Day After Disaster Virtual Podcast Tour, Behind the Scenes: Sending requests and getting responses

 Go on the Day After Disaster Virtual Podcast Tour

Virtual Podcast Tour: Sending Requests, My first try

I was excited to get started on this amazing tour. I had all of my marketing materials prepared, my website ready with my updated media page, and my pitch letter ready to go. It was time to find some podcasts and delight them with the awesome opportunity to interview me, which is a little awkward to say the least. My ITunes application blasted open on my PC browser alight with potential podcasts to fill the dates of my podcast tour. I found a few podcasts that had content that was outside of my wheel house but that I could easily mold my concepts in my novel, Day After Disaster to. Then, I found a couple of fiction book podcasts. I ended my search with six survival podcasts. My search was pretty random, besides searching the survival key word, I was just looking for any show that appeared to have an interesting message that was in line with my own. I listened to a couple while I was researching more and after gathering up the names of at least twelve podcasts and ways to contact their producers I was off to my next step, actually contacting them.

I quickly found out that this was not going to be an easy task on ITunes. Sometimes when I selected the link that was supposed to take me to a website it was a site that was setup especially for the podcast withing a podcasting platform that seemed to be separate from their actual website.  Full of determination I navigated my way around the web, only to find that most of the time these people would like to be contacted via contact form. My carefully prepared email format wasn't going to cut it. I altered the format to fit contact forms and continued on. Now that I have contacted twelve podcasts all there is to do is sit back and wait for the replies, right?

Lessons Learned:

• Searching ITunes for shows is easy but finding their contact information is sometimes a challenge.
• Many of the primary contacts you make will be via contact form. Make sure your initial pitch looks good in that format as well.

Hot Tips:

• Have a few key terms in mind and a strategy before you start searching so your efforts are not so random.
• If the ITunes link does not take you directly to the hosts website, try just searching for it in your browser. A lot of times it is the fastest way to find a host to contact.

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Virtual Podcast Tour: Responses

I got a yes response! After sending out my twelve inquiries I received one yes and one no but at least the person who said no had the decency to contact me back, unlike most of the other inquires I sent. I had also hit up my Facebook groups to see what kind of interviews I could drum amongst my peers and got 2 positive responses from there as well!

The major response I heard back from was from James Talmage Stevens aka. Dr. Prepper to appear on his Preparedness Radio Network. I had just finished a meeting with some of my girl friends to get ready to participate in the Dirty Girl Run for Cancer. This meeting was at the bar and I had two drinks while I was there. When I got home it was late and I was feeling unusually relaxed (I'm not much of a drinker) but I realized I had missed a call from James about fifteen minutes before so I decided what the heck and I called him back. James was impressed with the fact that I did call him back. He said it reflected my hunger and also he wanted to connect via telephone before agreeing to the interview because a podcast is a talk show and just contacting via email before hand is not efficient. James had checked out my website and was blown away by how professional it looked and the amount of effort I had devoted to marketing my book. We agreed to exchange books with one another because this host was actually going to read my book before he interviewed me (which is highly unusual)! I got off the phone two hours later elated to appear on a podcast that has been downloaded over 3.5 million times.

Lessons Learned:

• If you receive an opportunity, grab it! Getting on a podcast is very competitive and if you miss your chance you may not get it again.
• Understand that you will not hear back from most shows. They are very busy and receive tons of requests. Send another request about a week after your first and if you don't hear from them, let it go. 
• 
  

Hot Tips:

• Make sure you listen to the podcast you applied to before you talk with the host. If you don't you will be left feeling unprepared and embarrassed.
• If you find a show that you really liked but they haven't contacted you back, keep listening and be thankful that your search has yielded you a positive side effect. You never know what the future will bring.
• Be prepared to email, talk, or make contact however you can in order to snatch up an opportunity.

Are You Interested In Going on Your Own Virtual Podcast Tour?  http://podcastingsuccesssecrets.com

Related Articles:

Making the Best of Basics: Family Preparedness Handbook: http://authorsarafhathaway.blogspot.com/2015/04/a-daily-survival-essential-doctor.html

Conquering Fear In Your Life: http://authorsarafhathaway.blogspot.com/2015/05/conquering-fear-in-your-life.html

Day After Disaster: Virtual Podcast Tour, The Tada Moment and Getting Ready to Go: http://authorsarafhathaway.blogspot.com/2015/05/day-after-disaster-virtual-podcast-tour.html

Sara F. Hathaway

Sara F. Hathaway is the author of the The Changing Earth Series: Day After Disaster and Without Land. She also hosts The Changing Earth Podcast which blends her fictional stories with educational survival tips. Sara grew up in the country where she developed a profound interest in the natural world around her. After graduating with honors from The California State University of Sacramento with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, she launched into a career in business management. In her fictional novels her research and experience with survival techniques and forgotten life-sustaining methods of the generations past come to the forefront in a action packed adventures. She has used her background in business management to pave new roads for fictional authors to follow and she delights in helping other achieve the same success. She currently lives with her husband and two sons in California where she is at work on the sequel to her first two novels. For more information and a free copy of “The Go-Bag Essentials” featuring everything you need to have to leave your home in a disaster visit: www.authorsarafhathaway.com

Purchase Without Land

Purchase Day After Disaster

 

Pin of the Month #2: The Survival ATV

Find this article at: http://www.authorsarafhathaway.com/thechaningingearthnewsletter/the-survival-atv

Sara F. Hathaway

Sara F. Hathaway is the author of the The Changing Earth Series: Day After Disaster and Without Land. She also hosts The Changing Earth Podcast which blends her fictional stories with educational survival tips. Sara grew up in the country where she developed a profound interest in the natural world around her. After graduating with honors from The California State University of Sacramento with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, she launched into a career in business management. In her fictional novels her research and experience with survival techniques and forgotten life-sustaining methods of the generations past come to the forefront in a action packed adventures. She has used her background in business management to pave new roads for fictional authors to follow and she delights in helping other achieve the same success. She currently lives with her husband and two sons in California where she is at work on the sequel to her first two novels. For more information and a free copy of “The Go-Bag Essentials” featuring everything you need to have to leave your home in a disaster visit: www.authorsarafhathaway.com

Purchase Without Land

Purchase Day After Disaster

 

A Testimonial from Dr. Prepper

Find this article at: http://www.authorsarafhathaway.com/thechaningingearthnewsletter/dr-prepper

Sara F. Hathaway

Sara F. Hathaway is the author of the The Changing Earth Series: Day After Disaster and Without Land. She also hosts The Changing Earth Podcast which blends her fictional stories with educational survival tips. Sara grew up in the country where she developed a profound interest in the natural world around her. After graduating with honors from The California State University of Sacramento with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, she launched into a career in business management. In her fictional novels her research and experience with survival techniques and forgotten life-sustaining methods of the generations past come to the forefront in a action packed adventures. She has used her background in business management to pave new roads for fictional authors to follow and she delights in helping other achieve the same success. She currently lives with her husband and two sons in California where she is at work on the sequel to her first two novels. For more information and a free copy of “The Go-Bag Essentials” featuring everything you need to have to leave your home in a disaster visit: www.authorsarafhathaway.com

Purchase Without Land

Purchase Day After Disaster

 

We Are All "Preppers"

Find this article at: http://www.authorsarafhathaway.com/thechaningingearthnewsletter/we-are-all-preppers

  
Sara F. Hathaway

Sara F. Hathaway is the author of the The Changing Earth Series: Day After Disaster and Without Land. She also hosts The Changing Earth Podcast which blends her fictional stories with educational survival tips. Sara grew up in the country where she developed a profound interest in the natural world around her. After graduating with honors from The California State University of Sacramento with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, she launched into a career in business management. In her fictional novels her research and experience with survival techniques and forgotten life-sustaining methods of the generations past come to the forefront in a action packed adventures. She has used her background in business management to pave new roads for fictional authors to follow and she delights in helping other achieve the same success. She currently lives with her husband and two sons in California where she is at work on the sequel to her first two novels. For more information and a free copy of “The Go-Bag Essentials” featuring everything you need to have to leave your home in a disaster visit: www.authorsarafhathaway.com

Purchase Without Land

Purchase Day After Disaster

 

Survival Pin Of the Month #1 - Chapstick as a Survival Tool

Find this article at: http://www.authorsarafhathaway.com/thechaningingearthnewsletter/chapstick-as-a-survival-tool

Sara F. Hathaway

Sara F. Hathaway is the author of the The Changing Earth Series: Day After Disaster and Without Land. She also hosts The Changing Earth Podcast which blends her fictional stories with educational survival tips. Sara grew up in the country where she developed a profound interest in the natural world around her. After graduating with honors from The California State University of Sacramento with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, she launched into a career in business management. In her fictional novels her research and experience with survival techniques and forgotten life-sustaining methods of the generations past come to the forefront in a action packed adventures. She has used her background in business management to pave new roads for fictional authors to follow and she delights in helping other achieve the same success. She currently lives with her husband and two sons in California where she is at work on the sequel to her first two novels. For more information and a free copy of “The Go-Bag Essentials” featuring everything you need to have to leave your home in a disaster visit: www.authorsarafhathaway.com

Purchase Without Land

Purchase Day After Disaster

 

Day After Disaster: Virtual Podcast Tour, The Tada Moment and Getting Ready to Go

Go on the Day After Disaster Virtual Podcast Tour

 

In an effort to share my journey with all my blogging fans, I created this series of Virtual Podcast Posts so you can join in the touring fun. Fellow authors and business owners may find this series of particular interest as the Vitural Podcast Tour is a new concept in the marketing world and a great way to get your message out to the world.

Virtual Podcast Tour, The Tada Moment

Today I had a major tada moment! But before I tell you about my idea I have to tell you how the idea evolved.

After publishing my fictional novel, Day After Disaster, I have engaged in actively seeking and participating in any events I could take part in to spread the word about my novel. Day After Disaster is an apocalyptic, adventure story featuring a woman struggling, to find her husband and son, dead or alive, amongst successive natural disasters. Although it is a fictional novel, it has many lessons for life contained within its pages.

When my novel first launched I explored these lessons on an in depth basis while I toured the globe in a Virtual Book Tour. After organizing a month of three internet stops per week I was ready to let the tour begin. Although the tour was a healthy mix of websites with spectacular follower numbers mixed with much smaller sites, it was a complete success!  Sign ups on my email list increased as never before, sales went up and stayed up for the length of the tour, and my book was a topic of many conversations. After a month the tour ended and my sales numbers slowly decreased to a level just above what they were before the tour. My newsletter signups though steady slowed heavily and even though my follower numbers continued to increase due to different social media campaigns, my sales numbers never reached the point they were for so long of a period as when I was participating in my virtual book tour.

This got me thinking about launching a new Virtual Book Tour with new sites that I have connected with through marketing efforts. At the same time I had been engaged in a podcasting challenge hosted by my mentor D'vorah Lansky, learning how to produce podcasts. This
opened up a whole new world to me! I thought why not do a virtual book tour that also featured stops at podcasts as well!

I had a phone call with D'vorah and she loved the idea of doing stops at podcasts but she wanted me to go one step farther. D'vorah told me she had been engrossed with the idea of doing Virtual Podcast Tours where you get featured on podcasts along the tour. I was tantalized with the idea but also scared as well. I was excited because this was a new idea that not many people have even imagined participating in. It is essentially virgin marketing ground. I thought of the possible main stream media attention I could bring to my book because I can tie the emerging popularity of podcasting in with local business marketing concepts.  But I was also afraid because this is foreign ground. I am completely new to the podcasting world. How would I find these podcasts that would be interested in interviewing me? How would the time table work for the length of the tour? How easy is it to schedule these events? Could I possibly find enough to talk about to fill an hour time slot?
I have many, many questions but as I set out on this podcasting journey it is with a committed and focused purpose.

Lesson Learned:

• A podcast tour is a great opportunity to get access to free exposure on multiple media avenues.
• Connecting your marketing activities with emerging trends can lead to main stream media attention.

Hot Tip:

• Be flexible with your ideas to take advantage of new opportunities.
• Sometimes it's okay to learn as you go in order to take advantage of new opportunities.

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Virtual Podcast Tour: Getting Ready to Go

Upon deciding that I was going to engage in a Virtual Podcast Tour, I knew I had to get my website ready for traffic. My first step was to make sure that when people land on my home page my book, Day After Disaster, and my information are front and center. This way individuals don't have to spend time searching my website for information on my novel or myself. Keeping in mind all the details that I would like to have on my home page, I also had to make sure it had a professional, clean layout. Another thing that is essential is that my social media links are very visible but not tacky looking or distracting from the content on the page.  The last thing that I had to make sure was front and center is the sign up form for my newsletter.

There are a number of pages to explore on my website that would be of interest to a potential interviewer. My blog highlights my interests and activities. My quotes to remember page is loaded with inspirational quotes. My book kit provides material for book clubs. My survival store points people in the direction to purchase books that are of interest to me. All of these things have their place and their time to be explored but there is a page of much more importance to an interviewer or media contact: my media page.

The media page displays a short bio on me, information on my book, main stream media features, topics I am available to speak about, and a link to my virtual book tour page so they can explore all of the blogs that have featured me and my novel. Most importantly I have my direct contact information here. It was a little intimidating to put my phone number on the web but remember I am going to be searching for podcasts to be featured on. Many of these individuals actually want to talk with me first and not just communicate via email. Also I have an example of a previous interview that I took part in so they can reference my speaking interview skills. The last piece on the media page is a downloadable PDF of my particulars. This printable PDF page should includes my bio, my book summary, my contact information, links to my most impressive features, and links to my social media sites. This PDF gives media individuals a ready reference to have on hand.

Lesson Learned:

• Be ready for the increase of traffic before you make contact with anyone regarding the event.
• Make sure your media page is prepared and has your full contact information.

Hot Tips:

• When ever possible try to make things very visually stimulating and not filled with long periods of typing. Your content should attract your audience and be very easy to consume.
• Placement of your newsletter signup for is very important. People should see it as soon as they land on your page. They should not have to scroll down the page or go hunting for it.

Sara F. Hathaway

Sara F. Hathaway is the author of the The Changing Earth Series: Day After Disaster and Without Land. She also hosts The Changing Earth Podcast which blends her fictional stories with educational survival tips. Sara grew up in the country where she developed a profound interest in the natural world around her. After graduating with honors from The California State University of Sacramento with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, she launched into a career in business management. In her fictional novels her research and experience with survival techniques and forgotten life-sustaining methods of the generations past come to the forefront in a action packed adventures. She has used her background in business management to pave new roads for fictional authors to follow and she delights in helping other achieve the same success. She currently lives with her husband and two sons in California where she is at work on the sequel to her first two novels. For more information and a free copy of “The Go-Bag Essentials” featuring everything you need to have to leave your home in a disaster visit: www.authorsarafhathaway.com

Purchase Without Land

Purchase Day After Disaster

 

Conquering Fear in Your Life

Doug Foresta Interviews Author Sara F. Hathaway about Conquering Fears.

Hear the interview on Empowerment Radio;

www.EmpowermentRadio.com

Recently I was hosted by Doug Foresta on his Podcast, Creating Change. He asked me to speak about fear and ways both my characters and myself conquer those fears and charge ahead into life. 

During the interview Doug asked me to talk about my background growing up in the woodlands of Michigan. He explained that he is from New Jersey and not much of a country boy. We found it interesting how where we grew up reflects some innate fears of the opposite life style.

We discussed how some of my own fears are reflected in my novel, Day After Disaster and how the writing process encouraged me to start finding ways to conquer my own fears. There are all types of disasters that can befall an individual, not just natural disasters but personal ones as well. Thinking through these scenarios and becoming as mentally and physically prepared before hand can give us the confidence we need to master the fear and emotions that come hand-in hand with a disaster scenarios. 

Doug highlighted the fact that there are big and small fears that we deal with everyday and how I have discussed in the past that your mindset is generated by your feelings and not your circumstance. This is exactly right, life is 10% circumstance and 90% how you deal with it. No one can make you feel a certain way. You feel that way because you allow yourself to feel that way and there is only one person who can change it, you.

So how do we change it? I introduced some specific acronyms that I use and reflect in my novel to help everyone overcome their fears. One of my favorites is from James Hart's book Wilderness and Urban Survival, Emergency Preparedness. Although it comes from a survival manual it is a tool that should be applied to daily life: just STOP!

• S -  stop moving, sit down and relax.
• T - think clearly and positively
• O - Observe your surrounding and others around you
• P - Plan a course of action

The other acronym that I rely upon is from the Army Manual and is more comprehensive that the STOP acronym but more suited for a survival situation whether that be urban or wilderness: SURVIVAL

• S - Size up your situation
• U - Use your senses. What do you see, hear, smell, feel, taste?
• R - Remember where you are and don't rely upon others to do it for you.
• V - Vanquish fear and panic. Use STOP.
• I - Improvise, what do you have on hand to use?
• V- Value living, don't give up.
• A - Act like a native, blend in.
• L - Live by your wits but for now learn your basic skills.

To hear the full interview please head on over to EmpowermentRadio.com 

Sara F. Hathaway

Sara F. Hathaway is the author of the The Changing Earth Series: Day After Disaster and Without Land. She also hosts The Changing Earth Podcast which blends her fictional stories with educational survival tips. Sara grew up in the country where she developed a profound interest in the natural world around her. After graduating with honors from The California State University of Sacramento with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, she launched into a career in business management. In her fictional novels her research and experience with survival techniques and forgotten life-sustaining methods of the generations past come to the forefront in a action packed adventures. She has used her background in business management to pave new roads for fictional authors to follow and she delights in helping other achieve the same success. She currently lives with her husband and two sons in California where she is at work on the sequel to her first two novels. For more information and a free copy of “The Go-Bag Essentials” featuring everything you need to have to leave your home in a disaster visit: www.authorsarafhathaway.com

Purchase Without Land

Purchase Day After Disaster

 

An Ode to My Mom: The Ultimate Survival Instructor

On a blistering winter day a single mother spends her hard earned dollars to rent a pair of skis so she can watch her daughter rocket down a snowy mountain in a downhill race. The cost of the ski team was already a burden and then there was racing fees. When they arrived at the mountain she found out she wouldn't even be able to watch her daughter compete. It was too far up the mountain to watch from the base. She hated the cold and wind of winter and would have much rather been able to stay in the comfort of the cozy lodge with a cold beer in her hand. The love for her daughter outweighed the need for comfort and she pressed on through the blustery conditions. It was only a few second of watching her baby girl fly by but she cheered the loudest and raved about her awesome style afterwards, even though that girl was no where near the best racer on the hill.

That is my mom. She has always been my best friend. That doesn't mean she didn't raise us with a firm hand. At 4'9" tall and under a hundred pounds she made sure to put the fear of God into us right away but she hardly needed to. Just seeing disappointment in her eyes could shake me to the core.

Although my mom didn't know it, she was one of the best survival instructors a young person could ask for. She was never a woodland woman but she loves to garden and care for plants. She taught me about planting, tending and utilizing the garden goodies. She taught me to can and preserve the fruits of our labor. My mom's creativity abounds and she showed me how to sew and make all kinds of clothing, furniture and anything else you could dream of, although I was never very good at it. But she taught me anyway and encouraged me to keep trying. My mom taught me to stand up for myself and take care of my responsibilities but there is a lesson that I value more than all that.

The biggest survival lesson of all that my mom taught me is that you can do anything you put your mind to. It may mean that your hands get dirty and blistered. It may mean that your body and mind get pushed to the very edge of their limits and sometimes break but you do it anyway. She never shied away from jacking up a barn to reinforce the wall or pounding t-posts for a horse her daughter had to have. Sure it was the middle of a Michigan winter when the ground is frozen solid but that didn't matter mom could do it anyway. My mighty mouse mom gave me heart and that might be the best gift of all.

I love you mom! Happy Mother's Day!

Sara F. Hathaway

Sara F. Hathaway is the author of the The Changing Earth Series: Day After Disaster and Without Land. She also hosts The Changing Earth Podcast which blends her fictional stories with educational survival tips. Sara grew up in the country where she developed a profound interest in the natural world around her. After graduating with honors from The California State University of Sacramento with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, she launched into a career in business management. In her fictional novels her research and experience with survival techniques and forgotten life-sustaining methods of the generations past come to the forefront in a action packed adventures. She has used her background in business management to pave new roads for fictional authors to follow and she delights in helping other achieve the same success. She currently lives with her husband and two sons in California where she is at work on the sequel to her first two novels. For more information and a free copy of “The Go-Bag Essentials” featuring everything you need to have to leave your home in a disaster visit: www.authorsarafhathaway.com

Purchase Without Land

Purchase Day After Disaster