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The Tip Sheet
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issue of : December 2008
Welcome to the Tip Sheet
Please feel free to forward our e-zine to your friends and colleagues. If you would like to contact us about any of the content in the Tip Sheet, please e-mail Deborah Kohan. To unsubscribe to the Tip Sheet, please click on the link at the end of the newsletter.
Quote of the Month
“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” -- Benjamin Franklin
If you have a great quote to share, please send it to tipsheet@plannedtvarts.com. Thanks.
"The Business" From PTA
Are you a business author ready to enter the “blogosphere” but do not have the time to devote to your own blog? We have your solution. In January of 2009 PTA will launch our own Business Book blog, “The Business.” We understand that it is often difficult for authors to generate enough content to build and sustain an effective blog. Our idea for “The Business” is that with multiple authors contributing each will benefit from the combined result without having to “become a 24/7 blogger.” We are currently accepting submissions from business writers. This opportunity is free to PTA clients and Tip Sheet subscribers. So if you are a business writer, feel free to send us an article or a post. Please send submissions to our Interactive Director, Jeff Nordstedt.
Pitch Ideas
Looking for an event to anchor your pitch idea? Some of these ideas just might translate into a Morning Drive, a Satellite TV Tour, or a road tour topic:
January 2008
Politics:
- 4th – Dimpled Chad Day
- 20th - Inauguration Day
Business:
- Financial Wellness Month
- 26th – Better Business Communication Day
Health:
- Family Fit Lifestyle Month
- 1st – 7th – Diet Resolution Week
Sports:
- 1st – Rose Bowl and Orange Bowl, 2nd – Sugar Bowl, 5th – Fiesta Bowl
- 12th – 25th – Australian Tennis Open
General Interest:
- National Clean Up Your Computer Month
- 12th – National Clean Up Your Desk Day
- 15th – 25th – Sundance Film Festival
Holidays:
- 1st – New Year’s Day
- 19th – Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- 26th – Chinese New Year
Surfin'
Some are industry related, some are fun and some are just plain quirky sites that our PTA Interactive division recommends:
HOW TO CHANGE THE WORLD: A Practical Blog for Impractical People
Guy Kawasaki is a new media rock star. He began his career as the evangelist for Apple computers. He has moved on to a successful career as an entrepreneur, author and blogger. His blog is a great way to keep up (or catch up) on the latest developments in new media.
Twitter is the new social media tool du jour. It is a “micro blogging” tool. Think of it like a cross between a blog and a text message. Like most social media tools, it began as a seemingly silly way to fritter away your time online, but it has grown into a powerful networking tool that can be used to build an online platform and market a book. As a bonus, here is a link that’ll give you some tips on how to use Twitter for business.
BASIL AND SPICE
Basil and Spice is a great site that collects articles and other content from authors on various topics regarding healthy living. If you are interested in healthy living, try subscribing to their RSS feed. If you are a health author, send them a book.
PTA's Free Teleseminars
Past Teleseminars: If you missed our last Teleseminar, go to our website to stream or download the audio. We have about 70 hours of great information for you!
Tips From the Top
When looking to hire a publicist, you should interview every firm or consultant that you are considering. Below are a few questions excerpted from Author 101: Book Publicity by Rick Frishman and Robyn Freedman Spizman with Mark Steisel, that you can consider asking:
- How long have you been in business?
- How many books do you publicize each year?
- What kinds of books do you specialize in?
- What is your plan and timeline for my campaign?
- What fees would you charge for my campaign?
- How much in expenses should I expect to incur for my campaign?
- How much access will I have to the strategists who design my campaign?
- How much input will I have in my campaign?
- Will I receive weekly communications on my campaign?
- What specific results can I expect to receive?
- What can I do if I don’t receive the results promised?
- What results have you created for similar clients in the past?
- Who are they and may I contact them?
For PR Firms
- Who will lead my account? Is this the person I will work with?
- Who runs the division or group that will be handling my account?
- What is the experience and expertise of all the team members?
- How much time will they put in on my account? An excerpt from the National Bestseller
What Have You Done For Me Lately
Here’s a sampling of our latest bookings. For Dr. Kiron Skinner’s book Strategy of Campaigning (HOOVER INSTITUTION), PTA DC secured appearances on:
- American Morning
- CNN News
- Fox News Election News
- Fox and Friends
- PBS Dennis Wholey
- Tavis Smiley
- The Michael Reagan Show
For J. Walter Thompson’s AMERICAN DREAM SURVEY, we booked:
- Los Angeles Times
- The Newark Star-Ledger
- U.S. News & World Report Blog
- Washington Times
- Associated Press
For Marilyn Carlson Nelson, the chairman and former CEO of Carlson, one of the largest privately held companies in the U.S. (the parent company of Radisson, Country Inn, and TGI Fridays) and author of How We Lead Matters (McGraw-Hill), PTA conducted a print campaign resulting in such hits as:
- Associated Press
- Selling Power
- Marie Claire
- Directors & Boards
- Chief Executive
- Boardroom Insider
- Workforce Professional
For Disney Books, PTA outreached to regional parenting magazines in order to secure placements in their Holiday Gift Guides. We booked the following outlets, among others:
- New Jersey Suburban Parent
- Orange County Parent
- Cleveland Leader
- Baton Rouge Parent
- Coastal Family
- Tampa Bay Baby
- York Parent
Publishing Trends
Book publishers are publishing more titles than ever – but selling fewer copies of each. They are trying to match the ever diverse and fickle passions of the consumer. This past year, according to Books In Print, over 412, 000 new books were published. To promote those books, publishers are:
- Experimenting with movie-like book trailers online.
- Sending more review copies to bloggers of influence, fewer to newspaper and magazine reviewers.
- Scheduling radio interviews by phone.
- Conducting satellite television tours rather than sending authors on long road tours.
- Seeking to package an author’s prior books with their new one.
- Encouraging authors to hire publicists to build their brand.
- Creating speaker bureaus for their authors.
- Making portions of books available as free downloads to entice readers.
As technology changes how we get our information and entertainment, it also changes how we promote them. But what hasn’t changed, in an ever-growing competitive media landscape, is the need to promote these information products. The economic downturn, though it is impacting the publishing world, may provide a good opportunity to those who choose to invest in publicizing their books. Because some are scaling back on the number of books they are promoting, it gives those that are promoting their books a chance at less competition and more visibility. Consistent PR efforts and savvy marketing have always served a purpose, aside from generating immediate sales, which is to generate buzz for a brand, to create credibility for an author, and to advance a message. There is no question that if one doesn’t market their book it will severely hamper its ability to sell. Publishers and authors should heed one bit of advice: even during a period of economic slowdown, one fundamental hasn’t changed -- PR pays off.