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Writing, Publishing, and Marketing Want free publicity? Think like a reporter! By Patrika Vaughn acappub@aol.com http://www.acappela.com Patrika Vaughn, published author, editor, publisher, teacher and literary agent who is known as "The Author's Advocate." Through her website, www.acappela.com, she helps new authors achieve publishing success. Want free publicity? Think like a reporter! You want the world to know about your book or product but your promotion budget is small. Not a problem if you know how to get free publicity.If you want your releases to see print, you must be able to separate real news from promotional puffery. You have to be able to deliver a sharp story angle that will be of real interest to the news-reading or –viewing public. And you have to be able to deliver this angle in a professional way. You own a website, right? Well, your goal is to get your website featured in newspapers around the country. Here are some facts you have to pay attention to: 1.Reporters don't care about helping you. 2.Reporters are hassled all day by PR people and they pretty sick of it. 3.Reporters don't care about your website, your book, your products or your life story – unless you are providing something that helps make their job easier: a really good story. When you design your public relations campaign, develop your angles, develop your media materials and begin contacting the press, always ask yourself, “What can I do at this step that will make this more useful to a journalist?” That means developing story angles from a reporter's perspective, not as an author gushing about his/her creation, like a grannie who forces photos on everyone of her precious grandchild. That also means using proper etiquette when you contact a reporter or editor. Can you tie your release into some current event of great public interest? Can you relate it in some way to a celebrity? Is there a humorous connection that can be made? The acid test is to show your release to few total strangers and ask if they find it interesting. If they yawn, go back to your computer and try another angle. And remember, one audience's riveting release may leave another cold, so match your pitch to the audience. |