Local public relations consultant Leslie A.M. Smith, owner of McCormick L.A., can now add author to her résumé. She recently published Laws of Promotion, a concise 50-page marketing guidebook created specifically for small businesses and local nonprofits. The handbook is available as an e-book and in print formats on Amazon.com.
“It’s meant to rescue those who suddenly find themselves in charge of marketing and have no idea where to start,” Smith said.
Smith borrowed Sir Isaac Newton’s three laws of motion– that most people learned in grade school–as a framework for explaining the basic principles for anyone new to marketing and promotion. The book simplifies the concepts and offers easy-to-use forms to get organized and set a clear direction.
“I wrote the book to serve as a workbook as much as a handbook,” said Smith who has been an independent consultant since 1994. “I’ve found that people running small businesses and local nonprofits often find themselves completely baffled by marketing terms and techniques. They know that they should do something, even with a limited budget, but what they implement rarely feeds a larger plan. Giving someone a 200-page marketing book isn’t helpful either as most are strapped for time.”
Laws of Promotion’s mere 50 pages includes illustrations, and some humor. She estimates it takes less than an hour to read and possibly the same amount of time to complete the activities.
“Some of my favorite business books are not lengthy and offer relatable examples —One Minute Manager, Who Moved My Cheese?, and all of Patrick Lencioni’s books. I’ve offered a fictional case study in the book to demonstrate the laws of promotion in action,” Smith explained.
Smith has been a public relations consultant in the Long Beach area since 1994. Along the way she has taught marketing classes to nonprofits through The Nonprofit Partnership and workshops to the business community including a “Lunch & Learn” format that began right before the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders went into effect. Her tagline is “No-nonsense Marketing and PR,” and Laws of Promotion is an example of that in practice.
“When I train a group of people on any topic, I attempt to make the information as easy to understand as possible and that’s what I wanted to do with Laws of Promotion. Jargon and loads of data scares people and ultimately confuses them. Solopreneurs and nonprofit founders are trying to promote their passion without a lot of money or promotional experience. I want it to be easy for them,” she said.
The book is available for purchase through Amazon.com ($4.99 and $9.99 for e-book and print, respectively). She strongly recommends that people suffering from what she diagnoses as ‘marketing mania’ should buy the book and sign-up for her e-newsletter on her website for free marketing insights, tips, downloadable tools, and dates for future workshops. Visit www.McCormickLA.com to enroll.