Build Book Buzz Publicity Forms and Templates
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Build Book Buzz Publicity Forms and Templates
By Sandra Beckwith
Table of Contents
How to Use this Workbook 4
Message Development Template 5
Sample Message 7
Book Announcement Press Release Writing Form 8
Sample Book Announcement Press Release 11
Author Bio Form 13
Sample Author Bio 15
Author Q&A Template 16
Sample Author Q&A 17
Tip Sheet Writing Template 20
Sample Tip Sheet 23
Press Release Writing Form 25
Sample Press Release 28
Press Kit Quiz Template 29
Sample Press Kit Quiz 31
Book Review Form 32
Sample Book Review 35
Web Site Press Room Template 37
Sample Web Site Press Room 39
Virtual Book Tour E-mail Pitch Template 40
Sample Virtual Book Tour E-mail Pitch 42
Radio Talk Show E-mail Pitch Template 43
Sample Radio Talk Show E-mail Pitch 45
Article or Segment Pitch Letter Form 46
Sample Article or Segment Pitch Letter 48
Syndicated Article Writing Template 49
Sample Syndicated Article 52
Create a Sound Bite Form 54
Samples Sound Bites 56
Book Publicity Plan Template 57
Sample Book Publicity Plan 62
Book Publicity Resources 65
About the Author 70
How to Use this Workbook
This workbook contains nearly all the forms and templates you’ll need to generate exciting buzz in the press for your book, whether you’ve produced a work of fiction or nonfiction.
STARTING OUT: Before working with these media relations tools, take a minute to print the workbook and review everything offered here. Read the introductory text before each tool to determine if it’s the right resource for your current goal. The instructions for each tool and the samples I’ve included should help you decide which ones will suit your purposes. (Thanks to author friends Jen Singer, Susan Finn, and Robbie Kaplan and publicist Patti Danos for allowing me to reprint their tools. I appreciate their generosity.)
PLANNING: I’ve included information on how to write a book publicity plan for those of you who haven’t done that yet. A publicity plan gives you the essential blueprint you need to make things happen. It’s not a media relations tool like everything else in this workbook – it’s a planning tool. It helps you figure out where you want to go and how you’re going to get there. You should create your book publicity plan before doing anything else, but I wanted you to see what tools were at your disposal before you determined how – or if – they would fit into your publicity plan. That’s why I’ve included the plan-writing form at the end of the workbook.
USABILITY: Please note that while most e-books are sold as PDF files, this one is a Word file because it’s more useful to you that way. I want you to be able to copy and paste each template into a new Word file so you can literally fill in the blanks on your computer screen. You might even want to copy and paste each tool into a permanent Word file that you save and protect as your master document – your master press release form, tip sheet form, author bio form, and so on.
QUESTIONS?: Finally, please let me know if you have questions, comments or feedback. Is there something missing? Could I explain something more clearly? I’d love to hear from you. Contact me at sb@.
Message Development Template
If you aren’t clear on your message each time you communicate with the media, your publicity efforts will be less effective. Giving careful attention to your communication messages allows you to get a little more control over the unpredictable – and generally uncontrollable – publicity process. Anything you can do to exert some control is good.
Your message development focuses around determing the point you want to make – the “headline” in the template below – and bolstering it with “supporting information.” When creating and finetuning messages for the media and other communication efforts, supporting information is often in the form of statistics, compelling facts, and anecdotes that illustrate the message point.
Use this template to develop one to three messages – all you’ll need for the typical media encounter – and to organize the information that supports your messages.
Message Point 1
Write your headline. What is it you want to communicate?
What’s your supporting information, statistics, anecdote, etc.?
Message Point 2
Write your headline. What is it you want to communicate?
What’s your supporting information, statistics, anecdote, etc.?
Message Point 3
Write your headline. What is it you want to communicate?
What’s your supporting information, statistics, anecdote, etc.?
Sample Message
Here’s an example. Let’s say the author of a book on how to shop at flea markets wants to communicate that doing research is essential to paying the right price for your treasures.
Headline:
Research the products you want to buy before going to flea markets so you know how much you should expect to pay for them.
Supporting information:
• When I was starting out, I paid three times as much as I should have for some vintage Fiestaware pieces that I thought I could re-sell on e-Bay. I still own them.
• Once I began researching the value of items that always caught my eye and became a better price negotiator, my resale income on eBay increased 125 percent.
• My survey of 500 of my e-zine subscribers revealed that 73 percent of them believe they overpaid for a flea market item at least once.
Book Announcement Press Release Writing Form
Use this form to help you begin writing a press release announcing publication of your new book. Answer the questions below first. Then use your answers to create a compelling release that explains what makes your book interesting and different. Use the sample book announcement press release following this template to guide and inspire you. (Get more tips for how to write a good announcement release at .) I’ve assigned each step in the process a red letter – A, B, C, etc. – and added that letter to the sample release so you can match the step with the end result. Make sure you don’t use the colored letters in your final product!
In addition to using this release to announce your book to the press, give it a home on your Web site in your online press room (see page 27).
A. What’s the release date? Most press releases can be used immediately. If that’s the case, write FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. If the information can’t be used before a specific date or time, it’s FOR RELEASE (INSERT DATE AND TIME). What’s your situation?
B. Who should get inquiries from reporters? (Most often, it’s you.) Include the name, phone number and e-mail address.
Name:
Phone number:
E-mail:
C. Write an attention-getting headline. Announce the release subject with active verbs and colorful words. Focus on the book, not yourself. Start here with a list of words that describe the book.
Now use some of those words to craft an attention-getting, yet accurate, headline. Subheads are acceptable but not required.
D. What’s your lead? A lead is the opening statement that tells what the release is about. Start out broad; get more specific later in your release. What are the key facts about your book to include in the one or two sentences that comprise the first paragraph of your release? Write the most important one or two facts here.
Use those facts to write your lead – your compelling opening statement offering a preview of what else is to come in the release – here.
E. In the second paragraph, expand on the lead by offering more details. This is a good place to introduce the book title and author’s name. What else do we need to know?
F. Give us more details about the book in bullet points. Get even more specific here, after that second paragraph. What’s unique or special about the book? What differentiates it from other books in your category? List key facts below to guide you when you write this section of the release.
G. Include a quote after you’ve presented specifics on the book. Why did you write the book? Why do you think it’s useful? This is where you can share your opinion. Focus on information not presented elsewhere in the release.
H. Give us your credentials. Who are you? What’s your connection to the topic? Write a paragraph that explains why you’re the author of this book.
I. Conclude with a paragraph that repeats the book title and price and tells people where they can buy it. You will use this concluding paragraph in all your press releases and tip sheets for the book, so it is referred to as a “boilerplate” paragraph.
Sample Book Announcement Press Release
Here’s a sample book announcement press release. Print it and match the red-lettered release components with the steps in the template. Remember not to use those letters in your own release!
A. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
B. CONTACT: Courtney Goethals, 800-621-9621, ext. 4322, courtney.goethals@
C. New Guide Helps Nonprofits Stretch Marketing Dollars for Maximum Publicity
Nonprofits Can Finally Capture Essential Media Attention
D. CHICAGO, IL — June 1, 2006 — A new book from an award-winning publicist helps nonprofit organizations large and small discover and use the tools and techniques that will help transform them into high-profile media darlings.
E. In Publicity for Nonprofits: Generating Media Exposure That Leads to Awareness, Growth, and Contributions, ($23.95 Kaplan Publishing, June 2006) author Sandra Beckwith taps her 25 years of hands-on publicity know-how to outline successful media relations strategies tailored for nonprofit organizations. This detailed, step-by-step guide includes examples of press releases, op-ed essays, pitch letters, public service announcements and other important outreach tools.
F. This timely and practical guide doesn’t just explain why publicity is important – it shows how to use cost-effective publicity plans and tactics to reach fundraising goals, educate and influence consumers, and recruit employees and volunteers. In Publicity for Nonprofits: Generating Media Exposure That Leads to Awareness, Growth, and Contributions, Beckwith offers fascinating case studies, detailed instructions, and a rich array of publicity tools and tactics that will help nonprofit organizations learn how to:
• Create an affordable publicity plan that integrates goals, objectives, and key strategies
• Determine which tools and tactics will have the most impact on the organization’s goals
• Develop and pitch newsworthy stories with powerful messages that will capture media attention and resonate with audiences
• Maximize the publicity potential of an organization’s activities, talents and resources
G. “When I speak to nonprofit groups about publicity, they are never interested in theory,” says Beckwith. “They want to know how to do it – what tools and tactics will get them the farthest? Which approach will have the greatest impact with the least amount of expense? When is a press conference a good idea and when is not the best choice for communicating information? I wrote this book to give them the answers and information they need to succeed in a highly-competitive, increasingly complex media world.”
H. Sandra Beckwith has more than 25 years of award-winning public relations experience. A recipient of the coveted Silver Anvil Award from the Public Relations Society of America, her public relations background includes assignments at one of the world’s largest public relations firms and a large national consumer products company. Now a consultant who helps others learn how to generate their own publicity, her clients include several nonprofit organizations.
I. Publicity for Nonprofits: Generating Media Exposure that Leads to Awareness, Growth, and Contributions ($23.95, 256 pages, 7 ¼ x 9, paperback, ISBN: 1-4195-2299-X) is available at neighborhood and online booksellers or by calling 800-245-BOOK.
Kaplan Publishing is one of the nation’s leading education, career and business publishers. Kaplan Publishing, with offices in New York and Chicago, produces more than 150 books a year on test preparation, admissions, academic and professional development, general business, management, sales, marketing, real estate, finance and investing. Kaplan Publishing is a unit of Kaplan, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO). For more information, please visit
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Author Bio Form
Your author bio helps a journalist determine if you’re an appropriate expert resource for a story or segment and is often the basis of your speaker introduction when you’ve been invited to give a presentation on your book topic. Provide it when pitching yourself as an expert and make it available on your Web site along with a professional author photo.
Don’t include your entire professional history or your life story. Emphasize your credentials for this book and leave out those that have no connection to it. Novelists might include personal facts that contributed to the book and writing accolades while nonfiction authors will want to include professional employment or experience that establishes expertise in the book’s topic.
Keep it to two or three short paragraphs. We don’t need your life story. We just need to know why you’re the perfect author for this book.
Key facts include some – but not necessarily all – of the following:
Name
Current employment
Relevant work experience
Relevant personal experience
Relevant volunteer experience
Relevant professional awards or honors
Relevant personal awards or honors
Relevant professional association memberships, including leadership roles
Education – college/university name, degree, subject
Current hometown and state
Sample Author Bio
Here’s a bio I use when promoting my two publicity books.
Sandra Beckwith
While she now writes full time, recovering publicist Sandra Beckwith has more than 25 years of award-winning publicity experience. She has received two national publicity awards, including the coveted national Silver Anvil award from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and several regional PRSA awards. Her journalism and public relations degree is from Utica College of Syracuse University.
Today, Beckwith concentrates on helping companies learn how to generate their own publicity. She is the author of Publicity for Nonprofits: Generating Media Exposure That Leads to Awareness, Growth, and Contributions (Kaplan Publishing, June 2006) and Streetwise Complete Publicity Plans: How to Create Publicity That Will Spark Media Exposure and Excitement (Adams Media 2003). She is a frequent presenter on publicity topics.
Self-employed since 1985, Beckwith’s earlier experience includes editorial and marketing positions at an educational publishing firm near Madison, Wisc.; Burson-Marsteller/Chicago, one of the world’s largest public relations firms; and the product publicity department of the former Heublein Inc. in Hartford, Conn., a beverage alcohol distiller/marketer. A member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the American Society of Business Publication Editors and the Public Relations Society of America, she owns Beckwith Communications in Fairport, N.Y.
Author Q&A Template
A sample Q&A – question and answer – sheet is especially useful when you’re working to schedule radio interviews. When sent ahead of time, it helps a busy talk show host or radio personality prepare for an interview with you. Some will even work completely from this list of questions. But it’s not just for radio publicity – most journalists planning to interview you about your book will benefit from this type of background information.
Use six to 10 questions, focusing on those you hear the most when you tell people you’re writing or have written a book. Include a few of the questions you’d want answered if you were a journalist scheduled to interview you.
Because Q&As are based on the individual book’s content, each will be unique. Pull out key topics or themes and ask questions about them. Nonfiction Q&As might focus on advice and lessons from a book while fiction Q&As might address inspiration, research, whether the novel is a reflection of the author’s life or world, or anything unique or unexpected about the book.
Type your question in boldface; type your answer under it in regular type.
Here are some of the typical questions included in an author Q&A, but be sure to add those that you hear the most from people. Create a document that works for your book.
• Why did you write this book?
• What surprised you the most as you researched or wrote it?
• What do you think will surprise readers the most?
• What’s the most important lesson or message readers will get from it?
• Did writing this book change your life in any way?
• What do you hope will come from others reading it?
• What are you working on now?
Sample Author Q&A
Let this sample inspire your own author question and answer sheet.
Sample Questions for Susan Calvert Finn, Author,
The American Dietetic Association Guide to Women’s Nutrition for Healthy Living
Why focus on women for this book?
Women are particularly vulnerable to an array of chronic diseases that can diminish their quality of life, including breast cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, obesity and diabetes. We don’t have all the answers about what causes these diseases, but we do know that some of the risk factors involved have to do with lifestyle and behavior choices that women can control. Women’s Nutrition for Healthy Living is designed to help women make the nutritional choices that can make a real difference in their health over a lifetime.
Why does it matter that much of the existing health information is based on the studies of men, not women?
Findings from research conducted only on men does not necessarily apply to women’s unique health needs and vulnerabilities. Disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment can vary greatly between men and women. For example, low HDL cholesterol is a far greater risk factor for heart disease in women than it is in men. And although calcium is critical for bone health in both men and women, only women are vulnerable to the type of early osteoporosis that results from estrogen loss and low calcium intake.
What is the biggest nutritional mistake women usually make?
Certainly one is underestimating the impact of early nutrition on lifelong health. This oversight is particularly evident with calcium. We now know that building bone mass early in life is critical to bone health later. Heart disease is yet another example. Recent studies indicate that arterial blockage can begin in teen years.
What is the greatest health risk for women?
Although women fear breast cancer more than any other disease, it is actually heart disease that claims the greatest number of women’s lives each year. Heart disease generally strikes women after age 65 – about 10 years later than in men.
What can I do for my daughters while they are young to make sure they are nutritionally healthy adults?
Talk with them about the lifelong impact of nutrition on health – and lead by example. We should reinforce the fact that calcum and weight-bearing exercise are essential to bone
health tomorrow, and that maintaining a healthy weight can prevent diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers.
I’m always reading or hearing news stories telling me that just about everything imaginable is bad for me. How do I know what to eat to be healthy?
If you eat too much or too little of something, you are likely to have an excess or a deficiency in some nutrients. That’s why a balanced diet, filled with variety and eaten in moderation, is key to nutritional health. If you have questions, ask your physician or a nutrition professional, or call the American Dietetic Association’s consumer nutrition line at 900-225-5267.
Your book devotes a chapter to the stages of a woman’s life. Are our nutritional needs different during various stages?
Yes. Adolescence, the childbearing years, the older years – each stage comes with its own set of priorities and its own physiological demands. The teenage years are a time of significant growth and extraordinary nutritional needs. In addition, much can be done during this time to prevent the incidence of diseases such as osteoporosis, heart disease and diabetes in later life. During the childbearing years, nutritional health is critical to fertility and successful pregnancy. Later, menopause influences bone, heart and breast health and creates a new set of nutritional needs.
Are there nutritional antidotes for common female problems such as PMS?
Yes. Some of the most popular involve vitamin B6, magnesium, calcium, vitamin E and phytoestrogens found in plants such as soy. The bottom line is we don’t yet know enough about PMS to recommend a definitive nutritional therapy. But we do know that megadosing on any nutrient is never a good idea. Try cutting back on caffeine, salt and alcohol to relieve PMS symptoms. Exercise also can help because it helps relieve anxiety by stimulating the release of endorphins.
Can the right diet help battle stress?
Stress is the body’s response to a particular physical demand or life experience. You’ve probably heard about a number of “miracle cures” for stress. The fact is the human body is far too complex for a single magical nutrient to “cure” stress. But being well-nourished overall can strengthen your immune system and help you avoid stress-related illnesses.
What are some things I can do now to improve my nutritional health?
Women’s Nutrition for Healthy Living recommends four strategies:
1. Maintain a healthy weight.
2. Enjoy physical activity.
3. Rebalance your diet. Enjoy more fruits, vegetables and grains and less fat.
4. Get enough calcium.
Although these strategies are simple, they might not be easy for everyone. So pick one just to get started, and when you feel you have integrated it into your lifestyle, pick another. Soon you will see how closely interrelated all four are. These strategies work because they are based on three key principles of nutritional health: balance, variety and moderation.
Tip Sheet Writing Template
Tip sheets are the most powerful – yet probably the least used – book publicity tools.
A tip sheet is a specific type of press release that offers advice or tips in a bulleted or numbered format. The biggest difference between a tip sheet and a press release is that the body of a tip sheet-type release will include tips or advice in a numbered or bulleted format. (The tips can come from your book, which makes this an easy tool for you to create.)
Use a tip sheet to generate news briefs in a newspaper or magazine. You can also use it as background information when working to interest a reporter, editor, or producer in a feature article or talk show interview on the tip sheet topic.
Generate tip sheet topics by thinking about the advice people ask for most often about the topic, or the information you think is most needed from your book. What do you know that can help others when packaged as bulleted bits of advice?
This valuable tool is as useful for novelists and memoirists as it is nonfiction authors, but it does take more effort to generate fiction tip sheet topics. Think in terms of good, useful advice your protagonist (or villain) can offer or advice based on the book’s geography. For example, a historical novel based in the Hudson River Valley of New York can generate a tip sheet about the region’s top historical sites. The author of a memoir about his experiences with alcoholism can present tips on the common but rarely recognized signs of that disease.
Study the sample tip sheet after this template so you understand the format and flow. I’ve assigned each step in the process a red letter – A, B, C, etc. – and added that letter to the sample tip sheet so you can match the step with the end result. Remember not to use those letters in your actual tip sheet!
Then use this template to help you organize your thoughts. After you fill in the blanks, write the tip sheet, making certain it reads smoothly.
A. What’s the release date? Most tip sheets can be used immediately. If that’s the case, write FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. If the information can’t be used before a specific date or time, it’s FOR RELEASE (INSERT DATE AND TIME). What’s your situation?
B. Who should get inquiries from reporters? (Most often, it’s you.) Include the name, phone number and e-mail address.
Name:
Phone number:
E-mail:
C. Write an attention-getting headline. Include the number of tips – “5 Ways to…” or “8 Tips for ….” Use active, colorful words. Subheads are acceptable but not required.
D. What’s your lead? Because a tip sheet offers advice, it’s important to start this type of release with a statement of the problem your advice will help solve. Statistics are often helpful here. For example, if you’re the author of a book on how to use iPods, the lead for a tip sheet promoting this book might be something like this: Apple Inc. reports that iPod sales increased 25% in 2008 over the previous year, but while the company is enjoying that sales boost, more older iPod buyers are stymied by the electronic devices. The author of a book designed to demystify the popular portable music players says older users will get the maximum use and enjoyment from their investment if they understand a few iPod essentials. Write your lead here.
E. Who are you? Include your name, book title, and any other necessary or relevant credentials as you set yourself up as the topic expert.
F. What do you, as the expert offering the tips, have to say about the tip sheet subject? This is your quote. It helps set the stage for your wise advice and preceeds your tips.
G. List your tips with bullets or numbers. Use punchy, pithy, how-to language. Do not list reasons to buy your book. This is not a sales piece. Offer advice. Keep your list of tips between five and nine.
• Tip:
• Tip:
• Tip:
• Tip:
• Tip:
• Tip:
• Tip:
• Tip:
H. Conclude with a boilerplate paragraph that summarizes your book in one or two sentences and tells people where they can buy it. You will use this concluding paragraph in all your press releases and tip sheets for the book, so it is referred to as a “boilerplate” paragraph.
Sample Tip Sheet
Here’s a sample tip sheet. Print it and match the red-lettered tip sheet components with the steps in the template. Remember not to use those letters in your own tip sheet!
A. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
B. CONTACT: Sandra Beckwith, 585-377-2768, sb@
C. 6 little known ways to get your company’s name in the news
D. ROCHESTER, NY — August 1, 2007 — An award-winning publicist and author of a how-to publicity book for small businesses says it’s easier than most business owners think to get their names in the news regularly.
E., F. “You have to stop waiting for the press to discover you,” advises Sandra Beckwith, author of Streetwise Complete Publicity Plans: How to Create Publicity That Will Spark Media Exposure and Excitement. “Start telling them what you’re doing that’s newsworthy. It will help you generate the media exposure that gives companies credibility and increased awareness.”
G. Beckwith offers the following tips for becoming more newsworthy:
• Contact the press immediately when you can offer a local angle on a national news story. News outlets love to localize a national story. Fax your one-page narrative biography (not a resume) and a cover letter explaining your position on the breaking news to the appropriate media contact (for example, TV news assignment editors) or copy the information and paste it into an e-mail message.
• Add the media to your e-newsletter distribution list. The same useful advice or information you offer in your electronic newsletter could be of interest to reporters covering that topic. Include both local and national media outlets read, watched or listened to by your target audience.
• Capitalize on holidays and special weeks or months by distributing a press release with useful, newsworthy information related to the topic. For example, a cardiologist interested in attracting female patients can distribute a release with the warning signs of heart disease in women during National Heart Month in February.
• Conduct a newsworthy and relevant survey and announce the interesting results in a press release. A restaurant might survey community members about whether they plan to dine out more or less this year; a health club might do a survey on the top reasons why people hate to exercise. Both have news value.
• Partner with the public relations department of your industry’s trade association by offering to make yourself available for media interviews. Association public relations people are often contacted by journalists looking for members with a particular expertise to interview. Make sure your association knows about you, what makes your business interesting, and the topics you can comment on, and you’ll get referral calls.
• Sponsor an attention-getting contest and announce the results in a press release. To promote a newsletter she publishes that takes a lighthearted look at male behavior, Beckwith conducted a national “Worst Gift from a Man Contest.” The press release announcing the winners led to nationwide media attention, including a holiday appearance on a national cable TV talk show. A hardware store could sponsor a “Most Innovative Use of a Tool” competition while a bridal salon could initiate a “Worst Wedding Horror Story” contest.
H. Streetwise Complete Publicity Plans: How to Create Publicity That Will Spark Media Exposure and Excitement gives small business owners the tools and techniques for generating media attention for their companies, their products and themselves. The book’s user-friendly format makes it easy for organizations to learn how to generate the buzz that sets them apart from the competition. It includes small business examples; samples of key tools such as press releases, pitch letters and press kit components; and forms and checklists that guide the publicity-making process. For more information, go to or visit .
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Press Release Writing Form
Use a press release when you want to announce news. When promoting a book, you might use a press release to announce a newsworthy contest, survey results, or a holiday you’ve created.
Check out press release distribution sites such as or for press release samples. Then use this form to help you organize your thoughts. After you fill in the blanks, write the release, making sure your news appears in the beginning and that information and paragraphs flow in a logical progression. The most important information comes first and is followed by the least important information.
I’ve assigned each step in the process a red letter – A, B, C, etc. – and added that letter to the sample release so you can match the step with the end result. Make sure you don’t use the colored letters in your final product!
A. What’s the release date? Most press releases can be used immediately. If that’s the case, write FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. If the information can’t be used before a specific date or time, it’s FOR RELEASE (INSERT DATE AND TIME). What’s your situation?
B. Who should get inquiries from reporters? (Most often, it’s you.) Include the name, phone number and e-mail address.
Name:
Phone number:
E-mail:
C. Write an attention-getting headline. Announce the release subject with active verbs and colorful words. Start here with a list of words that decribe the book.
Now use those words to craft an attention-getting, yet accurate, headline. Subheads are acceptable but not required.
Identify the five Ws and one H — who, what, when, where, why, and how. These details should be in the first one to three paragraphs.
Who:
What:
When:
Where:
Why:
How:
D. What’s your lead? Summarize your news in one sentence. Add a second sentence with a few more details. Read them over – do they say what they should? Make sure the sentences aren’t too long. Incorporate the five Ws and one H (above) into the first paragraph or the first and second paragraph.
E. Does this release warrant a quote? As the author/expert, what do you want to say about the subject of the release? This is where you can share your opinion. Focus on information not presented elsewhere in the release.
F. After you’ve written the most important information (the first one or two paragraphs) and the quote (if used), provide other important and relevant information or details. This information supports what’s already offered by is not as important.
G. Conclude with a boilerplate paragraph that summarizes your book in one or two sentences and tells people where they can buy it. You will use this concluding paragraph in all your press releases and tip sheets for the book, so it is referred to as a “boilerplate” paragraph.
Sample Press Release
Here’s a sample press release illustrating how one author announces an event she created to call attention to her book. Print it and match the red-lettered release components with the steps in the template. Remember not to use those letters in your own release!
A. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
B. CONTACT: Jen Singer, XXX-XXX-XXXX, jensinger@
C. Holiday Gives Real-Life Desperate Housewives a Day Off
Web Site to Hold Annual “Please Take My Children to Work Day”
D. KINNELON, NJ – Why are today’s housewives desperate? Because they work 24/7 jobs with no vacation days, no sick days and, until now, no holidays, says Jen Singer, author of 14 Hours ‘Til Bedtime and creator of the award-winning . Her Web site’s fifth annual “Please Take My Children to Work Day” will give at-home moms a day off in June 2007.
E. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 10.6 million children are being raised by full-time, stay-at-home moms. “Some days, it feels like all 10 million are under your roof – and they all need a diaper change,” says Singer.
F. Singer suggests that at-home moms celebrate the June 25, 2007, holiday by finding a replacement – or several replacements – for at least part of the day: a spouse, a grandmother, or a babysitter. Or trade half the day with a neighbor.
What should moms do with their time off? “Don’t spend it returning clothes to Baby Gap,” says Singer. Instead, she suggests:
• See a movie that’s not animated with talking animals.
• Have lunch somewhere that doesn’t serve chicken fingers.
• Sit down for long periods of time without interruption.
• Read the newspaper in its entirety.
Singer plans to spend “Please Take My Children to Work Day” with just grown-ups, never refilling anyone’s sippy cup.
G. “Please Take My Children to Work Day,” a holiday held annually in June, has been officially proclaimed by several governors across the country. Jen Singer is the creator of , a Forbes Best of the Web community for at-home mothers, and the author of 14 Hours ‘Til Bedtime, which has been excerpted in Parents and American Baby and featured in Parenting and The New York Times. She has appeared on the CBS “Early Show,” ABC “World News Now” and NBC “Nightly News.”
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Press Kit Quiz Template
A quiz based on your book’s content teases people by giving them just enough information about the book to intrigue them. It can entice those who are interested in the topic to purchase the book so they can learn more.
Newspapers and magazines use quizzes as sidebars to articles on your book’s topic, radio stations read from them as filler content, and bloggers often copy and paste them into their blogs. They are also effective “did you know?” devices when pitching broadcast media on an interview or segment.
A book press kit quiz is typically designed to test an individual’s knowledge, aptitude, ability, readiness, personality traits, and so on. A quiz for a specialized cookbook might determine whether the reader has the right ingredients or tools for this type of cooking; a business book quiz might help the test taker identify leadership skills; one for a mystery might help the reader assess powers of perception. Before crafting your quiz, flip through several magazines at the library to see how the quizzes are written and used. Then, when creating yours, be clear on what you want the quiz taker to learn from the experience while making certain that there’s an obvious and relevant connection to your book’s content.
In addition to posting your press kit in the “For the Press” section of your Web site as part of your press kit, post it in the “public” content area, as well, so that your site’s visitors can learn from this tool.
The template below contains your press kit quiz elements.
Use this format for your quiz.
Title in the form of a question. “How ready is your child for kindergarten?” or “How much do you know about common over-the-counter drugs?”
The title is followed by a simple sentence: Take this quiz to find out.
Write a short paragraph to introduce the quiz and provide instructions. This can be one or two sentences that explain the quiz. (“Research shows that one of the most common worries among mothers of young children is whether they are ready for school. This quiz will help you answer that question and decide if there’s more you can do to help prepare your child for kindergarten.”)
Include one sentence with quiz-taking instructions. (“If you answered yes to three or more of the questions below, it’s time to seek help.”)
The quiz. Avoid making it too short or too long – eight to 14 questions is a good length. List the questions, using 1.5 or double-spacing between each to add visually-appealing white space. Include the appropriate answer device – boxes to check off, lines where users write the answer, multiple choice options to circle, and so on.
Scoring (optional). If you’ve elected to create a more complicated quiz that includes scoring, provide instructions on how people should calculate their scores. It might be as simple as “If you answered ‘yes’ to three of these questions, you . . .” or it might be points assigned to the number of “True” and “False” answers, and so on. What’s the best approach for your topic and your quiz?
Score assessment (optiona). If you decide to include a scoring system, conclude your quiz with a score key that explains what the score means – “If you scored 1-3, you are . . . , if you scored 4-6, you are . . . ,” and so on.
Sample Press Kit Quiz
Book publicist Patti Danos creates quizzes for many of the books she represents because she’s found them to be effective tools for generating media attention. Danos created this one for the authors of The Hamster Revolution: How to Manage Your E-Mail Before It Manages You.
How efficient are you with your e-mail?
Put your e-mail efficiency and etiquette to the test with help from The Hamster Revolution: How to Manage Your E-Mail Before It Manages You by Mike Song, Vicki Halsey, and Tim Burress.
How’s your e-mail efficiency and etiquette? If you check three or more of these statements, you probably need help—now.
( I frequently use the “Reply to All” feature.
( I like to “Cc” people just to keep them in the loop.
( Most days I have a couple hundred e-mails in my inbox.
( I usually respond to e-mails right as they come in.
( I send e-mails in the heat of the moment—and regret it later.
( It seems like I spend more time on e-mail than my “real job.”
( I check e-mail most nights and weekends.
( I send partial e-mails just to get back to people quickly.
( My e-mails turn into a chain of back-and-forth discussions.
( I rarely pay attention to subject lines—mine or others’.
( I don’t organize the body of my e-mails in any particular way.
( A lot of my e-mails have multiple attachments.
( I wouldn’t think of coaching others on e-mail.
( My e-mail filing system includes a number of overlapping folders.
( I don’t associate e-mail with my professional image.
Book Review Form
Some media outlets are willing to use a pre-written review of your new book as long as it is written in a way that appears to be balanced and unbiased. This is most likely to happen with smaller publications that don’t have large editorial staffs or budgets and with newsletters of all types. Some bloggers will run it “as is” but many will use your document as a starting point for their own personalized commentary. Journalists who are considering interviewing you, but not writing a review, will also read a review for background information on the book.
The need for the appearance of objectivity in a review, though, means that you have to find some minor flaws to include in the review. If you can’t be objective enough to do this, either don’t use this tool or ask a friend or colleague to read your book and write the review for you. In fact, you will need to have a byline on your review and a short description of the reviewer, so it might be wise to ask a friend or colleague to help you by writing the review for promotional purposes. Your publisher’s publicist is another resource for the byline.
What does objective mean? It can’t read as if it was written by the president of your fan club. Sure, it can be a positive review – in fact, it should be a positive review – but it can’t be over the top with its enthusiasm. Avoid using hyperbole and absolutes – don’t refer to it as “the best ever,” for example. An objective review will always include a negative or two but the good news is that it’s easy to turn a negative into a positive while still looking like you’ve got an unbiased perspective. For example, it’s possible to write, “While the book doesn’t go into topic XYZ in any great depth, that doesn’t undermine the overall message, which is that . . . .” or “I would have preferred an East Coast setting for the story but the unique qualities of the Southwest seemed to work just fine too.”
Before using the form here to write your own review, study other book reviews to see how they’re written. There are also many professionally-written reviews available online that work as good examples. For example, AARP reviews books for a wide audience at . There are many sites offering amateur reviews, but those by reviewers who are paid for their commentary offer better benchmarks.
Include your review in your online and paper press kits.
A book review has an introduction, a discussion, and a conclusion. Keep this in mind as you write it. Your word count goal is 700 to 1,000 words (shorter is better than longer).
Here’s the format to follow. It will provide the necessary structure for your review. Note that there are specific tips for fiction and nonfiction.
Heading. Include the book title, author, publisher, publication date, and the number of pages.
Title. Give your review a summary title just as you would a magazine or newsletter article. (Here are some from The New York Times: “Far From the Madding Crowd,” “Grrr,Sniff, Arf,” “Urban Is Good.”)
Byline. Who wrote the review for your press kit? It can’t be you, even if you’re the ghostwriter for someone else.
Introduction. Write a short summary of the book. Include the title and author in the summary. This should be factual – no opinions here. Let the reader know what the book is about so that the reader can decide if it’s a book she’d like to know more about.
Discussion. This is where we will find the real substance in the review – your thoughts on the highs and lows, what intrigued you, what worked and what didn’t, whether the book did what it set out to do, etc. Some topics to consider covering include:
For Fiction:
✓ The book’s setting – where, when
✓ Narrative style, tone
✓ Pacing
✓ The central conflict
✓ Character likeability or believability
✓ What viewpoint is used to tell the story
✓ How it compares to other books in the genre or to other books by the author
✓ Whether the ending felt satisfying
✓ What worked for you, what didn’t
✓ How readable is it
For Nonfiction:
✓ Whether the author has the right credentials for writing the book
✓ How it compares with other books on the subject
✓ What might be missing
✓ Whether the author achieved the book’s stated goal
✓ How readable is it
✓ Other possibilities or conclusions not mentioned in the book
✓ Which points are more convincing, which are less convincing
Conclusion. Write a strong, solid, final paragraph or two telling the reader what you thought of the book. Because it’s your review, your opinion will be positive, but don’t go overboard. Remember that some people skip to the last paragraph for a “buy” or “don’t buy” opinion, so communicate why reading this book won’t be a waste of time.
Reviewer credit. Add one sentence about the reviewer – “Jennifer Nelson is the fiction publicist at Acme Publishing” or “Jared Brown teaches college English in Madison, Ky.”
Sample Book Review
I wrote this review of one of my books at the request of a small business columnist at a weekly city business journal. He tweaked it a bit, and, as Randy Jackson would say on “American Idol,” he made it his own. The key point here is that he asked me to submit a pre-written review. I have changed the names of the reviewer and the publication to prevent putting the columnist in an awkward position.
How to Get Your Business in the News
By Drew Philpot
Streetwise Complete Publicity Plans: How to Create Publicity That Will Spark Media Exposure and Excitement by Sandra Beckwith, Adams Media, May 2003, 341 pages
The goal of Sandra Beckwith’s new how-to guide for small businesses, Streetwise Complete Publicity Plans: How to Create Publicity That Will Spark Media Exposure and Excitement, is to help readers see how easy it is to generate that free news media exposure known as publicity.
Publicity can, in fact, make or break a business. It’s not hard to secure if you understand how the media works and what tools, tactics, and techniques to use when communicating with them. And yet, so many small businesses bemoan the fact that their competitors are getting all the media attention while they watch from the sidelines. Beckwith says that the publicity process "doesn't require fairy dust." Instead, she says, it involves having a good story to tell, packaging that story appropriately, and getting it to the right journalists at media outlets.
From the basics – determining your audience and setting goals – to figuring out your message and knowing who needs to hear it, the book gets you started on a successful publicity campaign. After showing you how and where to start, Beckwith brings you along to the next level, where you begin to create press releases and pitch letters, write bylined articles or columns, prepare press kits, get interviewed, plan a press conference, become a public speaker, and plan, manage and sponsor a special event.
The author's key message is that the media won't know how interesting your company is unless you tell them. The process begins when you examine what's newsworthy about your company. This is often challenging for business owners, Beckwith says, because what’s interesting to them is not necessarily interesting to others.
"Editors, reporters, and producers determine what is news or newsworthy based on their knowledge of the interests of their readers, listeners, and viewers," she writes, so "it doesn't really matter what we think is newsworthy if the gatekeeper at the media outlet doesn't agree." She suggests looking at your list of newsworthy topics and asking yourself, "So what?" If you were your neighbor, would you care?
Once you have a sense of what is truly newsworthy, the book shows how to package it for presentation to the press. It offers these packaging guidelines:
• Use press releases for news announcements.
• Create tip sheets to offer advice and tips.
• Use a pitch letter to suggest an article idea or a news or talk show interview.
• Consider bylined articles for trade magazines or small local publications.
• Produce a press kit when making a significant news announcement involving more information than you can put in a two-page press release.
The next step is to get your news into the right hands. Sometimes it's as easy as checking the masthead of the city business journal or skimming through a week's worth of daily newspapers to find out who covers your topic area. The book offers guidelines on who you will want to contact at each type of media outlet and which resources to use to find the names and contact information.
While Streetwise Complete Publicity Plans teaches readers how to do it themselves, the author realizes that there are situations when outside help is needed, so she includes a chapter on how to hire an agency. She is clearly biased in favor of small agencies specializing in public relations rather than advertising agencies offering publicity services as a side business. Regardless, she says, the goal is to select the organization that has the most relevant experience and can prove it has been successful with other similar publicity campaigns.
This is not a book for individuals looking for public relations theory, but it will become an evergreen resource for small business owners of all types, whether their goal is to launch a new product nationwide, secure local radio talk show coverage, or use trade media to promote a service. As their publicity needs change, they will pull this book off the bookshelf and flip to the section that serves their current business situation. It won’t surprise me if it gets picked up by college professors looking for a publicity course textbook, as well.
Drew Philpot is the small business columnist for the Valley Business Journal.
Web Site Press Room Template
Always post your book’s media relations materials on your Web site (or the book’s Web site if you have a dedicated book site) so that they can be found by journalists and others. You might be surprised at the number of media opportunities that present themselves – opportunities you wouldn’t otherwise have – when you make these materials available online.
Identify a specific section of your Web site for your press materials. Most authors and others use these “labels” on their toolbars:
• Press Room
• For the Press
• For the Media
• Press Kit
While many publishers and publicists use a PDF file format for their Web-based press materials, PDF files are often harder to work with than text files made available on the Web page or as downloadable Word files. With some versions of Adobe Acrobat, we lose the formatting when copying and pasting the content into a Word file, which forces us to take extra time to reformat the text. Why make it harder than necessary for a journalist to copy and paste your book’s description or a few sentences from your bio to insert into an article, or to copy and paste your author Q&A into a blog template? You always want to make it as easy as possible to disseminate your information. In short, don’t use PDF files.
Here’s an outline of the material you will want to include in the “For the Press” section of your Web site. You might not be able, want, or need to include all of these elements, but you definitely want to share an announcement press release, your bio, and the book cover.
Book announcement press release. (The template is on page 8.)
Author bio. (The template is on page 13.)
Book cover graphic. Ask your publisher to provide this in high and low resolution formats, if possible, so that journalists who want to use it as an illustration have options.
Author head shot. You want this to be as good as possible, so if you don’t have a professional head shot, get one. Make sure the photographer knows you will be using it for publicity purposes so there are no usage rights issues. Request high and low resolution formats.
Sample Q&A. (The template is on page 16.)
Tip sheets. (The template is on page 20.)
Quiz. (The template is on page 29.)
Book-related press releases (other than the publication announcement release). (The template is on page 25.)
Sample book review. (The template is on page 32.)
Links to media interviews, articles quoting you, or positive book reviews. Been interviewed in an article that’s available online, on a blog, or on a podcast? Reporters like to know that you have media experience so provide that reassurance when you can. List the article or segment title followed by the media outlet.
Here’s an example:
“Evaluate Your Expert Position,” Advance for Audiologists
As you can see, when you click on the link, you go directly to the article.
Your book trailer and podcasts if you have any. While these are not media relations tools per se, a good (and short!) book trailer can provide a reporter with an overview of the book while your podcasts can help reinforce your expert positioning. They should be positioned on the page below your media relations tools.
Sample Web Site Press Room
There are many ways to set up your online Press Room. Jen Singer, the author of Stop Second Guessing Yourself -- The Toddler Years (HCI April 2009) and You're a Good Mom (and Your Kids Aren't So Bad Either) (Sourcebooks, 2008), uses a clean format to provide the press with helpful information at .
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Virtual Book Tour E-mail Pitch Template
Online buzz is increasingly important to a book’s success, especially since an Internet mention with a link to an online bookseller can provide instant purchasing gratification to the reader. This kind of chatter about books is also viewed as word-of-mouth promotion – a recommendation from a friend. This is more influential than other forms of conventional marketing, including advertising and direct mail.
While on a virtual book tour, an author visits specific Web sites or blogs during the course of a specified time period – usually a week. At each “stop” on the tour, the author might be interviewed, make blog entries, answer questions from site visitors, or submit their book for review – or any combination of these options. What sets a virtual tour apart from real-life book tours – besides the lack of travel expense and the fact that you don’t have to dress up – is that once the content is posted on a Web site, it’s available for later access – often indefinitely. This means that those who couldn’t visit on the day of your appearance can still view the material any time – at their convenience.
Identify blogs read by your target audience (type “blog search engine” into Google and follow the links). Review past postings to determine which option – a Q&A, book review, guest posting, etc. – is the best fit for each site. Then send an e-mail inquiry to each blogger individually about three weeks before your tour should start. Use your preferred contact management system to follow-up with contacts and to schedule your tour stops.
Your brief e-mail message should include this information:
Your name, book title, and any special, relevant expertise. Put this in the first two or three sentences.
Your proposal. Are you proposing a book review? An author Q&A with the blogger? An author Q&A with blog readers? Author postings on the blog? Something else?
Timing. When is your virtual book tour?
Other information that will influence the blogger. This might include links to favorable book reviews or an upcoming event that makes your proposal timely. Think in terms of what might influence the blogger to accept your proposal.
Your book’s announcement press release. Paste this into the body of the e-mail below your signature. It’s important background information that will answer many of the bloggers’ questions about your book.
Next steps. Will you send a book if they write back saying they’d like to see it? Send a follow-up note in a few days? Make it clear who should do what next.
Sample Virtual Book Tour E-mail Pitch
Here’s an e-mail message pitching a virtual book tour “appearance” for my book, Publicity for Nonprofits: Generating Media Exposure That Leads to Awareness, Growth, and Contributions. My target audience is smaller nonprofits where the person responsible for media relations might not have much formal PR training and has other unrelated job responsibilities, too.
Hi Tom,
I’ve enjoyed reading your blog, especially your comments about how nonprofit organizations need to be more proactive in their communications with constituents. I’m the author of Publicity for Nonprofits: Generating Media Exposure That Leads to Awareness, Growth, and Contributions, which has been well-reviewed by the media, including the influential Chronicle of Philanthropy ().
I’m scheduling a virtual book tour for the week of October 22 and would like to make a “stop” at Charity Matters if you’re interested. I think an author Q&A might work best with the format you’ve been using, but I’m open to other possibilities, too. I’m also willing to respond to reader inquiries if you think that’s appropriate.
I’ve pasted a press release describing my book below my signature, but would be happy to send you a copy of the book to help you decide if this is a good fit for you.
I hope you’ll be interested – I’d love to help your readers learn more about this topic. I look forward to your response.
Sandra Beckwith
585-377-2768
sb@
Radio Talk Show E-mail Pitch Template
It’s easier to get radio publicity than most authors think. All it really takes is a timely publicity “hook” or angle and a short e-mail message that summarizes that angle in a way that makes a talk show host or producer think, “I’ve got to have this person on my show!”
The most important part of your pitch to a talk show host or producer (that’s who you want to contact) is that news hook or angle. It’s not enough to be the author of a book – you need to have something timely, interesting, entertaining, and informative to say to the show’s listeners. Find the controversy in your topic…present a view that is counter-intuitive…look for ways to link your book to current headlines. Take people behind the scenes and introduce them to a world they won’t have access to without you.
To get started, decide which radio station format is best for your topic (I’m affiliated with Mark Kaye’s “Radio Publicity Star” audio program and companion PDF guide, which have great information about this), where you want to do the interviews (which cities/markets), and build your database of contacts. Then schedule a two-week block of time for the interviews. Two weeks before then, write your pitch using the template here and send it out to the contacts in your database. Take the time to personalize the note for each station. While personalization takes more time, it is more effective than a mass mailing.
Where do you find the radio talk show hosts and producers to pitch? You can find excellent and popular resources for this in the “Book Publicity Resources” section at the end of this workbook. Your brief e-mail message should include the following information.
Casual greeting.
Complimentary opener. Compliment the host or producer (“great show!”) while indicating that you’re familiar with the show and its format. (You can listen to many radio shows online.)
Summarize the angle you’re using to promote your book on radio talk shows. This should be a more broad, overview statement (“People are worried about healthcare these days and I’ve got the solution.”).
Provide more detailed information about your angle. Focus on your topic’s most controversial, entertaining, unusual or unexpected aspects. (“Most people don’t realize that manufactured pet food could actually be making their pets sick. I can explain 3 things they can do to make sure they aren’t hurting their beloved animals.”)
Provide your preferred timeframe and ask for the interview. Offer a two-week window and ask which day is best for them.
Next steps. Will you follow up or do you want the producer or host to contact you?
Signature. Always include a professional signature with your book’s title, your Web site URL, and your contact information (office phone, mobile phone, e-mail). Include your time zone to make scheduling easier for everyone.
Your book’s announcement press release. Paste this into the body of the e-mail below your signature. It’s important background information that will answer many of the producer’s questions about your book.
Your book’s sample question and answer list. Paste this below the book’s press release. Talk show hosts rarely have time to read guest’s books and the questions you provide help them appear knowledgeable.
Sample Radio Talk Show E-mail Pitch
Here’s an e-mail message pitching an interview to promote my humor book that explains male behavior to women, WHY CAN’T A MAN BE MORE LIKE A WOMAN? The topic – a woman discussing why men do what they do or say what they say – make it ideal for radio talk shows. My target audience, women in relationships, listens to radio, so it’s a great fit.
Hi Joe,
Thanks for hosting such a great show – I’m entertained every time I listen in!
You always have such interesting guests – and I’d like to be one of them. My topic – the lighter side of gender differences – is really popular with radio talk show audiences, and I know you’ll want your listeners to join the fun. I’m currently scheduling interviews during the next two weeks to talk about some of the entertaining topics in my popular humor book, WHY CAN’T A MAN BE MORE LIKE A WOMAN?, and I want to make sure I set aside time to talk to you.
I find that most hosts like to talk about:
• “Stupid Men Tricks” (these are incredibly goofy things that men do but women would never do – think of them as “Hints from Heloise” for guys)
• Things that annoy women the most about men
• What men want women to know about them
• The funniest things men shared with me about their behavior as I researched the book
I usually get lots of phone calls from men when I do radio interviews, so if that works for you, it works for me.
What morning is best for you the week of the 16th? Let’s pin something down now before the calendar fills up! You can reply via e-mail or call me at 585-377-2768. Also, to help provide you with as much information as possible, I’ve pasted a press release describing the book and a list of suggested questions beneath my signature here.
I hope to be laughing with you soon!
Cheers,
Sandra Beckwith
Author, WHY CAN’T A MAN BE MORE LIKE A WOMAN?
Fairport, NY (Eastern time zone)
585-377-2768
sb@
Article or Segment Pitch Letter Form
Many authors forget that they can be quoted in articles or interviewed on TV talk shows as an expert long after their book has been launched.
It’s not hard to do this – but it does take time to brainstorm article ideas, to identify the right media contacts, and to consistently put yourself out there as a possible resource. You can use a tool most writers are already familiar with – a pitch letter – to generate articles or segments that use you as a source.
Your goal with a pitch letter when you’re the expert is similar to your goal when you’re the writer looking for an article assignment. You want an article or TV segment to appear, but when you’re the expert/author, you want the media outlet – not you – to write an article or produce a segment that quotes you as an expert resource. The ultimate goal is to have your book title included as your credential.
Send your pitch to a specific person, not a job title. You can get the right name by studying the publication to determine where your idea fits in, then calling to get the name and e-mail address of the appropriate editor if it’s not obvious. You can get much of this information online, too, from the media outlet’s Web site, or from media directories in the reference section of your library. Follow this format.
Dear Mr. or Ms. (insert name of specific editor, not a generic title):
Write an attention-getting opening paragraph. Start your letter in a way that captures the reader’s attention, or take a very direct and straightforward approach – “Here is an article idea for (section name).”
Explain the idea in greater detail. Make a case for the article or segment idea – why will readers, viewers or listeners be interested? Include supporting information, facts or statistics that help show the importance or relevance of the proposed idea.
Indicate you know the publication or broadcast media outlet you’re targeting. If you’re pitching a magazine or newspaper, where should this article appear in that publication? If you’re targeting a TV talk show, how or where does this fit with the format? Say so: “This article would fit well in your XYZ section.” Write the section name here.
Offer yourself as an interview source. Include your credentials – your book title and other relevant information.
Suggest other possible article sources. The easier you make it for the journalist to research and write this story, the more likely it is to happen (as long as it’s a good idea). Think in terms of the sources you would use if you were writing this article yourself. They might include other experts, a national trade association, your customers, etc. List them here. (This is not necessary for TV interviews.)
If you’re pitching a TV talk show, tell the producer about the visuals that would be part of your segment. Do you have props that will illustrate the segment? Would they need to shoot “man on the street” interviews to go with your segment? Do you have appropriate video footage they could use? List your visuals here.
Include the next steps before your e-mail signature. For example: “I will contact you in a week to determine your interest and answer any questions.”
Sample Article or Segment Pitch Letter
Here’s a sample letter designed to capitalize on an upcoming news event. It’s written for a local newspaper but could be modified for a different media outlet, including television news.
Dear Ms. Jones:
Physician-assisted suicide will be making national news on June 1, when Jack Kevorkian is released from prison after serving eight years for helping his patients die. This landmark event presents us with an ideal opportunity to discuss the quality of end-of-life care in our community. Are local residents dying with dignity? Are their end-of-life wishes being followed? Or are they dying isolated or in pain? How does local end-of-life care stack up when compared to the rest of the country?
I’d like to discuss this important topic for a very relevant article timed to coincide with Dr. Kevorkian’s release. I’m the local author of Death without Dignity: What’s Wrong with How We Die in America and I’m well-versed on local as well as national end-of-life issues and concerns. I can also put you in touch with local residents who have had both good and bad experiences with the deaths of loved ones, as well as the executive director of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, who can talk about this topic on a national level.
I have attached a press release that describes my book, a tip sheet on what we can do as consumers to make sure our end-of-life care wishes are met, and a copy of a national report card that ranks states on their end-of-life care.
I will call you in two days to determine your interest. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to call me at 555-1234 with questions or to send me an e-mail at DrSmith@. I look forward to talking with you soon.
Cordially,
Mary Smith, MD
Author, Death Without Dignity: What’s Wrong With How We Die in America
234-555-1234, DrSmith@
Syndicated Article Writing Template
Content syndication sites on the Internet allow authors and others to submit by-lined articles that include an “author credit” at the end of the article. These sites present us with a great way to spread the word about our books. Articles posted on these sites are popular with editors of electronic publications – e-zines and e-newsletters – and with bloggers, who use them for free content.
To find the sites, type “article syndication sites” into your favorite search engine and follow the links. Go to each site and read some of the articles. You’ll see pretty quickly which ones are useful and which ones aren’t – and the common denominators of both. Short articles are best because most of us don’t have the patience for longer ones. Bullets and numbers help us grasp information quickly. Tell us what we need to know quickly, efficiently, and knowledgeably.
Some syndicators offer author guidelines; check for those first, read them, and follow the directions. All sites want your article to be loaded with useful or thought-provoking information and not self-promotional. Those that read like advertisements instead of unbiased articles get rejected quickly.
Spend time writing a key-word rich title that will help search engine users find your article quickly. Here’s a great article on the importance of this along with good and bad title examples. How do you know which words people are searching for? Google’s Keyword Tool helps.
The instructions below will help you write a short, information-packed article that will tell readers what they need to know about a very specific topic. Most sites use templates that generate required information – the title, author name and e-mail address, article category, the body of the article, and the resource box (author credit) – so these are included in the template below.
Write a keyword-rich title. This is counter-intuitive for me, so it might be for you, too. Here’s an example: Using the title-writing instructions above, I changed one of my article titles from, “6 reasons you should be writing for trade magazines” to “Make money writing for trade magazines.”
Who’s the author of the article? That’s you. Type it here so you can copy and paste it into each site’s form.
What’s your e-mail address? If you have a Web site, use your address with your Web site URL (author@) rather than your generic address (author123@).
What keywords will help people find your article? List five or six.
• Keyword:
• Keyword:
• Keyword:
• Keyword:
• Keyword:
Select a category or categories from the options on the content syndication sites. Each site has its own list of category topics such as business, food, technology, health, etc., and while some get more specific than others, the categories tend to be similar from site to site. Start by becoming familiar with the options, then list one to three preferred choices.
• Category:
• Category:
• Category:
Write your article. While most sites let you contribute articles as long as 2,500 words, that is just too long for use in e-zines and blogs, so keep it short. Recommended length is 400 to 750 words.
Write your author credit – often referred to as the “resource box” – for the end of the article. Keep it to two or three sentences and include your book title and URL. Search engine optimization experts recommend that you avoid using the same resource box each time you submit an article.
Sample Syndicated Article
Here’s what your finished article might look like when it’s completed. You can find many article samples in your category by spending time on a few article syndication sites. Note that while the title is awkward, the words used receive high search volumes.
Title: Writing issue opinions for publications
Keywords: publicity, op-ed, nonprofit, opinion, editorial, public relations, opinion essay
Categories: nonprofit organizations, public relations, PR, marketing, sales & marketing
Author’s e-mail: sb@
Article:
Op-eds – essays that appear opposite the editorial pages of newspapers – are powerful communications tools for nonprofit organizations working to influence public policy or initiate change. But too many local nonprofits miss some of their best opportunities to inform readers through these opinionated essays.
National headline news stories give nonprofits the hook their opinion pieces need to catch an editorial page editor’s attention, but nonprofits don’t always take advantage of this because they can’t react quickly enough to write and place an essay when it’s still timely.
Have at least one op-ed written in advance to use when a news event brings the op-ed’s topic to the public’s attention. When news breaks, customize it for the situation so it appears fresh and timely and send it out quickly so it can be used immediately.
Here are 10 tips for writing effective op-eds you can update according to the news story for immediate publication:
1. Read the publication you’re submitting to. You want to be familiar with its style and tone as well as the types of op-eds it typically runs.
2. Introduce yourself to your newspaper’s op-ed page editor by telephone or e-mail and request the publication’s op-ed guidelines. Then follow them.
3. Determine your goal. What do you want to achieve through your op-ed? Do you want people to behave differently or take a specific action? Keep this goal in mind as you write.
4. Select one message to communicate. Op-eds are short – typically 800 words or less – so you have room to make just one good point.
5. Be controversial. Editors like essays with strong opinions that will spark conversation.
6. Illustrate how the topic or issue affects readers. Put a face on the issue by starting your essay with the story of somebody who has been affected or begin with an attention-getting statistic.
7. Describe the problem and why it exists. This is often where you can address the opposing viewpoint and explain your group’s perspective.
8. Offer your solution to the problem and explain why it’s the best option.
9. Conclude on a strong note by repeating your message or stating a call to action.
10. Add one or two sentences at the end that describe your credentials as they relate to the topic.
When your issue is suddenly making headlines, write an introduction that connects the news to your essay and e-mail it to the editor quickly.
Resource box:
Sandra Beckwith presents publicity workshops for nonprofits, small businesses, and authors. She is the author of two publicity books, including Publicity for Nonprofits: Generating Media Exposure that Leads to Awareness, Growth, and Contributions, available at . Learn more at .
Create a Sound Bite Form
When your choice of words is memorable, clever, or unexpected, almost guaranteeing that it will be used, you’re talking in “sound bites.” A sound bite is a short, catchy snippet of speech that captures the essence of your message in a way that stands out in your audience’s memory. Journalists love them. Politicians are famous for them.
Mastering the art of the sound bite ensures that your comment will make it into an article or onto the air. And when that comment gets included, so does the title of your book – because it’s your credential. Your book is what gives the journalist a reason to interview you. Still, talking in sound bites isn’t easy. For some of us, it takes thought, scripting and practice. Use these guidelines to write memorable sound bites you’ll memorize and use when talking about your book. (Here’s a link to my blog Q&A on this topic, too: .)
Watch the network morning talk shows to hear what the media-trained guests are saying that catches your attention. These guests are more likely to be the lawyers, CEOs, authors, and industry leaders you’ll see on the shows, not the “something bad or unusual happened to me so I’m on the Today Show” types of guests. Write down the phrases that catch your ear. Study them. Why do they work?
Identify patterns. What do the sound bites you hear have in common? You might notice:
• Alliteration
• Repetition
• Clever turn of a cliché or common phrase
• Use of contrasting images
What are the patterns in the sound bites you’ve noted above – those phrases that caught your ear?
Start the process by writing your message in one sentence.
Play with the language to make it more memorable. Use one of the patterns identified above – alliteration, repetition, clever turn of a cliché or common phrase, or use of contrasting images – to rewrite your message into a soundbite.
Rewrite your message again, using one of the other patterns to see if one approach works better than another.
Test your sound bites with a friend or colleague whose judgement you trust. Do they understand your message? Does your language choice resonate with them? Or does it confuse them? Pay attention to the feedback and make any necessary adjustments. Rewrite it here if necessary.
Sample Sound Bites
Here are some examples of good sound bites:
President George Bush on Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers:
“She is a pit bull in size 6 shoes.”
“When it comes to cross examinations, she can fillet better than Mrs. Paul.”
Morgan Spurlock of “Super Size Me” fame commenting on Burger King’s “Enormous Omelet Sandwich” packing 730 calories:
“It should come with a $5-off coupon for your first angioplasty.”
Mark Twain:
“The lack of money is the root of all evil.”
Biloxi, Miss. Mayor A.J. Holloway after hurricane Katrina destroyed the Gulf Coast region:
“This is our tsunami.”
Book Publicity Plan Template
A publicity plan is your blueprint for success. It will guide your book promotion activities. The plan writing process helps you decide what you want to achieve and the strategies and tactics you’ll use to reach your goals.
Your publicity plan will be influenced by whether your book is yet-to-be published, has just been released, or has been available for some time.
To keep your plan simple to write and easy to use, write it in a format that combines prose with bulleted points. The prose allows you to explain complicated situations while the bullets make it easier to list “things to do” in a way that makes them easy to understand and act upon. Most publicity plans contain most or all of these elements:
• Situation or overview
• Review of audiences being targeted by the publicity effort
• Goals
• Objectives
• Strategies
• Tactics
• Budget
• Timeline
Using all of these elements forces you to ask the right questions as you develop the plan.
Situation/Overview. In one or two paragraphs, describe your book and what makes it different from the competition. What makes it marketable? And what makes you marketable as its author? Do you have unique credentials? Have you done lots of media interviews already?
Audiences. Who will buy the book? What media outlets do they read, watch, or listen to? If you want to reach “married women with no children and a household income greater than $50,000,” say so. The more focused you are, the more likely you are to reach the right audience efficiently. List as many as you need:
• Audience
• Audience
• Audience
Goals: With good goals in place, you can look at each publicity tactic and ask, “Does this step help me achieve my goals?” If the answer isn’t “yes,” the tactic should be removed from the plan. Goals are well-defined, but are not specific or measurable. They tell you which direction you want to go in, while your subsequent objectives will tell you how you’re going to get there.
Sample book publicity program goals might include: To generate book sales through increased visibility in city business journals coast-to-coast, to secure a monthly column with special interest magazine XYZ because it is read by the majority of the target audience for my book, or to use book publicity to generate paid speaking engagements. List as many as you need:
• Goal
• Goal
• Goal
Objectives: Objectives are measurable targets with deadlines. They grow from goals; they help determine whether you’re reaching those goals. Put in different terms, goals tell you where you want to go; objectives tell you how you’re going to get there. Publicity objectives must be stated in very specific terms if they are to be meaningful and useful.
Objectives outline:
• The expected accomplishment
• Who will do the work to make sure you succeed with that accomplishment
• When it will be finished
• How you will know the accomplishment has been achieved
To establish your plan’s objectives, review your goals, then ask, “How am I going to make this happen?” If your goal is the first one listed above, “To generate book sales through increased visibility in city business journals coast-to-coast,” then a sample objective for this goal might be:
• By March 1, I will have done enough research to know the most effective tactics for getting exposure for my book in city business journals.
Using measurable words allows you to monitor the progress of your activities as you work to achieve your goals. Adding deadlines helps you prioritize this work with your other responsibilities.
List as many as you need:
• Objective
• Objective
• Objective
Strategy: What, exactly, is your strategy for getting publicity for your book? Put it in a bulleted point or two. It might be to mine your own intellectual property for trade magazine articles. It might be to leverage your relationship with the daily newspaper’s business section editor, who lives across the street from you. Or, it might be to build your entire plan around a series of press releases because that’s what you are best suited to handle. Your publicity plan strategy will reflect your big picture thinking and set the stage for your selection of tactics.
• Strategy
• Strategy
• Strategy
Tactics: Tactics are the “meat and potatoes” of your plan. The tactics are the things you’re going to do to get publicity. They’re press releases, by-lined articles, virtual book tours, press kits, newsworthy surveys, and so on. Tactics are the tangibles. And the tactics you select are those that will help you achieve your goals. To select the right tactics, go back to your goals and ask yourself, “What do I need to do to make this happen?” Think in terms of specific activities, such as “Write a New Year’s resolution tip sheet providing advice on how to organize your office for greater efficiency and productivity,” or “Identify freelance writers who write magazine articles on my book’s topic, and send them copies of the book with a list of suggested article ideas.” List as many as you need:
• Tactic
• Tactic
• Tactic
• Tactic
• Tactic
• Tactic
Budget: After you create a list of tactics you believe will work, pull out the calculator to determine which or how many of them you can afford. If your budget is limited, select those you believe will have the most impact for the least amount of money.
$ _______________________________
Timeline: A timeline will help you manage the tasks and tactics included in your plan. If you want your by-lined article to appear in the June issue of a trade magazine, for example, then note both your start date – at least December – and your targeted publication date on your timeline. If you plan to mail one press release a month, let your timeline reflect not only that schedule, but when you need to start writing each release. Once you’ve created your publicity plan, incorporate the tasks and deadlines into your daily calendar so that you make certain you follow through on your assignments. Remember to reward yourself when you complete a task, particularly if it’s one you dislike.
Use the form on the next page to create your timeline. If this format doesn’t work for you, create one that does.
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Sample Book Publicity Plan
Here’s a sample book publicity plan that author Robbie Kaplan wrote while participating in the “Book Publicity 101: How to Build Book Buzz” e-course.
Situation/Overview
How to Say It When You Don’t Know What to Say: The Right Words for Difficult Times was published in 2004. I have written eight job search books, including How to Say It In Your Job Search in 2002, and this book topic, a passion of mine, easily fit the series format. There are two competitive titles but those books are more narrative. My book is user friendly, covering an overview of grief, helpful communications, and 25 difficult experiences/losses. If someone you know is grieving the loss of a pet, miscarriage, suicide, job layoff, divorce, or devastation from a hurricane, you can turn to the appropriate chapter, read an overview of the situation, learn what to say, what not to say, steps to help, what’s not helpful, along with concrete suggestions and sample letters that will provide comfort.
Marketability
I devoted six months to book publicity and generated amazing publicity with some radio, a TV production company who contacted me and produced a 2-minute segment that aired in nationwide markets, and a quote and recommendation in “Ask Amy.” The books were reviewed in large and small publications (but not the long lead major ones), many newspapers, professional journals, and I got lots of expert quotes in niche magazines and newspapers. I got great results pitching my career markets with articles on “when bad things happen to your colleagues,” and newspaper columnists around Christmas with “no holiday s from grief”. Recently, the PR firm with the Hallmark account found me and asked me to be a spokesperson for their new line of “Journey” cards - but they decided to cancel the media tour with lagging card sales. My book sales are as low as the card sales – everyone needs to know how to help but I believe people are uncomfortable with the topic.
When queried on how I got interested in this topic I shared my 20+ years of experience working with job loss and how many of my clients confided other losses as well. I then launched into how isolating loss is and the importance of supporting individuals facing loss. But the introduction to my book details the deaths of my two children in infancy and how my experience taught me the importance of supporting others through difficult times and how even the smallest gesture can truly help someone heal. Some media focused on the introduction and I did interviews based on my experience. But I tried to work around this loss, not wanting to capitalize on the deaths of my children.
I found the media was most receptive to the topic when facing loss themselves, for example: their mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, a father was facing declining health, an ex-boyfriend asked for support when facing a parent’s terminal illness.
I’ve also worked hard on my Amazon and B&N presence, learning how to edit and enhance their content, add newspaper reviews, and get readers to write reviews.
Audiences
Everyone needs my book. I have targeted individual buyers, nationwide libraries, and specific markets, such as: funeral directors, financial planners, educational administrators, doctors, trust attorneys, nurses, counselors, my religious community and other religious communities – I obviously have not found my reader.
I do write a syndicated online “Ask the expert” column on careers and the workplace and my book titles appears in my byline. I have tried my hand at personal essays on experiences that provide comfort with no success.
I had difficulty with my publisher from the beginning with poor support from the in-house publicist and a lack of inventory when publicity hits (for example, they agreed to reprint before “Ask Amy” but didn’t and ran out of books in three days).
Goals
• To create a plan to be implemented over 12 months to better reach my audience
• To generate book sales through increased visibility on blogs and the Internet
• To identify direct ways to reach my readers
Objectives
• By December 31, will have an online presence through blogs and Web sites using tip sheets, press releases, and personal entries
• By December 31, will gain greater visibility with buyers by booking speeches through community organizations such as the local library and Rotary
• By December 31, will have explored interest in pursuing radio and television interviews
• By December 31, will have detailed plan for magazines, journals, and newspapers for tips sheets and targeted short articles
Strategy
• To identify existing media and publicity relationships to exploit book publicity
• Maximize networks to identify organizations and Web sites whose members are my buyers
• Utilize tips sheets and media packages to gain book exposure
Tactics
• By August 10th, distribute miscarriage tip sheet to over 200 media outlets through Cision (Bacons)
• By September 15, create tips sheets for several difficult experiences and research best distribution outlets
• By September 15, create a focused plan, based on the tips sheets, for radio interviews
• By September 15, create a tip sheet for those dealing with loss on what and how to ask for help
• By October 1, explore blogs and Web sites to post the prior tip sheet
• By October 1, create a media plan for blogs and Internet sites for tips sheets and Q&As
• By October 1, identify contacts through SHRM (Society of Human Resources Managers) to reach the HR market
• By October 15, meet with a group of colleagues to review and evaluate objectives and successes of publicity plan
• By November 1, create a follow up plan to build on successes
• By November 1, explore and detail the options for speaking engagements that directly result in book sales
Budget
$2,500
Timeline
Media and publicity blitz through September to December. Will prepare weekly goals and assessments.
Book Publicity Resources
I’ve included resources I think will be most useful and relevant to you. I have opinions on most of them, so I’ve included them in the descriptions in an effort to help you decide which ones will help you reach your goals. I’m affiliated with a couple of the products mentioned, which means I get a commission on sales. I only affiliate with products I use and believe in, so please be assured that I’m not recommending just anything to make change for my tall extra hot skinny vanilla lattes at Starbucks. If I’m affiliated with the product, I’ve included (aff) after the product link/URL so that you’ll know. If you’ve got questions about any of the products here, shoot me an e-mail to sb@ and I’ll do my best to help!
Press Release Distribution Services
Before visiting any of these vendor sites listed below, know the media outlet categories you want to send your press release to – radio, TV, daily newspapers, industry-specific trade magazines, general interest publications, women’s magazines, news wires, etc. That will help you find the most appropriate and affordable option for your goals.
No charge services,
John Kremer, author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, offers a long list of free press release distribution services at (scroll down). I have never used any of them.
PRWeb International, (aff), 866-640-NEWS
PRWeb International is the service I use when sending out press releases because it’s affordable and I get good results. They’ve recently redesigned the site to make it easier to use, which is good news (it wasn’t as intuitive as it needed to be before). Most people can get what they need by spending just $80 but there are more expensive options, too.
Cision (formerly Bacon’s), , 800-621-0561
Cision’s e-mail news release distribution service is one of the most cost-effective for mass mailings. The cost to send an e-mailed news release is a minimum of $100. To put that in perspective, the cost to send a release to all U.S. daily newspapers with circulations greater than 50,000 is about $125 (base price is 55 cents per publication). Cision will send you a media catalog that allows you to select the outlets for your distribution list. You can also send them a list of publications you want and let them find the appropriate contact name, e-mail, etc., in their database. Don’t bother going online for this one – there’s not much there. Call and ask to speak with a distribution representative instead.
It is one of the best resources available for assembling and distributing paper press kits.
Majon International, , 805-528-2100
This service distributes releases electronically to a targeted list drawn from a database of 180,000 plus outlets. I’ve heard from authors who said Majon makes editorial changes to releases and doesn’t show them to the sender, which concerns me. Plan on spending around $270.
News Media Connection, , 510-339-1625
This service is useful for mass mailings to consumer media outlets when you don't want to add any qualifiers, like the circulation size of the daily newspapers you're sending to. It's not a good option if you want to send to trade magazines. Media release prices start at $240.
Send2Press, , 866-473-5924
The Send2Press distribution service most comparable to the example provided in the Cision description (daily newspapers) includes other media outlets and costs $223. Its lowest rate – $110 and highlighted on the home page – is for releases sent within a state. State lists are most useful for press release distribution related to a regional book.
PRNewswire, , 888-776-0942
PRNewswire is a “members only” service that usually costs small businesses $150 annually, which includes a listing in ProfNet’s expert database. However, thanks to Entrepreneur, you can get a free one-year subscription at the link above. (Learn more at .) You pay per release; the standard news release that runs about 400 words can be sent to all media in your state, plus relevant trade publications, and also distributed to more than 3,800 Web sites, online services and databases for $180. If targeting a national audience, you can send to more than 22,000 media points across the country for around $680. (Kaching.)
PitchEngine,
distributes social media releases, with links, video, etc. to social media sites. It’s an excellent resource for a wide-scale campaign but with an annual fee of $550, it’s a better tool for PR firms that are constantly sending out releases. You can try it free for 30 days – meaning, you can send a release through the service and have it hosted on the PitchEngine system (which is how this works) for 30 days at no charge. After that, you pay for it to remain visible or it disappears.
Compiling Media Lists
Sometimes it makes sense to create and maintain your own media database, especially if it’s a small, targeted list. Media contact information is available from a number of print and online resources. The reference desks at most libraries carry a set of my favorites, the Bacon’s Media Directories (one each for magazines, newspapers, radio and TV/cable). Others include Burrelle’s Media Directory, Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media, and Gebbie Press All-In-One Media Directory. Here are other resources for media lists:
U.S. Newspaper List,
Buy a set of daily newspaper mailing labels for $70 for all 50 states or $30 for one state at . (The site also provides links to newspaper Web sites, which often contain contact information.)
Radio Locator,
Compile your own radio station media list by typing zipcodes into the site's search engine and following the links. It's great if you're looking to develop a local or regional list, but you don't want to use it for a national mass mailing. The site has links to more than 10,000 radio station Web sites and 2,500 audio streams.
Alex Carroll’s radio station database, , (aff)
If you’re planning an ongoing radio campaign – meaning, you plan to pitch yourself as a radio talk show guest month after month (which is a great idea for some authors) – consider investing in Alex Carroll’s radio station database at . The cost is $400; my thinking is that it’s worth it only if you will use it at least twice. It’s also a good investment only if you’re looking at national, not local or regional, exposure.
Expert Identification
Help A Reporter Out (HARO),
Publicist Peter Shankman's free service, "Help a Reporter Out," is getting good reviews from the journalists (including me!) who have tried it. Here's how it works: Journalists post a query for sources – expert or otherwise. Shankman sends the inquiries into an e-mail message sent to subscribers three times daily. Subscribers contact journalists directly when they can help.
ProfNet via PRLeads, (aff)
ProfNet connects journalists with experts. A journalist uses ProfNet by posting a query describing his/her interview needs; public relations practitioners who subscribe to ProfNet receive the queries via e-mail and respond to those where their client’s or company’s expertise matches the journalist’s needs. ProfNet allows authors to subscribe and receive these leads only via its reseller, . With the PRLeads service, you receive only those queries that match your topic expertise. The fee is $99 per month, which is quite a bit less than the monthly cost of an annual ProfNet subscription. For that fee, you’ll receive queries on an ongoing basis from reporters at magazines and newspapers as well as TV and radio programs. This price also includes a listing in ProfNet’s online expert database, which journalists often use to search for experts (without posting a query).
Yearbook of Experts, Authorities, & Spokespersons, rmationkit
Call yourself an expert by advertising in one of the most credible expert resources for journalists. Ad costs for the annual directory vary by size, but include a listing in the online database with a link to your Web site.
National Talk Show Registry, ntsgr/
The National Talk Show Registry links talk show producers and journalists with people who have a story to tell (including Jerry Springer’s guests). Apply to the online directory for just $25; you will be asked to submit a no-more-than-400-word description of what you’re qualified to discuss on television.
Authors and Experts,
positions itself as a resource for content experts seeking media interviews and speaking engagements. A six-month listing costs $99. Before signing up, query a few members about whether they got their money’s worth. The site’s owner is in the book publishing and promotion business.
Expert Source,
This service of Business Wire, a press release distribution service specializing in business news, comes with a Business Wire membership. It is similar to ProfNet’s expert database which comes with a PRNewswire membership – which is also free if you go through the Entrepreneur link offered above.
Getting on Radio
Radio-TV Interview Report, (aff), 800-553-8002
Radio-TV Interview Report is a collection of advertisements promoting authors, speakers and other experts. It is published three times a month and mailed to more than 4,000 radio/TV producers across the U.S. and Canada. Each issue lists 100 to 150 authors and other spokespeople available for telephone and in-studio interviews; issues are often compiled around a theme. I have used it several times quite successfully because my topic at the time, the lighter side of gender differences, was well-suited to talk shows. A half-page ad run one time costs $877; a discounted three half-page ad run costs $1,791. RTIR staff-written ads (at no extra charge, so take advantage of this service!) will get your phone ringing if you truly do have something interesting to talk about on radio or television.
Radio Publicity Manual, (aff)
Alex Carroll offers his Radio Publicity Manual e-book for $49. He also sells a radio database; get the book and the database for $397. You probably won’t get your money’s worth out of the database if you don’t read the book. All that aside, at a minimum, sign up to get his list of the top 20 nationally syndicated radio talk shows. That will get you on his mailing list and you’ll receive free radio publicity tips via e-mail. They’re helpful.
Other
Million Dollar Author Club, (aff)
The Million Dollar Author Club from Steve Harrison at Bradley Communications includes the monthly newsletter Book Marketing Update and a companion author interview on CD. The “here’s how to do it” information in the newsletter, which includes articles, mini case studies, and information on media outlets, is timely and helpful, and I enjoy listening to the inspirational stories offered on the CD. The instructional content of the newsletter reinforces what I teach in my Book Publicity 101 courses, so I am comfortable recommending it.
About the Author
Sandra Beckwith spent the first 20+ years of her career as a publicist, winning several national and local awards for consumer product publicity programs she created and executed. She has helped launch and sustain books, beverages and a wide range of other products using media relations tools that include press tours, special events and online marketing.
Sandra now uses her experience to help others discover how to generate publicity for their books, products or services. She teaches the popular e-course, “Book Publicity 101: How to Build Book Buzz,” and publishes the free book publicity e-zine, Build Book Buzz.
She is also the author of Publicity for Nonprofits: Generating Media Exposure That Leads to Awareness, Growth, and Contributions (Kaplan Publishing, 2006) and Streetwise Complete Publicity Plans: How to Create Publicity That Will Spark Media Exposure and Excitement (Adams Media 2003). Sandra’s “Build Buzz” blog at provides authors, nonprofits, and small businesses with publicity-generating tips and ideas.
A popular speaker on publicity topics, Sandra has presented workshops on book promotion at the annual conference of the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the Writers’ Institute at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She also leads workshops on publicity for nonprofits and small business publicity.
Sandra is a recipient of the coveted Silver Anvil award – the public relations industry’s equivalent of the Oscar – for the international publicity she generated for a subscription newsletter she created. (The priceless media exposure garnered during the newsletter launch led to a book contract for WHY CAN’T A MAN BE MORE LIKE A WOMAN? published by Kensington in 1995.) In addition to a second national publicity award and several regional awards, she received a career achievement award from her local Public Relations Society of America chapter when she was just 42, making her the youngest – and first female – recipient of the award.
Sandra uses her degree in public relations and journalism from Utica College of Syracuse University to write articles on small business and other topics that interest her for a wide range of consumer, trade, corporate, and custom publications.
Introducing two exciting buzz-building workshops for authors!
“Book Publicity 101: How to Build Book Buzz” is a dynamic, highly-interactive four-week online course offered in partnership with Freelance Success, the popular subscription newsletter and online community for established nonfiction writers. You will learn how to get – and keep – your book in the news. We’ve had lots of exciting author success stories coming out of this course during the past few years. (Register at .)
“Book Publicity 101: How to Build Book Buzz for Self-Published Authors” is a specialized course for self-published authors. It features all of the instruction and assignments from the original course as well as specific instructional materials and assignments on how to introduce your book when it's published. Extra materials are essential for self-published authors because unlike writers using traditional publishers, you need to build your own media lists, write your own media materials, and send review copies yourself. This course teaches you how, but it also teaches so much more! (.)
All students will learn how to:
• Create a book publicity blueprint that makes the most of your available resources
• Craft the most compelling media materials needed to generate results
• 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
• Discover how to use social networking to publicize your book
• Prepare for media interviews – print, broadcast, online
• Generate high-impact radio interviews
• Build an author Web site that supports book sales and other goals
• And much, much more
• Students in the course for self-published authors will also learn how to announce your book professionally and successfully to the media and other key communities
Here’s how the course works:
✓ It’s taught in a forum format, with lessons and homework assignments posted online in a private, password-protected forum. The forum is very easy to navigate and use.
✓ After reviewing instructional materials and resources, students complete and post weekly assignments that help them discover how easy it is to create book buzz.
✓ I provide very specific and constructive feedback on the homework so that students leave the course with actual tools they can use to generate buzz.
✓ Student interaction on the forum enhances the learning experience by offering 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.
Here’s what students have said about the course:
“For me, writing my book was the easy part – promoting it was a whole different ball game. Fortunately, Sandra Beckwith is the ideal coach. Her book publicity course offers a perfect mix of practical tools, creative ideas and unfailing encouragement and support to help authors learn to make the most of each and every opportunity to get their books known. I highly recommend it to any author – first time or veteran.”
Dara Chadwick, author, You’d Be So Pretty If…: Teaching Our Daughters to Love Their Bodies – Even When We Don’t Love Our Own
“There is so much information out there about what authors ought to do to promote their books, it can feel overwhelming! Sandra Beckwith’s Build Book Buzz course can help you cut through the noise and figure out what makes sense for you. Sandra’s students learn by doing and benefit from her excellent judgment and in-depth experience. You’ll come out of the course with a do-able promotion plan that fits your skills, resources, and needs.”
Eileen Kennedy-Moore, PhD, author, SMART PARENTING FOR SMART KIDS: Nurturing Your Child’s True Potential and WHAT ABOUT ME? 12 Ways to Get Your Parents’ Attention Without Hitting Your Sister
“Taking Sandra’s workshop was the most important step I took in my book journey, second only to the writing of the book. ‘Book Publicity 101: How To Build Book Buzz’ is a must for every new author as well as for those with a dozen books to their credit. These days, authors whose books are being carried by major houses as well as those who are self-publishing, need to know how to promote and market their books. With her background and expertise in both writing and publishing, Beckwith is an instructor extraordinaire, giving her students hands-on experience in generating media exposure for their books. When you add to this the personal attention and wise counsel she gives to each student and the generous sharing of information and ideas from the other members of the workshop, you get an online experience that is an incredible value and one that definitely should not be missed by any author!”
Vivian Kirkfield, author, SHOW ME HOW! BUILD YOUR CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEM THROUGH READING, CRAFTING AND COOKING
“This has been fantastic! I am now a follower and a believer. Thank you taking the time to personally work with each of us. I am very happy – you have me thinking like a marketer.”
Karen McCullough, author, The Seven Women Project: Your Personal Guide to Success in Work, Play and Dress
“You deliver so much value, and I LOVE the personal interaction!”
Liliane Grace, author, Australia’s bestselling The Mastery Club
“You are worth your weight in gold!”
Eitan Schwarz, MD, author, Kids, Parents, and Technology: An Instruction Manual for Young Families
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn with other authors in a fun, supportive environment. You’ll discover valuable strategies, tools and tactics while you connect with others who will enhance your career.
Got questions? Need a referral to a good publicist? E-mail me at sb@![pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic]
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