There are many ways to approach the news media and secure a media placement, such as an interview, book review, feature story, or guest blog post. You can be assertive -- even aggressive. You can be creative. You can be forceful. One way or another you have the drive and confidence to get a piece of the media real estate to claim as your own.
Here are 10 approaches many have found to be successful for them:
<1. Sound Urgent, But Not Desperate
State, in a matter-of-fact way, that you have something important, timely, and newsworthy that needs to be revealed right now. Sound the alarm!
<2. Sound Smart, But Not Snobby
The media likes its intellects. It thinks of itself as being smarter than others and gravitates towards others with a command of the English language. Increase your vocabulary, increase your media exposure.
<3. Offer An Exclusive
The media jump at the chance to scoop their competition. They perceive you have something worthwhile when you toss around “exclusive” or “embargo.”
<4. Relate Your Pitch In The Outlet’s Demographics
Your message needs to be targeted to the readers/listeners/viewers of the show/publication/site. If the audience is women in their 30’s and 40’s, speak to them and appeal to what their needs/goals/desires are. If the readership is wealthy, 55+ men, then they will obviously want to hear a different spin.
<5. Make An Assertion, Raise A Question
You can make an outrageous claim without sounding like a lie if you position it as a possible scenario. Rather than saying “Obama’s healthcare plans will bankrupt America,” which sounds extreme, if not, untrue, you can say: “Could 20,000 businesses shut down next year if Obamacare provisions aren’t altered?”
<6. Make A Bold Prediction
As an author/expert, analyze the facts and extrapolate the data -- then say, something wild about the future as long as it's based on reality: “Rise In Diabetes Will Force Medical Schools To Turn Out More, But Less Qualified, Doctors.”
<7. Use Catchy Phrases
“Smartphone users do these five dumb things”
“Retiring old approaches to thriving in your Golden Years”
“How to win a lawsuit after confessing your guilt”
<8. Play On Fears/Emotions
This always works when you measure the temperature of the people’s state of mind and their perceptions/biases/habits and then say something that plays on those emotions and views.
<9. Make An Accusation
Do a good vs. evil approach. Get angry- and make others feel the fire too: Hollywood Still Objectifies Women, Leading to Sexist Crimes," new book claims.
<10. Offer An Optimistic Reward
“Lose 10 pounds this week using diet book’s advice.”
“Make a million dollars in 50 weeks from new book’s strategy.”
“Bring your lover to orgasm every time following book’s approach.”
Whatever approach you take, experiment until you find the right style to win over the media, but the winning combination varies from media outlet to media outlet.
Book Excerpt
The True Dynamics of Life
“The human conditioning is a machine which trains you from birth to become something other than what you really are. It is a process of filling you up with the requirements of the machine in order to act according to its desires. You have to become a slave and there is a strong pull in everyone to find out if there is a life that exists outside of the machine. We are having a relationship with each other, and the world through hidden intent which is born from seductive and parasitic behavior. Every generation was taught it and every generation passes it along. There are very few people who have stopped to ask what is really going on, who want to know what makes this world tick and why we do what we do. There are the people who have looked within themselves and seen their own part in the game and they have refused to play it. When you take the blinkers from your eyes you, see everything. It might not be a pleasant sight, but it is the truth and you deserve no less than the absolute truth, because then you are no longer a slave.
Don’t Miss These Recent Posts
Why Aren’t There Any Signs Of Books On The Road?
Sell Books Where They Don’t – Including Funeral Homes, Police Stations & Hair Salons
What Can You Do With Old, But Underexposed Content?
How Does Time Impact Your Book Publicity
The Role Of Connectivity & Book Publicity
Creativity & Book Publicity
The Role Of Money In Book Publicity
What Is Your Attitude Towards Book Publicity?
How Can Authors Measure Social Media Success?
25 Ways For Authors To Break Through & Establish A Legacy
Do You Market Your Books Doggy Style?
Why Authors – and Publicists & Publishers Need A Therapist
Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2013
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.