“Hi,
I’m from Verizon Fios. Do you mind if I
shoot some footage in your place. You
seem to be the only store that’s busy during the rain.”
This
is what a man shouted to the owner of a local bagel joint. The owner agreed to the free publicity offer
from the local cable-access station.
I
couldn’t believe my ears and eyes. I
asked the reporter-cameraman: “Are you
seriously doing a story about the rain?”
He
responded affirmatively, informing me he covered a stabbing earlier in the day,
a Sunday.
“Isn’t
there something between a stabbing and the rain worth covering?” I asked.
I
didn’t get an answer.
Folks,
this just demonstrates where modern-day journalism is heading.
In
New York City, the media loves to cover a hint of a snow storm or a
heatwave. But the idea that a few hours
of rainfall is worthy of a story sickens my stomach. Does the media not know to cover the dozens
of issues and human interest stories that float around it? Authors, can you offer something that beats a
story about some water falling from the sky?
The
funny thing is the reporter thought the crowd at the bagel store was
substantial but at that point on a Sunday, the bagel place usually has a line
out the door. Crowds all around may have
been slightly lower due to a few lazies not wanting to venture into the light
rain but what likely reduced turnout for all stores was the fact that it was
school vacation for the week and many people had not yet returned home. It was a stupid story on many levels, and to
think the journalists don’t realize the rain alone wasn’t the main crowd
factor is sad.
But
the lesson here can’t be that rain makes headlines, but rather it’s a call to
authors to remind them that if you offer a timely, interesting, and where
possible, localized story, you stand a chance to get coverage. Maybe if your
book is about the weather you’ll be the lead story!
If
you watch the news long enough you see that many stories repeat
themselves. Haven’t we all seen the story
about the kid who raised money for a cause or the tragic shooting of a
grandma? Haven’t we seen stories about
what to buy for Mother’s Day, how to spend Valentine’s Day, or how good will
the local sports team be on its opening day? You can almost fill-in-the-blanks
and predict a story by the calendar, clock, weather or latest sporting
event. As an author-turned-promoter you
must offer up the new, unique, and different – and you must also fit into their
expectations, patterns, and seasonal preferences for stories.
Your
biggest competition could be the rain!
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Brian Feinblum’s insightful views, provocative opinions,
and interesting ideas expressed in this terrific blog are his alone and not
that of his employer or anyone else. You can – and should -- follow him on
Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels
much more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by
BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2018. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in
Westchester. His writings are often featured in The Writer and
IBPA’s Independent. This was named one of the best book
marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and
recognized by Feedspot in 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs.
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