PR - It Works!!!

t's time to plan your cookbook's 2005 public relations campaign. The best way to do this is to pull out a calendar and mark events which you might be able to position your cookbook. Look at traditional and not-so-traditional dates. Some events like National Cherry Month or National Honey Month are a great way to position your book for success. Press releases, sent on a regular basis, should be part of your overall marketing plan. FRP suggests sending at least one release each quarter. Plan press releases that contain menus (with recipes from your book or books) for special occasions, such as the Super Bowl, graduation parties, or Labor Day picnics. Pick different angles, and use different hooks. Make the release appropriate for the publication/media outlet you are targeting. To save time, press releases can be written ahead of time, and then all you need to do is send them out in a timely fashion.

Here are a few guidelines for writing an effective press release:

Any PR you can create for your cookbook is going to far outweigh any paid advertising. Here's an example: Each year, here at our offices in Nashville, we have a discount cookbook sale that is open to the public, as well as employees. Press releases announcing the event were sent to local media outlets. The event information ran three times in our local paper, including one appearance on the front page of the "Living" section. Over forty-percent of the non-employee orders were a result of the customer reading about the sale in the newspaper. PR - it works!

Cookbook Marketplace Renewals - All existing clients should have received a renewal packet to renew their existing titles for the 2005-2006 Cookbook Marketplace distribution network. This service includes getting your title up on the FRP website, www.frpbooks.com, inclusion in the trade show displays (January & July - Atlanta, GA), and inclusion in the upcoming catalog due out next April. The deadline for all renewals is quickly approaching. If you did not receive your renewal packet or have questions, contact Julee Hicks at 1-800-358-0560 or via e-mail at jhicks@frpbooks.com.

Early Bird Drawing - Twenty-five "early bird" publishers sent in their paperwork and payment on or before December 1st and were placed into a drawing for six FRP cookbook titles. And the winner is … Sue North of the Senior PGA Tour Wives Foundation (These Guys Are Good). Congratulations!

Cookbook University - April 11-12, 2005, at the Wyndham-Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas. Make plans now to attend and send as many representatives from your organization as possible. This is a great opportunity to experience an incredible training seminar while networking with other self-publishers who are in the business of cookbooks. Currently, the agenda begins with registration on Monday, April 11, at 11:30 a.m., and the first session opens at 1:00 p.m. The final session wraps up on Tuesday, April 12, at 5:00 p.m. For more information, contact Julee Hicks at jhicks@frpbooks.com or 1-800-358-0560.

COOKBOOK MARKETPLACE ANNUAL HOLIDAY SALE

We were delighted to set up for our annual cookbook sale open to the general public December 1 - 3 in the lobby of our corporate headquarters in Nashville, TN. We had a record turnout and the best sales to date. This year, we opened it up and invited local area publishers to come and set up with us during the event to tout their title and bring sample recipes. Many thanks to the following publishers who took the time out of their busy holiday schedule to exhibit with us during the event:

Here are the results of the Top 10 Selling Titles during the holiday event: