When you're launching your book, I would highly recommend that you come up with some gimmick. Now, gimmicks have a negative connotation. And people like to talk about how they don't like gimmicks. But all I mean by that is something interesting an additional hook to get the media interested in what you're doing. So for example, number of years ago, I had this book come out secret to foolproof presentations, which I think is a great book and it embodies a lot of my expertise on public speaking. But you know what, there are more than 10,000 books on public speaking on Amazon alone.

And any given day, there aren't a lot of talk show hosts thinking, wow, I'd really like to do a whole show on public speaking. So how do I get around this? What I did is I came up with a gimmick with my PR team. I said, You know, I want to do something that is a news hook for the media so I can talk about my book. I wanted to somehow be relevant to what the book is about the book is about speaking. So I thought, why don't I try to get in the Guinness Book of World Records for some record that relates to public speaking.

Now, I don't want to speak out in the cold for seven straight days in London speaker corner that didn't seem appealing. I wanted something that's really relevant to who I am and what I'm about. Now I'm also an immediate trainer and a media expert. And I've written books called media training A to Z and others. So how can I blend the two together? So what I came up with was to get into the Guinness Book of World Records for doing the most talk show appearances for speaking on the most talk shows ever in a 24 hour period.

So we talked to the folks again, as we looked at all the rules and regulations and you had to be on a talk show for at least five turns out it was a wreck. And someone had it for, I think it was 87 talk show appearances in a 24 hour period. And they had rules like I had to be on at least five minutes, and I had to get a signed letter from each host. So that's what started it. And we reached out to hosts and it wasn't just Hey, how would you like to promote this guy you've ever heard of his book? Because that's not appealing.

But the hook was to talk show host all over the United States and a few other countries. How would you like to be a part of a Guinness World Record? Now? I'm appealing to There you go. And I'm telling you, we're going to get news coverage of this. You're going to be mentioned I'm doing a press release of every talk show I'm on and you're going to be on we're going to be promoting that we were on in your community.

So all of a sudden, I'm now scratching the backs of talk show producers and radio stations and radio stations PR group Actors all over the country. So I'm helping them they now have an incentive to help me by giving me airtime. And I'm also was able to get the whole thing simulcast on a TV network. And that was extra appeal to the radio stations to have me on. So it was all said and done. I did 112 talk show appearances, it did get into the Guinness Book of Records.

And that's part of what propelled this book into the bestsellers list and it was on a business week bestseller lists, Wall Street Journal and USA Today. So see if you can think of a gimmick. Because once I thought of the gimmick, then it was just a logistic headache of calling and scheduling interviews, but it was a heck of a lot easier. scheduling the interviews when I could tell people, hey, all these other stations are a part of it. And it's all got to be in this 24 hour period, so to do 103 Well talk show appearances in 24 hours, it was tiring. But it was a heck of a lot easier than doing 112 talk show appearances, scattered throughout the year just logistically, it was easier to do it all.

Now, it continued doing talk shows. But 112 is more than a lot of authors do in a lifetime. And I did 24 hours. And it's not that what I did was specially difficult, or a huge, huge accomplishment. It's just it's more a matter of trying to think creatively. Trying to be a little less direct.

The direct way is just a call producer, hey, I've got this book. It's a great book, have me on your show. That's direct, but that's to direct, you need something a little more creative. That is going to engage the media, have them a part of something, and then they'll promote your book and everybody will win. So give some real thought to creative news hooks for promoting your book.