SPEAKER SERVICES NEWSLETTER, MAY 2001, No. 31 http://speakerservices.com Get Listed in the Directory: http://speakerservices.com/adv_pkt.html Content: New & Renewing Speakers A Note from the Publisher Articles: 1. Promote your Book Online by Writing a Short Article by Judy Cullins 2. Storytelling Tips by Tom Antion PROMOTIONS / ADVERTISING ____________________________________ New and Renewing Speakers: http://speakerservices.com/categories/allspeak.html Vicki Caiati: Business consultant shares strategies for keeping customers and improving service Jean Desmond: Author's seminars inspire writers to tell and sell life stories through fact or fiction Dana Ehrlich: Consultant and marketing expert teaches how to Monopolize Your Marketplace and separate business from competition Jill Lubliin: PR pro catapults businesses into public eye Elenita Schneider: Dynamic speaker offers work teams "motivational sizzle that won't fizzle" Judith Searle: Enneagram consultant offers a fresh approach to personality patterns and relationship difficulties. _______________________________________ A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER -- Susan Levin Do you need a video demo? Openings are available in Los Angeles for the Video Demo Showcase, 3 camera shoot, live audience June 10. See http://speakerservices.com/videoprod.html for further information and sample links below. Video Spots or Video Commercials dates are May 6, May 11, June 3 or 22. The spots are one camera shoots and no audience. You can design your 2-3 minute spot to be an welcome introduction, product demo, author reading, coach or consultant overview... The price of $395 includes coaching, shooting and streaming. Tale a look at mine http://www.speakerservices.com If you already have footage then consider having your video streamed which will be posted on your website or ours. We are running an introductory special for only $99 for streaming. Here are some samples of streaming videos. Just click on the link. Linda Blakeley, http://speakerservices.com/free/blakeley_l.html Heidi Parr, http://speakerservices.com/fee/parr_html Michael Jeffreys, http://speakerservices.com/fee/jeffreys.html Terry Braverman, http://speakerservices.com/fee/braverman.html Judith Searle, http://speakerservices.com/fee/searle_j.html Carol Ann Peterson, http://speakerservices.com/fee/peterson_c.html Patti Robbins Vignal http://speakerservices.com/fee/robbins-vignal_p.html One of our speakers got booked three times in one week as a result of having their video readily available. Here's an interesting article about streaming video. A new study by Nielsen/NetRatings finds the top 20 cities consuming streaming media by Jose Alvear, March 1, 2001. Nielsen/NetRatings released its first ever report showing the Top 20 cities that consume streaming media. Miami, Cincinnati and Houston were the top three cities for December 2000. Miami had 506,000 Web surfers accessing streaming media content from home. "Miami has a vibrant cultural market with a growing online Hispanic population. The Hispanic community looks to national and international streaming media to find news, entertainment and other content that traditional outlets do not offer," said T.S. Kelly, director of Internet Media Strategies, NetRatings. Pittsburgh was fourth and Hartford, Connecticut rounded out the top five. The streaming media audience in December 2000 totaled 34.6 million people or 35 percent of the total active Internet population, according to NetRatings. In sheer size, streaming media usage in New York and Los Angeles had the highest number of people accessing rich media content. New York had 2.6 million at home users for 37.4 percent of New York's Web surfers. The streaming media audience in Los Angeles totaled 1.9 million individuals or 36.9 percent of the city's Internet users. Wishing you all the best, Susan Levin ____________________________________ PROMOTE YOUR BOOK ONLINE BY WRITING A SHORT ARTICLE by Judy Cullins Dissatisfied with your book sales? So many authors spend a lot of time and money on promotion that doesn't work. Write a short article top Web sites will clamor for with a link back to where your book is sold. Here are some tips: * Write a sparkling opening. Like a headline in a press release or on your book's back cover, your first sentence should grab your readers by the collar so they will keep reading. The opening could use a shocking fact, a question, a benefit, or a compelling story right out of your book. Make the opening a short paragraph, even a single line. Readers want short, concise, digestible information, especially on the Internet. * Illustrate a need. Whatever your topic, show your readers why they need your information. If you have written a book on listening, then in your short article discuss how much is at stake for not listening, such as divorce or lost business. * Give the solution. Your book offers solutions to problems, just as your article must. Show your readers how to get excellent health, how they can write a book, make more money, or have better relationships. * Show them where to get the solution and how. The article "How to Listen at Work" needs to suggest where to go or what to do next. You may name a quality book to read (maybe your book!). Mention a seminar or training, or recommend a coach. You may even mention a Web site address or 800 number. * Place your article on as many high-traffic Internet sites as you can. Just as feature articles in newspapers are seven times as powerful as advertising, so is your article. People are looking for free information on Web sites. the major reason they visit! So, now that you know how to write a short article, put it to work for you to promote your book. Judy Cullins, M.A. author of "Write Your EBook or Other Short Book - Fast!", San Diego based Book Coach, Ph/Fax: 619/466-0622 http://www.lifeskillscoaching.com, 13 clients published in 1999/2000 Subscribe to free monthly newsletter, "The Book Coach Says..." at Cullinsbks@aol.com ____________________________________ STORYTELLING TIPS by Tom Antion tom@antion.com Use stories during public speaking engagements to illustrate points and state the point in addition to telling the story. Always make your story relevant to the subject at hand. Select stories to match the intelligence, experience, occupation, and age of the audience as well as the nature of the occasion. You don't want to talk over the heads of the audience members and you don't want to bore them with stories that are too simple. Space stories at intervals to provide a change of pace and to reemphasize your message. Tell about your troubles, stupidity, or ignorance. People like you when you use self-effacing humor because they see themselves mirrored in your weaknesses. Eliminate inconsequential detail. Use the fewest number of words that convey the message in an interesting fashion. Writing the story out will help you see words that can be eliminated without hurting the story. Keep your humorous stories short during your public speaking engagements. The size of the laugh is inversely proportional to the number of words used to get to the punch line. Rule: The longer a funny story is, the funnier it must be. You must make jokes and humorous stories believable up to a point. Use factual, specific details that the audience can relate to, i.e., say the brand name like Lots-o-Suds rather than a laundry detergent. The more truthful and specific the story sounds the more your audience will get caught up in what you say. Specify the location of a joke or story. If your story takes place in a restaurant say, "I was at Jerry's Sub Shop in Rockville, Maryland, the other day." This gives the audience something concrete to think about, which makes them more involved mentally. When crafting a story, use people, places, and things the audience knows. When the audience is familiar with the elements in your story, they will become even more involved. As soon as you mention the company cafeteria, their minds race to the cafeteria to meet you and find out what happens. However, don't use humor that is too inside. Only a few people will understand it. Emphasize the adjectives and verbs in your stories to make them sound more interesting. Try it. Look around where you are right now and describe anything you want. Really put punch behind the adjectives and verbs and see how your description comes to life. Use specific and interesting verbs and adjectives. Say I was "exhausted," not I was "tired." Say, her head was "nodding and drooping," not "her head was down." Learn your stories. In a normal speech if you forget the exact thing you wanted to say, you can improvise and go on. But if you leave out an important detail in a story or if you accidentally give away the climax too soon, you have a mess on your hands. I tell a story at least 30 times in private before I'll test it in front of an audience. Use true facts from your own life. This makes it easier for you to tell the story because you lived it and you can learn it faster too. Also, someone else can't steal your story as easily if all the facts have to do with your life. Use appropriate emotional language to hook the listener. Construct a humorous story so that it concludes abruptly with a climactic word. Don't utter another syllable or sound after this climactic word. You might squelch the laughter you worked so hard to get. Exception: Some stories get laughter all along the way. More of these stories are used by humorists who are expected to be funny all the time. Work out different lengths of the same story to fit different time segments. Don't memorize your stories word-for-word. This way you won't feel forced to say every word, every time you tell the story. You can change the length of the story easily by adding or subtracting detail. Super Trick: Have a quotation ready that makes the same point as your story. If your time is shortened, you can cut out a story and replace it with a quote. Slant your story to the intended audience. When telling a story to a group of executives you would probably want to use different language and emphasis than if you were telling the same story to a group of secretaries. Change nonessential elements of the story to make a better connection. Use terms like Imagine this, Have you ever had an experience where . . ., Let me take you with me to . . . to draw the audience into your stories. Excerpted from the "Wake 'em Up Professional Speaking System" 800- 448-6280, http://www.antion.com, tom@antion.com ____________________________________ PROMOTIONS/ADVERTISING I'm celebrating my 20th year as a newsletter publisher in 2001. My services include writing, editing, typesetting, design, printing and mailing. Newsletters for NSA customers John Alston, CSP, Kevin Davis and Lynne Tully have brought them increased visibility and more business. Need help with yours? Call/e-mail for great samples. Jeff Rubin 877/588-1212; jeff@put-it-in-writing.com. http://www.put-it-in-writing.com ___________________ You talk. I'll type. Specializing in Transcription for Speakers. Contact Adele (Ask for NSA references.) "Adele is fast, efficient, reliable and affordable. Who could ask for more!" Dan Janal, author of "Dan Janal's Guide to Marketing on the Internet." Toll-free: 877-Type-4-You (877/897-3496). http://www.type4you.com ___________________ Do you feel comfortable actively marketing yourself? If you don't you are losing too much ground to your competition! Marketing secrets and strategies to succeed are now available in the new book, Confessions of Shameless Self Promoters. Learn more and subscribe to the free electronic newsletter at www.ConfessionsofShamelessSelfPromoters.com http://www.confessionsofshamelessselfpromoters.com ___________________ "Easy Stress Solutions" audio developed by personal development trainer, Ruth Hoskins, LCSW, BCD is used by speakers, trainers, meeting planners to enhance stress management, relax body/mind, burn-out, balancing work- home seminars. "Easy Stress Solutions" has been taught and sold to thousands, available from Mind-Body Seminars (877) 369-5044. $12.99 and Barnes & Noble. RuthHoskinsCo@aol.com ___________________ Busy speakers don't have time to design presentations - they have a lot to say and too little time! Allow us to tailor your material into a POWERFUL PRESENTATION! Call us at POP Design (416) 368-2929 or email pop@workyourlife.com *Email now to receive the article "The Power Is Not ThePoint!"* http://www.workyourlife.com ___________________ Turn Your Speeches Into Booklets Turn your speeches and expertise into best-selling booklets to use as an income stream, a marketing tool or both. Paulette Ensign has personally sold over 500,000 copies of her own booklet without spending a penny on advertising. Discover how to surpass her results as many of her clients and students have done. Visit www.tipsbooklets.com for free and fee-based products and services to guide your success...TODAY ! ___________________ Book & Project Shepherd Are you an author or speaker? Do you have a business or service? We will create your unique selling proposition; establish your company from business cards to brochures and beyond, write your tag line and handle orchestrating your website even if you already have one. Smarketing is a virtual creative resource utilizing a team of talented professionals to launch or revise your marketing strategy. Think of us as your affordable marketing director! Call 310-399-7080 or email ellen@smarketing.com. www.smarketing.com ___________________ Public speakers who also write can publish high quality books for less than $1,000 and earn $7 per sale when books are sold directly to audience members. Many other benefits, including broad availability from bookstores worldwide, news releases and online promotion. For more info, please visit: http://www.unlimitedpublishing.com ___________________ Special Report Now Available. Speaker Bureau List compiled by Susan Levin, Speaker Services. Includes phone numbers, e-mail address, website. Over 160 bureaus including Europe, Canada, Asia and Cruise Ship Contacts. $39 via e mail --- $49 for print version includes postage. To order e-mail to susan@speakerservices.com ___________________ May 11 and 12--Speakers Professional Development Conference Wizard of Ah-Ha's - Presented by the National Speakers Association - Greater Los Angeles Chapter. How To Make Money Through Speaking Skills Speak Your Way To Success. Info at: www.glacnsa.org. ______________________________________________________ PROMOTIONS/ADVERTISING RATES: Get your message out to speakers 2,500 plus and meeting planners in this fast growing newsletter. $50 a month, 25-50 words of text and a link to your website, or 6 months for $275 paid in advance. 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