Six Weeks to Sustained Self-Promotion
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SIX WEEKS TO SUSTAINED SELF-PROMOTION by Pamela White
Writers write.
Want more money? Then memorize this phrase: "Writers promote."
Think you don't have time to organize a marketing plan for
yourself, your books, your website? Try this six-week plan to a
sustained program of self-promotion and you, too, will find new
friends who will help you, editors who approach you, and readers
who will follow you throughout your writing career.
Week One: Focus on online message boards and lists. Yahoo, MSN,
Topica and Smartgroups all have online discussion lists that you
can search by topic. Sign up, read past messages, then decide
whether you'll stay with the list or move on. Some lists have
nothing but spam messages; others are packed with information.
Register with message boards that focus on writing. Do the same
with these as you did the lists. Choose at least five to
participate in. Choose two days a week, at a minimum, on which
you will send messages to the lists. Be aware than many of the
same writers will be on more than one list so don't just write a
canned message and send it to all. Show that you've read
previous messages - answer a question, ask a question, share a
valuable link. Once in a while you can mention a favorable
review or a "Hurray, I got the assignment" message.
Week Two: Keep up your week one efforts. Study local newspapers,
both daily and weekly. Investigate any magazines published for
local readers. Keep a running list of local media contacts. Some
of the things you should note: who is writing about food, what
type of stories are turned into juicy features, what kinds of
announcements run in the business section, how many food
articles are syndicated from another source? This list of media
contacts will save you time when you have an article you want to
write or you are seeking an article to be written about you,
your business or your book.
Week Three: Weeks one and two plus a trip to an office supply
store. Buy some great paper - matte, two-sided coated paper,
color or white. Write a brochure for yourself. Don't feel it's
appropriate for what you are writing about? Then design a
business card and print it up. Or ask a graphic designer to
create a unique look for your business card. I was at a business
fair, manning the table for my employer at the time (a college),
and I realized that I could have networked my own writing
business if I'd only had a business card to hand over to the
advertising and web design businesses. Get some business cards.
Week Four: This is the week when you take your writing business
on the road. Go to the local Chamber of Commerce's Business
After Hours event. Chat with people, and hand over a brochure or
business card when you meet someone who can hire you, or who can
connect you with a publisher or editor. Keep posting on those
message boards and lists; have fun with them.
Week Five: Write a press release about your recent success. Did
you publish an article, finish a workshop, win an award, or open
for business? Write your press release in third person as if you
are writing an article. Send it to someone - your discussion
list buddies for a critique, a local weekly that runs news
releases unedited to fill in the news holes, post it on your
website (don't have a website - that's what you can do on week
seven). Need help? Visit prwire.com for advice on writing press
releases.
Week Six: Two tasks this week: This is the week you make contact
with three new editors. Call the local food editor or features
editor and take him or her out to lunch. Email a magazine editor
with an article pitch. Contact an online newsletter editor and
see if you can trade ad space for an article you'd love to write
for him. Your second task is to subscribe to online newsletters
for writers - www.writesuccess.com, and www.fundsforwriters.com
are only two that consistently provide essential information for
writers.
Throughout these weeks, you should also be writing, researching
markets for publication, and submitting your work. Keep up with
the list discussions. A great one for information and markets is
workforwriters@yahoogroups.com .
Keep up the good work - network with writers online and
potential clients and editors in person to sell yourself and
your writing. ****************************