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Bold prediction: iPad will change books and publishing as we know it

Since I’m knowm for making bold predictions, let me put my neck on the line one more time. I’m usually right, so it’s a prety safe bet!

I predict the iPad will change books and publishing as we know it.

To look to future, I look to the past.  Let me explain.

Back in the early days of publishing, monks and artists wrote books or copies Bibles and Haggadahs and other works. Each work contained not only black letters on white background, but colored fonts, large fonts to draw the eye and most important, illustrations.

When Gutenberg came along and invented the printing press, we started to see the book as we know it today. A bland  series of pages with black on white text. Few illustrations, if any, because they are expensive to produce. And all the type was the same size. So you have no idea if one idea was more important than the other.

We saw the beginnings of the change when Jeffrey Gitomer started writing his marvelous series of books.  Pick one up the next time you are in an aiport bookstore. They are easy to find since they sell like hotcakes. Why? Because Gitomer has gone back to the age of the scribes and took their best ideas. Namely:

- Different sizes fonts so you can see what’s important. It isn’t unusual to see one page with just one sentence displayed in 24 point type. That get’s your attention. You know what’s important.

- Different colored fonts. It’s pretty. Why does reading have to be dull?

- Short chapters. Who has a long attention span today? Need I mention Twitter?

I’m sure many authors would love to copy Gitomer, but their publishers won’t let them because of the expense of printing.

Enter the iPad.

Now authors can design their ebooks with type, fonts, illustrations and color, color, color!

All the new, bold design doesn’t add a penny to production costs.

You’re probably wondering. Why stop there? Why not add audio and video? Perhaps an interview with the author? Or video of a role-playing exercise? The sky’s the limit.

One final point. On a recent flight from Minneapolis to San Diego, my two seat makes each had Amazon Kindles. And everyone who passed by them asked them about it. Ebooks are hot and that’s going to change everything.

Your task: Start thinking about illustrating your books, just like you illustrate your blogs.

Publicity Coach Dan Janal Featured in 69th Book with Extensive Interview on Publicity Thought Leadership

Minneapolis – January 19, 2010 – Publicity coach Dan Janal was quoted extensively in “Celebrity Leverage” a new book published today by Jordan McAuley . This is the 69th book that has featured Dan Janal, who is widely regarded as one of the most highly regarded thought leaders in publicity and the Internet.

“I’ve used Dan Janal’s PR LEADS to generate tons of publicity for myself and my services in Entrepreneur Magazine, Investor’s Business Daily, and more. I love the ability to select the categories I want to receive reporter’s inquiries from — although I usually scan them all because there are so many publicity opportunities I don’t want to miss. I highly recommend Dan Janal’s PR LEADS when you want to get publicity in major media,” said McAuley. The book’s website is: http://www.celebrityleverage.com

The citations range from testimonials, short quotes, lengthy interviews, screen shots of his websites, as well as acknowledgements and thank you’s.

“As a thought leader who has shaped several generations of publicity professionals, marketers and other people who are changing the world with their books, it is a true honor to be quoted in those books,” said Janal. “I’ve also helped several clients outline books, or even get contracts from major publishers, so it is nice to be remembered in the acknowledgements. It is also an honor to be asked to write a testimonial for worthwhile books.”

Janal continues to help authors and thought leaders get publicity by combining coaching, consulting and mentoring into a uniquely helpful one-on-one consultation program.

Paul King, CEO of Hercules Networks said of Dan’s coaching: “You opened doors which I did not know existed, and turned the strange and complicated world of PR into a simple, effective plan. As most brilliant people do, you made a complex process simple. Thank you.”

Dan’s coaching helps people get an outside perspective from an acknowledged expert in the industry. He has helped clients outline chapters for books, think of story angles that reporters will write about, and get clear on their marketing goals.

Janal also operates the PRLEADS.com service that helps authors and small businesses get quoted in top daily newspapers, magazines and leading online websites.

About Dan Janal

With more than 30 years of experience in publicity, Dan Janal is Founder and President of PRLEADS.com which has helped more than 4,000 small businesses and entrepreneurs get publicity in major media to boost their sales and profits. USA TODAY called Dan “a true Internet marketing pioneer.”

Based in suburban Minneapolis, Dan understands publicity as only a former newspaper reporter can. As an award-winning daily newspaper reporter and business news editor, he interviewed President Gerald Ford and First Lady Barbara Bush.  Dan Janal is one of the most respected teachers, visionaries and entrepreneurs in the publicity community. He has written six books about Internet Marketing for John Wiley & Sons, and has been an in-demand, international speaker for nearly 20 years.

Dan was on the PR team that launched AOL and wrote one of the first books about Internet Marketing in 1994. He taught the first Internet Marketing class at Berkeley and also taught Internet Branding classes at Stanford. Corporate clients include IBM, The Reader’s Digest and American Express. He has spoken at conferences for the National Football League, Credit Union Executive Society and many others.

He has created innovative ways for people to get publicity, including the Cool Book of the Day site to help authors get publicity for books; and the Free Publicity Tools.com site to help entrepreneurs find resources to help promote their businesses.

For information about hiring Dan to speak at conferences, go to www.janal.com

For information on coaching and consulting services, go to www.PublicityLeadstoProfits.com

About  Celebrity Leverage

Celebrity Leverage (Jordan McAuley, Mega Niche Media; January 11, 2010; Paperback Original; $19.95) reveals how to get free and low-cost celebrity endorsements, product placement, celebrity buzz, and more.

Each chapter includes Insider Interviews with today’s top marketing and publicity experts like Joe Vitale of The Secret, Dan Kennedy of The No B.S. Guide to Marketing to the Affluent, Jake Halpern of Fame Junkies, Donna Cutting of The Celebrity Experience, Rick Frishman of Author 101, Yanik Silver of Maverick Business Adventures, Robyn Spizman of The Giftionary and others.

Jordan McAuley’s record spans more than a decade in publicity, marketing, entrepreneurship and events.

Known as the “King of Celebrity Contacts,” his Contact Any Celebrity service is one of the most respected publicity resources in the world, with a blue-chip roster of marketers, publicists, nonprofits and media clients who rely on it to get endorsements, donations, interviews, and more.

Walmart.com’s ploy: Good news for readers is bad news for authors

The good news is that Walmart.com is selling upcoming hot books — including Sarah Palin’s book — for $10.

The better news is that Amazon is either going to match them or go a penny better.

And that includes shipping!

While this is good news for readers, it is bad news for authors. I don’t suspect that anyone will make money at $10 per book.

If Walmart.com is hoping to get spinoff sales on other products from browsers, good luck. That’s the only way they will make money. But if those buyers are looking for deals on books, they will also look for deals on other products Walmart.com carries. Coupon discount sites are only a click away.

This is also bad news for authors. If readers expect books to cost $10, there’s not much upside left for traditional publishers or self-publishers.

How to use publicity to boost your webinar sales

 


Publicity can be a great tool to build your webinar profits. Here’s a great way to get the press to promote your webinar!

  1. Write a press release and send it to reporters who cover your topic. There are many trade publications  - online and in print – that print notices of events. The press release should contain the essential information of your webinar, including:
    1. Title
    2. Date and time (include time zones!)
    3. The cost of the webinar. If it is free, say so. That’s always good!
    4. What topics will be discussed
    5. Who the appropriate audience is (perhaps by skill level, i.e. beginner, intermediate or advanced)
    6. How to register. List your website sales letter. Don’t list the front page of your web site. They might not find the link to register.
    7. Contact information, including your phone number, email and website
    8. Send this via email about a month before your event to online publications and blogs. Send this via email to print reporters about four months before the event. For a list of reporters, go to www.BullsEyePublicity.com They have a database of more than 50,000 reporters in every vertical market you can think of. They are always looking for a good story to write about!

 

Publicity Expert Dan Janal to Speak at “Publishing at Sea” Conference

Publicity expert Dan Janal will be on the faculty for the “Publishing at Sea” seminar, the first event for independent book publishers who want to learn how to sell more books while aboard a luxury cruise ship.

 

Janal is the founder of PR LEADS, a publicity service that has helped more than 3,000 authors and speakers get publicity in daily newspapers and magazines. He is also an author and professional speaker. He can be reached at http://www.prleads.com

 

The “Publishing at Sea” seminar will sail from February 15-21, 2009 and visit exotic ports including Cozumel and Belize. Along the way, a limited number of highly qualified publishers will learn how to publish and market books more effectively in these economic times. For information about this conference, please see http://www.publishingatsea.com

 

Specific topics include:

 

  • Become profitable in publishing where most authors barely make minimum wage
  • Create the hook that says “buy this book” (later in the day you can take a different “hook” fishing)
  • Establish the most profitable price for your book
  • Understand the true cost of your book – and how to lower it without sacrificing quality
  • Choose the printing method that is right for each title
  • Become the instant expert on your topic
  • Coin words that give you immediate – and national — brand recognition
  • Sell your books at 100% plus of retail price – with no returns
  • Create a WOW title
  • Develop a doable strategy to market your book
  • Define a production time line so you don’t miss any steps that could cost you dearly
  • Pay for your printing with our savvy secrets to pre-sell your book
  • Create a “marriage made on the high seas” with your wholesalers and distributors
  • Construct Mail-Box Money from spin-off products
  • Conduct book-signing events that sell books
  • Discover which rights (foreign, electronic, movie) are most lucrative for your book
  • See why book marketing is as simple as PIE
  • Maximize your Unfair Competitive Advantage
  • Uncover special markets where you can sell large quantities of non-returnable books – with no competition
  • Discover an easy-to-use formula for writing a press release that will knock their socks off

 

 

The “Publishing at Sea” faculty includes:

 

Brian Jud –book marketing expert

Judith Briles – book shepherding expert

Eric Kampmann, book distribution expert

Katherine Carol, transformation expert

 

“Over the week, each of the faculty will lead a session with the others contributing. This maximizes their combined expertise to give you quadruple the coaching you would get in any other workshop,” said Brian Jud. “Publishing Panache, Marketing Moxie, PR Power, Distribution Doability and Speaking Savvy will be your guaranteed take-aways and how-tos from this glorious week at Sea.” 

 

Attendance is limited to 100 publishers. Families can attend the cruise and can lounge at the pool or participate in a host of fun activities provided by the cruise company while the publisher attends the conference. Ample “family time” is built into the schedule so that publishers and their families can have a true vacation as well as learn how to grow their businesses.

 

“So roll up your sleeves and your Capri pants for the publishing event of the year and relish the fact that your friends are probably shoveling snow back home. It will fast track you as no other will,” said Jud.

 

For more information, please visit:http://www.PublishingAtSea.com

 



 

 

New directory helps you appear on national TV shows!

My friend Steve Harrison gave me an advance copy of his
new directory that shows all the contact info
anyone needs to appear on top TV shows! It is very, very good,
so I wanted to share the info with you so you can get
your very own copy.

Hhis “Harrison’s Guide” directory/database which gives you
927 key contacts at the top 259 top national TV and cable shows
that interview guests.

Steve’s directory/database goes far beyond simply providing
the names and numbers of who to contact because it includes
detailed “how to get on” profiles of all the major shows
including Oprah, Montel, Today Show, CNN, Fox News, Larry
King Live, CNBC, Live With Regis & Kelly, Bloomberg TV,
Nightline, Charlie Rose and many, many more — 259 top shows
in all. You also get monthly updates to keep you current.

=> On Sale Until 6 pm Eastern
this Friday, March 28th

Steve has just released a brand-new, 100% updated edition of
his directory/database. To celebrate, through Friday, March 28th at
6:00 pm EST he’s offering the new directory at a big savings.
Go here now to grab your copy:

http://www.appearontoptvshows.com/special/?10064

=> You’ll Get Your Private Consult
With Former NBC producer

In addition to big savings, when you respond by this Friday’s
deadline you’ll also get a private, one-on-one telephone
consultation with a former NBC producer who booked guests
for Dateline NBC and the Today Show. She’ll help you craft
your own strategy for getting on national TV shows.

I look forward to seeing you get on national TV very soon!

PS — Remember, Steve’s directory/database will pay for
itself many, many times over the first time you get booked
on a national TV show so go here now before the price goes up:
http://www.appearontoptvshows.com/special/?10064

Should I Launch a Radio Publicity Campaign over the Holidays?

Alex Carroll, the guru of Radio Publicity, offered this advice:

Most radio shows don’t book interviews any further than 2 weeks
in advance.

Furthermore, most radio shows take vacation starting Dec. 15-
20th and won’t get back into the swing of things until Monday,
Jan 7th next year.

That being said, I think your best bet is to send your
postcards out at the beginning of January. Normally you would
want to give them a little more lead time, but with the way the
holiday season schedule falls, I think if you send them out
before that they’ll just get lost in the holiday shuffle.

Alex maintains a comprehensive list of producers of radio shows. You can
learn more about this list and Alex’s training tools by clicking here.

New York Times Reveals Secrets of its Best-Seller Lists

The New York Times Best-Seller List, the gold standard for authors, revealed a little bit of how they choose the books that make the list in today’s newspaper (October 21, 2007). You’ll have to subscribe to the online edition to read the article as the site is membership driven.

Interesting insights include:
- bulk sales are discounted in the sales ranking as they don’t want anyone to “game” their system. (Gee, who would do that???)
- long-standing books are sometimes tossed off the list. This rule is rather inconsistent, as “Night” by Elie Weisel was kicked off recently, even though other books that have been on the list for 2-3 years are still on the list, like “The Tipping Point,” or “What to Expect When You’re Expecting.”

Read the article for other interesting points.

One truth the article didn’t mention is the value of good publicity in book sales. Current PR LEADS clients Tim Ferriss’ “Four Hour Work Week,” and Dr. Mark Hyman’s “Ultrametabolism” books both made strides on the NY Times Best-Seller List because of their PR and marketing campaigns.

Book Marketing Tips: How to Build Your Email List & Sell More Books in 6 Months

Book Marketing Tips: How to Build Your Email List & Sell More Books in 6 Months

By Dan Janal

Article marketing is the best book sales lead generation technique on the Web today. Unfortunately, many authors writing articles on the Web fall short in their book marketing efforts. They simply can’t get people to visit their websites to buy their books.

This is a critical fallacy that will render your article marketing, book promotion and sales lead generation campaign worthless. People normally don’t buy on the first meeting. You must develop and nurture relationships. You must get people to visit your website and join your mailing list. If you don’t, you are wasting your time, money and energy.

Sure, it is great to write articles displaying you as the expert in your field. And, yes, it is nice to post articles that help the world in general. But if your goal is to use article marketing to build your email list and sell more books, you might be falling short if your articles don’t have a call to action that grabs readers by the throat and pulls them to your website.

So, how do you get people to come to your website, join your emailing list and buy your books?

At the end of the article you get a bio box, which is your 4 line free ad that allows you to promote yourself, your books and anything else you have to offer. In this bio box, you’re allowed to put a link back to your own website, or your Amazon.com book sales page. You must make it much easier for your prospects to click on this link than to skip it.

To do this effectively, you must create a glittering necklace of persuasion that seduces the eye, charms the imagination, and dazzles the reader. I also suggest creating an irresistible offer so people will come to your website and identify themselves. Once you capture your prospects’ names and email addresses, you will be able to create a sales-winning relationship that will boost your book sales online. If you don’t do this critical step, you’ll never have another chance to sell your books to these people.

Here are three irresistible products to help prospects make the critical decision to visit your website, give you their email addresses and buy your books:

  • Free Special reports. Don’t confuse this with newsletters. These are 3-5 page reports on a special topic. Your special reports should include your own insights that prove you are the expert your prospects need and want.

  • Quizzes. People love to take quizzes. Create quizzes that have 10 yes or no answers. Design questions so people will see their pain. This sets you up as the expert who has products and services that can help them. Here’s a great site that features a quiz. http://kisstheorygoodbye.com/quiz/quiz.php. Take the quiz and then see how Bob Prosen leads you into learning about his book.

  • Offer a free chapter or a free sneak preview of your book. This tactic will overcome your prospects’ fears of the unknown. People will get a good feel for your book, get hooked and then buy it.

The most important part of writing articles is getting people to visit web site to buy your books. If you offer these tactics, you will build your list, get more names for your sales funnel, and sell more books online in 6 months.

About the Author:

Internationally recognized Internet Publicity Pioneer and Founder of PR LEADS, Dan Janal has helped thousands of authors just like you build their email list and sell more books with traditional and online media publicity. For more free tips and information that will help you snag more leads in 6 months than you ever thought possible, go to: http://www.articlemarketingexperts.com/articlenewsletter