Who wouldn’t want a celebrity to endorse your book?

In fact when new clients come to me and show me their books, I look for the endorsements to see how “expert” they really are! Many of them do have endorsements by great people like Mark Victor Hansen, Ken Blanchard, Steven Covey and the presidents of major companies.

Endorsements do make a difference! After all, who has heard of you? You need the credibility of leading authorities!

One of my new PR LEADS clients runs a terrific business that can put you in touch with just about any celebrity! In fact, it is endorsed by my good friends, Dan Poynter the godfather of self publishing; Steve Harrison of Radio TV Interview Report; John Kremer the expert on book marketing, and many other leading PR people, so I know it is real!

The service is called ContactAnyCelebrity and I strongly suggest you try it out when you need to get endorsements for your books or products. In case you are running a charity auction, you can even use this service to try and get autographed items for your fund raisers. Lots more uses too. What a brilliant idea! Congratulations to Jordan McAuley for creating this wonderful service.

I interviewed Liz Kelly, author “Smart Man Hunting” on how she got celebrities like John Gray (author of “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus) to endorse her book. The tactics she shares are the kinds of things that any of us can do! Click here to get the CD and hear how Liz got celebrity endorsements for her book.

Dan Janal
Your Fearless PR LEADER
PR LEADS Expert Resource Network
www.PRLEADS.com

The end of summer means trips to the Minnesota State Fair, the beach and saying good bye to summer.

But it also serves as a reminder that the Christmas holiday season is right around the corner — at least in the eyes of magazine editors. For it is now that they are beginning to prepare their stories for November and December.

What should you do to get quoted in newspapers and magazines for the holiday articles?

First, of course is to find the angle that will interest your editors.

If you have a product to sell, make sure you have artwork available in digital form so you can send it to editors at a moment’s notice. Better yet, put the files on your website so they can grab them. Use every file size and format possible.

If you are a content speaker, think of how you can help people during the holidays. The list is endless:

1. Stress is a big thing, of course.
2. Family relationships
3. Dating
4. Gift giving
5. Blended religious families
6. Office etiquette and parties
7. Depression

I interviewed Bill Stoller, who is an expert on getting publicity for his clients in holiday articles. The best time to start is right now — late August and early September. For additional tips on how to get quoted, go here We’ve put together an information-packed CD with 60 minutes of tips and tactics that will help you uncover the secrets to getting quoted in the holiday articles.

Dan Janal
Your Fearless PR LEADER
PR LEADS Expert Resource Network
www.PRLEADS.com

J. Mark Davis, Valitus Group, Inc., http://www.valitusgroup.com asks:

See this link for a quote of mine that was used in today’s edition of USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/money/workplace/2006-08-21-salaries-usat_x.htm. I am still trying to figure out what makes sense in terms of reprints and website posting. The latter seems a bit steep – $1000 for posting the article on my website for one year. Does this sound typical? Thanks.

Hi Mark,

Many publications make serious money by selling reprint rights. You should also be aware of the copyright laws:
1. You cannot print the article in full on your site, nor can you print their logo, unless you have permission.
2. You can link to the article on the publication’s web site. You don’t have to ask permission.
3. You can use 2-3 sentences from the article without permission (i.e. USA TODAY calls Dan Janal “a true Internet marketing pioneer” which they in fact, did write.)

If the article can really help you build your business, then you might want to bite the bullet and pay the big bucks. Consider it advertising. I wouldn’t do this if there were a 2-line quote. I’d just say “I was quoted in USA TODAY on August 20, 2006.”

I’d also suggest you send the link to the article in an email tto everyone you know — present clients, former clients, prospects, everyone!

I interviewed PR legend Raleigh Pinsky on “Now That You’ve Gotten Publicity, What Do You Do” and created a CD from the talk. You can hear Raleigh’s tips and tactics that anyone can do when you listen to the CD. Raliegh, by the way, was the PR person for Sir Paul McCartney, back in the early years!

I hope this helps.

Send your questions about publicity and marketing to me at dan@prleads.com. I’ll try to answer as many as I can.

Dan Janal
Your Fearless PR LEADER
PR LEADS Expert Resource Network
www.PRLEADS.com

Sunday mornings are my favorite day of the week – but not for the reason you think.

You seek, every Sunday morning, the New York Times arrives at my doorstep and I read the “Career Couch” column in the business section. Without fail, anywhere from 3 to 5 PR LEADS clients are quoted in that column! What a great way to start the day!

Of course, I let my clients know they’ve been quoted in the New York Times so they can reap the benefits. Since many people don’t subscribe to the NY Times, this is the first way they’ll know they’ve been quoted.

Isn’t that the way with most publicity? Most people don’t read every publication unders the sun, and even if they did, they’d probably be looking for their names, not yours!

So the question is, “How can I let people know that I’ve been quoted?”

Simple.

Send them an email with a link to the article and a subject line that says “Joe Jones quoted in the NY Times.”

Send this email to everyone who is in a position to help you: your clients, your former clients, your prospects. Even send it to you banker in case you need a loan one day. Send it to your mother-in-law so she finally knows what you do!

I interviewed PR legend Raleigh Pinsky on “Now That You’ve Gotten Publicity, What Do You Do” and created a CD from the talk. You can hear Raleigh’s tips nd tactics that anyone can do when you listen to the CD. Raliegh, by the way, was the PR person for Sir Paul McCartney, back in the early years!

Dan Janal
Your Fearless PR LEADER
www.PRLEADS.com

This is a question I hear often. Fortunately, I have three important answers.

1. Bob Pike, the legendary trainer, told me that all speakers should strive to be the go-to guy, the only person that meeting planners think of when they say “I need a speaker.” (of course, you can substitute the word speaker for consultant, trainer, etc.)

Unfortunately, most speakers are commodities and they all get lumped in with all the other people who offer the same services and speeches.

You need to break out from the pack.

2. I might boldly suggest you can do this with publicity in the mainstream media (http://www.prleads.com/) or with a targeted plan to publish articles on websites read by your target market (http://www.prleads.com/article.htm) but that would be too self serving.

3. So point to another NSA legend Thom Winninger, a past president of NSA and winner of every award and honor known to speakers.

In a speech to NSA about six years ago, he shared his formula for being the “go-to guy” in three industries. I don’t remember the entire speech, but a few points still stand out.

1. Select a market. You can’t be all things to all people. And people will pay you more if you an expert in their topic. So forget the rational of “I speak to everyone on everything.” That’s how you become a commodity.

2. Become an indispensable member of that community. Thom volunteered to write articles for their trade magazines, serve on advisory boards and committees, and just be available for them. Who do you think they are going to hire when they need a speaker or consultant? The guy they know.

Follow the advice of these NSA sages and your branding, name recognition and sales will no doubt increase.

Additional resources:
- I interviewed branding expert William Arruda about how authors, speakers and consultants can do “personal branding.” For info, see http://www.prleads.com/club-arruda.htm

- I interviewed with publicity expert Joan Stewart on how to create an expert personae for the media. For info, see http://www.prleads.com/club-expert.htm

Dan Janal
Your Fearless PR LEADER
PR LEADS Expert Resource Network
www.PRLEADS.com

I just spoke to the San Diego Chapter of the National Speakers Association today (August 8, 2006).

The good news for you is that we recorded the presentation on my telephone replay line, so you can listen to it from 1 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday August 10 to September 8, 2006.

I spoke about:
- how speakers can brand themselves
- how Thom Winninger became the “go to” speaker in three markets
- how you can use the media and the Internet to become the go-to guy in your niche
- how to find a niche you can have fun with
- how to understand what the media really wants — and how to get on the front page of your local newspaper
- how to use articles on the web to build traffic to your site
- why you need to blog
- whether you should continue using your newsletter, or just blog
- how to create teleseminars
- how to create products
- how to price your teleseminars
and much, much more in this 90-minute presentation.

You can listen for free by calling (218) 936-1055
Conference ID:
229247#

Yes, you must pay the long-distance call.

No, the call won’t be available after September 8. No there won’t be a transcript.

If you’d like your own conference line to create your own coaching sessions or teleseminars, plus have telephone replay at no cost, click here:

http://www.myfreeteleconference.com/promo/

Conference lines are great for business, but don’t forget — you can use conference lines for family get-togethers as well.

Dan Janal
Your Fearless PR LEADER
PR LEADS Expert Resource Network
www.prleads.com

Sometimes, reporters ask a lot of questions in their PR LEADS, or just on the phone in general.

You do NOT have to answer each question. In fact, I’d suggest you pick only the best question that helps you the most and answer that.

Why?

They aren’t going to quote you on six answers. They want six different people. So if you have only one shot at the brass ring, grab that ring and forget the others.

Also, if you aren’t an expert in the other areas, then you’ll drag yourself down in their eyes by giving trite answers.

Finally, save yourself the time. Managing your time is very important so you don’t get overwhelmed. Stay fresh and alert for your next opportunity!

The reporter will get enough responses from other people for the other questions, no worries!

I interviewed TJ Walker on how to create “Sound Bytes.” This is the single best resource I have to help you create great sounding answers with rich conent to reporters. You can read TJ’s tips at:

http://www.prleads.com/club-message.htm

“Do you get leads from O magazine?” asks Karen Salmansohn, author of “Ballsy.”

Yes, we do, but they are cleverly disguised! As you might suspect, if a reporter said she worked for O, she’d be swamped with responses. So they do post queries, and they just say they are a freelancer and give a yahoo.com address, or gmail.com address.

Here’s what I suggest you do: Go out and buy a copy of O magazine and write the names of all the writers on a piece of paper. Put that paper

near your computer. When you get leads that sound interesting, check to see if they are on the O masthead. If they are, write fast!

We did a teleseminar on how to work effectively with freelancers. I interviewed several PR people and freelancers to get their insights. Read more here

Good luck!

Dan Janal
Your Fearless PR LEADER
PR LEADS Expert Resource Network
www.PRLEADS.com

Would you like to be a guest on a top national TV show
like Oprah, Good Morning America, Today Show or Fox News
Channel?

Of course you would because there are few faster ways
to instantly reach millions of people and boost your
sales than getting big-time TV publicity.

In the publishing world, it’s no secret the right
national TV appearance can catapult a book to the
top of the Bestseller List.

Curious to know how YOU might get on national TV?

Find out on a free 90-minute telephone seminar this
Thursday, July 20th at your choice of times: either
2 pm Eastern (11 am Pacific) or 7 pm Eastern (4 pm
Pacific) hosted by my friend Steve Harrison, publisher
of Radio-TV Interview Report (RTIR) on ….

“The Three Big Secrets for
Getting Booked as a Guest
on Top National TV Shows”

In addition to Steve, you’ll hear from a former Oprah
guest booker, a Fox News Channel producer and some
other surprise guests.

Together they’ll teach you things unknown to 95% of all
publicity-seekers.

To register for this call — which is free except for
your normal long distance charges — go here now:

http://www.FreeTvPublicityTraining.com/?10064

On the call, you’ll learn things like:

* How to increase your odds of getting on Oprah,
Fox News, CNN, Today Show, Montel and other top shows.

* Understanding the mindset of national TV producers
and what gets them to book you as a guest.

* The strategy a husband-and-wife team used to land
a 7-minute Today Show segment last month.

* What you should send TV producers (and what you
shouldn’t).

* An important lesson from one self-published author
who got on Oprah and saw sales soar as a result.

* The most important question you must be able to
answer to land a TV appearance.

* The biggest mistakes to avoid when pitching
TV producers (including ones that could get you
black-balled forever!).

* Case histories of four other authors and entrepreneurs
and the strategies they used to get on top TV shows.

Again, to register go here now:

http://www.FreeTvPublicityTraining.com/?10064

Once registered, you’ll receive all the details back
within five minutes.

Who knows … maybe we’ll be seeing you on national TV
very soon!

Dan Janal
Your Fearless PR LEADER
PR LEADS Expert Resource Network
www.PRLEADS.com

Every month, I get checks in affiliate commissions from other companies that pay me to promote their services to my clients.

You have to realize that I hate doing sales and wouldn’t lift a phone to make a cold call, so making more than $1,000 a month from these affiliate programs is especially satisfying.

Mind you, I’m making this money by subtly mentioning these offers to my customers, blog readers and in ads to people who wander around my website. I don’t spend more than 10 minutes a year doing this — and the money rolls in.

The surprising thing is that not all my clients are buying these products or services. In fact, not one iota of one smidgen of one scintillion of the people who visit my site or read my writing do anything that produces money.

Yet, the few people who do buy are enough to generate more than $1,000 a month in income that I don’t have to lift a finger to service. All the product delivery and service is handled by the companies that are selling the products and services. So even if I only sold one thing one time, it would still be a money maker.

I don’t get involved in a lot of affiliate programs, but the ones I select have to meet a few criteria:
1. They must be high quality. I don’t want my reputation to suffer if I recommend a bad service.
2. They must relate to my business and my clients’ needs in some way. I’m not about to promote a mortgage brokerage service. That wouldn’t make any sense, even if one of my clients should one day be in the market to buy a house.
3. They should (not must) offer a payout for the lifetime of the customer. In other words, each time they bill my clients, I get a piece of the action. It doesn’t have to be a big piece, but it has to be something.

Here are a few of the services I recommend that meet those criteria:

1. SpeakerMatch — helps speakers and meeting planners find each other.
2. AudioAcrobat — easy way to post audio on your website, and offers podcasting services.
3. Alex Carrol’s Radio Publicity — I don’t do radio PR and he doesn’t do print PR. So it is a perfect fit.
4. Google AdSense — Make money from people clicking on ads in my blog and website. See http://www.prleads.com/ for examples of these ads on the side of the page.
5. MyFreeTeleconference.com — Not everyone wants to pay me to record their teleseminars. This service lets people get their own conference lines for free. You’d be surprised, but more than 600 people have signed up for this service from my Great Teleseminars website in six months. There are lots of people who don’t want to give me a penny, so I make money when they choose the free option. I have the last laugh and they get a great service.

When I first starting doing affiliate marketing, I was making so little money, I wondered “Why bother?” Then the $10 checks turned into $20 and $40. Well, you get the idea.

Yet, I feel there must be more to affiliate marketing than what I’m doing.

I’m heading off to the Affiliate Summit in Orlando today. This is the biggest convention of affiliate marketers in the U.S.

I’m trying to see what I’m missing. There must be a lot of things going on that I’m not even aware of. So it is time to readjust the paradigm and see what’s out there.

I’ll keep you posted of anything interesting that might help you, via my blog. So stay tuned.

If you are new to affiliate marketing and are wondering what it is all about, you can read an interview I did with Shawn Collins, the head of the Affiliate Summit and author of a book on affiliate marketing.

You can read about it at http://www.prleads.com/club06-collins.htm

Here are some of the topics we discussed:

1. Should I launch an affiliate program for my site?
2. What are the next big trends in affiliate marketing?
3. What is the history of affiliate marketing?
4. What are examples of the best affiliate programs?
5. How about examples of some of the top affiliates?
6. What are the biggest issues facing affiliate marketers?
7. How can I recruit affiliates?
8. Most of my affiliates are inactive, how do I get them to promote me?
9. What is the criteria you use to accept/decline affiliate applications?
10. Should I use a third party technology or built it myself?

Dan Janal
Your Fearless PR LEADER
PR LEADS Expert Resource Network
www.PRLEADS.com