INTERVIEW WITH C.A.N. CROWN AWARD WINNER Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith

March 18, 2020

The Christian Authors Network’s innovative Crown Awards celebrate excellence in Christian Media and Marketing.

Purpose: To recognize, educate, and encourage excellence in marketing and promotion skills of all Christian authors. The awards are given in three categories:

Visual Media
Broadcasting
Web Presence

Dr. Saundra Dalton Smith is the CAN Marketing Broadcasting Media Gold Award winner for her book, Sacred Rest. She landed several TV interviews crafting her message to each show’s audience and their topics of interest. She combined appearances with a unique quiz on her website to discover which of seven types of rest they need. The result of the quiz brings people to the follow up sequence (sales funnel) that meets the specific need.

Over 72,000 people have participated with RestQuiz.com. Dr. Dalton-Smith’s email list has grown from 3,000 at the start of the broadcast campaign to over 25,000. Her book-based online video course is being used in 30 different countries in 10 different languages. Over 10,000 people have completed the YouVersion 5-Day Sacred Rest plan.

Her efforts led to 50+ media interviews including Daystar, Cornerstone TV, Marilyn Hickey Show, The Happy Hour Podcast with Jamie Ivey, God-Centered Mom Podcast, Atlanta Live, Moody Chicago. Media appearances led to speaking invitations with TEDxAtlanta inviting Dr. Dalton-Smith to be the opening speaker at their 2019 event and speaking at the 2020 World Happiness Summit. Her podcast is now supported by numerous financial sponsors. Her expertise, well-spoken demeanor, and beautiful spirit shine to viewers.

Tell us about your book.

My book is Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity. It was published Dec 19, 2017 by Faithwords/Hachette Book Group. In Sacred Rest, I share my journey from burn-out to a thriving lifestyle and my research findings on the 7 types of rest (physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, sensory, social, and creative.)

What led you to write it?

I am a board-certified internal medicine physician. Within my medical practice, I saw many wanting a pill as a quick fix for problems resulting from their lack of rest. I wanted to share how I found healing with others suffering from burnout.

How does your passion motivate you to promote your book? What keeps you motivated?

I stay motivated in two ways. One is through the feedback of those who have found Sacred Rest or my rest quiz to be helpful in helping them identify problem areas in their life. The second way I stay motivated is because I know this works so then my goal becomes to be a fisher of men with the good news that rest is not just a commandment but how we can heal areas that have become depleted in our life.

Where did you start in the planning of your marketing and did you focus on one main component or area?

Planning for marketing began with the book proposal. I purposely tried to weave in quotes that would be great on social media as well as invitations to engage with my lead magnet (restquiz.com).

Amid all the work of marketing a book and continuing your medical practice, when do you rest?

That’s the thing most people don’t understand. Rest does not mean you have to take a week-long sabbatical or spend hours each day napping. Rest should be a lifestyle. I constantly engage in different aspects of the 7 types of rest throughout my day. I’ve learned what a healthy work-rest ratio looks like for me.

Any advice for other writers who also balance multiple careers?

Discover which of the 7 types of rest you are missing and spend some time focusing on getting more of that type of rest in your life. The area of your greatest gifting will often be the place you are most depleted and it will cause you to constantly feel exhausted until you learn how to rest in that area.

What made you develop a quiz?

As a physician, I know diagnosis is the first step to healing. You can’t confront what you don’t know exists. The quiz helps people self-diagnosis the rest deficit they need to confront.

How did you come up with one that was effective in pinpointing the needs of the person taking it?

Having a solid understanding of the overall topic, the pinpoints of each type of rest, and the characteristics of those suffering from the different rest deficits helped to create the quiz.

What elements are important in creating an email sequence for people who answer the quiz?

Email sequences should help new subscribers learn more about you and how you can help them. It’s important to always add value in your messages. I feel it’s also important to include ways they can work deeper with you by including links to books and products within each contact.

What led you to begin podcasting?

I love talking! I already do a lot of speaking from stages, so podcasting was a natural progression.

How do you secure sponsors for your podcast? How do you work with the sponsors so they also benefit?

I include a link in my Instagram bio Linktr.ee account to ways people can work me as a sponsor. I also send emails to contacts directly. I include a link to the sponsor on the podcast page and their information is shared in my email newsletter to my subscribers. Sponsors have included publishing houses, health product companies, and authors.

You won the CAN Crown Award for outstanding broadcast media. What do you find is helpful in creating a broadcast-focused campaign?

A broadcast-focused campaign automatically grows your platform. You leverage the platform of the TV show, radio show, or podcast as a way to help grow your own platform. The more shows you do and do well on, the more opportunities you get. It has a wonderful snowball effect! Some of the biggest shows I’ve had to pleasure to be on were ones I never pitched. They directly reached out to me because they had heard me on another show.

What do you include in a pitch to various media outlets?

The most important thing to include in a pitch is a reason why they should have you on their show. You have to be able to convince them that you will bring valuable information that their listeners/viewers will love consuming. Most authors spend too much time in their pitch talking about their book. Producers don’t care about your book, they want to know how is the content you share on-air going to resonate with their audience. Once they believe it will be a good fit, they are more than happy to share about the other things you have available that will benefit their tribe.

Any suggestions that might help authors find potential media outlets?

You can look for other podcasts similar to the ones you already know about or search them out on Google.

Did you try marketing strategies that did not work for you? What did you learn from them?

Paying a lot of money for a publicist was one of the things I found not to be helpful. There are some amazing publicists out there who are very effective and then there are some who take your $2000-5000/mo retainer and never get you booked on anything. The reality is publicist do not guarantee they can get you any publicity for the retainer fee. It’s a huge financial commitment that most authors can’t afford. This is what lead me to learn how to be my own publicist and create a course to help other authors do the same.

How do you craft your pitch and message to each audience?

You listen to a few of the podcast you desire pitching to learn about the host and the audience.

What do you include in your press release that you send to media?

The press release includes a little information about why the topic is relevant and timely. It also includes a brief synopsis of the book and how to connect with me.

Can you recommend marketing resources that you have found helpful?

Go to my page (mentioned above) on how to be your own publicist.

Which aspects of marketing do you enjoy the most?

I love meeting new people. With each interview opportunity, new professional relationships are built. That alone is priceless.

Which aspects do you find most challenging?

The most challenging part of marketing is finding the email addressed to connect with producers. It requires dedicating some time to gather the needed information before you pitch.

What marketing advice can you give writers that you wished you had gotten, or that you wish you would have heeded?

My best advice is to start thinking about marketing at the conception of your book idea. If you don’t know how you will get your book into the hands of your ideal reader, you could end up writing a book no one reads.

What are common marketing mistakes you see writers making?

Most authors focus too much on selling the book in their marketing and should instead focus on sharing a message that helps people see why they need the book. It’ a little tweak in your approach that can make a huge difference.

Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers about your marketing or writing journey?

I think we covered it all.