Colleen Kettenhofen, co-author of “The Masters of Success” asks:

I wanted to tell you they showed the cover of my book on the Today show this morning. The exact “anthology” I’m in, and featured one of the authors.

Would it be possible to say that my book was featured on the show, or something like, “as seen on the Today show,” or not?

Answer: Yes, you can say your book was featured on the Today show. It did happen. Congratulations! I hope you get a lot of sales!

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

My business coach Mark LeBlanc is coming to Minneapolis to do a special public seminar. I recommend this seminar highly. If you live near Minneapolis, take the day off and com e here Mark speak — or attend one of his achievers Circles weekends. It literally changed my business for the better — exponentially. If you come, tell him I sent you and I’ll send you a free copy of his book — it is a gold mine of business practices that are easy to implement!

Here” the info:

Growing Your Business
When You are The Business!
Sponsored by Small Business Success

Join us for a three hour presentation on Friday, June 30, 2006
for a special program on how to grow your business or
professional practice. Whether you have heard Mark speak
or not, here is your opportunity to get reconnected to what
you want to do, and create a path for more of that to happen.

1. What do you want to sell more of?
2. What is the trap that is getting in your way?
3. Are you really focused in the direction of your dream?

What if it was easier than you thought? Let’s get together,
take a serious step, make a critical decision or two, and make
some good progress in making something great happen. Imagine
if the next 12 months were the best of your career!

Mark LeBlanc, Author of the little book, Growing Your
Business!, that can make a big difference in your business,
or professional practice, will share repeatedly, proven ideas
and strategies for taking your business up a notch.

Guaranteed.

So few people will ever do what it takes to make it in their
own business. The ease of falling into a comfort zone can
paralyze even the most, well-intentioned professionals.

When you leave this presentation, you will be more
focused, able to attract more prospects, equipped with a
single strategy for stimulating more referrals, and on your
way to creating a path and a plan for generating more
business. Real business.

Make your decision, right now!

Mark your calendar, right now!

Make your reservation, right now!

1. When you rsvp, and pay on-site, your fee is $49.

Or,

2. When you rsvp, and prepay your fee, it’s only $35!
And if you pre-register, and pre-pay, you will get a
free copy of Mark’s book, Growing Your Business!

You can register by clicking here, and mailing a
check for $35, postmarked by June 26th, to:

Mark LeBlanc
Small Business Success
19 South 1st Street, Suite B2404
Minneapolis, MN 55401

Check payable to: Small Business Success

Or, call 800-690-0810, and provide your cc information
to Sherry, and she will get you registered promptly.

Mark’s presentation will begin at 9:00 a.m. sharp at the
Holiday Inn Metrodome at Seven Corners, in Minneapolis.

Mark LeBlanc, of Small Business Success, has been
working with and speaking for groups of small business
owners, and practice professionals, since 1992. He is
the Vice President of the National Speakers Association,
and will be President of this prestigious organization in
2007. Last month, he was inducted into the Minnesota
Speakers Hall of Fame, where he shares this honor with
Larry Wilson, Harvey McKay, Thom Winninger, David
McNally, Janie Jasin, Dr. Lyman K. (Manny) Steil, Desi
Williamson, Bob Pike, Jim Pancero, and Mark Sharenbroich.
In 1997, the Minnesota Speakers Association created the Mark
LeBlanc Award for Outstanding Service, and gives this
award annually to a deserving member. Currently, Mark
splits his time between Minneapolis, and La Jolla, CA.

www.MarkLeBlanc.com

This weekend (June 23-25, 2006), Mark will be in Norwalk, CT, conducting his
special weekend program, The Achievers’ Circle. It is his
63rd weekend program, designed for up to 15 Independent
Professionals, who want to sell more products and services.
For more information on upcoming weekends, go to:

www.AchieversCircle.com

Newspaper readers give the same amount of credibility to letters to the editor as they give to news articles and opinion pieces!

That’s the finding of Robert Smith, the most inventive PR guy I know. And he should know.

He wrote a letter to the editor of USA TODAY, which was published, and read by a prospect who became a client with a $3,000 fee! And it took just 2-3 phone calls and letters to cement the deal! Why was it so easy? Because Robert had incredible credibility from the letter printed in USA TODAY!

“The prospect kept referring to my ‘article’ in USA TODAY,” says Robert.

I interviewed Robert recently on how to write letters to the editor to get free publicity in your local newspapers (no, you don’t have to be a national celebrity to get quoted), as well as authors who have gotten letters published in national publications like Forbes!

A few of his tips:
- Be controversial. Feel free to disagree with trends.
- Be fast. Nothing is more boring than old news.
- Read everything so you know what is topical. Then you’ll know what to write about.

Robert maintains on-going Letters to the Editor program for his clients on a monthly basis as incredibly reasonable rates.

$30 just covers your local city (daily and weeklies)
$50 covers your entire state. (dailies and weeklies)
$100 covers all 50 states (dailies and weeklies)

I’d suggest you give him a call at (815)633-3375 and see if you’d be a good fit for him and his staff who stay on top of current events, and find news angles that would be irresistible to editors!

If you’d rather do the work yourself, you’re in luck. We recorded the session so you can get step-by-step directions via CD or you can get instant access by downloading the transcript of this session.

You’ll also learn how to get your letter to the top of pile
- Why editors want to print your letters
- How to avoid the 3 deadliest mistakes most people make
- And much, much more.

“Robert has answered all of my questions and then some. Thank you!”

Jennifer Selby Long
Founder and Principal
Selby Group

Click here to order the transcript for just $10.

Click here to order the CD for just $29.95

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

Here’s an excerpt from a PR LEAD I received from a reporter:

“We’re looking for women between the ages of 35 to late 50s who suffered for years from the following: 1) celiac disease; 2) lupus; or 3) mold in her home (the more debilitating her condition, the better the story) and today is in good health.”

Notice her words “the more debilitating her condition, the better the story.”

That should tell you something.

Just in case you were wondering, this person is writing for a major women’s magazine, not the National Enquirer!

Want to get into the papers? Be dramatic!

Speaking Coach Patricia Fripp put it this way: The bigger the problem, the more dramatic the solution.”

I did a teleseminar with Patricia Fripp on “How to Turn a Dull Speaker into a Dynamic Presenter.” To see how you can get your copy of this CD click here

Or paste this link into your browser:

http://www.prleads.com/seminar011.htm

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

A new client asked this question the other day and I broke out laughing!

No, there aren’t any laws that force reporters to do anything. In fact, the First Amendment specifically prohibits Congress from making any laws that have anything to do with free speech!

Also, most publications don’t employ fact checkers, so don’t expect a call on this topic. A few magazines will call to check facts, but they are the exception, not the rule.

Hardly any reporters will send you copies of articles. They just don’t have the time.

If you want to get copies of your articles, you should ask the reporter when will the article appear? Then mark that date on your calendar. When the day comes, go to their website and you’ll see the article.

You can also use a free clipping service that Google offers:

http://www.Google.com/alerts

Many of my PR LEADERS have found articles this way.

Of course, you can go to Google and type your name for articles in the past, but Google Alerts will do this for you automatically for the future.

I conducted an interview with PR goddess Raleigh Pinskey on “Now that you’ve gotten PR, what do you do next.” Fortunately, we recorded this session. Click here to see how you can get your copy.

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

Larry writes:

One radio program has asked for two copies of my book to look over. I take that as a foot in the door. How long should I wait before following up with an inquiry?

Congratulations, Larry. Any time reporters ask for your materials, that’s a good sign. I’d suggest you call or email them as soon as you think they should have received your materials. So if you sent it by overnight courier, call the next day. You can even check online to see when the package was delivered. If you use USPS Priority Mail, give it 2-3 days. But definitely follow up. Not following up is a sin — and many people fail to follow up. Guess what? They don’t get interviewed!

I conducted a teleseminar on “How to Pitch Reporters” with Joan Stewart, the Publicity Hound and we were lucky enough to record it. For information on how you can get your copy, click here

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

When you hit the road for speaking engagement or vacation, you need to let the press know how to get in touch with you.

No, I’m not suggesting you contact them with your itinerary every time you go the Winn-Dixie!

Instead, revise your phone answering message to let reporters know how they can reach you. Also, update your outgoing e-mail “vacation” message to read:

Here’s an example one of my PR LEADERS sent me:

Hi!

Thanks for contacting me. Our offices will be closed until Monday, June 5. We will not be returning email until that time.

If you’re a member of the press on deadline, or if you need to speak with me immediately, please call my cell phone at 123-456-7890. If I am tied up, I’ll get back to you as quickly as possible.

Your patience is appreciated. Thanks!

Best,
Your Name

This tip might help you get the interview that might otherwise get away!

When you are on the road, you might want to build in a book signing at a book store. You might want to learn how to increase your sales in that venue. We did a teleseminar with several experts who can show you how to make the most of your time on the road in a CD entitled, “Secrets to Profiting From Book Tours and Signings.” For more info, click here

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

I just received this message from the Book Expo people to get their best seminars as MP3 or podcasts! Congratulations to Book Expo for making this great content available to everyone1

Here’s their message:

f you weren’t able to attend BookExpo America 2006 in Washington DC this year, we now have a valuable FREE service from the show — Podcasts from BEA.

We have recorded approximately 24 of the favorite events and sessions and will release them as podcasts over the next couple of months.

Plus, our roving reporter has captured some special interviews in his quest to find out “What’s the Buzz” at BEA this year.

Please visit www.bookexpocast.com where you can subscribe to our podcast by email, iTunes or other popular podcast software. We also have a complete list of our scheduled podcast events under “Upcoming Podcasts” on the site.

Are you tired of paying high fees just so you can accept credit cards online?

I’ve found an honest vendor who will share all his secrets about how to get the best rates possible to accept credit cards for your books and information products, as well as your professional services. He processes the cards for Dan Kennedy and Yanik Silver, so he definitely knows how to work with people like us!

We’ll also keep the phone lines open on this call so you can ask your questions.

I’ll grill him on all the ins and outs of getting the best rates and protecting yourself from fraudulent customers and chargebacks. If all this is new to you, then you won’t want to miss this information packed session.

If you currently have merchant services, you’ll learn how to cut your rates.

If you need credit card processing services, you’ll learn how to find the best vendor.

There no fee to attend the seminar live on Thursday, May 11, 2006 from
2 p.m. Eastern
1 p.m. Central
Noon Mountain
11 a.m. Pacific

To attend the seminar at no fee click on this link:
http://snipurl.com/bankseminar

You can get a CD of this session for just $9.99:
http://snipurl.com/bankcd

Want to read the transcript instead: Click on this link:
http://snipurl.com/q777

I’ve arranged for you to get a free evaluation of your fees to see if you are paying too much. To get yours, click on this link:
http://snipurl.com/bankprogram

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

The New York Times opened the cloak on how stories are created in an article on May 7, 2006 on page 12 of the Week in Review Section (you might have to subscribe to the online edition to get access to this article).

Public Editor Byron Calame reviewed the newspaper on April 16 and asked the reporters and department heads how 23 stories were created.

The results will surprise you.

Only 2 of the stories started with PR people. The rest came from ideas from reporters or editors.

So what does this mean for authors and experts?

The report shows what I’ve long believed. Reporters create their own stories and then need to find experts to give the story depth and balance. They need experts.

Being in the right place at the right time is an age-old adage. Knowing where to stand, that’s why you need to position yourself as an expert.

I interviewed Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound” on how to create your expert image so reporters will call you when news breaks.

We talked about:

–Why most media people donÂ’t care about your book

–Why pitching the book as the story idea will turn off print and broadcast media

–The 5 things they DO care about…give them these and you’’ll get tons of publicity

–How to position yourself as an expert in your topic – and what to do if you aren’t yet an expert

–The different levels of expertise and what you must do to get to the next highest level

–Why the broad-brush approach to publicity doesn’t work anymore and why its more important to target narrowly

–A big mistake authors make that gets their publicity campaign off to a bad start. Don’t let this happen to you

–How to create your own holiday or your own day, week or month of the year and milk it like crazy

–Why it’s OK to piggyback publicity off of other authors

–4 powerful tips for online publicity

–One of the easiest ways to get into national magazines – even the big ones

–Why landing an interview on a big radio show might not sell books – and what’s more important than the size of the audience

–A major media outlet that could be a major hit for you, It loves authors and depends on them for many interviews

–How to establish strong relationships with journalists and stay on their radar screen so they come back to you again and again.

To order the CD for $19.95, click here:
http://snipurl.com/expertcdrom

To order the transcript for $10, click here:
http://snipurl.com/experttranscript

Dan Janal
Your Fearless PR LEADER
www.prleads.com