The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #435 Jan. 27, 2009
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)

Circulation: 43,505

==========================================

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

Receive this ezine direct to your desktop
http://www.publicityarticles.net/archive/

==========================================

You are receiving this because you signed up for it at The
Publicity Hound website at http://www.publicityhound.com/ or you
told me that you want to subscribe. If you didn’t subscribe, you
can unsubscribe by clicking the link at the bottom of the
newsletter.

Please forward this ezine to anyone you know who needs free
publicity to establish their credibility, enhance their
reputation, position themselves as employers of choice, sell more
products and services, or promote a favorite cause or issue.

******************************************

New Teleseminar:

Can Your Social Networking Profile Pass the 10-Second Test?

Next time you’re surfing around Facebook or LinkedIn, pay
attention to how much time you spend on other people’s profiles
before you click away.

Then, be honest. How boring is your own? Online decisions are
made with clicks, and if your profile isn’t creating clicks TO
you instead of clicks AWAY from you, then chances are you have a
social networking profile that spells B-O-R-I-N-G.

Join Nancy Marmolejo and me for a paid teleseminar on Wednesday,
Feb. 11, when we ask the question “Can Your Social Networking
Profile Pass the 10-Second Test?”

Read about what you’ll learn, register for the session, and tell
us why Nancy should remake YOUR profile during the call. All the
details are at my blog at http://tinyurl.com/blvdby

*****************************************

================================
In This Issue
================================

1. When Oprah Calls on Sunday

2. 5 Big Blogging Boo-boos

3. Pitch Spring Gifts Now

4. I Don’t Want You to Disappear

5. Promoting Abstract Art

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Joke of the Week

8. And at My Blog…

===================================
1. When Oprah Calls on Sunday
===================================

So there you are on a Sunday afternoon, watching TV with the
kids.

The phone rings. It’s one of Oprah’s producers, following up on a
pitch you sent several months ago.

Panic time! You can’t remember the details. You can’t even
remember the pitch!

That’s what happens when you send a story idea to Oprah or one of
the big TV talk shows and mistakenly assume that if they don’t
bite within a month or two, they’re not interested.

Big mistake.

Oprah’s producers work insane hours, including Sunday afternoons.
That’s why you must be ready at a moment’s notice to discuss your
story succinctly and with passion, even when the kids are
screaming and the dog is barking in the background.

But before you receive that phone call, your pitch has to catch
the producer’s attention. It’s one of the most difficult feats to
accomplish because it must be compelling enough to pique their
curiosity, but not so long that it’s rambling.

Michele Anton, a former guest booker for “Oprah,” has accepted
and rejected hundreds of pitches. She knows what works and what
doesn’t, and she’ll share her tips during a complimentary
teleseminar that my friend, Steve Harrison, is hosting on
Thursday, Jan. 29, at your choice of two times.

Michele will explain what NOT to send to producers, what NOT to
pitch to guest bookers, and mistakes you should never make, or
the decision-makers will blackball you forever.

Then, she’ll explain the three big secrets for doing it the right
way. You’ll also hear from other veteran TV producers and
surprise guests.

Register at http://tinyurl.com/Oprahcall

Then, read about my Number One tip for getting onto Oprah and the
other big TV talk shows. It’s at my blog at
http://tinyurl.com/ab9lkh

=======================================
2. 5 Big Blogging Boo-boos
=======================================

Working too hard on your blog and seeing little traffic, hardly
any comments and zero sales?

If so, Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff, aka the Blog Squad, say
it might be because you’re making one of these five frequent
mistakes:

–You’re not blogging often enough, usually because you don’t
have time. Here’s my solution. Each week, I’m trying to reduce by
at least one hour the time I spend answering email (unproductive)
and using it instead to write on my blog.

–Your blog isn’t focused on a topic, or a series of related
topics. If your content is all over the landscape, you can’t get
the Google juice necessary to pull in traffic for specific
keywords.

–Your readers don’t know who you are because your name, or your
photo, or both, are missing from your blog. If they don’t know
who you are, how in the world can they eventually like and trust
you?

–There’s no way for your readers to subscribe to your blog
updates. Either you aren’t offering an RSS feed, or you’re not
letting readers subscribe to automatic email alerts each time you
post.

–You aren’t engaging your readers and making them part of the
conversation. Instead, you’re writing only about topics you like.
Offer quizzes, write about controversial topics and ask for their
opinions, find out what topics they what to read about, or
challenge them to do something that will improve their lives.
Keep them engaged, and they’ll keep coming back.

Those are only five little morsels from the dozens of tips The
Blog Squad shared during yesterday’s teleseminar on how to “Build
Your Biz with a Blog: It’s Not an Option Anymore!–How to Build a
Professional Blog that Turns Prospects into Clients.”

You can listen to the replay at
http://blogsquad.audioacrobat.com/download/bizblog_012609.mp3

Important Note: Wednesday night, Jan. 28, at midnight is the
deadline for The Blog Squad’s special offer for Publicity Hounds
who want to take 20 percent off the price of any of their three
levels of coaching. That means that if you want them to do
everything for you, including setting up your blog so you don’t
have to bother with all that techie stuff, you can save $400.

Go to http://www.theblogsquad.net/joan and at check-out, use the
code js20 so you don’t have to pay full price.

Grab it now, or kick yourself later.

========================================
3. Pitch Spring Gifts Now
========================================

With all the shake-ups in the newspaper, magazine, TV and radio
industries the last few months, you can’t afford to rely on
outdated reference materials.

If you sell a consumer product, including a book, that would make
a great gift for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Graduation Day, a
prom, a wedding, or any other event taking place in April, May or
June, you must know about the Gift List. It’s a subscription
service that provides contact information and leads for more than
1,000 media outlets.

It profiles new product editors from a range of national
magazines, regional publications, news wires and syndicates,
national broadcast television, syndicated television, national
radio, and the top daily newspapers.

The Gift List interviews them and profiles their interests from
fashion, beauty, tech, home, fitness and more. This is the time
to kick your spring publicity campaign into high gear because
deadlines are now for major national magazines.

Nobody produces a more extensive list of consumer product media
interests, submission guidelines, contact preferences, deadlines
and more.

Learn more about the service and take a test drive at
http://tinyurl.com/9es8y

=======================================
4. I Don’t Want You to Disappear
=======================================

I recently changed servers at the list management company that
distributes this newsletter, and I don’t want you to drop off my
list.

Please add galaxy.sparklist.com to your Friends list or Whitelist
and contact me immediately if you suddenly stop receiving the
newsletter so we can find out what went wrong.

You can find back issue you have missed in the archives at
http://www.publicityarticles.net/archive/

Thanks for your loyalty, Hounds, and for your great ideas,
publicity success stories and other content for this newsletter.

Making sure readers continue receiving your newsletters is a
major problem, but the rewards are worth it. You will increase
your chances of generating publicity if you have both a blog and
an ezine, and cross-promote from each.

I interviewed online marketing expert Don Crowther, who is a
stickler for testing, on all the ways to cross-promote. He
explained the results of his tests during our teleseminar on “How
to Use a Blog and an Ezine Together to Grow Your Business.” It’s
available as a CD or an electronic transcript that you can
download and be reading as soon as your order has been approved.

Read more about what you’ll learn at http://tinyurl.com/79383q

Coming soon: My survey, asking you about what you want to read
here, how I can serve you better, and what products and services
you need that I don’t offer. And you’ll love the way I’ll say
“thanks” to everyone who completes it.

==========================================
5. Promoting Abstract Art
==========================================

This week, three Publicity Hounds have tips for Beth Stafford of
Concord, N.C., an abstract artist who is looking for a few quick,
simple ways to promote her website at
http://www.bethstafford.com/ and her blog at
http://www.airedale-art.blogspot.com/

From Michele Bailey-Lessirard:

“Your art and website are beautiful. My first reaction is why not
blog more. The last post was back in October. It’s about UFOs
which was very interesting and leaves me wanting to know more
about you–and then there is nothing…Join Facebook. Start
twittering in your dog Cassie’s voice, from Cassie’s perspective.
Play up the PiCassieO angle. It’s original and fun.”

From Shelli Johannes-Wells:

“Market to dog organizations, hotels that allow dogs, pet stores,
veterinarians, etc…”

From The Publicity Hound:

Dive into social networking right now, or leave a lot of money on
the table. Here are three of my best tips:

–Create a profile on Facebook and build one or more fan pages.
This is the place to display and promote your artwork. Fans do
not have to be followers. That’s why these pages are so valuable.

–Also, start uploading photos of your artwork to Flickr, the
photo-sharing site.

–Create videos, or an entire series of short videos (about 2
min, 30 seconds each) of you, dog Cassie and your artwork, and
upload to YouTube and the other video-sharing sites. These will
bring tons of traffic to your website.

If you’re new to social networking, find a teen-ager to walk you
through how to do all of the above. For many more tips, check out
“How Artists Can Sell More Artwork through Online & Offline
Publicity,” a recording of a teleseminar I did with art marketing
expert Ariane Goodwin, at http://tinyurl.com/yvewm8

Read all the responses to this week’s Help This Hound question
http://tinyurl.com/7jqucq

Send your own Help this Hound question to:
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com and include your city and
state.

==================================
6. Help This Hound
==================================

Michele Lessirard of Vero Beach, Fla. writes:

“I have been blogging for more than seven years at New Moon
Journal http://www.newmoonjournal.com and my blog
http://newmoonjournal.blogs.com

“Now, there’s a high-profile Harry Potter-type author named
Stephanie Myer who’s written a series of vampire novels. One
best-seller is New Moon. Of course, I am competing now for search
engine optimization with her New Moon book and soon-to-be movie.
The New Moon Journal is an astrology blog dedicated to creativity
and personal growth using the lunar cycles for power, healing and
problem solving.

“How can I use this name recognition and ride on the coattails of
her book. Is it possible?”

The Publicity Hound says:

It sure is. The many authors, publishers and book publicity
experts who read this newsletter can post their best ideas to my
blog at http://tinyurl.com/dnju3x

Here’s my idea. Go over to Amazon.com and review Stephanie’s
books, which will let you link back to your blogs. You can also
create “best of” lists dealing with your topic and all kinds of
other content to attract the attention of her readers.

Randy Gilbert and Don Mitchell are all over that website and pull
in tons of traffic to their own sites as a result. They were my
guests during a teleseminar on “How to Make Amazon a River of
Gold (for Authors, Speakers & Experts).”

It’s available as a CD or an electronic transcript that you can
download and be reading as soon as your order has been approved.

Read more about how to piggyback onto the popularity of other
best-selling authors or products at http://tinyurl.com/7u76e

==================================
7. Hound Joke of the Week
==================================

Thanks to Elaine Grassbaugh of Columbus, Ohio for this one, which
I ran by the censorship police. They said go for it.

Yesterday I was buying a two large bags of Purina Dog Chow at
Wal-Mart for my dogs Dexter, Gypsy, Sky, & Blade. I was about to
check out when a woman behind me asked if I had a dog. (What did
she think, that I had an elephant?)

Since I had little else to do, on impulse I told her that no, I
didn’t have a dog, and that I was starting the Purina eating plan
again, although I probably shouldn’t because I ended up in the
hospital last time. On the bright side, though, I’d shaved off 50
p~ounds before I awakened in an intensive care ward with tubes
coming out of every hole in my body and IVs in both arms.

I told her that the way it works is to load your pockets with
Purina nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel
hungry, and that the food is nutritionally complete so I was
going to try it again. (I have to mention here that practically
everyone in the line was enthralled with my story by now.)

Horrified, she asked if I ended up in intensive care because the
dog food had poisoned me. I told her no–a car hit me after I had
stopped in the middle of the parking lot to lick my butt.

I thought the guy behind her was going to have a heart attack, he
was laughing so hard! Wal-Mart won’t let me shop there anymore.

DOG JOKES & QUOTES EBOOK: 170+ G-rated dog jokes and quotes,
perfect for a dog-lover, your favorite vet, or just for a few
good laughs.

BONUS: Buy the ebook and you also get a compilation of the 50
best websites for dog humor.

http://www.publicityhound.com/dogjokebook/

===================================
8. And at My Blog…
===================================

Show both sides of your life at social networking sites
http://tinyurl.com/cygctz

Here’s another keyword density tool for press releases
http://tinyurl.com/ca7haw

My #1 tip for getting onto ‘Oprah’ and other big TV shows
http://tinyurl.com/ab9lkh

Can your social networking profile pass the 10-second test?
http://tinyurl.com/blvdby

————————————–

WHERE TO SEE AND HEAR THE PUBLICITY HOUND:

Monday, Jan. 26–Teleseminar Replay

During yesterday’s “Boost Your Biz with a Blog” teleseminar,
Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff, aka The Blog Squad,
explained how to draw more traffic and boost more sales from a
blog. Listen to the replay at
http://blogsquad.audioacrobat.com/download/bizblog_012609.mp3

March 6-8–Atlanta, Ga.

I’ll be at the Stompernet’s Live7 event. If you’re going, let’s
meet for coffee.

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You may reprint any items from “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the
Week” in your print or electronic newsletter. But please include
the following paragraph:

Reprinted from “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week,” an ezine
featuring tips, tricks and tools for generating free publicity.
Subscribe at http://www.publicityhound.com/ and receive by email
the handy cheat sheet “89 Reasons to Send a News Release.”

If you like these tips please pass them on to your friends,
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PRIVACY STATEMENT:

The Publicity Hound® respects your privacy and has a strict anti-
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http://www.publicityhound.com/privacypolicy.htm

=======================================================
Joan Stewart
a.k.a. The Publicity Hound®
3434 County KK
Port Washington, WI 53074
USA
Phone: 262-284-7451 (Central) Fax: 262-284-1737

The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #434 Jan. 20, 2009
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)

Circulation: 43,628

==========================================

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

Receive this ezine direct to your desktop
http://www.publicityarticles.net/archive/

==========================================

You are receiving this because you signed up for it at The
Publicity Hound website at http://www.publicityhound.com/ or you
told me that you want to subscribe. If you didn’t subscribe, you
can unsubscribe by clicking the link at the bottom of the
newsletter.

Please forward this ezine to anyone you know who needs free
publicity to establish their credibility, enhance their
reputation, position themselves as employers of choice, sell more
products and services, or promote a favorite cause or issue.

================================
In This Issue
================================

1. Put Your Pet in the White House

2. The Real Power of Your Press Release

3. Formula Five is Live

4. Still Not Blogging?

5. Promoting Sensitivity Training

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Video of the Week

8. And at My Blog…

===================================
1. Put Your Pet in the White House
===================================

When the party’s over tonight, you just know that Malia and Sasha
will start pestering mom and dad for that puppy.

How about giving the First Family a taste of what the White House
will look like if they choose a pet just like yours? Heck, let’s
make your pet the Official Obama Pet–right now!

Head over to Pawfun.com, a new custom photo T-shirt site for pet
lovers and participate in the Obama spoof that lets you super-
impose a photo of your pet, and then send it as an e-card.

That’s what I did this morning. You can see Bogie, my German
Shorthaired Pointer, peeking out from under the president’s
outstretched arm, to the left of the photo, at
http://www.pawfun.com/ecards/?c=210

While you’re at the site, how about ordering a T-shirt that shows
your pet with its new owners?

Talk about perfect timing. Social media expert BL Ochman and her
partner, Caimin Jones, launched the site late Saturday night.
Since then, eager pet lovers have sent the e-cards more than
4,500 times.

Create your own card at http://www.pawfun.com/promo/

“While there’s no shortage of T-shirt sites, our goal is to make
ours more fun than the rest,” BL said. “And we’ve picked a niche
we’ll go deep into instead of trying to be all things to all
people. That’s because the Internet, and increasingly the world,
is a niche-or-be-niched place these days.”

She and her partner will be using all the social media tools on
Pawfun.com that they’re always trying to get their Fortune 500
clients to try–but now they’re the client.

What an incredibly clever tie-in to today’s world event. BL
always keeps me posted on what she’s doing, and I’ll share her
success stories with social networking, and anybody else’s, here.
(Hint: Send me your success stories.)

BL, by the way, presented a content-rich teleseminar a few months
ago on “How to do Social Networking, Run a Business & Still Have
a Life.” If you follow her on Twitter at @whatsnext, you’d swear
she spends all her waking hours tweeting. But launching a
business eats up hours upon hours, so BL has had to create
shortcuts for keeping Twitter and the other social networking
sites in which she participates within her control–so they don’t
control her.

You can order the electronic transcript or MP3 audio of our
teleseminar and download them as soon as your order has been
approved, or you can choose the CD. Read more about how to save
time and your sanity during social networking at
http://tinyurl.com/a6guxq

=======================================
2. The Real Power of Your Press Release
=======================================

How much power do you really have to promote your product,
service, cause or issue with the lowly press release?

If you’re hoping to generate a major story in the traditional
media, not much. That’s because journalists despise them and
delete nine out of 10 press releases. A big story usually
requires a customized pitch, not a one-size-fits-all press
release.

If you’re hoping to catch the attention of bloggers, consumers
and those on the social media landscape, quite a bit. But only if
you throw most of the old press release writing rules out the
window.

For example, in the old days, we absolutely could NOT write a
press release that smacked of promotion or it would repel
journalists. Today, however, smart Publicity Hounds use the press
release to give away information and tips, and then link to what
they’re promoting at their websites–not with just one link high
in the release but with several links throughout.

That tactic means you can completely bypass traditional media and
go straight to the decision-makers who will find your release, if
you’ve written it correctly, when Googling.

If you’re new to releases, or you’ve been writing them for years,
sign up for my free email tutorial “89 Ways to Write Powerful
Press Releases.” It’s an intensive 12-week course delivered by
email. Stick with it right to end and it will be like you’ve
earned a master’s degree in writing and distributing releases.
You’ll know more about the topic than most professional PR
people.

I’m honored that the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary under the
Department of Homeland Security is using the course to train its
communications officers at the grassroots level through an online
training site. Deputy Chief Tom Nunes of the Public Affairs
Department says they’re even creating quizzes for students as
part of the course. Cool!

Haven’t taken the tutorial yet? Sign up at
http://tinyurl.com/pressreleasetutorial or buy the entire course
in a handy ebook for only $27. You can read the long, long list
of glowing testimonials from happy Hounds who loved it and are
already generating fabulous publicity as a result.

========================================
3. Formula Five is Live
========================================

For the last several weeks, I’ve been raving about “Formula
Five,” the business building program that’s perfect for any
business, regardless of what you’re selling.

Now, the wait is over.

The shopping cart opened yesterday for “Formula Five.” It was
created by Paul Lemberg, who shared dozens of take-away tips
during the teleseminar with him that I hosted for several hundred
Publicity Hounds on Jan. 8.

You can pick up your copy of Formula Five here:
http://tinyurl.com/PaulLembergFormulaFive

Because the package includes ongoing support, there are limited
spots in the program.

Business owners just like you have already earned tens of
thousands of dollars only using 1/20th of Formula Five. Today,
you can be one of the first to get the whole enchilada so you
can start doubling your business this year.

Even if Formula Five isn’t within your budget right now, at
least check out the package of videos on the page, take good
notes and start tweaking your business to make more money
starting today.

P.S. This is a no-brainer. Just hope your competitors haven’t
heard about it.

=======================================
4. Still Not Blogging?
=======================================

Attention bloggers, or those who are just creating a blog.

Learn proven tips on how to drive thousands more visitors to your
blog, sell your products and services there, and write compelling
posts that build a loyal customer following and position you as
an expert.

Here’s the best part. You don’t have to be a techie.

Join me as I interview Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff, aka The
Blog Squad, during a free teleseminar called “Boost Your Biz with
a Blog” from 4 to 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, Jan. 26.
Register at http://www.blogsquadteleseminars.com/joan/

==========================================
5. Promoting Sensitivity Training
==========================================

This week, five Publicity Hounds have tips for Pegine Echevarria
of Jacksonville, FL, who is launching a licensed training program
called “White Guys Are Diverse Too!” She is looking for ideas to
capture the interest of corporate and government chief diversity
officers.

From Candy Tutt:

“In all honesty, I would recommend changing the title of the
project. While it is catchy, it will be perceived as separatist
and off-putting to many people. Our society still tends to tip
the scales in favor of “white guys” and the program title
perpetuates a feeling of cultural superiority.

“If, in your experience white guys tend to walk out of D&I
programs thinking they are excluded and not valued for the unique
individualized impact that they bring, perhaps the D&I sessions
are not geared to reaching the very people at whom they are
aimed.”

From Kevin Gaydosh:

“Constant portrayals by the news media and popular culture as
Walter Kowalskis or Archie Bunkers displays a prejudice–yes,
prejudice–that is perhaps the biggest fear/largest turn-off that
the target audience has with much diversity training.

“Also, I’m not in HR, but an earlier Hound might be correct in
suggesting a name change. While an arresting, attention-getting
and (to some) a cute/funny title, it’s doubtful that many Fortune
500 companies are going to post that seminar up on their Intranet
or in the employee break rooms precisely because of the title.

“Perhaps it would be best if you pitched your program under a new
(PC) moniker but touted it as being better than the competition
because you do pay particular attention to this often
‘overlooked, under appreciated’ group.”

From Dal Jeanis:

“You might want to contact companies, especially minority-owned
companies, that do diversity (or cultural sensitivity) training.
Provide each company with two f~ree copies of your book. If they
add your book in as, say, one-third of a course, then you’re
golden.

“One current events hook you can use to promote your mix is the
following: With Obama’s success, pre-existing diversity programs
are going to need major retooling. Are they needed at all?
Diversity trainers say yes, some pundits say no, and Pegine
Echevarria says no, but they need to address all the
consistencies of diversity.”

The Publicity Hound says:

Pegine, how about going over to LinkedIn and using the question
and answer feature to generate some additional feedback and
exposure for your training? I wouldn’t post the identical
question you asked in Help This Hound, but there are lots of
other things you could ask about.

Scott Allen, a LinkedIn expert, says the Q&A feature is a
fabulous way collect information and let the world know what
you’re doing. But you have to use it correctly. He explained how
during the teleseminar I hosted with him on “How to Use LinkedIn
to Promote Anything–Ethically & Powerfully.”

It’s available as electronic transcripts and your choice of MP3
audios or CDs. Read more about what you’ll learn at
http://tinyurl.com/5zvzyd

Read all the responses to this week’s Help This Hound question
at http://tinyurl.com/829jv3

Send your own Help this Hound question to:
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com and include your city and state.

==================================
6. Help This Hound
==================================

Beth Stafford of Concord, N.C. writes:

“I am an artist working in collaboration with my dog to produce
some of the wildest, most colorful and joyous abstract art
around.

“Our label is ‘PiCassieO,’ combining her name (Cassie) with an
artist name (obviously) who represents the human half of the team
(me). We have a store at CafePress which opened in July. It is
so far non-profit, even though the merchandise is really great!

“I have been attempting to promote it on my own website and
through our blog, but am spending too much time on nonproductive
promotion and not enough on the art. I need a few quick, simple
tips to get the ball rolling.

“Warning: My budget is ‘thread’ instead of ’shoestring,’ and I’m
a disaster at social networking on the web. Help!”

The Publicity Hound says:

To quote BL Ochman, mentioned in item Number One above, the
social networking train has already left the station. If you’re
not onboard now, you’ll get eaten alive by your competitors who
are. I highly suggest you read the transcript or listen to the
audio recording of the teleseminar I conducted with BL on “How to
do Social Networking, Run a Business & Still Have a Life” at
http://tinyurl.com/a6guxq

But that’s not all you can do. Hounds with great ideas for Beth
can post them to my blog at http://tinyurl.com/7jqucq

==================================
7. Hound Video of the Week
==================================

Save this video to watch on one of those Days from Hell when you
need a pick-me-up or something to make you smile.

It’s a CBS report from a few weeks ago on the Animal Odd Couple–
an 8,700-pound elephant named Tarra and her best friend, Bella
the dog.

http://tinyurl.com/8v2bza

Thanks to Publicity Hound Kim Condrin for sending it.

DOG JOKES & QUOTES EBOOK: 170+ G-rated dog jokes and quotes,
perfect for a dog-lover, your favorite vet, or just for a few
good laughs.

BONUS: Buy the ebook and you also get a compilation of the 50
best websites for dog humor.

http://www.publicityhound.com/dogjokebook/

===================================
8. And at My Blog…
===================================

Let’s meet at Stompernet event March 5-8 in Atlanta
http://tinyurl.com/94vmvn

How Twitter can help you fix your toilet
http://tinyurl.com/8lcjvt

————————————–

WHERE TO SEE AND HEAR THE PUBLICITY HOUND:

Wednesday, Jan. 21–Teleseminar

Join me for the third annual smARTist telesummit where
photographers, jewelers, potters, painters, metalworkers,
woodworkers and other artists will learn all the secrets for
growing their art business. I’m presenting a session on how to
use social networking, from 2 to 2:45 Eastern Time on Wednesday,
Jan. 21. Sorry, but registration is closed. You’ll have to wait
until Ariane Goodwin offers the training as a product.

Monday, Jan. 26–Teleseminar

“Boost Your Biz with a Blog,” from 4 to 5 p.m. Eastern on Monday,
Jan. 26. Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff, aka The Blog Squad,
will explain how to draw more traffic and boost more sales from a
blog. You’ll also learn about the biggest mistakes bloggers make
and how they sabotage their own success. Register at
http://www.blogsquadteleseminars.com/joan/

PERMISSION TO REPRINT:

You may reprint any items from “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the
Week” in your print or electronic newsletter. But please include
the following paragraph:

Reprinted from “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week,” an ezine
featuring tips, tricks and tools for generating free publicity.
Subscribe at http://www.publicityhound.com/ and receive by email
the handy cheat sheet “89 Reasons to Send a News Release.”

If you like these tips please pass them on to your friends,
clients and colleagues.

You are receiving this because you signed up for it at The
Publicity Hound® website at http://www.publicityhound.com/ or you
told me you want to subscribe.

PRIVACY STATEMENT:

The Publicity Hound® respects your privacy and has a strict anti-
spam policy. Read my privacy policy at
http://www.publicityhound.com/privacypolicy.htm

=======================================================
Joan Stewart
a.k.a. The Publicity Hound®
3434 County KK
Port Washington, WI 53074
USA
Phone: 262-284-7451 (Central) Fax: 262-284-1737

The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #433 Jan. 14, 2009
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)

Circulation: 43,767

==========================================

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

Receive this ezine direct to your desktop
http://www.publicityarticles.net/archive/

==========================================

You are receiving this because you signed up for it at The Publicity
Hound website at http://www.publicityhound.com/ or you told me
that you want to subscribe. If you didn’t subscribe, you can
unsubscribe by clicking the link at the bottom of the newsletter.

Please forward this ezine to anyone you know who needs free
publicity to establish their credibility, enhance their reputation,
position themselves as employers of choice, sell more products
and services, or promote a favorite cause or issue.

******************************************

Teleseminar: Build a Better Blog

Attention bloggers, or those who are just creating a blog. Learn
proven tips on how to drive thousands more visitors to your blog,
sell your products and services there, and write compelling posts
that build a loyal customer following and position you as an expert.

Here’s the best part. You don’t have to be a techie. Join me as I
interview Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff, aka The Blog Squad,
during a free teleseminar called “Boost Your Biz with a Blog”
from 4 to 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, Jan. 26. Register at
http://www.blogsquadteleseminars.com/joan/

*****************************************

================================
In This Issue
================================

1. It’s Not About You

2. The Power of Surveys

3. Sell Books by the Truckload

4. Create Your Own Holiday

5. Promoting a Book on Marriage

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Quote of the Week

8. And at My Blog…

===================================
1. It’s Not About You
===================================

Trusting the wrong doctor almost killed motivational speaker
Edward Leigh of Cleveland, Ohio.

In 1997, at age 39, Edward started having abdominal pains. His
doctor prescribed Pepto-Bismol. The doctor then performed a
sigmoidoscopy, which came back normal.

During the next two and a half years, his condition worsened and
included nausea, dizziness and rectal bleeding. His doctor
recommended that Edward continue with over-the-counter
medication.

When his symptoms became so severe that he collapsed on the
bathroom floor, he sought help from another doctor who ordered a
colonoscopy. The diagnosis: Stage III Colon Cancer.

The initial test he had, a sigmoidoscopy, is a partial colon exam
that views only the left portion of the colon. The complete colon
exam, the colonoscopy, found his right-sided tumor.

After his surgery and chemotherapy, Edward joined the Colon
Cancer Alliance and later joined a colon cancer listserv via the
Association of Cancer Online Resources.

In March 2000, when “Today” show host Katie Couric was creating
her series called “Confronting Colon Cancer” following the death of
her husband from that disease, Katie’s producer contacted the
Colon Cancer Alliance seeking people who had been diagnosed
and survived.

Edward stepped forward.

“The producer interviewed me, checked back with Katie who was
the decision maker, and she said ‘Bring him to New York.’ A week
later, we did the taping and I was part of Katie’s week-long series
that won a Peabody Award.”

From there, the publicity snowballed to include:

–An appearance on “Mystery Diagnosis” on the Discovery Health
Channel which is now being repeated on the Learning Channel.

–An interview with Montel Williams in March last year. You can see
it at http://tinyurl.com/9xsvy3

–Numerous requests for speaking engagements and consulting for
the health care industry. Today, Edward teaches doctors how to
communicate better with their patients. He also helps patients
become their own health care advocates.

He said he uses many of the tips he reads in this newsletter to
pitch media large and small. Even though he has a compelling
story to tell, he follows his own advice when pitching.

“Don’t be focused on your own agenda. You have to be focused on
your topic and the media outlet’s audience when you’re talking to a
producer. It’s not all about you. If you make it all about you, that’s a
death sentence as far as the media is concerned.”

Ditto when the cameras are rolling. TV talk show host Connie
Dieken, who also hails from Cleveland, says that if you’re bombing
on the air, producers will cut the interview short and hustle you out
of the studio–pronto–before you can do any more damage.

But why take that chance?

Know exactly how to endear yourself to the host and the producers
and get invited back. Connie explained how when she was my
guest during a teleseminar on “How to be a TV Talk Show Host’s
Dream Date.” It’s available as a CD or an electronic transcript that
you can download and be reading as soon as your order has been
approved.

Read more about what you’ll learn at http://tinyurl.com/3z7ut

Edward, by the way, says he’ll be glad to answer colon questions
from Publicity Hounds if you contact him at
mailto:Edward@EdwardLeigh.com

===================================
2. The Power of Surveys
===================================

If knowledge is power, then surveys are like a giant jackhammer in
your marketing toolbox.

You can take a fun, controversial or timely survey and report results
to the media and to consumers.

Or, you can do what I’m doing and survey your customers to see
what else they need from you that you’re not currently providing.
That survey should be ready for you in a few weeks, and I’ll even
reward you with some cool stuff to encourage you to complete it.

Business consultant Paul Lemberg says too many business
owners are obsessed with chasing down new leads when they
should be spending some of that time also figuring out how to sell
more products and services to their existing customers. That’s one
of his five formulas for any business that wants to double its
business this year: sell more stuff to the same people.

During last week’s teleseminar on “5 Ways to Double Your
Business in 2009,” Paul explained that you don’t need an elaborate
survey like the one I’m creating. Instead, one phone call to just one
customer can result in valuable information that can lead to new
products and services.

In fact, he suggests just one short question and he tells you
exactly how to word it. About 200 people joined us on last week’s
call and heard Paul’s other valuable advice on how to raise prices in
a meltdown economy, one task to do at the beginning of every day
that will make your business soar, and a really clever way to reward
your customers for bringing you new leads, without breaking the
bank.

You can read more about his tips and listen to the replay at my
blog at http://tinyurl.com/9fzrq9

Paul’s Formula Five series of videos and checklists will be available
soon from Stompernet at http://tinyurl.com/a6j4pw where you’ll find
an entire series of videos on this program, and dozens of take-away
tips you can start using today.

========================================
3. Sell Books by the Truckload
========================================

Too many authors try to sell books the hard way. They look for
10,000 customers so they can sell 10,000 books.

It’s sometimes a lot easier to sell all those books–or even 100,000
books–to only one customer.

How? By searching for companies that typically buy books in mass
quantity and give them away as free “premium incentives” to
encourage people to buy their products. Many of these same
companies:

–Give away the books as thank-you gifts to people who buy other
products and services.

–Use the book to thank members or subscribers who renew.

–Rely on the book to help train their employees.

Matthew Bennett has used this simple strategy as an unknown,
self-published author to sell more than 5 million books.

He has written books on health, pets, fitness and inspiration and
then sold them in quantity to companies like Disney, Reebok,
NBC, Abbot Labs, Pfizer, US Healthplans and Subway.

Steve Harrison is hosting a free one-hour teleseminar with Matthew
on Thursday, Jan. 15, at your choice of two times. If you cannot
make either call, find someone who can listen and take notes for
you.

Matthew will share his tips on how he sold more than 80,000
copies of an inspirational book in just one phone conversation.
He’ll also explain how you can tie in with major charities like the
March of Dimes and the American Heart Association to sell
truckloads of books and raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for
charity. You’ll also learn the three things you absolutely must arm
yourself with before ever pitching your book.

Like most free teleseminars, Steve is hoping that after you listen to
the call, you’ll buy their consulting services to learn how to do this
in detail. So just sit back, relax and listen.

Click here to continue reading about what you’ll learn and to sign
up: http://www.freepublicity.com/mattbennett/?10011

=======================================
4. Create Your Own Holiday
=======================================

If you haven’t created your own holiday, or your own day, week or
month of the year, you’re missing out on the chance to generate
tons of print, broadcast and online publicity.

Take a look at some of the cool holidays that members of the
National Speakers Association have created. I found this list in the
current issue of NSA’s Speaker magazine:

–Steve Hughes created “Be Kind to Lawyers Day” the second
Tuesday in April.

–Laura Stack created “National Leave the Office Earlier Day” on
June 2 to promote her book, Leave the Office Earlier. It coincides
with her birthday. Problem is, so many media outlets want to
interview her that she ends up working 12 hours on her birthday just
to accommodate them all.

–Publicity Hound Michelle Nichols created a wildly successful
nationwide campaign to promote National Hug Your Kids Day, the
third Monday in July. She convinced Clear Channel Outdoor to
donate 135 digital billboards, eight Gannett newspapers to run
“Citymoms.com” contests, and three Major League baseball teams
to announce it on their Jumbotrons.

–Publicity Hound Carol Copeland has christened June as Student
Safety Month.

–Marilee Driscoll has designated October Long-Term Care Planning
Month.

What are you waiting for? Now, it’s your turn.

If you’re on LinkedIn, you can use that popular social networking
site to actually promote your holiday, just like Michelle Nichols did.
Scott Allen, an expert on LinkedIn, critiqued Michelle’s LinkedIn
campaign and made several suggestions which she used.
They resulted in instant feedback from the LinkedIn community
within only 48 hours.

Scott explained her campaign when he was my guest during a
teleseminar on “How to Use LinkedIn to Promote Anything–
Ethically & Powerfully.” It’s available as electronic transcripts and
your choice of MP3s or CDs. Read more about how to launch a
publicity campaign on the world’s largest business networking site
at http://tinyurl.com/5zvzyd

==========================================
5. Promoting a Book on Marriage
==========================================

This week, 11 Publicity Hounds have tips for Sheryl P. Kurland of
Orlando, FL, author of Everlasting Matrimony: Pearls of Wisdom
from Couples Married 50 Years or More. She needs new ideas to
stimulate sales of the book in time for Valentine’s Day.

From Lisa Lockwood:

“Announce your book in a press release on PR Web. I’m self-
published and landed a spot on The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch
just by announcing that I was launching my book tour.”

From Cheryl Pickett:

“I suggest you check out the book The Daughter-in-Law Rules at
http://www.thedilrules.com. Author Sally Shields lists some of the
publicity success she’s had with her self-published book, and you
share a similar audience. I also know she’d be willing to share more
help if you contacted her.”

From Bonnie Lowe:

“Can you jump on the ‘bad economy’ bandwagon? Are there any
stories in your book that might show readers how to be romantic
without spending much money? Could you do a press release on
‘How to spend less on your Valentine without looking cheap’ or
something like that, and tie it into your book?”

The Publicity Hound says:

Sheryl, if you could round up a few couples who would be willing to
be interviewed, this would make a great segment for National Public
Radio. Go to the NPR site at http://www.npr.org and use the search
box at the top of the screen to search for words like “marriage” and
“matrimony” and see what you find. You can listen to many of the
shows in the archives before you pitch the producers.

But before you do, follow Lissa Warren’s tips on how to navigate the
NPR labyrinth because it can get confusing. Lissa, a book
publicist, has successfully pitched dozens of her clients to NPR,
and she shared all her secrets during a teleseminar I conducted
with her on “How to Get Booked on National Public Radio.”

It’s available as a CD or an electronic transcript that you can
download and be reading as soon as your order has been approved.

Read more about what you need to get onto NPR at
http://tinyurl.com/ayms6

Read all the responses to this week’s Help This Hound question
http://tinyurl.com/832mpk

Send your own Help this Hound question to:
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
and include your city and state.

==================================
6. Help This Hound
==================================

Pegine Echevarria of Jacksonville, Fla. writes:

“I am launching a licensed training program called ‘White Guys Are
Diverse Too!’

“I want to capture the interest of corporate and government chief
diversity offers, chief learning officers and senior leadership of large
corporations who can purchase this program to spread the word to
their employees.

“The topic is controversial. In large organizations, Diversity and
Inclusion (D&I) programs are part of everyone’s training.
However, white guys tend to walk out of D&I programs thinking they
are excluded and not valued for the unique individualized impact
that they bring.

“‘White Guys Are Diverse Too!’ celebrates the diversity among white
guys, the value they bring to their organizations and teams along
with how managers can engage, motivate and inspire their white
male team members.

“I need ideas, help to get the word out that ‘White Guys are Diverse
Too!’ The website at http://www.WhiteGuysAreDiverse.com
offers a no-obligation special report. Can you give me some no
cost/low cost ideas?

P.S. I’ve spent my life savings on this product. It has to reach the
masses.

The Publicity Hound says:

See the fabulous movie “Gran Torino” in which Clint Eastwood
plays the racist Walt Kowalski, a tough, gruff, crotchety old man
who hates everybody who isn’t white–or at least thinks he does.

Start writing press releases and articles and using the social
networking sites to write about “What Would Walt Kowalski Do?”
and then tie it into your training. Piggybacking off celebrities and
red-hot movies (this one is a contender for several Oscars) is a
fabulous way to pull in traffic from the search engines.

My “Special Report #50: How to Piggyback onto Celebrity News to
Promote Your Product, Service, Cause or Issue” gives you lots
more ideas. Only $10. Order at http://tinyurl.com/gy6bd

Hounds with other ideas for Pegine can post them to my blog at
http://tinyurl.com/829jv3

==================================
7. Hound Quote of the Week
==================================

“I know that dogs are pack animals, but it is difficult to imagine a
pack of standard poodles…and if there was such a thing as a pack
of standard poodles, where would they rove to?
Bloomingdale’s?

–Yvonne Clifford, American actress

DOG JOKES & QUOTES EBOOK: 170+ G-rated dog jokes and
quotes, perfect for a dog-lover, your favorite vet, or just for a few
good laughs.

BONUS: Buy the ebook and you also get a compilation of the 50
best websites for dog humor.

http://www.publicityhound.com/dogjokebook/

===================================
8. And at My Blog…
===================================

Why lowering your prices can ruin your business
http://tinyurl.com/9fzrq9

————————————–

WHERE TO SEE AND HEAR THE PUBLICITY HOUND:

Wednesday, Jan. 21–Teleseminar

Join me for the third annual smARTist telesummit where
photographers, jewelers, potters, painters, metalworkers,
woodworkers and other artists will learn all the secrets for growing
their art business. I’m presenting a session on how to use social
networking, from 2 to 2:45 Eastern Time on Wednesday, Jan. 21.
Register for the telesummit at http://tinyurl.com/5axy3x

Monday, Jan. 26–Teleseminar

“Boost Your Biz with a Blog,” from 4 to 5 p.m. Eastern on Monday,
Jan. 26. Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff, aka The Blog Squad,
will explain how to draw more traffic and boost more sales from a
blog. You’ll also learn about the biggest mistakes bloggers make
and how they sabotage their own success. Register at
http://www.blogsquadteleseminars.com/joan/

PERMISSION TO REPRINT:

You may reprint any items from “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the
Week” in your print or electronic newsletter. But please include the
following paragraph:

Reprinted from “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week,” an ezine
featuring tips, tricks and tools for generating free publicity.
Subscribe at http://www.publicityhound.com/ and receive by email
the handy cheat sheet “89 Reasons to Send a News Release.”

If you like these tips please pass them on to your friends, clients
and colleagues.

You are receiving this because you signed up for it at The Publicity
Hound® website at http://www.publicityhound.com/ or you told me
you want to subscribe.

PRIVACY STATEMENT:

The Publicity Hound® respects your privacy and has a strict anti-
spam policy. Read my privacy policy at
http://www.publicityhound.com/privacypolicy.htm

================================================
Joan Stewart
a.k.a. The Publicity Hound®
3434 County KK
Port Washington, WI 53074
USA
Phone: 262-284-7451 (Central) Fax: 262-284-1737

The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #432 Jan. 6, 2008
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)

Circulation: 43,872

==========================================

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

Receive this ezine direct to your desktop
http://www.publicityarticles.net/archive/

==========================================

You are receiving this because you signed up for it at The Publicity
Hound website at http://www.publicityhound.com/ or you told me
that you want to subscribe. If you didn’t subscribe, you can
unsubscribe by clicking the link at the bottom of the newsletter.

Please forward this ezine to anyone you know who needs free
publicity to establish their credibility, enhance their reputation,
position themselves as employers of choice, sell more products
and services, or promote a favorite cause or issue.

******************************************

Still Time to Download ‘Best of 2008′ Ebook

More than 3,000 Publicity Hounds have claimed their copy of “The
Best of The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week of 2008,” the free
ebook that’s my holiday gift to you. Lots of Hounds have tweeted
about it on Twitter, shared it on Facebook, and encouraged their
followers to claim their copy. It isn’t too late to regift it.

Please use this link when sharing the book with your own readers,
followers and connections: http://tinyurl.com/Bestof2008Tips And if
you’d like to download the “Best of” books from previous years, you
can do so at http://tinyurl.com/bestofebooks

Thanks to all of my loyal Publicity Hounds for your continued
support. You make my job the best in the world.

*****************************************

================================
In This Issue
================================

1. Don’t Let Blog Content Confuse You

2. How About a Little Good News?

3. How Could I be So Dumb?

4. Beware of this Twitter Scam

5. Promoting a Christmas Tree Accessory

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Joke of the Week

8. And at My Blog…

=====================================
1. Don’t Let Blog Content Confuse You
=====================================

If you’re an expert, you’d better be cranking out lots of content in
these formats:

Blogs. Ezines. Twitter posts. Facebook notes. Articles at article
directory sites. Articles at your own website.

Yet some Publicity Hounds are easily confused about what kinds of
topics to write in which types of formats, particularly when writing
for their blogs.

Over the weekend, Publicity Hound Michele Nightengale, who
teaches bricks-and-mortar businesses how to market online, told
me she’s going to start blogging. But she’s confused about the
difference between content for her blog and content for articles at
her website.

“I can’t seem to differentiate them in my mind,” she said. “The
ideas for my articles page and my blog are identical. I can only
think to post my articles on my blog. How do you treat them
separately and without too much duplicate content?”

She’s right. There’s a lot of overlap. Here’s how I differentiate the
two:

Articles posted at article directory sites like
http://www.EzineArticles.com generally focus on helping people solve
a particular problem. The structure of these articles can follow various
formats. But in general, they offer solutions to a problem. And
they’re about 500-700 words. Examples:

–TV Publicity: 6 ways to find your way onto the local evening news

–Inflight magazines: 8 topics editors love to write about

–Hiring a publicist? Know the 4 ways they charge for their services

–Public service announcements have these 6 elements

Almost everything else, I told her, is fodder for a blog. Think of
blogging as journaling, or keeping a business diary. It usually
includes much more opinion than how-to articles do. And the
writing can be a little more personal and informal. You can use a
blog to:

–State an opinion on a topic.

–Comment on somebody else’s blog post or article and link to it.

–Comment on something happening in the news.

–Offer a quiz for a reader.

–Present a question from a reader and then offer the answer.

–Present a case study.

–Disagree with somebody else’s position on a topic, and explain
why.

–Discuss something in your personal life that relates to something
in your professional life.

–Review a book, home study course or other product you’ve
bought.

–Comment on a service you have used.

The ideas for blog content are endless. If you’re still short on ideas,
create several Google Alerts at http://www.Google.com/alerts for
topics you want to blog about.

Google will then email you as often as you wish and let you know
what articles, videos, news stories and other content about those
topics appear online.

I’ll address the topic of avoiding duplicate content in an upcoming
issue of this newsletter. But in general, you don’t want to use
identical content at your website, blog and article directory sites.

If you’re new to blogging, or if your current blog isn’t generating the
traffic or sales you had hoped, you’ll learn some quick tips from
Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff, aka The Blog Squad, during a
f~ree teleseminar from 4 to 5 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 26. It’s called
“Boost Your Biz with a Blog” and Denise and Patsi will explain how
they differentiate blog content from all the other kinds of content
they produce. You’ll also learn about the biggest mistakes bloggers
make and how beginning bloggers can sabotage their own
success.

Register at http://www.blogsquadteleseminars.com/joan/

===================================
2. How About a Little Good News?
===================================

All those bad news stories about the economy that the media love
will soon turn into old news. And when the economy worsens this
year, as predicted, that old news will be downright depressing.

It’s time to start thinking about a few good news ideas to pitch.
TV producer Shawne Duperon offers these ideas:

–Credit unions in four Midwestern states are generating fabulous
publicity in top-tier media outlets like USA Today by pledging $10
billion in loans to car buyers and teaming with General Motors to
offer special deals to boost car sales. You can read the USA Today
story at http://tinyurl.com/9lyes7

–How are retailers using tough times as an asset to sell products?
Some car companies launched new campaigns that guarantee if
you buy a car and lose your job within the year, you can return the
car. How effective will strategies like this be?

–How are you making the most of the economic downturn in your
business? Are you investing more in marketing? If so, let the media
know.

–Are you in an industry or niche that, so far, has been unaffected?
Many Internet marketers, for example, particularly those who sell
training on how to build a business, are reporting increased sales,
and have the shopping cart statistics to prove it.

If you have little good news to report but you still want to pitch, let
Shawne and me help you. We brainstormed “116 WOW!
Story Ideas from January through June” when we teamed up for a
teleseminar for Publicity Hounds. We recorded it, and it’s available
as a CD complete with a handout of all 116 ideas. You can
download the handout as soon as your order has been approved.

There’s something for everybody, and you can borrow all of our
ideas, starting today, by going to http://tinyurl.com/6k7zk

========================================
3. How Could I be So Dumb?
========================================

If you’ve already made a list of the top five or six goals you want to
achieve this year in your business, make sure they’re the types of
goals in which you can measure their success.

I have five goals for this year. Each one, if achieved, will help me
build my business by at least 15 percent. If I succeed at them all,
I’ll double my business.

All five are recommended by Paul Lemberg, a business coach who
created the Formula 5 system, a package of videos, checklists,
worksheets and mastermind coaching groups that provide ongoing
support. I’ve been devouring all of it the last several weeks, and I
already have the wheels in motion to survey Publicity Hounds in the
next few weeks about what they want and need–a technique that
will shorten my learning curve even more.

Several times during the course, when Paul explained a great
strategy, I slapped my palm against my forehead and asked out
loud, “Why am I not doing this? How could I be so dumb????”

One of the most valuable tips I learned is that the onslaught of
emails I’m receiving from business people offering cut-rate prices on
their products and services is, for them, the quickest way to the
poor house. In fact, raising prices, even in a meltdown economy, is
one of the fastest ways to success.

Interested? If not, move onto the next item. If so, here are two ways
to learn more about each of the five Formula 5 elements:

–Watch the first of three Stompernet videos that explains more
about Formula 5 and offers startling results of what can happen
when you raise the price of an ebook by a paltry $7, from $47 to
$54: http://tinyurl.com/PaulLembergFormula5

–Get direct access to Paul during a f~ree teleseminar I’m hosting
with him from 3 to 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, January 8.
He’ll explain the five elements of Formula 5 in more detail, and you
can even email questions to us during the call.
Sign up at
http://www.Publicityhound.com/teleseminar/formulafive.htm

Don’t miss this one. And for heaven’s sake, don’t fall into the trap of
lowering your prices without understanding the consequences.

===================================
4. Beware of this Twitter Scam
===================================

Are you receiving strange email messages from people referring
you to photos and other posts about you at Twitter.com?

I am. The messages are a scam.

Here’s how it works. This particular scam sends out emails
resembling those you might receive from Twitter if you get email
notifications of your Direct Messages. The email says something
like, “Hey! Check out this funny blog about you…” and provides a
link. That link redirects to a site masquerading as the Twitter front
page. Look closely at the URL field. If it’s different than Twitter’s
URL at http://Twitter.com, leave the site immediately.

Do not enter your username or password. If you do, the scam
artists can use that information to send out direct messages on
your behalf which could trick your followers. Read this post at
Twitter’s blog to find out what else you should do if this happens to
you:
http://blog.twitter.com/2009/01/gone-phishing.html

Not Twittering yet because the site is too confusing? Join the
crowd. Most of us who Twitter felt the same way when we started.

But don’t give up on what has become one of the most powerful
communication and promotion tools for business. Learn in step-by-
step detail how to navigate the site, and how to adopt smart
strategies that will save you hours of time.

Twitter expert Warren Whitlock explained “How to Use Twitter to
Amass an Army of Followers, Customers & Valuable Contacts–and
Promote.” It’s available as electronic transcripts and your choice of
MP3s or CDs. Read more about the power of Twitter at
http://tinyurl.com/3lbcaw

==========================================
5. Promoting a Christmas Tree Accessory
==========================================

This week, five Publicity Hounds have tips for Shannon Hein of Fort
Collins, Colorado, who needs ideas on how to promote “Branchies,”
a product that helps you hang heavy objects on your Christmas
tree.

From Shirley George Frazier:

“My suggestion is to ‘branch out’ to other reasons for people to buy
Branchies: Easter ornaments, gardening tools, every day uses, etc.

“If you only focus on Christmas buying reasons, you won’t sell all
year long, and that’s a disservice to a great product and customers
who’ll benefit every day.”

From Dale W. Hutchings:

“I think your target market for these giant ornaments is not the
typical homeowner, but the commercial market. These massive
ornaments would look so much better on the giant trees that are
put up every year in city parks, government offices, large bank
lobbies, and shopping malls, among other venues. I would
recommend that you target the commercial market through a
holiday decorative contest.”

From Barbara:

“For Christmas next year: send some to major consumer magazine
editors in June or so. If they like them, they may feature them in
the Christmas issues of their magazines. There are always articles
about gift giving and how to decorate for the holidays.”

The Publicity Hound says:

Send a press release and generic photo showing garden tools used
as ornaments to gardening magazines. Send a press release and
photo showing heavy sports-related ornaments like football helmets
to sports magazines. Just change the ornaments in each photo to
match the needs of various niche audiences. Your goal is to make
every magazine editor say “Aha! this is PERFECT for our readers.”

And don’t forget to create videos that demonstrate how to trim a
tree with Branchies. Videographer John Easton shows you dozens
of ways to use quick videos to promote what you’re selling. He
explained them all during the teleseminar on “9 Clever Ways to Use
Video to Become a Publicity Darling in Your Industry or
Community.” We recorded it and it’s available as a CD, MP3, or
electronic transcript.

Read more about how to start using video at
http://tinyurl.com/5pbgzn

Send your own Help this Hound question to:
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
and include your city and state.

==================================
6. Help This Hound
==================================

Publicity Hound Sheryl P. Kurland of Orlando, FL writes:

“With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, which is a logical tie-
in to my product, I need some new, exciting, low-cost ideas prior to
the holiday to stimulate Valentine’s Day book sales.

“I’m the author of the self-published Everlasting Matrimony:
Pearls Of Wisdom From Couples Married 50 Years Or More, an
elegant coffee-table book in which I interviewed 75 couples married
50+ years. The first run was published four years ago.
You can learn more about it at
http://www.everlastingmatrimony.com/. My background is
Marketing/PR, so I’ve done just about everything—all on my own
and on a shoestring budget.

“What can I do that I haven’t already done to get big publicity a few
weeks before Valentine’s Day, using Valentine’s Day as the tie-in,
obviously, to significantly stimulate book sales? Shows like
“Today,” “Good Morning America,” etc., won’t talk to me because
I’m self-published. Also, I am not interested in teleseminars,
teaching a course, or creating CDs to sell.”

The Publicity Hound says:

I spoke with Sheryl and told her the long list her media successes
at my blog at http://tinyurl.com/832mpk is obviously missing social
networking.

She told me she’s starting to Twitter. How about giving Sheryl some
quick tips on traditional media she might pursue, in addition to
some ideas on how to pull traffic from the social networking sites.
She doesn’t yet have a Facebook profile but could create one fairly
quickly.

Also, we’d like to hear tips from self-published authors on how to
get onto the big morning TV talk shows. Eli Davidson, a member of
The Publicity Hound Mentor Program, is self-published, and she
appeared on the “Today” show, so I know it can be done.

Post your ideas to my blog at http://tinyurl.com/832mpk

==================================
7. Hound Joke of the Week
==================================

“Dogs have no money. Isn’t that amazing? They’re broke their entire
lives. But they get through. You know why dogs have no money?
No pockets.”

–Comedian Jerry Seinfeld

DOG JOKES & QUOTES EBOOK: 170+ G-rated dog jokes and
quotes, perfect for a dog-lover, your favorite vet, or just for a few
good laughs.

BONUS: Buy the ebook and you also get a compilation of the 50
best websites for dog humor.

http://www.publicityhound.com/dogjokebook/

===================================
8. And at My Blog…
===================================

Write an unsolicited testimonial for additional publicity
http://tinyurl.com/7qlp2v

————————————–

WHERE TO SEE AND HEAR THE PUBLICITY HOUND:

Thursday, Jan. 8–Teleseminar

“Formula Five: 5 Ways to Double Your Business in 2009″ with my
guest expert Paul Lemberg. From 3 to 4 p.m. Eastern Time, he will
explain five ways every business person can double their business.
This is perfect for anyone who is frightened by all the gloom-and-
doom talk about the bad economy. This is a free teleseminar.
Register at
http://www.Publicityhound.com/teleseminar/formulafive.htm

Wednesday, Jan. 21–Teleseminar

Join me for the third annual smARTist telesummit where
photographers, jewelers, potters, painters, metalworkers,
woodworkers and other artists will learn all the secrets for growing
their art business. I’m presenting a session on how to use social
networking, from 2 to 2:45 Eastern Time on Wednesday, Jan. 21.
Register for the telesummit at http://tinyurl.com/5axy3x

Monday, Jan. 26–Teleseminar

“Boost Your Biz with a Blog,” from 4 to 5 p.m. Eastern on Monday,
Jan. 26. Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff, aka The Blog Squad,
will explain how to draw more traffic and boost more sales from a
blog. You’ll also learn about the biggest mistakes bloggers make
and how they sabotage their own success. Register at
http://www.blogsquadteleseminars.com/joan/

March 6-10–Atlanta

I’ll be at the Stompernet convention in Atlanta from Thursday until
Sunday. Let me know if you’re attending and we’ll have lunch.

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Week” in your print or electronic newsletter. But please include the
following paragraph:

Reprinted from “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week,” an ezine
featuring tips, tricks and tools for generating free publicity.
Subscribe at http://www.publicityhound.com/ and receive by email
the handy cheat sheet “89 Reasons to Send a News Release.”

If you like these tips please pass them on to your friends, clients
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================================================
Joan Stewart
a.k.a. The Publicity Hound®
3434 County KK
Port Washington, WI 53074
USA
Phone: 262-284-7451 (Central) Fax: 262-284-1737