Publicity tips/This Drives TV Producers Crazy August 5, 2008

The Publicity Hound's
Tips of the Week
Issue #410 Aug. 5, 2008
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
The Publicity Hound®

Circulation: 50,043

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

"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.

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

Facebook Teleseminar Will be Sold Out

With more than a week to go before next week's teleseminar series on "How to Use LinkedIn to Promote," more than half the seats have been sold. And I expect this teleseminar series to be sold out. If you have a previous commitment and can't attend, sign up anyway at http://www.PublicityHound.com/teleseminar/facebook.htm You'll receive the MP3 audio and the electronic transcripts.

If you think Facebook is just for kids, see Item #2 below.

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

1. This Drives TV Producers Crazy

2. Facebook Group Coolest of the Cool

3. 12 Ways to Sell Social Media to Your Boss

4. Party Publicity Perfect for the Web

5. Promoting Natural Hair Care Products

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Joke of the Week

8. And at My Blog...

=======================================
1. This Drives TV Producers Crazy
=======================================

It's one of the biggest mistakes self-promoters make when they try to get onto a local or national TV talk show. And it drives producers and guest bookers crazy.

People send press kits, copies of their books, samples of their products, galley proofs, photos, Cds and DVDs.

They send obnoxious tchotchkies, invitations that include handfuls of glitter or confetti, and press releases inside big boxes that are wrapped to resemble gifts, or inside cardboard tubes that are impossible to open.

They even send food that turns stale by the time it reaches the intended recipient.

What do you suppose goes on in the minds of the producers when they receive it? And what do you suppose happens to all that stuff?

My friend, Steve Harrison, created a neat little video that will help you see what life is like through a producer's eyes. It will also tell you the Number One secret about how to get national publicity for a book, product or service.

Take a look: http://www.TheBigSecretToGettingPublicity.com/?10011


============================================
2. Facebook Group 'Coolest of the Cool' ============================================

They're known simply as "The Bill Sobel Breakfasts" and if you live or work near New York City, they're a cool way to network with cool people.

So says Bill, who refers to himself as the "chief connections officer." He's a master networker and a consultant who connects people who market products, technologies and services for media and entertainment.

A former TV executive, he hosts the breakfasts in Midtown Manhattan about once a month, primarily for those in the media and entertainment industries. But anybody can come.

Each breakfast is a two-and-a-half-hour schmoozefest with big- name speakers like:

- -Bob Pittman, "the father of MTV."

- -Bill Rassmussen, the founder of ESPN.

- -Jeff Price, president of Sports Illustrated digital media.

- -Fred Seibert, former president of Hanna Barbera

- -David Poltrack, executive vice president and chief research officer of CBS Inc.

(Hounds, are you paying attention?)

If you're a member of Bill's breakfast bunch and buy a ticket for $30, or you're a non-member who pays $50, and you want him to introduce you to one of the big wigs, "I'll do it in a heartbeat."

He started hosting the breakfasts in June 2006 as a place where executives in the media and entertainment industries could meet with peers, share ideas and develop friendships with the goal of assisting each other in reaching the next level or their personal goals. To keep track of his followers, Bill started a Yahoo group. When he heard about Facebook last year, he created a Facebook group called "New York Media Information Exchange Group."

Here's what happened when he started posting information about upcoming breakfast speakers to his Facebook page:

"The floodgates opened. It was as if I had a faucet that hadn't been turned on in years," he said. "The email addresses I had accumulated suddenly went from a few hundred to a few thousand."

And as a result, attendance at the breakfasts jumped.

Learn how you, too, can promote your events, books, speaking engagements, or any other service or product on Facebook. Jason Alba will be my guest expert during two teleseminars Aug. 13 and 14 on "How to Use Facebook to Promote Your Business or Nonprofit." I expect this series to be sold out. Register at http://www.PublicityHound.com/teleseminar/facebook.htm


============================================
3. 12 Ways to Sell Social Media to the Boss ============================================

Some people still don't get it.

They think social media sites like LinkedIn and Twitter are a colossal waste of time.

They want to maintain "total control" over what people are saying about their brand online. (Psssst: There is no such thing as total control online.)

They still think it's far more effective to use traditional media like newspapers, magazines, TV and radio for publicity. But they fail to understand that all four industries are seeing lower advertising revenues due in large part to competition from the Internet. And they're cutting staff like never before.

Unfortunately, many of the people who don't understand social media marketing are bosses. Please don't give up on trying to convince your boss.

Check out Chris Brogan's list of "Twelve Ways to Sell Social Media to Your Boss" at http://tinyurl.com/5ujkgw

Then plan to meet me at Ragan Communications' Social Media Summit Sept. 10-12 in Chicago. I worked out a special arrangement with Ragan. Publicity Hounds get $100 off the price of registration, plus another $100 off for early-bird registration if you use this link: http://www.ragan.com/publicityhound

See you in Chicago! Be sure to let me know if you're going and we'll make plans to have coffee.


=======================================
4. Party Publicity Perfect for the Web
=======================================

Black-tie charity fund-raisers. Employee picnics. Corporate holiday celebrations. Anniversary parties for your business.

Regardless of what you're celebrating, shoot video and offer it to your local weekly or daily newspapers. They're under tremendous pressure to produce video for the web and, truth be told, they usually despise covering these kinds of events. I know I did when I worked as a newspaper reporter.

Thanks to videographer John Easton of Charlotte, North Carolina, for tipping us off to this interview he did with Dave Enna, the senior producer of the Charlotte Observer's Web partner, Charlotte.com.

It gives you a good idea of kinds of videos that make perfect content for the web. Read the entire interview at http://www.customerflypaper.com/?p=53

Then learn how to create videos, without spending a fortune on high-fangled equipment you don't know how to use. John was my guest during a teleseminar on "9 Clever Ways to Use Video to Become a Media Darling in Your Industry or Community." We recorded it, and it's available as a CD, or as an electronic transcript or MP3 that you can download as soon as your order has been approved.

Learn how to become a media darling right now at http://tinyurl.com/5pbgzn


========================================
5. Promoting Natural Hair Care Products ========================================

This week, seven Publicity Hounds have tips on how Dalia Wallach of New York, New York, can get more consumers to experiment with her line of specialty hair care products called Get Glow.


From Yvette Stanton:

"How about offering free samples to some of the best salons in your local area, to get started?...Also, have you considered the angle of travelers' toiletries? With the new liquids and gels regulations on airlines, if you have a small enough bottle, you could corner the market in travelers' needs. If, as you say, you'll have to wash your hair less, a mini bottle could potentially last a whole 2- to 3-week vacation, and certainly a short business trip. To promote these sizes, get your product into hotels and airline magazines." (See Special Report #29: Fly High with Publicity in the Inflight Magazines at http://www.publicityhound.com/publicity-products/reports.html)


From Yves Marie Danie Baptiste:

"Develop a profile on sites like Ryze, Facebook and LinkedIn. You can share your expertise there." (See "How to Use LinkedIn to Promote Anything--Ethically & Powerfully" at http://www.PublicityHound.com/teleseminar/linkedin.htm )


From Candy Taylor Tutt:

"Both men and women whose hair gets exposed to chlorine will benefit from your product. Contact health clubs/gyms that have swimming pools. If your shampoos come in a small size they might stock them for their clients!"


Read all the responses to this week's Help This Hound question at http://tinyurl.com/6obj9l


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


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

Kevin Gardiner of Tolland, Connecticut writes:

"I am the president of Tune Rooms at http://www.tunerooms.com which is a social network for musicians that lets users to collaborate in virtual song-writing sessions.

"Since we launched our site, we've received overwhelmingly positive feedback. But the main gripe is that we don't have enough users. I need to figure out how to grow the community base.

"Can your Hounds suggest some ways that we can raise awareness of our site to musicians ages 13 and up, at all skill levels, so they can visit the site and collaborate? I believe in our product, but the size of the community is what will make Tune Rooms most useful for musicians."


The Publicity Hound says:

What a fun idea! I'll bet being a musician can get pretty lonely, especially when you have writer's block. Hounds with great ideas can post them to my blog at http://tinyurl.com/6fgxc9


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

Thanks to Jurek Leon from Willetton, Western Australia for this one:

Two drunks were about to board the train at 10 p.m. when they saw the sign "Dogs must be carried."

"Hold it," one of them said. "Where are we gonna get a dog at this time of night?"


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...
================================

McDonald's iced coffee showing up on TV news desks
http://tinyurl.com/5nf9hl


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 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® 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