material on everything from a cookie diet to a bilingual book series, but the one that really stood out had the following characteristics. Use it as your format for What. Not. To. Do.

Use 8 point type. Seriously, even The Young People have trouble reading type this small.
Write two inflammatory sentences that paraphrase somebody but don't tell me who you're paraphrasing.
Don't give me an overview or facts. Instead, tell me to click on the link below to learn more about the topic.
Use a tinyURL format for that link so I can't tell who your client is or whether it's a link I can trust. There's lots of buzz about the bad things that might happen to my computer if I visit a "bad" Web site. I'm not going to trust your tinyURL if all you've given me is a couple of vague sentences about an impending danger to our society.

This woman's client might have had something interesting to say...and this e-mail might have gone to many writers who were in a position to help the source get her message to the people she thinks need to hear it. I suspect that it didn't get the desired response, though. One of the mistakes on the list above is enough to kill what could be a good story idea. Work to make sure that your next pitch avoids these mistakes.

Learn How to Promote Your Book

2010-01-20T15:58:00.002-05:00

"Book Publicity 101: How to Build Book Buzz" addresses the biggest issues most authors encounter when they realize they have to handle their own book publicity and promotion. Typically, authors:

Struggle to figure out what to do first to promote or publicize their book.
Know which activities will have the greatest impact on their book’s visibility.
Hesitate to use social networking tactics because they're not sure how to.
Don't quite understand why and how to schedule a virtual book tour.
Aren't sure how to approach and pitch traditional media outlets in the most appropriate way.
Might not be clear about the book's target audience or how to reach it through the media.
Want to do as much as they can to publicize a book without spending thousands on a publicist

I help authors discover the answers to these questions – and much more – in this dynamic four-week starting February 1, 2010. It's taught in an easy-to-use forum where you will learn, practice, implement, and grow.

Learn more about this very affordable and interactive course (and register!) here; e-mail me at sbATbuildbookbuzz.com with questions.

Want More Publicity? Get Starter Publicity

2010-01-14T10:19:00.006-05:00

Publicity begets publicity. You've heard me say it before because I've seen it in action as a publicist and more recently, as a writer, but now there's harder evidence of this. "How News Happens," a new study from the Pew Research Center, reveals that "much of the 'news' people receive contains no original reporting. Fully eight out of ten stories studied simply repeated or repackaged previously published information."

The report went on to say that ". . . of the stories that did contain new information nearly all, 95%, came from traditional media—most of them newspapers. These stories then tended to set the narrative agenda for most other media outlets."

The Pew study of Baltimore media outlets is representative of the local media news-gathering and reporting process, but this plays out nationally, as well. Writers like me use our local newspapers to help generate article ideas that we sell to national publications; national business publication staffers monitor the trade press for news and trends article ideas; the network TV morning talk shows pick up interesting stories from their local affiliates. Whether your story appears in a local or national media outlet, online or offline, you still have a much better chance of getting your story into more than one outlet if you get that one hit first.

For most of us, the easiest way to do this is to start locally. As the Pew study has shown, you'll go the farthest fastest if you start with your daily newspaper.

Have you enjoyed larger media exposure after a local mention? What happened?

Authors: Enter Hoffer Awards by January 21

2010-01-06T15:19:00.002-05:00

January 21, 2010, is the entry deadline for the Hoffer Awards for academic, independent, small press, and self-published books that were released or copyrighted in the past two years. The entry fee of $45 could lead you to a grand prize of $1,500 and recognition you can use for promotion and marketing purposes. There are five ways to win -- by genre, press, the Montaigne Medal, the da Vince Eye, and the Hoffer grand prize.

For more information visit http://www.hofferaward.com/HAnominate.html.

Don't Use Celebrities as Your Publicity Role Models

2010-01-05T11:42:00.005-05:00

Newsmaking celebrities such as Rush Limbaugh and Tiger Woods can use a passive media relations strategy to get their information or point of view out to the press. All they have to do is post a news release on their Web site and sit back and wait for pieces of it to be used in media reports.

The rest of us? Not so much. Nobody's coming to our Web sites looking for our news, so we have to be much more proactive. We need to use hand-crafted media lists or press release distribution services to generate stories, mentions, interviews, and exposure.

It's important to push your news out there. While a journalist might stumble upon your press release while doing research online, you still need to take the time to figure out which media gatekeepers can help connect you with your target audience and provide them with appropriate information that helps them do their jobs.

This doesn't mean that you don't want an online press room -- you do. It definitely helps. You just don't want to make that your entire publicity campaign. And one tip about that: Don't use the PDF format for your media relations materials. It makes them harder to work with and when you make it harder for a journalist to use your information, chances are, it won't be used at all.

Please Nominate Build Book Buzz as a Top Site for Writers

2009-12-29T16:39:00.004-05:00

Writer's Digest is seeking nominations for its "101 Best Websites for Writers" list. If you're familiar with my site at http://www.buildbookbuzz.com/ and find the information on it useful, please consider nominating that site for the list.

Here's how:

Send an e-mail to writersdigest@fwmedia.com.
Use "101 Websites" as the subject line.
In the e-mail message, type: http://www.buildbookbuzz.com/.
Submit by the January 1, 2010, deadline.

Thanks so much for considering this!

Get Help Finding Mistakes

2009-12-22T15:28:00.004-05:00

I make mistakes, but to make sure I don't take them public too often, I get help. I often ask a colleague to review what I write for typos but also for omissions, because it is very, very easy to exclude important information when you're writing about a topic you know well.

I saw a newspaper ad last week that would have benefited from another pair of eyes checking it over before it ran. The advertisement announcing the grand opening of a cupcake bakery caught my eye even though I can't eat cupcakes because of my medical diet (I am limited to gluten-free bakeries or ... sigh ... baking my own little treats) because a box of pretty and tasty treats can make a nice thank you gift.

The ad included the bakery's hours, telephone number, and Web site URL, but no address. Hmm.... Now they're making it hard for me to stop by and check them out, right? At least they included the URL -- that would help me get the location. But that added another challenge: The store name is not the name used for the Web site, and the Web site URL is one letter different from another Web site. This is so complicated that we need bullet points:

The new store name is (I am going generic here so I don't embarrass anybody): XYZ Cupcakery.
The new store's URL is xyzcupcake.com, not xyzcupcakery.com.
XYZ Cupcakes, a bakery in another state, has its site at xyzcupcakes.com, which is where I landed because my brain goes plural automatically, to "cupcakes," not "cupcake."

I went to a lot of trouble to get the location of this store because I was going to blog about it, but most people simply won't jump through this many hoops. If the store's owner had asked somebody who wasn't connected to the business -- somebody who didn't have all the answers already -- to look at the ad, that person would have said, "It doesn't have your address" and "Hey, why doesn't your URL match your store name? XYZCupcakery.com is available -- you'd better grab it." You have to wonder how much business this new store lost by omitting such an important detail.

It's a reminder to me and a lesson for others: Ask somebody to proofread any written communication that is going to be read by the public. It can save you time and money in the long run.

Learn About Social Media Releases

2009-12-17T17:03:00.003-05:00

The current issue of Build Book Buzz, the free e-newsletter for authors, includes a Q&A on social media releases with Todd Defren, principal of Shift Communications. Defren is credited with creating the first social media news release in 2006.

To learn more about social media releases, including how to create and distribute them, sign up for the newsletter at www.buildbookbuzz.com before Wednesday, December 23, 2009. You'll receive the issue by e-mail shortly after you provide your name and e-mail address in the space provided on the Web page.

Is This Ethical?

2009-12-16T12:51:00.005-05:00

A well-known publisher of public relations information that includes a monthly magazine is requesting submissions for a book on nonprofit communications. Contributors will not be paid for submissions, which will average 1,000 words and must not have appeared anywhere else. And yet, the book will probably sell for the same price as this company's other books: $399. That's right. $399.

Some publishing model, eh? Gather up the free content, format it, print it, and sell it at a price that is 16 times the cover price of a "traditional" book like mine, Publicity for Nonprofits. I don't take issue with the price -- if they can get it from a nonprofit, more power to them. But selling it for that much and not paying contributors a cent for their submissions? That's offensive.

But is it unethical? It is by my standards, but is it unethical by the standards of others, especially those targeted by the publisher? I realize that people won't know how this publisher does business, but if they did, would they think it's wrong? Do you think it's wrong? In my opinion, if you're going to sell a book for $399, the least you can do is pay your contributors a token amount for their intellectual capital -- even $100 each would help eliminate the greedy image I now have of this publisher.

And how ironic is that: A company that makes its living helping companies shape, control, and manage their images is acquiring an image for being greedy. Nice.

So what's your opinion? Is this approach ethical?

Reasons to Hold a Press Conference

2009-12-11T14:40:00.004-05:00

The six most dreaded words for a PR person are: "We should hold a press conference!"

Most business people don't realize that unless you're making a significant announcement that's of interest to a large percentage of those in your community, journalists won't attend your press conference.

The problem is that what's big news to us isn't necessarily big news to others, and a press conference requires news that's interesting to a large, wide-ranging audience -- the local rich guy is running for public office, a large employer is announcing the location of its new factory, a college shares news of the largest donation in its history.

In addition, even when you have "real" news to announce, there's a lot of competition for the attention of journalists, many of whom work for news gathering organizations that are cutting back until the economy rebounds more. They have fewer reporters and photojournalists out reporting because they have no choice.

So...your boss announces, "We should hold a press conference!" Ask him or her these questions so that you can both decide if it's an appropriate option for your organization:

Who cares? Seriously, who will care about your announcement outside your company? And if they're in your industry, not your community, perhaps you should hold a press conference -- but at an industry trade show.
Does your news have an impact on the people who read/watch/listen to the media outlets you would invite to your press conference? It needs to.
Who should make the announcement at your press conference, and will that person be available? Sometimes, it's access to an individual who is normally hard to reach that draws a reporter to a press event. If you can make that hard-to-get-at person available, it's a check mark in the plus column.

And here's one strategy to use if you don't really have a good reason to hold a press conference but the boss insists on it anyway: Build your announcement into an event with a larger guest list -- members of your various stakeholder groups -- so that you've got bodies there and it's less obvious that there are no media microphones or cameras.

Did you ever hold a press conference that nobody attended? I did -- and it was for the community's pet charity, too -- the one that everybody is happy to help publicize. What went wrong? We'll save that for another blog posting. But in the meantime, share your story here!

Dear Elin: Don't Save Him!

2009-12-07T12:03:00.005-05:00

Dear Elin,

Tiger is going to have to talk to the press eventually and while that might be an intimate one-on-one with Matt Lauer in your solarium or on a clubhouse patio, it might also be at a press conference in front of a microphone-covered podium.

Here's some free advice: Do not be "the good wife" who stands by her man at these events, no matter how much money he offers.

Standing next to him will be difficult for you, but it will be challenging for us, too. Women are empathetic creatures; we will feel your pain. And we would like your pain to remain private. We would, however, like your hostess treats-loving husband to take his discomfort public without your support. Let him twist out there in the wind without you there to bring him back down.

This is his problem, not yours. Let him find his way out of it on his own. He didn't need your helping getting into this mess; he doesn't need your help getting out of it.

Your friend,

Sandy
p.s. Call me when things settle down!

Tiger Woods and Communicating in a Crisis

2009-12-02T19:10:00.003-05:00

Whenever there's an awkward celebrity moment making headlines, I go in search of crisis communications expert Jonathan Bernstein's thoughts on the situation. Keeping tabs on Jonathan's perspectives on the crisis of the day -- this time, it's the Tiger Woods fiasco -- helps me learn how to react appropriately and productively in these situations. (It's a skill I hope I never need.)

Jonathan's words of wisdom appear this time in the Toronto Star: "It could be, `I had a fight with my wife. I drove off in a huff and lost control of my car.' If that's what happened, this would be over within 24 hours...."

Just a reminder: I've got some of JB's tips for communicating in a crisis at this link.

Is Your Special Event Relevant to What You Do?

2009-11-30T19:39:00.005-05:00

When I saw the headline on the three-sentence news brief in the daily newspaper -- "Museum hosts wing contest" -- I expected to read about an event at the 1941 Historical Aircraft Group Museum, sponsor of the area's annual high-profile airshow.

Nope. The news item announced a Buffalo-style chicken wing competition at a county historical society museum. Huh? What does this museum in Lyons, N.Y. (a community probably best known as the hometown of Jim Boeheim, the Syracuse University men's basketball coach) have to do with chicken wings?

Nothing.

I'd be less confused, of course, if the organization hosting the chicken wing contest was based in Buffalo, N.Y., home of the Anchor Bar, where chicken wings were first served to patrons. Or at an airplane museum. (But maybe not at a bird sanctuary . . . .)

Special events can do a lot to raise awareness or funds, but they need to be relevant to your purpose or mission so that they help connect your nonprofit or business with the messages you're working hard to communicate. So a costume museum might host a fashion show, an art museum could sponsor a student art contest, and a flour museum (yes, they exist) can consider a baking event.

Before approving your next event, whether you run a museum or a hair salon, ask yourself: What does this have to do with what I want people to know about this organization? It could make the difference between an event that makes a difference and one that just makes a dent.

What's the most relevant special event you've seen?

Current Issue of Build Book Buzz Explains How to Find Journalists on Twitter

2009-11-27T17:34:00.002-05:00

The November 25, 2009 issue of Build Book Buzz, the free e-newsletter for authors, explains how (and why) to find journalists on Twitter. Subscribe to the free bi-weekly newsletter at www.buildbookbuzz.com before December 9, 2009 and you'll receive the current issue with the Twitter information via e-mail.

Don't Let Everyone Else Hog the Swine Flu Spotlight

2009-11-24T12:29:00.004-05:00

The only good news coming out of the H1N1/swine flu situation is that some small businesses and nonprofit groups have been able to use the ongoing news story to bring attention to their organizations.

Take churches, for example. The Wall Street Journal ran a story on how those offering communion have to approach that ritual differently now that so many in congregations worry about being exposed to the disease through practices that were considered safe and acceptable before. Small businesses are gaining exposure in their local media by talking about how fear of spreading the disease is changing everything from the trinkets they hand out at trade shows to the number of in-person meetings they require, as this article, "Companies limit personal contact," illustrates.

What is your organization doing because of concerns about the spread of the swine flu? Have you made internal changes, conducted educational seminars, provided shots to employees, or do you provide support services to those giving or receiving the shots? The hospital lobby I visited recently replaced its usual wrapped hard candy with complimentary bottles of hand disinfectant at the registration desk, for example.

If you've made changes or provide support to those working to keep the public healthy, contact your local media and let them know what you're going. Better yet, find out what a few other organizations in your area are doing, too, and present the story to reporters with a full package of interview sources. Here's who to contact locally:

Daily newspapers: Small business reporter, health reporter
Weekly newspaper: The reporter covering your community
TV stations: Assignment editor or health reporter

Do it, and do it now. Perhaps your example will encourage others in your community to make the same changes to help prevent the spread of the disease among employees, customers, and others.

What have you seen about how companies are coping in your local media?

Is One-one-One Contact with a Journalist Ever Appropriate?

2009-11-20T15:05:00.008-05:00

While listening in on a Webinar this week about how to use online press releases, I was surprised to hear one of the two speakers say that there's no place for one-on-one contact with journalists when trying to get publicity. Instead, this author of a book on using press releases online said if you've got news, it belongs in a news release sent to as many media outlets as possible.

I realize that the event was sponsored by online press release distribution company PRWeb International, but, um, this answer is just plain wrong. Fortunately, the other speaker on the Webinar, a publicist, did a little backpeddling on behalf of the author (who is not a publicist), noting that there are times when you have a story that's perfect for just one media outlet and when that happens, you focus on that outlet.

With that as the backdrop, here are four more situations when it's appropriate to contact a journalist individually:

You have identified the six to 10 journalists who have the power to influence your success and you want to begin establishing a relationship with each one of them individually. Start the conversation. Relationships matter -- work on them.
You want to pitch a story, not news. They're not necessarily the same thing. "Stories" don't always lend themselves to many, many media outlets.
You're handcrafting a small media list to manage in-house and want to confirm a journalist's area of interest, responsibilities, or preferences for how or when to receive news and information from you. This is particularly relevant when you're seeking local, not national, publicity or when you're in a specific niche targeting a small number of trade publications or blogs.
You have uncovered information that will help the journalist do his job better. Maybe it's an article from a national publication that you think the daily newspaper newspaper reporter on your "most important media" list will want to turn into a local story. It could be the opposite -- there's a feature in your local paper that's relevant to the work of an editor or writer at a national magazine that you'd like to have on your side.

Mass distribution of press releases might have a place in your publicity plan, but if you rely completely on that tactic and do nothing else to develop media exposure, you'll miss many opportunities to make headlines with your business, cause, product, or service. Those opportunities often come as the result of carefully and patiently cultivated relationships with journalists -- relationships that develop through one-on-one contact.

When you have contacted a single reporter directly and received publicity as a result?

PR Firm Seeks Executive Vice President

2009-11-18T09:23:00.004-05:00

The folks at Cone, a public relations firm in Boston, have asked me to share news of an opening for executive vice president of cause branding. Cone has a long-standing reputation for leadership in cause marketing, so anyone qualified for the position probably knows about the company already.

Here's a link to the job posting, but I have to warn you that it doesn't meet my expectations for prose written by professional communicators. There's all that random capitalization of phrases such as "corporate responsibility" and "executive leadership team" that is usually generated by those who don't write for a living and who have spent so much time in the corporate "space" (ha-ha) that they don't realize that members of the "Knowledge Leadership team" are just people like you and me. It also uses depressing buzz words and phrases like "impactful" and "market facing."

It gives the impression that this shop is more corporate than creative, so keep that in mind as you mull over whether this is a good fit for you. (Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, the job description was probably written by the HR guy but this is the face the company is putting out there to job-seekers, so I have to think that it's an "approved" face.)

But let's put aside my discomfort with writing that isn't straightforward or uses that kind of incorrect random capitalization found on the advertising side of the business. This is a great job for somebody who wants to help corporations become better citizens. To do that, you sometimes need to fit into the corporate environment. My point here is that I wouldn't expect a creative agency to be as corporate as the client.

With that in mind, I am now officially applying for the job of editing the agency's recruiting materials so they better reflect the company's ability to communicate effectively and clearly with all of its audiences. Cone: You know where to find me.

Avoid These Common Online Press Room Mistakes

2009-11-13T18:17:00.010-05:00

Does your company have an online press room -- a repository of news and background information -- for the media on your Web site? If you're looking for media exposure, you have to be (a) found online and (b) offer appropriate information to journalists. They aren't looking for sales literature and hype. They're seeking news, facts, details, background information, and graphics.

Here are the most common online press room mistakes and how you can prevent them on your Web site so that you maximize its value and impact:

There is no online press room. Every business that isn't trying to dodge the media needs one.
Press materials are available only in PDF format. You want journalists to copy and paste your press releases, fact sheets, backgrounders, executive bios, etc. As soon as you make them available only as PDF files, you've seriously inhibited this process. And anytime you make it harder, you risk losing the media opportunity because none of us wants to work any harder than we have to. Don't put up roadblocks and force us to give exposure to your competitors instead. Make all of your press materials available in a format that lets people copy and paste easily.
Press releases aren't dated. I've found some news on your site -- but is it really news? Did you post the press release last week, last month, or last year? I can't use it if I don't know when you released it.
There is no media contact listed. Let's say an Oprah producer discovers your Web site and wants to talk to your CEO about appearing in a segment related to your business, but you have no media contact listed and the only contact information on your site at all is a generic fill-in-the-blanks Web inquiry form. No names, no phone numbers, no e-mail addresses, and no media contact name and information. Do you think you might miss out on that opportunity to appear on Oprah? Possibly.
There are no media graphics. Include photos in your press room -- executive head shots, product shots, application photos, your logo, etc. -- and include both high- and low-resolution versions.

Large companies usually do it the right way; visit the Xerox newsroom to see an effective example.

What's the best online press room you've seen? I'd like to compile a list of good examples.

Sarah Palin's BOGO Book Tour

2009-11-12T15:59:00.007-05:00

No matter how you feel about Sarah Palin, you have to admit that the book tour schedule for her Going Rogue: An American Life is pretty darn clever.

Palin's publisher is skipping big cities like Seattle, San Francisco, Philadephia, and Los Angeles. Shucks. The durn liberals in those places can't properly appreciate a gal like Mrs. Palin. She's reaching out to "just folks" like me in the smaller cities of Middle America: Noblesville, Ind. Washington, Pa., Grand Rapids, Mich. Even my town, Rochester, N.Y., is on the schedule. Excited locals will greet the former candidate at a Borders on the less upscale side of the city on November 21. (You can bet that selecting that Borders over a Barnes & Noble and another Borders in the county's two most upscale suburbs was a strategic move.)

Her appearance here is guaranteed to generate a media frenzy -- and isn't that what you want at a book signing? Really, it's sheer genius. The TV stations will be hyping it for a few days before the appearance -- "A national celebrity visits Rochester tomorrow! We'll tell you who tonight at 11." -- and the newspaper will turn to politicians and pundits who will comment on whether this book signing campaign is a hint of what's to come in the next presidential election. Or maybe the daily will send a photog to snap pictures of members of Moose for a Safe America picketing outside Borders during Palin's appearance.

It will be a big whoop-dee-doo event here in conservative Western New York and it will not only sell books, it will help Palin connect with the Americans she hopes will elect her to national office -- a politician's equivalent of a BOGO (buy one, get one free).

I admire what her marketing team is doing here. This tour strategy guarantees far more media exposure for both Palin's politics and her book than her team could have generated among the jaded media outlets in big cities. It will be topped off by lots of national media news coverage because her appearances in these lesser-known and harder-to-reach markets is newsworthy for the big dogs, too.

It looks like this time, at least, Sarah Palin is listening to her advisors.

Now on the Spin Cycle: Rick Warren's "Purpose Driven Connection"

2009-11-05T12:49:00.002-05:00

Associated Press is reporting today that Pastor Rick Warren's Saddleback Church is taking over a joint venture between Warren and Reader's Digest because the multimedia project, the "Purpose Driven Connection," has collapsed. The project included a print magazine of the same name sold by subscription; the print edition will fold after its last issue prints this month and the magazine will be available on the project's Web site at no charge.

Warren's explanation for this made me laugh out loud: "The positive response from readers was so overwhelming we didn't want the content to be limited only to Americans who could afford a subscription to a magazine," Warren said.

The translation for people who don't speak PR?

"We didn't get enough subscribers to sustain what is essentially an ego-driven publication, but because of that ego, we can't admit failure. The logical response is to put the publication online to save face," Warren said.

I understand the need to spin a negative situation so it looks like a positive one. I'll even admit that I spent too much time on the spin cycle. But this one is just too . . . well . . . too spun. How about a little more honesty, a tad more authenticity, in the positioning? Why not just say, "We launched this magazine during the worst period in this country's economic history in decades, but we're not ready to give up. We're taking it online to regroup," Warren said. "This approach will also allow us to reach more people with our uplifting messages, which is never a bad thing."

What's the best PR spin you've seen lately?

Social Networking for Authors -- It's Practically Magical!

2009-11-03T14:30:00.009-05:00

I've always been interested in Erie Canal lore (and not just because I live across the street from the canal in the lovely village pictured here in a photo by "lilhoosrgrl"), so I was pretty happy when Deborah Williams, the author of The Erie Canal: Exploring New York's Great Canals, registered for my book publicity course. I knew I'd enjoy guiding her through the process.

Because the course includes content on author Web sites, Deborah sent me the link for her new Web site this morning. It was something of a "ta-da!" message. Once on her site, I went straight to the "Canal Music" page because I am still a 3rd grader at heart. You don't grow up in New York State without singing "low bridge, everybody down!" more times than you'll ever remember and more loudly than you ever should.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I tweeted about this page this morning, saying the music made me smile. And my tweet was seen by a journalist, who contacted Williams with some questions, and then wrote this piece showcasing the new Erie Canal book.

Why, it's practically magical!

If you want to learn more about how to get these types of "magical" outcomes by using social networking sites and tools effectively for book promotion and publicity, check out the teleseminar I'm hosting on November 11, 2oo9, "Boost Your Book Sales with Social Networking." You'll get lots of practical tips and advice from my guest, Dana Lynn Smith, author of the e-book, The Savvy Book Marketer's Guide to Successful Social Marketing.

I promise it will be well worth the small price of admission.

"Aha" Moments at the Florida Writer's Conference

2009-10-30T14:06:00.005-04:00

I presented two workshops at the Florida Writers Association's conference in Orlando last weekend (this is me being all workshoppy), an annual event that attracted nearly 300 fiction and nonfiction (but mostly fiction) writers from all over the state. One of my sessions was on how to build book buzz; the other was about how to create a brick-solid platform so you can land an agent or a publishing contract.

The audiences for both sessions were remarkable. They stayed awake -- a big deal for my end of the day time slot for both sessions on Friday and Saturday -- and they stayed engaged. Their questions were intelligent, informed, and relevant. It was clear they were there to learn, which worked real well for me, because I was there to teach.

But I was also there to learn -- from the other workshop presenters, from the lovely people who asked me to join them at lunch and dinner, and from the writers in my workshops. I'm particularly interesting in discovering more about a given author's roadblocks (real or imagined) related to book promotion. When I start to see patterns, I'm better able to address these issues in the content I provide to authors interested in discovering how they can generate book buzz.

During both my workshops and in the one-on-one advice sessions I did with authors (the FWA charges a minimal fee for these sessions as a fundraiser to help offset conference costs), I could see the light bulbs going off over heads as participants began looking at things differently. Some of their "aha" moments came when they realized that:

You want to get in front of the people who are most likely to buy your books, not in front of anybody and everybody. Target that effort. If your audience isn't using Twitter, don't use it for book promotion. If your audience isn't watching Oprah, stop putting your energy into figuring out how to get on Oprah.
You don't have to do everything that might help promote your book. Pick and chose those strategies that you're comfortable with; implement the tactics that you think you can pull off. There will always be more that you can do, but you'll still make great progress if you focus on what you feel capable of doing rather than trying to do it all.
A book doesn't have to be new to get media exposure. If you've got a book in print -- even if it's been around for years -- you can still generate publicity for it.
Fiction writers can use blogs to get input on a work in progress, test plot or other elements, and establish relationships with people who read the types of books they write. It's all about relationships.
There are a number of ways to build a platform. Working with a handful of strategies that work best for your personality is better than doing nothing at all because one of the strategies (public speaking?) takes you so far past your comfort zone that you end up doing nothing at all.

I enjoyed three invigorating days with the Florida writers and I highly recommend the conference to anyone outside the state, too. These people are serious about their craft. Learn more at www.floridawriters.net.

Book Review: PR Therapy by Robin Blakely

2009-10-28T18:22:00.009-04:00

There are three reasons why I highly recommend Robin Blakely's new book, PR Therapy: Ignite Your Passion for Promoting Your Products, Services, and Even Yourself!. First, it addresses the fears and anxieties that small business owners, authors, speakers, and others have when they realize that they need (and want) to generate publicity for their products or services.

Authors, in particular, are uncomfortable with what they see as "self-promotion." Because they are so closely aligned with their products, authors fail to see that it's not self-promotion, it's product promotion. This topic came up over the weekend during my "How to Build Book Buzz" workshop at the Florida Writer's Association annual conference. I reminded the person who raised this issue that authors owe it to their readers to let them know their book is available to entertain, educate, or inform. I see it as a public service -- how can you help the people you wrote the book for if you don't tell them about your book? And you're not talking about yourself with the press -- you're talking about your book.

Robin's first two chapters help people better understand what might be getting in the way of their publicity success and offers tactics for dealing with those often self-imposed obstacles. Reading the first few chapters is a bit like having a conversation with your mother ("Of course you can do it! You are brilliant!"), your shrink ("I'm sensing some anxiety about the prospect of incredible success. . . ."), and your best friend ("You go girl!").

Second: It's the only one on this topic that I've seen that helps readers better identify their target audiences. I've written about the importance of knowing your audience well on this blog before, so I was happy to see that Robin spends several chapters on the topic. She helps readers discover how to zero in on the people who are most likely to purchase their products or services.

Third: PR Therapy is loaded with the kind of "here's-how-to-do-it" information that I also provide in my books. People without a PR background need to know the best time of day to call a radio talk show producer and how to craft the perfect pitch. It's all here in any easy to use, follow, and understand format.

Check it out in any local bookseller or on Amazon.com; learn more about the author at www.prtherapy.com.

What's the best publicity book you've read?

Reputation Management: Penelope Trunk's Miscarriage Tweet

2009-10-23T09:39:00.007-04:00

Penelope Trunk's Twitter post last month -- "I'm in a board meeting. Having a miscarriage. Thank goodness, because there's a fucked-up 3-week hoop-jump to have an abortion in Wisconsin." -- has generated a great deal of conversation, with of it related to "TMI" (too much information) and pro-choice/pro-life issues.

Narcissism aside (sooo many social networking posts are remarkably self-absorbed), what's most shocking to me about this revelation -- and the language used -- is that it was directed at a professional audience. Penelope Trunk, who provides career advice as "the brazen careerist," is setting a bad example for the people she wants to help. Let's take the personal shortcomings out of this (if you don't want to get pregnant, don't have unprotected sex) and focus on the example she set:

The language: No matter where you work, there are going to be people who are offended by the f-bomb. Smart people don't use it in a professional environment (and when your business involves using social networking tools such as Twitter to provide advice to professionals, you're dealing in a work environment whether you realize it or not).
The event: I understand that this is Trunk's style -- casual, freewheeling, counter-intuitive, yada yada -- but a miscarriage for most is a landmark event (good or bad). When you speak about it in a cavalier way, you cause pain to somebody who shared that experience, but felt a profound loss as a result. This means you've alienated many in your network.
The attitude: It's clear that this was an unwanted pregnancy. Got it. It's also clear that Trunk would have had an abortion. Whatever. I'm not passing judgment here but guess what: Others are. It's a safe bet that many of her "followers," as they're called on Twitter, are pro-life. This kind of comment had to offend them. It just had to. More followers lost.

In essence, Trunk has damaged her platform by damaging her reputation. If she consults for corporations, she's lost a lot of business. Not only is she a loose cannon -- Fortune 500s are not comfortable with this type of ... how you say ... unpredictability -- but employees at those corporations who have heard about this tweet are not going to be Trunk fans.

In subsequent media interviews, Trunk has tried to spin this into something that supports her business goals. She's talked about how miscarriages happen in the workplace all the time, that women won't be equal until they can talk openly about these issues, and so on. All she's done is dig a deeper hole. Her responses might endear her to some, but her attitude further alienates her from the women of mainstream America.

I have spoken to women's groups for years on the lighter side of gender differences and know firsthand that women have boundaries and you have to know and respect those boundaries. Trunk doesn't seem to get that. She could have recovered more quickly from this incredible faux paus by saying, quite simply, "I realize now that my comment was insensitive and inappropriate. I apologize to those I might have offended." Doing this would have taken the story out of the headlines, which is what most consultants to corporate America need and want. Trunk, however, sees it as a way to keep her name in the media limelight. Like Balloon Boy Falcon Heene's father, she thinks that "all publicity is good publicity."

It's not.

I understand that Penelope Trunk is "just being herself," but when you're in the business world, you sometimes have to put a lid on your personality to protect your reputation.

Do you think her business will suffer because of this?

Parody Book Marketing Plan Rings Too True

2009-10-15T17:22:00.008-04:00

The New Yorker's book marketing plan parody in this week's issue is very, very funny. Too bad it's also very, very realistic.

The e-mail sent to an author by "Gineen" (pron: Jeannine), an intern who is replacing the promotion department, characterizes the overwhelming paralysis that grips authors of a certain age when they're encouraged to do more than "give a talk" to the women's group at the local country club and do a book signing at the closest Barnes & Noble.

Full of laugh-out-loud instructions regarding promoting books online -- "If you already have a blog, make sure you spray-feed your URL in niblets open-face to the skein." and "Then just Digg your uploads in a viral spiral to your social networks via an FB/MS interlink torrent." -- the parody also skewers the always-out-of-the-office schedule of any publisher's editorial and promotion staffers. (I've heard that this particular aspect of the parody is dead on.)

It is a realistic portrayal of book promotion from the perspective of an "I'm not ready for this!" author, but at the same time, the over-the-top missive from Gineen could actually be a dream come true for the "typical" author. For example, Gineen says, "I’ve attached a list of celebrities we think would be great to blurb your book, so find out their numbers and call them up." The average author would have to -- and does -- generate their own celebrity list (and of course gets nowhere with it, but many Oprah-struck authors don't realize that it's a waste of time).

For most authors, there's no blog help or celebrity list development. They have to identify and contact the best people to write cover blurbs, write their own announcement releases because the staff publicist doesn't have time to do it justice, create their own media lists for review copies, blog/tweet/post, schedule book signings (yawn...), generate story ideas for traditional media, create their own virtual book tour, and on and on.

The parody, funny as it is, is just another indicator that more and more authors will need to start creating and executing their book's marketing plan themselves. Even those who used to get that support can see that Gineen the intern can only do so much for her long list of authors.

What Do the New FTC Guidelines Mean for Paid Media Spokespeople?

2009-10-09T12:10:00.004-04:00

Much has been said this week about the FTC's new guidelines requiring bloggers to disclose their affiliation with companies giving them products to review or paying them to review or promote them. The guidelines also require celebrity endorsers to "disclose their relationships with advertisers when making endorsements outside the context of traditional ads, such as on talk shows or in social media."

I'm wondering if this ruling applies to non-celebrity spokespersons, too -- people like me, who are often hired by consumer products companies to represent their brands in media interviews that require someone with in-depth knowledge of a specific topic. These non-celebrity spokespersons tend to be authors or other experts who are in a position, because of their topic expertise, to help communicate a brand's message in a way that a staff spokesperson can't.

Publicists have been more transparent about these sponsorships when booking interviews for their outside spokespeople so that the producers, reporters, and others scheduling the interviews understand that there is an "agenda" involved. But the media outlets rarely share this information with readers or viewers because the spokespeople are well-trained to present information that is relevant and helpful in a non-promotional way. A spokesperson interview shouldn't be any different from another interview where the source refers to a specific brand, program, or product.

Will this change in light of this new ruling? Will talk show hosts, for example, have to add that the guest is paid to share information? If that happens, it will probably do more harm than good. These articulate and informative spokespeople are an excellent source of content for the press, and are very good at communicating a message without sounding like advertisements. They provide information that audiences need and want. Does the average viewer care that a particular product or company paid to get that information out there? I doubt they care anymore than they care that companies pay movie production companies to work their products into storylines or include them in movie settings. I suspect the consumer response to this type of topic is "Yawn."

But what do you think? Do we need to know if any type of outside spokesperson is paid? Does it make a difference in how you view the information that's offered?

For the Publicist's Toolkit: The AP Stylebook

2009-10-08T11:46:00.004-04:00

If you're new to publicity and aren't certain about the rules used by the media for language capitalization, abbreviations, usage, etc. in your media relations tools that include press releases and tip sheets, then you absolutely need The Associated Press Stylebook.

Here's why: Most print and legitimate online news sites use what is known as the "AP style" when writing and editing text for publication so that all of the content has a consistent look. The "rules" include using abbreviations for states that do not match the USPS appreviations (Kansas is Kan., not KS, for example). You want the information you submit for publication to use this style because it means your content will require less editing. Less editing means less work; less work means your material is more likely to be used. This is good!

While you don't need to read it cover-to-cover, you should scan it and then keep it at your desk. I have been writing for publication for longer than I care to share, and I still pull mine off the shelf every once in awhile to find an answer. You can buy it online and in most bookstores, and it's less than $20, so make this investment in your publicity plan. It will give your content more credibility -- nothing's worse than the random capitalization that shows up in the materials of the novice -- and might keep it from being deleted.

How to Create a Book Trailer: A Q&A with Author Megan McMorris

2009-10-01T10:42:00.004-04:00

So many authors are scrambling to learn how to create a book trailer (video) for their books that I thought a Q&A with an author who created her own -- and did a fantastic job! -- would be helpful to others.

Megan McMorris is the editor of P.S. What I Didn't Say: A Collection of 36 Unsent Letters to Our Female Friends, an anthology that is selling like bread and milk when a blizzard is predicted -- you just have to have it! When I saw Megan's book trailer, I was impressed. When I found out that (a) she did it herself and (b) it was the first one she's created, I was amazed. I asked her to tell us about how she put it together; here's a transcript of our conversation followed by the video.

Sandy: Megan, I love your book trailer for P.S. What I Didn't Say. What will you do with the trailer -- how will you use it to promote your book?

Megan: Well, so far I’ve posted it on various sites like YouTube, my publisher Seal Press’s site, and the Web site I created for the book. I didn’t know a thing about book trailers before I started this, but while researching mine I found it can be a great way to get people engaged and interested in your book in a different way than words on a page can (I mean hey, who doesn’t like watching videos, right?).

Sandy: I know this is the first book trailer or video you've created, and I have to say I'm impressed. Let's talk about how you did it. What software did you use, and was it hard to pull all the pieces together?

Megan: Thanks! I simply looked around on my computer, and sure enough found some programs that were just little icons I’d ignored on my Mac before, like iMovie and Garage Band.

Sandy: I love the photos. Where did you get them? Did you have to pay to use any of them?

Megan: The pictures are either my own or from the contributors to the anthology, so I didn’t have to pay for any of them. I loved what they sent in, and only wished I could have used all of them!

Sandy: Music really sets the tone and you've made some great selections here for your trailer's "mood." Tell us about the music selection process as well as the permissions involved.

Megan: Here’s the story on that. For the main song, I wanted to go with something jazzy and upbeat, so I created a little reggae type of song through Garage Band. Then after I was searching through iTunes for my little ditty that I’d created, I was clicking here and there (see? You can tell I’ve never done this before, ha ha!) and was like “maybe this is it!” and all of a sudden, instead of my jazzy tune, it was this dramatic opera song that my childhood pal Diane sang last year (actually, that’s us in the picture on her wedding day, me helping her with her veil).

Once I clicked and started listening, after answering my question to “what the heck is this?” of course, I knew then that I had to use both songs, to convey both the cheerful and dramatic types of stories that are in this collection. As for permissions, since I created the one song I just asked myself if I could use it (and I agreed!), and simply shot Diane an e-mail to get her permission, so that part was a cinch!

Sandy: What was the easiest part of this whole process for you?

Megan: Creating the song through Garage Band was so incredibly easy that I was shocked. You just click on a type of music you want to play, and then you can play around with the different instruments to create different sounds within that song template. I’m no musician or composer, and they make it super-easy by already having some songs available, all you’re doing is mixing it up a little to suit your taste.

Sandy: And what was the hardest?

Megan: It was incredibly challenging to figure out how to create the actual nuts and bolts of the video. I do the “press every button within vicinity until it does what I want” approach, so that’s how I ended up doing it. But everything, from placing photos in the frames to figuring out the timing of each frame to putting words on there to laying the music down took a lot of time. But I was determined to do it myself!

Sandy: If you could share one tip with someone else creating their first book trailer, what would it be?

Megan: Be patient, you’ll figure it all out—I had never done this before and if I can do it, you can! Also, if I may, I watched a LOT of book trailers while I was researching this, and I like the ones that don’t take themselves too seriously. Have fun with it!

Sandy: Anything else?

Megan: Yes! I want to thank you, Sandy, for always being such a great supporter of book author’s publicity efforts. I really appreciate it and I’ve learned a lot from you since I’ve had the pleasure of taking your class and seeing your advice on the freelance boards!

Here's Megan's video. Let it inspire you!

Editors Are Busy; That's Good News for You

2009-09-30T15:20:00.005-04:00

Assigning editors are busy -- so busy, in fact, that they often get story or segment ideas from other media outlets because they don't have time to uncover something "new," "fresh," or "novel."

Local TV stations, for example, rely heavily on the local daily newspaper for stories to air. But it happens just as often on the national level, too. I received an e-mail today from the host of a Web TV program who was quoted in a national business magazine on the popularity of Web TV shows; he asked people on his mailing list to leave a comment about the story on the publication's Web site. Why? He tells us, "If there are enough comments, other news media will pick up on the article, and it's likely to appear in various well known print publications."

He's half right. Well-known print publications will not reprint an article that appeared in a major national business publication. But, comments or not, if an editor at one of those "well known print publications" (or at a not well-known print publication) sees the article and thinks the topic is a good fit for the outlet's target audience, he might assign his own article on the subject and interview some of the sources featured in the first article.

So, as I've mentioned here before, publicity begets publicity. Get that first mention without worrying about whether it's in just the right media outlet. Get out there and get known. You might be surprised at how a small amount of exposure leads to much more down the road.

P.S. You'd Better Be a Good Guest, Too!

2009-09-22T15:59:00.003-04:00

As a follow-up to last week's posting about how to get on radio talk shows, it's worth noting that it's more important than ever to be a good talk show guest. More and more stations are using a device called the Portable People Meter to monitor how listeners respond to programming. The PPM is so precise in its evaluation of listening habits that station programmers can determine what PPM users were listening to when they decided to change the station -- and which station they switched to.

Program directors are, in fact, using the data to decide which guests do and don't get invited back.

The implications for us as radio talk show guests are pretty clear: We had better learn how to be good guests if we want to

be heard
get invited back
enjoy the easy publicity that comes with referrals from one talk show host to another (and that happens)

The solution? Get educated about how to be a good guest and consider getting professional media training. If you don't have access to media trainers, ask a local jock who does a lot of drive time interviews to spend a few hours with you doing practice interviews and critiquing your responses. Feedback is essential -- it helps you identify what listeners will and won't respond to.

Are you a great radio talk show guest? What do you do that gets you invited back?

How to Get on Radio Talk Shows

2009-09-18T15:58:00.003-04:00

Radio talk show host and producer Mark Kaye shared tips on how to get on radio talk shows last month when he was a guest on a teleseminar that I hosted. I took some notes during the 60-minute call, which was loaded with great information for anybody who wants to get on the radio to promote a product, service, or issue. Here are some of Mark's tips from the call:

Mark says that too many guests want to talk about themselves. Radio listeners are not interested in us or our products. They tune in for information and entertainment and if we don't provide that, they'll change the station.
Authors hoping to promote a book can send a PDF copy of the book or a PDF file with a chapter or two for the producer to review before making a decision about scheduling the author as a guest. This eliminates the expense of sending the actual book.
Talk show producers and hosts like to know that you'll be a good guest, so reassure them by posting audio clips of other interviews you've done -- podcasts are fine -- on your Web site.
Make your product, book, service, issue, etc. relevant by linking it to what people are talking about today. Check http://twitter.com for the "Trending Topics" on the right side of the screen to learn what's generating buzz each day.

If your publicity plan involves radio talk show appearances, check out Mark's "Radio Publicity Star" audio program for great information on who to contact at radio stations, how to contact them, how to be a great guest and get referred to other stations, and so on. It's a great program and I'm proud to be affiliated with it.

Register Now for Book Publicity E-course (October 5-30, 2009)

2009-09-14T16:43:00.004-04:00

Authors who know the importance of book publicity but can’t afford a pricey publicist now have a very affordable option: a book publicity and promotion e-course offering four weeks of personalized instruction and feedback for under $200. My “Book Publicity 101: How to Build Book Buzz,” e-course is October 5-30, 2009.

The highly-interactive courses – one for traditionally published authors and one for self-published authors – cover how to:

Use social networking tools to promote your book
Create a book publicity blueprint that makes the most of your available resources
Craft the most compelling media materials needed to generate results for your book -- not anyone else's
Conduct a virtual book tour with bloggers who can help you build buzz quickly
Employ the media relations tools that will take you the farthest fastest
Generate high-impact radio interviews
Build an author Web site that supports book sales and other goals
And plenty more

The course includes:

All instruction materials
Instructor feedback on all homework assignments and highly-personalized guidance
Unlimited question and answer sessions on the forum

The forum format allows students to proceed at their own pace each week, making it the most flexible learning option available. They receive instructional materials and resources and complete weekly assignments that help them discover how easy it is to create book buzz. My guidance and feedback helps take your work to the next level while student interaction on the forum offers fresh perspectives and new ideas for all participants. A free-for-all Q&A corner lets students get answers to questions not covered in the course materials, making this a highly-personalized learning experience for nonfiction and fiction authors.

Registration is $199 and limited to 20 students.

Authors with traditional publishers can register at http://www.buildbookbuzz.com/workshops/book-publicity.htm. Self-published authors can register at http://www.buildbookbuzz.com/workshops/self-published.htm. Got a question? Send me a note: sbATbuildbookbuzz.com.

Rhetoric Has an Impact

2009-09-09T16:50:00.005-04:00

The way the rhetoric is flying around the health care debate, you'd think we were still in the middle of a presidential election.

Politicians know better than anybody that rhetoric has an impact -- just ask Sarah Palin. Her op-ed in today's Wall Street Journal, "Obama and the Bureaucratization of Health Care," uses that nasty, nasty phrase "death panel" when referring to the Obama plan.

She knows there was never a plan for a "death panel" just like she knows it's inflammatory language. And, she knows that people hear what they want to hear and believe what they want to believe, regardless of the facts, so she uses phrases like this to create support among those who (a) have no common sense and (b) don't do any research or fact-checking of their own.

Now how smart is that? Politicians -- not just Palin -- do an amazingly good job of leveraging peoples' fears and ignorance. Their goal isn't to inform. It's just to convince the population that the opponent's stance is unacceptable -- "Vote for me! I won't (insert awful thing here)!"

It's not a communications tactic that I use or like in my own business, but it's effective. And it's one you can use when working to sway public opinion or to sell products or services. But be careful if you do. You might be mistaken for a politician. Make sure that fits with your business goals.

Are Colleges Sharing Enough with Parents?

2009-09-04T14:41:00.004-04:00

My oldest daughter attends a major Northeastern university; the youngest goes to a small private Jesuit college. The parent relations coordinator at the small school is doing an excellent job of keeping us informed about the swine flu situation on campus (100+ confirmed cases already). Her counterpart at the huge school? Not so much.

I'm getting almost daily e-mails from the Jesuit school telling me that they've encouraged kids to go home for the long Labor Day weekend to reduce the number of people on campus or about how they've set up an isolation ward for students who are sick but can't go home to recover. I feel like I'm as on top of this as I can be from such a distance and I appreciate the steady flow of information from the school. Anyone who isn't getting these e-mails can check the school's dedicated H1N1 Web page for daily updates.

To find out what was going on at my other daughter's large school, I used Google. There's a Web page addressing the situation, but it doesn't say if there are any confirmed cases on campus and the last update was a week ago.

This is no surprise. When the horrifying massacre at Virginia Tech dominated headlines a few years ago, I expected an e-mail from the university reassuring me that the school had a plan in place that would help prevent this from occurring there or that it had briefed students on how to react in a similar situation. Did I get such an e-mail? Nope. Thinking that maybe the school just didn't have my e-mail address, I watched my USPS mail for a letter updating me on the school's efforts to keep my daughter safe. Didn't get that, either. My daughter received e-mails from school officials on the topic, which is good, but as her parent and one of the people paying her bills at that school, I don't think it was unreasonable for me to expect to hear from the college then or now.

I'm left wondering: Does big university = bad communication with parents and small university = good communication with parents? Is the difference size or is it attitude? I have no idea, but I'm grateful that at least one of them recognizes that I am concerned about the health and safety of my children.

It's a reminder that we sometimes forget that all of our "stakeholders" are important -- not just some of them. Every time we're in a position to make an announcement or communicate important information, we need to review our list of stakeholders. Are we overlooking any group? It's always better to over communicate than to under communicate.

Don't Include Known Spam Triggers in Your Press Releases

2009-09-02T09:59:00.007-04:00

It's not easy writing press releases that will always make it past spam filters and get to their intended recipients. The list of words and phrases that trigger spam alerts seems to keep growing.

To help people like us, SalesNexus has published a list of more than 300 words or phrases to avoid using in e-mail messages. I'd share some here, but then the people who subscribe to this blog via e-mail might not receive the message. Let's just say that I was surprised by some of them.

SalesNexus, a Web-based contact management company, has also published an e-book with e-mail marketing advice -- some of which might apply to publicists using e-mail to connect with journalists.

Thanks to the folks at SalesNexus for making this list available on the company's site. They're doing a nice job of showing, rather than telling, that the way to win customers is to share information that illustrates that they know what they're doing.

Let’s Brainstorm Book Publicity Pitches

2009-08-26T08:37:00.003-04:00

While writing in my Build Book Buzz newsletter about Pitch for PR, a new free service that sends story or segment ideas from publicists to journalists who sign up to receive the ideas via e-mail, I offered to help my subscribers develop pitches they can use to get publicity for their books.

I think my newsletter readers understand that they can't just say, "Write about my new book," but for some, especially novelists, coming up with a news hook or a story idea can be a challenge.

So, readers, let's get going. If you'd like help, please post a short description of your book and a sentence or two explaining why you're the most appropriate author for that book. We can all brainstorm the angles you can use to get publicity, whether it's through Pitch for PR or on your own. (This type of collaborative thinking and instruction is representative of the support authors receive from me and other students in the Book Publicity 101: How to Build Book Buzz e-course that I teach; the next class is October 5-30, 2009.) I'm looking forward to this!

The Bud Light Folks Aren't as Lightweight as They Look

2009-08-25T13:53:00.004-04:00

The latest headline surrounding Anheuser-Busch's recent college marketing campaign -- "FTC Criticizes College-Themed Cans in Anheuser-Busch Marketing Efforts" -- makes you wonder which applies here:

a. The folks at Anheuser-Busch are beer nuts
b. The folks at Anheuser-Busch created the plan to make headlines

The company has introduced Bud Light cans in popular college team colors; the novel cans are for use in bars near those college campuses and elsewhere in the college communities. A-B maintains that this isn't an effort to appeal to the underage drinkers that populate schools and universities. The company says the promotion targets legal age drinkers and is designed to make a warm and fuzzy connection between the brew and the 21+ drinker's favorite local team.

As a former product publicity manager at a distiller, I know a bit about corporate social responsibility in the beverage alcohol industry, so I'm going with choice b.: The marketers at A-B know exactly what they're doing . . . and what they're doing is getting a whole lot of free media attention.

Carol Clark, the brewer's vice president of social responsibility, defends the promotion by saying that because the cans don't bear a school name or logo, there's no harm done. As my friends at the Licensing Resource Group will tell you, the brewer can't use those identifying marks, or the school's mascot, without a licensing agreement with the school and no school is going to provide the requisite permission. Many, in fact, are asking A-B to drop the program in their communities. So this "we have been discreet with the package design" defense is laughable. Their only option was to use "just" the school colors.

In addition, the fact that the promotion was "optional" for A-B's distributors shows that the company knew it would be controversial.

Nobody in the beverage alcohol industry would launch a program like this without being fully aware of the backlash it would create. Instead, it's a reflection of the state of the industry today -- that Anheuser-Busch is so desperate to sell beer that it has to resort to generating controversy to do so.

What do you think? Is the brewer crazy like a fox or is this "brew-haha" much ado about nothing?

Why Are the People Who Comment on Newspaper Web Sites So Nasty?

2009-08-20T12:16:00.007-04:00

I was interviewed this morning by the social services reporter at a large Southwestern daily newspaper for an article about whether "all publicity is good publicity." She was working on a follow-up column to an article she had written about a local charity that had an attention-getting and novel fundraising idea: The group helps dig wells in a Third World nation; volunteers were raising money for their work by refusing to shower until all participants had reached their fundraising goals.

I love this idea. There's a strong (pun intended) incentive here for friends, family, and co-workers to donate to the organization. In addition, the stunt has a direct connection to the cause -- volunteers won't use water to shower until people help them bring water to those who don't have it.

The reporter is writing a follow-up story because of the overwhelming volume of mean and nasty comments to her first article on her newspaper's Web site. Was the negative chatter going to hurt the charity? Is this a backlash? We talked a bit about my opinion but also about why that was happening and why there were so many comments on such a non-controversial topic. I suspect that with an increase in the unemployment rate, there are more unhappy people with enough time on their hands to take out their frustration on a group of Gen Yers who are trying to help make the world a better place. And then there's the anonymity that newspapers give their online commenters. People will say all kinds of things when they are using a fictional persona.

What's your take on this? Why do you think that so many online commenters think that attacking the subjects of a story is appropriate? Do you think they'd say something like "Get your stinking butts back to Seattle" in a face-to-face encounter?

I'm interested in learning more about the reasons for this anti-social behavior, but understanding it won't change my patterns -- I still won't read the comments on my newspaper's site. I rarely learn anything useful from them other than alternative spellings for "imbecile."

Publicist for a Day: HomeDecInASec.com

2009-08-14T10:45:00.005-04:00

My friend Sue Sampson has a really cool Web site for her custom window treatment business, HomeDecInASec.com. I think it deserves more media attention than it gets, so I'm offering some tips here that are easy for her to implement. My goal with blogging about it, of course -- instead of just calling Sue and saying, "Hey! Try this!" -- is to give others something to think about, too. Much of what works for one situation will work for another when tweaked a bit.

I am going to call myself Sue's "Publicist for a Day."

What I love about Sue's site -- http://www.homedecinasec.com/ -- is the interactive nature of it. I can pick out the style I like, select a fabric that appeals to me, put the two together, and see the "finished" product displayed against a wall that matches the color of my room. I mean really, how cool is that? You might expect that functionality at the Web site of a huge manufacturer or retailer, but this site is the brainchild of two women -- Sue and her business partner, Ellen -- and I think that makes it extra cool. (Sue and Ellen also create Home Dec in a Sec patterns for McCalls; the Web site is an outgrowth of that business.)

As Sue's Publicist for a Day, I'd:

Set up Google alerts for "window treatments" and other key phrases. I'd use them to help me identify quickly who's talking about the topic on blogs or Web sites and to start building a custom media list of journalists and reputable bloggers who appear to write about the topic regularly.
Establish tiers of target media -- Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, etc. -- in terms of importance to Sue's business. That helps me prioritize and focus my limited time (1 day!) on what will generate the greatest return on investment in the quickest amount of time.
Tap into Sue's intellectual capital to generate a list of tip sheet ideas, then write and distribute the best one to the living sections of daily newspapers nationwide. Tip sheets are press releases that offer tips or advice in a bulleted or numbered format. Sue can offer advice on how to select the right treatment for a window with an unusual shape, tips for sewing your own window treatments, advice on the latest home decorating colors and trends and how they translate to window treatments, or what to look for in a quality product.
Develop an angle to pitch to radio station talk shows reaching Sue's target demographic. She should talk about more than window treatments, of course -- the top home decorating myths would be interesting, perhaps -- and her URL is memorable, making radio a good option for getting the word out.
Identify the top 6 or so media outlets that reach Sue's targeted audience and review them carefully to become familiar with their content. Then I'd develop a specific article idea for each that could include an interview with Sue or a mention of http://www.homedecinasec.com/.

That's about all I could tackle in one day probably (because I'd like to take a long lunch with Sue, too, maybe having my favorite chopped Americana salad at Champps...).

When thinking about your own publicity activities, especially when you have limited time for this work, always start by focusing on those people who are clearly most likely to be interested in your product or service or who have the greatest impact on sales. For HomeDecInASec.com, that might be professional interior decorators, not homeowners.

Finally, make a plan! As someone once said, failing to plan is planning to fail. A plan will give you structure and accountability.

I'm thinking about being a Publicist for a Day on a regular basis. Want me to be yours? Send a note to me at sbATbuildbookbuzz.com.

Nonprofit PR Awards Deadline is September 18, 2009

2009-08-07T13:31:00.003-04:00

Getting lots of high fives for a nonprofit PR project this year? See if it's truly a winner by entering it in the PRNews Nonproft PR Awards competition. The deadline for entries is September 18, 2009.

Like most of these national awards programs, this one invites top industry leaders to review entries for innovation, creativity, and excellent outcomes. Competition is tough, so before you take the time, energy, and money to enter, be honest about your project. Is it truly, truly, outstanding, or was the outcome what anyone would have expected under the circumstances? As a past judge of PRSA's Silver and Bronze Anvil Award competitions (and a Silver Anvil winner), I have to say (with disappointment) that lots of people enter material that is average at best.

Make sure yours makes it past the first round of judging by reading the guidelines here and following instructions carefully.

Good luck!