an excerpt from Building Your Marketing Team...

Leave entitlement at the door: this doesn't necessarily apply to working with your marketing team, but it's a good general rule to remember. Being an author doesn't entitle you to immediate success. You might nod your head knowing this, but you'd be surprised how many times I hear from editors, agents, and other pr folk that the quickest way for an author to undermine his or her own success is to subscribe to entitlement. Penny Sansevieri

So what is an author entitled to when hiring a PR firm?

I own a small pr firm that specializes in providing marketing support for authors, publishing houses, entertainers, ministers, and mags. Authors--any of my clients-- are entitled to communication, transparency, and accountability from me. What I have found is that some of my clients[past clients] have a challenge communicating their expectations.

When speaking with a good friend, Ron Hudson yesterday he Amen and coined this challenge. What are author's expectations, particularly those who are new to the industry and do not have strong prior sales? This is a question I am going back to each client to find out. Because the answers are different for everyone. What I have found is that the more experienced author has more realistic expectations. Authors who are under extreme pressure or are new become frustrated quickly. What I hope to accomplish with those clients, is to appease their concerns and get them toward making a step to move forward with their book marketing campaign. Some do and some don't by their own accord.

Before they make that decision this week we will share five few points to consider when your expectations do not match their service provider's outcomes:

1. Are you making the most of your pr firm?

Are you aware that your pr firm provides media coaching? Are you participating in these sessions? Have you attended any continuing education classes your firm provide? are you reading their books or listening to their teleseminars?

If the answer is no, then you are not making the most of your pr firm. A PR firm's image is just as important as yours. If they take you on as a client, the main reason they accept a contract with you is that they believe that you will make a great contribution to that image. Therefore, ensuring that who you are matches the image your PR firm has set is paramount.

Tomorrow we will speak about: Are you completing all the action items they request?

So here's the question: are you making the most of your pr firm?