Roger Ellerton of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada writes:
“I am the author of ‘Live Your Dreams Let Reality Catch Up—NLP and Common Sense for Coaches, Managers and You.’ My book was published a year ago but I want more publicity.
“I’ve submitted articles to article directories, donated copies to libraries, distributed press releases locally and will do a wider distribution, faxed information to local HR directors and senior managers, donated copies of my book to silent auctions, published a monthly newsletter, done speaking engagements and gotten book reviews.
“Current plans are to continue with those activities and try to get into the local media and then national and international media. But I’m at the point where I can’t see the forest for the trees and would appreciate new and innovative publicity ideas.”
Sounds like you’re doing a lot, but one thing that caught my eye in your list of things you’ve done is “faxed information to local HR directors and senior managers.” People do still look at faxes but it’s up to you to push them to act. You need to follow up faxes with phone calls, as you would with any effective PR. And also, why stay local? Contact Fortune 500 companies and sell a class based on your book to them! Good luck!
One of the things I did when promoting my how-to books is to send out a tip sheet. For instance, I noticed that you said that one of the things the book would teach you was the 5 steps for success. You might want to use those, or another short section of your book, as a teaser. It could make a great sidebar feature for almost any magazine these days.
I’d venture to say to virtually every women’s magazine has had an article or two for improving your life in the last year and, for that matter, every year. So why not submit your tip sheet to these, health and lifestyle magazines.
Good luck!
Roger,
I would recommend you develop a strategic plan for your marketing endeavours. You have to revist your plan to see what worked and what need revamping. Article marketing is a great way to establish your self as an expert. Have you tried writing a special report or a white paper on your topic? These are other tools you can use in your marketing plan. What about creating a “Live your dream” contest? This might get you some traffic as well as business. In times when things dont work start to evaluate your action and see what you need to fix. It is not a time to get discourage but a time to move forward. Hope this helps. Take care.
I would recommend a blog, which would be a great opportunity to showcase opportunities for using the tools you teach. And include a sign up for an email list. Using a service like feedblitz.com your blog can do double duty, as a blog and as a newsletter.
You might try reviewing other like books on Amazon… also, think about what you’re goal is “get more publicity” is pretty broad. Are you trying to sell more books? or services as a consultant and coach? knowing your goal will better guide you to creating and maintaining a publicity campaign.
First, I’m wondering if the majority of the information you send out explains NLP. I had no clue as to what that is, which did make me go to your website, but just adding a line or two that explains what the book is about might help you get more response from what you’re already doing.
You didn’t mention exactly where you’ve had speaking engagements so I’d suggest health fairs if you haven’t done them. Have a booth or offer to talk about how your strategies help to improve mental health which then helps with physical health.
Cheryl,y ou’re right about explaining what NLP is.
I’m hearing lots of authors, speakers and consultants referring to NLP as though everybody is supposed to know what it stands for.
Since people don’t have an idea about NLP you might try starting a course based on the Dummies book series, NLP for Dummies 101 then niche to people where communication is their business. Of course sales is an obvious one but you might look to niche in less obvious areas…NLP for Police Officers, NLP for Pet Owners (for Dog Owners,Cat Owners, etc.), NLP for Pizza Delivery Drivers (how to use NLP to get bigger tips with every pizza you deliver, um!), NLP for Dieters, NLP for Parents
Hi Roger,
It makes feel so good inside to see that the advice I give to my clients is so valuable to them, that they in turn share it with others. My client Annmarie Edwards who first responded to your post is right. You need to creae a free e-newsletter, a free special report or a free sneak preview of your book and promote it in every book pomotion online and offline.
This way you will be able to capture leads and nourish a relationship that eventually turns into sales.
Also, it’s great that you’re submitting articles to aqrticle directories. However, if you’re just targeting directories, you are not taking advantage of maximizing your articole writing and marketing efforts. You want to target high trafficked websites and ezines that your audience is reading. I’ve written an article on this topic and it can be found at: http://snipurl.com/15z0j
For more information on how to promote your book with article marketing, you should check out:
http://snipurl.com/17tdu
Good Luck,
Eric Gruber
Your Article Marketing Expert
PR LEADS Article Marketing Service
I would suggest that you broaden your market. In our area (Southern Indiana) there are many “craft shows” almost all year long but particularly in the holiday season. I set up a table in as many as I could and sold my books (two novels) to everyone who would listen to my pitch. Also, it helps if you have the capability to take Visa/MC for your sales. Always have a “gift” for the non-buyers (a book-mark is great) but anything with your name on it is sufficient.
Hello Everyone,
Thank you for taking time to provide such thoughtful advice on how to promote my book. I am out of town on other business this coming week and when I return, I will start to put your suggestions into action.
And thank you Joan for posting my request for assistance. I am not sure if it was a coincidence or not, however my book sales at Amazon.com have increased over the past couple of days.
Best wishes in all of your endeavours.
Roger