Whether it’s NPR, satellite radio, your local airwaves, or someone’s podcast, having your voice out there spreading your message doesn’t hurt. At best, you’ll make some sales and fortify your brand. At worst, you’ll have an audio file that you can offer to visitors on your website and will likely live on for eternity in some form on the internet, continuing to build your fanbase.

The best part is that you can usually do a radio interview from home, in your pajamas!

Now, there’s a free service that publishes guest requests for all kinds of radio shows: RadioGuestList.com.

Check it out, sign up, and start seeing requests for radio guests fill your inbox.

I’ll be listening for you!

©2010 Recipes for Publicity. All Rights Reserved.

Here are a few other things that have changed in the world of publishing in the past 10 years:

1. Many publications and publishers now accept electronic submissions, whether via e-mail or online submission forms.
2. More than ever, writers have to brand themselves.
3. Writers must do the work of marketing and promoting themselves to agents, editors, publishers, and–ultimately–readers. (Wondering how? Check out Get Known Before the Book Deal.)
4. Personal sites and blogs have made it easier than ever for writers to develop an audience.
5. Ad-based print resources (i.e., Magazines and Newspapers) have struggled to adjust to the Internet with new content strategies and pricing models.
6. Due to the tough economic times, publications are relying more and more on freelancers.
7. The proliferation of online content has opened up more opportunities than ever for writers from all backgrounds.
8. There are more online tools than ever to help writers research and write more efficiently and knowledgeably.
9. Social media offers easy and ground-breaking ways to network with publishing professionals, other writers, and potential interviewees.
10. Businesses and organizations now rely on great content to attract new customers, sell products, and spread important messages–the trend of content marketing. (Wonder how much you should charge for your content? Here are some freelance fee guidelines.)

One thing hasn’t changed: Great writing is always in demand!

©2010 Recipes for Publicity. All Rights Reserved.

Yes, being active in social media does take a time commitment, I respond, but the exposure and influence you gain can be critical in seeing your book sales grow. One of the secrets to effective time management is to automate some of the tasks by using online tools like RSS feeds, apps, widgets, and syndication sites.

Check out this Hubspot post for ways to monitor your social media presence in 10 minutes.

©2010 Recipes for Publicity. All Rights Reserved.

My favorite part of this article comes in the first comment, posted by Paul Ashby, author of Television Killed Advertising:

“One thing they NEVER taught you whilst working in an advertising agency…or a marketing department for that matter… the human desire for interaction. If this had been taught and the lesson put into everyday practise then billions of pounds and dollars would never have been poured down the black hole of television advertising!”

Now if that’s not a case for why every author, every business owner, every person with a product, should be active in social media, I don’t know what is.

©2010 Recipes for Publicity. All Rights Reserved.

©2010 Recipes for Publicity. All Rights Reserved.

Let’s say it’s the result of a big, traditional media company (the Anschutz Company) stepping into the social media realm and exploring ways they can contribute to the local and online communities.

If you consider yourself an insider with insights and knowledge to share about your city, local events, or the people who make your community special, you can get paid to write columns for your local edition of Examiner.com.

As a publicity-seeker, getting in a local examiner.com site can make a difference in everything from how many people turn out for your book signing in a new city to seeing a slate of online purchases of your book or product.

Here are two recent articles about me published in the Arizona edition of the Examiner.com. One was an announcement of my book signing during a recent tour stop, and the other, a general article on my cookbook and unique one-pot cooking method, followed up a few weeks later as a good reminder to those who caught one of my tv spots there and a way to keep people talking about me.

Don’t forget that it can take a minimum of 7 exposures to you or your product to convince people to buy it, so don’t be afraid to continue publicizing in a market you’ve already hit.

©2010 Recipes for Publicity. All Rights Reserved.

It was very interesting, I must say.

Fortunately, my main ElizabethYarnell.com website came up first, as expected, followed by my cookbook’s site, GloriousPotMeal.com/GloriousOnePotMeals.com. Most surprising, however, was that my Twitter page captured spot #8 on the first page.

The power of social media never fails to astound me.

I also discovered this video of an interview about social media that I did with Ron Lewis after I spoke at the Thin Air Summit last fall. Enjoy!

©2010 Recipes for Publicity. All Rights Reserved.

This theory, which I completely support though might not always be disciplined enough to follow, sparked a flurried and somewhat salty exchange on Twitter sparked by an observation from Doyle Albee:

“Good writing should be like a skirt: Long enough to cover subject, but short enough to stay interesting.”

Amy explains the math behind how she arrived at that number in a recent Contentious blog post. Lots of interesting comments there, too.

See more Thin Air Summit photos.

©2010 Recipes for Publicity. All Rights Reserved.