The Publicity Hound’s Blog  

Book publicist Alice Acheson gave 200 members of Publishers Marketing Association her four principles of publicity success this afternon at PMA University, the annual educational program for authors and publishers.

Her principles are:

1. Start marketing the minute your book contract is signed. Write one paragraph about the book and one paragraph about the author, so you’re ready if you start doing media interviews. You’ll at least have something to give them.

2. Think of your audience when you pitch. CBS, for example, devotes only a five-minute segment to authors. But if “60 Minutes” calls, they have 60 minutes of airtime to fill and your interview will be a lot longer.

3. Make life easier for journalists.

4. Follow up. Doing this will generate more response than the previous three tips combined.

Bonus tip from Alice: Update your media lists regularly.

Posted In: Authors & Publishers
posted On: 5/31/2005: 6:03 am: By Joan
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Kristen Matthews, book editor for the “Early Show” on CBS, says book publicists shouldn’t let their authors call book review editors like her and pitch a program segment.

“Some of them can’t stand to hear the word no,” she told 200 members of the Publishers Marketing Association this afternoon. Others refuse to accept their publicist’s advice and they repeatedly mention the title of their book during taping–another no-no. Cleveland TV personality Connie Dieken once told me that when somethinglike that happens, a producer will be yelling word “kill” into the earpiece being worn by the host. In other words, “Get rid of ‘em.”

She also said some authors have no business being on TV because they can’t provide the kinds of sound bites TV needs, or the passion for their book just doesn’t come through during an interview.

The answers? Either arrange for media training, or keep them off the air.

Posted In: Authors & Publishers, TV Publicity
posted On: : 5:33 am: By Joan
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If your boss expects a thick pile of press clippings at the end of each month, and you fear for your life because you don’t have them, it’s time to bring the boss into the 21st Century. Find out, instead, what bloggers are saying about your company.

I just spent the last hour surfing from blog to blog, trying to find out what people are saying about The Publicity Hound. I was amazed at what I found.

Here’s what they’re saying:

–Book marketing guru John Kremer, one of my heroes, posted an item in his blog last week, saying he thinks my dog joke ebook is a smart marketing idea. “This book gives her easy access to dog-loving sites…Trust me, if she does a viral marketing campaign to these people about her dog joke book, she’ll reach many people who also need to learn more about publicity. Once at her site, they’ll discover that she has a lot more to offer them.”

–At the New Jersey Christian Writers Group blog, Louise Bergmann posted an item in which she gushed about my recent teleseminar on how to write eye-opening promo pieces that sell books. “It was one of the best investments I’ve made in my book,” she wrote.

–My ezine item last month about the four 4 PR trends (including blogging) that people were buzzing about at a recent PR convention were reprinted by the Stark County Law Library Blawg in Ohio and Real Lawyers Have Blogs, among others.

–The Flight Tickets to Costa Rica blog reprinted an item from my own blog about how to get your story into inflight magazines. It left intact a reference and a link to my “Special Report #29: Fly High with Publicity in In-flight Magazines.”

–In her face2face blog, Susan Pelletier, executive editor of Medical Meetings magazine, mentioned an item I printed last year urging Publicity Hounds who hold press conferences and meetings to display their logo prominently on the podium at the front of the room.”And I love the way I heard about this item: Someone who reads both her e-newsletter (which I just signed up for) and this blog suggested she get in touch with me to share the wealth. And in true publicity hound fashion, she did.” Susan included a link on how to sign up for this ezine.

And on and on and on it goes. Of course, if I screw up, the bloggers will send me to the dog house. But the point is, this kind of advertising is better than anything I could ever afford. And because bloggers read each others’ blogs, the free publicity will multiply.

If you want to see what the bloggers are saying about your company, or your boss, go to Technorati.com and do a search. If nothing comes up, you need to start creating a presence on the Internet. Your own blog is a great place to start. One of the very best blog books is Don Crowther’s “Blogging for Business” ebook.

By the time you’re finished reading just a few chapters, he will have convinced you that if you’re not blogging, you aren’t taking advantage of the best kind of free publicity out there.

Posted In: Publicity on the Internet
posted On: : 3:08 am: By Joan
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I’m off to PMA University, sponsored by the publishers marketing association, and BookExpoAmerica in New York City.

If you’ll be at PMA, I’m on a panel from 10:15-11:45AM Wednesday on “How to launch a proftable 30-day Internet publicity campaign. On Thursday, I’m part of a morning panel from 10:45-1:15 on “How to slice and dice your book content,” and in the afternoon, I’m part of a panelthat will discuss “How to turn your ezine into a cash machine.”

I will be blogging as often as possible all three days, letting you know about the great publicity ideas for book publicity.

I’ll be at BookExpo America on Friday and Saturday morning only. Drop off messages for me at the Book Publicists of Southern California booth. I’ll be walking the show floor most the two days.

If you’re going, look for me in my Publicity Hound T-shirt!

Posted In: Authors & Publishers
posted On: : 12:49 am: By Joan
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Reporters already are knocking off work for a long holiday weekend. TV assignment editors are searching everywhere for a good local angle to Memorial Day. News staffs are lean and will continue to be, straight through until Tuesday. But the print and broadcast media still need enough stories to fill all that airtime and all those news pages.

That’s good news for Publicity Hounds, especially if you have a Memorial Day-related story. This weekend is an ideal time to pitch. And your story doesn’t have to relate only to those who have served our country. Stories can include topics such as travel, gasoline prices, the beginning of summer, safety tips, graduation, the end of the school year, and anything related to the weather.

You probably won’t find regular beat reporters at their desks, but the weekend crews are often desperate for news.

Posted In: General, Pitching the Media
posted On: 5/28/2005: 3:04 am: By Joan
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