Issue #900 March 17, 2015
Publisher: Joan Stewart
“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”
In This Issue
- Free Tool for Radio Show Gigs
- Transcribe Your Podcasts
- Your Author Media Kit
- Hound Video of the Week
This Week in the Hound House:
My German Shorthair Pointer, shown here on Facebook, has turned into an adorable Irish lass. I dressed Bogie in my green Nike sport top with the built-in bra and took her to the doggy day care center on Sunday. They were giving out $5 coupons to anyone whose dog wears green, and that’s the only green thing I could find. I need all the discounts I can get. If you’ve ever boarded a dog, you know what I mean.
1. Free Tool for Radio Show Gigs
With all the newfangled publicity tools online, it’s easy to forget about the oldies but goodies.
Dr. Audrey Sherman, a psychologist and author who’s in The Publicity Hound Mentor Program, got an invitation to appear on an NPR show out of Chicago.
The producer found Audrey on RadioGuestList.com, a free email service. Here’s how it works.
–Experts and authors, or PR firms that represent them, can sign up for free email leads. When a talk show needs a certain type of guest, RadioGuestList will email you.
–Show bookers, producers, podcasters, talk show hosts and TV producers looking for interview guests submit their requests, for free.
Of course, you can upgrade to a paid account or advertise on the site.
You can see a list of the latest Guest Requests!
If you want to do radio shows, don’t wing it.
The fourth edition of my ebook “How to be a Kick-butt Publicity Hound” features in-depth interviews and tips galore from two radio publicity experts.
Joe Sabbah teaches you how to get booked on shows and clever ways to sell books and other products on the air. Media trainer Joel Roberts, a former talk show host, gives you step-by-step instructions on how to turn a lackluster topic into one that gets listeners so riled up, they whip out their phones while driving on a busy 10-lane freeway and call the radio station to comment.
“Talk show producers don’t want light,” Joel says. “They want heat.”
2. Transcribe Your Podcasts
The next time someone records an interview with you for a podcast or radio show, ask if you can have a copy to transcribe for your own blog.
That’s what I did after ghostwriter Julie Eason interviewed me for The Successful Author Podcast a few weeks ago. I wrote a blog post about it a few days later and linked to the show on iTunes and Stitcher Radio.
Then I hired a transcriber at Fiverr.com who transcribed the 40-minute show for about $35.
I turned the transcript into a series of four blog posts on how authors can market their books and get free publicity. Read part One, published today.
I won’t lie to you. This took several hours to edit and format. But I didn’t have to write anything new. I now have four days worth of great content to offer readers who might have missed the audio interview. And I’m linking within each post to the audios.
This is a perfect example of repurposing your content into different formats.
If you have a blog, ezine, podcast or social media account where you share tips for authors, let them know about the four-part series. I’ll include all the links for you next week.
3. Your Author Media Kit
Make it easy for journalists, bloggers, podcasters, and TV and radio producers to publicize you and your books.
You need an impressive Author Media Kit that includes all the necessities like your bio, book synopsis and good-quality photos. If you have a publishing contract, your publisher will probably do this for you.
If you’re on your own, don’t despair.
I’m hosting a free webinar with Joel Friedlander from 4 to 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, March 19, on “The Indie Author’s Guide to Creating a Killer Media Kit.” I’ll walk you, item by item, through the 12 essential pieces your media kit must include, and I’ll show you a few others that will give people exactly what they need to tell the world about your book.
I’ll explain why you need multiple bios, why one good head shot isn’t enough, and how not to use the media kit.
We’re leaving time for questions too.
Don’t be caught empty-handed when a journalist from a big magazine calls you for an interview and asks, “Can you send me your media kit?”
4. Hound Video of the Week
Here’s a cute compilation of dogs and cats meeting babies for the first time. I love the way the beige cat reacts at the 1:24 mark.
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