Jill: A couple of questions for you before we get started officially. One is which book do you want to focus in on?

Michael: What would you rather focus in on?

Jill: Well, if you can definitely highlight Get Noticed, then I can give people great publicity tips that tend to work well.

Michael: I did get your book, but honestly, I didn‟t read through it. But is the Get Noticed all related to publicity and generating referrals through publicity?

Jill: Not exactly, but close enough. We might talk about what I call, The Ten Commandments in Business, etc.

Michael: Okay. We can talk about those.

Jill: That would be great. That would be great.

Michael: I would like to talk a little bit about your publicity experience, how you got into that and then we can talk about your books, and how many books you‟ve done. We can go into your Get Noticed book and go into some of your Commandments. How about that?

Jill: Oh, perfect. Also I have us down for an hour, is that correct?

Michael: In an hour, we can knock it out in an hour.

Jill: Okay, great. And can you do a place where I can make an offer to your people?

Michael: Yeah, sure, sure. What we‟ll do at the end I‟ll ask you if you have any special offers for my listeners at HardToFindSeminars.com and you can make one and we can direct them to a link?

Jill: That is perfect. Thank you, I appreciate it.

Michael: So you‟re a real professional and your students need to model what you are doing so why don‟t we talk about this; how does one prepare, just like you‟re preparing, I‟m getting ready to interview you but you are teaching a lot of your students to get free publicity or to be experts in giving publicity. So what are some of the things going on right now in your mind before we actually do the interview? Why don‟t you explain what you just did and reasons why?

Jill: I actually do it before every radio interview, too. You got it, no problem.

Michael: Go ahead. Tell me what were some of these questions you asked, what would you tell your students to do and what are the benefits of asking these questions and why are they important?

Jill: A couple of different things; when you are preparing, whether it‟s to be an expert on a call, to be on a media interview, in fact frankly to meet with a client, but let‟s focus right now in particular on media interviews or when you are preparing to be interviewed. It is very key that you check a number of things. Number one; do the people know how to spell your name? That is always a good one, right? And how to pronounce your name. My name is Jill Lublin. People say it wrong a lot of times so I always make sure that they know how to pronounce my name, that they are actually getting the spelling correct and then I double check that they have my Web site. I was just on air for three and a half minutes on a 50,000 watt station in Portland about an hour before this call and the first thing I said to her was, “Let‟s go over the spelling of my name and do you have my Web site and could you spell that on air for me when you do JillLublin.com.

Michael: Was she prepared?

Jill: Most of the time I find the media people, in particular, either can‟t find my Web site right in front of them, don‟t know exactly where it is, “oh, could you give that to me again.” They are going really, really fast. So you want to make things easy for people, I‟m really big on that. The way to make things easy for people is to give them simple ways to say your name, the link you have, spell out your Web site, and give them information that you want them to say so that you are prepared and frankly, they are prepared and everything goes smoothly.

Michael: So with your radio stations, do you fax a bio sheet on you that they should have in front of them to be prepared for the interview.

Jill: Yes, absolutely. We give them what is called, “A Backgrounder.” It is basically my bio and everybody should have a good bio. It is usually a paragraph. Don‟t make it two or three pages; who has time? You have to remember in today‟s world faster and easier is better and I like, and I call it dumbing things down, I hate to say it that way, but let‟s say it that way because I want things in five year old language. I find a lot of people want to give too much information, do too much to show people how great they are. It‟s enough already. Give them one paragraph, make it simple and make sure they know how to spell your name and spell your Web site. Then we are happy. Everything is easy from there and then you are prepared and ready to be interviewed and to go and make things happen for your business.

Michael: Okay, so let‟s say you‟ve done your job and you‟ve prepared them and sent them your simple bio sheet, and let‟s say for easy mathematics, 100 media personnel. In the real world, how many are going to have that in front of them and how many of them are going to be prepared with the proper pronunciation of your name and proper spelling of your Web site?

Jill: Well, a couple of different things; most of them won‟t be and that is the truth. You just have to know that it is your responsibility to make sure that the other person is prepared. It‟s not their responsibility. I find a lot of my clients who have gone in there and go, “Oh, I hope they‟ll ask me what I call, „The Next Great Question.‟” The next great question is your responsibility. You are in charge of your message; you‟re in charge of your interview. It is really important that you get that. The quicker somebody gets that they are in charge of their interview, they are in charge of their message, and then it gives them the power to know what the message is. Michael, I‟m really big on what I call, “It‟s all about your message.” Most people think it‟s all about their business, their product, what they are selling. Everybody is selling something so let‟s just get that over with. But, realistically, what it‟s really about is what your message is. What is it that you‟d like to say to people and what is it that you want to connect so that people can understand how to do business with you. I find most importantly, what you have to do is give people value and benefit. Right away; value and benefit. You noticed right away in this interview, we are talking about being prepared; make sure your Web site is out there, make sure your name is pronounced correctly and spelled correctly, depending if you are on television. I‟ve been on television multiple times; I ask to see the screen that comes up. Often times they will put the screen up with your contact information. And also while you are being interviewed underneath your name you get what‟s called Chiron which is the identification of you. On my Chiron I always like: Jill Lublin, International Speaker and Best Selling Author. If they have room I like them to put the book titles. Usually they don‟t have room and sometimes they‟ll put one book title and of course you have to decide which book you are promoting. I have four books at this point, and you have to decide what you are promoting. It is really key to double check everything. I can‟t tell you how many times I‟ve been in TV interviews and frankly what happens is they get the Web site misspelled or maybe they misspell on my one book, Guerilla Publicity, they don‟t spell it properly. Whatever it is, there is always a little something so I‟ve learned to check, check and double check. From the minute you get on the air, I mean let‟s face it, most interviews are—well, the one I did this morning was 3 ½ minutes and I‟m going to do one in two hours and guess what? That is 4 ½ minutes. Sometimes it‟s a 1 ½ to 2 ½ minutes, particularly TV, which is frankly really quick.

Michael: You have to really be succinct in what your message is going to be.

Jill: You bet.

Michael: I want to get to your message in a second. You also asked me, “Can I make an offer to your people?” Tell me; why did you ask that and why is it important for your students or my students to ask that?

Jill: Well, a couple of things. Like I said, we‟re always promoting something. I obviously offer a crash course in publicity and we can talk about that in a bit. But I want people who are listening here to be able to get more educated, I want to go more in depth with them, I want to make an offer that is great for your people that will save them money as opposed to if they just called my office and bought it. Because they are in your network I want to give them value and benefit just because they are part of your network.

Michael: So in your experience, let‟s say you ask TV and radio, “Can I make an offer to your listeners?” What is the general response? Do some say no? And what do you do if they say no?

Jill: In media, it is not as good. When I‟m being featured on a teleseminar obviously I‟m featured expert and I can make an offer. When you are on TV and radio, you can not typically make an exact offer, per say. What you can do is you say, “Go to JillLublin.com.” Of course, on your Web site you need to have things that are downloadable and valuable. I have what I call, “Consumer Awareness Guide to Publicity.” That is free. You want to give away free reports, you want to have articles on your Web site, you want to drive traffic to the site so that when people go there have actually something to look at that is valuable for them.

Michael: Okay. Then also what about with TV and radio; do they allow you to give your link or if you ask that, do some of the media people say no that you can‟t give your Web site out during the interview?

Jill: There are very few that say no. I do a lot of radio and do two or three a day sometimes and you are always allowed to give your Web site. The only real exception seems to be the really big shows, but even then, if you watch the Today Show you‟ll see that they put the Web site up of guests. Oprah does not typically but what they do is put it on her Web site. So when you go to Oprah.com, for instance, you‟ll see the information of the guests. You‟ll always see contact information. That is typically what happens. It happens that way.

Michael: Some of your TV and radio interviews are very short, between 2 and maybe 6 minutes, would you say? Or is 6 minutes pushing it?

Jill: Six minutes is pushing it. Most media interviews are on television 2 ½ to 3 minutes. On radio maybe 3 to 5 minutes. I don‟t think I‟ve gone over 5 minutes on any 50,000 watt station or big station across the nation, which is mostly what I‟m on. The reality is most of these interviews are not going over 5 minutes. Now, if you do noncommercial radio, which I actually also recommend, it tends to go a little longer. You can go 20 to 30 minutes. When you do Internet radio that tends to go longer, also up to one hour. But most interviews are very, very short.

Michael: Okay, so what is Jill Lublin‟s message? You have 2 to 3 minutes to get your core message out; what do you want the listeners to hear and by using an example, your message, what advice can you give for anyone who wants to promote or get publicity or media attention how they should structure their message?

Jill: Absolutely. The thing I would say, for instance, when I‟m being interviewed, I would say something like, “You know, the problem today,” and let me do a little teaching while I‟m also sharing mine. In fact, let me do the teaching first. Here is the thing; first you have to identify what is the problem out there. As far as I see it, you are all experts listening to this. So when you are an expert, you solve problems. The question is; what‟s the problem out there? So that is the question I‟m asking you. What is the problem out there? Now, I encourage my clients and those in my courses to start with a problem that has a statistic. In other words, give us a real reason why we need to pay attention. Obviously, hot topics right now are the politics and the economy. And, let‟s face it; businesses are having a bit of a problem. So you want to get right in there quickly with the issue called, “The Problem.” For instance, I would say, “You know the problem today is that four to five businesses will go out of business because they have no clue how to create publicity without spending a fortune.” I‟ll give you another example that today I was talking about politics. Why? Because I am a branding expert. I‟ve written three books about how to get noticed, about publicity, about how to network effectively and it‟s all about getting noticed and branding. I broadened my expertise to become a branding expert and now it is hysterical to me because I‟m talking about politics and in fact was interviewed today about Saturday Night Live and the Sarah Palin skit and is that how voters are branding their politicians. You know what is interesting, Michael, is that right after I answered the questions about comedy and is it good for politicians, is it bad for them; then what I did was move the message into business. I said, “You know, like politics, businesses have to get noticed.” What I also did is I just used the title of my book in that. Businesses have to get noticed. My book is Get Noticed Get Referrals. You always want to put in the name of your business, or your product, or your services within the context of what and who you are talking to. That is very powerful.

Michael: Are you prepared, do you have this scripted and do you teach your students to have this scripted in front of them so they know exactly what is going to happen?

Jill: I teach my students to script everything, yes. I think it is really key. I think it is absolutely key because I think you need three points. So going back to what I‟ve started teaching is that first you are an expert; get that in your brain. You have an important message; experts have messages and they solve problems. So then you have to identify the problem. What is the problem out there? Do it with statistics because the media statistics and they love to know how your message impacts and affects others. Then I want you to have three, count „em three, great messages to give to people. So those messages are your sound bites. I also want you to think of them as the solution. It is the solution to the problem. You are listening to an exclusive interview found on Michael Senoff’s What are your three messages?

Jill: Oh, I thought you‟d never ask. I would say something like and let‟s just start over. “The problem today is that four out of five businesses will go out of business because they have no clue how to create publicity without spending a fortune. I want to give you three Guerilla Publicity tips that you can use today, right now, in your business. The first one is to create your oooohhh, aaaahhhh factor. That is find ways to get people going, “Oooohhh and aaahhhh,” about you. What is the most unique and unusual things about you. The second way to get noticed is to create the “I‟ve heard of you somewhere” syndrome. That is, have an announcement that you write. Four sentences that appear in your local weekly business journal so that people hear about you on an ongoing basis. This creates credibility and visibility for you. The third Guerilla Publicity tip I want to share with you today is to create networking magic and show up on your community I think at least twice a month so that you create name and face recognition.” By the way, that is a pause right there. I‟ve done a couple of things; number one I gave you actually a lot of tactics even within my message. Actual things to do. Sometimes, Michael, I include those, like in today‟s teleseminar, because frankly, you need tactical things for your listeners. But I often will leave them out because in radio it might be too much information. So my three points might be: create your “ooohhh-ahhhh” factor. Another way to get noticed is to create the “I‟ve heard of you somewhere,” syndrome. And the third way is create networking magic and showing up in your community twice a month. That would be my very fast message. Now, Michael, what else did I do in there? Can you guess?

Michael: You left the interviewer wondering how someone can get more information.

Jill: That is a great thing and absolutely. I did one other wonderful thing and that is and I teach this to all of the people that I work with. I put the name of every single book I have right in there. I said, “I‟m going to give you three Guerilla Publicity tips today.” And one of those tips was, “If you want to get noticed…” and that is the name of my last book, right? My third tip had to do with networking. I said, “If you would like to create networking magic, you have to show up in your community.” Well, Networking Magic is the name of my second book, Guerilla Publicity is the name of my first book, and Get Noticed Get Referrals is the name of my third book. Every single book was put within the context of my message. What I want your listeners to do starting now, is to put the name of your company, put the names of your main message, your services, your products right within your speaking. That means to your customers, to your prospects, when you are on air, always it is important to get your message out in the public eye, into the consciousness and in an ongoing, branding kind of way, keep repeating what your products and services are. This is really key.

Michael: Let‟s say that no one knew the titles of your book and you gave those three reasons and you inserted the name of your three books in there but they haven‟t made a connection that you have three books titled that. Where is the connection and how does that benefit you?

Jill: That is a good question. Usually, when I‟m being introduced, people will say, “Jill is the author of three books; Guerilla Publicity, Get Noticed Get Referrals and Networking Magic.” So they, the introducer, the media host, meaning the host of the show, say it as they are introducing me.

Michael: I see.

Jill: They are always saying it so what I‟m doing is reinforcing it.

Michael: Yes, you are reinforcing and you are branding it.

Jill: Absolutely. And here is the thing; it is on a subconscious, I‟m not being pushy and overly aggressive with it. In fact, the funny thing is when I do my crash courses in publicity, what is so great about this is when I go through this exercise and actually have people really work on their own message is most of the time, people never even realize that I‟ve said the names of all three books within that message. But here is the cool thing; they heard it anyway. They got it anyway, whether they realized it or not. That is my main point is that you are going to get it anyway, so how you put the message within the brain of the person so that they keep understanding and knowing that is your company. That is the power of publicity. Power of publicity is learning how to do this in a way that isn‟t obnoxious. I didn‟t say, “On page 85 of Guerilla Publicity you are going to read about my “Ooohhh aaahhh Factor.” No, I said, “I‟m going to give you some great Guerilla Publicity tips today.” So it just immediately gets into the brain. I think that is really a key that one needs to do is to learn how to speak your message in a way that is not aggressive, but also to the point in a focused and powerful way that gets people talking about you.

Michael: That is good. Let me ask you with a 50,000 watt station approximately how many listeners are out in a station that powerful?

Jill: Oh, boy. I wish I had that number off the top of my head. It‟s an Arbitron rating and it is a little bit of a complicated question, but I know it‟s in the millions. I‟m sorry I can‟t answer that.

Michael: After you do an interview like that on radio, are you able to measure any kind of activity from that publicity?

Jill: You absolutely can. What will happen is your Web site will reflect the differences in—well; people come to your Web site. Sometimes I‟ll get a call or somebody will have heard me in a local market and all of a sudden my phone will ring because they will look me up on the Web, they‟ll call my office. I get crash course people coming in because they heard me on the radio. Most importantly what media does is it does create that, “I‟ve heard of you somewhere,” syndrome. You see, Michael, I‟m getting up at 5:00 in the morning, 5:30 in the morning, because I live on the West Coast and I‟m doing East Coast radio interviews. This morning I had one at 5:45. It‟s not my favorite time to get up, alright? Can we talk? [Laughing] But do I do it? Yes, because it is key for growing the credibility and visibility for creating that, “I‟ve heard of you somewhere,” syndrome. I walk my talk; I do what I tell people to do.

Michael: How many interviews do you do in a month? Radio?

Jill: Since the book came out in June, I‟ve been doing about two a day. Let‟s say when it‟s not as busy of a week, maybe four a week. I‟m really big on every single day I want people to be taking baby steps toward and in and regarding their publicity. I‟ve got a book out right now with McGraw Hill and that is a blessing to be able to put something out there with regard to a solid, “I have a book right now.” That is great. But you know what? Most of my clients don‟t have books. Maybe they have a service or product and what we are doing small steps, baby steps every single day they have someone on the phone for them generating some kind of interest. Or they do what is called, “An Announcement,” and we can talk about that in a moment. That is a very simple strategy to create ongoing recognition. So, I‟m on my fourth book right now, but I will tell you, there have been say a year and half span of time, where guess what? There wasn‟t a book out. But my commitment is first of all getting 15 media interviews every single month. These are 15, what I call, “exposures.” Sometimes an exposure comes because I‟m on an interview with you. Sometimes that exposure comes because I have an article that gets printed through EzineArticles.com, hint, hint. That is a good one. Sometimes it comes because I showed up with an announcement in my local Chamber of Commerce where I live, right? It can be small and big, but most importantly what I feel strongly and passionately about, as you might be able to tell, is that you have to create the ongoing visibility, credibility and name recognition so that people keep talking about you. The way to do that is to keep your toe in the water. Bottom line is keep your toe in the water, keep baby steps out there, keep creating and looking for ways so that your name appears, whether it is doing volunteer work, whether it is doing something at your local Chamber of Commerce, whether it is getting actual media interviews both nationally and locally.

Michael: Let‟s talk for five minutes about your four books. What was the very first book you wrote?

Jill: The first one was called, Guerilla Publicity.

Michael: Was that a joint venture with Jay Conrad Levinson?

Jill: Absolutely.

Michael: Did he approach you or did you approach him?

Jill: I approached him, actually. What happened was I know his literary agent and his literary agent had had me speak a number of times on the topic of publicity which really is my strength. One day the agent says to me, and by the way, he had known me for seven years already. I find that ironic because sometimes I think everything in life is a bit of timing. Kind of like, why didn‟t we do this earlier? Anyway, one day he said to me, “Jill, why don‟t you write a book on publicity?” And since he happened to be the agent for Jay Conrad Levinson he told me that he‟d approach Jay with the idea. Jay loved the idea and hence a book was born called, Guerilla Publicity.

Michael: I‟ve interviewed Jay on my site, HardToFindSeminars.com and it was a great interview with him. So tell me about that book. When he co-authored it with you and, of course, the joint venture and having his name and you being positioned as the publicity expert in the Gorilla marketing brand, huge brand in marketing, what did that do for you?

Jill: Well, frankly, it made my career. What is great about dreams what I‟ve noticed is that you have to keep writing them down to make them come true. The funny thing is that I found a pad of note paper that I had scribbled on I don‟t know, about four years before that, that was called the A B C‟s of Publicity. I was going to do like a little notebook, workbook or something like that and create that. That would have been wonderful, but I have to say, when this book was born, and it really is like a birthing process by the way, to create a book, I wish I could say it was easy and simple, but it never is. It is complicated and kind of expensive, you know? Meaning you have to be really committed and know what you are getting into when it comes to a book. But I also believe in having a book because you can do it all sorts of ways these days and keep it a lot simpler.

Michael: Was there a deal where you had to pay money to do it with him?

Jill: No. No.

Michael: Not at all?

Jill: No. The good news is I didn‟t and it‟s really been a wonderful, powerful relationship with him. The reality is that book became a best seller right away. Here‟s the thing, if you are going to write a book about publicity, you better know how to do it, right? Well, we knew how to do it and got a lot of publicity. The book became a best seller on Amazon on right away because of joint ventures and then my publisher asked me what every author wants to hear; can you guess what that question is?

Michael: Do you want to go in other countries?

Jill: Well, I like that question.

Michael: What?

Jill: The other question is, “What is your next book?”

Michael: I got you, yes.

Jill: The only other question I like better than that one, by the way, is, “Would you like to be on Oprah?”

Michael: Did you get on Oprah?

Jill: No, I‟ve never been on Oprah. I have a thought for a pitch for her and frankly I haven‟t put that much energy and attention into it. I just want to say that Oprah is fabulous and of course tons of books would be sold. But I know a lot of people who have been on Oprah and guess what? What are you going to do with the other 364 days of the year?

Michael: About this book, was it published internationally or was it just published within the United States? What were the book sales like? Can you give our listeners an idea how many you sold?

Jill: Here is the other great news about Guerilla Publicity because it did very well, and it has been published in several languages, including Chinese, which I thought was great. We‟ve sold probably about 80,000 at this point, which is magnificent, actually.

Michael: Yeah, that is fantastic.

Jill: It is really good and there have been over a million Gorilla books sold, which is just amazing, so we are part of a larger brand and brand recognition which is phenomenal. Then on top of that, guess what? Here I am six years later and my publisher said, “You know, that book is selling really well, Guerilla Publicity. We would like to pay you another advance and have you update the book with the newest of the new. Pods, blogging, Podcasting, etc. All the technology that also relates to publicity now and are you interested?” I‟m like, “What do you mean? Of course I‟m interested!” So we wrote the next version of the book which is being released this month.

Michael: What‟s it called?

Jill: Guerilla Publicity 2.

Michael: Very good. That is obvious.

Jill: When you have something that works, you don‟t necessarily want to change the name. Everybody loves “Gorilla.” The get it, they understand it, it is inexpensive ways to get your word out in a fast and simple way without spending a fortune. Who doesn‟t want that, right?

Michael: Right. From a publishing side, you are doing traditional publishing. Your other three books; are they through your traditional publisher or are you self publishing anything?

Jill: Yes. So what happened after Networking Magic, the great news is Networking Magic came out and let me just tell you that book went number 1 on Barnes & Nobel for three weeks in a row.

Michael: Self published?

Jill: Nope. Same publisher as Guerilla Publicity, which is Adams Media.

Michael: Did you do those promotions where you get the joint ventures and everyone sends it out to their lists and gets all the bonuses? Is that how you got number one status?

Jill: That is how I did it. Now, this was a couple of years ago when it was even easier to do that, frankly. Meaning it was about three years ago and the whole trend venture thing was just kind of starting and everybody was into it. We are very blessed and went #1 literally several weeks in a row because we had big lists and big names. That helped, meaning the return ventures, alliances and lots of bonus gifts. I call it bribe for buying our book. You got great bonuses. It was a great deal; who could say no?

Michael: It was worth it. Going #1 and being able to #1, that is worth it, right?

Jill: That is huge. Especially on Barnes & Nobel. What was great about getting #1 on Barnes & Nobel—and I learned a lesson. And we are all learning all the time and even though I‟ve been in this business 22 years now, I‟m constantly learning, not only from my own, but then I get to share with all of my clients and frankly help them and watch what they do right or wrong, too. I think we are always learning. One of the things that I learned from Guerilla Publicity and the publicity campaign is first of all I spent a lot more money on that campaign. It was a first book and it‟s like your first baby. You take a lot of pictures, you know?

Michael: What did you spend? How much?

Jill: Oh…

Michael: This is on your first book, right?

Jill: Yeah, I spent probably close to $15,000.

MICHAEL: Realistically, my listeners a lot of them have studied traditional publishing and they know you don‟t make a lot of money on a royalty. What do you make on a book? We all know it‟s not a lot.

JILL: Here is the thing I need to say: Don‟t write a book to get rich because it ain‟t going to happen unless you are Donald Trump or Larry King or someone very well known.

MICHAEL: There is a much larger strategy behind a book.

JILL: Much larger strategy. The strategy is name recognition. It is a big business card. Approximately, I make .30 cents a book, when it is a split co-authorship. It‟s my third book and there is no co-author, no one else, it‟s a whopping maybe $1 a book? For more exclusive interviews on business, marketing, advertising and copywriting, go to Michael Senoff’s Your third book you are self publishing the third one?

JILL: I am not, so Networking Magic I built a lot of momentum and good name recognition and the big “P” word, which is platform. Now I have platform. What does that mean? It means that people know my name, I‟m out there, and I speak in front of groups all the time all around the world and that makes the world of difference and help people that way. So guess what? Now all of a sudden I have called platform and that makes you well, frankly, favorable to a publisher. So McGraw Hill has actually published my third book, Get Noticed Get Referrals. I‟m delighted for that and I will tell you that still took time to get the deal, it still takes a lot of energy and focus, it still costs a lot of money and because I work with writers I don‟t actually want to write all of my own stuff. It‟s too much work and it‟s not passion, it isn‟t my genius. But I‟m really big on having team help. Really big on team and I think that is a big difference. Frankly, guess what? Get Noticed Get Referrals also went #1 on Amazon business books, it went #1 on Barnes & Nobel business books and it went #2 on the whole Barnes & Nobel list. The only reason it didn‟t go #1 is because there was a fiction book ahead, which drove me crazy. But it is still #1 in the whole genre on the whole list. That is amazing.

MICHAEL: That is great. Did your publisher set up these joint ventures to get it to go #1 or did you have to do that?

JILL: I wish I could tell you they did. But the answer is no. I‟m going to tell you and show your listeners, if you write a book and are blessed to be published by a publisher, meaning what is called a “mid-level publisher,” like an Adams Media, who I thought was great and it was a delight to work with them. Or, what is called “The Seven Sisters,” the big publishers; Simon & Schuster, Harper, McGraw Hill, Prentice Hall, Penguin. No matter what or who you are on here is the deal; you are responsible for your own publicity. You are responsible for generating sales and visibility and results. The quicker and sooner anyone listening to this realizes that, they are going to have a lot more fun and a lot better time. I ran into a woman yesterday and the same thing; she has a book out with her publisher and I was saying to her, “Listen, you‟ve got to know, you are fully responsible for your results.” I am working with a woman right now and her book is due out in January, 2009 and we started publicity four months ago because her publisher, who is Penguin by the way and a big publisher, it is a book about Winston Churchill. You know what? They aren‟t even talking to her about publicity yet. As far as I‟m concerned you better be starting your publicity way before you need it. Not only for books, that is for your business, your products, and your services. It is not a wait kind of thing. You are always doing publicity. If you are in business, if you are creating anything out in the world, guess what? You‟ve got to be doing publicity.

MICHAEL: Are there any warnings that you would give our listeners about publishers? Do they try and make you buy a garage full of books to work with them?

JILL: No, actually. They don‟t usually do that. That is a myth. The only time you have to “buy books” is when you actually do self publish. I have the option of buying all my books and I buy them at a discount, anywhere from 40% to 50% is typically what the publisher gives you, which is not a whopping discount, I might add. All of the items in your deal are negotiated. So one of my warnings is get someone to negotiate your deal if you are with a publisher, who knows what the heck they are talking about. I have to tell you, I would never negotiate a deal for myself. I don‟t know what I‟m looking for; I don‟t know the clauses that are key. Even the part about how many free books I got in the beginning that was negotiated.

MICHAEL: Who do you find to negotiate your publishing deal? An agent?

JILL: Yes, I have an agent. Typically you can get an agent, and if for some reason you are offered a deal—for instance, every year I go to Book Expo America and I represent a number of clients and just help them look for book deals. But I‟m not an agent so one thing I would do is give them to an agent who would charge them an hourly fee to help them. That is a good possibility. Or have them work with a lawyer, which actually I don‟t think they need to do. Typically you can hire an agent for an hourly fee and because they‟ve been in the business and there are clauses to look for, they‟ll look for all of the clauses.

MICHAEL: What are a couple of the important things that your agent is going to negotiate for that are important that they were able to provide for you?

JILL: First big thing is royalty. What is your royalty amount? Is it escalating after you sell a certain amount of books does it escalate up, which would be a nice thing to do, obviously. I mean if you are a proven commodity, so to speak, and you have book sales happen and you can make book sales happen, your royalty should be going up after let‟s say, 10,000 books are sold and maybe 25,000 books. Usually they have what‟s called Escalating Royalties.

MICHAEL: Did you get that on your books?

JILL: I did.

MICHAEL: And that encourages you to promote, too.

JILL: Absolutely. Then of course you can negotiate for them actually doing some of the publicity for you. Like how much marketing are they responsible for? I like to get it into the contract. I‟m going to tell you, this is probably the hardest thing and they dance around the subject like they are experts in dancing around this subject. And frankly, they don‟t often commit to a lot, again, unless you are a huge name and they‟ve given you a huge advance. But those days are gone, my friends, unfortunately. Most people are getting smaller advances and happy just to have contracts. I think the main things to look at are your royalties, whether or not they are going to give you any publicity or fresh marketing and if they are, please put it in the contract. The third and final thing, well, there is lots of stuff, but I know this sounds small but discounts on the books? Like my publisher is only going to give me 40% I said no way. I actually buy lots of books; I buy them since I give seminars all over the country I buy my own books.

MICHAEL: What did you negotiate?

JILL: Whopping 50%. We tried to get 60% and they wouldn‟t do it. Some of my friends do get 60%, but it depends on the publisher. After a certain amount of time they might go to 60%. Even something small like free books. When my book was published I got a case full of books to be able to use how I want, but I also negotiated up front that any one I use for publicity purposes, you know, like I have somebody on the phone for me an hour a day who does publicity. Anyone who calls or needs books, that they will send them out which saves me a lot of money and a lot of time.

MICHAEL: That‟s nice. So the book you sent me your publisher sent?

JILL: Absolutely.

MICHAEL: Good job. You mentioned your book is like a calling card. First, would you be where you are now if it weren‟t for any of your books?

JILL: That is always an interesting question. I would tell you probably not. Honestly, as much as I‟d like to say, “Oh, yeah.” I am good at what I do and I deliver good results but here is the truth; a book is major, it established credibility like nobody‟s business. Immediately my reputation and what I call, “Fame Level” increased significantly. I have most importantly that “P” word, platform. Building platform and gaining recognition are very important. But not everybody needs a book, Michael. I mean it is quite a path to take. It is no small task and I think if you do want a book you have to be aware that there is a lot involved and that it is not always necessary. You could have a workbook. You asked me what else I have, well, besides my four books I have five audio products, workbooks, a set of flashcards, I have other merchandise that I then package together and put in what I call my “Superstar Package.” Then when I speak people can buy these and I have nine products and they buy them together in what I call “Superstar Package.”

MICHAEL: But the book is the bridge, in a lot of ways, to those products; into your Web site, into your credibility, and all of that.

JILL: Yes, but I encourage people start where you can. Start with an audio product of 30 minutes. That‟s easy and anyone can do an audio these days. Start with a workbook that you get reproduced at Kinko‟s. Start with an article. You can start with anything. I do encourage starting with something. Get a product, whether audio or workbook, a set of flashcards, whatever it is. Create a product to represent you that is solid, that somebody can take away. For instance, I was working with a real estate broker and one of the things she put together was a manual called, “How to Buy Real Estate in San Francisco.” How fabulous. The truth is she actually gives that to her clients. But guess what? Sometimes she even sells it for $167 which is the price she decided. Hey, she‟s making a lot more money selling that manual than I am selling my books. Can you get that!

MICHAEL: Tell me your strategy and is there anything that would inhibit you from implementing the strategy of call to actions within the pages of book. For instance, listing your Web site, offering a free report on your Web site, having your phone number within the books, selling Jill Lublin within the books and getting your readers, which you most likely don‟t get the names and addresses of the people who buy your books, but getting them from your book to your Web site. Have you implemented any strategy within that?

JILL: Let me tell you, if you don‟t and you aren‟t, you are wasting your time.

MICHAEL: Is that something you have negotiate with your publisher?

JILL: You have to ask for that. With my latest book with McGraw Hill, I did get a page in Get Noticed Get Referrals. It is the last page and there are three things I had to negotiate; one was a full page bio, believe it or not. The other was the picture on the back of my book. And the third thing, which I just told them they were going to do, when you open my book I gave them the crash course on publicity sheet that people can sign up with so that is great. Meaning its all about the crash course on publicity and that is one page in the book. Another page in the book has a Get Noticed downloadable product where I interview experts other experts across the country. So when you buy Get Noticed you‟ll see on the last page it says, “If you are interested to learn more about how to get noticed, go visit…” and they give the Web site for that. How wonderful.

MICHAEL: So you had to negotiate all that? Was it tough?

JILL: No, I just said this is what I want to do. Is this okay and they weren‟t opposed to it. I don‟t know if every publisher is like that and I‟m looking at my book right now as we talk. So the truth is, that was like a last minute insert but on the last page is to download a free audio program with Jill and other experts on how to get noticed, get referrals and be influential. Then they give a specific Web site for that.

MICHAEL: I love it because that is exactly what I do; I interview experts. Who are some of your interviews with? What type of interviews are they? Who are you interviewing?

JILL: I‟ve interviewed other PR experts, I interview the founder of E-Women Network, interviewed so many people I can hardly remember all of them.

MICHAEL: Do you sell that as a product?

JILL: I haven‟t sold it. I just put it on a free audio program and people can download it when they buy my book.

MICHAEL: So as an incentive?

JILL: And that has been really good. The other thing that‟s in my book is I have a whole sheet that says, “Get $50,000 worth of free publicity,” and it is all about my consulting program. That takes up two pages in my book.

MICHAEL: That‟s great.

JILL: Yeah, and it gives my Web site and my email and my phone number.

MICHAEL: Now, has this book, your most recent one, hit the market yet?

JILL: Yes, it has.

MICHAEL: Have you generated any consulting, any core sales from this book that you‟ve already noticed yet?

JILL: Yes, I have. That and I‟m still doing two interviews a day because we are lucky enough to be in a wild political environment and I want to make a point right now about using what I call, “Everything You‟ve Got.” I‟m really big on using everything you‟ve got. That means every part of your life, right? I write a new book called, Get Noticed. I mean that is nice. And the truth is what does everyone want to talk about? Politics and the economy. So one of the ways I‟ve been getting all of these interviews is because I‟m a branding expert who can talk about the branding of these Presidential candidates. Who can talk about Sarah Palin and is she good for John McCain‟s brand. Who can talk about Michele Obama and how is she for Barak. Or Cindy McCain. It is hysterical to me and you just have to know, I‟m not an expert in politics. What most people do is say, “I can‟t talk about that because I don‟t know about politics.” Guess what? I know about branding, I know about how to be influential and I know and have opinions about one person‟s brand is good or bad for another. Here is another example of using what I call, “Everything You‟ve Got.” Always saying yes. Always. You always say yes. When the media says, “Can you talk about this?” You say yes. For example, two years ago I was asked by the largest Catholic radio station to do a one hour interview, which is a long interview, it reached 40,000 listeners. They said, “Jill, can you talk about Super Bowl Advertising?” Well, you know, Michael, I laughed. Frankly, there are three problems with this. One, I‟m not Catholic. Two, I know nothing about the Super Bowl. Three, I‟m not an expert in advertising.

MICHAEL: Did they spring this on you before or during the interview?

JILL: Before. These things are usually always set up before. But sometimes you don‟t know what you are talking about until you are on air. Usually you are advised what you will be speaking about. In this case, they wanted me to specifically talk about Super Bowl advertising on a Catholic radio station. What is my answer; yes. Of course I‟ll talk about that. I‟d love to. Let me tell you that Google is a beautiful thing and I did some Google research and got a few tips and things to talk about. Any time he asked me something I didn‟t know, I did what is called a bridging technique and talked about my main message, like what we were talking about in the beginning of this interview. That was a fabulous interview. It actually got me a tremendous amount of exposure that had I not said yes, I would have lost. I mean this morning on that 50,000 watt radio station I was talking about Sarah Palin and the Saturday Night Live parody related to politics. I‟m on an expert on publicity. That is basically what I do, but I do strongly feel that you must always be saying yes. I‟ll give you another example. On my second book, Networking Magic. At Valentines Day we do a huge campaign typically on how to network for romance. Now, that networking for romance campaign got me onto NBC TV, on multiple radio interviews and actually a number of TV spots. What was so funny was one day, another NBC affiliate had me on the air and all of a sudden they started asking me about Internet dating. Now, I had been warned before I was going on that I was going to be speaking about that and again, Google is a wonderful thing. I did a little bit of research and sounded smart for a moment. Here is the truth; I was only on that station for 3 ½ minutes. It was a live TV interview in studio and only me on camera, which was amazing. Had I said, you know I don‟t know much about Internet dating because I haven‟t done it, well, you know, I would have lost a tremendous opportunity in a major market to be on an NBC affiliate.

MICHAEL: You just say yes and do the research and become the expert and tie it into what you are doing.

JILL: Absolutely. And again, anyone can sound smart or smart enough for a whopping 3 ½ minutes.

MICHAEL: Everyone listening wants to know how do I get the stations to call me. How do I get the interview? Give me some quick tips because we are running out of time. How am I going to get noticed to get the media to call me and say I want to interview you?

JILL: First thing you have to do is prepare a press release.

MICHAEL: How many pages?

JILL: One page, that‟s it. One page, four paragraphs. We actually have templates of them in Guerilla Publicity. One page, four paragraphs and that‟s it. Simple. And that press release is made up of what we talked about at the beginning of the call, so go back and listen which is Problem Solution. It should only focus on problem solution. In the fourth paragraph you drive people to your Web site and tell them how great you are in bio. The fourth paragraph should be your bio.

MICHAEL: Give the Web site where the templates can be seen.

JILL: If you go to JillLublin.com you can order Guerilla Publicity or you can do it through any bookstore, any way it works, in terms of being able to do a press release.

MICHAEL: And there are lots of templates we can look at?

JILL: Absolutely. Within Guerilla Publicity.

MICHAEL: I‟ve got my press release, how do I distribute it. Do I mail it, fax it, do I package it in a FED EX envelop. What is the most effective way or do I email it.

JILL: Two things; one is I advise you do what I call “high touch and high tech.” High touch means you make calls to the media and you can get a prepared list of media and they can actually send out the press release for you. It‟s called CISHION.com and you can actually buy a media list that is already done and they will send it out for you and you follow up and follow up and follow up, which is key to success.

MICHAEL: How will they send it out? In what manner?

JILL: They will typically send it out via email and I think that is usually the best way.

MICHAEL: Is that what reporters in the media/producers is that where they are receiving most of their ideas for stories is through email?

JILL: It tends to be. Reporters and producers, like all of us, like our communications in different ways. Most them tend to receive it that way. Some of them like faxes. Occasionally, yes, mail works. But in these days it tends to be email. What is important in this is that the subject line be compelling. So you don‟t say, “Press Release.” You state the problem, you give a compelling focus but the subject line is key. Now, the other way to send a press release out, because most of my clients do high touch and high tech.

MICHAEL: When you send the press release in the email is it sent as an attachment or HTML within the email?

JILL: Thank you for asking. Please put it within the email. Don‟t do attachments. I‟m not big on attachments and neither is the media. Why do think they aren‟t big on it? Because it is just one more button to push and one more thing to do and again, nobody needs more things to do these days.

MICHAEL: What is your other way?

JILL: The other way is to send it out over what is called PR Web Direct. They have multiple services and some are even free, where you can get the press release sent out from anywhere from $80 to $250. PR Web Direct and I think one of their services is free, although in that one you get what you pay for. I‟d rather you pay a little something and get widely distributed. This reaches about 24,000 media outlets and believe me; you never would have been able to do that yourself.

MICHAEL: Does it work? Have you used these services?

JILL: I absolutely do every time.

MICHAEL: Tell me your biggest success story as far as getting free publicity equated dollar sign or what they would have cost you had to pay for it.

JILL: Okay, let me think about that for a minute. I will tell you I was on an NBC affiliate in Sacramento when Guerilla Publicity came out. It was 3 ½ minutes of air time and it would have been approximately $75,000. I‟ve also appeared in Women’s Day. If I had paid for that time, that mention, even though it was like two lines, by the way. It wasn‟t a lot and you don‟t always need a lot, even that much at that time would have been $35,000.

MICHAEL: What was the two lines in Women’s Day?

JILL: It was basically about my volunteer work that I had been doing with an 80 year old woman. The whole article was actually about what they called, “My Acts of Kindness.” Remember, I said to use everything you‟ve got. I had volunteered with an 80 year old woman and one day responded to a query that I thought was really good about looking for acts of kindness. I figured I volunteer and I‟m going to submit this story. Next thing I know, we were one of the three pairs featured on this December issue of “Acts of Kindness.” How wonderful. In the article although it wasn‟t anything about my work or my books or speaking or anything, what they did was they included my Web site. Now again, you can not pay for that kind of advertising.

MICHAEL: Do you remember when that article hit and did you notice activity on your Web site.

JILL: I did notice it and I‟ll tell you my thing is that this is always the story I‟m most proud of because it was a personal story and it was powerful. Let me share something that happened with one of my clients, which was amazing. She sent out a press release over PR Web Direct. Let me add, she sent it out and one reporter picked up her article. One. Out of 24,000, but guess what? They did a huge article and she calls me in a panic. I asked what the matter was and she says, “Jill, I got 150 calls. I don‟t know what to do. I can‟t handle this.” I‟m like, “What‟s the problem?” She got one article; hear that, one article and 150 queries. Is that a great way to get prospects?

MICHAEL: What was she selling?

JILL: She has a debt management consolidation company and that is what she sells.

MICHAEL: Wow. Let‟s talk about what you are selling. What do you have that my listeners can learn from on your Web site? Tell me some of your wares.

JILL: Thank you. I do consulting and can help people in any way on a one to one basis. You can go to JillLubin.com—

MICHAEL: I did see that. Is that one on one with you on the phone?

JILL: That is, yes. One to one, no kidding. I hold your hand the whole way, step by step for every part of what you need to get out there, including strategies that will have other people on the phone for you without you having to do the calling or hire an expensive PR firm. That has been great. I also develop for those who couldn‟t afford the consulting something I call “A Crash Course in Publicity.” It is a one day course and an opportunity to be with me, one to a few. Meaning I never let more than 20 in, so it is an intimate course. There is limited seating. What I do is roll up your sleeves, we actually write the press release that I‟ve talked about today. We write your bio, we create your message so that you can speak it in your sleep, no kidding, and make it easy. I help you create that ooohhhh aaaah factor, so that you can easily create and get press. Then I show you all of the media lists and where to get them. I actually media train you and it is a very dynamic day that also has a networking component at lunch, where you get to make a request. It is very powerful. And give you all the tools and tactics that publicity agencies usually charge you $40,000 to $50,000 for. It is one day, all over the country and Canada; in fact I‟m doing one in Canada coming right up. All over the country with new locations added all the time so if you don‟t find one there, please ask. Again, you can go to JillLublin.com to find them and the cities nearby. You can also call me in my office at 415-883-5455. I do want to say that anyone listening today, my publicity course is usually $795 and what I‟d like to do because you‟ve been listening today is offer it to you for $495 that is a significant savings, especially when you realize you are going to walk out with four documents done.

MICHAEL: Can you explain that?

JILL: Meaning you actually walk out with a bio done; a biography of who you are. You walk out with your message complete and understood and written down. You leave media lists, where to get them, how and how much they are. As well as a press release so we actually do the template in the course and give you some time to write it out so that it‟s actually done as opposed to creating and thinking about getting it done. So it‟s all the basics that you need that are key elements for media success. Also if you mention that you were on this call, I‟ll let you bring a friend for free.

MICHAEL: Wow, thank you.

JILL: $495, full day course and bring a friend for free. Please mention that you were on this call because that is the offer.

MICHAEL: Thank you. That is very generous. I have to ask you, on your favorites, on your Internet Explorer or what ever Web browser, what are some other great Internet tools that are going to give my listeners leverage in doing publicity. You‟ve already mentioned PR Web and you mentioned that other source for media lists. Any other great Web sites or services that can automate my lead generation for stories and publicity?

JILL: Three others I want to mention. Haro.com, H-A-R-O.com. It stands for Help A Reporter Out. It‟s free at least at this moment. I don‟t think it‟s going to be free for long, so jump on while the going is good.

MICHAEL: What is it?

JILL: It‟s called Help A Report Out and reporters are looking for leads all the time.

MICHAEL: For stories?

JILL: For stories. They are looking for stories and looking for great people who can be the expert for that story. As far as I‟m concerned, the people listening here are all experts, no matter what your business. Help A Reporter Out gives you great ways to get interviewed quickly. That is an excellent resource. Next PRLeads.com. That is a colleague of mine, Dan Janelle, has created something called PRLeads.com which also has queries that come to you every day. Remember I told you earlier that I was in Women’s Day? I was in there because I‟m a subscriber. I‟m giving you things that I subscribe to, that I pay for that I buy. One of them is PRLeads.com. Make sure you tell him that you came through me and he gives you some kind of bonus that I don‟t remember right now. But you ask him and he‟ll tell you. That is a great thing. I love PRLeads.com. The other one is ExpertQuick.com, another way to distribute press releases. Again, mention my name and you do get some kind of discount. Those two are pay for services. I pay for and subscribe to both of them. They are all excellent. ExpertQuick you actually submit your press release and it goes out over the Internet and they give you a report how many click throughs and that is another great source.

MICHAEL: Thank you. I want you to leave me with one of your biggest mess ups in your whole PR experience and then also what mistake do you see most amateurs trying to do in generating free PR.

JILL: I actually had a PR agency years ago and that is how I learned to do this because I actually did it, in the trenches, making the calls, talking to reporters. I have done the doing. One time I had John Densmore as a client. He was the drummer for the Doors. I had the blessing of working with some great people, including Dr. Timothy Leary, Rob [inaudible], John Densmore and more. Anyway, John Densmore he was booked on a station out of Seattle, Washington. A radio station. It was 9:00 in the morning, which by the way for a rock and roller is early. And what happened was the radio station called up the hotel where he was staying and asked for John Denver! Well, they never got John Denver because John Denver wasn‟t staying there and John Densmore called me up a little agitated, which wasn‟t fun, about 25 minutes later going, “Hey what happened. I called the front desk and they said some radio station called asking for John Denver. Was that supposed to be for me?” We were able to fix it but I will tell you these things happen. Again, when we started this call we said to be prepared. Why do you think I go over these now? Because it is making sure they have your name right, making sure all of that is key. I think that is really an important key is always be prepared and know that some things go wrong. This morning I told you I was on a 50,000 watt radio station. Guess what? They were supposed to call me at 9:15 in the morning. They didn‟t call me at 9:15 and at 9:25 I called them. She said, “I am so sorry we got swamped by all the political things that are happening. We‟re going to put you on the air in three minutes. Are you ready?” I‟m like, “Yes, of course I‟m ready.” But had I not called them and not been the one that was proactive in that, I would have lost the interview.

MICHAEL: Biggest mistake you see most amateurs making when trying to get free publicity and show them the solutions and direct them to your Web site one more time.

JILL: The biggest mistake is that you focus too much on your business, your product, as opposed to giving value and benefits to the readers, the viewers, the listeners. Please keep that in mind. Your focus is to help other people solve a problem and that is where you stay focused. When you stay focused on that, you will get a lot more media. That and please tie into the trends that are happening right now. How can you tie into what is key out there in the media right now. That is going to win you major points and that will get people talking about your business quick. The way to find out more and have me help you with anything you need, please feel free to call me at 415-883-5455 or go to my Web site, JillLublin.com, that is J-I-L-L-L-U-B-L-I-N.com.

MICHAEL: Thank you, Jill, this has been great. I hope you have enjoyed this interview with Jill Lublin. I hope you will use some of the ideas and some of the tips for getting more publicity for your own business, products and services. For more information you may visit Jill‟s Web site at JillLublin.com, that is J-I-L-L-L-U-B-L-I-N.com. Thanks for listening.