Building Buzz Archives | Jane Tabachnick & Co

Why You Need To Keep Positioning Yourself As An Expert

The Case For Why You Need to Keep Positioning Yourself as an Expert.

This is the second time in my life it’s happened. A stranger asked for my autograph as I stood on the street. I was positioning myself as an expert without even realizing I was doing it.

I’m not a celebrity or a known personality. So why did these passers-by ask for my autograph?

I was a perfect September day and the passers-by were just following their instinct and conditioning.

You see, I was with my client Marya who was about to be featured on NBC to talk about her new book Career X, that we had recently published for her. We thought it would be fun to hire a video crew to document our experience leading up to being on NBC, and both she and I could use the video in our marketing.

So, the passers-by didn’t recognize us or mistake us for celebrities. They just assumed that we were celebrities based on our positioning -the video crew following us signaled to them and made them believe without a doubt that we were celebrities and they were just too bashful to even ask who we were.

They were attracted to us as celebrities – whoever we were.

So why am I telling you this?

As an entrepreneur or author, you should always be positioning yourself as the expert so that you stand out in your niche. It helps do the following:

Solidifies your expert positioning
Presells prospects on working with you
Creates an enhanced desire to work with you
It sets the expectation that as an expert, they can expect to pay premium pricing to work with you

Even if you are higher priced than your competitors or the highest price in your market, positioning yourself as an expert reduces price resistance and negotiation.

Take a lesson on expert positioning from celebrities like Richard Branson

Here is another example of expert positioning from a true, internationally recognized celebrity – Richard Branson – one of my business heroes.

Doing lead generation on LinkedIn, I noticed something in conversations with my new connections. Following some back-and-forth messages and a few phone conversations, if I believe that a connection might be a fit for my services, I will ask if they’ve ever thought of writing a book. On numerous occasions, I have gotten a sharp response back saying, “I’m already an author.” In one instance, the response was “I’ve written ten books and they are translated in multiple languages.”

I’m human and sometimes I make mistakes, so feeling I had possibly goofed and missed it on their LinkedIn profile when I initially reviewed it, I went back and checked. Nowhere on their LinkedIn profile is there a mention of their book. This always surprises me. For most people, writing a book is something that they’re immensely proud of. It’s a big achievement. And it’s a great expert position piece. So why isn’t it on their profile?

Branson and Gary V recognize the importance of positioning, continually. They both showcase their books in their profile graphic and title description.

Richard Branson takes his positioning even further by including endorsements for his book from other recognizable names – Sheryl Sandberg and Bill Gates. He shows that positioning is an ongoing process, even after you reach celebrity status.

Dan Kennedy, legendary marketer and author stated it well when he said:

“The simple truth is, if you aren’t deliberately, systematically, methodically – or rapidly and dramatically – establishing yourself as a celebrity, at least to your clientele and target market, you’re asleep at the wheel, ignoring what is fuelling the entire economy around you and neglecting development of a measurably valuable asset.”

Want help with your celebrity positioning? Schedule a complimentary strategy session here

Ready to add Author to your resume and positioning? Join us for the 8 Week Book Coaching Program

Are You The Best-Kept Secret in Your Niche ?

Being the best-kept secret in your market is a disservice to you, your clients and the world. Most brands, like my clients, LOVE what they do. They also create great impact in the lives and businesses of those that they work with.

This inspires me and makes me proud.

It also makes me mad…

What? It makes you mad Jane?

I know this applies to some of your companies, my dear, talented readers….

The problem is…..

You may still the best-kept secret…

So… the best-kept secret I want you to meet is YOUR COMPANY! You have a gift, you have a message that needs to be heard. Your brand can make a difference in peoples’ lives, health, wealth…. And so your not being seen enough – that makes me mad – how can your brand share it’s gifts, services and products if the right people don’t know about you?

I want to help you so that more people know about you and what you can offer. Simple mindset shifts, as well as learning more about simple publicity you can do for your business can be both fun and profitable. Often the solution is simpler than you think!

So I have a question – what stops you? Why isn’t your company getting the word out, getting more visibility and reaching more people who want and need you and what you offer?

I have a sneaky suspicion…. As well as how to fix it… and I’ll share with you in an upcoming post. I am also going to be talking about this on Facebook, so please follow me there and like my page so you get notified when I add content or go Live. I’ve also created a new program to help you Magnify Your Message.

Of course, I love to hear from you… Please comment below.

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5 Bad Behaviors That’ll Leave You on a Journalist’s Blacklist

5 Bad behaviors that will land you on a journalist's blacklist

The inbox and the telephone are tools of the trade for a journalist. They can be useful platforms that deliver the next exceptional story or be the bane of their existence. Due to the latter, the journalist’s blacklist was created.

While it’s their job to be open to unsolicited pitches, journalists draw the line at certain behaviors that they will not tolerate. Do one of them even once, and you could get banned forever.

While this isn’t brain surgery, it’s worth revisiting these basic rules for successful pitching. Bad behavior, just like bad pitches, can come from individuals, PR professionals, corporate staff, influencers, or bloggers alike. Don’t be that person.

Here are the top five things that will get you banned by journalists.

1. Lying

Never lie to a journalist. They are smart, trained professionals who will find out the truth eventually. While this may seem obvious, any of these behaviors will brand you as less than truthful by journalists:

• Outright lies

• The omission of key details

• Withholding information

• Not presenting a ‘downside’ to the story, the product, or the main subject [that you are aware of]

Journalists never appreciate being blindsided or embarrassed when information ‘they should have known about’ comes to light after they have pitched a story to their editor, or even worse when it becomes known about a story that has already been published.

While your initial pitch should be brief, once a journalist has expressed interest it’s time to reveal everything you know about the story or risk being banned later.

2. Offering bribes

Do not offer any kind of compensation for coverage; this includes money, gifts or barter offers. Offering to share their article with your army of followers on social media as an incentive to write about you, your product, or client, is also taboo if intended as a bribe. Gifts of any kind, including an offer of any form of compensation, are against journalism’s code of ethics and will get you shown the exit faster than you can blink.

Instead, pitch a better story, one that they will want to write about. Make sure it’s on a topic that they cover.

3. Pitching the same story

Most journalists prefer or insist on an exclusive on a story. If you are pitching more than one outlet on a story with the same angle, you need to let the journalist know about this up front.

Don’t pitch the same story that has been covered before in a similar outlet or market, and most definitely don’t keep that fact hidden.

Journalists don’t want to appear as though they have an inside track and like to be the first to break an original story. No one likes to be a copycat.

Instead, find a new angle or an update to your story that hasn’t been covered before. Offer the journalist an exclusive for a limited period, and you will have much greater chance of success.

4. Making demands

There is no situation where it is appropriate to make firm demands or requests of journalists. This includes asking for specific placement, insisting a photo or hyperlink gets included or any other requests.

Whether or not a journalist or publication decides to run a story is at their discretion.

The specifics of what they choose to include in their coverage is totally up to them. Asking nicely, pleading, or hounding the can all get you banned from ever working with them again.

5. Late or missed deadlines

Journalists work on deadlines, and as a reliable source, you want to meet requested delivery dates for information, a quote, or a photo that has been promised.

The worst thing you can do is leave a journalist hanging on a story or miss a deadline by which you agreed to get back to them.

Not returning calls in a prompt fashion, can also cause them to miss a deadline altogether, which can be catastrophic on their end, giving them a good reason to decide to sever your relationship.

Things happen in life. Perhaps you can’t gather the information they are seeking from you or can’t get approval to use a photo they requested. Let the journalist know as soon as possible so that they can find an alternate source or kill the story with enough time not to leave a blank hole in their publication.

I like to think about how I can make it easier for a journalist to do their job. If you can do that, as well as bring them excellent stories, and follow these simple rules, you don’t need to worry about being banned. In fact, you can develop great working relationships with journalists. You will often see them start to treat you like a trusted resource, seeking you out when they need a source for a story.

This post first appeared on Muckrack.com

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How to Run a Bestseller Campaign on Amazon

The reason why you want to know how to run a bestseller campaign on Amazon goes beyond bragging rights. When done right, it will provide a significant boost to your book’s visibility and sales, as well as help garner book reviews. I am speaking here about Amazon Kindle Bestseller Campaigns.

Before jumping into the hows of a bestseller campaign… at the risk of stating the obvious, you want to start by writing a great book.

Visibility

When set up right, your book will show up high in the categories your potential readers are browsing in… this way it can be discovered. Amazon is a giant search engine, and like Google, people don’t go beyond the first page to search for results, so ranking high matters. In the case of Amazon, it is the opposite – a low number ranks higher with #1 being at the top. It is key to getting found by new prospective buyers.

Your book can also show up in the Hot New Releases section and potentially other sections that will give it additional visibility in front of your target audience.

Categories and Keywords

Your category and keyword research, when done right, along with optimizing your An optimized listing, will help your book continue to rank well long beyond the bestseller campaign.

When I refer to optimizing your listing – I mean carefully selecting your categories and keywords to help your book get discovered, and taking advantage and using all of the 2 categories and 7 keywords Amazon allows a book.

The optimization of a book listing is a combination of art and science. Sometimes authors see their book as belonging in a certain category, which may not be the ideal one, nor the one or the only one their ideal reader will search in. There are probably a number of ways your reader will browse for books like yours… so remain open. Research can help you identify the optimal categories and keywords. You can conduct your research by polling your target audience, researching similar books on Amazon, using a keyword tool, or hiring an expert.

You can always tweak or change your categories, however, if you aren’t sure why your book isn’t ranking the way you would like, changing the categories and keywords without getting professional input, is a bit like playing the lottery, and leaving the result to chance.

The momentum of a bestseller campaign is valuable on Amazon as it gives you a number of sales. It also boosts your book’s ranking and visibility. Keeping your promotion going beyond the initial campaign can really solidify your book rankings for an extended period. We continue to run a promotional campaign for a few days after the Bestseller campaign. Keeping the price at .99, we see steady sales, increased reviews, and long-term rankings boost. The books that have used this strategy continue to rank and bring in sales month after month with no additional promotion.

What Not To Do – Credibility Busters

Beg or hound friends and family to buy your book. Instead, join a number of book groups that allow you to post your promotion, or hire a service or professional to run your campaign.

Claim bestseller status when your book has no reviews listed. Think about it, is it credible that a book would become a bestseller and no one would have reviewed it? Instead, get a few reviews before running your bestseller campaign.

Post your book online with the bestseller seal on it, before its even published [if it somehow happens to pass Amazon scrutiny this way] before you even start your campaign or reach bestseller status. Instead, hire a graphic designer [a Fiverr for $5] to add the graphic, and upload a new cover once you have actually achieved bestseller status.

No Author page. Amazon gives you this great free marketing tool with Author Central, so why not take advantage and set it up before promoting your book.

Find out about our done for you bestseller campaigns here

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How to Contact a Celebrity for a Book Endorsment

How to get celebrity endorsements for your book

You are ready to get endorsements for your book. You’ve identified your ideal celebrities and influencers. Now it’s time to contact them and make the ask, but you may be wondering how to contact a celebrity for a book endorsment. Here are the top ways to find the contact information of celebrities:

Start with a Google Search

Google is a great resource for finding contact information. Start with a google search. Try being completely literal. Type in ‘email address for Celebrity Name’. We are going to use Barbara Corcoran as our example.

As you can see you get a number of results, including Barbara Corcoran’s own website [1], which is sure to have a contact form. We’ll save that for later.

In this search you see both RocketReach [2] and CEOEmail [3] which claim to give you email addresses. Both are free. It is worth having a look and copying down the email addresses into a file.

Test the email addresses to see if they are valid using this free tool:

In the event you don’t find any email addresses you can try the following:

Find an email address for a staff member at your celebrity’s domain. You can do a Google search, or try a Linkedin search using your celebrity as the company name.

For example: look for any address at @barbaracorcoran.com. From this you can determine the email convention they use. It might be ‘first initial’ and ‘last name’, or ‘first name’ only before the @ sign. You can then substitute your celebrity name in the same format as the email address you found.

How to Contact a Celebrity for a Book Endorsement- Ninja tips:

Address your endorsement request to a few different email addresses at the same time – addresses that you found, or just try a few of the most commonly used email conventions. That way you increase your chances of success, and any email address that is not valid, will send back an email letting you know that.

Add a read receipt- if used, it will let you know the email was received and read.

Use Press Contacts to request celebrity endorsements
Celebrities and high-profile people often have a PR firm on retainer or staff. You can typically find their contact info in a press release issued about the celebrity. These releases may be found on the celebrity’s website, or by searching for news about them.
Once you find out the celebrity’s PR contact you can either contact them to ask who to direct an endorsement request to, or just pitch them directly.

Use the Contact form on the celebrity website
The contact us form on any website is always available as a way to contact a celebrity, or anyone else. It usually goes to a general mailbox, often opened by an assistant. I have had success using this method to request endorsements, though it’s not my preferred method; I use it only when I can’t find a celebrity email address or press contact name and email address.

Here is why you should ask Barbara Corcoran, or any celebrity for an endorsement. They might just say yes!

In fact, Ms. Corcoran encourages you to request endorsements, and has a dedicated link to make it easy for you.

Fast Track Your Results & Get More Celebrity Endorsements

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How to Get Celebrity Endorsements For Your Book

Having celebrities endorse your book will lend credibility, prestige and authority. It will also help you sell more books.

Big brands have been using celebrities to sell products for ages. Think Michael Phelps on the corn flakes box to Ellen Degeneres in Cover Girl makeup commercials. They pay big fees to the celebrities because these endorsements help sell more products.

The good news is, with a little bit of effort on your part, you can get industry influencers and busy celebrities to endorse your books- and you won’t have to pay a fee.

To understand why celebrities will give you an endorsement, even if they don’t know you, see Part 1 of this series Why you should ask Barbara Corcoran for an endorsement

I reached out to a top industry expert who was also a multiple New York Times bestselling author to get an endorsement for a client’s book. They agreed. We were thrilled! An endorsement from them would add incredible cache and authority to my client’s book. Weeks went by. We heard nothing. After more than a month, I reached out and asked if it would help if I sent some sample endorsements.

The expert’s assistant wrote back with a one word response: “Absolutely”.
We got their endorsement the next week!

The key to having celebrities endorse your book is to put in time up front, and to make it as easy as possible for them to say yes.

Here is how to get celebrity endorsements for your book

Create a simple, ‘package’ with all your information and materials to send via email.

Start by sending a very short, detailed note about your book along with your request and why you think they are the perfect person to endorse it. [Genuine flattery goes a long way!]

Offer a copy of the book as well as a representative sample

Many celebrities and experts will not want to read your entire book; however, you should offer them a copy of it as well as a representative sample [intro, table of contents and a chapter]. Rather than send the sample as an attachment, host your sample chapter in the cloud [drop box, google doc…] and offer a link to the files in your email.

Offer Sample Endorsements [3 -5 samples]

Let them know you recognize that they are busy, so you have drafted a few sample endorsements that they are welcome to use as is, or edit. This can make it easier for them. They can simply select one of your samples and email you back which one to put their name next to, or they can customize a sample endorsement to make it more ‘in their own voice’.

This last step of offering ‘sample endorsements’ can make all the difference between getting an endorsement or not, as you can see from my client example.

Sending sample endorsement works for two reasons. People are intimidated by a blank page. They aren’t sure where to start. By offering them some samples, you are helping to give them some suggestions and direction. They don’t have to think hard about this, and can comply with your request, by customizing one of your samples in a minute or two.

Remember, you are asking a busy people to take an action on your behalf. You want to have celebrities endorse your book. They get a lot of requests. The easier you make it for them, the greater likelihood you have of success.

Fast Track Your Results & Get More Celebrity Endorsements

Related Content :

Part 1: Why you should ask Barbara Corcoran for an endorsement

Part 3: How to Contact A Celebrity for a Book Endorsement

Listen to our podcast: The Self-Publishing Blueprint

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Do Your Own Book Publicity

The top 3 challenges authors have with book publicity

If you build it, they will come. It turns out that readers and clients don’t just show up. Even established authors use book publicity to promote their work.

With one book published on Amazon every 5 minutes, it can be hard to get your book in front of your target readers. Unfortunately, this can be a tough realization for you authors who work so hard on your book to then publish it, only to hear crickets.

I hear this unfortunate story all too often. The two biggest concerns I hear from authors are getting more visibility and how to leverage their book to get more clients. The fastest way to accomplish these two is with book publicity.

Publicity done right can put you in front of your ideal audience, establish instant credibility, instant expert status and be perceived as an endorsement from the media. It gives you free access to a wider audience, while positioning you as a top expert. It also creates a sense of ‘know, like and trust’ that is needed before people will buy from you. Because of these factors, book publicity can help you convert your media coverage into paying clients when done right.

Many of the authors that I speak with aren’t using publicity due to 3 major challenges. I hear these challenges so often, that I have come to call them the Big 3:

Lack of Time
Lack of Money
Lack of Know-how

Due to these 3 factors, authors often stay stuck and don’t do anything regarding publicity for themselves and their book. Or, they mistakenly think that they need a big, expensive PR firm to do the publicity for them. Billionaire and Shark Tank judge Mark Cuban has said, “Never hire a PR firm.” He and I believe that you are the best person to do your own book publicity because you are the most passionate about your book and work, and know the most about it.

Why I Created the Author Visibility Builder Program

I feel so strongly that authors like you are missing out on what can be the single biggest leverage point in getting more visibility, readers and new clients – publicity, and it doesn’t have to be that way. I want to show you how to succeed with PR even if you have little time, a tiny budget and have little or no PR know-how. I felt I had to help authors; you put so much work into your book, you deserve to reap the benefits book publicity can provide.

That’s why I created the Author Visibility Builder program. It’s for non-fiction authors just like you who want to do your own book publicity. You know that if you just get in front of your ideal audience, you can share more of your gifts as well as turn more of your audience into paying clients.

The Author Visibility Builder program will empower you to do your own book publicity, give you a simple system you can easily follow to do your publicity and get results. I’ll also show you how to leverage the publicity you get to generate more opportunities – publicity, speaking gigs, new clients…

Preview the program here

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How a Business Coach Landed Clients and Profits With His Book

When I speak to prospective authors about the book they want to write, the conversation often turns to what they can expect when it comes to a return on their investment. As I work primarily with non fiction authors, I encourage them to look at the profits they will get from the doors their book will open and the opportunities it will bring, then on the actual dollars from the sale of their books in retail and online stores. One business coach has landed clients with his book, increased his branding and visibility and his bottom line, as you will see in the case study below; this result can easily be achieved by you too.

Part of the work I do is to strategize with clients about how to best leverage their book to grow their brand and their bottom line. It’s essential that as an author, you leverage your published book and make sure you are maximizing visibility for your book and encouraging opportunities.

A great example of how to do this, is from my client, business and money mindset coach Wei Houng. He is the co-author of the book, “Breakthrough Leadership – Conversations With Innovative Leaders.”

Wei is an active business networker, and took his book to all his events. This became an easy conversation starter and instant expert positioning for him.

According to Wei, a few of the people he networks with regularly became interested in knowing more about working with him, once they saw the book. This lead to a new client from his existing network, in the first month the book was out.

[clickToTweet tweet=”The branding & positioning from becoming a published author is priceless – Wei Houng” quote=”The branding & positioning component from becoming a published author is priceless – Wei Houng”]

“So the book itself has received really good feedback and has been a great marketing and positioning piece. Since launch, I have personally sold about 200 copies as a way to monetize my speaking opportunities. This alone resulted in $2k in revenue.

As a result of those speaking engagements, countless leads were created which, to date, have resulted in thousands of dollars in new business…with, I’m sure, more to come. When all is said and done, I suspect, branding aside, the book will have been responsible for helping me generate 5 figures worth of new revenue in my business. And, the branding and positioning component is priceless.

So, thanks! Looking forward to experiencing more of the ripple effects!” – Wei Houng, Founder The 6 Figure Academy, Co-Author Breakthrough Leadership

Highlights of how Wei leveraged his book to add an additional 10k to his bottom line in the first few months of publishing his book:

Bring the book to every networking event he attends. It opens conversations and positions you in a new enhanced and elevated way as an authority, even with people who have known you for a while.

A Book Landing Page. This provides an online destination to send potential readers, as well as to build his email list.

Public Speaking – Wei enjoys public speaking, and uses the opportunity to engage with prospective readers /clients. He always mentions the book in his talk and has books available for sale. Wei always includes a call to action, which in his case, is an invitation to the audience to sign up for a complimentary strategy session. At a recent event, he had 30% of the audience sign up for strategy sessions [a nice increase from speaking gigs given before he was an author]

Publicity. Wei has used a simple PR strategy [our Author Visibility Builder system] to get podcast and radio interviews, as well as mentions on ABC, CBS, NBC. This helps him attract prospects from outside his own network. He always uses a call to action in his interviews, which also leads to book sales, inquiries, strategy sessions and ultimately clients.

Social Media. Wei uses social media regularly. He offers valuable tips via postings and Facebook Live videos, which help give a taste of who he is and the value he brings. He regularly mentions his book as where to purchase it. He also has been actively promoting his co-authors which helps put him in front of their networks as well.

As a business coach, becoming a published author can easily lead to landed clients and profits with your book. The key is to have a plan and a strategy to maximize your book and leverage opportunities. You can start leveraging your own book to land clients, by signing up for my webinar on how to use publicity to land clients.

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Webinar:

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Speaking in Soundbites: How Nonfiction Authors Turn Readers Into Clients Using Publicity Register here

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5 Ways You Should be Using Your Nonfiction Book to Make Money

It’s been said that your book is your best business card. In many ways it is, because as it introduces you, it also positions you as a credible expert.
Your nonfiction book can and should make you money. There are a number of tactics you can use to help you convert more readers into paying clients. One of the easiest ways to do this, is to invite your readers to interact with you outside the book.

5 Ways a Nonfiction Book Can Make Money

1. Build an email list.
You have probably heard the expression ‘the money is in the list.’ There are numerous benefits to having a list of interested prospects, before you publish and afterwards, so that you have a ready audience waiting to hear from you and buy your latest books or programs. It has been said that prospects now need as many as 12 touches [emails, social media…] before they are ready to buy. With an email list, it is easy to create those touches by sending out updates and information of interest to your audience.

2. Put an offer inside your book.
It is very easy to put an offer inside your book. A client of mine put an offer inside her book for her biannual live event. She used a large graphic of a certificate, which entitled the reader to a free seat at her event. She started getting signups for her event months in advance [earlier than she usually has people signing up.] Once people get a taste of you and what you offer from reading your book, they want to meet you, work with you….

3. Offer a related bonus within your book.
With my coaching and consultant authors, I often recommend putting a worksheet[s] in their book, to help the reader get more value out of the book, and an introduction to their process. We offer the worksheet in the book, directing the reader to a webpage with a download link, which also signs them up the author’s email list. The worksheets are a great way to get started, but while using them, many people feel that they need personal coaching and help to achieve the results that they are seeking, so they realize they need to hire you.

4. Invite readers to events
Once your reader has a taste of your work via your book, they will want to know more. They may not be ready to hire you, but would welcome a chance to hear you speak and possibly meet you in person. Let them know that you give talks and workshops and have your schedule posted online, and give them the web address. I recommend creating a separate page for this in your book, so it doesn’t get buried within your bio, and stands out. Hearing you speak and meeting you in person or online, can accelerate the need for 12 touches, and can confirm for the reader that they want to work with you.

5. Let readers know how to work with you.
In your bio section or about the author section in your book, I recommend you put in information about how people can work with you. Let them know you offer consulting, workshops and presentations, group coaching, one on one coaching, complimentary strategy sessions, or any other ways people can work with you. It plants the seed of working with you, as well as taking the mystery out of how you work, and what options they can have working with you.

With a little thought and planning before you publish, you can build these simple tactics into your book to help you convert more readers into clients, so your nonfiction book can make you money. If you have already published your book, you can also revise it and republish it to include these. The reader was attracted to your book because it resonates with them. You just have to make it easy for them to see the possibilities and the how of becoming a client and working with you.

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How a Nonfiction Author Can Get New Clients From Media

For authors, getting visibility helps put them in front of more potential readers. It also helps put them in front of more potential prospects. Nonfiction authors can get new clients from media coverage; especially if they know how to maximize the coverage that they get. The temptation to spend an interview talking about your book is great. With a bit of thought and planning, you can use your interviews to really connect with your audience, and make the case for why they need to work with you.

Here are my top 5 steps a nonfiction author get new clients using media coverage:

Speak in sound bites
“A sound bite is characterized by a short phrase or sentence that captures the essence of what the speaker was trying to say, and is used to summarize information and entice the reader or viewer,” according to Wikipedia. By speaking in sound bites you grab the reader or viewer’s attention and are able to connection quickly as people have short attention spans. A great sound bite is one that resonates with them and is memorable. It is the kind of content that may inspire them to share it on social media, and could easily fit on Twitter, whose limit is 140 characters.

Tell stories about the big problems you solve
Talk about the big problem that keeps your clients up at night. I don’t mean talk about your process. Tell a story about the big problem a client had, and how you were able to solve it. This lets your reader see themselves in your story, especially if this a problem they have. Your audience is going to think. I need that, I want that solution.

Use third party testimonials or descriptions
It can be hard to speak about yourself, especially in glowing terms without sounding boastful. If you have had a client describe you or your work in a very positive and concise way, then use it in your interviews as this can boost your trust and credibility with the audience. For example, “my clients call me the ‘Publicity Queen and Mentor’ and tell me that I make publicity very easy for them to understand and implement on their own.” This serves as both an elegant way to state your expertise, while also building additional third party credibility with the testimonial.

Cite statistics
Statistics sound authoritative and are called ‘sticky content’; they are easily shared and journalists love them. It’s even more powerful if you can cite your own survey or statistics. It doesn’t have to be a huge survey of 1000 clients. If 10 out of 20 clients have the problem that you solve, you can state that ‘50% of the companies we speak to are struggling with this problem.’

Use language that talks about the benefits of your solution
Well chosen words can really reach the audience and help make them desire your solution and want to work with you. Again, this is not intended to be a sales pitch but part of your story. The client was happy because our solution was ____________ [fill in the blank]. Great benefits to cover are how you save time, money or stress. Words, like cheaper, easier, faster, better will grab the audience’s attention. Who doesn’t want more results like that in their business.

Don’t be afraid to be a bit mysterious and suggest that the audience will have to get the book to find out exactly how you achieved an outcome, but do tell great stories and give them enough information to intrigue them. Make a specific reference in your interview to your book. For example, ‘I cover this in chapter 3’. That draws your reader or listener back to the book and suggests they get it to read chapter 3 for themselves.

Finally, include an invitation, also known as a call to action. In print media, it’s up to the journalist or publication what they will include it in the article or profile, so it may not be possible; you’ll want to ask if they can include your invitation. A good call to action can be ‘sign up for my newsletter’, ‘download a free report’ or ‘download a sample chapter of the book’ on my website. When you are being interviewed on radio, podcast or TV you can usually make a call to action. I recommend discussing it with the media outlet beforehand. They will often be happy to segue into your call to action by asking, “If the listener would like more information about your work, what is the best way for them to find out?” Here is where you invite the reader or listener to connect with you, download your content or engage with you on social media.

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