Getting the Yes (8/20/14)
You can actually count back to see how many blog posts I had in the queue based on this entry of you look hard enough.
If you fail to plan then you plan to fail. That really should be the mantra of my first book tour. Average Joe’s Story will not be a success because I have name recognition, or lots of money for PR. The book will be a success for the same reason you will be successful, I set myself up to win. In order to be successful in this case I worked relentlessly and planned out as much detail of the book tour as I could.
One of those details I meticulously planned was my PR. I hired Starley Murray, a celebrity image and branding expert, who was preparing me for TV bookings, production, appearances, you name it; I was a fish out of water in that department. The nice thing is in theory TV is harder than radio, because you can’t hide from the camera, so once I get some TV under my belt I can then translate that experience into radio interviews too. I was also submitting regular contributions to HARO a service where you literally help a reporter out as an expert in exchange for credit as a contributor.
Today I submitted a response to a reporter who was looking for the answer to why authors want celebrities or experts to endorse them. The interesting part of the morning was that I actually got my first celebrity/expert endorsement within seconds of hitting send.
Most professionals won’t let you see behind the scenes as to what makes you successful. I think they believe that if you see behind the curtain you may not hold them in the same regard. However, I think if I share as much background information as possible there will be a greater appreciation for what I do, and I’ll be a little more relatable if I hit it big some day.
For every article I’m accepted to contribute to there are five reporters I never hear back from. For every speaking engagement I confirm there’s seven response that are some variation of the word no. Currently I’m batting 0.000 as far as scheduling a book signing at an actual bookstore. Hundreds of NO’s is what you have to be willing to endure to get the important YES’s from people like Carol Aebersold, the co-creater of The Elf on the Shelf.
To: c.hedges@hotmail.com
Subject: Thank you
Date: Tue, 3 Jun 2014 13:42:03 +0000
Dear Chris,
After two months away from home, I returned to find your gracious gift. Thank you so much!! It’s a wonderful book–so open, honest and heartfelt. I certainly appreciate the nice things you wrote on my behalf, but I also appreciate the inspiration your Average Joe’s Story gave me.
I hope this finds you well and taking care of yourself as you travel around and share what is clearly an “Above Average” message.
Warmest regards,
Carol Aebersold
Sent from my iPad
