Posts Tagged ‘writing a press release’
June 18th, 2014
Hi All!
On a regular basis, I have Authors contact me who are extremely frustrated because they’ve spent tons of time and effort (and oftentimes, a lot of money) writing their books only to see the sales of it minimal. But typically this isn’t because their books aren’t good! Rather, the lack-of-interest and low book sales are the result of most people not knowing their books exists.
 You can get media coverage without a big budget or Publicist!
That’s where PR and Publicity can help. Yet most Authors who I speak with never even issued a Press Release announcing their book was published; let alone put effort into an on-going media outreach strategy. PR and Publicity is a critical component to building awareness for your Personal Brand and attracting more interest in your book, so it shouldn’t be overlooked.
If you’re experiencing frustration and low book sales, keep reading. It’s time to be your own “Publicist” to achieve that “all important” awareness you’re lacking after you publish.
Here are three PR strategies that don’t require a financial investment. They simply require an investment of your time:
Don’t Make Your News General:
The media wants key tips, interesting lessons, and compelling angles that come from your book, and they normally want you to provide them with that info. Don’t make them have to dig for it in your Press Release (or book) because they rarely will.
Basically, GIVE THEM article or segment ideas. Don’t give them a “general” Press Release just about your new book and hope they’ll think of a reason to interview you.
But AFTER the release of your new book has become “old news”, the strategy above is one you can use on an on-going basis to continue getting media coverage…and your book will always be mentioned in any interviews you do. It’s like getting an Oscar! Once an actor is nominated or wins one, they are never introduced again without that being mentioned along with their name.
Be Sure to Pitch the Right Media:
Make sure the media you pitch actually reaches the target audience YOU want to reach! This may sound like common sense, but it’s not common practice. You have to create a targeted list of print media (i.e. magazines/newspapers), online media, blogs, podcasts, and Radio and TV shows that cover topics like yours.
Here’s an example: Let’s say you’re a Leadership Coach who has written a book on effective management skills, don’t waste your time pitching ideas to a Top 40 radio “morning zoo-type” of show that primarily reaches young people between 14-21 years old. The Producers won’t be interested in your topic so they won’t book you as a guest on the show.
Follow Up is Key:
After you have emailed the media contacts your pitch and/or Press Release, FOLLOW UP! This is where most non-professional PR people drop the ball. It normally takes more effort than just sending them one email. The media gets pitched a lot so it’s important to send several follow up emails and even leave 1-2 voicemail messages.
Being the squeaky wheel is sometimes required to get their attention. And once you do, they’ll quickly tell you whether they’re interested or not. But please note that just because they may not be interested in your topic right away, doesn’t mean they never will be.
Maybe they just covered a topic like yours so they don’t want to do another segment or article on it again quite yet. The good news to that is twofold: you know they ARE interested in topics like yours, AND you will now be on their radar as a “Topic Expert” for future stories they do.
In closing, getting PR and Publicity for your Personal Brand and book is not complicated. It just requires some time and effort. You really can get massive media coverage even without a budget or the help of a professional Publicist!
Tags: authors, book marketing, book publishing, book sales, PR, publicity, writing a press release Posted in authors, book marketing, branding, PR and Publicity, sales | No Comments »
February 05th, 2012
Hi All!
By writing and distributing Press Releases for myself, I have been interviewed by well-known media such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, and many others. And when you give them a great interview or sound bite, they come back to you. I have one reporter who has contacted me 3 different times in the past 6 months for 3 different articles she was writing. That is FREE publicity to the world!
Press Releases can also prompt the media to ask you to write an article for them. Why? They perceive you as an “expert”! In a short period of time I was asked by BNET.com, WomenEntrepreneur.com, and PersonalBrandingBlog.com to write articles for them – all because they received a Press Release from me and it put me on their radar as a “go to” expert in my niche.
But once you’ve crafted a newsworthy Press Release, and deployed it through a distribution service like PRWeb.com, what else can you do as a small business owner on a budget to get media interviews? Here are 2 strategies to consider:
Spoon Feeding the Media Segment Ideas
In addition to sending out “mass news” Press Releases, there is another strategy for getting publicity. I call it “spoon feeding” the media. The media loves it when you approach them with specific story ideas. This can be along the lines of topics like: “Is Your Career Suffering? 5 Unique Tips for Success”, or “Do You Struggle With Money? 3 Surefire Tips for Finding Financial Bliss”, or “Is Stress Ruining Your Life? 4 Proven Ways to Overcome It”.
The key here is you’re doing the “thinking” for the Reporters, Editors, Producers, etc. They are always looking for ideas, and appreciate when they get some! So focus on topics that fit within your niche as a Coach, develop compelling topics that would be great interview topics for print, online, radio or TV, find several media outlets that cover stories related to your expertise and that reach your target audience, and pitch them your idea(s). This strategy has worked very well for me, personally, and my clients!
And you can approach the media contacts via phone or email. But, and here’s a key point, whether you send them a Press Release or contact them with a specific topic idea, you need to follow-up. Sending them one email or leaving one voicemail message is typically not enough. Try 3-5 follow up attempts before you give up. Most members of the media are approached with many news stories and topic ideas daily, so being the “squeaky wheel” is often necessary. And even if they don’t jump on the first one you present, continue to the send them new ones. Eventually you will get their attention!
Sharing Your News Through Social Media
Once you have uploaded and deployed your Press Release through PRWeb.com or another online distribution service, the services create a web page for it with a unique url. So not only post your Press Release on your website but also be sure share the link to it with all of your Social Media channels: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, etc. You can also use the Press Release as a post for your blog.
And, when you start to get media interviews, be sure to add the links to the articles or appearances on your website. Plus, share links to those, too, with your Social Media communities. Please note, it’s not only totally acceptable to toot your own horn by sharing these things, it is necessary for building your business and brand!
OKAY! There is your crash course in how implementing effective PR strategies can benefit your business. Again, this is a key marketing tool for building brand awareness, positioning yourself as an expert (ie: personal branding), generating sales for events and products, attracting new clients, and landing speaking engagements.
Being persistent and consistent with your PR efforts can bring you substantial returns…and prospects will be impressed by the media coverage you post on your website. It really will build your credibility as an expert in your field!
Cheers & Happy Marketing!
Lisa
Tags: branding, personal branding, PR, publicity, small business, small business owners, social media marketing, speakers, writing a press release Posted in book marketing, branding, Business Tips, PR and Publicity, social media, Speaking | No Comments »
August 26th, 2011
Hi All!
I came across these great tips in a post on The Creative Penn blog and wanted to share them with you. Whether you’re a new book author, or a seasoned author, and regardless of whether you self-published or have a traditional publishing deal, these tips can help you.
They are from an article written by Graham Storrs, author of “Timesplash”.
Many of these tips are ones I’ve personally used to market my books, and I also advise my author clients on them, as well.
Ready for Graham’s tips??? Here ya go:
1. Get an audience before the release. When you announce your newly-published book to the world, it would be nice if someone was there to hear you. So how many people read your blog? How many friends do you have on Twitter or Facebook? Are you using LinkedIn groups, Goodreads, LibraryThing? Unless you are being followed (friended, or whatever) by hundreds, if not thousands of people, you probably need to put some time into building up your profile on these sites. When you make that announcement, you will feel as if you are standing on the stage in an empty theatre, unless you’ve managed to drag a few people in off the streets first.
2. Create a brand. In writing, the author is the brand. And that means you. You need to present yourself in your communications with potential readers in a way you are comfortable with and which is related to the boks you expect to be promoting. An important part of this is to know which genre you are working in. It’s invidious, I know, but received wisdom is that if you work in more than one genre, you probably need two different names and two different brands. When you are putting yourself out there and finding ways to talk about your book, don’t forget what your brand is – who you want people to see you as. Stay focused.
3. Know what you are going to say. Marketing is about message. Your brand is part of it but the rest is all content. What is your book about? Who will it appeal to? What groups should be interested in it, discussing it, recommending it, and what will catch their attention? Work it all out, find the wording you need to convey the message succinctly and clearly, then, in everything you say, stay on that message. It’s probably not all that hard. You probably write the kind of books you also love to read. Mostly, your target audience is people rather like yourself. Take a while to understand what it is that attracts you to new, unknown writers in your genre and you are half-way there.
4. Understand where your interests lie. You will be selling your book through a variety of channels (book shops, online, as ebooks and as print – possibly POD) and in a number of ‘geographies’ – defined in your publishing contract – to a number of audiences (‘market segments’ in the jargon.) Some channels and geographies will earn you more money than others. If your royalties on net, vs on retail price, it is of critical importance to you personally how big a cut various middlemen are taking. (Remember it can be quite hard to know which channel is best since while apparently high-paying channels like direct sales from your publisher’s own website may earn you a bigger royalty than online stores like Amazon, the latter is likely to out-sell the publisher’s own shop by many times and deliver a much bigger return for your effort. The same goes for audiences. Some are more likely to be interested than others, some more likely to buy, some more likely to spread the word. You are likely to be overwhelmed with work and you need to know where to put your marketing efforts.
5. Keep it rolling. With online sales and ebook editions, publicising a book is not the one-shot event it used to be. Market dynamics have changed since the days when bricks and mortar book shops were all that there was and you had three to six weeks during which your book would be on the shelf before it was returned to make way for the new batch of hopefuls. Now your book will stay in online catalogues for as long as your publishing agreement lasts – and longer if you act to keep it there. You probably have a few months now, after the launch, while your book is fairly new, when you can actively promote it and try to keep people’s attention on it. Even beyond that point, you can run occasional refresher campaigns to lift its profile again. This is all good news for the writer. The bad news is that the marketing need never end!
6. Engage. Talk to your readers and your potential readers. Talk about your book if they’re interested. Talk about the genre. Talk about writing and publishing. Talk about yourself. People are interested. It’s hard to grasp at first. You do interviews, you write blog pieces, you twitter about your life, your opinions, and your book, and you you think, “What the hell is so fascinating about me? Aren’t people going to think I’m a complete ego-maniac?” Well, maybe some will, but an awful lot won’t. They have read your book and liked it and they’re curious about who wrote it, or why you wrote it, or how you wrote it. Even if they haven’t read the book, there are plenty of people with common interests – in the genre, or in writing – who see you as someone who has contributed, or has special knowledge of the journey. You could ignore them all, sit quietly at your desk and write your next book, but it is a deeper, richer experience for everybody – you included – if you engage with them.
7. Keep your pipeline filled. This is more jargon from the sales world. Like it or not, you are selling a product. It’s a business. Your readers are consumers of that product. If they like it, they will want more. The only way they will get more is if you write it. So don’t stop work on that next book, no matter how much extra work the last one has created. A book takes a long time to write, revise, edit and polish. Then you have to sell it to a publisher (oh yes, there are no free rides, each new book can be just as hard to sell as the last one.) Then edit it and then market it. It’s a long pipeline. You keep putting words in at one end and there will be more books to sell at the other. If you stop, there will be a gap.
8. Prepare to work your socks off. You may think you were busy when you wrote the book – what with the day job and family commitments – but once you shave signed that contract, you will shift into overdrive. Now, as well as the day job, the family, and writing the next book, you also have to work with your publisher on edits, and you have to work on your marketing campaign. Your social networking will escalate, your blogging and website content writing will increase, you’ll be trawling the blogsphere working with your communities of interest, and you’ll be pestering reviewers the world over to just please take a look at your book. That’s why I say it’s writing an iceberg – seven tenths of the work comes after the book is finished.
9. Don’t forget to have some fun, or you’ll go nuts. Sometimes, you should even take a holiday!
I hope you found those helpful! Marketing a new book can be very challenging, but by implementing tips like those, combined with effectively marketing your book on Amazon, adding PR and writing press releases, and implementing other marketing strategies to your mix, you can ramp your book sales and build a fan base!
Cheers & Happy Marketing!
Lisa
November 01st, 2010
Hi All!
I wanted to share some very cool tools that can help you reach TARGETED media and industry influencers; who are specifically interested in YOUR news and expertise. By using these tools, you can attract media interviews and get mass media coverage to build your personal or business branding platform, increase your income, and increase the sales of your products (i.e. your book if you wrote one!).
AND, I don’t care whether you’re a one-person company, small business, self-published book author, etc. The media (print, broadcast and online) is on the hunt for interesting news and topics 24/7, 365-days a year. So you don’t have to be famous or have earth-shattering news to get their attention! They just want interesting news or segment ideas that will appeal to their audiences.
I recently helped an author-client land a featured interview on a popular talk show on Lifetime! And she is a self-published author who just started working with me…getting media exposure rolling CAN happen fast if you make some effort!
SO…go for it!
1.) PitchEngine.com
Overview:
Unlike traditional wire services, PitchEngine enabled users to openly create and share their own content, while including images, videos and attachments at no cost. In 2009, more than 70,000 pitches were shared by 27,000 organizations looking to get the word out to not just journalists, but to bloggers, consumers and other influencers as well. PitchEngine’s “Co-op SEO” concept enables brands big and small to experience exceptional indexing in major search engines.
2.) MediaSyncOnline.com (FREE!)
Overview:
MediaSync is a free Web-based service from mBLAST that allows Marketers to easily research and use detailed, up-to-date media intelligence on print and online publications, their staff and their areas of coverage.
With MediaSync, you can find:
- Detailed profiles for relevant editors, reporters, analysts and bloggers, including contact information, contact preferences, and latest articles and topics of coverage.
- Detailed publication profiles, including industry classification, traffic statistics, staff lists, and more for thousands of print and online publications, newspapers, blogs and social media sites.
- Detailed editorial calendar information, including topic, editorial and advertising close dates, and more.
MediaSync allows users to search for the information they need (on their companies, clients OR the competition), refine the results, save their search and receive alerts when new information is available that matches their criteria. They can also upload existing media lists and/or create and maintain new ones, and export it all into a contact list or briefing book.
3.) Special Learning Guide: “Promote U Thru PR – How to Get Mass Media Coverage to Build Your Brand & Income”
Overview:
Check-out my info-packed Learning Guide that outlines the PR & Publicity strategies I help my clients with, and the ones I personally use (which have landed me over 100 media interviews!). This special guide typically sales for $37, but for a limited time I’m offering it for $27.
I charge a lot more than $37, let alone $27, for the seminars, workshops and webinars I conduct on this topic…and the info in this Learning Guide is the same as I share in those more expensive events.
It covers everything you need to know about attracting the media, pitching the media, writing a killer Press Release, online tools and resources, and MUCH MORE. Simply CLICK HERE for the details of what you’ll learn…it’s on the Products Page of my website.
So there you have it…3 very cool tools that can help you reach the media YOU want to reach, and who are interested in YOUR news.
Cheers & Happy Marketing!
Lisa
Tags: authors, book marketing, branding, media interviews, personal branding, PR, publicity, self publish, small business, writing a press release Posted in authors, book marketing, branding, Business Tips, marketing, PR and Publicity, sales, social media | 2 Comments »
May 14th, 2010
Hi All!
I recently wrote a blog about “How to Write a Killer Press Release & Where to Deploy It Online“. This is an impromptu follow-up to that topic, and was prompted by a consulting session I had with a client this week.
My client is a (new) book author, so we wrote and distributed her first ever Press Release a few weeks ago. We deployed it online, and it was also sent to a targeted list of specific media we identified (newspapers, magazines, radio/tv shows and blogs). Fast forward to this week…she is very unhappy that her phone hasn’t been ringing off the hook with interview requests.
I clearly explained that if it was “that easy” we’d all be featured in the Wall Street Journal or on The Today Show whenever we wanted. It takes effort! Here are the key tips and strategies I told her to do right after the Press Release went out…and as of this week she had NOT done any of them…hence the “not getting much coverage” issue.
And, by the way, this is where most speakers, authors, small business owners and entrepreneurs drop the ball when it comes to getting media coverage through their PR efforts (so it’s not just her):
1. They Don’t Follow Up: When you send a Press Release to a targeted list of media, you have to follow up with them. And sometimes you have to follow up quite a few times. The media is bombarded daily with news, so you have to be the “squeaky wheel” to get their attention. Yes, it’s like doing sales calls, and it’s not the most fun thing to do in the world, but unless you have a Publicist to do it for you, it’s a task you must take on. It is critical!!!!
2. They Don’t Share With Their Social Media Communities: Once your Press Release is done, share the link to it on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. First of all, you don’t know who may see it and share it. Secondly, you have no idea who are all the followers your followers have. For example, on Twitter, I had someone retweet a tweet of mine about a Press Release. One of her followers is the host of a very popular BlogTalk Radio show, that reaches my target audience, and that person contacted me for an interview. I also was contacted by a reporter from the NY Times, and have been interviewed by her several times, because of a retweet.
3. They Don’t Post On Their Website: When you write a Press Release, create a page for it, optimize it with keywords and phrases, and upload it. Not only can it get found in search results for on-going traffic generation, but it’s important to share the news on your website. And even when the Press Release becomes “old” it can still drive traffic to you and attract media interviews for you.
4. They Don’t Post It On Their Blog: Use your Press Release as a blog post. It’s okay to occasionally promote news about yourself there. And if you’re on WordPress, and have added the All in One SEO Pack plug-in, this will also help get your news found online.
So, there is your crash course in what to do AFTER your Press Release has been written and distributed. It takes EFFORT to get media interviews (unless you have truly earth-shattering news or you’re fairly well-known). But, the media is always looking for news, they have a lot of air time or pages to fill, so you can get your share of coverage if you’re consistent and persistent!
Cheers & Happy Marketing!
Lisa
May 01st, 2010
Hi All!
If you’re like a lot of the clients I work with, you probably don’t have a lot of experience writing a Press Release…if any! So I’d like to provide you with some very helpful tips for not only crafting one, but also where to deploy it on online so that the media actually sees it…and so that it shows up in Google searches to provide on-going traffic to your website.
Ready? Let’s get started…
1. Make Sure It’s Newsworthy: Some people want to write a Press Release about everything and anything they do, and that’s not a good strategy. Save writing one for big, worthwhile news: Your new book, landing a significant client, an event you’re conducting, etc. And they are not meant to read like articles! They are meant to be “news”!
2. The Headline: Make sure it’s short, effective, and not like the headline of an ad, eblast or direct mail piece. A Press Release is not a “marketing” promotional piece; it’s meant to share news in a factual, straightforward way.
3. The Body Copy: I have read many Press Releases that read like an ad or marketing brochure. Wrong! Using hype, exclamation points, marketing speak, etc. is not appropriate.
4. Basic Structure: Headline, intro paragraph that covers the “5 W’s” (who, what, where, when and why) because some media may only run your first paragraph and not the whole thing, second paragraph with more support info or a quote from you, a third paragraph with more support info and details, a fourth paragraph with a quote/testimonial from a client (or expert) about you, a fifth paragraph with boilerplate info about your company, and a short final paragraph with contact info. Keep the paragraphs short and try to keep the length to around one page. Click here to see a formatting example. You can use variations of this!
5. Add Testimonials: It’s always good to include one Testimonial so that someone else is quoted in it saying how great you are. It gives you more credibility.
6. Get Client, Organization or Individual Approval: If you want to mention a client, or any other organization, business, or person, in your Press Release, get approval first! This is BIG. Example: You may have just landed a big newsworthy client, or landed a keynote speech for a high profile company or organization, and want to tell the world about it. Yes, this type of news would warrant a Press Release, BUT those entities may have strict policies about being mentioned in someone else’s Press Release (mandated by their legal departments), and you can get into A LOT of trouble sending out a Press Release with them mentioned in it without approval. A LOT of trouble.
7. Optimize Your Press Release: Add 5-10 keywords or phrases that have received good search results because when you deploy your Press Release through an online service, those keywords will help it get found by people doing searches related to the topic of your Press Release. Click here to use a free keyword search tool that Google offers. You can type in keywords and phrases into this tool and it will tell you how many searches were done that month for them. This will help you determine which ones are worth putting in and it will also provide you suggestions that are variations of the ones you came up with.
Online Deployment & Distribution:
Okay, so now your press release is written…now what? You’ll want to deploy it through an online service. There are tons of these Press Release distribution services. Note: They vary in cost, so it will boil down to your budget. But most of them enable you to choose the industry(s) and media you want to reach, add keywords, select the date of deployment, and add pictures, images and logos to the upload.
Here’s a few that most PR pros I know use, and ones I use:
- PRWeb.com
- BusinessWire.com
- PR9.net
- PRNewsWire.com
PR9.net is super cheap, around $15 per Press Release. Even when I use one of the other more expensive services listed above, I always deploy through PR9.net, too. I do this because I find my Press Releases do show-up in Google searches through their service, so that’s worth $15 bucks.
Also, in addition to deploying it online for mass coverage and distribution, you’ll want to create a targeted list of media you want to reach. Then you can email your Press Release to them and do follow up calls and emails. But don’t attach the Press Release to your email! Paste the Press Release copy into the body of your email to them.
OKAY! There is your crash course in writing a killer Press Release, and where to deploy it. I hope you found this helpful!
Good luck!
Cheers & Happy Marketing!
Lisa
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