Does
your message to the media have something of substance? Style can add to a message, but the core of
that message must be good.
Just
ask The New York Jets.
This past week was Opening Day for the NFL. The Jets failed to old a 16-0 lead, blowing the game to a mediocre opponent.
New year, same old Jets.
This past week was Opening Day for the NFL. The Jets failed to old a 16-0 lead, blowing the game to a mediocre opponent.
New year, same old Jets.
Every
year I make the mistake of rooting for a horrible franchise with a half -century
of losing to its credit. That’s
right. They are zero for their last 50
seasons. The championship run has
stalled for several generations. So what
did my favorite football team do?
Instead
of bringing in some quality players they decided they had to fix their
image. They changed their uniforms and
made their helmet a little shinier and their green colored jersey a little
richer looking.
The
Jets are re-arranging the deck chairs while the Titanic is sinking.
You
don’t have to know much about sports, football, or the lowly Jets to understand
what I’m saying. Content counts. In this
case, the player personnel is absent. In
your case, make sure your book is solid and your pitch to the media has real
meat in it.
No
one likes to feel fooled. The Jets try
to dress up an inferior product and have failed miserably. Your presentation to the media should be
inviting but factual – and it should deliver something of value.
Don’t
sell the media on a flashy website, a glossy press kit, a colorful business
card, or a good-looking author. Sell
them on good ideas, real news, great stories, interesting moments.
Too
often we think PR or marketing is about being flashy, cool, slick, colorful,
and noisy. It’s much more than
that. You can fool consumers and
distract them and bullshit them. But you
can’t sucker the news media into covering your book.
So
what will sell the media on something?
Well, you can take a few approaches:
·
Tell
the truth, state the facts, and make yourself available. If the story is strong enough, they will respond.
·
Do
the above – but work hard at showing why something is amazing, important,
interesting, or unusual. Again, no hype
or falsehoods. State the truth in an
appealing way.
·
Try
either approach 1 or 2 but add in being creative in how you reach the media. Are
you persistent and following through? Are
you sending it to multiple people at each media outlet? Have you tried to reach them via e-mail, snail mail, messenger, phone, in-person, or on social media?
·
Did
you find a way to customize your pitch to a specific media outlet or reporter?
Give-aways
and razzle dazzle don’t really do it for today’s media. Gimmicks, widgets, or colorful
marketing materials may get you nowhere.
Even trying to entertain the media, with meals or tickets to events, may
not go far, as the media is quite busy.
Stick
to pitching the media with substantive content.
Leave the new-uniform approach home.
It hasn’t worked for the Jets, and it won’t for you, either.
“We
are what we think.”
--Buddha
“Never
give up, because it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”
--Yogi Berra
“Youth
is wasted on the young."
--George Bernard
Shaw
“You
see things and you say, “Why?” But I see
things that never were; and I say, “Why not?”
--George Bernard
Shaw
“What
is a cynic? A m who knows the price of
everything and the value of nothing.”
--Oscar Wilde
“The
only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything.”
--Theodore
Roosevelt
“Charity
begins at home.”
--Terence
“Life
imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life.”
--Oscar Wilde
DON”T MISS THESE!!!
The Book
Marketing Strategies Of Best-Sellers
How
Authors Can Sell More Books
No. 1
Book Publicity Resource: 2019 Toolkit For Authors -- FREE
How
Authors Get Bulk Sales Now
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.