First Word

  Some people have been watching the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard trial religiously -- almost on the same scale with the OJ Simpson trial back in the 90s. This high-profile defamation case has played out in an interesting way when it comes to a public relations perspective.  Depp's team has masterfully used social media to show how he's kind and genuine with people. If you watch mainstream media versus social media, the difference in attitude is totally opposite. Mainstream media has villainized Depp and seems to lean more toward Amber Heard. Meanwhile social media and experts and fans do not see it quite the same way.  Most of social media and average people watching this trial soon realized that Heard's testimony is questionable.  Social media's portrayal of Depp has been masterful at repairing his image. I assume that Depp's team is well aware of the tactics they've taken, which are brilliant. We see Depp doing a live performance in his iconic character Captai...

Let's discuss an important topic when it comes to publishing a book - building your following . Many of my authors aspire to either traditionally publish their next books or attract the attention of our foreign rights agents (we have two of them). Key to both opportunities is a strong following to justify the acquisition or overseas sale of the book. So what tips and tricks can you apply to your marketing and promotion to build aforementioned following?   The easiest way to build a following is social media . Social media has different affects: it can justify the case to the agents or traditional publishers. What if your sales aren't commensurate with your following, though? Well, if you have book fan page with thousands of fans, then you can show the potential of followers interested in what you're doing. Every little bit helps. And remember this one important factor: PUBLISHERS ARE A BUSINESS! A SURE THING IS THE ONE THING THEY WANT TO INVEST IN . Pleas...

So you're pitching your book or you've hired someone (hopefully me) to do it. I recently had a client say, he tried many times to get into Experience Life magazine (for his first book). I said, "Did you follow up after you pitched it?" He said, "No." I replied, "Fortune is in the Follow-Up," which is a great older book by Heidi Sloss we published several years ago. Follow-up is critical. Do you give up after one try? Don't give up if you want success and here's why...   How many times have you had an in-box full of email? Do you answer all of them right on the spot? Well, I do but I am the exception to the rule. I follow a strict customer service policy of being available and responsive. The only time I'm not responsive is after hours. Now, I have exceptions depending on the client. I have many casual and friendly relationships with clients where I respond regardless. We have that kind of rapport. Clients that I don...

Funny thing happened when I posted this simple sentence on Facebook: I need to be inspired! Apparently, I should have been more specific. I need to be inspired to write my next book. The responses to that phrase ranged from generous thoughts to some outright and strange nastiness. One guy said: Look in the mirror and count your blessings??? Another guy responded with “clown ass, I don’t think she needs to hear that…” About this time, I’m laughing over the word “clown ass” … okay, new phrase. Not entirely sure why anyone would get all “pissy” over the request for inspiration, though. The interesting point is the power of words and interpretation. A general statement turned into something that people were either telling me nice things are being jerks about. A broad range of reactions to something so innocuous and simple. Makes you think about it, doesn’t it? In Lance Casazza’s forthcoming book Thank God for Layovers: Take your life from coach to first class ,...

Is your book or product or service just not picking up the momentum you had hoped to achieve? Don’t give up on it. You know what I just said about thinking differently? You have to think about new and inventive ways to ignite that important sales spark. In a recent conversation with DB Stearns about writing a documentary based on his research done for his Harmonic Wars book series, an interesting discussion sparked. I told him that the documentary wasn’t necessary. He was being invited on radio shows to discuss the research put into the book series. I explained he just needed to reposition his platform of which the book is a part. Do you understand what is “repositioning”? When you reposition your product you are finding a new angle to pitch. In Doug’s case (and I’m assuming since I didn’t ask), he was pitching a new novel about an interesting topic. What he needed to do since his responses from the media wanted to know more about the “interesting” topic was focus on...

What about those blog tours for book promotion? I wonder about those tours and whether or not they lead to any kind of success. The authors I know who have done them have not seen a demonstrative increase in book sales. If you have done one and it helped your sales I would love to hear your story. The most success I’ve seen when it comes to book sales has been in nationwide exposure. So, let me share what I’ve seen work. Nationwide exposure in one key media can make a best seller . The word here is key media. I’ve seen books enjoy national exposure in some major media, but if that media outlet doesn’t reflect the right demographic for your book, it will generate only a small handful of sales. A book promoted to the right media that reached the “sweet spot” of your demographic can produce in a single promotion a best seller. So a national spot in and of itself won’t necessarily produce results. It has to be the right media placement to the right audience. ...

When it comes to public relations and promotion, the key to ongoing success is persistence. Don't let the newness and excitement of a new product or service wane after the shine has worn off. The most successful people whether business people or authors are the ones who don't stop promoting and networking and pushing. The shelf life of any product once it gets past the new promotion and launch is dependent upon the ongoing effort to keep it in front of the public and promote interest.   The no. #1 mistake I see almost every author I have ever worked with is this:   Losing interest in their own product and moving on to something new and exciting again.   I would say that at least 80 percent of the people I work with lose interest in their product/book after about six months. Interest is especially lost once the initial sales finish and the book must now stand on its promotional and marketing efforts to continue to sell. One of the key problems is ...

Creating a best-selling book is contingent upon three things: Great promotion + great story + market interest at the time + plain old luck Every author that comes for a consult with my company 3L Publishing (www.3LPublishing.com) generally hopes for a successful book. No one comes to me and says they want to fail. When I counsel people I always tell them that their mindset determines failure. If the one outcome is a national best seller and the dream of joining that 1% of elite authors who dominant the market then that's loftier than I can promise. Of course, as an author who doesn't aspire to be in that 1% dream slice of the pie? For the sake of not setting up false expectations, I always tell them that if the idea is for the very fact that they authored a book to create new opportunities then with all assurance I feel confident the book will absolutely reach that goal. In the meantime, authors can either hire a publicist to help them promote their books (and you can c...

I often respond to Help a Reporter Out (HARO) queries to promote and market 3L Publishing (www.3LPublishing.com). I read today a question: How has the digital age changed your PR strategies? Good question and relevant to the overall transition from print-based services going to e-services. Here is my hands-on experience with the digital evolution of public relations and marketing: Media kits don't necessarily have to be printed anymore . When I was a magazine editor, we received all press promotion in the form of paper media kits. The print costs for the folders and content could be enormously expensive. The cost was naturally transferred to the client. A national media campaign just for print costs alone cost thousands of dollars. Now my best estimate is that a small minority of media still want print media kits sent. I do run into those outlets that want sample copies of print books to be included, but even these outlets are starting to accept the eBook version and e-media...

1. The media won't take you seriously pitching your own products. When it comes to publishing and self-publishing, the media especially won't take your book seriously. It will just go in the pile of unprofessional "perceptions". 2. Credibility, which dovetails into what the no. #1. You want to position yourself as a creditable professional. This doesn't always apply if you ARE a publicist. I can approach my contacts on my own projects because I have a known publicist. 3. Proper contacts -- your publicist should know who in the industry to contact. It's better when your publicist knows the media people. It makes it easier to get their attention. For example, my contacts know 3L Publishing books are first-rate books. So, when I call and put a book in front of a media person's face, that person will take it more seriously since it's got the 3L logo on it. Do you need to hire a proper publicist? If so, contact 3L Publishing at 916-300-8012 or email i...

The book cover and the title are your first marketing messages to grab potential readers. A great book cover counts as much as the title. In the nonfiction area in particular, a subtitle holds equal weight. You can have a creative title, but your subtitle must spell out what your book is really about.  So here is a lesson most authors should embrace:   It's okay to have a unique title for your book as long as your subtitle says what the book is specifically about . You don't need to make the subtitle "sexy" either. If the book's main title is so eclectic that the reader won't honestly understand it right from the start, then the subtitle should spell out the rest. Our Foreign Rights Agent Nigel emphasized this tip. He said book buyers need to know in less than a second what your book is about or they'll pass it right by and move on to the next.  

I always tell business people that writing a book and the value it brings your business isn't measured by individual book sales. It's measured by opportunities. Here are three "opportunities" having a professionally published book can do for your business. 1. Subject Matter Expert. Whether you feel like an expert or not is beside the point. A book in people's minds means you know enough about a particular subject to write about it. Subject Matter Experts get asked to do the following, which provide more opportunities ... 2. Speaking Engagements. Speaking to a group makes you the center of attention. The aforementioned expertise creates credibility. Credibility impresses people. And speaking to a room gives your company exposure to the audience members. And what does exposure do? 3. Attracts Business. Now you've gained credibility and had an "opportunity" to share your expertise and business acumen to a group (audience). Exposure to your busines...

The Daily Cup: Issue 6 ​ Q: Is social media replacing traditional networking to attract business? A: In some respects, yes. When it comes to social media vs. networking you almost have a chicken before the egg situation. You have to build following in social media to effectively market, and you can't build an adequate following without networking -- and round it goes. My advice is to start by doing traditional networking and have your fan pages set up ahead of time. Make sure you've got the requisite "find me" on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. on your marketing promo. As you're networking encourage people to follow you. Once you've got a big enough following then you can begin to enjoy the results on social media. Remember, though, to participate in your social media community. While in-person networking can be slowed down once your social media is established, you still have to be a "member" of that social media community. In...

The Daily Cup: Issue 5   Q: Can you market without using social media? A: No, social media is the trend in marketing and communication. Not Tweeting or using Instagram or Facebook puts you behind the curve. When doing marketing and outreach, you need a fan page or Twitter account. You need to look at demographics and reach. The younger millennials are taking over Twitter while Generation X and the Baby Boomers are generally more involved with Facebook. Many people don't even get their news from mainstream media anymore. They depend on the announcements and news feeds to deliver more specific and personalized updates. Many media contacts expect to be contacted via Facebook. I've even had people direct me to their Facebook accounts to make submissions of press releases. The real way to look at it -- think of social media as a PART of your marketing mix and not the whole. It's merely one spoke in the wheel, but it has to be a spoke for the whole thin...

The Daily Cup: Issue 4 ​   Q: What is your "boiler plate"? A: A boiler plate is a brief description of your company, product or service. It is typically about 30 to 50 words in length. A boiler plate can also be the About section of a brochure, paper, website, one-sheet or any marketing collateral. ​The boiler plate is written to let the audience know what is your company ... your product ... your service ... your program. It should cover "who, what, where, when, and why." In fact, when you write your boiler plate, use that protocol and answer each of those questions one at a time. Build on top of it with each answer. Smooth out your wording. Cut unnecessary words or adjectives, but also keep some excitement, too. If you find you've gone past 50 words, cut some more. Figure out what isn't necessary to say. Your boiler plate can also be used as your "elevator pitch" when you're out networking, too. Every time you send someo...

The Daily Cup: Issue 3 ​ Q: What's the worst mistake people make on their websites? A: They either forget to include contact information or they put the information somewhere difficult to find. Many of you might be surprised by that answer. It's true. Businesses and individuals commonly forget to include contact information or a way to contact them. Your contact information should be easy to find, easy to understand, and easy to use. Do not make the mistake of not putting it right on your menu of information. I do not recommend burying it at the bottom of your website either. Many people put a contact link in small font at the bottom of the homepage. Avoid that method. Put it right on the end of the your menu bar items. Always include a phone number and email address. You might also include a submission form. However, do not only provide a submission form. If you have someone's attention you want to capture it. It's only a matter of second before their...

I'm starting a daily blog written exclusively to help business leaders and owners learn more about marketing and public relations tips to grow business. Q: Do you know what your media kit should contain? A: A press release That sound basic enough. Yet many professionals don't know what should be in a media kit. A press release is the most obvious answer, but not everyone knows what a media kit is or what it's for much less what it should contain. A press release is written to give your service, product or business exposure to the media. What does the media want to see? Most media is for entertainment or news. Whether it's broadcast, print or online, every press release should have a "news hook" and the news hook should relate to the headlines of the day or be relevant to something going on in the world. For more information, contact us at 916-300-8012 or send email to info@3LPublishing.com.

I think sales can be one of the most difficult parts of any company. I have recently received a spat of what I'm going to call "the-put-you-down" method to help "fix you". Any business owner who has been solicited with unwanted "put-downs" to get his/her business can relate to this story. I once dated a very successful businessman. He was a nice looking older gentlemen. Now when I say "dated" it was only one date for breakfast. I'll now explain why it never got to lunch. This gentlemen proceeded to tell me sales techniques and how colors affect people's impressions of others. He talked about cool and warm colors. Without getting too much further into this story, he told me my blond tresses needed to be lighter (a cooler color would be best). I want to remind you this was a "first" date and I barely knew this man. Later on he went onto my website and provided a critique of our shopping cart methodology. He called me (natu...

eBooks are definitely taking over . Don't ignore the eBook revolution -- it's happening. While print is currently dominating, don't expect that to last past the next two to three years. The industry will continue to shift much like the cell phone put the land line into check. Yes, there are still land lines, but I don't even use one in my business. Watch that trend to continue with eBooks until print is strictly "novelty" vs. norm. Authors who fail to support their books will not win the game . Let me give you an example. Josh Mathe, author of In the Footsteps of Greatness, recently embarked on a book tour at the regional REI stores. He sold books directly to readers, but also his eBook and print sales reflected his activities. Other authors who either get tired, bored, frustrated or give up will see sales reflect their own attitudes about their books. Everyone can publish via publishing services, the market is glutted, and you better know how to make your...

When I open my presentations, I ask two questions: “How many of you throw away books in the trashcan?” I follow up that question with the next one, “How many of you throw away brochures in the nearest garbage can?” The second question provides the audience’s a-ha moment. Most people feel value when they buy or are given a book. A book has weight. It has pages. It has merit. It conveys the perception of knowledge and expertise and time and money to publish. A feeling of guilt or at least a sense of environmental responsibility overcomes the desire to toss all that time, money, expertise, and most importantly “paper” into the garbage can. On the other hand, how many flyers, tri-fold brochures or one-sheets create such a moral or ethical dilemma that you actually feel guilty to throw it away? I’ll be honest. I’ve thrown away countless brochures. I even curse when someone shoves a flyer under my car windshield wiper because now I have to find a garbage can so I’m ...