Gurus You Need to Know

Dear Authors,

This issue of BOOK BUZZ! will introduce you to some of the book marketing gurus that I glean from on a regular basis. I'm including a sample from each and a link to subscribe to their free ezines, below. I actually get dozens of these ezines. The ones I share below are among the best of them. These excerpts also have some very good book promotion info you'll want to read.

JOE SABAH

Radio interview guru JOE SABAH publishes a regular e-letter called "Three Money Making Secrets for Authors and Publishers." Here's a recent excerpt:

If you like to speak about your business, your books, your coaching practice, read on.

In every city USA, there are service clubs like Kiwanis, Rotary, Business Professional Women, Chamber of Commerce, etc. who
are constantly looking for speakers.

Here is the formula:

Step 1. Check with your local chamber or go online to find service clubs in your city or town.

Step 2. Pick up the phone and call either the president or the program chair and offer your speaking services for one of their upcoming meetings. They do need a speaker at each meeting: usually 52 times a year.

Step 3. Get permission to bring your books, tapes, and newsletters to offer to the members. You might want to offer a 10-15% rebate to their organization's favorite charity.

This should keep you busy for a few months. Remember: They need YOU. And you can help them! Truly a Win/Win situation, wouldn't you agree?

TO GET A FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO JOE'S E-LETTER, GO TO:

http://www.joesabah.com/newsletter.html

JOHN KREMMER

Book marketing guru JOHN KREMMER publishes his "Tip of the Week." (Actually, the ezine has many tips.) The excerpt below is advice from one of his readers, a book publicist:

MEDIA KITS

"Your reader is asking the wrong question! Here's a tip from a book publicist with over 25 years of experience (that would be me). Simply because you mail or ship a complete press kit to an editor doesn't mean zip, most likely (unless you are one of the Clintons, for example). Someone has to call and a) bring the package to the editor's attention, as it's sitting
among several dozen if not two hundred other packages and b) a process of collaboration needs to begin. As I always tell my authors, we are here to serve the media, not the other way around. A good publicist is always trying
to bring (hopefully high quality) information to the attention of the media because that's what the media needs. Competition for that attention is fierce. A passive package is not sufficient. It's just the entree." --Kathryn Hall, publicist

TO SUBSCRIBE TO KREMER'S FREE "TIP OF THE WEEK," GO TO:

http://www.bookmarket.com/tips.html

JOAN STEWART

JOAN STEWART, a.k.a. the Publicity Hound, sends a weekly ezine on the subject of generating publicity. Many editions address book publicity. Here's a sample:

What Are You Known For?

John Gray didn't tell us that men and women approach the world in a different way. He told us that men are from Mars and women are from Venus. That's his concept and he owns it.

When you see a fit and trim guy named Jarrod holding up a pair of oversized pants in front of him, you think of Subway. When you hear the word "Amazon," you probably think of books before you think of the river. When you hear the phrase "publicity hound," I hope you think of me.

Marketing expert David Arvin believes that if you can come up with your own unique twist--whether it's a clever moniker, or an approach to solving a particular problem, or a new way of presenting the same core material--it will be easier for you to get publicity.

Once you create something that is uniquely you, it will be easier for the media to find you. And once they start seeking you out, your publicity multiplies and your job of getting public attention becomes easier.

Yet too many publicity hounds fail to differentiate themselves. Every week, it seems, a "life coach" contacts me for help with publicity. When I start asking about their credentials, I usually hear the same old story. "I got divorced and survived it. I got fired and learned from it. And I have a message to share about starting over and achieving your goals."

In the front-page article he wrote in the September/October issue of The Publicity Hound subscription newsletter, Avrin explains how he turned a young professional speaker with an interesting topic into a nationally recognized expert. The speaker started his own association, and the media contact him for comments about the topic of date rape, which he started
speaking about after his sister was raped. The article will give you all sorts of ideas on things you can do to find something that is uniquely you. (Note: This paragraph refers to a for-pay newsletter that Joan publishes. She also has a free e-zine. See below.)

TO RECEIVE JOAN'S FREE WEEKLY E-ZINE, GO TO:

http://www.PublicityHound.com/

Then enter your information in the box in the upper left-hand corner.

PW RELIGION BOOKLINE

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY also sends an ezine covering news in the religious (not always Christian) publishing arena called PW RELIGION BOOKLINE. Here's an excerpt of their report on the CBA International Convention held this summer:

BEHIND THE NEWS: The Scoop from CBA International

This year's Christian Booksellers Association's International convention met in Atlanta June 26-July 1. And while CBA publishers are basking in the glow of hot-selling titles and unprecedented media attention (PW, News, July 12), the picture for Christian booksellers is tougher. According to CBA, 271 "unique Christian stores" closed in 2003, and though figures are not yet available for this year, everyone's guess is that store attrition has not yet leveled off. While Christian publishers are enjoying record sales through multiplying sales channels, Christian booksellers are staggering under the weight of increased competition.

"As more people want to buy these books, more people want to sell them," said CBA president Bill Anderson, who told BookLine that the current number of member stores is 2,407, down from last July's 2,431 but up from January's count of 2,370. However, CBA counts multiple outlets of chains, and when asked how many of the member stores were indies (independent stores), Anderson estimated 1,600. (The conventional wisdom puts the total number of Christian stores nationwide at about 3,000, though many industry experts put the number of "viable" independent stores at no more than 1,000.)

One publisher who requested anonymity offered this analysis: "CBA stores made a big mistake when they redefined themselves as 'retailers' and gave up so much square footage to gifts, and books became such a smaller part of their inventory. Then the big boxes and the ABA stores ramped up their SKUs of Christian books, and the CBA stores lost their place in line as booksellers." He added, "Evangelicals have become more culturally sophisticated in the past 15 or 20 years. Maybe eight of the 10 books I read this year will be something other than religion, and I'll probably buy those at Borders or Barnes & Noble. I'm more likely to buy the two Christian books I want while I'm there than to drive to the Christian bookstore across town. When I talk to Christian booksellers about this, they are in total denial." --Lynn Garrett

To subscribe to PW Religion BookLine, please e-mail your request to:

custserv@espcomp.com


That's all for now. have a great day!

Warmest Regards,
Brian Banashak
© 2004, Brian Banashak