The New York Times opened the cloak on how stories are created in an article on May 7, 2006 on page 12 of the Week in Review Section (you might have to subscribe to the online edition to get access to this article).

Public Editor Byron Calame reviewed the newspaper on April 16 and asked the reporters and department heads how 23 stories were created.

The results will surprise you.

Only 2 of the stories started with PR people. The rest came from ideas from reporters or editors.

So what does this mean for authors and experts?

The report shows what I’ve long believed. Reporters create their own stories and then need to find experts to give the story depth and balance. They need experts.

Being in the right place at the right time is an age-old adage. Knowing where to stand, that’s why you need to position yourself as an expert.

I interviewed Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound” on how to create your expert image so reporters will call you when news breaks.

We talked about:

–Why most media people donÂ’t care about your book

–Why pitching the book as the story idea will turn off print and broadcast media

–The 5 things they DO care about…give them these and you’’ll get tons of publicity

–How to position yourself as an expert in your topic – and what to do if you aren’t yet an expert

–The different levels of expertise and what you must do to get to the next highest level

–Why the broad-brush approach to publicity doesn’t work anymore and why its more important to target narrowly

–A big mistake authors make that gets their publicity campaign off to a bad start. Don’t let this happen to you

–How to create your own holiday or your own day, week or month of the year and milk it like crazy

–Why it’s OK to piggyback publicity off of other authors

–4 powerful tips for online publicity

–One of the easiest ways to get into national magazines – even the big ones

–Why landing an interview on a big radio show might not sell books – and what’s more important than the size of the audience

–A major media outlet that could be a major hit for you, It loves authors and depends on them for many interviews

–How to establish strong relationships with journalists and stay on their radar screen so they come back to you again and again.

To order the CD for $19.95, click here:
http://snipurl.com/expertcdrom

To order the transcript for $10, click here:
http://snipurl.com/experttranscript

Dan Janal
Your Fearless PR LEADER
www.prleads.com