4 Easy Ways to Gain Access to Anyone

Issue #1078 Dec. 3, 2016
Publisher: Joan Stewart

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

In This Issue

1. 4 Easy Ways to Gain Access to Anyone
2. Major LinkedIn Mistakes
3. Replay: Sell Books in Indie Bookstores
4. Hound Video of the Week

This Weekend in the Hound House:

I’m digging up dahlia bulbs today and drying them out. Then I’ll pack them in empty coffee cans filled with peat moss, and label the cans according to the color of the bloom. Last year, I threw the bulbs into a plastic pail to dry out and forgot about them. Months later, they were so shriveled, I couldn’t remember what they were or how they got there.

1. 4 Easy Ways to Get Access to Anyone

When reporter Betty Liu joined Bloomberg Television, her goal was to nab the network’s first interview with Warren Buffett.

“I knew that he was a voracious reader and consumer of information,” she writes in a LinkedIn article. “So anytime I saw something that might strike his fancy–be it a piece about his favorite sports team or a report on the Chinese economy–I sent it along. Whenever the network did a piece on him, I sent him that, too. When his assistant would call or email asking me for more information, I knew that I was starting to get somewhere.”

After years of pursuing him, the world’s third richest man finally agreed to an interview. But only because she was so persistent.

You and I don’t have the backing of a global media organization like Bloomberg. But we can do the same four things Betty Liu did to catch the attention of important people and maybe even persuade them to call us.

To do: Read her article “4 Easy Ways to Get Access to Anyone, Even Warren Buffett.” Here’s my tip to add to her list: Check to see if The Big Cheese is on social media. Sure enough, I discovered, Buffett tweets. His Twitter feed includes dozens of clues about topics that resonate with him. Which journalists, industry experts or influencers can you help before you ask them to help you?

#influencermarketing #connectwithinfluencers

2. Major LinkedIn Mistakes

After you read Betty Liu’s LinkedIn article, mentioned above, take a few minutes to scan the several hundred comments. Notice three mistakes LinkedIn users are making:

1. Jim Montgomery and others are leaving appalling comments about the author and suggesting the only reason Buffett called her is because she’s “a sexy Oriental” and “hot.” Really? You’re saying this on the world’s Number One business networking site?
2. Too many profiles include only one or two words in the headline to describe the LinkedIn user: “Consultant” or “Project Coordinator.” Use all 120 characters in your headline and all 2,000 in your Summary. Include keywords that will help people find you when they’re doing an Advanced LinkedIn Search.
3. Use a close-up head shot, not a photo like the one Jim Montgomery used that shows him holding what looks like a garden hose. Replace photos that show cleavage, a drink in your hand, or someone’s arm wrapped around your shoulder. 

To do: Check your LinkedIn profile for inappropriate photos and skimpy headlines. In your Summary, explain your value and accomplishments, not just a list of tasks you perform. See how I explain my value on my LinkedIn profile. Invite me to connect, and customize the invitation by explaining how you know me.

#linkedintips #linkedinmistakes #warrenbuffett

3. Replay: Sell Books in Indie Bookstores

If you missed the free training this week with Amy Collins on “How Indie Authors and Publishers Can Sell Tons of Books to Independent
Bookstores, Gift Shops & Specialty Retailers,” you can catch the replay.

In addition to learning the exact step-by-step process on how to pitch your book to these stores, you’ll meet self-published authors who have sold thousands of books using the same strategy and techniques.

For example, an indie bookstore in Pennsylvania sold more than 4,500 copies of indie author Rebecca Forster’s thriller, “Hostile Witness,” in just 90 days. One store!

To do: Before the clock strikes midnight on Sunday night, take advantage of the free video training and special offer that will shave months off the job of researching and contacting these stores on your own. Catch it here.

#bookmarketing #indiebookstores #selfpublishing

4. Hound Video of the Week

Thanks to Publicity Hound Judith Briles of Denver, my favorite book shepherd, for this video that shows #BustertheBoxer and his four-legged friends jumping for joy on a trampoline.

[Tweet “RT @PublicityHound #PublicityTips –4 Easy Ways to Gain Access to Anyone #influencermarketing”]