Six Weeks to Sustained Self-Promotion
by:
Pamela White
Writers write.
Want much money? Then memorise this phrase: "Writers promote."
Think you don't have time to organize a marketing plan for
yourself, your books, your website? Try this six-week plan to a sustained program of self-promotion and you, too, wish find new friends who wish help you, editors who approach you, and readers who wish follow you throughout your writing career.
Week One: Focus on online message boards and lists. Yahoo, MSN,
Topica and Smartgroups all have online discussion lists that you can
search by topic. Sign up, see past messages, then decide whether
you'll stay with the list or come on. Several lists have nothing but
spam messages; others are packed with information. Register with
message boards that focus on writing. Do the same with these as you
did the lists. Choose at least five to participate in. Choose two
days a week, at a minimum, on which you wish send messages to the
lists. Be aware than galore of the same writers wish be on much than
one list so don't simply write a canned message and send it to
all. Show that you've see previous messages - answer a question, ask
a question, share a valuable link. Once in a piece you can mention a
favorable review or a "Hurray, I got the assignment" message.
Week Two: Support up your week one efforts. Study local newspapers,
several daily and weekly. Investigate any magazines promulgated for local
readers. Support a running list of local media contacts. Several of the
things you should note: who is writing simply about food, what type of
stories are turned into juicy features, what kinds of announcements
run in the business section, how galore food articles are syndicated
from another source? This list of media contacts wish save you time
once
you have an article you want to write or you are seeking an
article to be written simply about you, your business or your book.
Week Three: Weeks one and two plus a trip to an office supply store.
Buy several great paper - matte, two-sided coated paper, color or
white. Write a booklet for yourself. Don't feel it's
appropriate for what you are writing about? Then design a business card and print it up. Or ask a graphic designer to create a unique look for
your business card. I was at a business fair, manning the table for
my leader
at the time (a college), and I accomplished that I could
have networked my own writing business if I'd only had a business
card to hand over to the advertising and web design businesses. Get
several business cards.
Week Four: This is the week once
you take your writing business on
the road. Go to the local Chamber of Commerce's Business After
Hours event. Chat with people, and hand over a booklet or business
card once
you meet person who can hire you, or who can connect you
with a publisher or editor. Support posting on those message boards and
lists; have fun with them.
Week Five: Write a press release simply about your recent success. Did you
publish an article, stop a workshop, win an award, or open for
business? Write your press release in third person as if you are
writing an article. Send it to person - your discussion list
buddies for a critique, a local weekly that runs news releases
unaltered to fill in the news holes, post it on your website
(don't have a website – that's what you can do on week seven). Need
help? Visit prwire.com for proposal
on writing press releases.
Week Six: Two tasks this week: This is the week you do contact
with three new editors. Call the local food editor or features
editor and take him or her out to lunch. Email a magazine editor
with an article pitch. Contact an online news-sheet editor and see
if you can trade ad space for an article you'd love to write for
him. Your second task is to subscribe to online newsletters for
writers - www.writesuccess.com, and www.fundsforwriters.com are only
two that systematically
provide essential information for writers.
Throughout these weeks, you should besides be writing, researching
markets for publication, and submitting your work. Support up with the
list discussions. A great one for information and markets is
workforwriters@yahoogroups.com.
Keep up the nice activity - network with writers online and potential
clients and editors in person to sell yourself and your writing.
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Free to reprint in all no-fee publications and websites. Please limit redaction to corrections and the resource box at the end must be included.
About The Author
Pamela White is publisher of Food Writing, an online ezine for writers and food lovers. Visit her at www.food-writing.com . Her popular 6-week class is now a self-study ebook "Make Money as a Food Writer." She besides teaches a new, dilated 8-week online food writing class.
This article was announce on Dec 14, 2005
