Issue #1034 July 2, 2016
Publisher: Joan Stewart
“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”
In This Issue
- 128 Words to Use Instead of ‘Very’
- 300+ Contacts for Media Outlets
- How to Promote in Your Ebook
- Hound Video of the Week
This Weekend in the Hound House:
I’ll be showing everyone my new 20-inch-long cornhead hat, a gift from Christie Bevington and other education directors who work for statewide Realtors associations. I spoke to them this week in Burlington, Vt. A few weeks before the event, I created a short promo video showing off the Cheesehead hat I gave away as a door prize, and urged them to attend. This was their way of saying thanks. Corny but cute. And lots of fun. Should I wear it to see fireworks on Monday night?
1. 128 Words to Use Instead of ‘Very’
The next time you hear about the importance of creating valuable content to pull people to your website, remember this perfect example.
It’s a simple, clean, helpful infographic on “128 Words to Use Instead of ‘Very'”–created by ProofReadingServices.com.
If you’re on deadline a lot, like I am, it’s so easy to resort to this lazy verb.
Print this infographic and keep it near your computer. If it leads to an error page, hit the Reload button. The website is sluggish. Also buy these two books that will help you banish other lazy words and phrases from your articles, blog posts, marketing materials, web copy and book manuscripts: Words That Sell by Richard Bayan and Phrases That Sell by Edward Werz and Sally Germain. You can grab them both on Amazon for less than $25. Mine are dog-eared and falling apart.
Two lucky people won these books when I gave them away as door prizes this week, along with my Cheesehead hat, when I spoke to education directors for statewide Realtors associations on how to put butts in seats for their live and virtual events. The books help you write better sales copy and email promotions.
To do: Need a speaker for your convention, seminar or workshop? Call me at 262-284-7451 and let’s talk.
2. Faux Personalization in Pitches
Directories with media contact information cost a small fortune. That’s why it’s often a waste of money to buy them when you’ll be calling or emailing only a tiny fraction of the media listed.
Publicist Michelle Tennant Nicholson, a graduate of The Publicity Hound Mentor Program, and publicity expert Drew Gerber, both of Wasabi Publicity, have hand-picked 300 media contacts they use. You’ll get the list–complete with addresses, phone numbers and email addresses, when you buy their new book, the “21 Day PR Action Guide: The Who, What, When and Where to Launch a Successful PR Campaign.”
This 180-page instruction manual, a steal at only $49, walks you step by step through the process of landing media coverage. This is the exact system Wasabi uses to place its clients in prestigious media like “Good Morning America,” the Wall Street Journal, “Fox & Friends,” The New York Times and “Dr. Oz.” They’re offering the list as a bonus until 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, July 6.
I read the book and love it because each chapter gives you a short assignment list at the end that will help you do exactly what they do when they take on a client.
Important Note:
Don’t start pitching as soon as you access the list. Read the entire book first so you know what you’re doing. Or you might burn through media contacts that turn into wasted opportunities.
Michelle and Drew gave me permission to reprint a chapter from the book at my blog.
I chose chapter 8: Who You Gonna Call? Your Perfect Media Match. It explains the process on how to research a small number of media contacts that are perfect for you. Notice I said “a small number.” This is far more effective than the “spray and pray” technique of throwing the same one-size-fits-all pitch to multiple media. It never works.
To do: Read Chapter 8: Who You Gonna Call? Your Perfect Media Match. Then buy the book and complete the assignments. The media love Michelle because her pitches are always on target. Yours will be too. I’m proud to promote this as an affiliate who earns a commission if you buy. If you don’t get your media contact list immediately, check your spam folder.
3. How to Promote in Your Ebook
Don’t view your ebook only as an information product that people can read.
It’s a self-contained website. Almost anything that you can do on a website, you can do in an ebook. That includes promoting and selling.
Digital publishing expert Daniel Hall says your ebook should have least two links where people can go to your website and give you a name and email address in exchange for a digital freebie. Or you can lead them directly to a sales page. Or send them to a page that lists programs you speak on. Or a page that explains how they can work with you as a consultant.
These links can be included in ebooks you sell for the Kindle.
Daniel gave this tip during Tuesday’s webinar on 31 killer tips for authors and publishers. I shared mine, too, along with tips from four other book publishing experts on many aspects of book publishing.
If you couldn’t attend the webinar or you want a quick refresher, download the first video at the top:
http://publishingatsea.com/best-webinars/
This special training was to promote the two “Publishing at Sea” cruises to the Caribbean we’re hosting in January. Because of the July 4 holiday, we’ve extended the early bird pricing for the cruise through Monday. Get in under the wire and save $150 per cabin.
Learn all the details about the cruise, and about how to be a smarter publisher, author and book seller:
http://publishingatsea.com/best-webinars/
If you have questions about the cruise, call Judith Briles at 303-885-2207 and tell her The Publicity Hound sent you. If you join us on the cruise for advanced authors, you’re welcome to tap into my brain at poolside, over a drink or at dinner, at no extra charge. I’m all yours for a full week!
4. Hound Video of the Week
Thanks to Publicity Hound Jo Steinberg of Mequon, Wis., for tipping us off to Dog TV. It’s scientifically developed 24/7 programming to stimulate and entertain your dog, so you don’t have to worry about leaving it home alone. Read more about it here.
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