Boost Your Business with Print Publicity, Part 2

1. Pam Lontos Column: Boost Your Business with the Power of Print

By Andrea Brunais and Pam Lontos

Last month we talked about the first two ways to boost your business or book with the power of print. Now, we’re continuing with additional tips…

1. Authoring your own articles is a great way to achieve media coverage as well. National newspapers publish opinion columns from experts, which means you can raise your name recognition among readers across the country. Keep these pieces to about 700 words and make sure you proffer a definite opinion on a current topic. This article is called an op-ed piece, and it will brand you as an expert and an opinion leader.
2. On a daily basis, make sure your profile is high. Be active in your community, sponsor workshops and take surveys whose results can then be reported in the news media. Have your Webmaster apply search-optimization techniques to your Website so that you come up high on Internet search-engine result lists.
3. Other staples that editors are always seeking – especially trade magazines and journals – are feature-length articles around 800 – 1,000 words that reflect a how-to tips or informed advice on topics of interest to their readers. Topics can include genealogy, relationships, pets, budgeting, real estate, management and other subjects – it all depends on the publication and their readers. You probably won’t be paid for these articles and columns, but the publicity you receive will be priceless. For example, if you were to purchase a one-page ad in Parade, you would spend $682,000 to reach the weekly magazine’s 32 million readers. If you are quoted or mentioned in an article, you will pay nothing.  And yet the payoff could be big.  Kenneth Christian, Ph.D., author of the book Your Own Worst Enemy, found that his book jumped from number 35,000 to number 40 on Amazon.com, after he was quoted in Parade.

Remember, being mentioned in print can lend you in air of authority and brand you as a thought leader.  If you are quoted in a prestigious magazine, readers will assume you are at the top of your field, just like everyone else quoted in that publication.  Readers don’t know or care whether the magazine tracked you down or whether you took steps to make yourself known.  The important thing is that your name is in print – and that’s the goal.

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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2. Inspirational Quote for the Month:

3. Calendar of Events/Publicity Opportunities

If your expertise fits any of these topics, take advantage by sending out a press release to newspaper, television and radio stations, or call up the media directly! For example, if you are consultant, author or speaker who specializes in communications, you’ll want to contact the media about June, which is Effective Communication Month. You can share your expertise on what to say and how to say it, in the workplace and at home, by writing press releases on these topics, contacting radio stations in your area, or becoming a featured expert on television or in print. Here are more publicity opportunities:

• June is Effective Communication Month- Created to improve and commit to more active listening, verbal language, paralanguage, body language and written communication.

• June is Entrepreneurs “Do It Yourself” Marketing Month- This is a time to stand out from the competition and get more media attention and clients, while still achieving your goals. This is done by applying discovering and applying creative and effective problem solving marketing ideas, and removing barriers that are in your way.

• June is Professional Wellness Month- A month designed for professionals to increase their worth in the marketplace by adding to their company and customers, being accessible and reliable, and increasing their skills and learning their business completely.

• The first week in June is National Business Etiquette Week- This is the time to recognize your own organization’s need for proper business etiquette and intelligence in order to compete in a growing global marketplace. 

• The third week in June is Meet a Mate Week- Created to inspire singles who are seeking a mate to take advantage of the summer by pursuing warm-weather meeting opportunities.

• The fourth week in June is Freedom from Fear of Speaking Week- This is your chance to practice, recognize your strengths and face your fears of public speaking.

• June 14th is Flag Day

• June 15th is Father’s Day!

• June 20th is the First Day of Summer!

4. This Month Our Clients Have Been Featured In…

Quick and Simple, Patrick Astre for “Tips to save money on your bills”

Book Marketing Update, Brent Sampson for “Testing Book Titles”

Investor’s Business Daily, Dr. Nancy O’Reilly for “Boost Your Memory”

Investor’s Business Daily, Jay Arthur for “Plug the Leaks”

Investor’s Business Daily, Ron Price for “Entrepreneurial Hiring”

Investor’s Business Daily, John Baker for “Change and Employee buy-in”

Heart Healthy Living, Dr. Narinder Duggal for “Treating Blood Pressure”

Woman’s World, Dr. Nancy O’Reilly for “Managing Time”

Healthcare Risk Management, Dr. Maurice Ramirez for “Refusing an ED Call”

Renaissance, Francie Dalton for “Talent Retention”

Inventor’s Digest, Dr. Maurice Ramirez for “Do Video Games Make You

Smarter?”

Boomer Nation Radio, Lauren Rikleen for “Getting Generations Working

Together”

ECT News Network, Dan Burrus for “Apple and Autos”

Growing Wealth, Kim Marcille for “Biggest Mistakes Businesses Make”

Pasadena Star News, Contented Cow Partners for “Exit Interviews”

St. Paul Pioneer Press, Dr. Dale Anderson for “WiiFit”

Pharmawire.com, Dr. Narinder Duggal for “Treatments for Hypertension”

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5. Guest Column: Brian Jud on Getting Your Word’s Worth

What makes a good guest for the show does not always make a good show for the guest. If all you do is answer the interviewer’s questions informatively, the host will think you are a great interviewee and perhaps ask you to return. But there is no future in being a professional guest if you do not sell your books in the process.

As a general rule, you will sell more books if you entertain and inform people, piquing their curiosity, showing them how they can solve their problems by reading your book. And you may have to do it while the host is asking you questions that have nothing to do with your book. Reaching your goals under these conditions requires you to blend your understanding of the audience, knowledge of your topic and diplomacy to create a polished, effective performance. You can do this if you know the answers to these questions:

* Given a limited time on the air, what are the major points you want to impress upon the audience?

* What information is important to each audience? Your presentation will change, depending upon the composition of the audience.

* In what order should you discuss your agenda items? Communicate information in descending order of importance.

Reaching your objective does not mean you ignore the interviewer’s questions. But if you sense the conversation going off in a different direction and you have not addressed your critical points, you must respond differently. Do this by making a brief, yet smooth, transition from an irrelevant question (from your perspective) to one of your agenda items, making it relevant to the audience. Practice making your transition statement and giving an example in about 30 seconds.

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 Checking Your Facts

Do not just copy resources out of other books—check them.

Nonfiction writers have long realized that they have a responsibility to their readers, to their own credibility and to history, to check all the facts they present in their books. The challenge increases today due to the rapid growth in our knowledge base and the ongoing changes in our technology.

When “The Self-Publishing Manual” was revised for the 11th time, editor Karen Stedman contacted each reference in the text and each supplier listed in the 62-page Resource Section. She discovered that an astounding 85 percent of the addresses had changed since the last edition—in just 13 months!

Most changes were area codes but there were also changes to email addresses, web sites, fax numbers and even some street addresses.

Check all your facts, not just the addresses. When you write a book, you are committing history.

“When you speak, your words echo only across the room or down the hall. But when you write, your words echo down the ages.”

—Bud Gardner, co-author “Chicken Soup for the Writer’s Soul”

7. Guest Commentary from PR/PR Pulse Subscriber Jessica James

I’d like to share a cross promotional story with your readers – it’s something I am working on for my novel, “Shades of Gray: A Novel of the Civil War in Virginia.”

My target market for “Shades of Gray,” is Civil War/history enthusiasts, with a secondary audience of romance readers, especially in the South. However, I used a horse in the book (owned by the main character) as a way to reach the equine and art markets as well. I contacted the International Equine Artists Guild and by luck or by chance, found an artists that has a piece of artwork that resembles the horse in my book, “Justus.”

The artists has agreed to produce “Justus” prints as well as notecards, which she will sell on her Website and at the art shows she attends. I will also promote the art on my mailers, postcards and literature, sending people to her Website. Likewise, she promotes my Website on her literature, so my book’s title is in front of people who I would never have the time or opportunity to reach!

Whether or not it will result in any sales remains to be seen, but getting the name of my book out there is the first step – and it didn’t cost a thing! I hope this gets your creative juices flowing…

If you have any stories, suggestions or tips you’d like to share with us, please e-mail: newsletter@prpr.net.

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8. 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.

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“Reprinted from ‘PR/PR Pulse,’ a free e-zine featuring tips and techniques for gaining publicity. To subscribe, send an email to newsletter@prpr.net with ‘Add Me’ in the subject line.”

If you like any of the advice from this e-zine, please pass this on to your friends, clients and colleagues.

We would love to hear from you! Please email your suggestions and/or questions about publicity to: newsletter@prpr.net.

PR/PR

President: Pam Lontos

775 S. Kirkman Road, Suite 104

Orlando, FL 32811

www.prpr.net

Phone: 407-299-6128

Fax: 407-299-2166

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