What
exactly is the message you want to convey and sell to the news media so
journalists, broadcasters, and social media sites will want to cover you and
your book?
It’s
a simple question but the answer often befuddles authors, who are too close to their
subject matter and too invested in their books to find clarity. However, for the media to pay any attention
to you, an author must perfect the following:
1. An
inviting subject line for an email pitch.
Without that, people won’t even click to open the email to see what you
have to offer.
2. A
powerful opening paragraph to your pitch or press release. Once they see something worthy clicking on
and find the headline inviting – or at least not a turn-off, they want to know
what it is that you are offering.
3. The
other core element to your pitch or press release are the 4-6 one-line bullet points that you include to highlight what you will talk about or describe why
the book is unique and newsworthy. Don’t
just say the book’s great – show us what’s great.
4. Somewhere
in your pitch you need to state -- briefly --what your qualifications for writing
the book are. How is your career,
personal experience, or place in society related to what you write about? There will be a place for a detailed
biography in your press kit materials, but you still need a few lines that sum
up your relevance in your pitch.
5. A
great 20-second elevator pitch. That’s
it – a third of a minute is what you have to present your book and your life to
the media. When you talk to the media, whether by phone or in person, you need
to succinctly state what you are offering and to say so without sounding
staged, scripted or rehearsed.
So
how do you find a way to present your message under such restrictions of time
and/or word length?
First,
just free-think and allow yourself to brainstorm with no limits. Jot down words, phrases, or sentences about
what’s special, interesting, new, or unique about your book and yourself.
Second,
once done, start to fill in the blanks and then reshape with better word
choices. Finally, re-order these
thoughts from most important to least.
Remove any repetition and edit it down so that it makes sense but utilize an economy of words.
Third,
imagine being the media professional, and someone else is selling himself to
you. What are you looking for and how do
you hear what’s being shared with you.
Turn a mirror to yourself and see how you look to others who know
nothing about you and tend to look at others in a scrutinizing, jaded manner.
What’s a good message to share?
·
It
should be relevant to the media outlet or specific person that you contact. A
rock station isn’t necessarily interested in a book on business nor is a
woman’s magazine interested in a story about men who want to reform the prison
system. Know your audience and the needs
of whom you are contacting.
·
It
should be timely, relate to things in the news, reflect current trends, or tie
into the calendar – a holiday, a season, an honorary day, the weather, and things
that happen annually from graduations and birthdays to spring break and
industry conventions.
·
It
should expose a secret, share a truth, convey a new philosophy, challenge a
myth, or break new ground.
·
It
can be controversial and against expectation. It can challenge the
establishment or present a revised way of looking at history.
·
It
can be new, unique and fresh – something not seen or spoken of ever before.
·
It
can be about a personal or professional experience that helps others or is so
odd and initially great or horrific that people would be extremely curious.
·
It
can raise a question and spark a debate.
·
It
can issue a challenge, make a claim, demand change, call for action or
represent a protest, lawsuit, boycott, or ban.
·
It
can exploit humor, sex, power, wealth, religion or politics – something that is
entertaining and sure to be talked about.
Your
message can be about anything – starting with the facts of the book’s content
and your relevant background. Then, you
can shape it to fit the criteria of the media outlet and the day or time that
you contact them. Whatever it is that
you determine is your best message, be prepared to alter it, taking into
account the feedback that you receive.
As
great as your book may be – or as amazing as your life may seem – none of it
matters unless you can gift wrap it into a tidy message that the media can
understand, believes it wants, and concludes that only you can provide.
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