Lana Jordan from Jorlan Publishing, who I met at the conference of the Small Publishers of North America on Oct. 23, emailed me today asking for advice on how she should have handled a situation that could have led to some great publicity.
“I may be in the background somewhere on NBC’s Three Wishes this Friday,” she wrote. ” The Cedar City Fire Department was featured, and as my husband is a volunteer firefighter, our family was invited to attend the filming of that segment. It was an interesting behind-the-scenes experience. But I kept thinking, if the big book marketing gurus could see me now, they’d say I was an idiot!
“I wasn’t running around introducing myself and my book to everyone. I didn’t even make one feeble attempt to shove myself in front of the camera. I’m not an obnoxious person, and I don’t want to be. ”
Here’s how I responded:
“I wouldn’t have done anything differently, Lana. Sure, you could have pushed it and invented a reason to be on the segment. For example, you could have become the self-appointed cook for the fire department and then tried to hog some of the spotlight. But doing that could have created animosity toward you from all the other families.”
I told her she can still capitalize on the experience by writing about it in her ezine, or at other people’s blogs, or for an article or column for a print or online publication.
Nobody likes pushy, obnoxious Publicity Hounds.