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The Tip Sheet
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issue of : July 2009
FICTION TO THE RADIO FOREFRONT
A Morning Drive Radio Tour (MDRT) is a cornerstone for any new book publicity campaign—even fiction. Current events, celebrity news, how-to, health, and finance have always been natural subjects for radio, but PTA has had increased success promoting fiction authors with radio. We have booked successful tours for both name brands (Dean Koontz, Janet Evanovich, Jackie Collins, Diana Palmer) as well as up-and-coming and even first-time authors writing in a variety of genres (thriller, romance, YA, science fiction, and memoir).
PTA succeeds where other fail by drawing on our vast experience pitching radio. Our team of in-house publicists work closely with publishers to develop a pitch that resonates with both producers and audience. We reach out to hundreds of producers daily and have established relationships with the top stations nationwide.
Example: PTA recently booked 2 MDRTs for Dean Koontz reaching over 46 stations! Stations included several nationally syndicated programs as well as top stations in New York, Dallas, Detroit, Miami, Baltimore, Denver, Minneapolis and many more. Email us if you’d like to see the complete schedule.
Give us a call to pick our brains. We’d love to chat about your upcoming/current titles.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
“I have a new philosophy. I'm only going to dread one day at a time.”
If you have a great quote to share, please send it to tipsheet@plannedtvarts.com. Thanks.
HEADLINE HEAVEN: GET PEOPLE TO READ YOUR E-MAILS
Authors and publishers know that to get their press releases read by the media they need a catchy or alluring subject line for the email carrying that press release. So how do you craft the perfect headline or subject line that makes others want to read the rest of what you wrote?
- It needs to be short, especially a subject line for an email, so use as few words as possible.
- Take into consideration who is receiving the email – write for your targeted audience. An email to the media is not the same as an email to a friend or potential customer.
- Forget what you know about the English language when it comes to writing headline copy – abbreviations and slang are in; lack of punctuation and syntax go out the window.
- You can make a statement, a prediction, raise a question, state a statistic, report news or use any number of vehicles to get one’s attention. Write a headline for each one and compare them.
- The statement is something bold: President Obama Must Resign, says economist, for example.
Click for the full list of 15 headline writing tips.
Article by Brian Feinblum, Chief Marketing Officer at PTA
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:
August and September 2009
Health:
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Month (September)
- National Skin Cancer Month (September)
- Baby Safety Month (September)
- Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month (August)
- 8/2-8/8 – World Breastfeeding Week
- 9/21 – World Alzheimer’s Day
- 9/30 – National Women’s Health and Fitness Day
Business:
- International People Skills Month (September)
Sports:
- 8/25-9/7 – U.S. Open (Tennis)
General Interest:
- National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15th – October 15th)
- 8/2-8/8 -- Simplify Your Life Week
- 8/2-8/8 – Single Working Women’s Week
- 8/1 – US Air Force Day
- 8/2 – Friendship Day
- 8/24 - National Waffle Day
- 8/26 – National Dog Day
- 9/7 – Google Commemoration Day
- 9/8 – International Literacy Day
- 9/13 – National Grandparent’s Day
- 9/22 – Autumn Begins
SURFIN’
Some are industry related, some are fun and some are just plain quirky sites that our PTA Interactive division recommends:
BLOG OF THE MONTH:
The Long Tail (http://www.thelongtail.com)
Wired Magazine’s Chris Anderson is causing quite a stir among media type with his new book “FREE”. Visit the blog where his ideas are generally born and get a free (sort of) copy of the book
COOL TOOLS
URL Shorteners (http://tinyurl.com/, http://bit.ly/, and http://ow.ly/url/shorten-url).
OK, this one is a three-fer. That means you get three links for the price of one. They all do the same thing: they take long URL addresses and shorten them into something shorter and easier to send. This is most useful on Twitter, but it can also be a good way to avoid links breaking in an email, where often the mail program forces an unwanted line break.
FOR FUN
Pandora (http://www.pandora.com/)
Everyone probably already knows about Pandora, but it is so great that on the off chance you don’t know about it, we want to make sure you do. Basically Pandora is “Internet Radio” done right. You customize your own station by picking an artist or song you like, then Pandora continues on selecting songs based on similarities noted in their database. It’s a radio station made just for your taste! (P.S. Do not tell your IT department we told you about it.)
WHAT HAVE WE DONE FOR YOU LATELY?
Here’s a sampling of our latest bookings. In the spotlight this month – PTA DC!
For The Peep Diaries: How We're Learning to Love Watching Ourselves and Our Neighbors (City Lights) by Hal Niedzviecki, PTA DC booked:
- Associated Press (AP): The author was quoted and book mentioned in AP story picked up by ABCnews.com, MSNBC.com, LA Times, SF Gate, Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, Seattle Times, New York Daily News, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Denver Post, BusinessWeek, and The Huffington Post.
- USA Today
- Boston Globe
- AM New York
- Salon.com
For Kiron Skinner, Hoover Institution Fellow, Political Strategist and director of Carnegie Mellon University’s International Relations and Politics Program, PTA DC booked among others:
- C-SPAN, “Book TV”
- BBC, “NewsNight”
- PBS, “This is America”
- Fox and Friends Pundit Panel
- CNN, “American Morning”
- Westwood One, “Tavis Talks” (Nationally Syndicated)
- The Jim Bohannon Show (Nationally Syndicated)
Other top bookings generated by PTA DC include:
Decorating…the professional touch by Carol Donayre Bugg, the head of Design for Interiors by Decorating Den (Capital Books)
- Martha Stewart Radio
Danger Zones by Ambassador John Gunther Dean (Vellum Publishing/Association for Diplomatic Studies)
- CBS Radio (Nationally Syndicated)
- The Jim Bohannon Show (Nationally Syndicated)
Triple Cross by Peter Lance (Harper Collins)
- Fox and Friends
Between Two Worlds by Allyson and Adele Walsh (Xlibris)
- Coast to Coast (Nationally Syndicated)
PTA’S FREE TELESEMINARS
Past Teleseminars:
If you missed our last Teleseminar, go to our website at www.plannedtvarts.com. We have about 70 hours of great information for you!
UPCOMING PUBLISHING EVENTS
Author 101 University:
HALLOWEEN WITH RICK FRISHMAN on Oct 30-31 in Las Vegas
Two days, lots of new speakers: Tom Antion, Berny Dohrman, Stefanie Hartman, Mike Koenigs, James Malinchek, Brendon Burchard, Mary Glenn (McGraw Hill), editors, agents and others being added. Bring a friend for free - Rick will pay for them. Click Author 101 University for more information.
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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 us tipsheet@plannedtvarts.com.