Score Points with Reviewers

Issue #908 April 18, 2015
Publisher: Joan Stewart

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

In This Issue

Score Points with Reviewers
Radio Publicity Opp in L.A.
Making the Most of Amazon
Hound Video of the Week

This Weekend in the Hound House:

A robin is building a nest in the eaves above my kitchen window, and it’s fun watching it take shape. She’s been at it for several days, gathering strands of dried ornamental grasses and other bits and pieces of yard waste. It should be done this weekend. If only I had a smidgen of her patience!

1. Score Points with Reviewers

When you’re pitching a reviewer to try your new product or read your book, here’s how to make your pitch stand out from all the others.

Let the reviewer know:

–You’re familiar with her work. You can open your email pitch by saying, “In your blog, Pets Aplenty, you’ve written passionately about the importance of keeping dogs free from fleas. My new product, Fleas Be Gone, a flea collar for dogs, works better than traditional flea collars on the market because…”

–You’re willing to send a sample of your product in the size or color her dog needs. This says, “I care.”

–If you can add a personal detail in your pitch, like the name of her dog, which you’ve discovered because you’ve read several of her blog posts, you score extra points. If you’re an author, and you’re asking for a review from a reviewer who loves children’s books, check to see if she has a blog. If so, can you find the name of one of her children? I show you how to do this quickly in the blog post I wrote.

If you do only these three things, you’ll be so much farther ahead of all the other people pitching.

Five fill-in-the-blank templates you can use when asking for book or product reviews come with the bonus package that accompanies the webinar replay of “How to Ask for Book and Product Reviews from Bloggers, Journalists and Consumers.” It shows you exactly how to find reviewers whose audiences are in a perfect position to buy what you have. Learn more about it at my shop.

2. Radio Publicity Opp in L.A.

Radio show host Bill Hooey is looking for guests with a positive message to appear on his show, “The Wild Man Bill Show,” on KTYM 1460 AM in Los Angeles. He’s on the air from 8:30 to 9 p.m. every Saturday night.

“We give advice on any and all matters with some comedy mixed in and a little touch of a positive spiritual message,” he says. “KTYM broadcasts Gospel music as their man format and for that reason, we are not able to discuss or promote anything that would offend the audience.”

If you’re promoting your new film, book, CD or product, and you have an interesting message to share, the call-in number is 310-674-5896. Or call Bill at 323-397-8740 to arrange an interview.

Know what you’re doing when you call a talk radio show. Joe Sabbah has fabulous tips to share with Publicity Hounds on how to keep listeners engaged, and how to use talk radio to sell more books. A transcript of an interview with Joe is in the fourth edition my ebook, “How to be a Kick-butt Publicity Hound.” It’s my best all-around product for getting publicity through traditional media and building a fan base through social media. Read more about it.

3. Making the Most of Amazon

Do you find Amazon as confusing as I do?

The site has dozens of tools and tricks I can use. But I’m not quite sure what they all are, or how to use them correctly.

If you share my frustration, help is on the way.

Steve Harrison is hosting a free webinar at 2 and 7 p.m. Eastern Time this Thursday, April 23, on “How to Make the Most of Amazon: 7 Strategies Most Authors Don’t Know to Write Books Faster, Get Published Quickly, Create Passive Income and Tap the Power of the world’s Largest Bookstore to Sell a Lot More Books.”

His guests are Jay Boyer and John Rhodes, two authors who have published more than 140 books, sold more than 50,000 copies, hit the Amazon best-seller list more than a dozen times and earned six figures in royalties.

They’ll explain why 8 out of 10 authors have their Amazon author profiles set up incorrectly, how to make 70 percent royalties on ebooks if you meet certain pricing guidelines and how to blast your Kindle ebook to a #1 Bestseller 48 hours after you publish it.

There’s a lot that Amazon doesn’t want you to know about the future of Kindle publishing, but the authors will tell you what it is on this call.

You’ll also hear about the 7 essential ingredients any first-time Kindle author must use for a successful book launch, and much more.

Register for the free call at your choice of times.

Full Disclosure: I’m one of Steve’s affiliates and may earn a commission if you buy anything from him down the road.

4. Hound Video of the Week

Here’s a really weird exercise for humans demonstrated by poodles. These are real dogs, or at least the heads are, don’t you think?

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