Publicity tips/The Pill-popping priest January 24, 2006

The Publicity Hound's
Tips of the Week
Issue #278- January 24, 2006
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.net (Blog)
The Publicity Hound®

Circulation: 14,231

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"Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity"
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Attention Washington, D.C. Hounds:

Be the first in the District to host The Publicity Hound. I'm looking for a company, nonprofit or government agency to let me sponsor a half-day or full-day public seminar at your venue on Tuesday, May 16. Parking preferred but not essential. Must have easy access for those traveling via Metro trains and buses, or by taxi. If you host me, I'll make you an offer you can't refuse. Mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com?subject=HostingtheHound for details.
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In This Issue
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1. The Pill-popping Priest

2. Cozy up to Freelancers

3. Publicity Articles Wanted

4. Create an Experts Directory

5. How to Market Safety Products

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Joke of the Week

8. And at My Blog...

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1. The Pill-popping Priest
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So much for the Rev. Daniel Webster, the pill-popping Episcopal priest, and his dysfunctional family.

NBC has canceled "The Book of Daniel," the Friday night drama that featured the Vicodin-addicted priest, his boozing wife, gay son and a bisexual aunt. Oh yeah. And don't forget Jesus.

What a shame. I never saw the show. But the Hound in me says this would have been a terrific opportunity for Episcopal churches all over the world to piggyback onto this TV show. They could have provided local commentary from their own parishioners, letters to the editor for their local newspapers, religion page features and radio talk shows comparing the fictional Webster family with the real Episcopal church. Already, Jim Naughton had created the Blogofdaniel.com website for the Diocese of Washington at http://blog.edow.org/weblog/

Pay attention to prime-time TV shows, and use every chance you can to piggyback your ideas onto these shows, particularly the most popular ones. Here are some ideas to get you started:

--Ice skating teachers should comment on what kind of training and rehearsals are needed for the celebrities featured on "Skating with the Celebrities." If we practice for four weeks straight under the watchful eye of a coach, just like they do, can we hoist our partner in the air, dance on ice and skate backwards? Has the show led to a renewed interest in figure skating?

--What about "Dancing with the Stars"? Most guys I know hate this show. But are women dragging their boyfriends and husbands to dance classes?

--The popular hit "Antiques Roadshow" leaves many of us dreaming of finding a fortune at a Saturday morning yard sale or in the pile of junk grandma left us. Antique store owners can offer tips on what we can learn about antiques and collecting from watching the show.

--"CSI," the Thursday night hit, can be the perfect springboard for forensics teachers to discuss whether actual crime seen investigators have jobs that bear any resemblance to the drama on CBS. Has this show led to more students seeking careers in forensics?

--I love all the cooking shows on PBS. But why does it always look so easy on TV? When I made a recipe recently for low-carb onion-olive bread featured on one of the shows, my kitchen looked like a disaster area. Chefs, cooking school teachers and foodies can offer tips on how the pros on TV stay organized and keep a clean workspace.

Once you have the tie-in and the angle, it's time for the pitch. But you must do it in 30 seconds or less. Publicity expert Raleigh Pinskey, a master when it comes to pitching, shows you "How to Create the Perfect 30-Second Pitch," available as a CD or electronic transcript that you can download and be reading as soon as your order is approved. Listen to how she takes long, rambling, unfocused story ideas and turns them into 5- and 10-second pitches that are absolutely irresistible. Read more about what you'll learn at http://tinyurl.com/6xghx


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2. Cozy up to Freelancers
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When it comes to forming valuable relationships with media people who can help you, treat freelance writers with the same respect you would staff writers. Here's why they can be so valuable to your publicity campaign:

--If you pitch a freelancer, it's their job to tweak the pitch, flesh out the story, round up other sources and sell the story to the editor. All you have to do is interest them in your idea, then give them access to the sources they need to interview.

--Freelancers often work for a variety of publications. So if they write about you for one magazine, there's a good chance they'll return to you again in several months and use you for a similar story they're writing for another publication.

--They're often working on several stories at a time. So if you pitch an idea and it isn't a good fit for one story, it might be a perfect fit for another. Learn more about what freelancers want in this article at the Publicity Club of Chicago website at http://www.publicity.org/monthlynov04.htm

--Freelancers are fairly easy to spot. They usually receive a byline just like staff writers do. But at the end of the article, there's often a paragraph that identifies them as a freelancer and sometimes offers their email address.

Cozying up to freelancers is just one of 19 "rules of the road" suggested by a panel of journalists who met in New York in October. In the January/February issue of The Publicity Hound subscription newsletter, you'll learn the other 18 rules. The issue also includes articles on fashion faux pas you must not make if you're appearing on TV, why you should banish the words "publicity" and "PR" from your vocabulary and concentrate instead on storytelling, an example of a pitch from a storyteller, how to write the perfect author resource box at the end of an article, a book that offers numerous case studies on marketing to Hispanics, how to attend f~ree monthly teleseminars featuring publicity tips, the network news program that wants your "good news" story, how PR people can manage their clients' expectations, and January/February story ideas. The newsletter is available as an electronic document and you can download it as soon as your order has been approved.

Order it for $10 at http://tinyurl.com/7adar

Or order a year's subscription (6 issues) for $49.95 at http://tinyurl.com/4mz3x


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3. Publicity Articles Wanted
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Bulldog Reporter, the f~ree daily news site for PR practitioners, wants articles for its Barks & Bites (I love that title) op-eds and PR Spotlights profiles.

Here’s what they're looking for:

--Opinions, perspectives and insight of PR leaders from the corporate side. These include short, pithy submissions on what it’s really like to practice PR on the ground level (and in the corporate suite) on a day-to-day basis. "We’re tired of polemics handed down from PR’s ivory towers," says Brian Pittman, director of content. "We want to give our readers a shot in the arm...a dose of reality from folks who don’t just write about, sell to or cater to PR--but who actually practice it."
--Articles should be 350-500 words, timely and controversial. Offer a strong opinion.

--Identify a problem or issue in the lead and include an example or anecdote in the body.

--Close with an explanation with what the insight means to the PR industry.

--Appeal to a broad section of the industry.

--Avoid self-promotional blather.

Email your submissions to Brian at mailto:bpittman@infocomgroup.com

This is a great way to gain exposure for your PR practice. Marcia Yudkin and I know of 23 other ways, and we explained them all during a teleseminar called "24 Ways to Attract Clients to Your PR Practice." It's available as a CD or a transcript that you can download within minutes after your order has been approved. Read more about what you'll learn at http://tinyurl.com/8txj8


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4. Create an Experts Directory
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If you have numerous experts within your company, nonprofit, government agency, trade association or other group, are you making it easy for the media to find them within seconds?
For most of you, I'll bet the answer is no.

Take a cue from colleges and universities, which publish annual "experts directories."
The directory is an inexpensive, spiral bound book with a heavy-stock cover that includes contact information for all their experts, arranged by category, from archaeology to zoology. When I worked as a reporter, I often kept these experts directories on my desk and referred to them on deadline when I was tracking down experts on a particular topic. Here are some tips for creating your own directory:

--Include all contact information, including cell phone numbers, beeper numbers and, if possible, home telephone numbers.

--Include email addresses

--Update the directory at least once every two years.

--Mail the directory to all your media contacts, and also post it at your website in "media room."
--Keep it simple. If you're on a tight budget, forget the spiral binding and just staple the pages.

--Make sure every expert agrees to interview with the media. Experts who don't know anything about interviewing or would make boring interviews should be media-trained.

After you send the directories, follow up with your media contacts but don't ask the tired question, "I'm just following up to see if you got our experts directory?" Instead, tell them you're calling to pitch one or two story ideas and suggest names of contacts within the directory who reporters could interview.

Following up with reporters requires brevity, patience, persistence and good timing. If your follow-ups are going nowhere and journalists seem to have just disappeared, you need to hear Jill Lublin's secrets on how to get through to them. "Failproof Ways to Follow Up with Reporters After Sending a Press Release or Story Pitch" gives you the step-by-step instructions on how to follow up, how many times to follow up and what to say when you finally get them on the phone. It's available as a CD or a transcript that you can download and be reading within minutes. Read more about what you'll learn at http://tinyurl.com/bmyn7


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5. How to Market Safety Products
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This week, seven Publicity Hounds have ideas for Tracey Hawkins of Kansas City, Missouri. She owns a business that sells safety and security products--everything from pepper spray to fire extinguishers. She wants ideas on how to get more traffic to her website at http://www.safetyandsecuritysource.com/ and sell more products.


From Scott Kaul:

"For real estate brokers, you may want to consider teaching a class that’s been approved for continuing education. All brokers need education hours each year, and are looking for classes--particularly free ones. Since your business offers safety products, I’d imagine you could come up with a safety-related topic that would not only appeal to brokers but also be eligible for continuing education."


From Ted Fuller:

"Seniors are interested in your specialties. Develop programs for area senior centers where you could leave print material. Work with the Area Agency on Aging and the senior coalition (if one exists) for tie-ins. Your advice would make an interesting half-hour video for the public access channel, and the tape could be shown where seniors gather."


From Sandie Vega:

"One of the reasons that you aren’t selling much from your website is because the website does not portray a company that the average person would buy from. The color scheme make it very hard to read and it's not laid out in a way that is easy to navigate nor are there enough images on it. In order to get people to your site, they have to be able to find it."


The Publicity Hound says: Your topic is perfect for tip sheets, quizzes, Q&A features and other briefs that you can submit to magazines. "Briefs, Fillers & Quizzes: How to Write Them and Why Editors Love Them" shows you the nine types of briefs and gives you dozens of examples of how to use them. It's available as a CD or an electronic transcript that you can download and be reading within minutes. Read more about what you'll learn at http://tinyurl.com/d74h7

Read all the responses at http://publicityhound.net/?p=461


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6. Help This Hound
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C. Hope Clark of Phoenix, Arizona writes:

"I am author of THE SHY WRITER: An Introvert's Guide to Writing Success. The thrust of the book is 'Sell your words, not your soul' and it is designed for people who cringe at getting up in front of people. It helps them come up with alternatives to the public setting but it also helps them embrace it on the rare occasion they have no choice but to do it. When I talked to publishers, agents, and other writers about my book, I could not get away from the fact that to get a traditional contract, I had to be willing to travel, 'dance' on stage, and try to become a celebrity in order to sell the book. And I didn't want to.

"I have a web site at http://www.theshywriter.com/ and I advertise the book via http://www.fundsforwriters.com/, my writing resource business with newsletters that go out to 14,000 people. Now I'm seeking innovate ideas to advance further as well as find some partners who might be interested in an affiliate program. I already have a decent affiliate program with my library of ebooks. Any new ideas?"


The Publicity Hound says: Lots of writers get this newsletter. So do people who create info products like I do and sell them through affiliate programs. I know they'll have some helpful ideas on other ways to sell your book. Hounds with ideas can post them to my blog at http://publicityhound.net/?p=471

In the meantime, I wrote I wrote a special report on book marketing. It's called "Special Report #40: 42 Publicity Tips for Authors and Small Publishers" and it's at http://tinyurl.com/6uz9g


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7. Hound Joke of the Week
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Thanks to Carol Johnson of The Recruiting Network in Schaumburg, Illinois for this cost-effective solution for Hounds who work from home offices:

How to install an affordable wireless security system:

Go to a second-hand store and buy a pair of men's used work boots, a really big pair. Put them outside your front door on top of a copy of Guns & Ammo magazine. Put a dog dish beside it, a really big dish.

Leave a note on your front door that says something like "Bubba, Big Mike and I have gone to get more ammunition--back in half an hour. Don't disturb the pit bulls. They've just been wormed and they are a little edgy."


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/


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7. And at My Blog...
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Here's what you can read in recent posts at my blog:

--Pitch story ideas tied to retirement, living longer
http://publicityhound.net/?p=472

--31 ways to market with free publicity
http://publicityhound.net/?p=469

--Join me Jan. 25 for a free teleseminar on pitching problems
http://publicityhound.net/?p=463

--New to publicity? Start at bottom of media ladder
http://publicityhound.net/?p=470

--Archive of past issues of this newsletter
http://publicityarticles.net/archive/

My blog at http://www.publicityhound.net/ has 20 categories so you can read only items on whatever publicity-related topics interest you.

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Where to Meet or Hear The Publicity Hound®:

January 25 Teleseminar:

I'm the special guest for a free teleseminar on "Pitching Problems" sponsored by Wasabi Publicity at 1 PM Eastern Time. Sign up at http://www.publicityresults.com/


February 10: Washington, D.C.

National Speakers Association Winter Workshop, concurrent session for staff on "How to Position the Boss as an Expert the Media Love," 4:30 to 5:45 p.m., Crystal Gateway Marriott. Details and registration at http://www.nsaspeaker.org/dc/online_schedule.shtml


February 14: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Association for Women in Communications, "How to Use the Media to Position Yourself as an Expert," noon to 1:15 p.m., Italian Community Center, 631 E. Chicago St.; $30 for members, $40 for future members, $20 for students. Register online at http://www.awcmilwaukee.org/register.htm before Feb. 10.


March 22: Waukesha, Wisconsin

2006 Micro Entrepreneur Expo, "How to Get Free Publicity," Part 1 from 5:30-6:15 and Part 2 from 8-8:45 PM, Waukesha Area Technical College; pre-registration $25 or $30 at the door (includes dinner). To register, call 262-695-3468.


May 18: Washington, D.C.

PMA University. "How to Turn Your Ezine into a Cash Machine." Sponsored by Publishers Marketing Association. 8:30-10:15 a.m. Details pending.

***If you're in the National Speakers Association or the Public Relations Society of America--or another business, marketing or PR group--and you want details on how to bring in The Publicity Hound to do a fund-raiser for your chapter, or you want me to host a teleseminar customized just for your group, contact me at mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com?subject=speaker_inquiry or call 262-284-7451.

***Attention Meeting Planners: If you're booking speakers for winter, spring or summer conferences or events, keep me in mind--even if you have a last-minute cancellation. I deliver high-content, interactive programs that are lots of fun. Call 262-284-7451 or mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com?subject=speaker_inquiry for details.

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Reprinted from "The Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week," a free ezine featuring tips, tricks and tools for generating free publicity. Subscribe at http://www.publicityhound.com/ and receive free by email the handy list "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® will never distribute your address to anyone. Period. Promise.

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Joan Stewart
a.k.a. The Publicity Hound®
3434 County KK
Port Washington, WI 53074
U.S.A.

Phone: 262-284-7451 (Central) Fax: 262-284-1737