Buzz Builder

How to Get Great Press Coverage Using Social Media Like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to Identify and Pitch Journalists

I've learned some interesting marketing lessons from promoting our book Secrets of a Working Dog: Unleash Your Potential and Create Success that should be useful for many business trying to create buzz.

When went to the Tampa Bay Area in Florida for Spring Break to get some much needed sun, we decided seek out press for our book. I couldn't find a producer for "Good Day Tampa Bay," the top-rated morning news program in the area on Fox. I entered the name of the show in the search bar of Facebook and discovered a producer who had listed the show on his profile. I knew I had the right guy when I saw him pictured with his cute dog in various photos.

I dropped the producer a note via Facebook messaging. After reading my pitch and seeing some of our previous media, he agreed to book us on for a segment which you can watch below. Since media folks get so much email, they often tune it out. I'm finding Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to be increasingly useful ways to identify and pitch journalists. 

Do you have a PR success story involving the use of social media? If you do, please share it here to inspire Buzz Builder Blog readers and shed a spotlight on your business.

 

Book Promotion Lessons - Part One: How to Break through Publishing Clutter and Increase Book Sales

I've taken an unexpected hiatus from this blog over the last eight weeks as I've been focused on selling our new book Secrets of a Working: Unleash Your Potential and Create Success (autographed copies available on the book's website and discounted copies on Amazon). The principal author of the book is Bella the Boxer, our dog and our company's director of goodwill (D.O.G.). Bella with a little writing assistance from my wife Ellen Galvin and me teaches overworked and overstressed humans how to live successful and meaningful lives by thinking like a dog.

Promoting a book takes a lot of energy because the book marketplace is such a crowded one. According to Wikipedia, in 2008 (the most recent year for which data is available), more than 275,000 new titles were released in the United States alone. Most books will sell poorly and never get beyond a first edition. In fact, facing stagnant inventory, publishers sell off a surprising number of books at significantly discounted rates or destroy excess copies (see this interesting article in Publishing Perspectives for details). 

Our goal is to sell out our current print run in six months and publish a second edition. Here are three important lessons we've learned about book promotion that should be useful to anybody interested in boosting their book sales:

Mainstream Media Still Works

With declining ad revenue for newspapers, magazines, TV stations, and radio stations over the past few years, some pundits declare that mainstream media is dying. Sure, their audiences might be slipping in terms of overall size yet these are still powerful promotional channels. We've landed radio interviews to promote the book in California, Oregon, and Florida, and each time these interviews aired we saw a surge in book orders through the book's website and Amazon, our two primary distribution channels. We're optimistic that upcoming media opportunities, including two TV interviews in Portland in the next few weeks, will continue to stimulate book sales.

The Real Value of Media Is How It's Leveraged

We've always been frustrated when we land great press for a client which is not utilized to its full potential. Media coverage is inherently credible becaus it provides credible third-party verification for your product or service. Even better, unlike advertising which has little residual value, most positive press can generate benefits far longer than when it first appears. That's why we've been posting all the media attention we've generated for the book as fast as we can. Our online press room is helping us sell books while laying the groundwork for additional media coverage. 

Your Personal Networks Is An Excellent Promotional Source

We've been thrilled with the support that friends and professional contacts have provided since the book's release. This has included buying multiple couples of the book to giveaway as Christmas gifts and spreading promotional postcards about the book to friends and colleagues. One of our good friends bought 20 copies of the book and asked me to give a webinar for people who work for her company. The first 20 people who sent in pictures of their dogs at work got free autographed copies of the book.

We've just begun our book promotion efforts, and we're excited about implementing many new ideas in the New Year. I look forward to sharing what works and what doesn't regarding book promotion.

If you have have ever written or promoted a book, what has worked in getting people to buy your book?

Bella the Boxer, Our Director of Goodwill (D.O.G.), Solidifies America's Smartest Working Dog Reputation with the Publication of Her First Book

It all started in mid-April 2008. That's when our boxer dog Bella's blog came to the attention of Marci Alboher, a New York Times reporter, and she featured Bella in her popular Shifting Careers Blog. Overnight, the popularity of Bella's blog skyrocketed and her blog traffic far surpassed anything I've ever experienced with this blog.

Bella is not a dog to rest on her laurels. Yesterday, we received shipment of 3,300 copies of Bella's brilliant book Secrets of a Working Dog: Unleash Your Potential and Create Success which she wrote for anyone who loves animals and is looking for straightforward and simple advice on how to have fun balancing the responsibilities and challenges of modern life.  Check out a photo of Bella sitting in front of boxes containing her book in her newly redesigned blog.

I confess to initial feelings of jealousy when Bella's star began to rise but I've come to terms with it. In fact, her fame has created a nice little side gig for me. Bella is no longer merely our company's director of goodwill (D.O.G.). Rather, she's a multitasking author who keeps me busy as her spokesperson before human groups interested in learning her wisdom.

"Go for No!" and Ask for Online Testimonials Where They'll Have the Biggest Impact on Sales

A couple of years ago, my wife and I stayed at a great bed and breakfast in Bend, Oregon called the Cricketwood Country B&B. We had never stayed at a B&B where we could get free cookies, ice cream, and beer at no charge whenever we wanted. Also, the hospitality of the owners in making us feel welcome at their beautiful and relaxing place on 10 acres with stellar views and comfortable rooms made our two-night stay particularly memorable. The gourmet breakfast, which is included in the room rate, simply has to be experienced to be believed.

When it came time to check out, I told one of the owners how much we enjoyed our stay. He said that he appreciated the kind words. Then, he whipped out his business card and said, "If you wouldn't mind sharing your opinion with others, I would really appreciate your taking the time to put your comments on one or both of the websites that many people who visit Bend check out." On the back of his card, the URLs for TripAdvisor and Yahoo! Travel, two of the leading travel websites, were noted. Of course, as marketer, I admired his focused approach at directing testimonials and had to ask whether this was helping his business. He asked me, "How did you find Cricketwood?" When I responded that I chose Cricketwood because it was (and still is) the top-rated B&B in Bend according to TripAdvisor, he just smiled. 

Of course, it's nice when customers tell you nice things about your business. But, do those words have a long-term impact. Why don't more business owners direct fans to customer review websites where testimonials will reap long-term benefits? I'm sure that fear of coming across as demanding is a major concern. Yet, if people love a business, many will be happy to post a testimonial or review online where it will most impact the business. They just have to be asked to do this.
 

Experience has taught me that many business owners don't direct testimonials because they fear hearing "no." To get over this concern, I strongly recommend a powerful book called "Go for No!" which is an engaging story about how embracing "no" rather than fearing it is the path to success. If you like the book, you'll enjoy the entertaining and motivating "Go for No!" movie which is now out on DVD and features interviews with 50 top performers in a variety of professions sharing their stories about how they achieved success following a simple principle: "You can achieve virtually ANYTHING you want in life if you are willing to hear 'No' often enough!"

Why "Go for No!" Makes Sense for Businesses, Missionaries and More

If you're interested in building buzz for your product or service but don't have the luxury of a large marketing budget, it's important to tell people the "good news" about what you're selling. Sure, you will hear a lot of people say that they're not interested. Without question, hearing "no" can be so discouraging that many entrepreneurs and sales people simply stop  trying.

According to  Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz' excellent book  Go for No!, when you hear "no" from prospects, it means that you're on the right track. Rather than merely counting the number of times that you get rejected, figure out how many people that you must engage typically before you hear "yes." That way, every time you hear "no," you know that you're actually closer to success since negative feedback means you'll soon start hearing "yes."

I heard a wonderful illustration of  the "Go for No!" principle on This American Life, my favorite NPR program. Take about 10 minutes to listen to Act Three: Mission Impossible which describes the challenges of two young Mormon missionaries on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The young missionaries describe their typical 60 hour work week in which their sole objective is engaging people on the streets and inviting them to visit the Mormon temple.  Their average conversation is about 30 seconds and usually ends in a resounding "not interested" (or something much more colorful - it's NYC after all). A successful week means getting three or four people to attend a Mormon service.

Such a low number of conversations resulting in church attendance sounds like an abysmal number. But, consider the success of the Mormon Church in growing. Today, the Mormon Church has more than 12 million members, more than doubling its numbers in the past quarter-century. In large part, the growth of the Mormon Church can be attributed to young missionaries who haven't been afraid to "go for no."

It's no wonder that one of the missionaries in the radio story says that he is considering a career in life insurance sales. If he decides upon that course, I'm sure that he'll be successful because he has learned firsthand that "no"  is a word full of encouraging possibilities.