Ministry Marketing Solutions | Pam Perry - PR Coach » Blog Tours

Make Free Radio Publicity Your Marketing Centerpiece and Watch the Sales Roll In

Pam Perry — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 06:22:58 +0000

Guest post

As a veteran guest of hundreds of talk radio shows, I can tell you that radio is one of the best free promotional tools available to virtually anyone selling a product or service. I discovered the magic of free radio marketing in the 1990s after writing my first book. Looking for an inexpensive way to get publicity and sales I sort of stumbled into a goldmine – and a free publicity course I purchased served as an excellent pick and shovel to mine the gold.

Talk radio is still very popular today. Radio hosts are always looking for interesting guests. If you offer something that would be of interest or benefit a large audience, you’re probably a first-rate candidate as a guest. And you don’t have to be plugging a book to make it on talk radio. Sure, you’ll often hear authors talking about their books, but any topic with wide appeal can get you bookings if you’re smart about how you present yourself.

The formula is easy. If you’re promoting something to a local market you’ll need a list of local radio stations. If you’re looking for a national audience you’ll be looking for a national database. From here, it’s really simple. You or someone acting on your behalf simply calls the station seeking the producer or host of the show where you’d like to appear. Explain what you have to offer in the way of a good show. Some people are shy talking about themselves in this way. No problem. Simply call as a representative of yourself. Yep. Speak about you in third person. And keep this in mind, the show needs you as much as you need the show.

I learned something interesting in the early going and it paid off in thousands of sales when I needed them most. It was my sole job in any radio interview to make the host look as brilliant as possible in the eyes of his listeners. When you go a great show you make the host and producer look like geniuses. And there’s an obvious benefit to you. When you do a great show everyone benefits. The listeners get great information. You sell your products. And the host looks good in the eyes, or ears if you will, of the listeners. And you’ll often get invited back.

So how can you accomplish all of these things? Practice getting good at delivering excellent information. I’ve found the story format is best. When I was describing the methods in my first book, one devoted to showing people how to get a great deal when buying a home, I’d use real examples. People like true stories, especially where the underdog wins. I was able to illustrate the fact that regular people could use my techniques to buy property way under market. Since many folks don’t see themselves as being able to pull something like this off, they are intrigued when they hear stories of others who actually have. In other words, if one regular person can do it, they can.

Along those lines, gather stories of people you’ve helped. It doesn’t matter if you’re an accountant, personal coach, the pastor of a church, dog groomer, or marshal arts instructor. I’d be willing to bet you’ve made a difference in someone’s life, and that’s your angle. Before you approach the talk show circuit, map out your unique approach, gather your stories, and practice. This isn’t hard but it does take some preparation – unless, of course, you’re already a natural storyteller.

If you plan on using this method of free publicity you might want to set up a little sales system because many talk show hosts are more than willing to help you plug your product or service. So having a toll-free number to call or a Website where they can buy is a must. One more thing, make up a list of questions you want the interviewer to ask you. That makes things easy for the both of you. And by all means, don’t be nervous. Most interviews are done by phone so you’ll be able to have a cheat sheet close by. Keep it conversational as though you’re talking to a friend. After all, you are.

The article you’ve just read is little more than a brief outline of the entire story. Yes, getting free radio publicity to promote your products is simple and you can easily use it too. To get the rest of the story and discover how to entirely avoid the trial and error process, visit: http://www.freepromostory.com

How to use blogs to build your brand and promote your book

Pam Perry — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 23:00:04 +0000

Blogalicious presentation notes: From blog to book with Pam Perry, PR coach

View more presentations from Pam Perry.

Need some help with your PR Campaign? Get a Publicity Virtual Assistant: Leah to the Rescue!

Pam Perry — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 03:34:27 +0000

Are you an author short on cash and time?

How can you focus on being the top

of your writing game
when you’re overwhelmed with

administrative tasks?

The answer:
DELEGATE to a well-qualified
Publicity Virtual Assistant!
Publicity virtual assistants are especially beneficial

for those many first-time authors who are overwhelmed

with the publishing & marketing process. By partnering

with a Publicity Virtual Assistant, the stress of having to know

it all is drastically reduced and the author can rely on their

PVA to take over and implement much of the publicity campaign.

Ministry Marketing Solutions offers you an answer:
Mrs. Leah Hubbard, PVA Extraordinaire!

“Leah Hubbard is my right hand – without her expert administrative

& proof reading skills Ministry Marketing Solutions would just be ministry marketing

– and we’d be scrambling for the solutions. She helps us clarify and soar.” Pam Perry

Hey Future best seller:

You are always on my mind.
You have been coached and know your stuff.
I know you’re serious about “marketing the message.”

But as a busy author, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed

by all the details of your book, marketing plans,

online efforts and promotional duties. I feel you!

Your many projects and ideas can lose their effectiveness

if you can’t implement them successfully.

If you are drowning in a sea of sticky notes,
you need a Publicity Virtual Assistant!

Enter – The PVA Solution: Leah Hubbard! (waabiz@aol.com)
Delegating will help you go from obscurity to fame!

Get YOUR Author Act Together! Delegate!

Self-publishers and published authors alike often need assistance with the most vital aspect of their book journey, marketing and publicity.

Successful authors know that to sell books, you need to do PR. And even more importantly, you need to do a lot of PR.
You can’t just put your book on Amazon and send out a press release or two and hope for the masses to come.

You need do an aggressive marketing campaign and get out there and promote your hard work.

Fortunately, with the help of a Publicity Virtual Assistant it has never been easier.

Publicity Virtual Assistants are virtual assistants who specialize in publicity and marketing.

Publicity Virtual Assistants utilize all their expert talents and superb writing abilities for book marketing and promotions, thereby helping authors achieve the success they deserve by providing extensive marketing support, help with social networking, following up on media pitches, proofing and editing capabilities, extensive research, administrative support and so much more.

Leah Hubbard started Wise Administrative Associates in 1996 to support small-mid sized companies and entrepreneurs in all phases of Administrative Support.

With over 20 years of corporate office experience as well as entreprenuerial business support, Leah can assist you by ensuring that your administrative tasks are completed in a timely and professional manner.

Her business is to alleviate the tasks that prevent your from getting your primary goals completed.

Publicity virtual assistants are especially beneficial for those many first-time authors who are overwhelmed with the publishing process. By partnering with a Publicity Virtual Assistant, the stress of having to do it all while maintaining the rest of your life is drastically reduced and the author can rely on their PVA to take over and implement much of the mundane tasks of a publicity campaign.

As your Publishing Virtual Assistant, Leah Hubbard will:

Proof articles and post to your blog and tweet out for you

Be your social networker: finding you friends, followers and fans

Submit articles to online directories & press releases to the media

Follow up on media contacts & set up interviews (a job all by itself!!)

Assist in arranging book signings and speaking engagements

Mailings of marketing materials to various outlets

Calendar Coordination to keep you on top of appointments

Help you keep your sanity and keep your dream alive while you work by providing top-notch administrative support!

For pricing information, please email her at waabiz@aol.com or call 248.342-8806.

Sincerely,

Pam Perry, PR Coach
“Brand Your Best Life”
Ministry Marketing Solutions, Inc.

P.S. Achieve the success they deserve – contact Leah today! She can only work effectively with a limited number of authors at a time. There is a 3 month minimum commitment. Prices will rise in the fall! Don’t drag your feet. Get help so you can focus on what YOU do best!

8 Points Online Marketing Plan for Authors

Pam Perry — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 05:02:34 +0000

book promotion with pam perry

This is from my PR friend and colleague, Dee Stewart. We were both participants in SORMAG’s online conference. This is her “discussion” from the conference on the SORMAG blog.

I want to talk to you about a specialized marketing form that has fast become the choice for publishing houses, online marketing.

If you are an author with a contract, then you know most midlist authors and below are no longer receiving marketing support by way of product placement, instore events, book tours, and book promo items.

Instead publishing houses are devoting a bulk of the author’s designated marketing dollars to online campaigns. And since I’ve talked about book marketing plans all year, I decided to switch the game up.

I want to help you create an online marketing campaign that will help you meet and galvanize your ideal readers.

Imagine as an author your day consists of writing great stories you know your readers will love, then meeting these readers to fellowship with you about your story and why they love them. Isn’t that a sweet dream? In life coaching terms we call that place- operating in your sweet spot.

Online Marketing—if you plan your efforts well—is the best tool to get you to that sweet spot faster than any other opportunity out there. It is why your publishing houses are using it, as well as the face that it is a more affordable alternative to traditional advertising.

Today’s session I will share basic online marketing planning tips, techniques and tricks to help you galvanize your readership. If you have further questions, you can leave a comment at the end of the post or email me at deegospelpr at gmail dot com.

Let’s begin by defining Online Marketing.

Marketing– is a practiced science, the ongoing process to identify, anticipate, supply and satisfy your ideal client.

Book Marketing is the ongoing processes to identify, anticipate, supply and satisfy your ideal clients( readers, your distributors, your publishing house, bookstores.)

Online Book Marketing: is the ongoing processes to identify, anticipate, supply and satisfy your ideal client by using online tools. It is an extension of your overall book marketing campaign.

Let me repeat: Online Book Marketing is an extension of your overall book marketing toolbox. Do not stop your other marketing efforts!

Now I will introduce you to seven basic online marketing tools and how to prepare a strategy to use them.

The 8 Point Online Marketing Toolbox

1. Email Marketing
2. Blogging, including Podcasting, Vlogging & Microblogging
3. Social Media Design
4. Forum Building
5. Online Advertising
6. Online PR
7. Social Bookmarking

A more detailed look:

Email Marketing: Email marketing is a public relations, customer relations management, direct mailing Trifecta (PR/CRM/DM.) You can participate in three marketing processes at once. What’s very good about email marketing is that your direct mailing efforts have a better return on investment(ROI) when you couple it with a client connection piece—consistent, compelling and strategic email placements to your ideal readers.

Blogging: Online Journaling (blogging) Many authors blog to share their writing life with their readers. Blogging can be used for various reasons:

· To serve as an online hub for your fanbase
· To serve as your newsletter content builder
· To promote your next event
· To attract event planners and bookclubs
· To serve as an online bookstore
· To serve as an online press room
· To attract agents and editors
· To create another source of writing revenue
· To host an online blogtour
· To podcast your book
· To videocast(vlog) your book

The key to blogging is commitment, consistence and content. Join me in September for 30 Days to Build a Better Book Blog at http://www.christianfiction.blogspot.com

Social Media Design: Despite the contrary authors should have a strategy and design in place when you are online. This design consists of scheduling, tooling, and driving readers from event to event. Tools like brightkite, eventbrite, igoogle, ping.fm, and squidoo helps you create almost an online (ro)bot of you, whereby you are promoting yourself 24-7 streaming and responding to your ideal readers and clients in real time. The top social media building blocks for authors are:

· Twitter
· Facebook
· Amazon Author Pages
· Eventbrite
· BrightKite
· Skype
· FriendFeed
· LiveStream
· YouTube
· BlogTalkRadio
· TalkShoe
· MySpace
· GoodReads
· LibraryThing
· Flickr

Forum Building: Fan bases grow exponentially when they form a community. The Twilight Moms Club on Mommy Blogger is a huge community that talks about the series, meet regularly and host charity events. If you’re operating in your sweet spot your fans will come together and create a fun and exciting community for you as well. The best way to do that is through forum building. Couple your email campaign with a forum to continue conversations in and you have a winning combination. A great example of a blog that created a community with a forum is Faith*in*Fiction. Bethany House Editor David Long created the blog to start a conversation about compelling Christian novels. It is the catalyst for The Christian Fiction Blog Alliance, Relief Journal, First Wildcard Blog Tours, and over 150 Christian book review blogs.

The top forum building sites for authors are:

· Ning
· Facebook Groups
· Twitter Groups
· GoodReads Groups
· Utterli Groups
· MySpace Book Groups
· Shelfari Groups
· YahooGroups
· Blogger Fan Groups

Online Advertising – paid for placement. Examples of book ads are (ads in print & online publications, radio, internet or network television, blogs, etc.) Its goal is immediate promotional impact and short lived. It’s results can be measured via survey, tracking backlinks and sneeze page hits. It is the most expensive form of marketing. When you create your plan it is imperative to use online ads to promote your next event or next title, and most effective when creating and implementing book launch strategy. Where can you find online advertise placements?

· Online Mags like SORMAG
· Blogs like Christian Fiction Blog http://www.christianfiction.blogspot.com
· You can submit ads/drops to online radio shows like Media Candy www.blogtalkradio.com/mediacandy
· Social Media Sites like Facebook Ads
· Internet TV Shows like Faithful Folios on LiveStream
· Eblast services like GoodGirlBookClub. Make sure to include in your plan to purchase eblast service from a local service, a genre specific service, a national magazine.
· Link Ads in online newsletters like Dee’s Goody Mail
· Book Trailers on DeeGospel on YouTube
· Sponsoring online events like SORMAG Online Conference
· Paying for a Blog Tour through Ty Moody Creations
· Ad placements on Literary Sites like Booktour.com

Online Public Relations & CRM – the activity to create opportunities to build relationships with your readers gatekeepers and to promote your service, product and brand. It is not a guaranteed sale, cannot be measured short-term, but affects are longer and more lasting than advertising. Customer Relations Management (CRM) is tied to PR, because PR also handles crisis management and customer feedback and retention. Online PR & CRM activities are:

Online Book Tours like CFBA
Online Audio Interviews like From Cover to Cover Literary Talk Show
Online Book club meetings using SKYPE or Mogalus
Book review placements on Christian Fiction Blog or RAWSISTAZ
Online mag interview opps like Victorious Living
Radio opps like Ella Curry’s BAN
Speaking opps like Nia Promotions’ Online Teleseminars
Online Parties via Twitter and Facebook and BrightKite

Social BookMarking– social bookmarking is a referral activity for bloggers. Blog readers find a great service or read and the refer what they like through social bookmarking sites like:

· Dig
· Mahalo
· StumbledUpon
· Delicious
· Librarything
· Facebook
· BookTour

Become very familiar with this tool and implore your readers to do the same.

Direct Selling – your website or blog is the lifeblood of your online presence. Moreover you can create a buyer’s page to navigate readers to direct selling. It is best practice to provide your local booksense tour, an online bookstore and an affiliate link with either Amazon, Borders or Faithpoint. To be able to watch the activity from your site setup a google analytics account and put the code inside or have your website designer place the code and provide monthly reports about your site’s activity. On that site make sure you have both audio and visual components of who you are and your book, preferably, you the author.

In short, let me share what these services should do for you. Online Marketing – is not the same as CRM, although social networking is a tool for both CRM, publicity, advertising, direct sales, and direct mailing. Online Marketing is using the 4ps of marketing process online.

Identify readers with online research using SMS, bookmarking, blogging, podcasting, polling.

Anticipating reader needs via polling, forum building, e-newsletter campaign strategy
Supply readers by introducing your answer to their wants and needs by creating an effective product launch strategy using online hubs, blogs and supplying online snippets in audio, video and print forms via viral sms like Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Viddler, YouTube, UStream, Skype, Utterz

Satisfy readers by enabling your book e-reader capable with ebooks and sony reader and Kindle Ready.

Dee Stewart is a writing diva mother, publicist, inspirational book reviewer for Romantic Times Magazine, Atlanta Satellite Bookseller for Mocha Readers Bookstores, and owner of Christian Fiction Blog(www.christianfiction.blogspot.com) and The Christian Fiction Network(christianfiction.ning.com). Her writings have appeared in: Spirit Led Woman, Gospel Today, Good Girl Book Club, The Dabbling Mum, Atlanta Christian Family, Mosaic Literary, Precious Times, Vertical Fix just a few. She will be featured in SistahFaith Anthology(Simon & Schuster, Feb. 2010.) Follow her on Twitter at @DeeGospel. Or visit my site at http://www.deestewart.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dee.stewart

“This fall I will be hosting a six week Media Candy book marketing session for a very affordable rate. Let me know if you are interested in more details. Also in the fall my site www.deegospelpr.com will become a membership site, whereby you can download free reports, ebooks, tip sheets, bookclub contact info, participate in some of my free teleseminars, podcasts receive discounts for group coaching and marketing products, literary agents accepting submissions, book festival panel speaking opps, an invitation to apply to become a speaker’s bureau member, and much more more for a low fee of $25 a month.

Also see: www.e-junkie.com/pamperry for FREE Ebook & PR materials (cds, books, etc)