It’s Not About You

The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #433 Jan. 14, 2009
Publisher: Joan Stewart

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“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

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In This Issue
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1. It’s Not About You

2. The Power of Surveys

3. Sell Books by the Truckload

4. Create Your Own Holiday

5. Promoting a Book on Marriage

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Quote of the Week

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1. It’s Not About You
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Trusting the wrong doctor almost killed motivational speaker Edward Leigh of Cleveland, Ohio.

In 1997, at age 39, Edward started having abdominal pains. His doctor prescribed Pepto-Bismol. The doctor then performed a sigmoidoscopy, which came back normal.

During the next two and a half years, his condition worsened and included nausea, dizziness and rectal bleeding. His doctor recommended that Edward continue with over-the-counter medication.

When his symptoms became so severe that he collapsed on the bathroom floor, he sought help from another doctor who ordered a colonoscopy. The diagnosis: Stage III Colon Cancer.

The initial test he had, a sigmoidoscopy, is a partial colon exam that views only the left portion of the colon. The complete colon exam, the colonoscopy, found his right-sided tumor.

After his surgery and chemotherapy, Edward joined the Colon Cancer Alliance and later joined a colon cancer listserv via the Association of Cancer Online Resources.

In March 2000, when “Today” show host Katie Couric was creating her series called “Confronting Colon Cancer” following the death of her husband from that disease, Katie’s producer contacted the Colon Cancer Alliance seeking people who had been diagnosed and survived.

Edward stepped forward.

“The producer interviewed me, checked back with Katie who was the decision maker, and she said ‘Bring him to New York.’ A week later, we did the taping and I was part of Katie’s week-long series that won a Peabody Award.”

From there, the publicity snowballed to include:

–An appearance on “Mystery Diagnosis” on the Discovery Health Channel which is now being repeated on the Learning Channel.

–Numerous requests for speaking engagements and consulting for the health care industry. Today, Edward teaches doctors how to communicate better with their patients. He also helps patients become their own health care advocates.

He said he uses many of the tips he reads in this newsletter to pitch media large and small. Even though he has a compelling story to tell, he follows his own advice when pitching.

“Don’t be focused on your own agenda. You have to be focused on your topic and the media outlet’s audience when you’re talking to a producer. It’s not all about you. If you make it all about you, that’s a death sentence as far as the media is concerned.”

Ditto when the cameras are rolling. TV talk show host Connie Dieken, who also hails from Cleveland, says that if you’re bombing on the air, producers will cut the interview short and hustle you out of the studio–pronto–before you can do any more damage.

But why take that chance?

Know exactly how to endear yourself to the host and the producers and get invited back. Connie explained how when she was my guest during a teleseminar on “How to be a TV Talk Show Host’s Dream Date.”

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2. The Power of Surveys
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If knowledge is power, then surveys are like a giant jackhammer in your marketing toolbox.

You can take a fun, controversial or timely survey and report results to the media and to consumers.

Or, you can do what I’m doing and survey your customers to see what else they need from you that you’re not currently providing. That survey should be ready for you in a few weeks, and I’ll even reward you with some cool stuff to encourage you to complete it.

Business consultant Paul Lemberg says too many business owners are obsessed with chasing down new leads when they should be spending some of that time also figuring out how to sell more products and services to their existing customers. That’s one of his five formulas for any business that wants to double its business this year: sell more stuff to the same people.

During last week’s teleseminar on “5 Ways to Double Your Business in 2009,” Paul explained that you don’t need an elaborate survey like the one I’m creating. Instead, one phone call to just one customer can result in valuable information that can lead to new products and services.

In fact, he suggests just one short question and he tells you exactly how to word it. About 200 people joined us on last week’s call and heard Paul’s other valuable advice on how to raise prices in a meltdown economy, one task to do at the beginning of every day that will make your business soar, and a really clever way to reward your customers for bringing you new leads, without breaking the bank.

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3. Sell Books by the Truckload
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Too many authors try to sell books the hard way. They look for 10,000 customers so they can sell 10,000 books.

It’s sometimes a lot easier to sell all those books–or even 100,000 books–to only one customer.

How? By searching for companies that typically buy books in mass quantity and give them away as free “premium incentives” to encourage people to buy their products. Many of these same companies:

–Give away the books as thank-you gifts to people who buy other products and services.

–Use the book to thank members or subscribers who renew.

–Rely on the book to help train their employees.

Matthew Bennett has used this simple strategy as an unknown, self-published author to sell more than 5 million books.

He has written books on health, pets, fitness and inspiration and then sold them in quantity to companies like Disney, Reebok, NBC, Abbot Labs, Pfizer, US Healthplans and Subway.

Steve Harrison is hosting a free one-hour teleseminar with Matthew on Thursday, Jan. 15, at your choice of two times. If you cannot make either call, find someone who can listen and take notes for you.

Matthew will share his tips on how he sold more than 80,000 copies of an inspirational book in just one phone conversation. He’ll also explain how you can tie in with major charities like the March of Dimes and the American Heart Association to sell truckloads of books and raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity. You’ll also learn the three things you absolutely must arm yourself with before ever pitching your book.

Like most free teleseminars, Steve is hoping that after you listen to the call, you’ll buy their consulting services to learn how to do this in detail. So just sit back, relax and listen.

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4. Create Your Own Holiday
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If you haven’t created your own holiday, or your own day, week or month of the year, you’re missing out on the chance to generate tons of print, broadcast and online publicity.

Take a look at some of the cool holidays that members of the National Speakers Association have created. I found this list in the current issue of NSA’s Speaker magazine:

–Steve Hughes created “Be Kind to Lawyers Day” the second Tuesday in April.

–Laura Stack created “National Leave the Office Earlier Day” on June 2 to promote her book, Leave the Office Earlier. It coincides with her birthday. Problem is, so many media outlets want to interview her that she ends up working 12 hours on her birthday just to accommodate them all.

–Publicity Hound Michelle Nichols created a wildly successful nationwide campaign to promote National Hug Your Kids Day, the third Monday in July. She convinced Clear Channel Outdoor to donate 135 digital billboards, eight Gannett newspapers to run “Citymoms.com” contests, and three Major League baseball teams to announce it on their Jumbotrons.

–Publicity Hound Carol Copeland has christened June as Student Safety Month.

–Marilee Driscoll has designated October Long-Term Care Planning Month.

What are you waiting for? Now, it’s your turn.

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5. Promoting a Book on Marriage
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This week, 11 Publicity Hounds have tips for Sheryl P. Kurland of Orlando, FL, author of Everlasting Matrimony: Pearls of Wisdom from Couples Married 50 Years or More. She needs new ideas to stimulate sales of the book in time for Valentine’s Day.

From Lisa Lockwood:

“Announce your book in a press release on PR Web. I’m self- published and landed a spot on The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch just by announcing that I was launching my book tour.”

From Cheryl Pickett:

“I suggest you check out the book The Daughter-in-Law Rules. Author Sally Shields lists some of the publicity success she’s had with her self-published book, and you share a similar audience. I also know she’d be willing to share more help if you contacted her.”

From Bonnie Lowe:

“Can you jump on the ‘bad economy’ bandwagon? Are there any stories in your book that might show readers how to be romantic without spending much money? Could you do a press release on ‘How to spend less on your Valentine without looking cheap’ or something like that, and tie it into your book?”

The Publicity Hound says:

Sheryl, if you could round up a few couples who would be willing to be interviewed, this would make a great segment for National Public Radio. Go to the NPR site and use the search box at the top of the screen to search for words like “marriage” and “matrimony” and see what you find. You can listen to many of the shows in the archives before you pitch the producers.

But before you do, follow Lissa Warren’s tips on how to navigate the NPR labyrinth because it can get confusing. Lissa, a book publicist, has successfully pitched dozens of her clients to NPR, and she shared all her secrets during a teleseminar I conducted with her on “How to Get Booked on National Public Radio.”

Read all the responses to this week’s Help This Hound question.

Send your own Help this Hound question and include your city and state.

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6. Help This Hound
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Pegine Echevarria of Jacksonville, Fla. writes:

“I am launching a licensed training program called ‘White Guys Are Diverse Too!’

“I want to capture the interest of corporate and government chief diversity offers, chief learning officers and senior leadership of large corporations who can purchase this program to spread the word to their employees.

“The topic is controversial. In large organizations, Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) programs are part of everyone’s training. However, white guys tend to walk out of D&I programs thinking they are excluded and not valued for the unique individualized impact that they bring.

“‘White Guys Are Diverse Too!’ celebrates the diversity among white guys, the value they bring to their organizations and teams along with how managers can engage, motivate and inspire their white male team members.

“I need ideas, help to get the word out that ‘White Guys are Diverse Too!’ The website offers a no-obligation special report. Can you give me some no cost/low cost ideas?

P.S. I’ve spent my life savings on this product. It has to reach the masses.

The Publicity Hound says:

See the fabulous movie “Gran Torino” in which Clint Eastwood plays the racist Walt Kowalski, a tough, gruff, crotchety old man who hates everybody who isn’t white–or at least thinks he does.

Start writing press releases and articles and using the social networking sites to write about “What Would Walt Kowalski Do?” and then tie it into your training. Piggybacking off celebrities and red-hot movies (this one is a contender for several Oscars) is a fabulous way to pull in traffic from the search engines.

My “Special Report #50: How to Piggyback onto Celebrity News to Promote Your Product, Service, Cause or Issue” gives you lots more ideas. Only $15.

Hounds with other ideas for Pegine can post them to my blog.

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7. Hound Quote of the Week
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“I know that dogs are pack animals, but it is difficult to imagine a pack of standard poodles…and if there was such a thing as a pack of standard poodles, where would they rove to? Bloomingdale’s? –Yvonne Clifford, American actress