Dear Friends,

Olga Murray, 83, had an idea to free young girls from slavery in Nepal. Substitute piglets for girls. The 7-10 year-old girls in the poor rural southern Dang district, earning less than a dollar a day, were sold to wealthy Kathmandu families for $35-$75 when they were desperate for food.

Murray, who had lived in Nepal on and off for 5 years, understood the needs of the village and provided a perfect solution. She knew that pork was a prized meat. And she knew that hunger was a primary motivator to families selling their daughters.

She began modestly with 37 families taking her up on her idea. Today 3000 girls have avoided slavery and, are also getting an education. Find out more here.

This parallels exactly what you need to do to get media attention. Match your solutions to the needs of producers and editors, just like she matched the needs of the girls and the village. And it doesn't need to be complicated. Most often the simplest ideas are best.

Warmly,

Susan

Get Your 15 Minutes of Fame
5 Secrets to Writing a Perfect Media Pitch

I don't do this very often, but today's tips are from author & TV personality Lisa Daily who has done over 1000 media interviews. That's no small accomplishment. Though we've been colleagues now for several years, worked together, brainstormed projects, done teleclasses in tandem, we hadn't met. I jetted over to Book Passage, our local independent bookseller, to meet Lisa when she was here a few weeks ago on book tour for her new novel Fifteen Minutes of Shame.

Of course, she was supremely prepared, carrying her own poster that she snapped up onto some handy foldable gizmo that turned out to be a stand, had bookmarks to give out, was dressed elegantly and had her talk down pat, and all before she had to jet to her next TV interview scheduled (a bit too tightly) right after her book store appearance. Here are some gems from her long-standing experience.

1. It's not about you.

You might have the most fabulous book, product or service on the planet. But if you run around yakking about yourself, no editor or producer is going to listen. If you want media attention, you must position whatever you're trying to promote as part of a larger story.

2. Pitch segments and stories, not products.

Your email subject line should read like a compelling TV or radio teaser, or newspaper headline. For example: "Woman invents new natural dog food" is not that interesting. But "Is your doggie doomed to the drive through?" sounds more entertaining. Think story or segment first, product second. Your expertise supports the bigger idea, not the other way around.

3. Match your pitch to their show or publication.

Producers and editors create segments and stories, not infomercials. If you really want to get on a show or into a publication, study the types of material they cover and pitch them in a way that matches their format and audience. The Wall Street Journal is written for business people and the PTA newsletter is written for moms. Don't pitch them the same way.

4. Make the writer or producer's life easier, not harder.

Your initial email should include your pitch, quotes they can use right away, and all your contact info including your cell phone. Your website should have downloadable photos, sample questions, quotes, ready-to-use articles, etc. In other words, everything a stressed-out writer or producer on a tight deadline needs to pull together a story at 2 AM.

5. Be friendly, not testy.

It's easy to get defensive and annoyed when nobody is returning your calls. But try to remember that reporters and producers aren't purposely shutting you out; they're just trying to do their jobs. Put yourself into their overworked, overwhelmed shoes every time you contact them.

Check out Lisa's new book, Fifteen Minutes of Shame (Plume, April 2008) where America's favorite dating expert finds out her husband is cheating while she's being interviewed live on national TV. Kept me up reading until 3am when I should have been sleeping: http://www.lisadaily.com

To hear more tips click here  Lisa Daily and I go into more depth about how to pitch, what makes you different, and ways to get media calls from your pitches instead of you having to call them. We chatted up quite a storm!

If you want to absorb even more in depth information read the transcript from a teleclass Lisa & I did on how to get Booked on Top Radio Shows we covered:

• The fastest, easiest way to get a producer to book you today.

• The single most important place to send your radio pitch, and how it can get you hundreds of interviews.

• The biggest mistake rookies make, and how it can get you blacklisted from every station.

Get the transcript where we discuss the above and more here.

Publicity Summit

Meet the media in person, pitch your idea to YOUR selected magazine editors, TV and radio producers and literary agents and see your star rise. If traditional PR is happening too slowly for you, speed it up! Limited to 100 people and seats go fast so apply today here.

Sell Your Books By Truckload

If you missed the teleseminar on Wednesday on how to sell books by the truckload, you can see the video from Steve Harrison and Matthew Bennet that gives you key tips about how to sell 10,000, 50,000, even 100,000 or more copies of YOUR non-fiction or fiction book. And that's just to one company, or a couple of companies. Either way it's a win.

See it here.

Now get this for all you skeptics. Matthew is not some famous guy. He is an almost unknown self-published author who's sold over 5 millions books to Fortune 500 firms including Disney, NBC, Reebok, Pfizer, Abbott Labs, US Healthplans, Subway and dozens of others.

No Per Press Release Charge:
Send 52 news releases a year

I was telling one of my young clients just getting started in PR that if she wants to be known she needs to start sending out press releases every two weeks. She found that a bit shocking, but she immediately grasped that if she were to accomplish the ambitious plans she has for her fledging company that she should entertain the idea.

With NewsReleaseWire.com you can stay in constant contact with the press, feeding them new ideas with a news release a week, 52 news releases a year, without per-release charge with News Release Wire, from ExpertClick.com and get a profile in the printed Yearbook of Experts.

PR Week called the service: "a dating service of PR", and the best part it is an interactive system --- Literally "Public Relations Software" where all you do is load releases, the system send out your releases 10 ways including Google News and Lexis. Save $100, when you click from my discount link or just call them at (202) 333-5000 Eastern Time. Remember to tell them PR Secrets sent you to get the $100 PR Secrets Discount.

Want to Sell Your Product to Target?

Selling your products in large retail outlets may seem like an impossible dream. But it's not as hard as you might think.

In a new Special Report, "Skyrocket Your Sales by Getting Your Product in Target," you'll read how Christa Sorauf, Creative Director of Connexxions, Inc. licensed her product and got it on the shelves at Target. Today her greeting cards, manufactured by American Greetings, are also in Wal-Mart and in 35,000 retail outlets. The Connexxions folks get a royalty for every unit sold.

The Report, written by Margie Zable Fisher, shows you, step-by-step, how to sell your products to Target -- even if you're a small business. I've read the Report, and think it's a great resource for any product company hoping to sell to Target.

The Report is only $49 -- a real deal, considering that the initial order for Target stores is often 9,000 products or more. And Margie always offers a money-back guarantee, so there's no risk to you.

You can get more information here.

Get Your PR Campaign Paid for through Corporate Credit...and Turn Your Finances Around in 60 Days

The July 28 New York Times reported, "Banks struggling to recover from multibillion-dollar losses on real estate are curtailing loans to American businesses, depriving even healthy companies of money for expansion and hiring."

During these trying times when people are tightening their belts and banks make it nearly impossible to borrow money you can get financing for your business--unless you understand how the game is played. While the industry standard to get business credit is two to three years. You can get the cash corporate credit you need in as little as 2 to 4 months.

The first step is to get this free special report on financing your business:

The 9 Most Devastating Mistakes Entrepreneurs and Business Owners Make When Financing Their Businesses ... and How to Avoid Them

Get it now.

After you've read the report I suggest you watch the video to educate yourself on what's necessary. It's a no nonsense explanation (not a quick fix) of how you can get the financing you need so you can grow your business and invest in that PR campaign you didn't think you could afford.

Just click on "Program Presentation" right below the button you clicked to get the FREE report.

If you have questions after that you can call:
Regan Smith
Office 702-421-9282
Cell 702-673-7955
Regan@CorporateCreditConcepts.com

Please familiarize yourself with the materials first, before you call, so you understand what you need to do and can use your phone time wisely. And Tell Regan I sent you.

How to Handle an Unprepared Interviewer

See how Jerry Seinfeld does it here.

Small Business Tele-seminar Series (The first one is Free.)

Learn 'Secrets' That Most Small Business Owners/Online Marketers, Entrepreneurs, Writers and Coaches Will Never Know About How To Really attract more leads, close more sales, set up automatic marketing systems, increase profits, and keep more of your cash each month as you build wealth.

The first one is free. Go here to sign up.

When: Wednesday, August 6th, 2008 at 4:00 PM PT, 7:00 PM ET

Get a Quick PR Education

If you're looking for content for your website or blog you are also welcome to reproduce any of these articles as long as you keep my bio/link info.  If you're new to my list you can catch up on past PR tips there or here.  If you've been on my list for a while refresh yourself! I bet there was something you missed that you need right now.

Resource for Entrepreneurs, Speakers & Authors

I know that most of us don't have time to read the ezines we get, but this one has such great reader input on any issue you need help for from what kind of 800# to use for your business to how to handle speaking disasters. I highly recommend it as a great font of information and very quick to scan for your topic of interest. Even if you're not a speaker there are pots of gold here for you. Check out the teleseminars to start.

Services I Highly Recommend

Many people ask me about the services I use and trust. The businesses below are a few of my partners or companies that provide services and products that I rely on that truly work.

I recommend them without pause. Please explore them to find out if they are right for you.

PRESSKIT 247: Both an online database where journalists and producers find you when they're searching for experts and your online press kit where all of your press materials including audio and video are instantly available to the media. Get listed here and to increase your media appearances and expand your business.

OUR SHOPPING CART: I use a shopping cart system called 1shoppingcart for online transactions, autoresponders, my affiliate program and tracking links. This shopping cart is the most widely used one by successful entrepreneurs and online marketers. You can get a trial here.

THE WEB SITE TOOLKIT: "This is a complete tutorial and guide (written and audio) on creating an effective professional service business web site," says Robert Middleton, the creator. This is a best, most organized and comprehensive system that I've found to guide you through writing the copy and organizing the content for your website. Included are resources and directions for writing, design and technical requirements. Hundreds of people have used Middleton's methods to develop sites that attract the clients they want.

EZINE MARKETING: Using an E-zine like mine is one of the fastest and easiest things you can do to promote your business. To learn how to create yours so it works for you and gets you ongoing results I suggest taking a look at Alexandria Brown's complete manual on marketing with your E-zine.

THE INFOMERCIAL TOOLKIT: Online videos are the wave of the future. Your clients or customers may be all over the world, but they can meet you quickly right on your site. Sell your products and services, demo new ideas or just give people a small taste of what it's like to do business with you.

PRLEADS: This is the best deal on the planet. The only complaint my clients have lodged about it is "I wish I would have done it sooner". You respond to reporters and producers queries for comments and insights on stories they're working in your area of expertise and then get quoted in the media instantly.

THE SEDONA METHOD: Order your free two-hour introductory Sedona Method DVD and introductory CD or tape and learn to instantly release uncomfortable or unwanted feelings on the spot. Whether it's fear of speaking, becoming a more public person, losing weight, or letting go of stress, or past issues or trauma, this will help you achieve your goals effortlessly and with great joy.

TELECONFERENCE SERVICE: For all my Teleclasses I use a service that's reliable and free. I also use this service to record all my consulting calls.

Come Meet Me

Anywhere in the World
The Art of Blowing Your Own Horn
Indie Business Radio
April 7, 2008
1:00pm EST
http://www.indiebusinessradio.com/2008_archives.html#harrow

Anywhere in the World
Authors Access
Get a 6 Figure Book Advance: Before You Write Your Book
http://authorsaccess.com/?s=susan+harrow

Anywhere in the World
Christian Work at Home Moment
March 5, 2006
6:30pm CST on KCRO 660 AM
KCRO 660 AM, Omaha or listen anytime at:
http://www.cwahm.com/loudblog

Anywhere in the World
Q&A to Get on Oprah & Other TV Talk Shows Teleclass
1 hour
Download it at no charge at:
http://prsecrets.com/free-sign-oprahtvtalkshow.html

Anywhere in the World
Get a 6 Figure Book Advance Teleclass
1 hour
Download it at no charge at:
http://www.prsecrets.com/free-audio-signup-6f.html

Anywhere in the World
Become a 60 Second Sound Bite Genius
(For Pitching, Producer calls, Networking or Presentations)
1 hour
Download it at no charge at.

For further schedule information and course descriptions
please visit:
http://www.prsecrets.com/speakingkeynotesworkshops.html

NOTE: Some new classes do not yet have descriptions. Your
patience is appreciated.

Quote

Talk doesn't cook rice.

~ Japanese Proverb