Tag Archive for: how to get media attention

___

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.”

___

If you’ve always wanted to be an author, your book launch will be one of the most exciting stages of the publishing process. Getting recognized for your work and connecting with your readers is so rewarding. 

When you’re launching a new book, all of your strategy is focused around your book –the newness of it and the content. But what happens when the launch wraps and your new book is no longer new?

This is the stage when I meet many of my media-training clients. They’ve had a successful launch and they want to keep the momentum going. 

I shared some of my best tips for authors dealing with this in my Writer’s Digest column. 

These are the same strategies I’ve used myself for years as an author of two books, Listful Thinking and Listful Living!

1. It’s not (just) about the book anymore.

When you’re in the book launch phase, you’re really invested in the book itself. That’s only natural. It should be the focus of attention at this point! But once your book is a few months old, you have to shift your focus and start to consider how your book can support you as an author and expert — not how you can support your book!

This does not mean you shouldn’t talk about your book. Of course you should! You just need to find new ways of framing and contextualizing how you talk about your book. The attention needs to be on how your knowledge (and by extension, your book) can solve problems or shift people’s mindsets. This is something I talk you through in my free resource, 10 Questions Every Author Needs to Answer. 

2. Keep in touch. 

The relationships you build with journalists, reporters, and producers are some of the best resources for you as you consider your post-launch strategy. Thank you notes (paper ones — yep!) go a long way in demonstrating your appreciation.

These really do make an impact on fostering positive relationships between you and members of the media! You can then leverage those relationships to pitch again from a new angle. 

___

___

3. Open yourself up. 

You might be wondering what exactly you should pitch — how can you use your book as a jumping-off point that inspires the next stage of your media strategy?

Well, here’s a little secret: everything you talk about doesn’t have to be in the book.

In fact, it can actually be counterproductive to limit yourself to only things you covered in your book. You are an expert on a topic that includes what you talk about in your book. You can absolutely pitch on related areas within your expertise that didn’t fit into your book — and you should! This is essential to any sustainable media strategy. 

For even more tips on how to keep media momentum going, you can check out my column in Writer’s Digest. 

___

BONUS FREEBIE: I have a resource for you that will help you prepare to talk with media and audiences. It’s the 10 Questions Every Author Needs to Answer. You can grab the fiction and nonfiction lists here.

___

_

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.”

_

Everyone can benefit from taking a communication skills course. (Yes, even you!) Think about it — we’re communicating at work and at home every day. All day.

I was a television news producer for almost 20 years and my expertise is working with the media. When I work with authors and leaders one-on-one, we talk about how to look their best on camera, what to say, and I give them tips to make their own videos.

Sure, you can learn communication skills on your own, or you can learn from me in my popular LinkedIn Learning course, External Communication Skills for Leaders.

Read more

___
BONUS FREEBIE: I have a resource for you that will help you prepare to talk with media and audiences. It’s the 10 Questions Every Author Needs to Answer. You can grab the fiction and nonfiction lists here.
___

What does every author want? To be published.

I know this myself as an author of two books about productivity, Listful Thinking, and Listful Living. And I’ve been hard at work on my first novel for a few years now! If you aren’t familiar with the industry, it can be a bit of a mystery to figure out how a book goes from a draft to sitting on the shelf at your local bookstore.

Since publishing a book is a bucket list item for so many, I invited my friend Lucinda Halpern, president and founder of Lucinda Literary, to share her knowledge. She represents authors writing in all areas, including health, business, lifestyle, narrative fiction, memoir, and more. She even wrote a book on the topic, Get Signed, with tons of insider info to help you find an agent and get your message out there.

Here are three points from our conversation that will help you think about getting published in a new way.

Read more

___
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.”
___

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.

Read more

___
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.”
___

You wrote a book. That’s a lot of work. But your work doesn’t stop when your book is finished. Now, you need to sell your book.

So you have to promote them! (I know all about this from my experience as a TV producer and being the author of Listful Thinking and Listful Living).

And there’s a tool authors can use to promote their books that is especially effective: TikTok.

I spoke with publishing consultant, diverse kid lit reviewer, kids fiction podcaster and BookTok expert, Miral Sattar, on my live-streaming show Inside Scoop. She’s got a huge TikTok following and had a ton of great tips to share.

Here are Miral’s tips for understanding and using TikTok to promote your books.

___

___

1) Understanding TikTok.

You can’t use something to its full potential without knowing how it works right? Of course not. Understanding how TikTok works and how it’s different from other social media apps like Instagram is super important.

“When you first start using TikTok, it doesn’t matter how many followers you have. The app always shows your content to a small sample of people. And if enough people finish watching it, they show it to more people,” Miral said.

Because of this, every video on TikTok has a chance to go viral.

(Don’t worry. You don’t have to dance to go viral.)

“To hone in on your specific audience, there are things you can do to fine tune the algorithms based on what you post and what you watch,” Miral added.

And for authors, honing in on your audience means understanding #BookTok.

2) Using the power of #BookTok.

BookTok is kind of a subculture within TikTok where people make videos about books.

“When I first did a Tok in July, the hashtag had about 60 billion views. And I checked it right before we spoke today and the BookTok hashtag has 80 billion views right now,” Miral explained.

I’ve talked about how TV doesn’t sell books. I’ve seen it as a producer and experienced it as an author. It’s exciting to be on big TV shows like The Today Show, but it’s not great for sales. But BookTok is great for book sales.

For example, Colleen Hoover actually outsold the Bible.

 

“Colleen Hoover has been around for a few years. She traditionally published multiple books. Maybe they did well, but they never did this well. Until she joined TikTok and made videos about her books.,” Miral added.

And it’s not just online sales. It’s impacting in-person bookstores as well.

“I take my kids to Barnes and Nobles all the time. And there’s a BookTok table. And 99% of the time, if it’s on the BookTok table, it’s good and I’ll pick it up,” she said.

Like podcasts, BookTok is an incredibly powerful tool, if you know how to use the hashtag.

___

___

3) Getting started on BookTok.

Now that you know how powerful BookTok can be for your book. Let’s talk about using it to promote your own content.

“In the beginning when I was doing my Toks, I would get ten views, 20 views. Because I was posting all the wrong things. I didn’t realize the algorithm needs to be trained. You train the algorithm to show you what you look at,” Miral said.

For example, if you start looking at non-fiction book related topics, that’s what TikTok will show you.

“Just start following readers there, engaging with authors, and then TikTok will start showing you that,” she added.

And then you can see techniques that do and do not work and adapt similar methods for your own content. Another great way to use TikTok to your advantage is using their analytics.

___

___

4) TikTok Video Tips.

Obviously, like any social media platform that uses video, you need to be comfortable on camera. But in addition to that, here are some tips to help your video creation.

“TikTok’s analytics tells you the best posting times, how many people watched your video. For me, I found the magic number was seven to nine seconds,” Miral said.

That’s not a lot of time to get your point across.

“A lot of people on TikTok will be like, ‘Hi, I’m me.’ Or ‘Hey guys, what’s going on?’ And then you’ve already lost them. You need to hook them in right away with an engaging picture or a question or something really interesting,” she explained.

And make sure to include a way for your audience to engage.

“You need to have a call-to-action. I put all the books I recommend in the comments. I pin it and say how to find it. For every podcast episode I’m promoting, I pin in the comments and include how to find it,” Miral said.

Here’s a successful example of one of Miral’s most popular videos that used all these tips.

“I joined TikTok to push out my fairy tales podcast for children, Bearily Bear, and also to promote inclusive children’s books. We imagine traditional fairy tales, rewritten for modern times,” she said.

Miral’s podcast is free and can be found here. To check out more TikTok Tips for Authors, watch our entire conversation here.

___
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.”
___

___
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.”
___

There’s a difference between being an author and a bestselling author.

But what does that really mean? How many books do you have to sell to qualify? Is getting on the New York Times Bestseller List a realistic goal? Is there a secret to getting on that list?

Book marketing expert, Rob Eagar, joined me on Inside Scoop to answer those questions.

Rob has helped both fiction and non-fiction authors hit the New York Times Bestseller List, along with USA Today and The Wall Street Journal. He just had a client about 120 days ago, who was on all of those. And helped a book that was 23 years old finally become a New York Times Bestseller, after already being in print for over two decades.

Here are four of Rob’s pointers to sell more books.

Read more

___
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.”
___

As you know, I’m a former television producer so I love video. I’ve been talking about it for years and people are finally catching on and understanding what a powerful tool it can be. And one of the most powerful (and newer) video driven social media apps is Tik Tok.

I have to admit I’m mostly a TikTok stalker. I have not created one thing on it. (Yet! My guest has inspired me to get started.)

I brought expert TikTok-er, author and speaker, Selena Rezvani, on my live-streaming show Inside Scoop to teach us how to grow your audience with TikTok. She has nearly 200,000 followers.

Here are Selena’s top five tips for getting started on TikTok.

(Don’t worry, none of the tips are about dancing!)

Read more

___
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.”
___

Books can boost your platform, brand, message, or business. And help you gain more media exposure. As a TV producer for many years, I can tell you when producers are deciding between two similar experts, they choose the one who is published. I know I did.

However, the process of writing a book proposal and reaching out to agents can be intimidating. I get it. I’ve written two books (Listful Thinking and Listful Living) and have a third in the works. (It’s fiction, can’t wait to share!)

But you can’t let fear stop you. If you want to reach more people, it’s time to get started on your book.

I spoke with publishing expert, coach, and host of the Bound + Determined podcast, Richelle Fredson, on my live-streaming show Inside Scoop, to help you start amplifying your work with books.

Here are four things to know when working on your first book proposal to amplify your work.

Read more

___

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.”

___

I’ve always loved the idea of “standing on the shoulders of giants” — learning from the experiences and knowledge of others so we can succeed.

Read more

___

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.”

___

 

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!

Read more