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By Joan Stewart
The Publicity Hound
When I speak to groups of professional speakers, authors and small
publishers throughout the U.S. and Canada, they look at me dumbfounded
after I tell them the Number One thing they must do if they want more
media attention for their books and programs.
They must stop pitching the books and programs as story ideas.
Immediately.
With an estimated 175,000 news book titles published last year, and
millions of presentations given by speakers and trainers, is it any
wonder we’re turning off journalists by pushing our books and programs?
When I worked as a
newspaper editor, we routinely hauled boxes of unsolicited new books to
the local library or Goodwill. If we were in a hurry, we threw the
books—complete with expensive, gold-embossed press kits—into the
wastebasket.
I know this is painful to hear. But unless you’re contacting a book
reviewer, few if any media people care what’s between the two covers of
your book.
What the media do care about, however, is what’s between your two ears.
They want to know about your expertise. They want to tap into your
brain. They’re overworked and underpaid. And they’re eager to know how
you can help them do their jobs more easily.
• Can you help them write a good story?
• Can you give a lively radio interview without constantly hawking your
book?
• Can you offer free advice for their audience?
• Can you create a clever quiz on your topic of expertise for a national
magazine? (See
"Briefs, Fillers & Quizzes: How to Write Them and Why Editors Love
Them".)
• Can you talk in pithy sound bites that will make their viewers smile?
(See
"How to be a TV Talk Show Host's Dream Date.")
• Can you take a strong position on a controversial topic that will make
their readers angry?
• Most importantly, can you offer solutions to people’s problems?
If so, and if they cover you, guess what they’ll probably mention in
their article or on their program? Your book, of course.
While other speakers are zigging, you should be zagging. So position
yourself as a valuable source that reporters flock to again and again.
The following strategies will really catch the media’s attention.
Promote your expertise
Media people seek out, interview and want to stay connected to experts.
Yet many authors are either reluctant to position themselves as experts,
or they call themselves experts when they really aren’t. Read the
excellent White Paper titled
“The
Expertise Imperative” written two years ago by five members of the
National Speakers Association, some of whom are authors. It outlines the
six levels of expertise and what you need to do to get to the next
highest level.
You’ll see that expertise isn’t only about how much you know, but how
much you do.
Once you become an expert, tout it in your email signature file, your
media kit and on your other marketing materials. Make sure the homepage
at your website states your expertise.
For example, my homepage has this statement at the top: “Publicity
expert Joan Stewart shows you how to use free publicity to establish
your credibility, enhance your reputation, position yourself as an
expert, sell more products and services, promote a favorite cause or
issue, and position your company as an employer of choice.” When a
reporter Googles “publicity expert,” my website is usually at the top of
the list.
Go deep, not wide
Too many authors make the mistake of playing the lazy numbers game. They
wimp out and waste money by relying only on blast fax services to
distribute their news to a gazillion media outlets. Truth is, blast
faxes are effective in only a small percentage of cases.
Why? Because when you send them, you treat the media like cattle—herding
them all into the barn at the same time, force-feeding them from the
same trough, then herding them back out again, all with the same story.
You must convince each media outlet that your story is customized only
for them. But you can’t do that if you’re targeting 3,000 media. So
start by hand-picking only 20 or 30 newspapers, magazines and TV
stations. I call this creating a Top 20 Media Hit List.
Let’s say you’ve written a book on customer service. Choose 20
metropolitan newspapers and write a news release that’s almost identical
for each newspaper. But in the release you send to the Chicago Tribune,
name three Chicago companies that you think treat their customers like
royalty, even if those companies aren’t mentioned in your book. Mention
three San Francisco companies in the release you send to the San
Francisco Examiner. And so on.
Each newspaper will immediately notice “the local angle.” And that makes
your story stand out from the rest. (See "Special Report #35: How to be
the Local Angle to National Stories.")
http://www.publicityhound.com/publicity-products/marketing-tapes/30secondpitch.htm
Ask the magic question
While lots of other authors are trying to cram their books down the
throats of talk show hosts, assignment editors and beat reporters, you
will stand out if you take a different approach.
Start by developing a relationship. Call a media contact, introduce
yourself and explain your areas of expertise. Then ask the most
important question you can ever ask someone in the media. “How can I
help you?”
Repeat after me: “How can I help you?”
Media mutts never ask that question. Publicity Hounds always do. Pay
attention to what the journalist tells you, then help however you can.
When I worked as a reporter, my best sources were those that would let
me call them at home late at night, when I was on deadline, to ask a
question about a complicated topic I didn’t understand. Other golden
sources let me check in with them every few weeks and pick their brains
about trends they were seeing within their industries. Position yourself
as a valuable source and the media will come back to you again and
again.
Publicity Hounds use these other magic phrases to
build
the media relationship:
• “What kinds of sources are you looking for? Perhaps I can help you
find them, even if the story doesn’t have anything to do with me.”
• “If you have a last-minute cancellation, call on me to fill in as a
talk show guest. I’ll move a mountain to help you.”
• “On a slow news day, call me if you’re desperate for story ideas.”
• “If I find articles in my trade magazines that I think would help you
cover the banking industry, is it OK if I send them to you?”
Create your own holiday
Pick a day and make it yours. Or create your own week or month of the
year, then use it as a springboard when you pitch story ideas.
My friend Jacqueline Whitmore, an etiquette expert, christened the month
of July as “Cell Phone Courtesy Month.” As a result, she generates
mountains of publicity. USA Today Publisher Al Neuharth even mentioned
her a few years ago in his column.
Once you’ve created your own holiday—or day, week or month of the
year—submit it to Chase’s Calendar of Events at www.Chases.com. Chase’s
publishes the annual reference book that’s used by journalists all over
the world. (See
"Special Report #45: How to Generate National Publicity from Your Own
Holiday or Day, Week or Month of the Year).
Then just before your holiday, submit letters to the editor and op-ed
pieces. Mention your special day at the top of a tip sheet that gives
eight or nine tips related to your topic such as “8 tips on how to…”
(See
"Special Report#16: How to Write Tip Sheets That Catch the Media's
Attention")
Pitch stories on controversial issues. Be willing to take a strong
stand. Offer the journalist contact information for people who would be
willing to debate you in print or on the air. Wimpy media mutts never
want to be involved in anything controversial. Smart Publicity Hounds
do.
One of the best ways to generate publicity in a national magazine is to
tie your holiday to a true-or-false or multiple-choice quiz. Editors
love quizzes because they’re short, fill odd-size holes on a page, and
engage readers. Remember, however, that many big magazines work four to
six months ahead of the publication date, so contact them early.
Know when and how to pitch
Contact media outlets during times when most other people don’t. Those
include:
• Major holidays
• The days before and after major holidays.
• Weekends. (Ever wonder why TV news is so boring on the weekend?)
• The weeks before and after Christmas.
Don’t use the same method of communication for every journalist on your
media hit list. Most don’t want phone calls or faxes. Some would rather
receive a pitch via email. Still others want snail-mail letters. When
compiling your hit list, call your key contacts and ask how they want to
receive your news. Then follow their wishes. (See
"How to Create the Perfect 30-Second Pitch")
Now get going. Somewhere out there, there’s an underpaid journalist who
needs a valuable Publicity Hound just like you.
Direct comments or questions about this article, including requests
for reprint rights, to:
Joan Stewart
The Publicity Hound
3434 County KK
Port Washington, WI 53074
Phone: 262-284-7451
JStewart@PublicityHound.com
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