15 Tips to a Great Interview

This Month’s Issue

1. Pam Lontos Column: 15 Tips to a Great Interview
2. Inspirational Quote
3. Calendar of Events/Publicity Opportunities
4. This Month Our Clients
   Have Appeared In…
5. Guest Column: Brian Jud on Special Sales – Divide and Conquer
6. Guest Column: Dan Poynter on Book Covers Sell Books
7. Have a Need for Publicity?

Pam Lontos Column: 15 Tips (Plus a bonus!) to a Great Interview

Besides spreading the word about your speaking services,
what’s the best thing about landing interviews? The answer is: you can conduct
the interview wearing your pajamas! But there’s a catch. You can’t sound like
you’re wearing your pajamas. That’s right. Even though you’re talking on the
phone to the reporter and no one can see you, you still have to communicate a
professional image. Otherwise, you might get bumped form the story and they
definitely won’t call you back for future stories.

So how can you ensure that you make the right impression
and, perhaps more importantly, that you’re called back for more interviews? You
can use the following fifteen tips for giving great interviews:

1. Allow
   yourself private time prior to the interview. Use this time to relax
   and focus. Imagine that you are speaking with the interviewer face to
   face. Rehearse the points you want to make and remember that you can never
   be too prepared.

1. Seek
   a quiet spot for the interview. If you are speaking from home, close
   yourself off in a room with few distractions. Turn off your computer, TV,
   or radio, and clear your desk so nothing can take your mind off the
   conversation.

1. Write
   your main points before the call begins. Do not read scripted
   responses from a pre-printed sheet, because reporters can tell when
   something is being read to them versus when you’re giving honest answers.
   But do prepare a note card with three to five topics you would like to
   touch upon during the interview. That way you won’t struggle with an
   answer during the interview.

1. Show
   that you care about the reporter and their story. Be helpful and
   responsive to their requests. Ask the interviewer what you can do to make
   his or her job easier. Then really listen to their answer and be an eager,
   accessible source of information.

1. Stand
   while giving the interview. Even though you’re talking on the phone,
   act as if you are giving a live presentation and stand tall. Standing will
   raise your energy level, and you will be more alert than if you were
   sitting. Interviewers love energy and really pick up on your mood.

1. Smile,
   and answer honestly and sincerely. People can hear your smile over the
   phone, and a reporter will feel more comfortable after hearing the joy in
   your voice. Also, the sound of smiling builds a rapport with interviewers.
   If they feel they can trust you, they will think of you first for their
   next interview.

1. Put
   energy and spunk into your voice. No one wants to listen to a
   monotonous drone, and the reporters and producers are no different. So put
   energy into your voice. This could make the difference between a mundane
   interview and a great conversation.

1. Have
   backup information handy. Reporters will inevitably ask you one
   question you don’t want to or can’t answer (this is another place your
   note card comes in handy). In case you are unable to respond, you can say,
   “That brings up an interesting point…” then go on to one of your prepared
   statements. Or, offer to find out the answer to the questions and get back
   to them as soon as possible.

1. Be
   concise. The average answer given is only nine seconds long. If you
   cannot convey your message in this short amount of time, your answer will
   not be used. So be careful not to ramble and be sure to stick to the
   facts. Don’t overload the reporter with unnecessary information that is
   not directly related to the story.

1. Be
   forthright. Answer the reporter’s question accurately and thoroughly,
   and don’t be afraid to give away too much information. Many speakers fear
   that they might give away too much information and then no one will book
   them for events. But it’s impossible to spoil years of experience and
   training in a short interview, and the audience will actually want more
   when you give them a little. So answer the questions and don’t say,
   “You’ll find the answer to that when you hire me for a keynote.”

1. Use
   the word “you” often. The word “you” draws the audience in and helps
   them relate to what you’re saying. And always give them a reason to pay attention
   by adding benefit statements to the facts in your presentation.

1. Let
   the reporter lead the conversation. The reporter most likely has an
   agenda for the story’s development already in mind, so don’t attempt to
   take over the conversation or talk about points the reporter does not want
   to cover.

1. Incorporate
   personal experiences into your responses. Audiences love to hear
   firsthand accounts of experiences relating to the topic. It helps them
   feel as if they know you personally. But make sure you stay on topic and
   don’t get distracted with your story.

1. Be
   prepared to back up your claims. Reporters want factual information.
   So instead of saying, “The majority of people do this…” say, “Eighty-five
   percent of my clients do this…” And don’t say, “I think” or “maybe.” Speak
   with authority and confidence.

1. Find
   future stories. After the interview, thank the reporter and ask what
   other stories they’re covering. Even if their stories don’t directly
   pertain to your speaking topic, explain how you can be beneficial to what
   they are investigating.

1. Interviews in the future. Although
   interviews usually entail a relatively short phone call, you still need to
   take your time and prepare for it beforehand. You don’t have to shower and
   shave, but you do need to have energy and excitement in your voice. During
   the call, you want to put your best foot forward with clear, honest and
   accurate responses. And when you’re finished, don’t forget to thank the
   reporter and offer to help on other stories.

When you use these fifteen tips for
giving great interviews, you’ll communicate a professional, expert image to the
reporter and the audience for you and your speaking career.

For additional publicity tips and articles now, visit: www.prpr.net.

Pam Lontos is the president of PR/PR, a public relations
firm that specializes in professional speakers, authors and experts. An author,
speaker and former VP of Disney’s Shamrock Broadcasting, Pam knows the ropes of
getting you good publicity and how to use it to boost your bookings or book
sales. She is also author of the forthcoming book, “I See Your Name
Everywhere!” Call for a free consultation: 407-299-6128 or visit: www.prpr.net.

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NEW
PUBLICITY BOOK!

-
September
International Strategic Thinking Month- This is a month-long effort to bring awareness of the need
to improve thinking skills by expanding our views and removing thought
barriers.

-
September
Subliminal Communications Month- Learn how to put to use your entrepreneurial thinking to achieve your
goals and to increase visibility in the corporate world.

-
The first week of
September is International Enthusiasm Week- Display genuine enthusiasm to every person, every project
and every possibility that comes your way.

-
The second week
of September is National Emergency Preparedness Week- An important week for employers
and employees to create a plan for any type of emergency or disaster.

-
The third week of
September is Build a Better Image Week- It is important to remind ourselves that in order to be
successful, you need to look the part.

-
The third week of
September is also National Love Your Files Week- Having a good filing system can be a powerful
asset, and if set up correctly, can be easy to maintain and a pleasure to use.

-
September 1 is
Labor Day

-
September 11 is
the Anniversary of 9/11

4. This Month Our Clients Have Been Featured In…

Good Housekeeping Pat Heydlauff on “Surviving the
Witching Hours”

Good Housekeeping Dr. Nancy O’Reilly on “Surviving
the Witching Hours”

Corp. & Incentive Travel Dan Burrus on “Meetings on a Budget”

HR Magazine Contented Cows on “Disengaged Senior
Employees”

Counselor Kim Marcille on “Motivating Sales
Staff”

American Medical News Dr. Maurice Ramirez on “Physicians
in Second Life”

Washington DC Examiner Francie Dalton on “Versatility”

Woman’s Day Dr. Nancy O’Reilly on “How You Respond to
Stress”

Olympia Airlines Magazine Susan Meredith on “Alternative Sources of
Energy”

On Wall Street Patrick
Astre on “Too Wealthy for Long-Term Care?”

Entrepreneur.com John Baker on “The ‘Fear’
Factor”

Broward Health Dr. Narinder Duggal on
“Supplements”

Copley Newswire Service Susan Meredith on “Fuel Sippers”

Tech Talk Radio Show Susan Meredith on “Home Improvement
Technology”

************************************************************************

5. Guest Column: Brian Jud on
Special Sales – Divide and Conquer

The term special sales is
commonly used to represent revenue opportunities outside of bookstores. Tales
of corporations buying hundreds of thousands of books whet our appetites and
generate visions of grandeur. However, after spending fruitless months or years
contacting corporations, most independent publishers learn that these visions
can be mirages.

This doesn’t have to be so. If you
divide the special-sales market into its component parts, you can create
tributaries that feed a significant revenue stream. This task is made easier if
you view special sales as comprised of three segments. The first is special
distribution that utilizes existing distribution channels to reach consumers.
Second is the commercial sector encompassing sales to corporations that use
books as sales-promotional devices. The third entails marketing directly to
niche groups that have an identifiable need for the information in your book.

1. Special distribution is
similar to the way most independent publishers currently market books, i.e.,
distribution partner Þ retailer Þ consumer. Examples of this network are
having Advanced Marketing Services sell your book to warehouse-buying clubs, or
Anderson Merchandisers reselling to Wal-Mart or Levy Home Entertainment to
discount stores. There are also distributors that will take your titles to
educational markets and the military.

The similarities to the traditional
bookstore distribution channels do not end here. These discount retailers
rarely buy directly from publishers and their choice of titles is a marketing
decision, not a literary one. Distributors know exactly what their customers
are likely to sell – either fiction or nonfiction — and they will reject
others. In addition, returns are endemic, the discount schedule can reach 70
percent and payment terms may exceed 90 days. On the other hand, the rewards of
immediate national distribution can be significant.

However, there are companies in
this category that will buy directly from publishers. For instance, book clubs
offer increased revenue, credibility and exposure for appropriate titles — not
just the major clubs but many niche clubs, too. There are book clubs for
children, religions, foreign languages and teachers. Another example is
mail-order catalogs that can move a large quantity of books. Catalogs can be
segmented demographically (catalogs for children, pet owners, individual sports
or different religions), psychographically (health, new age and alternative
catalogs) and geographically, but they exact a price for their efforts with
discounts reaching 70 percent of the list price.

2. Commercial sales.
Corporations, associations, foundations, government agencies and
network-marketing organizations buy books directly from publishers for use as
premiums, incentives, sales promotions or for educational purposes. They may
also purchase books for resale. The factor differentiating this segment from
special distribution is that you contact, negotiate with, ship directly to and
bill the people representing these firms. There are no distributors to deal
with, you bargain for the terms, returns are rare and payment is generally made
in 30 days.

Books have an approximately 6
percent share of the $1.5 billion incentive market (per Incentive
magazine). Buyers for these organizations are aware of the value of books as
sales promotional tools, but the sales process still requires an understanding
of successful selling techniques, numerous cold calls and a the ability to
accept rejection. The selling period is long – sometimes a year or more — but
the payback can be enormous when one customer buys tens of thousands of
non-returnable books.

3. Niche marketing entails
selling to definitive groups of people that share a need for the information in
your book. For example, you could sell your book about healthy eating to beauty
shops, doctors’ offices, fitness centers and stores that sell clothing,
cookware, gourmet foods, groceries and health foods. A children’s book could be
sold to daycare centers, toy stores, pediatricians’ offices, children’s
hospitals and children’s museums.

This strategy results in relatively
small orders from many customers. However, a key to profitability is to find
clusters of prospective customers such as a chain of daycare centers or stores.
Then sell to the group’s buyer.

If you are proficient at public
speaking you could sell your books at the back of the room at full list price.
This skill will also enable you to conduct library tours during which you can
sell your books with little or no discounts. Jerry Labriola sold thousands of
copies of his book Famous Crimes Revisited during personal presentations
at libraries just in Connecticut.

The Internet provides valuable
potential for niche sales, vastly reducing your time and expense per sales
call. For instance, when selling your children’s book you could contact online
gift-registry agencies for babies to have them use your book as a gift item or
premium (webistry.com) or submit to niche online bookstores such as
Just-For-Kids.com. Another prospect is iBaby.com. You could also offer your book
as a sales promotional item for companies providing services to families for
baby showers.

Online bookstores are considered a
traditional sales outlet, but independent publishers typically limit these
sales to Amazon.com, Books-A-Million.com or Barnesandnoble.com. In fact, there
are many other niche stores online, some of which may serve your needs. These
include (all end in .com) coffeetablebooks, DealPilot, BookNook, 1Bookstreet,
Adventurous Traveler and Smart Books. To find niche bookstores online for your
title, simply visit www.google.com and
search under keywords relevant to it.

Case history

Perhaps an example will help
clarify this process. Business-to-Business Golf: How to Swing Your Way to
Business Success, by Michael Andrew Smith is a book that can help sales
people drive their business forward by developing successful business
relationships while playing golf with their clients. Here are examples
non-traditional sales opportunities for Business-to-Business Golf.

1. Special distribution can
be utilized by submitting the book to distributors reaching sporting-goods
stores such as Sports Authority and Herman’s. Every sporting-goods store in the
U.S.
could be a prospective customer as could general discount stores such as
K-Mart, Target and Wal-mart. And there are mail-order catalogs catering to golf
books, including GolfSmart and Sportsman’s Guide.

2. Commercial sales. Business-to-Business
Golf could be purchased by companies to give to their sales people or by
firms that manufacture golf equipment & accessories for use as a premium or
self-liquidator. Companies that make golf software could also use it as a
sales-promotion item. The PGA and the state PGAs might use it to promote golf
as a business sport. Similarly, The Club Managers Association of America should
use it as a fundraiser or to resell on their website to its members. And Mr.
Smith recently sold foreign rights to a Korean publisher.

3. Niche markets. There are
online stores such as Golf Warehouse Home Page, Your Golf Advantage and Online
Sports Home Page that could sell Mr. Smith’s book. Business-to-Business Golf
is also a great title for sales through gift stores and golf pro shops. The
author could pursue media events on web forums and write articles and stories
for golf magazines (Golf and Golf Digest). The readers of airline
magazines would also be interested in articles about business-to-business golf,
as would magazines whose readers include sales people and business executives.
Michael could become active in newsgroups such as rec.sport.golf and alt.golf.

There are companies that perform
special sales for most titles, but there is no reason why publishers and
authors cannot pursue these lucrative avenues themselves. It takes some investigation,
persistence and creativity and in many cases this can be accomplished online.
Do not be intimidated by the term special sales. Divide it into its
component parts and address them as you see fit for each title.

Brian Jud hosts Book Central Station where you can find rated lists of
suppliers to help you write, publish and market your books. Post your own
reviews and add your favorite suppliers. For a free trial, go to http://www.bookmarketingworks.com/judslist/trial.asp Contact Brian at P. O. Box 715, Avon, CT  06001; (800) 562-4357; brianjud@bookmarketing.com or go
to http://www.bookmarketing.com

Need Help Marketing Your Book? Get free book-marketing
tips every other week in Brian Jud’s Book Marketing Matters e-newsletter. Go
to: www.bookmarketing.com to sign
up!

6.
Guest Column: Dan Poynter on Book Covers Sell Books

Packaging is everything. Each
year, corporations spend more than $50 billion on product packaging and design.
$50 billion, not for the products themselves or for the wrapper but $50 billion
just for the design of the wrapper.

Everyone judges a book by its
cover. No one reads the book before they make a buying decision. Consumers do
not read it in the store. Sales reps only carry book covers and jackets to show
bookstore owners/buyers while wholesalers and distributors say “just send us
the cover copy.” All buying decisions are made on the illustration/design and
the ad-sales copy on the outside of the book. Yes, packaging is everything.

The bookstore browser averages
less than eight seconds looking at the front cover and fifteen seconds reading
the back cover. You must hook them immediately and keep them reading the back
cover or they will put the book back on the shelf.

Most of Lightbourne’s
cover-design work is done long distance, so when the new client walked in
wearing buckskin and natural cotton attire, Gaelyn and Bram Larrick knew that
this project would be unique and fun. Matt Richards had written a book on
taking raw deerskin and creating beautiful buckskin garments and useful goods,
a process that

was more of a lifestyle for
him.

He had located the cover-design
company as a result of reading Dan Poynter’s Self-Publishing Manual, but was still nervous about
spending his money on a professionally-designed cover. Matt lived in the
wilderness and his way of life didn’t require him to earn much money. The cover
would cost one-quarter of his entire annual income.

Six months later, Matt wrote
that his book was selling so well in both his niche market and bookstores that
his annual income had already increased 4-5 times. His professionally-designed
cover not only made him prouder of his book, it gave the contents more
credibility and helped the book to sell.(http://www.lightbourne.com)

“Anyone who says ‘you can’t judge a book by its cover’ has
never met the category buyer from Barnes & Noble.”

— Terri Lonier, author, Working Solo

Good
packaging sells soap, breakfast food and pantyhose. It can also be used to sell
books. Put your imagination into your title and your advertising money into
your cover. Since everyone from the distributor, to wholesalers, to bookstore
buyers, to the ultimate customer judges a book by its cover, give them what
they need—a compelling cover!

7. Have a Need for Publicity?

PR/PR can help you with all of your publicity needs, from
magazines and newspapers to television, radio and online media. If you want to
sell more books, get more speaking engagements and be hired for more consulting
jobs, you need publicity.

To
receive a free consultation, please contact Pam Lontos, President of PR/PR:

407-299-6128
or email: pam@prpr.net.

Pam
Lontos is the president of PR/PR, a public relations firm that specializes in
professional speakers, authors and experts. An author, speaker and former VP of
Disney’s Shamrock Broadcasting, Pam knows the ropes of getting you good
publicity and how to use it to boost your bookings or book sales. She is also
author of the forthcoming book, “I See Your Name Everywhere!” Call for a free
consultation: 407-299-6128 or visit: www.prpr.net.