Issue #814 May 3, 2014
Publisher: Joan Stewart
“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”
In This Issue
- Offer Extras When You Pitch
- How to Make Customers Happy
- What Rich Authors Know
- Hound Video of the Week
This Weekend in the Hound House:
It’s time to battle the rabbits. One pregnant mama that looks like she’s ready to pop any day has made herself right at home in my backyard. Could it be the same one that delivered her babies in a hole that my dog dug in the middle of the yard last spring? I had to maneuver around it every time I cut the grass. I’m thinking of using a live trap and moving her to a park far from here. But with my luck, I’d wake up one morning and find a skunk in the cage.
1. Offer Extras When You Pitch
When the North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center pitched a story about its new production to a weekend morning show on WCNC-TV in Charlotte, the PR person included two enticing “extras” that won the heart of producer Roshanda Pratt.
The theater offered to do two live performances during the three-hour show, and give the station free tickets.
“We had interviews, characters in costume and were able to give away tickets to our viewers,” Pratt writes in a guest post at my blog. “I didn’t have to create the ‘moment’ in the show.”
Live performances and free tickets are among the list of “extras” you can offer with a pitch.
If pitching TV, think like a TV producer, Roshanda says. Offer video clips the producer can edit into the show, or your own YouTube videos that might be good enough to air.
If pitching print media, offer statistics for graphics or illustrations. Think maps, sidebars and charts. Smaller newspapers and magazines might even print good-quality graphics you create yourself.
Pratt, who owns her own PR firm, offers many more ideas for extras, and tells you how many you should include in your pitch so you don’t overwhelm journalists. Read her post at my blog.
Extras are only a small part of the pitch. My Simple 5-Part Formula for Delivering the Perfect Media Pitch and Hitting it Out of the Park walks you step by step through the process of researching journalists, creating your pitch, delivering it, and following up. The video comes with handouts that include 27 angles for stories, and an example of a pitch I’ve customized for three different media outlets so you can see exactly how to rework your pitch, and understand why.
You’ll also get a list of “10 Magic Phrases the Media LOVE.” Read more about how to pitch like a pro using my 5-part formula.
2. How to Make Customers Happy
Your customers aren’t only people who buy what you’re selling. They are:
–People who read your content, just like you’re reading my content here.
–Journalists and bloggers who subscribe to your RSS feed.
–LinkedIn connections who watch what you’re discussing in Groups.
–Subscribers to your YouTube channel.
–Strangers who visit your website, find an error and take the time to email you with a suggestion on how to fix it.
Read the 12 Most Indispensable Habits for Keeping Your Customers Blissfully Happy. I love Number 7.
3. What Rich Authors Know
Many authors I meet tell the same sad story.
They take several years to write a book. They dump their life savings into it. But after they publish it, they can’t sell enough copies to break even.
Rich authors don’t do that.
They use the book as a calling card. The book, or follow up marketing materials, introduce readers to a variety of other products and services like coaching programs, board games, wall calendars, membership sites, and more. That’s the key differences between rich authors and poor authors.
Learn the other six at a free 75-minute telephone seminar hosted by Steve Harrison, at your choice of two times: 2 or 7 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, May 8. The call is free.
Register for the free call, “How to Achieve a Lot More Success as an Author by Discovering the Seven Things Rich Authors Know That Poor Authors Don’t.” I promote it as a compensated affiliate because I’ve seen hundreds of authors miss this important distinction between how to publish the hard way and how to publish the smart way.
Steve won’t be recording it, so attend live or miss it.
4. Hound Video of the Week
We think we’re so clever, using those portable gates to keep dogs in one room of the house. Watch as this little pup shames us with a clever escape.
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