Rick Frishman’s Blog

As I promised in my last tip, here’s another great fill-in-the-blank formula you can use to create a show pitch that is guaranteed to grab a producer’s attention virtually every time … *

Pitch Formula: “Be _____ -free forever! ____ simple steps.” And here’s a couple of examples of how you might apply it: Show Pitch: “Be debt-free forever! 7 simple steps.”

Show Pitch: “Be headache-free forever! 5 simple steps.”

You can fill this one in with anything that people don’t like: fear, pain, clutter, stress, flu, pests, cavities, nightmares, etc., etc.

More from Alex Carroll at http://www.publicityvault.com

Meet Alex Carroll and Mark Victor Hansen at AUTHOR101UNIVERSITY Oct 30-31 in Las Vegas

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Zero in on Your Market - Save Time, Money and Aggravation

The hardest job in marketing is seeing your target and staying focused on it. In other words, know where you’re going before deciding on how to get there. Identify your destination. Then map your route. When you know the destination the route is often clear.

Publicity is a unique marketing tool because it forces you to identify and reach two separate audiences:
The buying audience - individuals who purchase your product or service.
The media audience - members of the press and electronic media who will publicize your product or service.
All marketing tools require you to identify the ultimate consumer. In publicity, first you identify your potential customers. Define your audience as narrowly as possible. Next you need to identify those specific media outlets that will best reach your potential customers. Research your target media by listening to their programs, reading their articles and visiting their websites. (PR professionals excel at knowing which media outlets will most effectively reach which markets.) Remember, it’s expensive to market the world so try to narrow it down.

Setting your target:
The buying audience - individuals who purchase your product or service.
The media audience - members of the press and electronic media who will publicize your product or service.
And lastly, be ready for change at all times!

Learn more at AUTHOR101UNIVERSITY on Oct 30-31 in Las Vegas

Mark Victor Hansen is your MC

http://www/author101university.com

Surfin’

Own a cellular phone? Chances are you use one every day, but have you ever stopped to consider how it actually works? If you’re interested in finding out http://www.howstuffworks.com is for you. They have information on everything from computers and electronics to entertainment and travel. With diverse topics like SPAM, fuel gauges, fiber optics, earthquakes and sunburns, the site provides hours of entertainment and helpful facts.

So you just got a call from John Doe at 555-777-6666 and want to call him back. Only one problem, you don’t know where 555 is - is it central time, pacific, eastern? A great site to find a area code location in a specific area is http://www.thedirectory.org/pref/. The site allows FIVE lookups within a 48-hour period. If you need to look up more prefixes you may return again in two days.

One of the hottest sites for networking, http://www.friendster.com, is an online community that connects people through networks of friends for dating or making new friends. Friendster allows you to write creative and humorous testimonials for your friends, while creating your own personal and private community.

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******Top tips on how to best prepare for a media interview********

Write down the five main points you want to cover.
List anecdotes, facts, or jokes that help you make each point effectively.
Anticipate the questions interviewers are likely to ask and prepare answers that include your main points. It helps to study the host’s prior interviews to find his/her favorite questions and approaches so you’ll know what to expect and how to respond.
Keep answers and explanations simple. Complex information tends to lose or bore interviewers and audiences.
Never try to steal the limelight from the host or interviewer. Your job is to make them look good, while getting your main points across.
Practice by having friends and family pretend they’re the interviewer and question you.
When you practice, videotape yourself or stand in front of a mirror to observe your performance. Be conscious of your posture, facial expressions and gestures. Ask your interviewer to honestly appraise your performance.
When friends and family aren’t available to help, interview yourself aloud.

Come to AUTHOR101UNIVERSITY OCT 30-31 in Las Vegas for more tips and teaching

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Fifteen Things the Media Hates

1.      Not Taking “No” for an Answer - When your media contact says “no,” accept it.
2.      Long News Releases - One killer page is all you need. If the media wants more,
they’ll ask for it.
3.      Lying, Hype and Misrepresentation - Be honest and reasonable. Your media
contacts won’t forget who got them burned by lies; nor will
they give you the chance to do it again.
4.      Lack of Preparation - Know exactly what you want and what the media wants.
5.      Small Talk - Most media people are to busy to gab so get right to the point. Be
clear and brief.
6.      Overkill - Media kits that weigh as much as your Cocker Spaniel turn off the
media. Less is more.
7.      Cold Calls - E-mail first to alert your media contacts that your press release
has been sent. They’ll get back to you if they are interested.
8.      Freebies - Avoid offering free tickets and other bribes. The media wants good
stories, not t-shirts and mugs. The exception to this rule
is food. Food is often welcome.
9.      Name Dropping - Nobody likes name droppers. Unless a celebrity is directly
involved, they seldom change a story’s value.
10.     Lack of Focus - Stories that focus on the source, instead of the audience,
generally do not appeal to the media.
11.     Confirmation Calls - Opinions on making confirmation calls to determine if
your faxes or packages were received vary. Some media
contacts appreciate it and others do not want to be bothered.
12.     Gimmicks - If you use a gimmick, it better be sensational as most gimmicks
fail to gain the intended impact. And, the reason you’re
using the gimmick must be clear.
13.     Not Following Up Requests - If the media requests something and you don’t
respond promptly they will consider you unreliable and  unprofessional.
14.     Same Ideas - Don’t repeatedly send the same idea, no matter how cleverly
you repackage it.
15.     Getting Upset - Be professional. If you can’t keep your cool find another
business and see a shrink.

An excerpt from the National Best-Seller GUERRILLA PUBLICITY: Hundreds of Sure-fire Tactics to Get Maximum Sales for Minimum Dollars by Rick Frishman, Jill Lublin and Jay Conrad Levinson.

See you at AUTHOR101UNIVERSITY OCT 30-31 in Vegas

http://www.author101university.com