Authors who need help selling their books should start looking close to home, at the one place where books are free: their local library. When I speak at writers conferences, I hear authors complaining that they don’t want to be bothered with selling to a library “where hundreds of people might read my book for… Read More
Publicity Blog
Ezine publishers
Lesson #81: Ezine publishers Now that you’ve written and distributed your press release, you don’t want to take the chance that people will find it. You need to be proactive and make sure your release gets in front of a group of people who want to know about it. That group consists of publishers… Read More
Pitch bloggers
Lesson #82: Pitch bloggers One of the best ways to create a publicity explosion on the Internet is to get your message in front of bloggers whose audiences are a perfect fit with what you’re offering. But you can’t just email your press release to them and expect them to get excited about it.… Read More
Create an online media room
Lesson #88: Create an online media room I’ve mentioned online media rooms elsewhere in this course, but I’m devoting an entire day to the topic because an online media room is the first thing a journalist will look for after visiting your website. Having an online media room tells journalists you understand how the media… Read More
Post to Craigslist
Lesson #83: Post to Craigslist Craigslist is a giant community bulletin board, an almost entirely free classified ad service where you can buy, sell or give away just about anything. It’s also a place where you can post your press releases. Started in the late 1990s by Craig Newmark, it began as a list… Read More
Let anyone “subscribe” to your press releases via RSS feeds
Lesson #79: Let anyone “subscribe” to your press releases via RSS feeds RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. It’s a delivery system that lets you “syndicate” news and other web content, including your press releases. You could think of RSS as your own personal wire service. Offering an RSS feed at your website is an… Read More
How to organize your releases
Lesson #80: How to organize your releases If you’re posting press releases at your website, the best place to put them is in a section of your site called your Media Room. Ideally, the Media Room button will be on your home page so that journalists, one of your key audiences, can find it immediately.… Read More
Proofread your press release
Lesson #85: Proofread your press release Today, we’re starting Week #13, the final week of this tutorial, and I’ll share with you some final thoughts about how to write and distribute press releases, now that you know what you’re doing. Before you hit the “send” button, make sure your press release is 100 percent accurate.… Read More
Restaurant reviewers report on dirty restrooms
When I worked as a restaurant reviewer back in the 1980s, I paid just as much attention to the quality of the restrooms as I did to what was on my plate. I mentioned things like filthy floors, overflowing wastebaskets, empty soap dispensers—and worse. Most other reviewers do, too. An article titled “The Hidden Costs of An… Read More
Vertical market press release distribution services
Lesson #75: Vertical market press release distribution services If you want to distribute your press release only to media and others in a specific industry, or to specific types of audiences, take advantage of the many press release distribution services for vertical markets. Here are just a few… Read More