PR Web Direct News Release Service

“PR Web Direct (http://www.prwebdirect.com/index.php) recently sent out a 400-word press release for me. I spent $80.00 for this service. Within hours of the release going out, it was picked up by a news wire service. A journalist called to interview me about Random House's release of Flying by the Seat of My Pants: Flight Attendant Adventures on a Wing and a Prayer. The story he wrote was sent out on the news wire to radio shows around the world, and now I've been swamped with media calls. I've been doing morning radio shows for as far away as Ireland, and all over the United States and Canada. My sales at Amazon.com have gone through the roof, and the book isn't even released yet. And all this from one press release. I highly recommend PR Web Direct.” — Marsha Marks, http://www.flyingbytheseatofmypants.net.

Check Out My New Web Site

Yesterday I received an email from my friend Fred Gleeck talking about a new idea he had call FredSentMe.com. He told me that I had to copy his idea right away--that I'd be a fool not to do so.

So I did. Registered the site and got it up in less than 24 hours. Please check it out here: http://www.JohnKremerSentMe.com.

The site includes my current recommended programs and services. I will be adding many more in the next week. Enjoy!

Promoting Your Books with Radio Interviews

From Gerri Detweiler . . .

Thanks for all the terrific information you've shared over the years. I have your books and tapes, and appreciate your advice. I've been an author and done many media interviews over the years. I now host a live weekly Everyday Wealth radio show where I interview other guests to talk about consumer and financial topics. For more info on the show, go here: http://www.wsradio.com/everydaywealth.

I know your readers have heard the advice many times about creating an interesting hook, following up, etc. But it often doesn't happen. I now see from the other side -- as a host -- what can make a difference between an OK interview and a great one. Since my interviews are archived to the Internet so can be heard for months afterward, it's a great feeling when someone does an interview that's worth hearing again and again!

A few points authors should know:

1. It is virtually impossible to find a live publicity contact for a book publisher if I am interested in interviewing an author. Try it. Pretend you are interested in booking yourself for a radio show and go to your publisher's website to request a review copy of your book. You'll spend hours on dead ends and finally get directed to send a fax on letterhead, which will go into a black hole somewhere. Make sure there is another easy way for prospective hosts to find you, and google yourself periodically to check.

2. Publishers send me books with no press releases, and in some cases, no contact information. I may have a book that interests me but no easy way to book the guest.

3. Authors rarely follow up with my request for sample questions. I'll admit, I've been guilty of this in the past as a guest. Not anymore! This is the chance to tell the host what topics you would like to cover. As a host, I LOVE IT! (Mind you my show is weekly not daily.) It's a no brainer. (BTW, Alex Carroll is the master of this technique.)

4. Authors will not test their phone lines ahead of time to make sure they have a good connection, even though my studio gives instructions for doing so. I've had interviews where the guest is breaking up due to an older phone or phone cord, or on a cordless phone...Voice Over IP lines where they sound like they are in a tin can (which the studio cannot moderate, NOT good!)...and other glitches. Go to a local store and buy an inexpensive old, fashioned phone that plugs into the wall phone jack phone for your interviews. Next time you get booked for a show, ask them if you can quick call the studio the day before to check the quality of your line. They'll likely appreciate your attention to detail.

5. Convey some energy! This is what makes Alex Carroll so great, but why so many guests don't come across as strongly as they could. (For a great example of high energy, listen to my archived interview with David Bach at wsradio.com/everydaywealth in the 1.13.05 archives.)

6. I have no problem with guests repeating the title of their book in the interview, but if it's one of those long two-part titles, just stick to the first part after the first mention. Otherwise it sounds a little forced.

I am really a very easy host to work with...I love to see authors succeed and hope these tips help them do that! Of course, I am always looking for prospective guests on consumer financial topics. :-) A pitch and press release can be faxed to me at 941-227-4497. -- Gerri Detweiler

Something to Think About

If one has not given everything, one has given nothing. — Georges Guynemer

BookSense Red & White Boxes update...

From a news release about the Red and White Boxes mailings done by Book Sense which are sent to independent bookstores and feature samples from book publishers:

Beginning with the June Red and White boxes, all Book Sense mailings are being outsourced to Transport Specialties International, a dedicated mailing house in New Jersey. Book Sense Publisher Partners that plan to include materials in either of the June mailings should not ship them to ABA's Tarrytown address. All materials for June and for subsequent mailings should be shipped to:

Transport Specialties International, 9 Joanna Court, East Brunswick NJ 08816-2108.

The change is a result of ABA's upcoming relocation to new office space.

"We have every confidence that Book Sense mailings will continue to be administered with the same consideration and diligence as in the past," said Mark Nichols, director of Book Sense Marketing, "that your materials will be handled with care and attention paid to your instructions, and that stores will not see any interruption in our monthly services."

With this change, there are several imperatives for participating publishers:

* Reservations for space in any mailing must be made at least three weeks in advance of the desired mailing month. Partners that wish to be included in the June mailing must contact Mark Nichols no later than Friday, May 6.

* Any shipments to TSI must be clearly marked for Book Sense mailings, with both the month and color of mailing (For example: "FOR BOOK SENSE JUNE RED BOX").

* The previously published materials due date schedules for the Red and White Box mailings must be adhered to.

Questions should be addressed to Mark Nichols at mark@booksense.com or call 800-637-0037, ext. 1240.

John Kremer's Book Marketing Tip of the Week

You can read my latest Book Marketing Tip of the Week email at: http://www.bookmarket.com/tip050420.html.

You can also access previous tips at http://www.bookmarket.com/tips.html.

And you can order my two new audio CDs at http://www.bookmarket.com/orderform.html.

Both recent teleseminars that I have done are now available as audio files on CD. The cost is $12 per CD postpaid.

John Kremer on Marketing Books — Features Alex Carroll interviewing me.

Alex Carroll on Selling Books Via Radio — Features John Kremer trying to get a word in edgewise with Alex Carroll.

Both are great events, lasting two hours, plus.

Web Marketing Digest: Top 10 Trends

The following is excerpted from my friend Larry Chase's Web Digest for Marketers. Enjoy it with his compliments as part of his celebration of ten years publishing the digest...

To herald this 10-year anniversary of publishing WDFM, I present to you my Top 10 Trends for the next 10 years for Internet marketing to help you see what's really coming. Enjoy.

1. Pay Per Call Rings In: Any salesperson worth his or her salt knows that a call is worth many times more than a click. Having 1-to-1 contact with a prospect live on the phone is so much more likely to result in a sale. Some say the likelihood is ten-fold. So it's no wonder this nascent industry has many people watching closely. There will be issues with "fake" phone calls that will be reminiscent of click fraud problems today. But look for the pay-per-call industry to catch on fire within the next 1 1/2 years, despite these concerns. I am devoting an entire issue of Web Digest For Marketers to the subject of Pay Per Call later this year.

2. Feed Marketing Flourishes: You've got RSS (Real Simple Syndication). You've got Podcasting (where you can download and time-shift audio content to your iPod or MP3 player). Now you've even got Video Podcasting where you can download MP4 videos into Sony's PlayStation Portable unit for viewing when you're mobile. As the use of RSS grows quickly, and more consumers buy iPods or MP3 players, these formats will grow in usage. And where there are ears and especially eyeballs, marketers are never too far behind. The podcasts may employ the sponsorship model, or subscription (further off), or simply be done for the coolness factor, customer retention, or PR pop that you'll get if you do it early enough. RSS ad units will settle into some format that offers a decent ROI for the advertiser. There are already coupons being fed via RSS. Expect to see more point-to-point syndication feed models as we move forward in time.

3. Email Marketing Will Survive: Spam issues will recede dramatically, because they have to. Too much is at stake. We may resort to the payment of email postage for guaranteed delivery, or maybe not. But the email platform is now like a fax machine. While there are fancier applications, email is easy, cheap, effective and everywhere.

4. Agent, Personal Agent: Watch for the growth of agent software to help you sift through the morass of online information. There's too much relevant stuff for mere humans to sift through now. Agent software learns your habits by following your moves online and on your computer as well as by asking about your preferences. Some early forms of this exist now, but it will become much more sophisticated. Your agent will bring you both B2B and B2C offerings, whether the latest on-target ad deal or the best tennis racket at the best price.

5. Reverb Marketing, In Stereo: eMarketer points out that many Internet users already use multiple forms of media at once. Even as I write this I'm listening to CNBC in the background. Smart marketers will synchronize their messaging so the end user hears and sees complementary messages at or near the same time. This will be the new definition of what media planners call Road Blocking. Since the end user's attention is split between different media, it will be essential that messages reinforce each other. HINT: Visual gags on TV spots or simply showing the 800 number on screen won't be as effective, because a significant segment of people won't be watching the screen. Even today we're starting to use TV like radio.

6. Blogs Go Multimedia: Blogs are obviously here to stay. Some of the cutting-edge blogs are starting to offer content in audio and even in video. This will not only affect journalism, but it will impact the retail business as well. Imagine a personality-driven QVC blog on your computer screen.

7. TVIP Adds Interactivity: Microsoft and others are currently exploring TV over Internet protocol. But don't expect TV on the Net to look and act like the TV you see on your television screen. After all, we already have television, so who needs the redundancy? TVIP will take a different twist. While Madison Avenue types will say, "At last, we can now feed TV commercials over the Net!", consumers will not want to see those ads on their computer screens. They already TIVO over on them on their TV screens, right? TVIP will be much more interactive. In addition to an 800 number, with TVIP you'll be able to click and buy right then and there. One form might be a video catalog wherein you click on the product or infomercial of interest. To really make this happen, compression schemes will need to get better in order to prevent buffering at the consumer end.

8. Commercial Content, On Demand: Messages from marketers need to be so appealing that the audience actually requests the message. This evolutionary process is already underway as push marketing is giving way to pull marketing. The costs of paper, postage, TV and print production are getting too expensive and are not performing as well as they used to. Commercial content that the end user wants isn't far-fetched. Look at Lucky magazine or niche catalogs such as Outdoor Adventure Sports. B2B marketers have been using high-value ads for years. The advertisers in Web Digest For Marketers generate sales leads by offering high-value PDF downloads on subjects of particular interest to the target audience they're trying to reach. The how-to workshops at Home Depot are a prime example on the B2C side. It doesn't take a seer to see that the days of "hot air advertising" are so over.

9. Publishing Faces Tectonic Shifts: Research is already showing that many people in their 20s are not picking up the newspaper habit the way their parents did. Add to this demographic shift the cost of newsprint, postage (for magazines) and handling, and it's likely to cause tectonic shifts in the publishing industry. Many people already read newspapers and magazines online. My bet is that special issues will appear in print, and that many publishers will ultimately have to figure out how to make a go of it with free content online (i.e., advertiser-supported), perhaps by asking their readers for demographic information that enables the publisher to sell targeted advertisements at a premium, as you'll frequently find with trade publications. At the same time, in select industries people will pay for online subscriptions that deliver real value. This is already apparent (the Wall Street Journal has 700,000 paid subscribers), but it's not for every content provider out there. For a look at the next level, check out www.cnbcdowjones.com, where you can get just the editorial clips of CNBC, sans commercials, for $99(US) a year. You get 250 plays per month. I subscribe, and find it to be a great time saver.

10. Direct Marketers Will Take Over the Internet: Oops, this has already happened, but not the way I predicted 10 years ago. There are two types of direct marketers on the Net. Those who started out as online marketers have come across the language and practices of DM without realizing it. They talk of response rates by way of clickthroughs, cost per lead, cost per sale, and so on. This group would do well to study the DM masters who have written extensively on the subject over the past 80 years. Then there are the traditional direct marketers, some of whom get it, and some of whom are still riveted on the shriveling response rates of print mailings and catalogs and on ever-increasing postage costs. The irony here is that traditional direct marketing folks are the ones who understand human nature best. Because of their extensive experience, they can smell what will work and what won't. It's baked into their genes now. This group would do well to look at the Net as the incredible opportunity it is, rather than focusing on what was. What was is not coming back. The good news for traditional DM'ers is that the Internet has not repealed the laws of human nature. So while the tools of DM are changing, the underlying principles that have driven DM since the time of Ben Franklin are still exactly the same.

Bonus Tip

11. Internet-Free Zones Become the Hot New Trend: The Internet will become as ubiquitous as cell phones are today. Some enterprising travel package company will then begin offering Internet-free zones -- no cell phones, no Internet, no fax machines, and you won't have to climb the Himalayas to escape the media onslaught. This won't be an option for many people. It seems already that people desperately need to stay connected to others, lest they connect with themselves.

Larry Chase's Web Digest for Marketers (WDFM) is a free weekly email newsletter featuring mercifully short reviews and links on marketing-oriented websites.

If you received this issue from a colleague and you wish to have your own free subscription, you can get that by visiting http://www.wdfm.com and filling out the subscription form. It takes less than a minute.

Promoting Your Book Via Radio Publicity, Part VI

A clever way to get the radio host to keep promoting you ... weeks after you're gone:

Give them extra copies of your book to give away after the show.

How to get radio hosts to book you on dozens of other shows:

* Send thank you letter with your cell phone for emergency fill-in guests.
* To the host, write: If you happen to be a member of a radio show bulletin board system, please let them know I did a great show.
* BitBoard, Radio Online, RadioStar: bulletin boards where radio show hosts share great guests. You cannot join these. Only hosts can belong. If a host recommends you on one of these boards, it could result in another dozen interviews.

The most important keys to success in radio interviews:

1. Must have a good show and be passionate.
2. You have to have a good database of radio shows.
3. Be persistent in contacting producers.

Fiction books are more challenging to book. Here's what to do:

* You need to tie into the news with some element from your novel.
* Look for something controversial.
* Tie the news into the plot or major characters of your novel.
* Make it a great show. Be entertaining. Have fun.

Promoting Your Book Via Radio Publicity, Part V

Part V from my interview with Alex Carroll of RadioPublicity.com:

The two best days of the week to do interviews ... and the one day of the week to avoid.

* Tuesday is the best day because it gives people the entire work week to respond.
* Wednesday is next best.
* Thursday is next.
* Monday is next. People returning to work are easily distracted.
* Friday is the worst day because people are only thinking about the weekend.

How to do a great interview and sell your book at the same time ... without sounding like a commercial:

* Give people reasons why what you have to talk about is important. Use personal experience or statistics.
* In the first 60 seconds, establish WHY they need to listen to your interview. What will it cost them not to listen?
* Give lots of details to establish yourself as the authority.
* The more information you give them, the more likely they are to buy your book.

* Your close: The best way to order my book is from the publisher and if you mention the host's show, you'll get two free bonuses... The addition of bonuses was a little tweak that cost him a nickel, but tripled his sales overnight.
* Repeat your toll-free number and spell it out.
* Give people a reason to go to your web site.
* Don't ever leave an interview without your plug.

Promoting Your Book Via Radio Publicity, Part IV

Part IV from my interview with Alex Carroll of RadioPublicity.com:

The format for your news release:

* Upper left: Available for interview
* Upper right: contact and phone number
* Headline: the most important thing
* Subhead: added reason to book the author

3 columns: Print in color if possible:

* Column 1: bullet box teasers
* Column 2: photo of book plus interesting statistics in bulleted paragraphs
* Column 3: author bio plus photo of author

Doing your phone pitch, some hints:

* Keep track of your phone calls.
* Keep your pitch short.
* Leave one voice mail. No more than one.
* When you call the second time, hit 0, talk to the operator, and ask that the producer be paged.
* Give a short pitch to the producer.
* Let him or her know how you are going to send the package. E.g.: Watch for the big red envelope in the mail!
* Follow-up in a week by phone.

Promoting Your Book Via Radio, Part III

Part III from my interview with Alex Carroll of RadioPublicity.com:

How to create a compelling press kit and media page on your website that'll have producers and hosts clamoring for you:

* Use color envelope to stand out.
* Place a sticker outside with a cartoon or other eyecatcher.
* Write “requested material enclosed” and circle it.
* Always hand-address envelope.

* Use a double-pocked portfolio.
* Paste your book cover on the outside (using something like 3M Super 77 spray-on adhesive).
* Put your press release in the left hand pocket.
* Include a page of sample questions behind news release. This simple trick gets the host to ask you the questions you want to talk about. It works 95% of the time.
* Include a controversy sheet behind your Q&A page. This sheet features newsworthy controversial points.
* In the right hand pocket, place letters of recommendation from previous radio producers plus news clippings.
* If you've done no previous interviews, feature articles on your subject. This is how you can use other people's publicity to get booked as a guest. Check out Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature at the library to locate articles related to your pitch.

Promoting Your Book Via Radio, Part II

More from my interview with Alex Carroll of RadioPublicity.com:

10 things you need to have before doing radio interviews:

1. You've got to have a good show.
2. A toll-free number.
3. A web site is much more important now than a toll-free number.
4. Accept credit cards.
5. You may want to use an answering service. Wait and see what the demand is.
6. A good clear phone line to do interviews from.
7. A call recorder so you can critique your interviews afterwards.
8. A database of the top radio shows.
9. A great press kit.
10. Credentials: either PhD, etc. or experiential; for example, an ex-courier driver who beat 8 out of 10 tickets.

Promoting Your Book via Radio, Part 1

I hosted my first ever teleseminar on Monday, April 11th. My guest was bestselling author and radio publicity expert Alex Carroll of RadioPublicity.com.

He explained step-by-step just how simple it is to generate millions in book sales as a radio show guest without leaving home or spending anything on advertising. Alex himself has been a guest on 1,264 radio shows over the past 10 years. He's rarely left home (most radio interviews are done by telephone), he's never spent a dime on advertising (radio interviews are free), and most importantly, he's grabbed over $1.5 Million in direct to listener book sales.

Below are my notes from the teleseminar. These are obviously brief.

4 ways to get radio interviews and which ones are the most effective:

1. Place an ad in Radio/TV Interview Report. They'll help write your pitch.
2. Hire a pr firm. Expensive.
3. Mass email/fax/mail to producers. Rarely works.
4. Call the stations and pitch them yourself. Most effective.

Marketing Moron of the Month Award

Below is an excerpt from my friend Paul Hartunian's Million Dollar Publicity Strategies ezine. I think Paul always has some interesting things to say.

I just read a brochure produced by an interior decorator. I now see why most of these people are starving. Here are the first two sentences I read in that brochure:

"Hello Everyone, Welcome to my world."

Moron. What do I possibly care about her world?

What do I really care about? What's the *only* thing I care about? If you said the only thing I care about is what she can do for me, you are right on target.

So many people approach the media people the same way. They actually think reporters, editors, talk show hosts, etc. really care about their book, their product, their service or their whatever. They don't care. Nobody cares. The only thing people care about is what you can do for them.

The only thing media people care about is what you can do for them, what information you have for them, how you can make them look good to their audiences. That's the way it should be.

When you give the media people what they want, they'll give you what you want. They'll give you space in their newspapers and magazines, time on their radio and TV shows. They'll plug your products or services for you and they'll do a darn good job of it.

If this interior decorator had sent out a press release offering to tell reporters the best way to pick a qualified designer or how not to get scammed by furniture salesmen posing a designers, she would have been a media hit. Instead, she welcomed people to "her world."

She gets my Marketing Moron of the Month award.

Look over your publicity and marketing material. Do they talk about why you are so wonderful? Or do you talk about what you can do for reporters or your customers?

I don't want you to be a candidate for the next Marketing Moron of the Month.

Paul has been called the King of Tough Love Publicity. For more information about Paul's products and services, see http://www.Hartunian.com/prkit.

Promoting Your Book the Storyteller Way

The following article is excerpted from my good friend and talented radio voice and commercial producer Jeffrey Hedquist's monthly Radio Hed Lines newsletter. In writing and performing radio commercials, Jeffrey is adamant that you have to tell stories. Here's what he says:

People love stories. Best-selling books, top movies, the best radio commercials are great stories. Like a play, your commercial should have conflict, tension and resolution. Each character in a radio commercial, even if it's a simple one voice spot, should go through a transition, show some development.

One character might change from a skeptic into a believer (at least partially). Another might start out frustrated and become fulfilled by the end of the commercial. If all your characters change as they would in a play, you'll sustain your audience's interest.

More than the voices, sound effects, music and technological tools available, your ability to tell stories is the greatest skill you have. An interesting story will involve your listener's imagination, and the story becomes more their own, because they've participated in its creation.

Then, instead of trying to sell reluctant customers, you're simply building marketing elements into a story that your audience is helping create. Magic? You bet, and it all happens around the individual electronic campfires we call radios.

Jeffrey Hedquist creates short stories for the radio at Hedquist Productions, P.O. Box 1475, Fairfield IA 52556; 641-472-6708; Fax 641-472-6708. Email: jeffrey@hedquist.com. For more story resources, visit his web site at http://www.hedquist.com.

4 Great Self-Promoting Web Sites

Below are four web sites that are helping self-publishers in other fields to sell their works:

Deviant Art -- This site is helping little-known artists to promote their original art as well as sell prints of many of the entries. A wonderful site for up-and-coming artists.

CdBaby -- Founded by a musician, this site helps garage bands and other unknown musicians to sell their self-produced music CDs. The site has sold more than a million CDs already!

Pure Volume -- This site allows you to sample the work of many new musicians and groups. You can even download many songs for free. You also have the option to pay to download some songs after you listen to them. It's another great web site for singers and musicians who have produced their own music.

IndieDocs -- This more commercial site features all sorts of movies including experimental, self-distributed, IMAX, and more. Plus books about movies, producers, directors, and reference.

If you know of other sites like these for self-promoters, please let me know by emailing me at JohnKremer@bookmarket.com. There should be sites, I think, also for songwriters, poets, and others who are self-publishing or promoting their works. I love that the web allows for this kind of exposure, thus enabling people to get started without a lot of money but still get exposure to millions of potential customers and fans.

Promoting Your Books: Finding People

Are you looking for the contact information for a key media person or freelance writer? If so, here's a great web source that could help you find the person you are looking for. With it, I was able to track down two old girl friends from many, many years ago as well as myself. Amazing how many John Kremers there are out there. And only about 1/4 of them are me :)).

Here's the place to go: http://www.zoominfo.com.

This is not an April Fools joke.