Reporters are busy people. On any given day they are fielding dozens of phone calls, making calls of their own, reading stacks of newspapers and magazines and rushing to meet deadlines. So how do you break through all the noise to get a reporter or an editor on the phone to listen to your pitch?
In my 15 years as a magazine journalist I’ve fielded hundreds, if not thousands, of such calls. The following tips are what I’ve told many authors and publicists. The ones I eventually wrote about are the ones who listened and learned from the conversation.
1.) Ask If the Reporter Has Time to Speak to You
Make “Is now a good time?” the first question you ask when you get a journalist on the phone. Don’t assume that if he or she is busy, they won’t answer the phone because sometimes a reporter on deadline has to pick up. They might be waiting for confirmation from a source or to connect with a colleague in the field, and Caller ID doesn’t always give enough information for proper screening. There were many times when I was on deadline and answered my phone only to find, to my chagrin, a non-stop pitch on the other end. But the callers who impressed me would ask immediately if I was on deadline. All I had to say was “Yes” and they’d say they would call me in another day or so and hang up. Totally cool. I made sure I made time when they did call back. Sometimes I even checked my mail to see if I could find the caller’s press release so I would be ready for our talk.
2.) Understand This: The Fact That You Wrote a Book is Not a Story!
You may have written the best book in the world, but unless you’re Stephen King turning to pulp fiction (as he did recently) or Terry McMillan publishing your first novel in several years and getting divorced at the same time (as she did recently), you and your book are not a story. I’m sorry but that’s the plain truth. Of course if you land on the bestseller lists then we’d have something to discuss. There is one instance, however, when you would be a story and that’s when you…
3.) Connect to a Story Already in the News
When promoting your book you should be reading the newspaper and watching the news (local and national) daily. You’re looking for stories related to the subject matter in your book. Ideally you would have something to say and you would offer that up to a reporter. For instance, if you’ve written a book on cronyism in official government posts you could have put out a press release and called up a reporter during the Hurricane Katrina disaster with information such as, “This kind of cronyism has caused mishaps in government response before. I can tell you how it happens and where it has happened before.” The press release would list the details in easy-to-read bullet points. It would be easy to see you’d make a great interview subject.
This can work for novels as well. Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones is an exquisite book in its own right, but it got a huge publicity boost because it happened to get published at a time when several stories of missing girls were in the news.
4.) Ask What the Reporter is Working On
If the reporter isn’t interested in your story, don’t just cut and run. Engage the person in a friendly conversation and find out what types of stories he or she is working on for future issues. This way you get to cultivate a relationship–important because good media contacts are difficult to come by. You’re also learning what is newsworthy so you can either tailor your message for other outlets or come back to the reporter when you do have information he or she can use. I used to love it when the latter happened–it made my job easier!
One last note: Always follow up on the press releases you send out. You might be thinking, “Well, if they’re interested they’ll call” but nine times out of ten it doesn’t work that way. Your press release could be in the mailroom, in someone’s office under a pile of papers or in the garbage unopened. It definitely hasn’t been read! Don’t be afraid to make the call. Whatever the outcome, at the very least you’ll be able to use what you learn for your next publicity effort.
© 2005 Sophfronia Scott
Author and Writing Coach Sophfronia Scott is “The Book Sistah” TM. Get her FREE REPORT, “The 5 Big Mistakes Most Writers Make When Trying to Get Published” and her FREE online writing and publishing tips at www.TheBookSistah.com The Book Sistah, 230 South Main St. Ste. 319, Newtown, CT 06470 203-426-2036, Info@TheBookSistah.com
The bright old Chinese catchphrase has a key suggestion; the sentiment described the fact that each & every person accepts an event very much more if it is watched. Utilising video production or videography it’s achievable to record a succession of events.
At the moment in numerous business presentations, video footage is usually implemented. Utilising video production services it’s possible to provide the essential communication to quite a lot of different possible clients to help lure them. Online Video production at the present is utilised for numerous different tasks; however, numerous short format online video commercials and brand associated productions are usually produced in order to achieve certain business objectives.
Audio video presentations are currently in vogue and thus are used in roughly any brand of business activity. Video production firms at the outset primarily interact with a certain style of client or a company that are wanting to create a short format video, a presentation or a collection of video clips. The full occupation of video production is frequently carried out by freelancers; yet there are a few video production agencies around at the moment.
The contribution of music composers, cameraman & script writers are also typical when creating audio video presentations. Furthermore, marketing companies and public relations agencies have lately become involved with online video marketing. Vidify offer unique video production and distribution solutions that help broadcast your business online to a global, regional or local audience.
If you are reading this article today, you are likely among
those who are working an online business. Unfortunately, you
have already learned that finding customers is not as easy as
you once thought it would be. Many people have broken the bank
and their dreams searching for that first customer or second
customer.
Having discovered the challenge of finding customers has left
you with a feeling of not knowing quite what to do. That is
why you read ezines or visit websites like this one. You are
searching for the knowledge that you feel you are lacking. You
open each new issue of each ezine you subscribe to looking for
the help you need to find your first customer or even to
increase upon the customers you have already found.
See, the greatest challenge we all face is not finding people
who need our products or services. Instead, our greatest
challenge is actually building trust in the hearts and minds
of the people who need our products or services. This is why
most people have such difficulty in finding the customers we
all need.
Online marketers cannot establish trust with one single
advertisement! They cannot establish trust with one impression
of their banner! One might get lucky and get the click-through
on the advertisement or banner, but that click-through will
only generate a sale for one in two hundred visitors. Scary,
isn’t it?
To stop and realize that the average on the Internet is five
sales per thousand visitors can make it frightening to most
beginners to online marketing. The term “beginner” in this
area could apply to anyone who has been marketing online for
less than 3 years. Yes, it is a steep learning curve on the
web! Most people quit before they ever get to the three year
mark — quitting long before they have given themselves the
chance to succeed.
Most marketing polls suggest that it will take you seven
exposures before you will have earned enough trust to get a
sale online or offline. What that means is that your potential
customer must see your name and your ads a minimum of seven
times before you can expect their interest to peak enough to
give you a second look.
That is what makes advertising online so very difficult. With
more than 200 million people online, the chance of hitting the
same person twice with your advertising is slim to none if you
are advertising your wares the same as most people are.
Most people try to advertise with the scatter shot approach.
They throw an ad out there hoping to hit as many people as
possible and then move on to the next ad or next advertising
medium. With this scatter shot approach, their chance of
hitting one person twice is astronomical! The chance of
hitting that person the required seven times is nearly
impossible.
The “Rule of Seven” is why most marketers begin their own
ezine. As a publisher, it is easy to hit your seven times in
the trust building process. The difficulty of this method is
growing the mailing list size. As a publisher, it is fairly
easy to keep subscribers — getting the subscribers is the
real difficulty.
While I do recommend for the marketer to start the ezine, the
process of building a client base from an ezine is the slow
boat to China approach. It could realistically take years to
break the plateau of your first 1000 subscribers!
Let me suggest a few names to you:
Aaron Turpen, Angela Giles Klocke, Bill Daugherty (Mr. D),
Bob Leduc, Cathy Goodwin, Craig Lock, David McKenzie,
Dr. Nunley, Elena Fawkner, Harmony Major, Jan Tincher,
John Colanzi, Josh Hinds, Julie Jordan Scott, Judy Cullins,
Karon Thackston, Larry Dotson, Max Shifrin, Melvin Durai,
Michael Southon, Pamela Heywood, Richard Lowe, Robin Nobles,
Sam Vaknin, Shelly Lowery, Shery Ma Belle Arrieta,
Wild Bill Montgomery, and Bill Platt.
Of these 29 people, how many of these names do your recognize?
Of the names that you do recognize, how many of them can you
tell me what kind of business they are in?
Further, of the people whose names you recognize, what is your
gut feeling about them? How many of them do you feel that you
can trust?
Chances are really good that you have heard of at least one
third of these people. I can almost guarantee that you have
heard of at least one person on this list. How do I know this?
It is simple.
These 29 people all share one common trait. They are all
people who publish free-reprint articles to be distributed
to publishers the world over. Each of them provide top-notch
content that appeals to a much larger audience.
Ezine publishers and webmasters the world over are looking for
free content that they can supply to their readers. They all
understand what a recent Yahoo! study emphasized. Content is
King! Most site visitors are looking for information of some
kind when they go to a site or subscribe to an ezine.
These publishers and webmasters understand that the best way
to attract and keep traffic and readers is to provide folks on
the web what they want. By using free-reprint articles, they
are able to provide their readers and their site visitors with
the high-quality content subscribers and surfers demand.
If there is a single name on this list that you recognize and
feel as if you can trust, then you have the strongest testimony
available to the power of using free-reprint articles to build
your business.
If you are not confident to strike out writing your own
articles, there are several people who are willing to hire
their own article writing skills out to folks just like you.
What it boils down to is this, if you are in business on the
web and are looking to find your first or ten thousandth
customer, you should seriously consider striking out into
the free-reprint market. If you are not comfortable as a
writer, then you should absolutely explore the possibility
of hiring a ghost writer to write articles for you.
About the Author
Bill Platt owns The Phantom Writers, a company committed to
helping people to establish an Internet presence & promote their
businesses through the use of Free-Reprint Articles. Through
June 1st, 2002, you can save $150 on our normal subscription
rates. All articles are distributed to 6,500+ publishers & web-
masters as part of the package. http://PathTrax.com/x.pl/BP121,29
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What are the benefits that a member can get from the BJ’s? Read on about Kitchen Decorative Items Wholesale and how Salehoo wholesale directory can help you. You never have to buy inventory up front and you never have to pack and ship products yourself. More on Kitchen Decorative Items Wholesale below.
Electronics has always been a great wholesale distribution market as everyone wants the latest in consumer goods. When you look at things like video games and personal electronics, these items tend to be quick sellers, even when they’re not new. Whenever a new item comes into the market, consumers flood to get their hands on it. You can use this to your advantage. By realizing that electronics will never be a fading trend, you can start focusing your efforts on a certain category of electronics - personal digital music players, for example - and keep a wholesale business running based on that knowledge. Even those that aren’t interested in buying the newest models will want to have the technology that everyone else has, but offer it to their customers for a lower price. Find out more about Kitchen Decorative Items Wholesale and how Salehoo wholesale directory can help you start your own business from home. Now there is a huge difference between having something written and not having anything written down. Kitchen Decorative Items Wholesale: Find out how Salehoo wholesale directory can serve YOU!
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About the Author
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One of the best marketing tools available to your internet business is good sales ad copy. This can pull in sales faster than just about anything.
If you’re not a writer or cringe at the thought of writing your own sales copy, you can always hire a professional, however if you’re on a budget and have an adventurous spirit, writing your own ads can be a worthwhile option.
So how do you write sales copy that pulls sales? Let’s take a look.
Get their attention. You have about six seconds to grab the attention of your reader so you have to act fast. Verbalize your benefits at the onset. Use words and phrases that are enticing and compelling. Use color, large fonts and exclamation points. Get the readers attention in the heading and keep it focused in the body of the ad.
Benefits and Solutions. How is your product or service going to benefit the reader? How will it solve their problem? Does it offer a solution and how fast? List all the benefits. How will it make their life or business better? Tell them why they can’t live without it. If someone’s going to buy something they have to know what’s in it for them.
Credibility. You must convey to your audience that you are credible. One of the best ways to accomplish this is by using testimonials. What have people said about your product? If someone has bought your product, email them and ask them to comment on it. Get their permission to quote them in an ad. Get several testimonials and use photos if your can. Better yet, include small audio clips in your copy. To hear someone verbally testify to something can be very convincing.
Emotion. Appealing to the emotions of your audience is an excellent way to attract attention. What emotions do your products or services generate? What will trigger your reader’s response?
Money, beauty, health, success, more time and making life easier are all emotional triggers. If you can appeal to someone with making more money, looking more beautiful or having better health, and really appeal to that emotion, your ad copy will attract their attention and entice them to keep reading.
Interest. Once you have their interest and attention you have to hold onto it. Telling short interesting or personal stories in your ad copy can hold that attention. People love stories and can relate to them. A section of questions and answers also generate interest for readers. People like it when questions that come to mind are answered right in the ad copy. This gives them the confidence that you can relate to their needs and concerns and are familiar with them..
Action. The final step is to generate a call to action. Urge the reader that it’s time to act now. You can do this by offering a limited time free bonus or offer money off your product if they act now. Convince the reader that they can’t wait. The time is now.
Know your products and customers. It’s important to know who your customers are and what they want. A teen boy interested in body building may require totally different needs than a middle aged woman interested in body building. By understanding your customers you’ll understand their needs and what kinds of problems they have that depend on you to solve. Focus on what your customer is willing to buy, not what you have to sell.
Additional Guidelines
Use simple, familiar words. Your ad should be easy and fast reading. Don’t use big words and long run-on sentences. Offer a tangible result. Phrases like ‘lose weight in two weeks’, get rich online’, ‘find love now’ sound cliché but they all offer your reader a solution to a problem or need. Avoid ambiguities and jargons. Get to the point and keep it flowing.
Write like you are talking to a friend Use bright, cheerful language. Don’t be too formal and don’t lecture.
Use correct spelling, grammar and punctuation. There are many ads that misuse grammar intentionally, and this is ok as long as it fits a specific purpose or theme of the ad. Unintentional poor grammar, misspellings and poor punctuation can hurt your credibility.
Elizabeth McGee has spent 20 years in the service and support industry. She has moved her expertise to the world wide web helping businesses find trusted tools, enhance customer service, build confidence and increase sales. You can contact Elizabeth at mail@pro-marketing-online.com or visit her website at http://www.pro-marketing-online.com
How are you marketing your articles? As a writer prospecting potential clients, your query letter is your marketing tool. What does it tell the editor about you?
Show me… the Market
Show the editor that you know his magazine. Jeff Peck, the editor of Insider’s Journal, recently wrote, “…I end up rejecting fully 90 percent or more of the submissions because would-be authors simply don’t take the time to understand what our publication is about.” Are you sending out random queries shotgun style or are you using laser targeting to pinpoint your target magazine? As published authors, it should be the latter. Most editors recommend reading several back issues. Sending an article on living like a tightwad to an affluent parenting magazine won’t work. If you think a few hours learning about your market is a waste of time, then sending out queries wastes both the editor’s time and your time.
Show me… the Readers
Show the editor that you know who her readers are. Your query needs to show that you understand who will be reading your article. The Christian Librarian caters to librarians at Christian academic centers. Christian Library Journal meets the needs of academic librarians, but is also read by homeschooling parents, church librarians, school librarians, and public librarians. These two magazines have similar topics, but address very different needs. Be specific when stating the planned content of your article. When the information in your article matches the interests of the readers, the editor will give you a “go”.
Show me… the Perspective
Show the editor that you know his magazine’s perspective. This is similar to understanding the readership. Focus on the Family provides articles to help families live out their Christian faith. Many other Christian magazines publish similar articles. What makes this magazine unique is their focus on offering only this type of article. From interviews to humorous anecdotes to serious topics, Focus on the Family only publishes articles that provide distinct methods families can follow to grow closer to Christ together. Every magazine has a unique perspective and focus. Many publications place mission statements on their website on the “About Us” page. Some even include it in the writer’s guidelines. Make sure that your query reflects the fact that your article will mesh with the editor’s goals.
Show me… the Theology
Show the editor that you understand the theology of her magazine, whether or not you are a member of her denomination. Joan Alexander, an editor at Regular Baptist Press, states, “We hear from many writers who are not appropriate for our readership. We prefer that our contributors be well acquainted with our church customers and their theological and cultural perspective.” If you are a member of an affiliated church, be sure to let the editor know. If not, you can find the information about the denomination’s theology on the internet, books, or people you know in that denomination. In your query, give the editor specific examples of what you intend to put into the article that show her that you understand the unique religious views of her readers.
Show me… the Style
Show the editor that you can write in his magazine’s style. Whether scholarly, educated, or conversational, your introductory paragraph (which should be vivid enough to be the first paragraph of your article) should be written in the magazine’s style. Scholarly articles offer research driven theses and specialized vocabulary. Conversational pieces often begin with anecdotes or questions and continue in a chatty way. Other stylistic items are more specific. Living Light News always includes the ages of interviewees, contains locations specific to where an edition appears, and almost every news story begins with a testimony of God’s goodness. Reading and analyzing back issues reveals these nuggets of information. Show the editor that you understand the style and make a sale.
As an experienced, professional writer, you analyze back issues of the magazines you want to write for. You know their readers and their perspectives. You write in the correct style. Does your query letter show your competence?
About the Author
Terri Pilcher is the author of MONEY Markets 101: 101 Markets That Pay Writers in 6 Weeks or Less, is the editor of a searchable online markets database at www.powerpenmarketsearch.com (visit for a FREE 2 day trial), and offers a FREE weekly e-zine, Writer’s Guidelines Magazine (sign up at www.terripilcher.com).
It’s my dad’s fault I’ve spent more money on notebooks than I’ve earned from
words written in them. From the age I could hold a crayon — and comprehend
I shouldn’t scribble on walls — stationery was in plentiful supply. During
my formative years, a paper-mill firm employed my father.
He brought home reams of product — quality control rejects. I eyed them
with enthusiasm, itching to scrawl my hieroglyphics. As my mastery of the
three R’s improved, I was the only 7-year-old on the block with
leather-bound notebooks (albeit defective). I admired my paper hoard,
believing it meant only one thing: I was destined to be a writer. But when a
new notepad appeared, I would start a new story regardless of whether I had
finished the last — I liked my tablets dog-ear free.
A quarter-century later, the paper-mill converted to a boutique mall and my
dad fond of saying, “You live beyond your means,” I still dreamed of being a
famous writer. My vocabulary had grown age-appropriately (and my cursive).
My self-discipline and output, however, remained that of a child. Perhaps
less — I was a prolific 7-year-old, after all.
Still, the dream stuck. A calfskin-bound journal with linen-finished pages
shrieked, “Buy me,” begging to be filled with my prose. I would reverently
begin a piece, with the help of a carefully selected pen. But when
coffee-cup rings stained the book and it lost its leather smell; my writing
was as stale and uninteresting.
A new masterpiece began when the next journal beckoned. I would tell myself
this was “it”: the story that would be published (I could justify any
expense for an inspiration fix).
It was last spring I had the “Aha” moment. It came in Wal-Mart. Shopping
with my 7-year-old daughter — a blossoming writer — she insisted I buy her
a brightly covered journal.
“Why do you want another one?” I asked. “You’ve got a ton you haven’t
written in.”
“I know,” she said, “but I need it to write a story.”
“It doesn’t matter what you write on,” I said, sighing at the extravagance.
“If you really want to be a writer, anything will do.”
“Aha!” I thought, hearing my own pithy wisdom. I bought her the journal –
she’ll learn her own lessons, her way — and came home. Grabbing an ordinary
legal pad, I wrote a piece with an ending, which finally made it to
publication.
It didn’t make me famous, but it was a start. I proudly cut out the clip –
and stuck it in my journal.
About the Author
C.S. Paquin is a nationally published writer in both the business and humor
markets. Cheryl has a Master Of Arts in Journalism and has been writing
freelance for over five years. She contributes regularly to regional
publications in Minnesota. She is the owner and editor of
http://WritersLounge.com and the author of a new e-book: 101 Paying Markets
for Essays, Columns & Creative Nonfiction, available at:
http://writerslounge.com/101_markets.html
Just thought I’d share a few thoughts on how to use the amazing powers
of your creative imagination to the fullest in overcoming “writer’s block”…
Letting you know that I start all my novels with a BASIC
PLOT (plan) and don’t have much idea how it’s all going to end up
(”pan out”. I don’t use techniques, like “mindmapping” and have
found that by writing one chapter at a time then simply “letting go”,
the story simply flows onto the next naturally (at least I think it does!).
When I get “stuck” for a while, I take a long walk along the stunningly
beautiful beaches here, which really relaxes me and then the thoughts
simply “flow into my head”. This takes hold and I get a clear vision of
the next small step ahead (always)- through the amazing powers of the
subconscious mind , which is where our INSPIRATION comes from.
.. and this leads, impels (nice word!) us into ACTION.
I study and write quite a bit about the amazing powers of the human mind…
and truly believe the “powers” are available to ALL writers,
when they simply relax and trust their intuition.
“Let Go and Let God, the Universe reveal plot (or ANY IDEA to move forward) to
you” through your CREATIVE IMAGINATION…
and it never fails to work for me (in all areas of life, I believe)!
Enough “spiritual thoughts” and back to writing!
Hope this may help in whatever endeavour you choose (artistic or otherwise),
as it does me.
Craig Lock
Authors Note:
This short article was a reply to a question in a literary magazine on how I use
my creative imagination (or subconscious mind) to overcome writer’s block .
N.B: I truly believe we ALL have this amazing power within us
(not only writers) and like any skill, it just needs to be developed with practice.
The creative imagination can solve any problem you may encounter down
the “river of life”.
P.S:
Sorry about all the “eyes” in the article, but didn’t know how to write
it any other way.
Perhaps I should have left the “problem” to my creative imagination!
” I truly believe we can all create and enthuse magic into
’so-called humdrum little lives’.
You don’t just have to be the choreorapher, or the conductor of your
life script - rather paint your life as the the masterpiece it could (one day) be.
There is a rich tapestry of talent in every human soul, that flows
through (and from ), the Source of our Being, the Spirit of
God, Life. So don’t spend your days stringing and tuning your instrument;
start making and playing your unique tunes of music now.”
- Craig Lock
About the Author
Craig Lock
The ORIGINAL online
Creative Writing Course
http://www.nzenterprise.com/writer/creative.html
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