The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #452 May 26, 2009
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
http://www.PublicityArticles.net (Ezine Archives)

Circulation: 40,205

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

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

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

==========================================
******************************************

A New Look for This Newsletter:

Even though I swore I’d never publish an HTML newsletter, I can
be swayed if enough Hounds convince me otherwise. And many of you
have.

Results of my recent Customer Profile Survey show an overwhelming
number of respondents want the option of receiving this
newsletter with a more pleasing layout, graphics, and even a
photo or two.

In the next few weeks, I’ll be experimenting with a new format,
as well as two list management companies, to see which one
provides the best service. If you like this newsletter as is, you
can continue to receive it that way.

Thanks again for all your feedback.
******************************************

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

1. 25 Reasons to Hate Facebook

2. Getting onto Oprah

3. How Oprah Expert Got onto CNBC

4. Ask the Politicians for Help

5. How to Promote a Roommate Service

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Quote of the Week

8. And at My Blog…

=====================================
1. 25 Reasons to Hate Facebook
=====================================

If you’ve ever been confused, befuddled or aggravated by
Facebook, raise your right paw.

I know how you feel. These three things almost drove me crazy
when I started using Facebook:

–The incredibly elaborate user interface which seems to have no
rhyme or reason. Sure, anybody can figure it out, but only if
they have several hours to kill so they can make a bunch of
mistakes and then learn from them.

–Two of the most powerful things you can do on Facebook–create
pages to promote your business and create a special interest
group–are hidden behind teeny, tiny Applications icons in the
lower left corner of the screen.

–Everybody keeps referring to the Wall. So where the heck is my
Wall? I found it accidentally–it’s the first tab buried under
the “Profile” page.

–And speaking of the Profile page, what’s the difference between
Profile, Home and the “Joan Stewart” page?

You probably have your own complaints. I listed many more of them
in the blog post I wrote at http://budurl.com/s59t It includes
the link where you can watch Julian Smith’s popular YouTube video
on “25 Things I Hate About Facebook.”

With a lot of patience and a little direction, you can figure out
those basic problems. Then, it’s time to take it a step further
and use the other cool features on Facebook, like adding videos
to your YouTube channel or offering your Facebook friends a
special coupon.

My virtual assistant, Christine Buffaloe, who manages Facebook
for many of her clients, has identified 11 missed opportunities
that leave money on the table. I’ve invited her to explain them
all when she’s my guest during a teleseminar I’m hosting on
Thursday, June 4, at 3 p.m. Eastern Time.

If you can’t attend “11 Ways to Avoid Missed Opportunities on
Facebook,” sign up anyway and I’ll send you the MP3 audio. Or
you can buy the electronic transcript or the CD within 10 days
after the call.

This session is for beginners and those with intermediate skills
on Facebook. It’s an update of last summer’s teleseminar series
that’s already outdated. If you attended that session, you get
complimentary admission to this one. I’ll email you with
details. Everyone who registers will receive illustrated step-by-
step handouts the morning of the call.

Sign up for the June 4 teleseminar on “11 Ways to Avoid Missed
Opportunities on Facebook” at
http://www.publicityhound.com/teleseminar.htm

Note: This session is going to sell out fast, and I can only
accommodate 200 people on the call. Grab your seat now.

=====================================
2. Getting onto Oprah
=====================================

Pitch a story idea that resonates with Oprah.

If it presses her hot button, you’re more than halfway onto the
show. Here are three examples of topics she loves:

–If you’re a health expert who can speak on the topic of
perimenopause, you stand a decent chance of being considered as a
guest. That’s because Oprah is experiencing perimenopausal
symptoms, and she’s had several segments devoted to that topic.

–Her constant battle with the scale leaves the door open to
guests who can discuss the always-popular topic of how to claim
victory over the battle with food. Fitness experts, this includes
you, too.

–She loves the topic of “beauty from the inside out.” That means
looking and feeling good and making the best use of your skills,
abilities and talents. It’s a broad topic that can encompass many
types of guest experts.

“Oprah’s show is very personal,” says Susan Harrow, creator of
“The Ultimate Guide to Getting Booked on Oprah,” a package of
tools that walks experts through the 15 steps they must take to
get booked as a guest. “Watch the show and you can see what she’s
struggling with, like her thyroid problems.”

Susan will be one of several guest experts on the CNBC
documentary “The Oprah Effect” which will be broadcast several
times on Thursday, May 28. She’ll talk about what it takes to get
onto America’s Number One daytime talk show. Several
entrepreneurs will also discuss how they got onto the show, and
what it has meant to their businesses. If you want to tune in,
check your cable listings.

You can watch a short segment from the show, and learn one more
tip, at http://budurl.com/plzm

===================================
3. How Oprah Expert Got onto CNBC
===================================

I asked Susan Harrow how she got onto “The Oprah Effect” on CNBC
(see previous item).

“I assume they Googled me,” she said. “I rank first for the
keyword phrase ‘how to get onto Oprah.’ And my name comes up at
the top of the list for other sites that refer to me as an Oprah
expert.”

Indeed it does. And not by accident.

Search engine optimization isn’t difficult if you know what
you’re doing. Make it easy for journalists, freelancers,
broadcasters and customers to find you by using a checklist of
tips provided by StomperNet, the Internet marketing association.

Get their “7 Deadly SEO Mistakes and How to Fix Them.” It
includes one lesson per day for seven days, delivered by email,
after you give them your name and email address at
http://budurl.com/37uz

Or you can get the entire course “Stomping the Search Engines”
for free if you agree to try StomperNet’s new magazine, The Net
Effect, chock full of tips for Internet marketing, for only a
buck. Yep, the entire course for just a dollar. It includes more
than 30 detailed step-by-step videos.

http://budurl.com/36uv

========================================
4. Ask the Politicians for Help
========================================

When you’re starting a publicity campaign, don’t forget about the
politicians.

Specifically, ask the mayor, governor, county board, those
elected to the statehouse, and anyone elected to national office
to pass a resolution recognizing your event, cause or issue.

Provide something in writing, and let one of their aides do the
rest.

Your event doesn’t even have to be newsworthy. A local Boy Scout
troop, for example, could ask the mayor and governor to declare
February 8 Boy Scout Day. Prevent Blindness America could ask a
member of Congress to declare June “Fireworks Safety Month.”

These routine resolutions might result in only a short mention in
your local newspaper. But but they’re fairly easy to generate,
and they keep your event in front of your target audience while
you’re busy pitching larger feature stories to newspapers and TV.

Dan Janal interviewed me about other tactics for generating
publicity in newspapers, magazines, newsletters and other
publications. “Get Free Publicity in Print” is available as a CD
or electronic transcript. Learn more about what I shared at
http://budurl.com/2yf4

=====================================
5. How to Promote a Roommate Service
=====================================

This week, three Publicity Hounds have tips for Dave Kadavy of
Chicago, Ill. He hosts an event in Chicago where people who need
roommates can find each other, and he wants to know how to
promote it.

From L. Keenan:

“You can usually post events on Yelp & Metromix, but you’ll need
to be a registered user first. Both of those sites target your
demographic and I’ve gotten media interest for events that I’ve
posted for clients there.”

From Kristen Manieri:

“Perhaps if you held your events at stores like American Eagle,
they could help you get the word out. It’s a win for them because
people would come in to shop.”

The Publicity Hound says:

How about experimenting by buying an ad on Facebook?

You can target geographically as well as buy age. Since you’re
only trying to market the event in Chicago, you can probably
reach a lot of Facebook users in your demographic for a
reasonable rate.

Learn more about Facebook ads here:
http://www.facebook.com/ads/create/

Read all the responses to this week’s Help This Hound question at
http://budurl.com/pquh

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

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

Hugo Tschudin of River Vale, N.J. writes:

“My booklet, ‘Wake Up to Abundant Energy: 113 Ways to Make it
Easy to Rise and Shine,’ takes the struggle out of getting up in
the morning.

“I’d like to find licensees who could buy the booklets in bulk to
give away to customers who request a catalog, visit a showroom,
or download a report. Or, a company can buy the booklets for
their own employees who can wake up energized and work more
efficiently.

“I have focused on companies most likely to help their customers
and employees fight fatigue, such as mattress manufacturers,
breakfast cereal companies and coffee shops.

“But I’m wondering if it would be more effective to focus on
other lines of business, or just on very large employers. How can
I find licensees for this booklet? Or how can I generate free
publicity to let companies know about it?”

The website is at http://www.EnergizingLife.com/

The Publicity Hound says: Hugo, it isn’t only about finding
people who are interested in your booklets. It’s also about
letting THEM find YOU. I visited your website and noticed several
major errors that are robbing you of traffic–specifically,
incorrect title tags. Why not get your site in ship-shape by
signing up for the f*ree Stompernet search engine optimization
tips at http://budurl.com/37uz and perhaps even test-driving
their new Internet marketing magazine for only a dollar at
http://budurl.com/36uv and you can get the entire course on
search engine optimization as a bonues.

“Then use the ideas that my Publicity Hounds will offer at my
blog at http://budurl.com/femn to find licensees and generate
publicity.”

How about it Hounds? Let’s help Hugo sell more booklets.

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

“Some dog I got. We call him Egypt because in every room he
leaves a pyramid.

“His favorite bone is in my arm.

“Last night, he went on the paper four times–three of those
times I was reading it.”

–Rodney Dangerfield

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…
================================

Don’t let Facebook confuse or intimidate you–or you’ll miss out
http://budurl.com/ghdl

————————————

Where to See & Hear The Publicity Hound:

Follow me on Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/PublicityHound

Friend me on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/people/Joan_Stewart/541605146

Connect with me on LinkedIn (and tell me how we know each other):
http://www.linkedin.com/in/publicityhound

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 Press 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 #451 May 19, 2009
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
http://www.PublicityArticles.net (Ezine Archives)

Circulation: 40,401

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

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

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

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

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

Pitch Ellen, Rachael, Hannity, Book TV and 20/20:

If you’re dying to be booked as a guest with Ellen DeGeneres,
Rachael Ray or Sean Hannity, or you want to pitch 20/20 or Book
TV, don’t pass up this opportunity to get complimentary contact
information and pitching tips for all five shows.

Steve Harrison is offering it as a bonus when you visit
http://budurl.com/y6aa and in exchange for your name and email
address, he’ll email you a PDF with contact information you an
start using immeidately to pitch those five shows.

He’s selling the updated National TV Show Database which includes
1,152 key contacts at 323 top national cable and TV shows that
interview guests. But hurry. If you order by 6 p.m. Eastern Time
on Friday, May 22, he’ll knock $200 off the price.

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

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

1. Facebook’s Missed Opportunity

2. Animoto Caveat

3. 104-Year-Old Who Twitters

4. 5 Myths About Writing a Book

5. How an Artist Can Recycle Publicity

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Video of the Week

8. And at My Blog…

=====================================
1. Facebook’s Missed Opportunity
=====================================

You spend hours posting content to Facebook, commenting on your
friends’ videos and replying to their messages.

Day after day, you dutifully clean out your Inbox, join
conversations and post occasional photos and videos.

You watch as your number of friends increases to 500, 1,000,
4,000 and beyond.

But then you ask, what’s the point?

You can’t track even one dollar in sales back to Facebook. Some
days, the giant social networking site of more than 300 million
users seems like the loneliest place in the world.

It’s a common complaint.

That’s because most Facebook newbies either find the site
confusing, or they don’t understand all the opportunities to
connect with their tribe and start building relationships.

Here’s an example. The only place that Facebook permits you to
actively promote is on its Pages, yet many people don’t know how
to create them or use them.

Your profile has friends. Your Pages have fans. There’s a big
difference.

Promote on your profile and Facebook might send you a message
telling you that you’re violating its terms of service. Promote
on your Pages, and you could start pulling in traffic.

Think of Pages as the best way to flaunt your brand. Here are
five reasons why Facebook Pages are so powerful:

–They’re the only part of Facebook fully indexed by Google, so
they serve as a traffic magnet.

–Facebook limits the number of friends to 5,000. But you can
have an unlimited number of fans. Someone can become your fan
without necessarily being your friend.

–Pages can include your product photos, a video demonstration of
how to use something you sell, sales copy, pricing information,
special offers, coupons and more.

–When Facebook users become a fan of your branded Page, Facebook
will notify them anytime you update the status on your Page, via
the primary news feed on the homepage.

–When your fans interact with your Facebook Page, stories
linking to your Page can go to their friends via News Feed. As
these friends interact with your Page, News Feed keeps driving
word-of-mouth to a wider circle of friends.

My virtual assistant, Christine Buffaloe, who manages Facebook
for many of her clients, has identified 10 other missed
opportunities. I’ve invited her to explain them all when she’s my
guest during a teleseminar I’m hosting on Thursday, June 4, at 3
p.m. Eastern Time. If you can’t attend “11 Ways to Avoid Missed
Opportunities on Facebook,” sign up anyway and I’ll send you the
MP3 audio. Or you can buy the electronic transcript or the CD
within 10 days after the call.

This session is for beginners and those with intermediate skills
on Facebook. It’s an update of last summer’s teleseminar series
that’s already outdated. If you attended that session, you get
complimentary admission to this one. I’ll email you with details.
Everyone who registers will receive illustrated handouts the
morning of the call.

Sign up for the June 4 teleseminar on “11 Ways to Avoid Missed
Opportunities on Facebook” at
http://www.publicityhound.com/teleseminar.htm

=================================
2. Animoto Caveat
=================================

Animoto, the nifty service that lets you create Hollywood-quality
videos from still photos, was a huge hit with Hounds last week
when they read about it here.

Several of them emailed links to videos they created rather
quickly using this program.

But Publicity Hound Barbara Sundquist, who coaches entrepreneurs,
wasn’t as enthusiastic. She wrote an interesting blog post
explaining three reasons why she thinks Animoto is too
restrictive:

–You can’t use the free version for anything commercial, such as
promoting your website or services.

–If you subscribe to the commercial version for $249 a year, you
can make videos promoting your own services but you can’t use it
to make videos for clients. Last week, I had suggested that PR
people and virtual assistants consider adding this service for
their clients. They still can, but the client will have to buy
the service.

–If your yearly subscription lapses, you’re no longer allowed to
show the videos that you made while under license. “Can you
imagine having to remove all those videos from video sharing
sites? What an administrative nightmare.”

I agree. I still like Animoto and I’ll continue using it. But if
you’re like me and seldom read the terms of service before you
buy something, you might be surprised later, like I was when I
learned about this.

You can read Barbara’s entire blog post at http://budurl.com/539w

Play around with Animoto’s free service that lets you create an
unlimited number of 30-second, non-commercial videos before
deciding if you want to spring for a commercial license. Get
started at http://budurl.com/zlye

===================================
3. 104-Year-Old Who Twitters
===================================

If you saw the story out of the U.K. last week about the 104-
year-old woman who Twitters, you might have been impressed.

The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Sun were. They ran an article
and photo of Ivy Bean, also known as @ivybean104, who apparently
is the oldest person on Twitter.

Mike Butcher, who writes for The TechCrunch blog, explained the
publicity-stunt-gone-bad:

“What none of these stories told you, however, was that poor old
Ivy had not joined Twitter just because it was suddenly the talk
of the old peoples home. No. She joined because home PC
maintenance company Geek Squad signed her up, propped her up for
a photo opportunity and press-released the hell out of it. And,
frankly, I hope they paid her, or at least donated to her
favourite charity because this is one of the most self-serving,
cynical PR stunts I can remember.”

The Geek Squad never covered its tracks. One of Ivy’s tweets
read: “I’m on Twitter! Come and follow my feed at IvyBean104.”

“Since when did a 104 year old suddenly start using words like
‘feed’?” Mike asks.

Read the entire post at http://budurl.com/f9×5

Thanks to Publicity Hound Bonnie Boots, publisher of The Internet
Wizards Magazine, for tipping us off to this one.

Twitter isn’t going away. It’s turning into one of the best tools
for attracting your own community, pushing out information to
them regularly, and encouraging them to know, like and trust you.
In some respects, Twitter puts email marketing to shame.

If you’re confused about how to tweet, what to write about, or
why you should be spending your time tweeting, read more about
the teleseminar I hosted last year with Twitter expert Warren
Whitlock at http://budurl.com/2776

========================================
4. 5 Myths About Writing a Book
========================================

Here are five common myths that keep people from writing a book:

–It takes at least a year, usually more, to write the first
draft of your book, and another several months for rewriting,
editing and proofreading.

–You can’t write a book unless you’re already an expert on a
topic.

–Self-published books look cheap, cheesy and unprofessional.

–Major publishers are too restrictive. Signing a contract with
one is like being in handcuffs.

–Most of the revenue you’ll earn from your book will come
directly from the book, which means you must sell mega-thousands
of books just to break even.

Steve Harrison will explode those myths and explain how you can
write a book quickly to start bringing more business through the
door. His free teleseminar, “How to Grow Your Own Business with
Your Own Book” on Thursday, May 21, at your choice of two times,
will explain how. Read more about it at http://budurl.com/eyl2

=====================================
5. How an Artist Can Recycle Publicity
=====================================

This week, five Publicity Hounds have tips for Karren Jeske, APR
of Milwaukee, Wis. Her friend, an artist, is looking for ideas on
how to leverage recent magazine publicity for future shows.

From Alice Hohl:

“Send a link or information about the magazine (or a jpeg of the
cover) to his email list. He could post a cover from the magazine
on his website, as well as use his social networking sites to get
the word out.” (The Publicity Hound says: Make sure you get
permission from the magazine to use an image of their cover on
your website. They own the copyright.)

From Alyson B. Stanfield:

“Without having seen the article, and this is key, I’d suggest
your friend get copies (or have copies made) and send them to his
best collectors or potential collectors–along with a personal
note.

“He can also send copies to curators and potential galleries in
the area, along with a personal invitation for a tour of one of
his upcoming exhibits. He’d need to follow up with them and send
another invite closer to the date.”

From Ariane Goodwin:

“This is a perfect story to break up into a sequence on his blog
(he does have a blog, doesn’t he?). The Before/During/After story
of the magazine article: behind the scenes is always compelling.

“Then he should send an email blast out to his list of collectors
(he does have a list of collectors that he can email at the drop
of a hat, doesn’t he?) for each of the three posts in the
series.”

The Publicity Hound says:

Ariane Goodwin’s 2009 smARTist Telesummit, chock full of tips on
how artists can turn a hobby into a career, is now for sale at
http://budurl.com/kelp

Read all the responses to this week’s Help This Hound question
http://budurl.com/5mx4

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

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

Dave Kadavy of Chicago, Ill. writes:

“I run a roommate-meeting event called Flatmate Meetup. It’s kind
of like speed-dating, but for roommates. I started it in San
Francisco and expanded it to Chicago. We now have almost 1,400
members between the two cities.

“We currently promote the event by posting on Craigslist where
people look for roommates, but we need more brand recognition to
be successful, and that audience has proven difficult to reach.
What tips do your readers have for getting the word out–to the
right people–about these events?

“The target audience is mostly people in their mid-20s to early
30s, college grads. I currently have the events at bars.”

The Publicity Hound says:

What a fun event! The Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times should be
scrambling to beat each other on this story. Perhaps my Chicago-
area Hounds can suggest some other niche publications you can
target. As for social media, well, the possibilities are endless.
Let’s see how many ideas my Hounds can post to my blog at
http://budurl.com/pquh

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

Thanks to Elaine Grassbaugh of Columbus, Ohio for this hysterical
video of the “Jack Russell Balloon Dog” on, I assume, a Stupid
Pet Trick segment on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

http://budurl.com/ysjw

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…
================================

Hate social media? This may change your mind–and the boss’s
http://budurl.com/gtjb

————————————-

Where to See & Hear The Publicity Hound:

Follow me on Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/PublicityHound

Friend me on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/people/Joan_Stewart/541605146

Connect with me on LinkedIn (and tell me how we know each other):
http://www.linkedin.com/in/publicityhound

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 Press 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 #450 May 12, 2009
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
http://www.PublicityArticles.net (Ezine Archives)

Circulation: 40,609

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

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

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

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

1. Lazy Way to Create Fun Video

2. 7 Deadly SEO Mistakes

3. ‘World’s Best Job’ PR Stunt

4. Dump That Default Avatar

5. How to Reach Doctors, Attorneys

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Quote of the Week

8. And at My Blog…

=====================================
1. Lazy Way to Create Fun Video
=====================================

Producing video has never been my idea of fun.

I have almost no technical abilities. I sometimes find video so
confusing that it eats up hours of precious time.

Talking head videos require me to fix my hair, wear make-up, put
on something that looks half decent, and clean my office.

During post-production, I hate tinkering with a video’s
resolution, frame rates and bit rates so it looks crisp.

If you’re like me, you’ll fall in love with Animoto, a
subscription service that lets you create TV-quality videos from
photos you’ve taken yourself, or from stock photos you’ve
purchased.

You can even add text. When you’re done, add a musical
accompaniment, or let Animoto choose one for you and–voila!–you
have a really cool video you can use in a publicity campaign and
share on the social media sites.

I created a two-and-a-half-minute video yesterday in less than
an hour, from start to finish, to promote my local garden club’s
plant sale. You can learn more about Animoto and see the video at
my blog at http://budurl.com/p3hs

Here are six ways Publicity Hounds can use Animoto videos:

–Authors, promote a new book.

–Speakers, create a video showing you at various presentations–
and the audience applauding and laughing.

–Nonprofits, appeal for volunteers or donations. And visit my
blog to learn how you can apply for a complimentary account.

–Artists ,you can create a video showing your artwork in various
stages of completion, or show a collage of different works.

–PR people, publicists and virtual assistants, add this to your
line-up of services. Your clients will think you belong in
Hollywood.

–Business owners, create a video demonstrating how to use your
products or services.

Share your Animoto video links with other Hounds in the comments
section at http://budurl.com/p3hs

=================================
2. 7 Deadly SEO Mistakes
=================================

If bringing more traffic to your website isn’t very important,
skip this item.

Stompernet, the Internet marketing membership association, has
identified seven deadly mistakes that people are making when
optimizing their web pages for the search engines.

Here’s Mistake #1: Badly written page titles.

On Windows, the page title is on the blue bar at the top of the
screen. I see this mistake all the time, and it’s one of the
first things I mention when I do telephone consultations with
clients.

My nominations for the worst page titles:

–”Home”

–”Welcome to my website”

–The name of your company

–Your name

–Your tagline or motto

Missing from all of the above are keywords that people would type
into the search engines if they didn’t know you but were looking
for the kind of information, products or services you provide.

The fix is fairly simple, but only if you know what you’re doing.
Full instructions, including the maximum length of each page
title, is in the f*ree report “7 Deadly SEO Mistakes.”

I’m a StomperNet member and give them my enthusiastic “two paws
up” endorsement.

Claim your course here:
http://budurl.com/37uz

===================================
3. ‘World’s Best Job’ PR Stunt
===================================

If you’re in charge of promoting a destination right now, while a
worldwide recession is putting travel plans on hold, there’s
nothing like a PR stunt to catch people’s attention.

Tourism Queensland, in charge of promoting Australia, dreamed up
the “World’s Best Job” contest in which people competed for the
job of caretaker of picture-perfect Hamilton Island, on
Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef.

The winner, 34-year-old Ben Southall, a charity fundraiser from
Petersfield, Hampshire, must live alone on the island for six
months and then report back to the world via blogs, a photo
diary, video updates and interviews.

More than 34,000 people applied for the job that pays $150,000
and comes with a three-bedroom beach home, a swimming pool and
golf cart.

The job description requires the winner “to explore the islands
of the Great Barrier Reef, swim, snorkel, make friends with the
locals and generally enjoy the tropical Queensland climate and
lifestyle.”

Thanks to Publicity Hound Gary Knowles of Madison, Wis. for
sharing this one.

This promotion was all over the social media sites, a reminder
that if you’re not including these sites in your publicity
campaigns, you’re missing reaching millions of people.

“How to do Social Networking, Run a Business & Still Have a Life”
explains how to get started, how to save time, sites where you
must have a presence, and tips for letting people know, like and
trust you BEFORE you promote. Learn more at
http://budurl.com/g6j6

========================================
4. Dump That Default Avatar
========================================

I mentioned this a few weeks ago but it’s worth repeating,
because many of you are making this mistake.

No reputable Publicity Hound would even THINK of commenting at a
blog or participating in social media without creating a
universal avatar that automatically displays their photo as they
go from site to site.

Create your own at http://www.Gravatar.com by first signing up
for an account. You can upload your smiling photo, which is far
better than those cartoon-character-like icons, or your company
logo, or a dumb photo of a landscape.

At my blog at http://www.PublicityHound.net, a small percentage
of people who comment have gravatars. Those who don’t have them
end up with my default avatar next to their comment. It looks
like a gray pawn on a chess board. What a missed opportunity to
display your smiling face in front of thousands of people!

After you’ve created your avatar, make sure your profile is as
good as it can be. Almost every profile I read can be improved.
Social networking expert Nancy Marmolejo explained what the ideal
profiles include, during the teleseminar I recorded with her,
with step-by-step instructions on how to dress up yours. It’s
called “Can Your Social Networking Profile Pass the 10-Second
Test?” and you can read more about it at http://budurl.com/ru5e

=====================================
5. How to Reach Doctors, Attorneys
=====================================

This week, five Publicity Hounds have tips for Karen Carnabucci
of Racine, Wis. who’s looking for ideas on how to draw
professionals, like doctors and attorneys, to her training
programs, individual consultations and in-service programs
dealing with psychodrama. She has a blog at
http://midwestpsychodrama.blogspot.com.

From Marilynn O’Leary:

“It’s important that you tie your offering to an outcome that is
on their mind. Lead with a tangible result and compel them to
take some action such as joining your list. And then, educate
them on your work.”

From Gail Sideman:

“I would create a separate blog/blogs that speaks directly to
these two audiences (physicians and attorneys). Share thoughts
and tips in posts and, at the end of those, post links to
information about your training programs.”

From Sophie Wajsman:

“Why not contact organisors responsible for finding guest
speakers at major conferences for doctors or lawyers? You might
offer to perform a small role play based on a real life topical
situation (you could easily find something appropriate through
your local or national media).”

The Publicity Hound says:

Using a social networking directory like Ning, at
http://Ning.com, look for niche social networking sites for
doctors and attorneys. I did a search for doctors and found 282
social networking sites for docs! Not all will fit your target
audience, but this is a good place to start. Hand-pick a half
dozen of the best sites and spend some time at the discussion
boards.

Read all the answers to this “Help This Hound” question
http://tinyurl.com/d2fndd

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

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

Karren Jeske, APR of Milwaukee, Wis. writes:

“My friend is an emerging fine artist in the Washington, D.C.
area.

“He was recently featured in Elan magazine, a publication that
showcases talented North Virginia artists. The magazine included
a photograph of one of his paintings on the magazine cover and
included photos of six more inside.

“What are some creative ways that my friend could leverage this
fantastic publicity? He has a few solo shows coming up in the
next few months.”

The Publicity Hound says:

I have three ideas.

–As I explained in item Number One above, Animoto lets you
create videos from your pictures and images and puts them to
music. It’s a fast, easy way for artists to create videos from
their artwork. People can’t steal the images. Ask the magazine
for permission to include the cover within the video. Then create
a video and upload it to the video-sharing sites with relevant
tags. Learn more about Animoto at http://budurl.com/zlye

–Tell your friend to follow Publicity Hound Alyson Stanfield, an
art marketing coach, at http://www.artbizcoach.com/

–The 2009 smARTist Telesummit, hosted by art marketing expert
Arianne Goodwin, is now available as a product. Alyson and I
presented separate sessions, and we were joined by an amazing
line-up of art experts who gave hundreds of tips on how to turn
an art hobby into a career. You can read more about it at
http://budurl.com/ew6c

Hounds with other great ideas can post them to my blog at
http://budurl.com/5mx4

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

A groaner, but kind of cute:

What do you get when you cross a chili pepper, a steam shovel and
a chihuahua?

Hot diggity dog!

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…
================================

Promote anything by creating quick videos with Animoto
http://budurl.com/p3hs

————————————

Where to See & Hear The Publicity Hound:

Follow me on Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/PublicityHound

Friend me on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/people/Joan_Stewart/541605146

Connect with me on LinkedIn (and tell me how we know each other):
http://www.linkedin.com/in/publicityhound

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 Press 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 #449 May 5, 2009
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
http://www.PublicityArticles.net (Ezine Archives)

Circulation: 40,729

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

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

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

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

1. Find Her a Job, Collect a Bounty

2. Your Blog & Twitter

3. Wanted: Facebook Success Stories

4. At the End of Your Radio Interview…

5. How a Psychic Can Promote

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Quote of the Week

8. And at My Blog…

=====================================
1. Find Her a Job, Collect a Bounty
=====================================

Job-hunters are using social networking in all sorts of creative
ways to find employment.

But one of the most unusual is offering a finder’s fee of up to
$6,000 for anyone who passes along a lead that results in a full-
time job.

That’s the offer from Beverly Shepard, who was laid off in
January from her job as marketing director at The Virginia-Pilot
newspaper.

Sixteen months ago, when the newspaper announced it was up for
sale, Beverly anticipated the worst. She started looking for
another job while she was still working, but to no avail. She
even paid an Arizona-based recruiter $6,000, but it was wasted
money and generated no interviews.

That’s when she turned to LinkedIn for help. She emailed her more
than 200 connections and made them an offer they couldn’t refuse.
Find her a full-time job that pays $120,000, with benefits, and
they earn a $6,000 finder’s fee. An $80,000 job pays a finder’s
fee of $800.

She emailed her 200 LinkedIn connections with the offer.

“I thought a few leads would dribble in, but I was amazed,” she
said. “I got my first lead within 15 minutes. So far, I’ve had
one job interview and I have another one later this month.”

She even heard from an old boyfriend who’s willing to help.

Another friend, Publicity Hound Gail Kent, a PR pro, wrote a
press release about Beverly’s publicity stunt.

That led to an avalanche of media attention, including an
interview on CNN and an article on FastCompany.com. You can see
all the media hits and review details of Beverly’s offer at my
blog at http://budurl.com/q566

If you have only several LinkedIn connections, or several
hundred, don’t let them just sit there gathering dust. LinkedIn
expert Scott Allen says there are lots of creative ways you can
use those connections to find answers to questions, be introduced
to decision-makers, and even promote products and services.

During a teleseminar I conducted with him last summer, he
explained them all and offered a step-by-step timeline of exactly
what you should do, and when. “How to Use LinkedIn to Promote
Anything–Ethically & Powerfully” is available as electronic
transcripts and your choice of MP3s or CDs. Read more about all
the opportunities to promote on LinkedIn at
http://budurl.com/zptw

=================================
2. Your Blog & Twitter
=================================

Are you using a service like Twitterfeed to automatically feed
your blog headlines and a link to each post into Twitter?

If so, you might want to reconsider.

I don’t use the service because I try to write blog headlines
that are optimized for the search engines and include specific
keywords. When it’s time to tweet about my blog post, I also want
the freedom to rewrite the SEO headline to entice my followers
and force them to click on it.

Rewriting it also allows me to use hashtags.

Here’s an example. The item above, about Beverly Shepard, is at
my blog at http://budurl.com/q566 under the headline “Job-hunter
offers $6,000 finder’s fee on LinkedIn.”

I rewrote that headline on Twitter to read “#Job-hunter for hire.
Will pay you up to $6,000 for a #PR, #marketing or
#businessdevelopment job.” The hashtag (#) allows Twitter users
to find that post when they are using Twitter’s search function
at http://search.Twitter.com to search under #job-hunter or #PR
or #marketing or #businessdevelopment.

I don’t rewrite all my blog headlines for Twitter. There just
isn’t enough time. But some content lends itself perfectly
to two different headlines.

Still not convinced Twitter is worth the effort? Thousands of
people aren’t and they’re grousing about Twitter in forums and
blogs. Before you decide it isn’t for you, read about how the
really smart businesses and nonprofits–large and small–are
using Twitter and finding a big return on investment. “Special
Report #52: How to Use Twitter for Business to Network, Promote,
Sell, Recruit & Profit” is only $10 at http://tinyurl.com/6uz9g

===================================
3. Wanted: Facebook Success Stories
===================================

If you have a success story to share about how you use Facebook
to sell more books, generate speaking engagements, find clients
and customers, or build strong relationships that have resulted
in a great return on investment for your business, I want to hear
about it.

I’ll be hosting a teleseminar later this month on Facebook and
I’m looking for examples of Publicity Hounds who have used
Facebook creatively.

Are you using the Pages feature to sell? Or Facebook’s
Marketplace?

Have you created a Group that’s helped your business? Are your
Facebook videos pulling more traffic to your website? How are you
measuring traffic, conversion or ROI? Has your Facebook profile
generated requests for interviews by the media?

If I share your story, your Facebook page will be discussed in a
product I’m creating, and you’ll most likely receive even more
friend requests.

Email me at mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com and put “Facebook
Success Story” in the subject line. Include your phone number. If
your idea is a good fit, I’ll call you.

========================================
4. At the End of Your Radio Interview…
========================================

If you’ve just finished a radio interview in the studio or over
the phone, and the host or producer gushes about how great you
were, don’t be afraid to ask this question:

“Do you know any other radio talk shows that might be interested
in interviewing me?”

Many Publicity Hounds have done this and found their way onto
other shows. The radio job market is in a constant state of flux.
That means hosts and producers might know colleagues at a former
station who would welcome interviewing you.

If they give you a lead, go ahead and ask if they can make a call
on your behalf. If they loved having you on their show, they’ll
probably be happy to help.

Alex Carroll, who wrote a book on how to get out of paying fines
for unfair speeding tickets, has been a guest on more than 1,000
radio shows and sold more than $1.5 million worth of books.

Many of those shows were the biggest ones, like the Howard Stern
Show. Learn the step-by-step formula Alex has developed for
pitching stations, cutting through the noise, giving a compelling
performance and prompting them to invite you back. Read more
about the CD “How to Get Booked on Radio Shows in the Top 20
Markets” at http://tinyurl.com/asgyx

=====================================
5. How a Psychic Can Promote
=====================================

This week, five Publicity Hounds have tips for Terri Jay of
Washoe Valley, Nev. She is a psychic messenger for humans and
pets, and she’s looking for a way to pitch a TV show about what
she does to the media, and spread the word about her work.

From Sophie Wajsman:

“One of the best ways to attract media attention is to involve
the media. Why don’t you contact a radio and TV station and offer
the presenter of the programme you are most interested in the
opportunity to have a personal reading on air?”

From Candy Tutt:

“Find out when the local SPCA is scheduling adoption days at a
mall, pet store, or wherever. Ask them if you can work in tandem
with them. Suggest that they allow you to set up an area and do
readings for, say, $10. At the end of the day, donate half to the
SPCA.”

From Sheryl Kurland:

“There’s a big news story spreading right now. It was on the
‘Today’ show May 1, about a chihuahua that was ‘found’ by a pet
psychic. Do some research on this story and find ways to piggy-
back onto the coverage of this hot news item.”

From The Publicity Hound:

If you want a TV show, start cranking out videos and post them to
the video-sharing sites. I’d love to see one that shows you in
action, talking to a horse. Listen to the one-hour teleseminar I
hosted with video expert Mike Stewart (no relation) who explained
the easiest, fastest way to sell with video, at
http://www.joanandmikestewart.com

See all the answers to this Help This Hound question at
http://tinyurl.com/chjbpr

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

Karen Carnabucci of Racine, Wis. writes:

“I’m a psychotherapist working with psychodrama, the creative
arts therapies and experiential therapies, and I’ve been building
my practice slowly and patiently.

“Most of my clients have insurance benefits which they use when
they see me. Now, I want to shift my practice to offer training
to help professionals, physicians and attorneys who will benefit
from these skills that I’ve been using.

“Physicians, for example, can learn to communicate more
effectively with their patients, especially when telling bad news
so that the patient and family can receive the news in an
emotionally healthy way. Attorneys, especially defense attorneys,
can deepen their understanding of the client’s case so they can
communicate the essentials to the jury and win cases.

“I’m looking for ideas on how to draw professionals, primarily
from the upper Midwest, to my training programs, individual
consultations and in-service programs and would welcome ideas
from your Hounds. My blog is at
http://midwestpsychodrama.blogspot.com.

The Publicity Hound says:

You’re targeting a niche. That’s the easy part. But your topic is
outside the mainstream. That’s the hard part. Let’s see how my
Hounds can help. Hounds with ideas for Karen can post them at my
blog at http://tinyurl.com/d2fndd

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

“Scratch a dog and you’ll find a permanent job.”  – Franklin P.
Jones

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…
================================

Job-hunter offers $6,000 finder’s fee on LinkedIn
http://budurl.com/w4gc

Don’t let Twitter & Facebook steal you away from your blog
http://budurl.com/k9d4

Twitter app helps promote Tweetups and other live events
http://budurl.com/xvkw

————————————

Where to See & Hear The Publicity Hound:

Follow me on Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/PublicityHound

Friend me on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/people/Joan_Stewart/541605146

Connect with me on LinkedIn (and tell me how we know each other):
http://www.linkedin.com/in/publicityhound

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 Press 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