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39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It deserves ten stars!, November 24, 2004
This review is from: Streetwise Complete Publicity Plans: How to Create Publicity That Will Spark Media Exposure and Excitement (Paperback)
I have actually never posted a review on Amazon.com before, but this book was so useful, I felt compelled to share my thoughts with other readers attempting to sift through the wide variety of publicity books out there. After researching publicity books and reading other customer reviews, I settled on seven books in order to cover all of the bases and have a clear overview of my promotional options.
The other publicity books run from bland college textbook style to pages filled with useless fluff or information that may have been pertinent twenty years ago. One big tip: don't buy a book that was not published recently because there is no information about using the internet! If you are planning to buy a book over the internet, it only makes sense that the book itself should at least mention using the internet, and "Complete Publicity Plans" has the most comprehensive internet coverage of any of the books I have read.
In addition to being educational, it is written in a way that keeps the reader captivated and the author's vibrant sense of humor shines through the text. There are tons of real world examples, including the press release that created amazing publicity results for the author. Many of the other books seemed to be written by "experts" in an ivory tower, but this author has actually achieved the success that we are all seeking, so her advice comes from the perspective of success, not pure theoretical analysis.
The bottom line: "Complete Publicity Plans" is one title that doesn't lie, and while I have read this book more than once, the others are literally collecting dust, so if you only buy one publicity book, this is absolutely the one you want! It provides all of the tools you need to succeed and achieve your publicity goals, the next step is putting those tools to work for your own business, which is what I plan to do.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A *real* step-by-step guide, January 25, 2006
This review is from: Streetwise Complete Publicity Plans: How to Create Publicity That Will Spark Media Exposure and Excitement (Paperback)
In contrast to most books on getting media coverage, this one is a genuine step-by-step, how-to guide. It bypasses the chatty anecdotal style of many PR-professionals-turned-authors, and goes for the "dummies guide" approach.
Personal taste of course, but I much prefer this approach. A flaw of the books by "experts" is that they focus on just one or two of their pet strategies (despite what the blurb claims), while leaving holes in vital areas you need. This book truly takes you from step 1 and covers everything you need thereafter.
A particular strength is that it compares and contrasts your different choices available - a pitch letter vs. a press release; a staff-written story vs. by-lined. It really gets down to what's the right approach for a given situation.
If you want a comprehensive (but plain) how-to guide, go for this. If you want the chatty advice of an expert (with some holes in it), go for Laermer.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
New to Public Relations? Just buy this book first., February 14, 2006
This review is from: Streetwise Complete Publicity Plans: How to Create Publicity That Will Spark Media Exposure and Excitement (Paperback)
I'm starting a new company and publicity is going to be a big part of our marketing and marketing communications activities. I'm kind of process and checklist driven -- and wanted a book that would refresh me on the basics so I could put together an effective publicity plan.
Well, I just finished reading three books on the subject -- and must say Sandra's book is the best by far.
What is so impressive is how complete it is. Seriously? I've been in the advertising business for 20 years. During this time, I worked with a number of VP level clients who oversaw all of their company's communications -- so I've been around some big PR firms and seen them in action. Believe me, there are public relations firms out there charging $20,000 a month retainers that don't provide the smart and insightful counsel Sandra does. She's that good -- and she can make YOU that good.
So if you think PR is simply cranking out press release after press release after press release -- and either mailing or e-mailing it to editors everywhere with hopes that something will stick -- you will learn that is a sure-fire recipe for failure. Sandra explains the difference between working hard and working SMART -- and why the smart part of the equation separates the 1% of people who do publicity right from the 99% of people who crank out junk mail and spam.
Bottom line? If you want to learn the difference between success and failure -- such as setting goals, determining strategies, tactics to employ, and create information that will gain attention from the press instead of being deleted or thrown in the garbage -- buy this book first. It's the only one you'll need.
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