-> A Life-Changing $11.95 Gift for the Entrepreneurs in Your Life
A one-time deep-discount (minimum 32 percent) offer from now through December 31 that WILL NOT be repeated, ever. And the more you buy, the bigger the discount, all the way down to 77 percent, in case quantities. Your perfect chance to snap up inexpensive but extremely valuable gifts for business owners, key staff, colleagues, and customers.  This may be the perfect gift for the entrepreneurs and marketers in your life, especially those who’ve been hit hard by the recession. Imagine a roadmap to business success that shows how to… (click here to continue reading)

-> This Month’s Tip: Website Models for Writers, Part 1: Shel Horowitz’s Book Marketing Tip, Dec. ‘09
For authors and publishers, certain ways to structure a website make particular sense. Lets explore six different models (three this month, and three next month): Resource sites, author sites, publisher or series sites, buy-my-book sites, blog sites, and salesletter sites.
(click here to continue reading)

-> Hear & Meet Shel, December 2009

Some of the opportunities mentioned pay a commission to Shel. Shel maintains high quality standards for mention in this column, and has either personally vetted the product, experienced previous products of top quality from the provider, or mentions in the write-up that he hasn’t seen it. Many products get turned down if they don’t meet these criteria. If you’d like to know if a particular program is commissionable, you’re welcome to ask us.

–> Media Coverage of Shel

For authors and publishers, certain ways to structure a website make particular sense. Lets explore six different models (three this month, and three next month): Resource sites, author sites, publisher or series sites, buy-my-book sites, blog sites, and salesletter sites.

Common Elements

For the first four of these six, certain common elements could be:

•            A navigation mechanism

•            Pages that create interest in your book(s) and/or you as the author

•            Pages that market the author to the media and to meeting planners, schools, bookstores and libraries

•            Pages that market your book to resellers

•            Materials that others can freely use on their own websites, e-newsletters, and print publications (thus spreading you to new audiences)

•            A blog that you can update on your own, at any time (some whole sites are nothing but a blog; see the fifth model)

•            Schedule of appearances (if you can keep it current—personally, I find it easier to do this in my newsletters)

•            Archive of past newsletters

•            Some way of keeping in touch with visitors

•            Feedback mechanisms: contact information and forms, order forms, comment pages, etc. (Warning: Never put your e-mail address as a text link on your website; the spam robots will collect it and you’ll be sorry! I recommend web-based contact forms)

•            Links to other relevant websites

•            A site-wide search tool (Google has a particularly nice one, and it’s free)

Let’s look more closely at the pages that generate interest in you and your book; they should offer…

• Solid information that will save or earn the reader money, solve a problem, learn a new skill, address a pressing desire (e.g., lose weight, find a mate, de-stress), shed light on historical or current events, etc.
• Excellent entertainment
• A brush with celebrity

Resource Sites

When people search on the Web, they’re typically looking for specific information about a topic. If they find your site while they’re searching, you hope the high-quality information you provide will convince them to buy—or at least sign up for your newsletter so you can sell to them later.

To set up this type of site, create a few dozen pages on your topic. These are fun sites to do and easy to gain traffic but they can get out of hand pretty quickly, because there’s so much good stuff out there.

You can see examples at <http://www.frugalfun.com > (my site on having fun cheaply, with arts and travel magazines and frugality resources—which gets at least 50,000 visits every month these days) and <http://www.frugalmarketing.com> (my general business site). Both of these sites actively promote my books but also attract a lot of traffic that will never buy, because they just want the specific information they came for

Author Sites

A site to promote your ” brand” as an author. It should let readers get a sense that they know you personally, as well as, of course, introduce them to your various books. It may or may not have a direct-selling component.

This kind of site is also an ideal place to set up a fan club.

My wife’s site at <http://www.ddinafriedman.com> is one of these

Publisher or Series Sites

Similar to the author site, but promoting the book series or entire publisher line. Typically, these present a catalog page, with tiny book covers and brief descriptions; when you click on the cover or description, you get much deeper information about the book.

Condensed from a much more in-depth section in Shel Horowitz’s seventh book, Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers.

–> A Life-Changing $11.95 Gift for the Entrepreneurs in Your Life
A one-time deep-discount (minimum 32 percent) offer from now through December 31 that WILL NOT be repeated, ever. And the more you buy, the bigger the discount, all the way down to 77 percent, in case quantities. Your perfect chance to snap up inexpensive but extremely valuable gifts for business owners, key staff, colleagues, and customers
This may be the perfect gift for the entrepreneurs and marketers in your life, especially those who’ve been hit hard by the recession. Imagine a roadmap to business success that shows how to… (click here to continue reading)

–> Very Important: The Sustainability of My Newsletters—Please Read
Don’t panic—I’m not getting rid of the newsletters. But I *am* changing the business model. Please read on for the reasons why, the important details of what happens next, and how you can participate most effectively for your own needs.
(click here to continue reading)

–> Why Covers Matter: Shel Horowitz’s Book Marketing Tip, Nov. 09
I was just beginning to think about what I’d write about this month when Jim Cox’s column crossed my desk. Jim has tons of good resources for authors and publishers on his http://www.midwestbookreview.com website and cheerfully gave me permission to reprint here. (click here to continue reading)

–> Hear & Meet Shel, November 2009

• If you’re a consultant or business coach or you’ve had a desire to become one, then you’ll be excited to know that tomorrow, David Frey and Elsom Eldridge are kicking off the week-long no-cost Consulting Masters Telesummit. It starts on Monday, November 16th. The interview that I contributed to this event describes how to get raving testimonials for your consulting business even if you’re just starting out.
• Environmental journalist Diane Tegarden interviews me December 8, 1 pm ET/10 a.m. ET, for her monthly 30-minute Renewable Energy Radio Show (I imagine we’ll be talking both about Painless Green on the consumer side and Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green on the business side). Listen in: 712-338-8710, PIN number 618#
• March 24, I’m doing a teleseminar for Stacy Karacostas: stacy (at) success-stream.com
• April 25, I’ll be speaking on collaborating with a co-author at the American Society of Journalists and Authors conference in New York. http://asja.org/wc/2010/

–> Friends Who Want to Help

• Eric Gruber is a true article marketing expert. He and his clients get published regularly on my websites as well as on top websites like About.com. He’s offering a very low price for his Complete A to Z Article Marketing System: 7 different ebooks and special reports that will take you by the hand and teach you step-by-step how to write your way to  profits. Check out his article system now at: http://www.broadcastyourarticles.com/shel – and the free ebook waiting for you: “How to Build Your Business with Articles in 6 Steps” — no purchase necessary!
• So you probably know that I make a good chunk of my living writing press releases and other marketing materials. But even though you’re much more likely to get press coverage with a professionally written release, not everybody can afford that (or sometimes, the deadline is too short). In those situations, it’s good to have a swipe file.  For that purpose, I’ve long been a fan of Paul Krupin’s *Trash Proof News Releases*: a tool designed with one specific goal – to get you high-ROI publicity in your target media. Use it as a model to provide the media everything they need to run with the story using you and the resources you’ve arrayed and meet their needs in today’s fast paced environment and ever changing technologies. Last time I checked, I still had a press release or two included.  Book page to download Trash Proof News Releases Smashwords edition (no cost, if I’m not mistaken):  http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/5921
• Join Diane Tegarden as she engages Environmental and Renewable Energy Experts for a half-hour interview on environmental problems and their solutions through Renewable Energy technologies.  On December 8th at 10am PST/11am MST/ 12 noon CST/ 1pm EST the guest will be Shel Horowitz of Principled Profit, to discuss the ins and outs of green marketing.  Listen in at 646-721-9960 or visit the show’s home page at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Diane-Tegarden
• Just for fun: A silly dictionary of publishing terms, courtesy of book distributor, publisher, and author Jacqueline Simonds: http://www.rightreading.com/publishing/publishing-glossary.htm
• Liz Lynch has an EASY, fast and effective way to build your network… online and offline: http://SmartNetworkingNow.com For starters, she has 74  networking gifts for you in a special limited time gift basket, no purchase necessary. I’ve looked at her book and it’s solid, practical advice. Yes, you can find similar wisdom scattered around the Net, but it’s nice to get it all in one place.
• Who would have thunk it? The brilliant and quirky New Zealand marketer Sean D’Souza of Psychotactics is *giving away* one of his $2500 courses! I’ve signed up for this one myself, and the link I’m giving you is not an affiliate link. I’ve learned considerably more from Sean’s freebie newsletter over the years than I have from most of the hundreds of marketing books I’ve read. Go sign up at http://www.psychotactics.com/freezone before he closes this offer (the opt-in form is waaaay at the bottom).
• Does “selling” feel like an icky, sticky, dirty word, to you? It does to a lot of people but without sales, your business will fail-leaving you feeling awful and depriving your prospects of a needed resource! Don’t let that happen to you! Listen to a replay call, “Stop Selling and Start Sharing: Learn How Your Marketing Can Be Authentic, Be Effective and Change the World!” Suzanne Evans, of Help More People, promises to “de-ick the sales conversation for you once and for all.” Visit this page to hear the replay. Since I write about similar ideas in my award-winning sixth book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, I’ve very much looking forward to seeing what she has to say.
• If you’ve followed me for a long time, you know that participation in online discussion groups has been the single best marketing tool for going from a tiny shop with a small local clientele (branching out from writing resumes to doing press releases, book covers, web page copy, and the like) to being internationally known as a copywriter, book shepherd, marketing and publishing consultant, and speaker. Mohit Kumar has launched a new no-cost Internet portal, Tweble, that tracks over a million discussions online form around the world. What a cool concept! Great for tracking stories and trends you can comment on or need to know about. Oh yeah, and if you own a forum, there are some revenue-sharing possibilities in the future. If you get value out of places like Digg, Delicious and StumbleUpon, check out http://tweble.com/
• I’ve long been a believer in the incredible positive benefits of being a “giver”; it’s something I’ve talked about in Principled Profit and elsewhere. So I was delighted to discover a book built entirely around this concept. The book, The Power of Giving: How Giving Back Enriches Us All reveals strategies and secrets of people who possess true wealth and happiness: making the world a better place, which has the side benefit of bringing a great deal back to you-but only if your giving stems from sincerity rather than selfishness. I was also quite impressed with the authors’ philosophy – and with their commitment to give away 100% of the royalties they receive. I’ve poked into several sections of the book and have found gems all the way through. http://powerofgiving.org/paperback
• A Search Tool That’s Better than Google? How about one that delivers your choice of results from Google, Yahoo, MSN, Yelp, Wikipedia and various other places-and displays results before you even click? Try it yourself on our search page – click where it says “Say Hello to Search 2.0?” and start typing your query.
• Sokule (pronounced so-cool) is a cool new Twitter-like social network offering some revenue possibilities.
• This is by far the cheapest program on how to become a #1 bestseller that I’ve ever seen. 9 audios, plus support materials and bonuses. I have not personally reviewed the material but I did look at the scope of what it covers, seems like a lot of good info. Again, I haven’t listened-just sharing the information. http://shelhorowitz.com/go/yourbestseller/

–> Media Coverage of Shel

–> Which of Shel’s Books is Right for You?

–> New on the Sites, November 2009

–> Administrative Information
Subscribe, unsubscribe, back issues, etc.

Published monthly since July, 2009 by Shel Horowitz

I was just beginning to think about what I’d write about this month when Jim Cox’s column crossed my desk. Jim has tons of good resources for authors and publishers on his http://www.midwestbookreview.com website and cheerfully gave me permission to reprint here.

Guest Column: Why Covers Matter
By Jim Cox, Editor, Midwest Book Review

I’ve had the pleasure of being one of the annual Audies Award judges for a good number of years now. But this year there was a new twist — most of the award categories were being offered to we judges as computer downloads instead of our assigned category audio book CDs arriving in the mails.

I don’t have a laptop computer that I can sit back in an easy chair with to listen to hours upon hours of audio book recordings. Neither am I familiar with iPods or whatever it is that is sticking out of the ears of so many young people these days. What I usually do is listen to the audio books I review (including those that I once-a-year annually rank and pass judgement upon) while I’m working at my desk, driving around in my car, taking long walks, or retiring to bed in the evening.

So this year I passed upon most of the categories and volunteered for one that I’d never had before: Package Design. Ranking and judging audio book submissions entirely upon how they looked.

I took an hour to go over the entries carefully and make preliminary notes on the pros & cons of their respective packaging. Quite a change from assessing their contents!

But it did prompt me to reflect on how important packaging is when it comes to the commercial viability of a book — any book, any genre, any category, any format — and any author!

Simply stated, people judge books by their covers. And by people, I mean far more than the general reading public browsing through a bookstore or a library trying to decide what they’d like to choose from all that is being offered them. I also mean book reviewers, wholesalers, distributers, retailers, and librarians who are faced with the same decision.

How very often I’ve seen a lot of an author’s labor go into the writing of a book only to have a poorly chosen cover or badly executed packaging design crush any chance at commercial success.

Authors getting published by the major conglomerates have very little say in what the art departments of a Random House or a Simon & Schuster determine the ‘packaging’ of their book will look like. Self-published authors have the sole say for what their book will look like. Between those two extreme points on the decision making scale are most of the small press published authors. So if you as an author are being published by a small or independent press, get involved in the decision making process to assure that your book will not be handicapped in the market place by flawed artistic concepts, inferior execution of design, or slip-shod attention to the thematic relevance of what the artwork will be with respect to the content of the book being packaged with it.

When it comes to books, the two reasons for a badly designed or poorly executed packing I most often encounter is that the author and/or publisher didn’t have the capital to invest to produce a professionally competitive cover, or that they had some friend or relative that dabbled in art and they felt obligated to oblige.

Please believe me — if you as an author or a publisher find the book packaging to be distasteful, or substandard the chances are that your otherwise prospective buyers will too.

Bottom line — Spend as much time an energy on the outside of your book as you did on the inside.

–> Resources and Approaches to Get Big-Time Publicity
Last month, we talked about the mindset to craft an effective pitch. Now, how to actually get in front of the journalists you want to cover you.  Click here to continue reading.

–> My Quandary = Your Opportunity
You might have heard that the rights to my award-winning sixth book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, got picked up by John Wiley & Sons, and it forms the basis for my eighth book, Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green (co-authored with Jay Conrad Levinson). The new book will include all but, I think, two chapters of Principled Profit, plus some 20-25,000 words of new material. Wiley will publish it in 2010. I’m especially proud of this because, following an e-mail introduction by one of Wiley’s business authors, I landed the deal and negotiated the contract myself. But my problem is…my contract with Wiley forces me to stop selling Principled Profit by the end of this year. And I still have quite a few left. This was a groundbreaking book when it came out–one of the only voices showing that ethical business not only made good moral sense, but good business sense as well. While there are more resources in this area than there used to be, it’s still really hard to find this sort of solid, practical advice on both the theory and the implementation, in a nice, easy-to-read format that anyone can put into practice. So I’ve got a deal for you! Want a copy for yourself? Take $5 off the original $17.50 price. Visit http://snipurl.com/kdq1j to order this remarkable book. Just visit and enter the right code:
GET5OFF – $5 off one copy
GET10OFF2 – $10 off two copies
GET15OFF3 – $15 off three copies
With any of these three coupon codes, you’ll also receive my two newest e-books free with your purchase. Get all the details here.

–> Hear & Meet Shel

• Shel is doing a workshop on media publicity, Monday, November 16. Details not finalized. Contact Amy Zuckerman, workshop@frugalmarketing.com
• A book marketing teleseminar aimed especially for speakers: as part of her monthly membership program, Susan Levin from SpeakerServices interviews me on “Marketing Your Book Beyond the [speaking] Platform,” Thursday, October 29, 7 pm ET/4 p.m. PT. I exhibited at one of Susan’s life events a few years ago and I thought it was one of the best organized conferences I’ve ever been at, with top-name faculty and the most vendor-friendly attitude I’ve ever experienced (we vendors even got to attend all the sessions as part of our sign-up fee).
• Negotiating with meeting planners in Africa for January, Switzerland for February. Nothing definite. If you have a lead on a paying gig in or near Switzerland, I would pay a nice commission if it materializes.
• March 24, I’m doing a teleseminar for Stacy Karacostas.
• April 25, I’ll be speaking on collaborating with a co-author at the American Society of Journalists and Authors conference in New York.
• Click here to access all the links and contact info: http://frugalmarketing.com/newsletters/2009/10/04/hear-meet-shel-october-2009/

–> Friends Who Want to Help

• Does “selling” feel like an icky, sticky, dirty word, to you? It does to a lot of people but without sales, your business will fail–leaving you feeling awful and depriving your prospects of a needed resource! Don’t let that happen to you! Come listen to a call on November 4, 8 pm ET called “Stop Selling and Start Sharing: Learn How Your Marketing Can Be Authentic, Be Effective and Change the World!” Suzanne Evans, of Help More People, promises to “de-ick the sales conversation for you once and for all.” Visit http://bit.ly/19yWAp to learn more and reserve your space. Since I write about similar ideas in my award-winning sixth book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, I’ve very much looking forward to seeing what she has to say.
• One of the books I’ve been reading recently is Overcomers, Inc: a collection of experiences from *38* different authors on how they overcame adversity. Some of the stories are openly religious, others come from a completely different place. The launch promotion is already under way, and includes a bonus package from 95 different experts including Dr. Wayne Dyer, Janet Atwood, and Joe Nunziata. If you need a big dose of inspiration as the weather turns dreary, maybe this will be your personal cure for Seasonal Affective Disorder (joke). http://www.overcomersbook.com/booklaunch
• If you’ve followed me for a long time, you know that participation in online discussion groups has been the single best marketing tool for going from a tiny shop with a small local clientele (branching out from writing resumes to doing press releases, book covers, web page copy, and the like) to being internationally known as a copywriter, book shepherd, marketing and publishing consultant, and speaker. Mohit Kumar has launched a new no-cost Internet portal, Tweble, that tracks over a million discussions online form around the world. What a cool concept! Great for tracking stories and trends you can comment on or need to know about. Oh yeah, and if you own a forum, there are some revenue-sharing possibilities in the future. If you get value out of places like Digg, Delicious and StumbleUpon, check out http://tweble.com/
• I’ve long been a believer in the incredible positive benefits of being a “giver”; it’s something I’ve talked about in Principled Profit and elsewhere. So I was delighted to discover a book built entirely around this concept. The book, The Power of Giving: How Giving Back Enriches Us All reveals strategies and secrets of people who possess true wealth and happiness: making the world a better place, which has the side benefit of bringing a great deal back to you–but only if your giving stems from sincerity rather than selfishness. I was also quite impressed with the authors’ philosophy — and with their commitment to give away 100% of the royalties they receive. I’ve poked into several sections of the book and have found gems all the way through.
• Are you a blogger, marketer, or entrepreneur? You may have heard that earlier this month, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission came out with a new set of guidelines that require disclosures from bloggers and affiliates and that appear to change the game when it comes to using results-based testimonials. Marcia Yudkin, one of the smartest people I know (I first met her when she was a professor at Smith College, more than 20 years ago), is interviewing business attorney and author Jean Sifleet on exactly what the new FTC regulations mean and do not mean for bloggers, copywriters, marketers and entrepreneurs.  Anyone who registers ahead of time has the opportunity to submit a question for the interview. The quality of Marcia’s information tends to be superb, and I’m sure she’s chosen well to explain this complex and very important new rule. The call should be available on or around October 30, and you can register to purchase the recording in either MP3 or CD (choose at the bottom of her page), for $39.97–and submit any questions ahead of time, so they might be chosen for the call.
• Author 101 University Rick Frishman is doing another Author101 University, Oct 30 & 31 in Las Vegas.
• A Search Tool That’s Better than Google? How about one that delivers your choice of results from Google, Yahoo, MSN, Yelp, Wikipedia and various other places-and displays results before you even click? Try it yourself at on our search page – click where it says “Say Hello to Search 2.0?” and start typing your query.
• Sokule (pronounced so-cool) is a cool new Twitter-like social network offering some revenue possibilities.
• This is by far the cheapest program on how to become a #1 bestseller that I’ve ever seen. 9 audios, plus support materials and bonuses. I have not personally reviewed the material but I did look at the scope of what it covers, seems like a lot of good info. Again, I haven’t listened–just sharing the information.
• Click here to access all the links: http://frugalmarketing.com/newsletters/?p=1279

Some of the opportunities mentioned pay a commission to Shel. Shel maintains high quality standards for mention in this column, and has either personally vetted the product, experienced previous products of top quality from the provider, or mentions in the write-up that he hasn’t seen it. Many products get turned down if they don’t meet these criteria. If you’d like to know if a particular program is commissionable, you’re welcome to ask us.

–> Which of Shel’s Books is Right for You?

–> New on the Sites, September, 2009

–> Administrative Information
Subscribe, unsubscribe, back issues, etc.

Published monthly since July, 2009 by Shel Horowitz

Last month, we talked about the mindset to craft an effective pitch. Now, how to actually get in front of the journalists you want to cover you.

1. Use media query services that aggregate reporters’ requests for sources. There is no better way to get publicity than to hit a reporter who’s desperately looking for someone exactly like you in order to finish an article. I use HARO, PitchRate, ReportersSource and some others I can’t remember, none of which cost anything. In the past, I’ve also used ProfNet, which has a significant cost. I’ve had far and away the best success with HARO and ProfNet. Several of the media lead sources also post leads on Twitter. You’ll want to follow (in  alphabetical order) @helpareporter, @pitchrate, @ProfNet, and @reporterssource
2. Use social media sites to follow reporters on your beat, and build relationships (gently and without pressure); pitch only when you’ve established yourself as credible and your pitch is directly relevant to what they’re working on
3. Send a press release that’s NOT “I’ve written a book” but that focuses on the attitudes we discussed last month. Some sample headlines I’ve actually used for my clients:

• Pro-Anorexia Sites “Danger to Children,” Says Expert

• Moveable Historic Action Figures Awarded BEST CLASSIC TOY of 2009: Industry Newcomer’s First Release Joins Yo-Yo, Crayons, Other Long-time Favorites
• Teenage Partisan Who Fought the Nazis Lives to See Her Story Told—On Film and In Print
• Ethics Expert: As an Ethics Warrior, Spitzer Must Meet a Higher Standard (this was not for a client but a news tie-in for my own book, Principled Profit)

Of course, I go into much more detail in my seventh book, Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers,and in several of my other marketing books too. Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First has a particularly nice section on building relationships with reporters.

–> Seven Mindsets to Get Publicity for Your Book: Shel Horowitz’s Book Publicity Tip, Sept. ‘09
Have you been cited in places like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, Woman’s Day, Entrepreneur, and the top trade publications in your industry?  I’ve been in all the above–several times each. I’ve also been in hundreds of lesser known publications. If you’d like that kind of ink… (Click here to continue reading.)

–> Travel advisory: Traveling to the American Southwest (or live there?) Be sure to read the article we’ve just posted about Valley Fever.  Valley Fever: The Southwest’s Local Secret

–> Saving the World at Work: an exclusive excerpt from Tim Sanders new book. Sanders, a former Yahoo exec, is author of Love Is The Killer App–the very first book I reviewed in this newsletter–as well as The Likeability Factor, which I also reviewed. Good Stuff.

–> My Quandary = Your Opportunity
You might have heard that the rights to my award-winning sixth book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, got picked up by John Wiley & Sons, and it forms the basis for my eighth book, Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green (co-authored with Jay Conrad Levinson). The new book will include all but, I think, two chapters of Principled Profit, plus some 20-25,000 words of new material. Wiley will publish it in 2010. I’m especially proud of this because, following an e-mail introduction by one of Wiley’s business authors, I landed the deal and negotiated the contract myself. But my problem is…my contract with Wiley forces me to stop selling Principled Profit by the end of this year. And I still have quite a few left. This was a groundbreaking book when it came out–one of the only voices showing that ethical business not only made good moral sense, but good business sense as well. While there are more resources in this area than there used to be, it’s still really hard to find this sort of solid, practical advice on both the theory and the implementation, in a nice, easy-to-read format that anyone can put into practice. So I’ve got a deal for you! Want a copy for yourself? Take $5 off the original $17.50 price. Visit http://snipurl.com/kdq1j to order this remarkable book. Just visit and enter the right code:
GET5OFF – $5 off one copy
GET10OFF2 – $10 off two copies
GET15OFF3 – $15 off three copies
With any of these three coupon codes, you’ll also receive my two newest e-books free with your purchase.

–> Hear & Meet Shel

• Guest on Kim Smith’s Blog Talk Radio show, “Introducing Writers,” Wednesday, October 14, 8:30 pm ET/5:30 PT (book marketing). http://www.blogtalkradio.com/KimS
• A book marketing teleseminar aimed especially for speakers: as part of her monthly membership program, Susan Levin from SpeakerServices.com interviews me on “Marketing Your Book Beyond the [speaking] Platform,” Thursday, October 29, 7 pm ET/4 p.m. PT. I exhibited at one of Susan’s life events a few years ago and I thought it was one of the best organized conferences I’ve ever been at, with top-name faculty and the most vendor-friendly attitude I’ve ever experienced (we vendors even got to attend all the sessions as part of our sign-up fee).

–> Friends Who Want to Help

• The brilliant George Kao, the best social media trainer I’ve ever encountered (and I’ve tried quite a few), is actually letting me share his slides from his fantastic presentation on September 22. If, now or in the future, you expect to be marketing on social media, and especially Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, you absolutely want to spend some good focused time with these slides.
• Booklets are Much Easier to Write than Books-Learn the Secrets Paulette Ensign, the Booklet Queen, is running a new teleseminar series: interviewing nine people who’ve been successful as authors of booklets.
• Tipping the Point is a quick-start guide to viral marketing, using integrity and ethics-and incorporating many examples.  
• Author 101 University Rick Frishman is doing another Author101 University, Oct 30 & 31 in Las Vegas.
• If you’ve seen Mark Joyner’s wonderful Cashmap series, you know that he and his business partner Brad Semp, and some subject-matter experts, have created a wonderful tool for thinking differently and holistically about a whole range of stuff, from managing e-mail to healthy eating to happy marriage.
• Jim Donovan, author of several bestselling books on having a happier life (and a long-time friend and occasional co-panelist), wants you to have a happy middle-aged and elder life. He writes, “If you didn’t know when you were born, how old would you be?”  Are you ageless – full of energy and ready to go – no matter what your birth certificate says? Or does the prospect of aging leave you deeply concerned about what lies ahead?  The rest of your life can be the best of your life.
• Two new no-cost offerings from The Blog Squad, known for their high-content programs:
  Get the Best Out of Your Blog – Free 5-Part Video Course: http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/?Clk=3217930
  Quality Blog Traffic – Free Audio Program: http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/?Clk=3217931
• A Search Tool That’s Better than Google? How about one that delivers your choice of results from Google, Yahoo, MSN, Yelp, Wikipedia and various other places-and displays results before you even click? Try it yourself at http://frugalmarketing.com/search.shtml#web – click where it says “Say Hello to Search 2.0? and start typing your query.
• Judith and Jim’s “Bridging Heart and Marketing III (BH&M III) – the Soft Sell Virtual Conference,” October 8-18, online from anywhere in the world. The conference motto is “Marketing with Consciousness and Conscience.” 

–> Which of Shel’s Books is Right for You?

–> New on the Sites, September, 2009

–> Administrative Information
Subscribe, unsubscribe, back issues, etc.

Published monthly since July, 2009 by Shel Horowitz

Have you been cited in places like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, Woman’s Day, Entrepreneur, and the top trade publications in your industry?

I’ve been in all the above–several times each. I’ve also been in hundreds of lesser known publications.

If you’d like that kind of ink, your pitches and press releases have to reflect the reality of the newsroom: overworked journalists sort through a mountain of information, mining for the nuggets to share with their readers, often under severe deadline pressure.

Here are a few approaches that tend to work:

• Solve a problem/ease a pain point/make people’s life better
• Expose some hidden truth that can change people’s thinking or behavior
• Tie in to a current and immediate news story or trend
• Provide a deeper “back story” on a news topic—or on a celebrity’s life
• Dip into your personal journey to show how you overcame adversity, did something really unusual, or separated yourself from the crowd in some other way
• Win an award, achieve a big milestone, etc.
• Create a catchphrase or buzzword that so perfectly captures an idea that it enters the common language

Next month: specific tools you can use to make your pitch. Note: my seventh book, Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers, offers six entire chapters on effective publicity. Click on the book title to order your copy.

–> Can You Pounce On A Breaking News Event?
Can you pounce on a breaking news event? Not everybody can, but if your subject has breaking news potential then you’d better be ready to take advantage of it.  Click here to continue reading.

–> My Quandary = Your Opportunity
You might have heard that the rights to my award-winning sixth book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, got picked up by John Wiley & Sons, and it forms the basis for my eighth book, Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green (co-authored with Jay Conrad Levinson). The new book will include all but, I think, two chapters of Principled Profit, plus some 20-25,000 words of new material. Wiley will publish it in 2010. I’m especially proud of this because, following an e-mail introduction by one of Wiley’s business authors, I landed the deal and negotiated the contract myself. But my problem is…my contract with Wiley forces me to stop selling Principled Profit by the end of this year. And I still have quite a few left. This was a groundbreaking book when it came out–one of the only voices showing that ethical business not only made good moral sense, but good business sense as well. While there are more resources in this area than there used to be, it’s still really hard to find this sort of solid, practical advice on both the theory and the implementation, in a nice, easy-to-read format that anyone can put into practice. So I’ve got a deal for you! Want a copy for yourself? Take $5 off the original $17.50 price. Visit http://snipurl.com/kdq1j to order this remarkable book. Just visit and enter the right code:
GET5OFF – $5 off one copy
GET10OFF2 – $10 off two copies
GET15OFF3 – $15 off three copies
With any of these three coupon codes, you’ll also receive my two newest e-books free with your purchase. Get all the details here: http://www.tinyurl.com/ShelsQuandary

–> Hear & Meet Shel
* If you’re in Western Massachusetts and want to see some amazing art, my stepfather, Michihiro Yoshida, is having another one-man show at the Burnett Gallery, Jones Library, Amherst.  I’ll be at the reception the evening of September 3. He’s painting up a storm!
* September 9, I’ll be Janice Campbell’s podcast guest at 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT, discussing ethical success strategies you can implement in your business. Janice has also named me to her Board of Experts for the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors, http://www.NAIWE.com (she’s the organization’s Director). More info: jcwords@gmail.com
* Paulette Ensign’s Publishing Prosperity Mastermind is another high-value, low-cost teleseminar series that’s already started, and again, you get all the recordings. I’m speaking on September 17 on “Frugal, Ethical, and Creative Book Marketing-By the Book, Or By the Boxcar”
* “How and Why to Green Your Work Life,” GreenWorks: Green Career and Job Development Symposium, Friday, Sept. 11, 2009, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven (and there’s a Green Expo/Folk Festival the next day at Edgerton Park). I’m on a two-person panel, and I’ll be focusing on the “Why” part–the Principled Profit rationale.  I’ll also have a table at both events. Stop by and say hi.
* Friday, September 18, interviewed on Business Ethics and Marketing by Ike Engelbaum on his Entrepreneurship American Style radio show.
* Also on Friday, September 18, I plan to attend the Western Mass Tweetup at Amherst Brewing Co., downtown Amherst, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
* Tuesday Sept 22, 5 pm ET/2 pm PT, Allison Nazarian and I will host a call with the amazing George Kao, a social network trainer who has forgotten more than most of us know. I’ve been marketing seriously via social media since 1995, and it’s been my primary source of clients all the way back to 1996. And yet, I learn so much from listening to George that I not only sat in on three of his calls in the last two months, but also made a point of seeking him out for a dinner meeting when I was in San Francisco. This call is so important, and you will learn so much, that I’m going to send a special note about it. If you only pick one teleclass to attend in the next few months, make it this one. Sign up at http://georgekao.com/922s
* Wednesday, September 23, I’m doing a class for Hilton Johnson’s Global TeleClass organization, “The Magic Triangle: Turn Ethics Into Powerful Success.” This is an experiment, and as part of my contract, I have promised to send out a series of three solo mailings: two about their HealthCoach training and one about my program (which I think also mentions the other programs for the month). So even though you don’t usually get solo mailings from me, be aware of these.
* Guest on Kim Smith’s Blog Talk Radio show, “Introducing Writers,” Wednesday, October 14, 8:30 pm ET/5:30 PT (book marketing).
* A book marketing teleseminar aimed especially for speakers: as part of her monthly membership program, Susan Levin from SpeakerServices.com interviews me on “Marketing Your Book Beyond the [speaking] Platform,” Thursday, October 29, 7 pm ET/4 p.m. PT. I exhibited at one of Susan’s life events a few years ago and I thought it was one of the best organized conferences I’ve ever been at, with top-name faculty and the most vendor-friendly attitude I’ve ever experienced (we vendors even got to attend all the sessions as part of our sign-up fee).

–> Friends Who Want to Help
* Dr. Mani’s New Book Benefits Child Heart Patients: Remember my friend Dr. Mani Sivasubramanian, India-based pediatric cardiac surgeon, e-book author, and Internet entrepreneur? He’s about to release his first physical book: Think, Write & Retire!–and all profits will go to funding heart surgery for needy children.
* Stop by my blog September 18, when Jacqueline Wales, author of  The Fearless Factor, has a guest post as part of her blog tour.
* Author 101 University: Rick Frishman is doing another Author101 University, Oct 30 & 31 in Las Vegas.
* Want to be interviewed in a book? Jim O’Connor, whose book “Cuss Control: The Complete Book on How to Curb Your Cursing” was published by Random House, is writing a book on beauty and our culture. He is looking for people to interview who were teased or bullied as children because they were unlucky in the looks department, yet became successful: found love, self -esteem and happiness. Call Lynda O’Connor at 847-615-5462.
* Two new no-cost offerings from The Blog Squad, known for their high-content programs:
Get the Best Out of Your Blog – Free 5-Part Video Course: http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/?Clk=3217930
Quality Blog Traffic – Free Audio Program: http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/?Clk=3217931
* A Search Tool That’s Better than Google? How about one that delivers your choice of results from Google, Yahoo, MSN, Yelp, Wikipedia and various other places–and displays results before you even click? Try it yourself at http://frugalmarketing.com/search.shtml#web — click where it says “Say Hello to Search 2.0″ and start typing your query. You might want to bookmark this page, which also allows you to search all of my dozen-plus sites at once and even provides tips to help you find exactly what you want in any search (people have thanked me quite a few times for this little tipsheet).

* Judith and Jim’s “Bridging Heart and Marketing III (BH&M III) – the Soft Sell Virtual Conference,” October 8-18, online from anywhere in the world. The conference motto is “Marketing with Consciousness and Conscience.” Judith and Jim are the authors of The Heart of Marketing: Love Your Customers and They Will Love You Back, which I reviewed a few months ago at http://frugalmarketing.com/newsletters/2009/04/15/another-recommended-book-the-heart-of-marketing/ Learn more at http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=3221681
* Mark Joyner writes, Everyone is talking about this “mystery” on the Internet and I’d love your help solving it: http://www.simpleology.com/p/onlineaffiliateincome/prinprofit/ One thing is certain: whoever solves this is going to make a BUNDLE.
Some of the opportunities mentioned may pay me commissions. If you’d like to know if a particular program is commissionable, you’re welcome to ask us.

–> Which of Shel’s Books is Right for You?

–> New on the Sites, August, 2009

–> Administrative Information
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Published monthly since July, 2009 by Shel Horowitz

Guest Post By Scott Lorenz

[Editor's Note: This article has three important lessons I wanted to highlight: 1) follow news events and tie your book and/or your author in--legitimately, don't force it--to breaking news; 2) if there's a news event you know will happen eventually that has such a tie-in, do the advance prep; 3) old books can get good play under the right circumstances. This article was published previously in Fran Silverman's Book Marketing Newsletter and is used with the gracious permission of the author.

--Shel Horowitz, author of Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers]

Can you pounce on a breaking news event? Not everybody can, but if your subject has breaking news potential then you’d better be ready to take advantage of it.

One such opportunity presented itself to Westwind Communications on February 19, 2008 when Fidel Castro announced his resignation. One of my author clients has a gorgeous coffee table photo book on Cuba and has made 40 plus quasi illegal trips to the island nation. He’s an American citizen and expert on Cuba. http://www.corazonpress.com.

Having pitched this book and his story to all major media from Good Morning America and Nightline to Syndicated Radio, all of the big media outlets said–I’m not exaggerating–”Sure we’ll cover it–when Fidel dies.”

So, like vultures circling above, we’ve been waiting for every slip, fall, missed parade, bad medical report about Fidel so that we could jump on the opportunity. It finally came at 5:30am on the morning of February 19, 2008 with the announcement of Fidel’s resignation. That was almost as good as the dictator passing on! Less drama but still worth covering since it announced a change in power of the United States’ long time nemesis of 50 years.

So, I dusted off the release about Fidel’s death that had been sitting in wait for two years, changed the headline to reflect his resignation, and a few other items and out it went to my carefully maintained and targeted list of media contacts and put it on the wire by 6AM while everyone else was still sleeping.

The result was outstanding. CBS Radio immediately saw the release, set up an interview that ran in Detroit all day and night. Then National Public Radio set up an in-studio interview as did WJR and WCSX radio. Print media got into the act with interviews in The Ann Arbor News http://www.mlive.com/news/annarbornews/index.ssf?/base/news-26/120352203518630.xml&coll=2, Detroit News, Observer & Eccentric http://www.hometownlife.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=C5&Dato=20080225&Kategori=NEWS&Lopenr=225001&Ref=PH and Oakland Press http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/022008/loc_20080220268.shtml. We even got interest, but unfortunately no story since the book was not newly released, from the Wall Street Journal.

Then, one of Amazon’s Top Ten reviewers asked for a review copy, which, by itself could create a ground swell of book sales. (thousands have already read his review http://www.amazon.com/Cuba-Photographs-Jack-Kenny/dp/0976834901). A travel writer from MSNBC http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23278430 wanted to get Kenny’s expert advice on traveling to CUBA and the media inquires are still coming in. Interestingly enough, three producers and reporters called me after they got to their office and found out that Fidel had resigned, needed a Cuba expert, did a Google search and found my press release on top of the Google News section.  I love technology!

This whole operation was a success because I constantly monitor the news and set Google Alerts http://www.google.com/alerts?hl=en to watch for key news items. And, of course, I had the release ready to go. Everything was thought out, my client was ready–for 2 years. The gun was loaded, cocked, and ready to fire.

And you know another upside of this? I can still use a version of my original “Fidel’s Death” release later! Don’t think bad things about me, somebody somewhere might have your obituary already written too!

When should you send out a press release? My acid test is that if it’s newsworthy and if it’s timely and useful to the reader, send it. It’s that simple.

There are many factors to weigh when considering the need to send out a press release. As a publicist I have sent thousands of releases over the years and while there are no hard and fast rules, the most important factor is that you’ve got to make sure it’s newsworthy and useful to the reader. Anything else and it’s just a waste of time for the members of the media.

So what press release do you have in your hip pocket? Are you ready when breaking news hits?

————-

Scott is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm. He has handled public relations and marketing for numerous authors, doctors, lawyers, inventors and entrepreneurs. As a book marketing expert Scott is called upon by top execs and bestselling authors to promote their books. Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at http://www.book-marketing-expert.com or contact Scott at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or by phone at 734-667-2090