By Annie Jennings PR

If you are a book author, expert, or wish to brand yourself to the media and are in pursuit of media placements, Annie Jennings PR recommends you develop a media site, or author/expert showcase site developed especially for the media.

Choose a website name that is easy to type and contains no unusual spellings. You want to keep the site simple and easy to use. Limit or eliminate any challenges the media might have. The first step is to name the site in a way that makes it easy and obvious.

The name of your media website, for example, could be: www.YourName.com, www.YourNameCredentials.com, www.yournamePHD.com, or if www.yourname.com is not available, buy the .TV extension meaning you would buy the www.yourname.tv.
By naming your website after yourself, the media assumes they are going to the site to find out about you, the expert or author, and of course, they are right.

It is certainly OK to have more than one website; in fact, I recommend it. Each site should have a specific strategy, that is, what do you want the visitor to do? This is also called a conversion strategy.

With a media site, you want the media to be able to obtain all the information they need to book you for the media opportunity.

With a business site, you want the visitor to find out all about your business and hire your business.

With an e-commerce site, you want the visitor to find out all about your products or services and buy them.

Observe, all three types of sites have a unique strategy. The media website should not be combined with any other type of site; especially, with an e-commerce or sales site. It seems odd that you would want the media to buy your products or services, right?

CONTACT INFO

Each page should have a header area containing the essential information about you. This should include a short list of topics or a broad category name such as "Relationships" and your contact information.

I advise against using email as the only way to get in touch with you. Why? It is not instant and does not leave the media with certainty that you will respond. How do they know you will even get the email? So they must continue their search for the perfect expert and you will most likely lose the media placement.

Certainly, never use info@, as that seems like it goes to an unmanned inbox. You can use your real email address. It will sound more convincing. Be sure the email goes directly to your blackberry. You can even let the media know that the email goes directly to your blackberry and you will respond shortly.

But ALWAYS give out a telephone number if you want media placements. You can use a cell phone or even an answering service that contacts you the second the media calls them. The best choice is the most direct route to you!

YOUR BIO PAGE

If you have credentials, let the media know right away. The more credentials and accomplishments you have in your area of expertise, the better your chances are of being chosen by the media for the placement.

Also include all of the topics you can discuss, as well.

Be sure to lead with a great color picture of you – one that is engaging, well groomed, and offers the viewers a glimpse of your personality.

Do not use your driver's license picture!

Your bio page should be conversational in nature and not a copy and paste of your C.V. or resume. The idea is that you want you bio to tell a story about you, your expertise, who you are, and in the end, answer the one question the media has, which is, are you the perfect expert for them?

YOUR MEDIA APPEARANCES PAGE

A Demo: Short video of previous author or expert media appearances. Sending your demo DVD overnight just takes too long! No kidding. Create a short DVD as a starter demo with clips of your BEST MOMENTS. Don't have the long version of each segment as the first demo the media sees. They can always look at the rest if they like the first starter demo enough to want to know more about you.

An Audio Clip: Let the media hear you in action, but first, be sure to map out what they are going to hear. Start fast, engage fast and deliver some awesome talking points.

I highly recommend hiring a pro to help you develop and record a high-powered, blockbuster, short audio; especially for the media, packed with what they need to hear to choose you from a great engaging personality, to an action-packed pace, to lots of great information.

Your Print And Online Placements: Include a list of your most prestigious placements; including, the month and issue date of the article. If the original article is online, then by all means, link to the article.

Your Topics & Areas Of Expertise Page

Your topic page should include a list of the topics you can discuss along with titles of tips, sheets, or links to tips, sheets, or articles you have written.

The reason why you want to actually link to tips, sheets, and articles (such as Ten Smart Career Moves or Why You Should Never Ask Your Boss For A Raise On A Business Trip) is because this gives you the chance to showcase your knowledge in a variety of areas.

The idea is to present yourself and your experience in the most powerful way possible, creating certainty for the media that they are making an excellent choice in choosing you!

Annie Jennings PR has booked thousands of media placements with over 20,000 authors and experts. Annie is the creator of advanced publicity strategy, media websites, online press kits, platforms, advanced branding, HOT 35! BIG CITY & national shows radio campaigns. Free "How To Create An Online Media Kit" at http://www.anniejenningspr.com/onlinemediakit.htm Free Website Consults Audio at http://www.anniejenningspr.com/publicitypro.htm.