[Publicist] Media Connect (formerly Planned TV Arts)

TheWriteStuff said:

Can we really do it all ourselves by just paying for publicity?

Click to expand...

No.

Next question?

...we have successfully set up promotions that compel hundreds or even thousands of readers to buy your book in a short period of time.

Click to expand...

Dang. Compel them. Why didn't I think of that?

You are getting sleeeeeeeepy....

Seriously, this looks like one of those plans where people are offered gifts and prizes if they'll all buy your book on the day of its release, propelling it (usually briefly) to top status on Amazon or B&N.com, after which you can attach "bestselling" to all your publicity material. This can work--I seem to remember that Jenna did something similar, through a different company, for one of her books--but it's a relatively small window, and once the bubble passes you'll probably be back where you began.

- Victoria

[Publicist] Rick Frishman

Does anybody know anything about Rick Frishman? I know he's written a lot of books for authors and he "says" he's a top publicist for authors. "Enquiring" minds want to know. We're exploring the idea of hiring a publicist to compliment what our publisher is doing.

Rick Frishman is one of the publishers at Morgan James, a vanity publisher that's the subject of a thread in this forum.

- Victoria

Rick Frishman

Victoria,

Yeah, I know that he's associated with Morgan James Publishing which is why I'm a little concerned.

Janis Love said:

Victoria,

Yeah, I know that he's associated with Morgan James Publishing which is why I'm a little concerned.

Click to expand...

On one hand, he's affiliated with Morgan James Publishing, which is a red flag. However, he is affiliated with Ruder Finn, which is a very respectable PR firm.

Still, if you go to the Ruder Finn website, and click through to the "Planned Television Arts" section, you'll see impressive and specific lists of clients on managing director David Hahn's "About Us" page, and on the pages of other department heads. On Frishman's page, you see fairly vague puffery and plugs for his own books.

If it were me, I'd steer clear and go with higher-profile, more proven folks, even if they're slightly more expensive. I'm distrustful of anyone in the publicity field who does a horrible job of presenting their own experience and credentials.

A few years ago, I inquired about PTA's PR services. As it turns out, they offer a program similar to the "Amazon Bestseller" program. Here's the link to their webpage that explains it- scroll down to the bottom to "Plan B":

http://www.plannedtelevisionarts.com/services_bestseller.html

That's not their only promotion package, but it was the one they recommended to me. The cost? A mere $7,500. (And that was years ago.)

For that price, I could buy half a ton of my own book on Amazon (625 copies, to be exact) briefly make it a bestseller and have all those books to show for it as well.

Needless to say, I took a pass.

Ever since I contacted him, I've been on Rick Frishman's email list. Today I received a copy of his latest newsletter. I'm posting it separately because it's so long, but it will give you a clear picture what Mr. Frishman does. (I squished it down as best I could- he uses a lot of white space.) Mr. Frishman not only pitches his own products, but other products as well. There's a few tips from one of his books (AUTHOR 101) in about the middle of the newsletter that explains how publishers accept and edit manuscripts. It would be interesting to hear Victoria's and Mr. Macdonald's opinion of those tips.

There are indeed quite a few notable bestselling authors in the PTA stable...

http://www.plannedtelevisionarts.com/bestsellers.html

...but somehow it's hard to imagine they were all asked to fork over $7500 (or more) to promote their books through an "Amazon Bestseller" program.

Rick Frishman's Newsletter

_____________________________________________________
You're receiving this newsletter because you asked for a subscription. This newsletter is only
sent to people who specifically request it. If you don't want to receive these emails any longer, just go to the end of this page where you can delete yourself quickly, easily and automatically.
_________________________________________________________
In this issue…
v Quotes of the week
v Quiz of the week
v Mega Book Marketing University
v PTA's Upcoming TeleSeminars
v National Publicitty Summit March 26-29 in NY
v 'Step Up' Your Book Promotion
v The 2008 Ethan Awards call for entries
v Rick on TV this coming Saturday Feb 23
v Rick Recommends
v Tips From the Top -
v Speaking Conference April 6-7 (Houston)
v Another great tip on pitching shows
v Teleseminar Tonight on internet marketing
v Internet Resources
______________________________________________________________
Happy Tuesday. I am on vacation this week - so this is a special Tuesday edition.
Catch the teleseminar tonight on internet marketing- with special guest Armand Morin!
Here is your once a week newsletter with lots of tips and information for you.
Last weeks teleseminar with Yank Silver ended up being a teleseminar on Publishing with me and David Hancock- You can listen in on our replay line 507 726 3837.
The Yanik Silver teleseminar has been rescheduled to Wed March 5th
________________________________________________
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
"Don't wait for the light at the end of the tunnel, run down there and light the thing yourself!"
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...It's about learning to dance in the rain!!!
__________________________________________
QUIZ OF THE WEEK
In the 1964 movie "Mary Poppins" - Who played the character of Uncle Albert?
The answer to the quiz is at the bottom of the newsletter...(plus a bonus fact on this famous actor)
________________________________________________
MEGA BOOK MARKETING UNIVERSITY Feb 29, Mar 1-2 in Los Angeles
This event is in about 2 weeks! Time to sign up now! 100% money back guarantee
If you've ever dreamed of becoming an author you should know:
"Guinness World Record Holder Unlocks The Vault and Releases Powerful Secrets He Used to Sell Over 144 Million Books " And Still Going Strong...
Now You Can Get Your Very Own Roadmap to Book Marketing
Success and Finally Become a Best Selling Author!
I will be speaking at Mega and will be bringing 15 agents,
editors and publishers for you to meet!
http://www.markvictorhansen.com/cmd.php?af=115423&p=1
______________________________________________________________
Fr**e Teleseminar February 27, 2008, 8-9pm EST
I will interview Daniel Hall author of the critically acclaimed program "Speak on Cruise Ships: 8 Easy Steps to a Lifetime of Free Luxury Cruises." Daniel Hall says...'The startling truth...Getting FREE Cruises Isn't Rocket Science. Any Reasonably Intelligent Person Can Do It... Including YOU!' Here's the secret: Cruise lines are constantly scouting for people who will share their passions, hobbies, or craft projects with other passengers as an onboard speaker or arts and crafts leader! The trick is breaking in with cruise line "enrichment programs" who bring speakers, presenters and activity leaders onboard for the benefit of other passengers. In this teleseminar you'll learn exactly how it's done. If you want to cruise free - this is your teleseminar.
In this exclusive teleseminar you'll learn how-to...
Get free cruises for yourself
Get free cruises for your traveling companion
Get every passenger perk onboard
Cruise anytime (almost) anywhere
Sell your books onboard
Create passive revenue streams from your onboard content
Use your cruise gigs to build an "author's platform"
Here's how to participate:
Please call 712 338 8100
Then press in the code: 222089#
8:00 pm ET
5:00 pm Pacific
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Past Teleseminars:
Remember, our TeleSeminars are free (excluding your call cost). If you missed our last TeleSeminar you can dial the replay line at 507 726 3837
Or go to our website at http://www.plannedtvarts.com We have about 79 hours of great information for you!
_____________________________________________
National Publicity Summit March 26-29 in New York
Attend Steve Harrison's National Publicity Summit in NYC, March 26-29th and personally meet over 100 top writers and producers for major magazines and TV shows like ABC's The View, 48 Hours, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, Family Circle, Today Show, Live With Regis & Kelly, Time mag and more.
One of my clients got on MSNBC as a result of attending the Summit. Another got a photo shoot with Jane magazine only a few weeks later.
I'll be there and you should be too!
http://www.nationalpublicitysummit....tocontactor.com/app/r.asp?c=1&ID=27505875&D =

Oh, my heavens.

So, yeah, remember the thing I said above about being distrustful of people in the public relations industry whose own communications present themselves in an embarrassing light?

That.

I received a postcard from these folks at work today. Work is printing but not literary books, I guess they didn't do their homework? They probably got our name from a mailing list as I see they are using the legal and not the DBA name.

Regardless, the postcard gave me a start from a design perspective--first of all, there is text in the space reserved for Post Office use, which most if not all postcard printers know is a big faux pas. Additionally, it is crammed with text much like the above email.

Overall, gave me a lukewarm feeling so I thought I ought to search the Water Cooler to see if there was already a thread on them.

[Publicity] Media Connect / Ruder Finn Group

Hi all,

I was contacted by Brian Feinblum of media connect and he asked me if I wanted to be interviewed. His company is supposedly the "nations oldest and largest book promotions firm." www.Media-Connect.com

I was wondering if anyone had any interactions with this company. My hunch is that this is a company where you pay for them help you with promotional work. Which I guess is legit, but I don't know if it's worthy my time/money.

Thanks for any guidance,

Anthony

[Publicity/PR] MediaConnect

Anyone heard of them or used them? After my book received a nice write-up in PW Select, someone from MediaConnect emailed me. I get the feeling it would cost me a pretty penny, though, and when I looked under "Fiction" in the Clients menu, there were no results.

http://www.media-connect.com/