Why Publicity Seekers Hate the Media

Dear Friends,

I'm a bad Buddhist.

I have an Italian temper that I've worked my whole life to transmute from lead to gold, but I'm so mad I could scream like they do in those horror films.

My sweetie and I have tended to variety of trees planted against the back yard fence - Cypress, Pear, Lavatara, Sambuca, beautiful and full, providing a sanctuary of greenery and flowers -- and a practical screen for the ugliness of some neighbors' backyards.

The neighbor who lives behind us, a landscape architect who should know better, just hacked down all of our beautiful trees on his side of the fence.

Granted, some of the branches were hanging into his yard. But now, the privacy that has taken us, and the previous owners, years to cultivate, is gone. Poof.

Today we can easily see right into his house and backyard. Worse still, now we have a clear view of his ratty shed and all the crap he keeps in his backyard that is strewn about like a junkyard.

We called the city to find out our rights and it turns out we have none. There is no recourse whatsoever even if he has irrevocably damaged our mature trees. Even if they die or fall over, because now they are lopsided and hacked up, we would have to retain a lawyer and sue to get them back.

I had just done a long meditation this morning and was thinking thoughts of peace and love and light -- which have now turned to dark revenge fantasies.

Can you relate?

This is often people's experience not just with neighbors, but with the media. They cultivate their business (garden) for years, tending to it carefully, only to have their message hacked up by the media either through careless reporting, inaccurate editing, or a perspective skewed for the sake of their story. Years of building a reputable business can be torn down in a two minute TV segment or a page in a magazine or newspaper.

Do you sue the reporter, host or producer? No. You rebuild and tend your garden ever more carefully and -- eventually -- maybe, let it go. Years ago I spent a good hour and half with a New York Times reporter thrilled that I was going to be in this prestigious paper. Days later, when the piece came out I found my words quoted by someone else whose credentials better suited the story. They were my words, but my name didn't appear anywhere in the piece.

Did I call him up and give him a taste of my Italian temper? No. Have I let it go? Not really. It still peeves me. But I will. Eventually. I think. But you can bet I won't forget. This is the nature of the media, and our lives.

And while I don't yet have a solution to deal with my Italian temper or my reckless and inconsiderate neighbor, I do have one for managing the media.

Media coaching.

It's not a guarantee that nothing you say will be misquoted, taken out of context or misrepresented, but it will help you feel like you're in control of your own words, business, sanity and destiny. It's the missing link that helps insure that your story will get told accurately, as you envisioned it. Not as the media envisioned it for you.

If this is something that resonates for you at this time, summer is a wonderful season to appear on the media. Go here: http://www.prsecrets.com/appointment.php It's a slow time for them so there is more latitude for stories that get left on the cutting room floor for breaking news, holidays and pressing matters.

As for me and my feisty spirit. Pray for me, will you?

Warmly,

Susan

P.S. The photo you see here our trellis pre hacking. You can see our garden which was featured in the June issue of Better Homes & Gardens on page 108. I think I'll go out and sniff some of our flowers to help me calm down.

5 Big Media Appearance Mistakes You Don't Want to Make

Is there such a thing as a bad author who has a good book? Can you be a respected expert yet be a bore? What if you alienate your audience and the media? But deeper than that, can dull media appearances tarnish your reputation? I think so.

A while back I heard an interview with New York Times best-selling author David Shenk who wrote The Genius in All of Us. The New York Times Book Review called it a, "deeply interesting and important book." The book may be "mindblowing" as another author suggested, but you'd never know it from listening to the author. What was "mindblowing" to me is that his publisher hasn't insisted on media coaching. Given he's a bright guy he could probably easily triple his book sales with some solid training.

The interview was not only dull but unenlightening. And I was very interested in the subject matter. On Michael Krasny's NPR show Forum, which I adore, (it airs on our own local San Francisco station KQED) Shenk talked a lot about what he didn't know and I began to wonder what exactly it was he did know. His not knowing made me question the reliability of the science behind his book. Krasny asked his usual probing and intelligent questions, but Shenk muddled about talking a lot but saying little.

Often sound bites can make or break a sale -- for a book, product or service. In this case it broke the sale.

Here are some other mistakes David Shenk made that you want to avoid.

1. Shenk repeated his points.
Not only did Shenk repeat his ideas but he pointed out that he was doing so! Double double bad bad. Never say, "As I've said," in an interview. If you've said it, you're wasting time repeating it. Prepare enough information that you never need to repeat yourself and you're always engaging us in some new thought or inspiring idea.

2. Shenk commented on the host.
Don't ever comment on the host's personality, style, manner etc. It's not your position to judge him or his program. You're there as a guest. Literally. A guest follows the manners of the host and is gracious about delivering information, entertainment and good will.

3. Shenk dissed the host's question.
Dissing the host's question is a huge faux pas. See above. At one point Shenk asked for clarification, a real no no during an interview. This is also a kind of dissing, implying that the question wasn't clear.

Answer the question with information that you DO know to the best of your ability. Trust that the interviewer will ask you a follow up question if you haven't gotten it right. Your job is to have exciting stories prepared that illustrate the best of your book, product or service. It doesn't matter what the host asks you anyway. You answer with the information you want your audience to know. (Sorry Michael).

4. Shenk kept saying, "The book."
What book? What is the title? I hear lots of authors make this mistake. It's not just a mistake it's a big missed opportunity. Remember that people are tuning in all the time so even if you've spoken your title once that's not necessarily enough. Even if the host mentions your title, it's still your job to say it during the course of conversation.

Whatever you are promoting you need to name it. How else is the audience supposed to go out and buy it or connect with you? Learn to weave it into your interview in a conversational way so it sounds natural and easy and nice. Your audience will actually thank you.

5. Shenk called attention to being self promotional and salesy.
Whenever anyone says, "I don't want to be self-promotional" or "I don't want to sound like I'm selling" that's exactly what they are doing -- sounding salesy. On the radio recently I heard the president of a company do this by saying, "In the spirit of full-disclosure, I own XXX company." Then went on to tell how excellent the product his company made was. Clunk.

If you are delivering value it's the natural next step for your audience to want more of you and your expertise or your book, product or service. Only focus your audience's attention on what you what them to think about or know. You are responsible for synthesizing, and concisely delivering, the most important points you want to convey to your audience.

It's up to you to choose the stories that will be most satisfying and intriguing. They should be constructed to entice people to want to engage more fully with you in the capacity you choose i.e. hire you, visit your store, buy your product etc. Leave your audience with a good feeling about you so they want more. Media appearances give you ample time to practice good manners and grace.

Last Chance to Get On Oprah
50% Off the Oprah Super Kit

You have one more year to get on Oprah before she creates a new show on The Oprah Winfrey Network or OWN. This may seem like a lot of time, but it isn't. Oprah's producers are already planning next season's shows now. And they have plenty of talented people to chose from. If you want to be interviewed by Oprah then make sure you're one of them.

FYI Her current show is about to go on hiatus for this year so now is the time to prepare to pitch the show for Oprah's final season. If you've been wanting to be a guest but haven't yet gotten all your materials in order I have good news for you.

For my Ezine subscribers & people who have previously bought products ONLY I'm giving you HALF off the Oprah Super kit good until June 13 Midnight pacific. I've created a special page with this offer just for you. Go here now.

That's right. I want you to be able to make this biggest of big dreams come true and I want to be a part of it so you will get everything you need to know about getting on the Oprah show in one neat package.

Act now and save 50% of the regular cost to find out what you need to do to be a guest on the world's top talk show - which can change your life in a flash.

This offer will not be repeated so if this is for you I encourage you to take action.

If You're Book Isn't Out Yet...

Is it taking you longer to write your book than you ever expected ... a lot longer?

If so, you're invited to a free teleseminar on Thursday, June 10th with a woman who's developed a unique system for writing a quality non-fiction book in 90 days! I'm a compensated affiliate for this program.

Discover the speed writing system she's used to help 268 authors get their books done quickly.

If you have any interest I highly recommend that you sign up.

This is a different approach than John Eggen's system. I trust that you will chose the one that speaks to you. Both are excellent. Go here to reserve your spot.

This system doesn't work very well for children's books, novels or poetry. It works best for non-fiction books on a topic you know well, particularly how-to, leadership, business, self-help, autobiography, etc. If you are working on a book in these genres then please check out this highly successful system.

Become My Facebook Fan and Get a Free Gift Just For My Ezine Subscribers

When you become a fan just jet me an email, put the words, "I'm a Susan Harrow Facebook Fan" in the subject line and you'll receive my popular Ebook valued at $19.95 Secrets to Getting Top TV Show Producers to Book You as Their Guest, which shows you quickly how to pass the producer' audition - their call to you.

I'll be posting advice and ideas on my fan page that you won't find elsewhere. Would love to have you join our community of like-minded entrepreneurs.

For those of you who don't recognize me right away it's because I cut my hair!