March 2008

"In order to profit from your mistakes, you have to get out and make some."

— Anonymous

If you have a great quote to share, please send it to tipsheet@plannedtvarts.com.
Thanks!

Planned TV Arts Politics Division is based in Washington, DC.  We work closely with think tanks, political blogs and political authors. The division creates media relation campaigns including radio, TV and print for some of the biggest and brightest political names.  We also do successful internet and blog outreach to spread key messages and target audiences in new and unique ways. We have coordinated press conferences and done in-depth media and performance training and messaging for our clients.

We've worked throughout the political spectrum with everyone from Andrea Mitchell to Senator John McCain.  Our current client list includes:

• George Halvorson, Health Care Reform Now!        
• Sydney Blumenthal, The Strange Death of the Republican America
• Kiron Skinner and Condoleeza Rice, The Strategy of Campaigning
• Glenn Hurowitz, Fear and Courage in the Democratic Party

We've produced campaigns on such profound issues as global warming, the environment, war and peace, world poverty, education, cancer research and sprawl hitting the wall.  Bookings include: NBC Nightly News, The Today Show, Good Morning America; Larry King Live, C-SPAN, FOX News, MSNBC and CNN.  Press bookings include: The Washington Post, The New York Times, USA Today, Reader's Digest, Forbes and The Wall Street Journal.

For more information please contact:
Sandy Trupp at 202-974-5002 or trupps@plannedtvarts.com

Looking for an event to anchor your pitch idea? Some of these ideas just might translate into a Morning Drive, a Satellite TV Tour, or a road tour topic:

April 2008

Business:

• International Customer Loyalty Month
• 1^th - 7^th – Laugh at Work Week
• 7^th - 13^th – National Networking Week

Health:

• Autism Awareness Month
• Stress Awareness Month
• Emotional Overeating Awareness Month

Sport:

• 5^th - 7^th – NCAA Men's Final Four (San Antonio)
• 10^th - 13^th – Augusta National Golf Tournament

General Interest:

• Couple Appreciation Month
• National Decorating Month
• 13^th – International Plant Appreciation Day
• 15^th – Anniversary of the Sinking of the Titanic (1912)
• 22^nd – Earth Day
• 23^rd – Administrative Professional's Day
• 27^th – 5/3 - National Volunteer Week
• 29^th – National Teach Children to Save Day

Holidays:

• 1^st – April Fool's Day
• 19^th – Passover

Some are industry related, some are fun and some are just plain quirky sites that our PTA Interactive division recommends:

Buzz, Balls, and Hype

Possibly the best book marketing blog on the block.  Author and marketer, M.J. Rose regularly raises buzz-worthy issues for authors and publishers. She offers expert insight and starts fascinating discussions in the comments section. A must-read for authors and publishers who want to challenge what they know about the book business.

Dear Reader

When you sign up at DearReader.com not only can you sample books in your email, you just might win a bubble machine, a signed copy of a book, or homemade chocolate chip cookies--Suzanne the book club editor bakes for readers every month. Over 350,000 people read at the online book club every day and they’d love to have you join too!

Book Slut

This is not your mother’s book review! Jessa Crispin’s BookSlut.com is the epitome of new media book reviews. Livelier reviews than you are accustomed to finding in print. Reviewers tend to shoot from the hip and the site has developed a loyal readership. While you are there, be sure to check in on Jessa’s provocative blog.

Free Teleseminar March 18^th, 8-9pm EST

Rick Ernst, an author, speaker and life success coach, will tell participants how they each can make $15,000 in just 15 days in this teleseminar, dubbed “JumpStart to Success.” Mr. Ernst will share insight on the current real estate market and identify money-making opportunities. He has over 33 years experience in real estate, sales training, and life success coaching. He has also shared the speaking platform with many distinguished speakers, including Cavett Robert, de. Dennis Waitley, Zig Ziglar, and Og Mandino.

To participate: Please call 712-338-8100. Then press in the code: 222089#.

Free Teleseminar March 26^th, 8-9pm EST

Roger C. Parker, the "32-million-dollar author", and author of 38 books, including the best-selling Looking Good in Print: A Guide to Basic Design to Desktop Publishing will be discussing:

• Is there a "formula" for successful nonfiction book titles?
• What can titles do, (and what can't they do) for your book?
• What is the single most important element in a non-fiction book title?
• What are the characteristics of a perfect book title?
• Is there a "process" for creating titles that sell?
• How important is the length of a book title to a book's future success?
• How can authors test market their book titles before their book appears?
• What should authors do after selecting a potential title?

To participate: Please call 712-338-8100. Then press in the code: 222089#.

Past Teleseminars:

Remember, our TeleSeminars are free (excluding your call cost). If you missed our last TeleSeminar with Jason Oman, you can dial the replay line at 507-726-3837 (Press the # sign after you dial in) or go to our website at www.plannedtvarts.com. We have about 67 hours of great information for you!

A List For Building Your List
By Brian Feinblum, PTA’s Chief Marketing Officer

Every author needs to build a list of email contacts that they can have as customers for life -- or at least to sell their next book to! So how does one go about building their list? We are asked this question all the time. There are many ways to build your list -- and of course through our Online Campaign we can help you build that list -- but here are 6 ways to begin:

1. Create a section on your website for people to register/sign up for something, so that you can capture their email. Offer them something of value for free: an e-newsletter, an e-book, a podcast, a teleseminar, etc.
2. Drive traffic to your website. One way to do this is to sign with Google to do an ad word search -- you pay Google a fee every time someone searches for the topic you list yourself under (i.e. dog training) and then actually clicks on your site. Once on your site, a certain percentage of people will likely sign up for your offer.
3. State your free online offer in every communication that you have -- in your ads, fliers, email signature, when giving a presentation, in the back of your book, on business cards, etc.
4. You can buy or rent lists -- but this can get costly and every list seems to be partially outdated or not targeted to what you want. Better yet, trade with other people for their list. For instance, if you build up a list of 10,000 names and someone else is willing to swap you their names, consider doing that, but keep in mind people who signed on to your list may not appreciate you sharing their info.
5. If you don't want to buy a list or trade a list, see if someone will send out your free offer in their newsletter or to their list in exchange of you doing the same to your list for them. This way, you retain control of your contacts but you still get to spread the word to others.
6. Conduct a publicity campaign and mention your Web site/free offer in your interviews.

Contact: Brian Feinblum at feinblumb@plannedtvarts.com or 212-583-2718 for more information.

Here's a sampling of our latest bookings.

For Escape the Mid-Career Doldrums by Marcia Worthing and Charles Buck (Wiley), we booked these interview:

• New York Times Sunday Issue - Career Couch

Larry King Live

For The 4:8 Principle& Success is Not an Accident by Tommy Newberry (Tyndale House), we booked these interviews:

• Living the Life (CBN-TV - sister program to 700 Club and airs on ABC Family & other national networks)
• DeeperLiving Television (International Christian TV)
• American Family Radio
• Lifestyle Radio Network
• United News & Information Services
• Reach FM Morning Show (heard on 40 Christian stations throughout Florida)
• USA Radio Network

For Accidental Branding by David Vinjamuri (Wiley), we booked these interviews:

• BusinessWeek SmallBiz
• ColoradoBiz Magazine
• Publisher's Weekly (Hard Copy)

BOOK EXPO AMERICA: May 29^th – June 1^st in Los Angeles

Where the world gathers to get a great READ on the industry.  BookExpo America combines the largest selection of English language titles on the planet with special industry and author events and unparalleled educational content to create a dynamic environment for networking, sourcing and relationship building.  For more information, please go to: www.bookexpoamerica.com