How & Why Past Members Are Renewing Membership

Hello Past Members of Progressive Voices (formerly Speakers Clearinghouse),

We hope your spring is going well. You are a speaker or performer still being represented by us with a webpage on our site though your membership is not current. (Remember past members may defer paying the annual fee until a paid engagement is completed through Progressive Voices). Over the past two years, however, we have added some exciting improvements including a name change and new services and benefits described below. We hope you find the new Progressive Voices is better suited to meet your needs and will decide to take advantage of a 50% discount (this month only) and renew your membership.

What Progressive Voices Offers You

A dependable and accessible agency with a 25-year history, Progressive Voices promotes speakers and performers addressing the environment, human and civil rights, as well as global, multicultural, media, women and gender issues. Using our extensive databases, we often set up media interviews for authors doing national book tours such as Reese Erlich, Paul Loeb, Norman Solomon and currently Belva Davis with her autobiography Never in My Wildest Dreams. We prepare your promotional materials and provide graphics work as needed for our new website and newsletter. We send the latter (like the one attached) to contacts mostly at schools throughout the U.S. Obviously the website and email outreach publicizing your availability for engagements alone cannot guarantee bookings will occur. When there is interest expressed, we follow up with phone calls, and if all goes well, negotiate the best deal we can for you including travel expenses. If you want to promote a new book coming out or increase your chances of our booking a paid engagement for you, we recommend the “monthly contract” described below.

Your New User Friendly Website

Perhaps the most important change at PV is the major upgrade of our website at (progressivevoices.org). Using a new Word Press format, the new site is designed to attract more “traffic” from those searching for information about breaking stories and hot topics from progressive analysts and activists as well for those seeking speakers and performers. That is because we post blogs on almost a daily basis featuring analysis and commentary from our current members and the latest news releases on breaking stories from the Institute for Public Accuracy. To increase our mutual traffic, we suggest those of you with websites link with progressivevoices.org. If you decide to renew membership, you can send one new hi-res photo to feature on our home page flash slide show and any relevant video or audio excerpts you provide can be placed on our “Video” page at no extra charge. Another advantage with our new site is that we can edit any of its pages more easily. Ideally all past members should update the following information: 1) Email your bio material as you want it to read on your webpage and any photos or book cover graphics. 2) Include a list of any additional issues you can address for the “Topics” page. 3) Send any change in your minimum fee after expenses and your standard fee. Find the latter by clicking on “About Us” on our home page and then “Speaker and Performer Rates.” Obviously current members will their updates done first.

Speaker Presentation Training

Another new service for current members is free access to online media training designed to improve your public speaking skills, media presentations etc. through Media Training Worldwide based in New York and directed by TJ Walker. This agency can help you become a better communicator for media and speaking opportunities. MTW will find out your needs, create a specific series of videotaped exercises and simulated TV/media interview or speaking situations and then practice, practice, practice.

National Association of Campus Activities Membership

Progressive Voices is a Regional Associate Member of NACA with members at 950 schools from around the country. Current members are listed in the NACA Directory with the preferred title of your presentation or performance. (You must be listed exclusively with PV). We also can help current members apply for “showcasing” at the NACA Western regional convention this November 3-6 in Spokane, Washington. Note that the showcase app deadline is 6/21/11. The nonrefundable cost to apply is $125. (If accepted, additional fees are required by NACA but well worth the cost since multiple bookings are assured for all who are showcased).

Monthly Contract

The monthly contract is an economical and effective option for current members. This promotion mainly by phone and email targets those who do bookings in two primary areas. For those wanting paid speaking engagements, we use our extensive and continuously updated databases of phone and email contacts at schools and organizations around the country. If you want to promote a book, film or campaign, we use the most current Yellow Book (media) data base to reach national, regional and local media outlets to arrange phone or in-studio interviews. “Phoners” have become a more effective way to sell books when for example your radio interview on a public radio station is heard by thousands as opposed to the usual sparse gatherings at bookstore signings on expensive tours. There are two levels of negotiable monthly contracts: “Basic Promotion” in the $1500 to $3000 range and “Full Promotion” for $6000 to $10,000. We guarantee interviews at small and medium size outlets under the Basic contract. With “Full Promotion,” we guarantee interviews on large regional and national shows such as Jim Bohannon, Bev Smith, Tavis Smiley, C-SPAN Booknotes and NPR programs. Though we cannot guarantee bookings with schools and organizations, they are more likely ot occur with such promotion. Contract work must be reserved in advance to guarantee availability. (See attached contract form.) Another advantage of a monthly contract is the 20% commission for paid engagements rather than our usual commission of 30% of the net speakers’ fee (after travel expenses).

$150 Past Membership Discount Available