Publicity tips/Where the media lurk for leads January 2, 2007

The Publicity Hound's
Tips of the Week
Issue #327 - Jan. 2, 2007
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.com/
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
The Publicity Hound®

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"Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity"
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Did You Open My Gift?

Almost 1,400 people already have downloaded my new ebook "The Best of The Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week," a compilation of the top 24 tips that evoked the greatest response from readers last year.

It's my holiday gift to you, and there's still plenty of time to offer it to your own clients and customers, and mention it in your own ezine and blog.

Read more about it at http://tinyurl.com/yysrnk and find out how to download last year's "Best of 2005" ebook.

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In This Issue
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1. Where the Media Lurk for Leads

2. Take Better Photos

3. Your Online Media Room

4. Media Leads

5. Promoting a Website for Women

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Quote of the Week

8. And at My Blog...


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1. Where the Media Lurk for Leads
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When I worked as a reporter and had one of those dreaded slow news days, I'd look for story ideas in the classified ad section of my newspaper.

More times than not, I'd find an intriguing classified buried among the "Miscellaneous" or "Wanted" ads. Then I'd call the person who placed the ad and request an interview.

Today's journalists do the same thing. But now, they have far more pickings from which to choose. That's because many of them lurk on Craigslist. The giant classified ad board at http://www.craigslist.org/ has a separate list for all 52 U.S. states and more than 35 countries.

Because you can post almost any kind of add for free, Craigslist is fertile ground for reporters looking for leads.

Just ask Katy Leakey, an artist who lives in Africa, and is the designer of the Leakey Collection, a colorful and versatile line of jewelry. The jewelry is handmade by the Maasai women with natural, sustainable grass beads. You can see it athttp://leakeycollection.com/

Harvested one blade at a time, then dyed in brilliant colors, the beads provide much-needed income for the women, some of whom walk two miles to the fields, with their children in tow.

Craigslist expert Nancy Mills helped Katy post small classified ads about the jewelry on several Craigslists.

A journalist who writes for San Diego Home & Garden magazine saw one of the ads on the San Diego Craigslist about "An artist making a difference in the world, from the busy fields of Kenya to the trendy slopes of Seattle" and called for an interview. The story will be published soon.

"They wanted to do the piece because they saw us on Craigslist," says Nancy, who is a master at "spinning" ads on Craigslist so that they really catch readers--and journalists'--attention.

Because Craigslist doesn't allow the same post on more than one list, Nancy's biggest challenge is to "spin" the same information about a particular product, service, cause or issue several different ways.

She explained her strategy during a teleseminar I conducted with her last year. We recorded it, and it's available as a CD or electronic transcript that you can read as soon as your order is approved.

Read more about what you'll learn from "How to Use Craigslist as a Global Publicity Tool" at http://tinyurl.com/geog2


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2. Take Better Photos
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Thanks to Publicity Hound Linda Martin, production coordinator for Shotgun Sports Magazine, for passing along these great tips on how to take better photos:
http://snipurl.com/phototips

"Great photos help sell stories," Linda says. "I just found the tips and I sent them out to try to get our writers to care more about the quality of the photos they submit to our magazine."

Smart move, Linda.

The most egregious sins I see are photo subjects with red eyes, someone standing in front of a plant so it looks as though the plant is growing out of the top of their head, and photos that look posed.

I love the interesting angles and tight cropping on the photos at the website above. I'd never consider shooting a photo of the ballerina showing her cut off at the waist, but it makes for an attractive shot.

Learn more about how to double your media placements simply by offering photos along with your story pitch. My ebook "How to Use Photos & Graphics in Your Publicity Campaign" is packed with hundreds of tips on how to shoot better photos--including a quick tip on how to avoid red eyes. Read more about what you'll learn at http://www.publicityhound.com/publicityphotos.htm


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3. Your Online Media Room
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Design your online media room not only for journalists, but for consumers.

So says David Meerman Scott, a former journalists who's convinced that when people want to know what's current about a company organization, they visit the online media room.

David urges Publicity Hounds to design their online media rooms for buyers.

"By building an online media room that targets buyers, you will not only enhance those pages as a powerful marketing tool, you will also make a better media site for journalists," he says.

For example, David suggests organizing press releases by product, by geography or by the market served. Most companies simply list press releases in reverse chronological order. But that means visitors searching for a press release on a specific product have to wade through a long list of releases, which eats up precious time.

You'll find more tips from David in the article he wrote in the January/February issue of The Publicity Hound subscription newsletter. The newsletter also includes articles on 5 ways to woo the new Congress, how to piggyback off "Do Business in Your Bathrobe Day," how to get your brand in front of thousands of people every week, how to form alliances for publicity, a phrase you shouldn't use when pitching because it's "old news," where to get a free special report for authors on website content, a Dallas/Fort Worth PR group that's forming, a new spa magazine, how to blog your way to the first draft of a book, where to find a free podcast directory, where to find a free special report listing the biggest press release errors, how to pitch the editors of Redbook magazine, and January/February story ideas. All for $10.

Order at http://tinyurl.com/yml5d6

Then listen to the free interview I conducted with Drew Gerber of PressKit 24/7 on how to create your own online press kit: http://snipurl.com/presskits


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4. Media Leads
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--Cyndi Kight, fan events calendar writer for Racing Milestones, a magazine for NASCAR fans, wants information about fun fan events happening around the NASCAR races, including race festivals, driver appearances at local stores and fundraising or charity events. "I also like to include a few other non-race-related, but interesting events happening in the immediate area of each race since fans often bring their spouses and children with them." Her deadline for the February on-sale issue is Friday, January 5. That issue will include events that happen around the February and March races. She needs information for the March and April races by February 2. You can see the entire list of races and dates at http://snipurl.com/racedates Email information to mailto:kightcw@yahoo.com

--Mark Nash is looking for author buzz for a new column he's writing at MyShelf.com. He wants news about book launch parties, major book signings, national magazine interviews, coast-to-coast book tours, national TV and radio interviews, new book deals, book awards, new paperback and audio editions of hard covers, movie rights sold to Hollywood, and anything else that publicists want to share. Mailto:mark.nash@cbexchange.com


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5. Promoting a Website for Women
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This week, three Publicity Hounds have tips for Kare Anderson who asked for advice on how to promote her new business called SavvyHer at http://www.savvyher.com/. It's an online community for women age 45 and older to contribute tips for making their lives easier and more joyful. They can even be recognized and rewarded with gifts from sponsors each month, when the community votes their tips Most Popular.


From Tracy:

"Register a second domain name and have it forward to your current domain. Someone looking at your website may mistake the 2V’s for a W. By registering SawyHer.com and forwarding traffic to the real domain, you will still get visits from those who may misread."


From Virginia Randall:

"Your target audience may be online but still is a dedicated user of traditional media--print and broadcast--and you need to include those outlets in your publicity/promotion plan. When I represented a businesswomen’s website, the spike they got inquiries came from an AP story and a big article in the Boston Globe. And where are you sending your e-newsletter? That’s another opportunity. Polls can be interesting, but unless they have really quirky questions (that’s why the AP picked up the one I designed) or are statistically sound, the media will not use them."

See "Special Report #19: How to Use Polls and Surveys That Brand You as an Expert" at http://tinyurl.com/y8ee4b

The Publicity Hound says:

"Write and distribute lots of online press releases focusing on specific topics on which your target audience is interested, then mention the website within the release. Distribute through a service like PRWeb at http://snipurl.com/PRWebDistribution or http://snipurl.com/ExpertClick See "The New Rules of Press Releases" for lots of tips from former journalist David Meerman Scott, who is mentioned in Item #3 above. Read more about it at http://tinyurl.com/ndwfo

Read all the responses at http://tinyurl.com/yj9d5l


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6. Help This Hound
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Yvette Stanton of Sydney, Australia writes:

"I am the Australian publisher of a small but growing range of embroidery books. I am about to launch two onto the U.S. market. I'd love suggestions of how make a big splash in a very niched pond.

"The market is predominantly women, many of whom love counted cross-stitch and needlepoint. Vetty Creations books take them further into embroidery, with step-by-step instructions and lots of photos and diagrams. Readers have commented that the books are so good, you never need to take classes. I'd love to hear suggestions from your Hounds!"

You can read more about the books at http://tinyurl.com/uluq9 and http://tinyurl.com/t3sow


The Publicity Hound says:

Many of my Hounds are real pros when it comes to hitting very narrow audiences with a marketing message that packs a wallop. Hounds with great ideas for Yvette can post them to my blog at http://tinyurl.com/yk5gaw


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7. Hound Joke of the Week
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You never realize a dog is a man’s best friend until you start betting on horses.

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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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8. And at My Blog...
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A great deal for Internet marketers
http://tinyurl.com/tbgp3


Monday Morning Media Minute resumes
http://tinyurl.com/y4hdd4


Free ebook of publicity tips
(Consider regifting)
http://tinyurl.com/yysrnk

On my blog at http://www.publicityhound.net/, I've made it easy for you to find what you're looking for by dividing my posts into more than 20 categories. Look under the "Topics" arrow on the right side of the blog to find the category you need.
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Where to Meet or Hear The Publicity Hound®

January 22, 2007:

Attention Artists--Frustrated that your art "business" is nothing more than an expensive hobby? Wondering about how to become recognized, exhibited, and paid for your art? Feel like there's too much competition, too few buyers and not enough energy left at the end of the day to market like you need to?

You're not alone. That's why Ariane Goodwin will be hosting the global smARTist TeleSummit 2007, a week-long teleconference in January with a dozen art-career experts telling artists everything they need to know about marketing, from exactly when and how to sneak up on a museum for an exhibition, to which presentation materials mark you as a creative professional and which ones scream "amateur." I'm presenting from 2 to 2:45 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, Jan. 22. For complete information on how you can participate, go to http://tinyurl.com/ymcvu8 Spaces are already filling up fast.


March 17, 2007: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

"Savvy Media Relations: How to Get Print, Broadcast and Online Publicity." 8 a.m. to noon. Details pending.

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