Customer Reviews

6 Steps to Free Publicity: For Corporate Publicists or Solo Professionals, Including...Publishers, Consultants, Conference Planners, Politicians,

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I recently purchased "6 Steps to Free Publicity". I had not finished more than 60% of the book before I noticed my first opportunity for free media attention, an article in the largest newspaper in our state. The article hit a hot button in my industry, and I saw an opportunity to expand on the article and be a resource for the media. I wrote a response letter using Marcia's suggestions in "6 Steps to Free Publicity," I suggested a follow up article that I would like the paper to write, and received a detailed and enthusiastic reply from the journalist, which included an offer to use me in the article. I know that without "6 Steps," I would not have seized this opportunity. Nor, would I have known the proper format to offer my suggestions.

"6 Steps" is an easy read that offers practical tips that will help eliminate your fears of contacting the media. In addition, it offers a wide range of ideas, examples, and stories to apply to all situations of publicity and all personality types. If you have a desire to get the word out about your product, service, organization, or yourself you owe it to yourself to purchase this book.

I bought "6 Steps to Free Publicity" to help my website (www.ALittleLingerieCompany.com) get better known. Within one week of following the book's advice, a local women's newspaper called to interview me for one of their columns. Within a month, the largest newspaper in my state contacted me for an article, and both of these write-ups will appear in time for Valentine's Day - my biggest season. Better still, one reporter told me that her editor loved my press releases - they were so creative! That's all thanks to Marcia Yudkin's tips.

This is a revised edition from the original publication of 1994. The book is in five parts: getting started; writing; speaking and acting; polishing skills; and keeping the momentum going. In the first section (getting started), Marcia addresses your mindset with chapters called "Thinking Like a Publicity Hound," and "The Comfort Factor: Exposure without Feeling Exposed." In the next section, you learn about news releases, media kits, pitch letters, tip sheets, articles, and "advertorials". Part 3 gives ideas about staging events, speaking, broadcasting, and "Schmoozing". Part 4 helps bone up your skills in dealing with reporters, radio/tv interviews, and phone pitches. Marcia presents "10 Pitfalls in Publicity Writing -- And How to Avoid Them", 77 ways to defeat writer's block, how to work with search engines, and "Getting Sizzling, Forceful Testimonials." Finally, Marcia presents a directory of resources related to publicity campaigns.

I found extra value in the sections on pitch letters, query letters, getting testimonials, "10 Ways to be Timely", and "23 Ways to be Newsworthy"!

The first edition of Marcia Yudkin's "6 Steps to Free Publicity" showed me that getting publicity was possible, and how to get started. My first press release got one of my seminars featured in the Houston Chronicle. Since then, I have appeared on television and radio numerous times, and in local and national publications including Black Enterprise, Bottom Line Personal and Woman's Day.

The new "6 Steps" includes all the great information that made the first edition a classic, with lots of updates. Many of the updates show how to incorporate Internet strategies into your publicity campaign, and there are new tidbits, examples and resources throughout the book.

Publishing articles has been a very effective strategy for me, and my current marketing plan calls for a more structured and ambitious effort in this area. The details in chapter 8 will be invaluable as I launch this part of my marketing program.

Marcia Yudkin knows her subject, and communicates it well. Marcia has been a mentor to me for years through her writing. I have long suggested her books to colleagues and clients, and strongly recommend this book. So, what are you waiting for? Click the button and add "6 Steps to Free Publicity" to your shopping cart. You won't regret it. See you in the news!

This book will definitely help you attract media attention for your business or consulting practice. I highly recommend it to small business owners who need to develop a public relations or publicity plan as part of their marketing mix. The material included in this book will show you how to connect with newspapers, magazines, radio and television, as well as other media outlets. You will also find information about the Internet, Web sites, and search engines.

As long as you understand that the public has an appetite for interesting stories that can be called "news," then you will find this book to be helpful to you in supplying the public what it craves. And you will get known in the process.

At page 19 the author lists the "6 Steps" referred to in the book's title. They are as follows:

1. Determine the purpose of your publicity message
2. Determine what your publicity message should be (write it)
3. Determine where that target of your message is
4. Determine who that target is
5. Always include your contact info in your message
6. Pick a medium (newspaper, magazine, ezine, radio, tv, etc.) to hit your target

The book is broken into 5 parts. The author suggests that you can get publicity by writing and speaking. Don't forget that some great publicity comes from doing public speaking! The best part of the book is the forth part which concerns: Polishing Your Publicity Skills. This is the meat of the book. It is the Publicity Guide that makes this book so good. It is here that the author provides tips and examples of pitch letters, press releases, and radio and TV blurbs.

The book is well organized and easy to read. So if you need to put together a publicity campaign, then you will do yourself a favor by getting hold of this book to use as one of your resources. 5 stars!

This is an excellent introduction to publicity for anyone, but especially for small business owners and others who are publicity or marketing challenged.

The book describes the differences between advertising and publicity and even goes into the psychological and emotional resistance to putting yourself in the public eye. For people just starting out, this could help them deal with their fears.

Section II of the book is on writing for publicity. This section talks about news releases, putting together a media kit, writing effective pitch letters and publishing articles. It describes how to use writing to get free exposure and does a good job of covering this territory.

Section III addresses speaking, getting on the radio or TV and networking to get exposure. This is a nice introduction and is upbeat and optimistic.

Section IV talks about polishing your publicity skills. This section has a lot of good practical advice and tips. In fact, the handful of tips you might pick up from anywhere in the book will pay for it many times over.

Overall, this is a great upbeat book that gives people the essentials they need to get started. I am an experienced business person, do a fair amount of public speaking and I found many useful ideas here. I also coach small business owners and have worked with larger companies in marketing and strategic planning.

What I most like about this book is the wide scope that it covers and how it addresses the most common roadblocks and problems with practical advice. This isn't a theory book, it will tell you how to get your business moving.

This book is so on-target that you absolutely cannot do without it if you want to publicize anything.

It's packed with tips and information - no fluff or fillers. Yudkin gets right to the point: where you need to go, who you need to contact, and how you need to contact them.

What more would you need in a publicity guide book?

If you have this book, you have all it takes: Yudkin spills all the secrets.

Valerie Atkinson Brown
Author, International Thomson Publishing

This book is the bible on getting free publicity. I knew absolutely nothing about getting publicity when I started my business 8 years ago. I was reading books about marketing and all of them advised to write and send out press/news releases. The only problem was that none of them explained what a press release is or instructed on how to write one. I finally found "6 Steps to Free Publicity" in the library and bought a copy. I sat down at my computer and followed Marcia's step by step instructions for creating a press release that would capture the media's attention. I was shocked when I received a call from the business editor of a local newspaper the night after sending out my first press release. The resulting article eventually led to a splashy business profile (with LARGE photo I might add) in the Sunday paper which led to an appearance on cable television which led to a radio appearance and so on. All this from one press release!

I have since learned the power of publicity for promoting my business, giving me visibility and credibility, and positioning myself as a expert in my field. Of course there's much more to getting good publicity then sending out press releases and Marcia covers all the basics including developing good media relations, using speaking and writing as a publicity tool, strategic 'schmoozing' and much more. She even includes tips for appearing on televison and radio. I religiously use all of Marcia's advice from this book (and others by her) to this day. I am frequently complimented, even by public relations professionals, on my ability to get high profile and consistent publicity. I have become a self-proclaimed "publicity hound" and owe much of that to the lessons learned (and practiced) in this book.

Whether you have your own business or consulting practice, belong to a civic group or professional association, have administrative responsibiltiy for a department in a corporation, or want to promote yourself, your profession, a special program, project, or event, this book is a must read. I have been recommending it for 8 years and will continue to do so.

I LOVE Marcia Yudkin's *6 Steps To Free Publicity*.

After meeting with a few publicity pro's to consider partnering to launch a media campaign, I took the advice of a wise friend...I looked in the mirror and knew I was the right person to approach the media on my company's behalf. But I still needed a few expert tools as a guide.

First step? I re-read *6 Steps* and dug in. It's short and to the point and written in a spirit of fun and success. Add a little help and advice from others along the way and I'm actually enjoying the whole publicity process...and, thanks to Marcia for sharing her expertise, I've saved a few agency fees to boot!

Not long ago, I was hired by a group of small business owners to teach a class on writing press releases. I gathered up all of my resource books along with the notes from each I have compiled. As I began creating the curricula for the course, I quickly noticed that about 95% of the information I was using came from Marcia Yudkin's book, 6 STEPS TO FREE PUBLICITY. In retrospect, I could have easily written the entire the entire program from this book.

If you're looking for an exceptional resource to help your business utilize free publicity, then look no further. This book not only will give you critical insight to establishing a press release program, but also covers other forms of publicity in just as much detail. Letters, tip sheets, articles, Advertorials, it's all here. Yudkin even shows you how to stage and prepare for supporting events from your publicity, such as speaking on radio and TV.

Publicity is a critical element for any successful business and yet it is an element that is consistently under utilized. If you are a business owner, or a writer working with businesses to develop an on-going publicity program, this is the definitive resource for you. The book is easily comprehensible and loaded with cover-to-cover details on making your publicity program a success.