Writing and Publishing News

You know how to prepare to speak about your book:

• Choose a topic.
• Outline your talk.
• Focus on 3 points.
• Practice.

But what else do you need to remember when you’re planning a talk? I always try to leave audience members with more than just the memory of my speech. I attempt to leave them with something tangible and form a long-term connection with them. How?

• Create a handout related to the theme of your talk and your book.
• Attach your business card/brochure.
• Have a sign-up sheet for those who want to receive your newsletter, a free report (article, resource list) or a free ebooklet, for example.

You’ll find that there are advantages to collecting names and email addresses beyond just that initial contact. Add those names to your emailing list. Notify these people when you produce a new book, are speaking in their area or are offering a special service, for example.

I’ve had this practice pay off nicely for me. While the potential customer might go home and forget about me, I remember her and let her know about it. I inform her when I post new articles on the topic of my speech at my website. I let her know when I run a special on one of my books. I contact her with a resource I think she might be interested in. I alert her to blog posts I think she might be interested in.

Of course, you sometimes run into unreasonable people. Once, at a conference workshop I was conducting, a woman added her name and email address to my sign-up sheet. When I returned home, I sent her (and everyone else on the sheet) a thank you for attending the workshop and an invitation to ask any questions they came away with. I also offered a free report (article) on a related topic. This woman shot back an email accusing me of stealing her email address.

Oh well, you get all kinds. Expect it. But don’t dwell on the ugly stuff. Enjoy working with the people who need/want your help and support.

Sign up at my newest website for a FREE ebooklet: The Successful Author’s Handbook:
http://www.patriciafry.com

Check out my array of published books:
http://www.matilijapress.com

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 10th, 2010 at 4:36 am and is filed under Book Promotion, Public Speaking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.