The Musician’s Guide to Brides includes press release tips

I love books about marketing and publicity that are directed to very niched audiences.

So I jumped at the chance to contribute content to the book The Musician’s Guide to Brides—How to Make Money Playing Weddings by Anne Roos, who has been playing the Celtic harp at weddings for more than 25 years.

On pages 119-121, she includes my tips that explain the six parts of a press release, taken from my free email tutorial 89 Ways to Write Powerful Press Releases.

She also offers lots of her own ideas on angles that musicians can include in their press releases. For example:

• Donating their music services to a good cause.
• An appointment to a community board or committee.
• Free advice to brides such as how to select a musician.
• Information about classes or seminars they’re teaching.

The book covers the entire spectrum of marketing, including including how to promote online (forget about using MySpace), how to create promotional materials, how to write a bio, and how to use promotional photos.

I love the checklists, worksheets and Anne’s stories from her own experiences, like the time a baker delivered a lopsided cake to a wedding ceremony. While the bride was outside having her photos taken, the wedding coordinator asked him to fix it. The angry baker threw the entire cake into a nearby trashcan and stormed out, leaving the wedding coordinator no other choice but to order a cake from the grocery store.

A sidenote: When Anne asked me to write a testimonial for the book, I didn’t type the first thing that came into my head. I took as much time as I needed and concentrated on the benefits of the book. Here’s what I wrote:

“If you’re a musician who’s been working in the wedding market for years, this book will open your eyes to dozens of ideas on how to grow your business. If you’re new to the industry, read this book from cover to cover before you book one more gig. It will put you miles ahead of your competitors and open the door to revenue-generating ideas you never knew existed. “

–Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound

Anne’s publisher, Hal Leonard Books, loved the quote and used it on the back cover.

Valuable lesson: Publicity Hounds should try to get into as many books as possible. That includes offering testimonials. A book’s long shelf life can bring you leads for years. You can get in front of audiences that might not know about you.

If your testimonial ends up on the back cover or the book jacket, it can attract the attention of people who are browsing in the bookstore, and they might be curious enough to learn more about you even if they don’t buy the book. Last but not least, somebody else does all the work promoting the book.

Also see “Do-it-yourself PR Tips for Musicians, Songwriters and Bankds on a Budget.”