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The Lost Art of Promoting Books on Talk Radio

As many bestselling authors know, talk radio is a dynamic and cost-effective vehicle for book promotion, but there is an art to promoting books on talk radio, one that many authors and professional PRs just simply don’t understand. Talk radio is a very different media animal, one that has its own procedures, standards…and its own quirks too. If you or your publicist don’t work in the talk radio medium every day, there’s no way to comprehend the fine art of booking guests on talk radio.

One of the things you need to know is which of the talk shows out there, large or small, conduct great interviews…and which are likely to be duds.

It’s not enough to simply ‘go through the motions’ and get authors a large quantity of bookings. The art is in getting them the right bookings. And the only way to learn how to do this is to work with radio shows every day. It has literally taken us years to identify the best shows for our clients.

Without this insider knowledge, too much time and money can be wasted by marketers taking a shotgun approach. Then there’s the press release, or radio pitch, itself…perhaps the biggest “red flag” for talk show producers.

The truth is, a boring and difficult-to-read radio pitch is terribly ineffective at garnering media attention. If you don’t give the producer an immediate picture of what the show will be about, they will more than likely just discard it. Naturally, this will result in fewer bookings which is one of the reasons why most PR firms charge a monthly retainer for their efforts—rather than getting paid for performance like we do.

Two other factors that experienced firms know about booking talk radio:

Identifying that one gem of an angle in a press release that attracts the show host’s attention. The press release should be crafted in such a way as to both capture the essence of the guest’s message and also create the basis for a compelling radio show.

? The right guest should be matched up with the right show. There are health shows, sports shows, political shows, financial shows, and even pet shows and they’re all looking for interesting guests whose message will interest their listeners. Don’t forget hosts are always looking for great guests who will light up their phone lines and keep listeners tuned in.

Having been in the book publicity business for almost two decades, we know a thing or two about booking authors on talk shows around the country. In fact, we book 50 to 100 shows every week for a wide range of authors and genres, including nonfiction, fiction, history, finance, cookbooks, and children’s books.

If you want to hear more about EMSI’s affordable talk radio campaigns, call me or my husband Steve at 727-443-7115, ext. 208. Nothing beats a real-life conversation!

Call today – we’re looking forward to hearing from you!

Warmest Regards,

Marsha Friedman, President

P.S. We also offer a host of other essential publicity and advertising services, including TV and radio commercials and infomercials. Once we understand more about your book, we can discuss the different options available to create the national buzz that’s so crucial to a successful promotional campaign.

EMSI
1127 Grove Street, Clearwater, FL 33755
727-443-7115 ext. 208
727-443-0835 fax
mfriedman@event-management.com


James A. Cox
Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
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Oregon, WI 53575-1129
phone: 1-608-835-7937
e-mail: mbr@execpc.com
e-mail: mwbookrevw@aol.com
http://www.midwestbookreview.com


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