free resources Archives | Jane Tabachnick & Co

How to Contact a Celebrity for a Book Endorsment

How to get celebrity endorsements for your book

You are ready to get endorsements for your book. You’ve identified your ideal celebrities and influencers. Now it’s time to contact them and make the ask, but you may be wondering how to contact a celebrity for a book endorsment. Here are the top ways to find the contact information of celebrities:

Start with a Google Search

Google is a great resource for finding contact information. Start with a google search. Try being completely literal. Type in ‘email address for Celebrity Name’. We are going to use Barbara Corcoran as our example.

As you can see you get a number of results, including Barbara Corcoran’s own website [1], which is sure to have a contact form. We’ll save that for later.

In this search you see both RocketReach [2] and CEOEmail [3] which claim to give you email addresses. Both are free. It is worth having a look and copying down the email addresses into a file.

Test the email addresses to see if they are valid using this free tool:

In the event you don’t find any email addresses you can try the following:

Find an email address for a staff member at your celebrity’s domain. You can do a Google search, or try a Linkedin search using your celebrity as the company name.

For example: look for any address at @barbaracorcoran.com. From this you can determine the email convention they use. It might be ‘first initial’ and ‘last name’, or ‘first name’ only before the @ sign. You can then substitute your celebrity name in the same format as the email address you found.

How to Contact a Celebrity for a Book Endorsement- Ninja tips:

Address your endorsement request to a few different email addresses at the same time – addresses that you found, or just try a few of the most commonly used email conventions. That way you increase your chances of success, and any email address that is not valid, will send back an email letting you know that.

Add a read receipt- if used, it will let you know the email was received and read.

Use Press Contacts to request celebrity endorsements
Celebrities and high-profile people often have a PR firm on retainer or staff. You can typically find their contact info in a press release issued about the celebrity. These releases may be found on the celebrity’s website, or by searching for news about them.
Once you find out the celebrity’s PR contact you can either contact them to ask who to direct an endorsement request to, or just pitch them directly.

Use the Contact form on the celebrity website
The contact us form on any website is always available as a way to contact a celebrity, or anyone else. It usually goes to a general mailbox, often opened by an assistant. I have had success using this method to request endorsements, though it’s not my preferred method; I use it only when I can’t find a celebrity email address or press contact name and email address.

Here is why you should ask Barbara Corcoran, or any celebrity for an endorsement. They might just say yes!

In fact, Ms. Corcoran encourages you to request endorsements, and has a dedicated link to make it easy for you.

Fast Track Your Results & Get More Celebrity Endorsements

Why Do-Overs Need to be Part of Your Marketing Strategy

I started thinking about do-overs and second chances after attending my cousin’s second wedding [same groom – the first wedding took place in the groom’s native country]. How they can be both positive and critical to your business success. I was thinking of all the times I stopped myself when I was probably inches or millimeters away from success. Can you relate?

Even if the improvement is only a millimeter over the last run, do-overs can make all the difference. Watching the Olympics recently, I saw a few races where millimeters or milliseconds were what separated the gold medalist from the rest of the competitors.

Anthony Robbins talks about how the difference between success and failure is only a millimeter apart in this inspiring video.

I am not talking about a Mulligan – the do-over in golf you request because you didn’t like your first shot. I am talking about an informed do-over. There are a number of places where the do-over make sense in your business and I believe should be built into your business practice. Part of the key to success, is to use available feedback or tools to help you improve on your previous attempts or initiatives.

Here Are a Few examples of How Using a Do-Over in Your Marketing Can Be The Key To Success

Headlines, Blog Post Titles, and even Book Titles or Sub Titles

A mentor of mine recently suggested that perhaps better blog post titles would help with readership and engagement. I decided to use an A/B split test tool to see if my original post title [‘A’], could be improved with an alternate [‘B’] . I used a free plugin called Title Experiments Free that randomly displays the 2 post titles and ranks them based on performance. I tested three titles: in two out of three cases, my original ‘A’ title was preferred, and in the third case, the alternative headline is proving to be a better option than my original headline.

Pitching the Press

If your story idea or pitch doesn’t land the first time, you can go back to a journalist or publication with a revised pitch or a new one altogether. Clearly, if you have gotten feedback from the journalist or media outlet on what improvement or changes your pitch needs to get them interested , that is ideal but that’s not always an option. You can do your own research by looking at some of their published stories and see if you can identify how they are different from your pitch, and use this insight to improve your stories before re-submitting.

[clickToTweet tweet=”‘You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take’ – Wayne Gretksy. via Why You Get a Do-Over” quote=”‘You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take’ – Wayne Gretksy”]

Your book launch or book marketing

Perhaps your book didn’t get the kind of reception that you had hoped for. Maybe you got rejected by publishing houses you submitted your book to. You are not alone. Agatha Christie’s book pitches were continually rejected for 5 years, before she landed a publishing deal. Her book sales are now second to the best selling author of all time, William Shakespeare.

There is no reason you can’t go back to your book for a do-over and make some tweaks until you succeed. This can include any aspect from the book pitch, the book title or subtitle, the book description, the cover, the book category it is listed under in Amazon and Barnes and Noble, to your book landing page design and content.

Coca Cola has done this numerous times, releasing ‘New’ versions of coke. Some have disappeared quickly and some have succeeded and stuck around.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Don’t Give Up Before the Magic Happens- F Flagg via Do-Overs Need to Be Part of Marketing” quote=”‘Don’t Give Up Before the Magic Happens’- Fanny Flagg”]

Where are there opportunities in your marketing for a do-over that can make all the difference in your success?

book marketing book promotion Business Planning Content Marketing free resources Media Mentions media plan template pitching the media PR Strategy success tools

10 Ways to Use Interviews in Your Marketing

One of the strategies in your marketing toolkit today should be the interview process. The interview, or a simple question and answer session, can be very effective in facilitating the creation of a variety of valuable customer facing content such as blog posts or profile articles, to content that is strictly for internal company use.

The beauty of the interview process is that you can simply hold a conversation that you record and have transcribed into text. Speech to text software is now built into computers and smart phones, or you can use a transcription service. You now have both text and audio versions of your content. Both versions can be re purposed into additional formats including video and Power Points. You can get additional mileage by extracting short quotes or sound bites to use as social posts and tweets.

What works so well about this format is that most people are comfortable speaking about their business, product or service, than they are writing about it. Most people also prefer being directed and prompted. A blank white page with free range, can be very daunting.

Ask a client to write a testimonial for your business. They’ll wonder what to write about and put it off. Sending them 3 questions to answer about your business is a much easier and more comfortable way for them to respond, taking the guesswork out of it for them.

The beauty of the interview process is that it is a strategically designed set of questions that can help you elicit the story that you would like to tell. Whether you are interviewing a customer a strategic partner or one of your staff, by strategically designing the questions you get to shape the outcome, and can reap the benefits of 3rd party credibility – someone else telling your story and singing your praises.

Download our handy Interview Resource List

Here are my Top 10 Interview Types:

1. Customer Input
Many companies do not take advantage of this simple and obvious activity. Your client will be more than happy to tell you what their biggest challenges are and what they would like help with; then when you offer that solution they’re sure to buy.

2. Testimonials
Clients are usually happy to give you a testimonial however many businesses don’t even ask. Create an easy format with questions that prompt the client’s response, and your clients will thank you. They are often uncomfortable not knowing what to write, so when you remove the guesswork it is easy for them to just get it done.

3. Case studies
This is an underutilized form of content for your business. Case studies are so valuable because they show prospects how you solved another company’s problem, which gives prospects the ability to see themselves in your existing client, and basically try your solution on for size. It is also a form of third-party credibility, which carries more weight than a description of that very same service does in your company brochure or website.

4. Product Research
Interview customers to find out what they like about your products, as well as features they would like to see added. Everyone loves to be consulted and offer his or her opinion. Your customers probably use your products more than your own staff does and have probably already thought of things that could be improved or features that will make your product better. Make this an ongoing each aspect of your marketing and product development and research

6. Industry Insight
Interview a partner or vendor about different aspects of your industry. This can create a thought leadership piece and help inform your customers and your prospects about your industry trends, inner workings and the state of affairs.

7. Interview a Recognized Expert or Thought leader
By interviewing a thought leader, you are giving people access to someone they know and respect, as well as getting the benefit of greater exposure due to your expert’s popularity. This also positions you as a top expert and a peer of the thought leader.

8. Interview Staff

A staff interview can create content that introduces your staff and the role that they play in your business. This personalizes your business, provides insight into who a customer or vendor will be working with, and helps deepen engagement with your brand. This helps create greater consumer confidence, as people buy when they feel they ‘know, like and trust’ the company.

9. Interview Yourself
The interview format works very well to generate content more quickly, so why not use it yourself, wearing both the interviewer and subject hats. If you decide to keep your finished piece in an interview format, no one needs to know who the interviewer was, however you can also turn the interview content into a general article.

10. Interview to create a book
This one is possibly my favorite. Use an interview format to create a book. Many professionals, entrepreneurs and the public in general are interested in writing a book, yet it’s a daunting project that often gets put off repeatedly for that very reason. Using a strategically designed set of questions, it’s easy to create the content for your book through an interview. Your book can be published keeping the interview format, as I do with the books that I publish for my clients, or you can turn your answers into prose. Either way, it helps you get your book written much more quickly and efficiently so you can reap the benefits of being a published author.

The interview format is incredibly versatile and can be included in your marketing and content toolkit to help you create the variety of content that are required in today’s marketplace. Using interviews in your marketing can help grow all aspects of your business. The value of the interview format can be clarity. Simple questions, answered directly. I recently interviewed a colleague who runs a unique marketing service, for a profile in an online magazine. After reading the published interview, one of her prospects commented,

“Now I really understand what you do and the value of your service.”

That is the power of asking the right questions. Ready to put interviews to work for your business?

Note- this article was written using an interview format [I interviewed myself using a speech to text software] then edited the text for the final article.

Download our handy Interview Resource List

This post first appeared in Business2Community

book creation book writing content creation Content Marketing content marketing toolkit customer experience customer service free resources ghostwriting interviews Kindle Marketing Publicity Tool self-publishing writing

Promote Your Book Online – 8 Expert Tips

Writing a book is a lot like having a baby. You need to prepare for the big event; a process often described as painful, yet one that yields beautiful results.

Pre-planning for your book’s publication is something you should start months before your publication date to ensure your book gets the notice that it deserves. Let’s help readers discover your book by promoting it everywhere online.

Here are 8 ways to promote your book and bring your book some much-needed publicity. Read my guest which appeared on the WiseStamp blog

Related: For more ways to promote your book get our Media Plan Template and our 2015 Publicity Toolkit and Planner

Book Promotion Using Press Releases

book marketing book promotion free resources Kindle media plan template public relations resources self-publishing tools

Kenneth Cole Uses My PR Tip to Score Big Press- You Should Too!

It’s so much fun when you see your PR tip put to good use… and getting results- Publicity!

Just a quick note to share with you something exciting.. and to encourage you to take advantage of this free tool, if you aren’t already and get set up for more Publicity today!

I am talking about Google Alerts.

Google alerts have been part of my PR tips and toolkit for as long as I can remember. If you have done any of my trainings or been on my list for awhile, you have probably heard me recommend them! It is one of the best free tools you can use to track PR, build a media list, get pitch and content ideas….

In fact I just made a new video for you about how to use Google Alerts – and hadn’t had a to post it yet when… I saw this headline on Time Magazine’s website:

Kenneth Cole Replaces Man’s Stolen Bag After Learning of Theft From Google Alerts read the full article here

I got so excited. Kenneth Cole’s team is using Google alerts as I recommend…and they used the alert to take action, resulting in some great publicity. Free tool. Free Publicity! How exciting!

This is the kind of PR tool that works for you, no matter what your company size.

I want to make sure you benefit from Google Alerts and maximize this PR tip and get more publicity – I show you how in this video:

It shows you the best way to set up your alerts… and how to use them for the most return on your time.

Update: I have found Talkwalker alerts discover more content than Google Alerts. They are also free- same set up recommended.

free resources Media Mentions PR PR tip Public Relations Quotes resources