Years ago media interviews were done in person at a studio. Today many interviews are done online using Skype, FaceTime, Zoom or some other technology. If you’re not yet familiar with these platforms, now is the time to learn. Willingness to use one of these platforms for an interview increases your chances of being selected.
You’ll still want to prepare well for these interviews. Make sure you still dress the part and have a quiet place to be during the interview. Practice with a friend to be sure your equipment works, the lighting is right, and that you know what to do if something goes wrong.
Embrace the new interview technology, and look and sound your best when speaking about your book’s message.
We’ve discussed your three-course book publicity menu: website, mailing list, social media. Now time for dessert.
Just as a very special dessert may take a lot of time and attention to detail, so does creating and maintaining a media contacts list.
Start in your local area by gathering local media names and contact information. Keep a spreadsheet with all that contact information and track when you reach out and the response you get. You can get a lot of contact information by doing a Google search, such as “Phoenix radio stations” or “Houston newspapers”, etc.
Once you’ve had a positive response from a media person, send a thank you and stay in touch. Develop these relationships. They are gold in your book publicity efforts.
I’ve been a long-time fan of John’s work and regularly receive his Duct Tape Marketing newsletter.
1. Tell us about your podcast
The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast first aired in 2005. For over a decade John Jantsch has interviewed thought leaders, experts, and authors. Subscribers hear some of today’s most influential marketers and entrepreneurs share their stories and secrets.
2. Why did you start this podcast?
So many small business owners find marketing to be hard – it shouldn’t be. That’s why Duct Tape Marketing created a marketing system, to give small business owners back control. The podcast is another way to share core elements from this system.
3. How long have you been podcasting?
15 years
4. What do you look for in a guest?
A guest’s story and message has to align with our editorial goals. Duct Tape Marketing is a teaching organization and our guests must be able to teach the important lessons small business owners need to hear to help grow their businesses.
John Jantsch is a marketing consultant, speaker, and author of Duct Tape Marketing, The Referral Engine, Duct Tape Selling, The Commitment Engine, and SEO for Growth.
His newest work, The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur: 366 Daily Meditations to Feed Your Soul and Grow Your Business taps into the wisdom of 19th-century transcendentalist literature and the author’s own 30-year entrepreneurial journey to challenge today’s entrepreneur to remain fiercely self-reliant while chasing their own version of success.
Whether you love it or hate it, social media is here to stay and is an important marketing tool. When editors, interviewers, book reviewers, podcasters, and others see that you’re active online, they know you will spread the word about any media coverage they do for you.
You’ll need to decide which social media platforms to use based on what you like to use, where your audience is, and which platform works best for your book’s topic. Track your results and adjust as needed. Make it fun!
If you need help creating or updating your social media platforms, contact us. It’s our specialty.
Now that you have a visually appealing website, it’s time to focus on the second course of your book publicity menu – your mailing list.
Email marketing does work, if done right. Adding an opt-in for your list on your website allows those who want to stay in touch and hear from you an easy way to do so. This second course needs to be ‘meaty’ and visually appealing.
Use an email tool like MailerLite or MailChimp and create a look for your emails to match your website. Be sure what you send out has substance and gives value to your reader. Its main focus should be to give something to the reader they find interesting – and a place to easily find your book to purchase it. However, don’t make every email a sales pitch.
Years ago media interviews were done in person at a studio. Today many interviews are done online using Skype, FaceTime, Zoom or some other technology. If you’re not yet familiar with these platforms, now is the time to learn. Willingness to use one of these platforms for an interview increases your chances of being selected.
