Is it just me, or does it seem like there’s more news than ever? Over the past few weeks we have seen countless stories covering everything from the deaths of Michael Jackson and Fara Fawcett to the unexpected resignation of Sarah Palin. So if there’s any important news you can comment on? You just sit there hoping you’ll get a call? Not really! You’re acting. So how do you do that? First of all, it is important to enter into a conversation. Especially if it concerns your subject or your area. If you can preview a topic that’s covered on TV or hotly debated on your favorite cable TV show, you might want to do it. Here are some tips on how to link your story to the latest hot topic.
1) Blog about it: if you have a blog that has readers, and even if you don’t have one: be sure to blog about it. Blogging is a great place to share your thoughts on the topic and even (if possible) offer a solution.
2) Add your blog to your bookmarks. You can do this through sites such as DIGG, Delicious, Stumbledupon and Indian Pad. Creating bookmarks is a way to add links to a blog post and share them with the world. It’s an easy process to access these sites, create an account, and post your blog post. In general, setting up by mail takes about 10 minutes. It’s worth it, as it will help attract more traffic and interest in your publication.
3) Synchronize article: after writing a blog post, write an article (perhaps with a slightly different point of view or point of view) and publish it on sites such as goarticles or ezinearticles.com. If a topic has a reason, the media is likely to cover it for weeks, so having content can be useful to your message and a way to get their attention.
4) Contact the local media: one of the best ways to engage local media is to tell them about the national story. Let’s say we’re talking about the death of two great pop icons, and you’ve written a book about historical figures. Can any of these two people be considered “historic” as such? Well, it’s controversial and can be a good topic for the segment. When something or someone becomes historic and what do the locals think? This is your local perspective.
5) Connect with the national media: if you have a topic that attracts the attention of the country, and your post is meaningful or excellent enough to be presented in the national broadcast, go out and start pitching. Remember that when there are so many shows on the air, they all struggle for the attention of the audience, they are all looking for a new, different angle. All they can say is no, and if you’re right about the subject and well represented, you’ll probably get an affirmative answer.
6) Make sure you get HARO (helpareporterout.com): HARO is a newsletter that is published several times a day and contains many potential media clients. If there is a popular story, someone from the media at HARO will find someone to comment on it.
7) Get Google Alerts: Make sure your keywords are always present in Google alerts so you know who is saying what on your topic. Even in irrelevant moments, it’s a great way to get to know the media that cover your story and talk to them so they already know you when a critical story comes up.
8) Twitter On It: although it’s sometimes difficult to share conversations on Twitter, there’s a great system for sharing topics with the hashtag – it’s as simple as finding a great story and hashtag for that, so for Fara Fawcett, it can be #farah. Create a hashtag to help identify your story, or search for hashtags on Twitter to find out which hashtag your topic belongs to, and then start writing about it on Twitter. Direct people to your blog, to other sites dedicated to this topic, direct them to everything related to this topic. The media is on Twitter, and they can find you!
You don’t need to leave the latest news in the dust, your story or your book. The authors tell me so often that they see “experts” on television and think they can do better. Well, this is your chance. The next time you have a hot topic, start it right away. You never know what could have happened.
Penny S. Sansavieri, CEO and Founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a bestselling author and a globally recognized expert in book marketing and media relations. His company is one of the leaders of the publishing industry and has developed some of the most advanced book marketing campaigns. She is the author of five books, including Red Hot Internet Publicity. Penny also teaches at New York University and blogs at the Huffington Post. AME is the first marketing and advertising company to take full advantage of online promotion through Virtual Author Tour ™, which strategically collaborates with social networking sites, blogs, Twitter, e-magazines, video websites, and related sites to promote the author’s publication in the virtual community. and connect with sites relevant to the subject of the book, positioning the author in its market. Over the past 15 months, their creative marketing strategies have placed 10 books on the New York Times bestseller list.