Small business owners continue to grapple with marketing.. either not know what to do or not having enough time/resources to get the activities done. The problem is that marketing is generally considered the most important function of a business. Without a steady inflow of new customers and prospects, the business will quickly come to a halt.

And therein lies the problem. Marketing is unique in that it’s an engine that must always be turned on. Putting an effort here or there will not lead to increased revenues. Small business owners who recognize the importance, excel over their competitors.

In an effort to shed some light on the marketing guidelines, I’ve put together 10 “commandments” that dispel many marketing myths and help the owner to stay on track. To the degree that companies adopt and live by these commandments, their businesses will flourish-

I. Marketing is defined as getting someone who has a need to know, like and trust you…in that order. You can’t circumvent that process.

II. There is no mystery in marketing. The more people you communicate with and appeal to in a compelling way, the more business you’ll generate.

III. Unless you operate a monopoly, it generally takes 6 to 9 contacts with a prospect before they’re ready to buy from you.

IV. Building an effective marketing program is like building a house. Planning is the foundation and marketing activities are the bricks. Marketing contacts are never wasted…they’re small investments in a foundation that will eventually lead to business.

V. The most important aspect of effective marketing by far is follow-through. If you’re doing something, then half of the battle is won.

VI. You should be investing at least 5% of your ongoing revenues back into the business through marketing. It takes money to make money.

VII. If the business you’re generating is only as good as your last advertising dollar, then you’re not branding (differentiating) yourself. Effective branding is essential to taking your business to the next level.

VIII. Marketing today is an integral part of a small business. If you’re not devoting time and/or resources to it continually, then you’re at the mercy of the cycles and pitfalls of the marketplace.

IX. Due to its creative and reflective nature, marketing can and should be fun.

X. Marketing is not sales. Sales can have more immediate results. Marketing generally has a longer return on investment but because you’re communicating with the masses, has a much broader impact.

Scott Campbell is the President of marketing firm Impact Marketing, Inc out of Atlanta, GA. They install marketing systems into businesses working predominantly in the “Building” sector.

Learn more about Impact Marketing and its solutions here at www.impactyourcompany.com.

Corporate gift is a great marketing tool to help increase the brand awareness of your company. It is an ideal marketing channel that all business owners and marketers should always consider including it to their yearly marketing plan. By giving away corporate gifts at a major event of your company or any promotional road shows, it can always promote feeling of goodwill between your company and the receivers. The receivers will in turn be able to relate more towards your brand.

Although corporate gift is a great marketing tool, not all corporate gifts are suitable if you want to brand your company. One very important thing you need to note is that you should never give away shabby gifts. The quality of the gifts count a lot in order to create a positive and good lasting impression of your company in your receivers’ mind. The appearance of the gift should be presentable and useful for the benefits of the receivers.

Quality gifts do not come cheap, but it is not always true that you need to blow your marketing budget. Sometimes, you just need to fork out a little bit more money for them. One way to get quality gifts is to go to the supplier that you trust the most. Negotiate a long term supplying deal with him or her so that you are able to get discounts along the way. With someone trustworthy, you can be assured that the quality of the gift will not be far way off your standard.

There are many benefits when it comes to using corporate gift to brand your business. Let us discuss them below now:

1. Create a feeling of goodwill between your business and gift receivers. By giving away useful and quality gifts, your receivers will be able to interact and relate back to your business more when they receive something that is tangible. Corporate gift acts as a physical representation of your business which allows your receivers to touch and feel it. This will result in a better overall branding purpose for your business.

2. Associate better with your brand. Marketing and branding is all about making the right positive connection between a business and its customers. Corporate gift is able to fulfill this. By duplicating your company’s logo and name on gifts and distribute them, you will be able to link the gifts effectively with your company’s brand. This will create a lasting impression in your receivers’ mind.

3. Show the uniqueness of your business. By giving away gifts which are personalized for your receivers, you can match the appearance of your gifts according to your business’s culture and branding. With this, you enable your gift receivers to remember better about your brand and products/services.

With the right budget and homework to source out for the best supplier, you will be able to produce corporate gifts that can bring your business great returns on investment.

Get more Business Corporate Gifts from the website below:

Click Here: Business Corporate Gifts at www.CoolStyleGifts.com

Corporate gift is a great marketing tool to help increase the brand awareness of your company. It is an ideal marketing channel that all business owners and marketers should always consider including it to their yearly marketing plan. By giving away corporate gifts at a major event of your company or any promotional road shows, it can always promote feeling of goodwill between your company and the receivers. The receivers will in turn be able to relate more towards your brand.

Although corporate gift is a great marketing tool, not all corporate gifts are suitable if you want to brand your company. One very important thing you need to note is that you should never give away shabby gifts. The quality of the gifts count a lot in order to create a positive and good lasting impression of your company in your receivers’ mind. The appearance of the gift should be presentable and useful for the benefits of the receivers.

Quality gifts do not come cheap, but it is not always true that you need to blow your marketing budget. Sometimes, you just need to fork out a little bit more money for them. One way to get quality gifts is to go to the supplier that you trust the most. Negotiate a long term supplying deal with him or her so that you are able to get discounts along the way. With someone trustworthy, you can be assured that the quality of the gift will not be far way off your standard.

There are many benefits when it comes to using corporate gift to brand your business. Let us discuss them below now:

1. Create a feeling of goodwill between your business and gift receivers. By giving away useful and quality gifts, your receivers will be able to interact and relate back to your business more when they receive something that is tangible. Corporate gift acts as a physical representation of your business which allows your receivers to touch and feel it. This will result in a better overall branding purpose for your business.

2. Associate better with your brand. Marketing and branding is all about making the right positive connection between a business and its customers. Corporate gift is able to fulfill this. By duplicating your company’s logo and name on gifts and distribute them, you will be able to link the gifts effectively with your company’s brand. This will create a lasting impression in your receivers’ mind.

3. Show the uniqueness of your business. By giving away gifts which are personalized for your receivers, you can match the appearance of your gifts according to your business’s culture and branding. With this, you enable your gift receivers to remember better about your brand and products/services.

With the right budget and homework to source out for the best supplier, you will be able to produce corporate gifts that can bring your business great returns on investment.

Get more Business Corporate Gifts from the website below:

Click Here: Business Corporate Gifts at www.CoolStyleGifts.com

Corporate gift is a great marketing tool to help increase the brand awareness of your company. It is an ideal marketing channel that all business owners and marketers should always consider including it to their yearly marketing plan. By giving away corporate gifts at a major event of your company or any promotional road shows, it can always promote feeling of goodwill between your company and the receivers. The receivers will in turn be able to relate more towards your brand.

Although corporate gift is a great marketing tool, not all corporate gifts are suitable if you want to brand your company. One very important thing you need to note is that you should never give away shabby gifts. The quality of the gifts count a lot in order to create a positive and good lasting impression of your company in your receivers’ mind. The appearance of the gift should be presentable and useful for the benefits of the receivers.

Quality gifts do not come cheap, but it is not always true that you need to blow your marketing budget. Sometimes, you just need to fork out a little bit more money for them. One way to get quality gifts is to go to the supplier that you trust the most. Negotiate a long term supplying deal with him or her so that you are able to get discounts along the way. With someone trustworthy, you can be assured that the quality of the gift will not be far way off your standard.

There are many benefits when it comes to using corporate gift to brand your business. Let us discuss them below now:

1. Create a feeling of goodwill between your business and gift receivers. By giving away useful and quality gifts, your receivers will be able to interact and relate back to your business more when they receive something that is tangible. Corporate gift acts as a physical representation of your business which allows your receivers to touch and feel it. This will result in a better overall branding purpose for your business.

2. Associate better with your brand. Marketing and branding is all about making the right positive connection between a business and its customers. Corporate gift is able to fulfill this. By duplicating your company’s logo and name on gifts and distribute them, you will be able to link the gifts effectively with your company’s brand. This will create a lasting impression in your receivers’ mind.

3. Show the uniqueness of your business. By giving away gifts which are personalized for your receivers, you can match the appearance of your gifts according to your business’s culture and branding. With this, you enable your gift receivers to remember better about your brand and products/services.

With the right budget and homework to source out for the best supplier, you will be able to produce corporate gifts that can bring your business great returns on investment.

Get more Business Corporate Gifts from the website below:

Click Here: Business Corporate Gifts at www.CoolStyleGifts.com

Marketing is a very important element of all businesses. Every business needs marketing to generate in-flow leads from their target market. With the right marketing, you can strengthen your branding in your target market, allowing you to have a stronger foothold in your industry. The purpose of marketing is to create association between your business and your target audience, with call-to-actions to entice them to either contact you or buy from you directly through your website.

In order to achieve success in your industry, you need to constantly market your business and create good, positive branding awareness with your target audience. If your target audience relates well to your brand, you will create customer loyalty and these people will most likely buy from you rather than your competitors, even though if you and your competitors offer the product or service at the same price. One of the best ways to build your branding is to use corporate gift.

When used correctly, corporate gift is a great marketing tool for your business. By giving away corporate gifts with your company’s logo on them, the gifts act as physical representations for your business in your receivers’ hands. As they are able to touch and feel your gifts, you allow them to create more lasting impression with your brand. This will make them remember your company first when they need your product or service in the near future.

So, how to connect your brand effectively with your potential clients using corporate gift?

1. Put your company’s logo and name on your gifts. Before you distribute your corporate gifts, make sure that your company’s logo and name are on the gifts. You can also include your company’s USP and corporate color too. By doing so, your gift receivers will be able to remember who you are when they see the gifts that they receive. One very effective way to distribute your gifts is to use them as door gifts. During your next corporate event, prepare your door gifts and distribute them to your visitors. This will make your company looks very presentable.

2. Use unique and personalized gifts. Not all kinds of gift work well to create a good and positive branding for your company. By giving away unique and personalized gifts, you will stand a higher chance to make your clients remember you. To make your gifts unique, choose something that is unique in shape or color, or beautify your gift with your unique creative design.

3. Do not use shabby gifts. To create a positive branding for your business, you cannot afford to give away shabby gifts. The quality of your gift is very important. If your gifts are shabby, your gift receives may relate it to your brand. They may feel that your company lacks professionalism which will greatly tarnish the reputation and image of your business. So, do not distribute anything with inferior quality.

Last but not least, before you order any corporate gift, you should browse through the Internet to look for trustworthy online corporate gift suppliers. Online suppliers are able to offer more reasonable and affordable prices as they have lesser overheads to cover.

Get more Unique Corporate Gifts Ideas from the website below:

Click Here: Unique Corporate Gifts Ideas at www.CoolStyleGifts.com

These days, with millions of ads and marketing messages hitting us from every direction, the most important key to building your marketing strategy is trust.

Does your marketing net you as much as you’d like? Do your ads help you generate lucrative prospects weekly and monthly? Are you able to convert leads into paying clients with your marketing?

If the answer is no, then maybe you aren’t expressing your trustworthiness enough. No one in the world will every buy anything from you if they don’t trust that your products and services will do what you say they will do.

Do the words and images you use in your marketing help establish the trust necessary to convince prospects to believe in and buy from you? If not, then you’ll benefit from the following strategies geared toward converting prospects to clients.

1. PROVIDE EXAMPLES OF YOUR CLIAMS
Rather than making impersonal and dramatic claims of what your products or services do, use examples. Examples are far more believable. A case study is an ideal way to explain exactly what you did for someone and the difference it made in their life or their business.

2. GIVE THINGS AWAY FREE
Giving things away free is a great way to build trust. You can give anything, like a keychain, your grandma’s prized apple pie recipe, an e-book or article. Giving something to people, regardless of the cost, makes them more likely to trust you and even to return the favor by buying something from you.

3. PUT OUT ARTICLES INSTEAD OF ADVERTISEMENTS
Being inundated with advertisements 24/7 has instilled in us a deep distrust of ads. We tend to believe instead what we read in published articles. Rather than putting out countless ads, your time would be better spent writing articles. This establishes you as an expert who is willing to help, rather than a company trying to get people’s credit card information for the sole purpose of making money.

4. TESTIMONIALS, TESTIMONIALS, TESTIMONIALS
Convince your target that you’re worth what you say by showing them what past clients have said about you. These are called testimonials, and if you aren’t using them you’re missing a key ingredient in your marketing and advertising. They’re not hard to get. Just contact some past clients, ask what they thought of your product or service, what they liked about it and how it was helpful. Then, edit their comments, ask for their permission to use their edited words, and use this material in your marketing and ad campaigns.

5. SPEAK DIRECTLY TO YOUR TARGET MARKET
In this industrial-economic empire that we call America, with skyscrapers and big multibillion dollar companies all around us, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that we’re all human. So a common misperception is that in order to sound credible your marketing should be cold and impersonal. Instead of trying to act stuffy and distant, you should do the exact opposite. People do business with people, not steel buildings and dry corporate entities. Show photos of yourself and your staff, talk directly to your target market, explain in human terms why they should trust you, be passionate and have a bit of personality.

6. GET AS MANY REFERRALS AS POSSIBLE
What is the first thing you do when you need an accountant, plumber, doctor, lawyer or web design company? You ask a friend for a referral, don’t you? Why? Because you trust the recommendations of friends, family and people you know. For your own business, instead of waiting for the occasional referral, implement a system to generate referrals. Use the “I’ll wash your back if you wash mine” approach. It usually works, as long as you partner with companies you know provide good products or services.

7. EXCHANGE ENDORSEMENTS
This is a proven strategy for doubling your marketing reach without paying a penny. Simply team up with a local business you trust and that also targets your market. Ask the company if it’s OK if you use an endorsement of your company’s products and services. In exchange, you do the same for them. While a personal referral is ideal, a company endorsement also adds a lot of weight to your claims.

8. KEEP IN CLOSE CONTACT WITH HOT LEADS
Clients or potential clients who you see and talk to daily or weekly or even monthly are usually the ones you trust the most and who trust you the most. You’ve developed a rapport with each other and during this process you’ve established one thing that’s crucial for your business and you’ve established trust. Communicating with them regularly is a good way to continue to develop and even build on this trust.

9. REDUCE YOUR TARGET MARKET’S RISK WHEN BUYING FROM YOU
What’s your biggest concern when purchasing a product or service? Most people are worried that the product or service will not perform the way they hope. How can you prove to people that the claims you make in your marketing are true? Provide a guarantee. Also, outline clearly and carefully the value you provide and state your commitment to making sure that your product or service will not only reach but exceed their expectations.

10. MAKE CONTACTING YOU EASIER
Don’t leave it up to your clients to try to figure out how to get in touch with you. Show them how by making it easy as 1-2-3 for them. Put your website, phone number, and email address at the top of your website or marketing materials. Include a call to action, which most people forget. This means tell them to call, write or visit your website. Don’t leave it up to them because more often than not they will not make the first move.

In summary, the best way to convert your target market into leads and leads into clients is to build trust. These ten marketing strategies help form the foundation of the trust you’ll need to convince people that you aren’t just out for their credit card numbers, but that you truly and sincerely want to help their business.

Beware. If this is not truly your attitude, that you really want to help people with the product or service you provide, then you may just want to skip marketing and go straight to filing for Chapter 11 now. Why? Because although it’s true that there’s a sucker born every minute, sooner or later people are going to get hip to your song and dance and word will spread to stay away from you. In that case, all the marketing and advertising secrets in the world won’t help you.

Richard Cagney heads the SEO/SEM division of the affordable custom website design firm All Access Unlimited (http://www.allaccessunlimited.com), in Stamford, Connecticut. AAU provides high conversion marketing to companies aiming to expand and grow in the American and world markets.

Brand, in the viewpoint of the manufacturer or service provider, is a feature that distinguishes the product or service in a market. A user may define brand as one that he can recognize and identify as an integral part of his life. In this age of modernization and industrialization, the consumer has emerged as the uncrowned king. He is the monarch of all he surveys. In addition, to attract his attention, organizations are ready to innovate and upgrade the ideas of promoting Hollywood stars as brand promoters.

The 4P basic idea of Product, Pricing, Promotion and Place has come to evolve mostly around Promotion, as market surveys indicate that consumers likes to buy a brand, not a product or service.

Moreover, to display promotion, companies are making a beeline for the most sellable of products, that is, the Hollywood stars. A popular proverb says that one can even sell dreams in Hollywood.

It is but natural that when the celebrities, who are the substance of our dreams, wave to us from the silver screen or stare at us from flashy bill boards endorsing a product, we simply cannot ignore the plea. After all, even for a flitting second, the user will feel that he or she is sharing something with his favorite idol.

Brand promotion by Hollywood stars not only enhance the longevity of the product, but also add to its quality and mass appeal. The conveyed image of a successful individual using the product creates a sense of demand and urgency for the consumer to get hold of it.. Better still, he begins to identify the product with the star, thus adding immensely to its recall value.

A user only sees a product when it is seen. Brand Promoters need some external factors and internal conditions to help them. Perception of familiarity, trust and contentment are foremost conditions that influence the choice of a particular brand over another.

Since the flashy world of entertainment and razzmatazz has easy recall value, the faces we adore and the style we follow compel a consumer to select that particular brand from the bouquet of choicest of products existing in the market. Market analysts have even noticed the trend of consumers to shift from one product to another once their favorite star leaves one company and starts to endorse another.

As Hollywood spawns the magic over almost the entire world, enticing the young and old, the poor and rich by its continued tales of fantasies and glory, emotions and intricacies, fervent admirers of the stars follow the fashion and style with bated breath. To some of them, turning down the plea of Hollywood stars to use his product is akin to sacrilege. It gives a sense of vicarious pleasure to the consumer and awards him a sense of supremacy over his idol, as he feels that he is doing a favor by adopting the product promoted by the star.

As the company and Hollywood stars laugh together all the way to the bank, the consumer is left clutching with his straw of imagination that has been so well played upon by the promotional blitz of a brand by a Hollywood star.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for used DVDs, used movies, and used car stereos. You can find the best marketplace for used DVDs, used movies, and used car stereos at these sites for used DVDs, used movies, and Hollywood star, products, service provider, brand promoters.

As an author, you may have recently published a book. In writing this title, you dedicated much of your time and passion in order to create a final piece of work that can be enjoyed by people everywhere! But getting your book noticed is no easy feat. In this crowded marketplace (there were nearly 300,000 books published in 2007 alone) you must take an active approach to let book buyers know that your book exists, on both a national and a local level!

While national media exposure for you and your book is ideal, there is great power in local media exposure as well. By focusing on your hometown media outlets you will be able to build a solid base of fame and recognition from which to grow on. Creating as much “buzz” as you can locally will compliment your national campaign to no end and it also gives you invaluable media experience when the national media starts to knock on your door.

Fortunately many local journalists and on-air personalities enjoy interviewing local authors and experts like yourself. This gives you an upper hand in grabbing their attention, and you will also gain their support in spreading the word about your book!

If you want to create solid book “buzz” in your hometown, I would recommend the following actions:

*Book Signings: When it comes to the secret weapon of gaining local exposure for your book, they don’t make ‘em any stronger than this! At every book signing:

*Books will be stocked on their shelves after you leave, unless of course you have a sell-out
*You’ll receive free advertising and promotion in the book store’s customer mailings
*You’ll have prominent placement for as much as a week prior to your signing
*You’ll earn powerful third-party endorsements by store employees whom have met you during the signing

Book signings are a goldmine for local publicity. I strongly suggest doing as many as you possibly can, including all stores that are located within a 100 mile radius. Even ask friends and relatives to see about setting up book signings for you in their hometowns. The name of this game is not only to create the local “buzz”, but it is also “let’s sell some books!”

*Talk Radio Interviews and Television Appearances: Generally speaking, every city has radio and television programs that have a format for guests. Do your research on the web to find the main stations that broadcast in your hometown. Then go to their website where you will find information about the shows they broadcast. Look for those with a format for guests and find the contact information for the producer. Then call and pitch yourself as a guest. How many should you aim for? As many as possible!

*Local Newspapers and Magazines: When it comes to the print media, “Tips” type articles have an extremely high pick up rate with newspapers and magazines. If your topic offers any sort of solution to a problem, then a “Tips” article is what I would suggest. Write an article that gives 5-7 helpful, quality solutions (or “Tips”) to a problem that many people face. Next, identify the newspapers and magazines in your local market, go to their website and find the right “beat” your topic falls in, for example – religious, business, health, lifestyle, etc – and send your article to the journalist that covers that “beat.”

If there isn’t one person in particular that you can identify, “as you’ll find in smaller weekly papers” send your article to the editor-in-charge. Make sure that the article is professional and print worthy, if so some publications will print it “as is.” But since you’re a writer, this should not be a problem. And once again, get as many print placements as possible!

When it comes to your hometown media, get as much coverage as possible!

Marsha Friedman has been a leading authority on publicity for authors for nearly two decades as CEO of Event Management Services, Inc (EMSI). If you would like to receive her free Ebook “How to Be a Great Talk Radio Guest” visit http://www.emsincorporated.com.

No matter what type of business you’re in, you can’t beat the power of PR for drawing national consumer attention to all that your corporation or company has to offer. Whether you’re selling luxurious cashmere sweaters, nutritional supplements or painting murals, your fine products or natural talent won’t matter if your target client doesn’t know about you. Simply put, it’s your opportunity to put a friendly face on your business and acquaint your target audience with who you are and what you do.

“First you should take a close look at what national pr actually is. It’s non-paid media exposure that promotes your company in a positive light. That’s right; it’s when you’re interviewed by phone on talk radio shows around the country, or appear as a guest on TV shows and/or get editorial coverage in newspapers and magazines.”

“Being on the air and in the news is undoubtedly one of the best ways to create a national “buzz” about you and your business. Let me give you an example. In the early days of my career, I worked for a Beverly Hills based money manager who had about $20 million under management. As Director of Sales and Marketing, my job was to generate leads and bring in new clients who had a minimum of $100K to invest.”

“One day a reporter from The Robb Report called because they were writing a story on money managers. While talking with my boss, the reporter discovered that he lived in the 90210 zip code (this was during the height of the TV show’s popularity), drove a brand new Mercedes and was married to a famous actress. When all was said and done, my boss’s picture was plastered on the magazine cover and inside was a feature story detailing the great earnings he’d made for his clients!”

“Once the story ran, I practically became an order taker because the phones were literally ringing off the hook with investors who had $100K and more and wanted their money managed by my boss. As you can imagine, that $20 million under management prior to the magazine article hitting the stands, became $50 million in an incredibly short period of time.”

Why does this phenomenon occur? PR helps alleviate the apprehension some people feel when trying a new business. Public relations also help you develop a rapport with your target audience. And there’s just no better way to boost your credibility because the media has chosen to put you in the spotlight as their expert authority! Anyone can pay for an ad in The Robb Report, but not everyone is featured in a cover story, the difference is universes apart.

Here are some basic tips on how to attract national media attention by harnessing the power of PR:

* The best way to gain credibility with the media is by writing a book. Short of a book, you need a booklet or at the very least a white paper. “Don’t be intimidated by this idea. If you don’t have time or the skill to write a book, then hire a ghostwriter who will capture your voice and pen the book for you.”

* Pay attention to current events. “Find ways to tie your expertise or business into relevant and newsworthy topics.”

* Present yourself as an expert. “Don’t pitch yourself though. Instead, pitch the issue then offer your insights as a knowledgeable expert.”

* Write a press release focusing on a problem that your product solves. “Again, don’t pitch the product. Pitch the problem and the solution.”

* “Create photo opportunities such as a fund raising event and invite the local media.”

* Write a “tips” or “how-to” article for the newspaper or magazine journalists who cover your industry. “You’re generating goodwill by “giving away” valuable information while also establishing yourself as an expert.”

Once you’ve learned how to harness the power of national pr, your business will never be the same!

Marsha Friedman has been a leading authority on publicity for authors for nearly two decades as CEO of Event Management Services, Inc (EMSI). If you would like to receive her free Ebook “How to Be a Great Talk Radio Guest” visit http://www.emsincorporated.com.

If you’re hoping to turn your book into a sensation you can’t afford to overlook talk radio. Your book isn’t going to sell itself, so you need to do everything you can to get the word out. By generating word-of-mouth on talk radio shows around the country, you can create that all-important buzz that can transform your book into a bona fide hit.

Experienced publishers and best-selling authors know that talk radio is the best medium for selling books. Here are a few helpful tips for those of you looking to book yourselves into this medium:

HOT TIP #1 — The first thing you have to do is continuously follow the news. Study the different media outlets and find out what people are buzzing about. Watch the network and cable news channels, scan the newspapers, look at news websites on-line, and most importantly, make sure that you monitor the talk radio landscape. Take some time to listen to local and national talk shows and hear what they’re talking about. Get a read on the pulse of the public. This research will help you develop a relevant message that people will be interested in hearing.

HOT TIP #2 — As you follow the news, pay close attention to the hot stories. Think about ways that you can tie these issues into the message of your book. Perhaps it tackles the same subject or shares geographic similarities. Perhaps the message of your book ties in with a controversy of some kind. Controversy is always tantalizing to talk radio show hosts. If you can develop a good angle that’s newsworthy, you can even get on the air with a fiction book.

HOT TIP #3 — As you develop your message, keep in mind that radio hosts don’t want to do infomercials. When pitching to hosts and producers, be careful not to pitch yourself or your book too heavily. Instead, present yourself as an expert on a hot issue. Put the emphasis of your pitch on the issue, not on your book. The fact that you’ve authored a book, makes you that much more credible as an expert guest. Don’t worry, once you’re on the air, hosts will give you an opportunity to plug your book during the interview -especially because of the credibility factor.

HOT TIP #4 — The fourth and possibly most important part of getting yourself booked onto talk radio is the actual press release. Hosts and producers will want to see your pitch before they schedule an interview, so make sure your headline entices them and grabs their attention. In the text of your release, elaborate on the subject matter and it’s always good to include a couple of juicy or provocative quotes. Also include a short bio, and 5 or 10 questions that you would like the host to ask you.

These tips should help get you jump-started into the world of talk radio.

Marsha Friedman has been a leading authority on publicity for authors for nearly two decades as CEO of Event Management Services, Inc (EMSI). If you would like to receive her free Ebook “How to Be a Great Talk Radio Guest” visit http://www.emsincorporated.com.