Want to get more press?
Sure you do!
Sandra Beckwith offers you this terrific advice on her site: www.buildbookbuzz.com
A tip sheet is a news release that offers tips or advice in a bulleted or numbered format. It's one of the hardest working and most useful tactics available for generating publicity.
Use a tip sheet to generate short column notes in a newspaper or magazine or to interest a reporter, editor, or producer in a feature article or talk show interview on the tip sheet topic.
Here's how to create an effective tip sheet
- Use a press release format. The biggest difference between a tip sheet and a traditional press release is that the body of the tip sheet will include your tips or advice in a numbered or bulleted format.
- Start with a headline that mimics those on magazine covers – “5 ways to lose weight before June” or “6 ways to save the most at the supermarket.”
- Write your first paragraph so it explains why the tips are necessary. Think of it as stating a problem. (The solution comes in your tips).
- Quote and identify the expert source (you) in the second paragraph. This should provide more detail about why the tip sheet is necessary and establish the subject's credentials.
- Set up your tips with a sentence – “Here are Smith's tips for saving money at the supermarket” – or a short paragraph.
- List your tips with bullets or numbers. When tips are listed this way, rather than in a traditional paragraph format, editors can quickly scan them to see if they would be useful to readers – or not. Make sure you write your tips in an active voice with strong verbs. And, make sure they provide advice, not reasons to do something or product features.
- Finally, add the concluding boilerplate paragraph that you use in most press releases.
Look for ways to include tip sheets in your book's publicity plan; you'll soon see how easily they generate results.
