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Promoting Your Book Over Time

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BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”
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Launching a book is thrilling. Lots of time, energy and thought goes into planning it. But that’s not the only day you should be thinking about..

You’re going to have that book for a long time. So although launch day is important, the real question is: How do you keep the book in the minds and in the mouths of people all over the world for a long time?

It’s not an easy task. I know that from promoting my first two books Listful Thinking and Listful Living.

And my client, Krystale Littlejohn, knows all about this process as well. She’s the University of Washington’s Associate Professor of Sociology and author of the book Just Get on the Pill, which came out in August 2021  and is still getting lots of attention. We spoke on my live-streaming show Inside Scoop about her book launch process and how she was able to keep promoting her book over time.

Here are three great points from our conversation to help you promote your book.

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Book Launch Highs and Lows

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BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”
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A book launch is a lot of work. There’s speaking engagements, there’s events, there’s media and so much more. It can be exciting and exhausting to prepare.

I learned so much from writing and launching Listful Thinking and Listful Living. And from keeping the book in the media long afterwards. (My first book came out almost a decade ago and I’m still talking about it in the media!)

And I love sharing my knowledge with authors to get them ready for their big launches. In fact, I just lead a group training called Media-Ready Author to help authors get ready to launch their books in the media.  You can check out the replay here.

On a recent episode of Inside Scoop I brought one of my media-training clients, Chelsea Conaboy, on to share her experience launching her new book, Mother Brain.

Here are three lessons Chelsea learned from the book-launch process.

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Behind-the-Scenes of a Bestselling Book

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BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”
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Where the Crawdads Sing is one of my favorite books and it’s becoming a movie! It takes a team of people to create a bestselling book.

And one of the most important people on that team is your book editor! The editor of Delia Owen’s bestselling book is Tara Singh Carlson, who joined me on Inside Scoop.

Tara is an Executive Editor at G.P. Putnam’s Sons and has worked on The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo (which was also a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick), on The Family by Naomi Krupitsky (which was a Read with Jenna pick in November), We Must Be Brave also by France Liardet and many celebrated and bestselling authors.

Here are a few points from Tara about what editors do and how they can help your book become a bestseller.

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Being Prepared for Pushback

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BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”
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Be authentic and put yourself out there. Share your expertise. Just be your authentic self and people will respond to your message.

That’s good advice. But that doesn’t mean everyone will respond to your content.

It’s hard enough to ignore trolls on the internet, but sometimes you’ll face skeptical anchors on live tv as well. So it’s important to be prepared.

I’ve been on both sides of this. Both as an expert and as a journalist. Both sides are doing their job – seeing both sides of the story

I’ll admit I was even a bit thrown off when this happened to me during a recent interview on WPIX in New York. I was talking about how to have a four-day work week and the anchor just wasn’t buying it.

He said, “How much of this is fantasy land?”

Here are three ways to get through someone questioning your expertise.

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Case Study: Becoming a Go-To Expert with Chris Kilham

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BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”

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If you’re an author or expert, you probably dream of being a producer’s first call — that expert they know they can go to for high-quality content. 

But how can you get there? One of the best ways to plot out your career goals is to look at others who have done it before you. 

That’s why I want to introduce you to Chris Kilham, also known as the Medicine Hunter. His speciality is alternative medicine, and he’s traveled the world looking for healing plants. Chris has written fourteen books during his long (and colorful!) career!

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Case Study: Five Ways to Wow the Media

You never know who is following you on social media.

For example, my friend Cassandra Sethi, a personal stylist, has an awesome Instagram for her business Next Level Wardrobe. She’s full of outfit ideas and tips for looking more polished. 

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The Media Mention That Got 10 Years Worth of Business

BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”

 

How much business do you think you get from every media mention? 

It’s not easy to gauge and it depends. 

You may hear from clients that they found you thanks to a particular mention in a magazine or TV segment. 

But I’m a big believer that media begets more media. That’s why you shouldn’t be a snob when it comes to which opportunities you take.  Read more

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Podcast to Catch a Killer Is a Brilliant Way to Get Media Buzz

Can you catch a killer with a podcast?

The Newport Beach Police Department in California sure hopes so!

They’ve launched their own six-part podcast series called “Countdown to Capture” to find wealthy businessman turned killer Peter Chadwick. He is charged with murdering his wife in October 2012 and then disappearing.

He’s been missing since January 2015 and cops are offering $100,000 cash reward for help finding him.

What they’re doing here is brilliant because they aren’t waiting for media to cover the story – they’re creating their own media content and sharing it.

This Podcast Is a Great Example of How To Produce Compelling Content

It does many things right:

  1. Creates a new hook on an old news story. Major media outlets are covering the fact that this police department launched a podcast to catch a fugitive. NOT that a fugitive is still on the loose – that’s old news and they likely covered it way back when it was breaking news. There was no reason to revisit it but this podcast has breathed new life into it. And guess what now that people are intrigued about this story you better believe that traditional media will dig into the backstory and publicize it further.
  2. Leads the conversation. You can control the conversation and don’t have to wait for a big media outlet to give you a platform. You can create your own platform. Content is king and should always lead the conversation. Now things are much different than years ago because we all have the technology at our fingertips to broadcast our own messages.
  3. Uses real people. Could they have hired a professional host to host this podcast? Yes. Should they have? That’s debatable. But what is great about using real people to tell real stories is that it’s authentic and intimate. Jennifer Manzella is a spokesperson for the Newport Beach Police Department and acts as host for the series. She’s not the most polished and I do think with a few tweaks she could be a better host but she gets the job done! (P.S. In case you’re reading Jennifer – speak louder! Fill the room with your voice when you record and you’ll sound more authoritative and your voice quality will be richer.)
  4. It’s short and sweet. Each episode is about 15 minutes or fewer. Great, perfect. The big mistake many content creators make is to go on and on via video or audio. Our attention spans are short and you have to keep the listener and viewer engaged.

Tell Your Own Story

This should be a lesson to every expert, author and entrepreneur out there.

You have all the resources that you need to start your own show or series to bring awareness to whatever your cause is.

Just start talking about it now. Get out there. Be seen so you can make a difference.

I for one am very curious to see what you’ll create.

Not to mention if the NPPD’s podcast actually leads to an arrest. Hats off to them for using technology and creating their own mass media to get their message out in a bigger way.

BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention too. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”

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The One Thing You Should Always Do On Camera

Whenever I walk up to the counter to pay for a cup of tea or a t-shirt I always make a point to smile at the person at the register before saying anything. I make eye contact and have a moment.

That’s not something people often do. We just rush between transaction after transaction.

But what if you did pause and give a smile? What would that do?

I’ll tell you what it does on camera – it makes you likable and makes people want to pay you for stuff!

Isn’t that the point?

Think about it – how often do you buy something based on how likable the person selling it to you is?

Maybe you decided to see one acupuncturist over another one because the one you chose was kind and seemed to be generally interested in you?

Or how about the last book you bought?

Did you buy it because you saw the author on TV or at a book signing and he or she seemed fun and nice?

Take for instance my media training client,

Chef Todd Richards.

He’s the author of the new book Soul: A Chef’s Culinary Evolution in 150 Recipes. 

I worked with him just prior to his book launch to get him prepped for any media opportunities that popped up.

We met like I do with all my clients via Zoom video conference.  He’s in Atlanta and I’m in New York City.

I had already seen a few media appearances of him and I will admit I thought I had him figured out.

But when I met him I was blown away by how personable and friendly he was.

You see I thought he was super serious because guess what he wasn’t doing in those media appearances?

Yep – Smiling!

So I had a different version of what he would be like in my mind given that one piece of video.

But I was dead wrong. And you’d be too if you saw that same segment.

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BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. Grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”

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Practice makes perfect – even with smiling!

Our media training sessions were focused on getting the “real” Todd to be seen on camera.

He was a good sport with me when I would stop him mid sentence and say, “Why aren’t you smiling? We’re talking about bacon!”

Just like an athlete practices drills and plays – any expert who wants to be on camera has to practice the same way.

Many people think they’ll be “just fine” when it comes to an on camera interview. But I’ll tell you in my nearly 20 years of experience as a TV producer that is not the case at all.

Something strange happens to people when they get in front of a camera. And without the proper training you could blow your big chance.

I love a happy ending and thankfully all that practice with Todd paid off and I feel like a proud mama!

Todd was asked to appear on CBS This Morning and he knocked it out of the park.

He was smiling, storytelling (something we also worked on,) cracking jokes and being the life of the party.

THAT is the Todd I know and I was thrilled to help him feel comfortable enough on camera to be himself.

You don’t just snap your fingers and feel more like yourself on camera – it takes practice and work.

Todd put in the time and it paid off – oh and hopefully sold some books too!

BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. Grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”

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How To Get The Media To Cover Your Event

Pitching the media is not easy if you don’t know what producers and editors are looking for. It’s all about understanding what draws producers into your story and why their audience will care.

But, if you thought pitching yourself to the media was hard, even harder is pitching an event. There are a million and one events out there at any given time – so what makes yours so special?

The unfortunate truth is no one in the media cares about your event.

As a national television producer with nearly 20 years experience I can say definitively that I can count on one hand the amount of events I’ve actually covered. That’s because most events are self serving – ribbon cuttings and grand openings. What does that do for the viewer or reader? But that doesn’t mean you can’t get your event into the media, it’s all about how you pitch it!

BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. Grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”

 

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