Leave your Mark

If you’re an author, media coverage is the best and most cost-effective way to increase your book’s sales. What media coverage does, that no ad can do, is build your credibility among your target audience.

From the smallest to the largest outlets, the media is hammered daily with the need to find good field experts, authors and business owners for their broadcasts, blogs, and print publications. When you actively promote yourself/product, it becomes much easier for the media to find YOU!

Three key areas to focus on when promoting yourself:

1) Be Organized – in our high-paced society, I encourage clients to KIS (Keep it Simple). Your marketing material should tell the media why you are important and why they would be interested in you. You only have a couple minutes to get them hooked. First impressions are everything. You can give details on your second date! Don’t overindulge or gorge your contact with too much for them to digest. Information pages should include About Me, Story Ideas, Q & A, and a few endorsements.

2) Provide a Professional Presence – Recently during a booking call a host asked if I had anyone that discussed the topic of online safety for teens. At the time I wasn’t working with an “expert” on that topic but, I did what any good publicist would do… I found one!
After searching online and making a couple phone calls I found an expert for my host. As you can imagine, this is a BIG topic and there were many qualified people I could choose from. One of the main reasons I made my selection was because of their professional presence online. Do you wear flip-flops and cut-off shorts to an interview? Of course not! Your professional presence, both online and off, shows the media that you’re the go-to person when they need information on a topic.

3) What’s Your Story? — You need to be different, stand out, and be memorable! The main objective of a media source is to serve their audience. Show them the difference between you and your competition, illustrate how your story fits the topics they cover, and teach how you and your book match the latest trends, conversations and breaking news.

When you’re building new relationships or strengthening existing media associations you need to use everything at your disposal to give yourself an edge. Position yourself as an expert with a unique perspective with something different to offer.