Monday, January 17, 2005

Every business owner or author would welcome any opportunity for free publicity, but they don?t realize how available it is. You can build a name for your business, your book, or yourself by attracting media exposure through carefully crafted promotional pieces. But not any promotional piece will do. The media only respond to press releases and other promotional pieces that are written in an engaging way.

The fact is that ninety-five percent of all promotional pieces end up in the trash. So your goal is to make your press materials part of the five percent that gets read and acted upon. To do this and increase media exposure for your business, book, or product, you need the writing know-how that gets you noticed. Because February 1-7 is ?Publicity for Profit Week,? now is a perfect time to take the steps to gain that writing know-how so you can take free media exposure and turn it into profits.

In her book, Putting It On Paper: The Ground Rules for Creating Promotional Pieces that Sell Books (Ground Rules Press, $19.95, ISBN 0-9744966-1-8), former media professional and Master Writing Coach? Dawn Josephson reveals secrets to creating effective promotional pieces. ?Promotional pieces can be like free advertising when they are well-written, polished, and aimed at gaining media attention,? says Josephson. However, one of the Ground Rules she identifies is not to make your promotional pieces sound like a sales pitch. Any promotional pieces that are blatant advertisements will get thrown out with the ninety-five percent that never get read. Josephson advises, ?You must write your promotional pieces so they offer some new and useful information in a way that sells your business or product without being an ad. Make yourself and your promotional pieces an information source. That?s how your promotional pieces make it into the top five percent.?

Other valuable promotional writing strategies Josephson shares in her book include how to increase exposure by organizing your information in a professional and media friendly format; how to make your promotional pieces newsworthy with a timely hook; how to polish your writing and catch all the grammar mistakes that make the difference between a rejection and a response; and how to incorporate the key words that sell into your promotional pieces.

So during ?Publicity for Profit Week? and throughout the year, learn how to write engaging promotional materials so you can take advantage of the added media exposure. Then watch your business grow and your sales soar.

Dawn Josephson is a professional speaker, internationally acclaimed author, and the Master Writing Coach?. She empowers leaders to master the printed word for enhanced credibility, positioning, and profits. For more information or a review copy of Putting It On Paper: The Ground Rules for Creating Promotional Pieces that Sell Books or to interview Dawn, please call 1-866-372-2636 or send an email to Amy@cameopublications.com.

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