Springtime is Perfect for Book Publicity
Spring is almost here. The birds are singing and the flowers are blooming. Who is singing your praises? Are you getting noticed? Of course, the best way to get your name out there is through the media. So, how can you get the media’s attention? One way is to tie your topic into events that are happening during a specific time of year.
A speaker that promoted his topic as strictly money values and handling wealth, had been having no luck in getting TV exposure. As Christmas approached, he changed his pitch to spoiling kids at Christmas. Wouldn’t you know it, he was booked on CNN!
Whatever the season, there are several ways to tie your topic into current events. In addition to looking at a regular desk calendar for holidays, invest in getting “Chase’s Calendar of Events,” (www.books.mcgraw-hill.com) which will give you a year's worth of special days. The following is just a sampling of springtime events that you can use to pitch the media:
- As Young As You Feel Day – March 21
- Injury Prevention Month - April
- Stress Awareness Month - April
- Workplace Conflict Awareness Month - April Laugh at Work Week – April 1 st – 7 th
- National Networking Week – April 9 th – 15 th
- Administrative Professionals Week – April 22 nd – 28 th
- Teen Self-Esteem Month – May
- Women’s Health Care Month – May
- National Family Month – May
- Rebuild Your Life Month – June
- Recess at Work Day – June 21 st
- Freedom from Fear of Speaking Week – July 1 st – 7 th
Whether your topic is management, health, motivation, or relationships, there are many days where you can pitch a story to the media and offer yourself as an expert to interview.
Take “Laugh at Work Week” for example. If you are a humorist, that’s obviously a great title, but, if your topic is:
- Management, you can speak on how laughter increases productivity in the workplace
- Motivation, you can tie it in with positive thinking
- Medical, you can tie it into the endorphins that laughter releases.
Let the media know that your topic is tied into a special day, week, or month.
Now, if you wait to find one of these special days that is an exact fit for your topic, you won’t get enough media exposure. So, in addition to tying your topic into special days, look for things that are current in the news, such as:
- An explosion if you’re a safety expert
- A Hollywood divorce if you’re a relationship expert
- A disease scare if you’re a health expert
- A lawsuit if you’re an attorney
- A new invention if you’re a technology expert
To pitch your unique hook, you can call the editors of magazines and newspapers and the producers of radio and TV shows. In addition, you can mail, fax, and email them a one-page press release.
These releases should be sent approximately 10 days before the special day or event for newspapers, radio, and TV. They all have a very fast turn around. However, newsstand magazines such as Forbes and Cosmopolitan work six months in advance, so you’ll need to notify them farther out.
In the press release, the headline is the most important part. If it doesn’t grab the media’s attention, it will not get read. It must be different -- even controversial or shocking.
After the headline, the first paragraph must be enticing. Do not talk about yourself. Instead address what interests the readers or audience the most. What problems do the reader/audience have that you can solve? Show the problem first, so that the editor/producer will know that the topic will be interesting to their readers/listeners.
In our previous example of “Laugh at Work Week,” you could find statistics on how many people quit their jobs due to boredom at work or a negative atmosphere. Then give teasers about the solutions you will offer, such as “I can give 10 ways your readers/viewers can plays games at work and have fun.”
Only after they are interested in the story idea, will they be interested in your credentials. Now it’s OK to tell them about yourself and why you are the person to interview on this topic. Be sure to include your professional experience and education. Media is not interested in your years of speaking experience. This is good for you because it doesn’t matter if you’re a new or experienced speaker, you can still get interviewed in the media.
With a little advanced planning and a little creativity in stretching your topic, the media will be flocking to your door like the swallows at Capistrano. By tying into special events, spring will be a time of re-birth in your bookings and product sales.
Pam Lontos is owner of PR/PR, a public relations firm that specializes in professional speakers, authors, and experts. Having been an author, speaker, and former VP of Disney's Shamrock Broadcasting, she knows the ropes of getting good you publicity and how to use it to really boost your business. Call for a free consultation at (407) 299-6128, and sign up for a free publicity tips e-newsletter at www.prpr.net.
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