Publicity tips/Social Networking Can Consume You Oct 21, 2008

The Publicity Hound's
Tips of the Week
Issue #421 Oct. 21, 2008
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)

Circulation: 50,863

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"Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity"

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How to do Social Networking, Run a Business & Still Have a Life:

This is the teleseminar many of you have been begging me to
offer.

If you didn't know any better, you'd think that BL Ochman, one of
the most prolific and well-respected bloggers and social
networkers, does social networking 24/7, but she doesn't. Join us
on November 6 for a 70-minute teleseminar and hear her explain
how she rations her time, uses a variety of social networking
tools, and still manages to set aside a huge chunk of her
schedule each day for client projects. She'll also explain how
she'll use social networking to launch a new business---tips many
of you can use to promote your existing businesses.

Register at http://tinyurl.com/6kswbc

See Item #1 below.

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In This Issue
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1. Social Networking Can Consume You

2. Great Tip for Getting onto TV

3. The Voice of GOOG-411

4. The Big Lie About Self-publishing

5. Promoting a Photography Studio

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Joke of the Week

8. And at My Blog...


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1. Social Networking Can Consume You
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I go over to Twitter, call up the profile of somebody I'm
following, and I see she's posted 6,698 tweets to my piddly 108.

So I call her on the phone and ask her how many hours a day she
spends on Twitter. I know it isn't 24 because she sometimes
tweets that she's headed off to bed. How many, then? Ten? Twelve?
Twenty?

When she tells me she spends about an hour and a half throughout
the entire day, I'm stunned.

We start talking about Facebook. She says she relies so heavily
on Twitter posts and Facebook email to communicate with her
friends and followers, that she seldom relies on traditional
email anymore. In fact, if you want to communicate with her, go
find her on Twitter or Facebook.

Her blog about online PR campaigns is one of my favorites. She
writes occasionally about her client projects, and I often sit
here and wonder, "When does she have time for clients, let alone
sleeping and eating?"

Meet BL Ochman, one of my heroes--a prolific writer and blogger
who calls 'em like she sees 'em. Many longtime Publicity Hounds
know her name because I've written about her here, and she's been
a guest on several of my teleseminars, including one of my most
popular on how to write a pitch letter that's more powerful than
a press release at http://tinyurl.com/6yd65

On Twitter, I've seen her beg for help when a plumbing problem
almost flooded her kitchen. She isn't above appealing to her
1,738 followers and asking for advice on whether to take on a
client project.

She gripes, rightly so, about press releases she hates. She tells
us when she picks apples and takes her dog, Benny Bix Ochman, a
Labradoodle, for walks in Central Park. She even tweets to tell
us about her acupuncture treatments. Even though we've met only
once, I know more about her life than I know about the lives of
many of my friends.

Oh yeah. She also does social bookmarking, another form of social
networking. And she says Benny "gets better Google juice than
most corporations" because she writes about him so frequently.

One of the most perplexing problems Publicity Hounds face is
learning how to budget our time in the world of social networking
and not let it swallow us whole. That's why I invited BL to
be my guest during a teleseminar Nov. 6 on "How to do Social
Networking, Run a Business & Still Have a Life."

Many of you have asked for this topic, and BL is the perfect
person to teach you. Read more about what you'll learn, and then
register for one of the 100 seats, at http://tinyurl.com/6kswbc


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2. Great Tip for Getting onto TV
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This idea won't work for run-of-the-mill businesses.

But if you have an unusual book title, company name, or product
or service, it can get you onto the TV news in your local
community. It's courtesy of John Kremer's excellent Book
Marketing newsletter at http://www.bookmarket.com/tips.htm

Bobbie Lee, author of Straight Man's Pocket Guide to Picking Up a
Hottie, wrote the following note to John:

"Your book recommends making contacts every day. So I never miss
a chance to put my card advertising my book somewhere when I can!

"I saw a Fox station reporter van one day in my neighborhood and
put one on their windshield. They gave it to an Executive
Producer who produces a segment called 'Pillow Talk' during the
news in the morning and they invited me on to talk about my book.
Thanks for your inspiration.

"You can check out my appearance on my local Fox station on
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n9r4bgYMPw"


A business card tucked under the windshield. That's all it took.

If you're lucky enough to get on the air, the more difficult
challenge is persuading the TV station to mention your website.
One of the best ways is to offer viewers something for free at
your website--in exchange for a name and email address.

Can't think of anything? I have dozens of ideas and examples and
I list them all in "Special Report #51: 55 Free Things You Can
Offer to Generate Publicity or Capture People's Email Addresses."
Only $10. Order at http://tinyurl.com/6uz9g


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3. The Voice of GOOG-411
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You'll never pay for directory assistance again once you start
using GOOG-411, the free service from Google that gives you a
phone number, information about the business you want to call,
and even driving instructions.

As you watch the clever video that explains the service at
http://www.google.com/goog411/ note:

--How Google packed a lot of content and creativity into a 91-
second video.

--The fun challenge at the end to "find the voice of Google."
This is a reminder for Publicity Hounds to issue your own
challenge to your customers or followers to "find the voice"
associated with your company, from your radio ads to the recorded
greeting people hear when they call your company. How about
turning it into a contest?

--Google invited viewers to post their comments regarding the
"find the voice" challenge at YouTube at
http://www.google.com/goog411/ The video has had more than 3.4
million views and has amassed more than 700 comments.


Video ranks right up there as the Number One way to pull massive
amounts of traffic to your website quickly. It's also a powerful
way to generate attention from traditional media, which might not
be interested in covering your events. Publicity Hound John
Easton, a videographer, was my guest expert during a teleseminar
on "9 Clever Ways to Use Video to Become a Publicity Darling in
Your Industry or Community."

It's available as a CD or an electronic transcript that you can
download and be reading as soon as your order has been approved.
Read more about what you'll learn at http://tinyurl.com/5pbgzn


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4. The Big Lie About Self-publishing
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One of the fiercest debates among authors and publishers centers
on whether your book is any good if you self-publish.

Purists keep perpetuating the big lie: That self-published books
lack credibility.

It's a ridiculous argument.

Just ask Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen. When they shopped
their first Chicken Soup book to publishing houses many years
ago, they received several dozen rejection letters. Refusing to
give up, they published the book themselves.

It was so successful that the two have since self-published an
entire series of more than 100 Chicken Soup titles that have sold
more than 100 million copies. Add to that a variety of licensed
products such as calendars, greeting cards, nutritional
supplements, and even dog food.

My friend, Steve Harrison, will interview Jack Canfield tonight
at 7 p.m. Eastern and ask him about the other strategies he's
used to become a super-successful best-selling author and
internationally renowned speaker. The call is 90 minutes, and
it's free. Your usual long-distance rates apply.

You will learn:

--How Jack went from an inner city public school teacher to a
best-selling author and speaker.

--Jack's advice if you need revenue within 30 to 60 days.

--How to systematically create word-of-mouth marketing for your
book.

--Jack's insider advice on how to get started as a professional
speaker.

--How the Law of Attraction can help you create a best-selling
book.

Sign up now at http://tinyurl.com/5n2pwm


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5. Promoting a Photography Studio
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This week, nine Publicity Hounds have tips for Lisa Hoang of
Honolulu, Hawaii, a professional child and family photographer
who caters to elite clientele. She would like some classy ideas
on how to become more established in this niche. Her websites are
Windward Skies at http://www.windwardskies.com and Tiny Moments
Photography at http://www.tinymomentsphotography.com


From Kelly Watson:

"Get testimonials from other high-end customers and display them
prominently on your website. If you have a blog or an email
newsletter, you can also subtly 'name-drop' important customers
by displaying the work you've done for them or describing a
problem that you've solved for them.

"Potential customers will see that you've got a roster of high-
end clientele, and soon they'll be clamoring to join the list."



From Lori Green LeRoy:

"Consider donating your services to a silent auction for a Junior
League or other social benefit. Often, you can submit marketing
materials and examples of photos. The promotion at the event
would be great, and you could get excellent word-of-mouth
exposure from the person that 'wins' your services."


From Fiona Ingram:

"I live in South Africa and a local photographer came up with a
great idea. Start an album that draws the client back constantly.
For example, do the wedding pics, and add on a good price for
their anniversaries, the pregnancy, right up until the first baby
(and beyond). The baby album idea was to actually give
the client a stunning baby album and bring them back each month
so they capture the year's progress in great pics. You can extend
this to school first days etc. The 'hook' to draw them back will
be a growing record of their family, beautifully photographed.
You can also offer to do separate copies for proud mums, dads and
grandparents."


The Publicity Hound says:

Lisa, how about trying to get onto the local TV talk shows? You
can offer tips for parents who want to get the most out of a
photo shoot if they're having photos taken for their holiday
greeting cards. Yes, you specialize in photographing babies, and
you can certainly mention that during the show. But the greeting
card angle is timely, and it just might get you on the air.

Producers are looking for six traits in the ideal talk show
guest. Connie Dieken, a TV talk show host in Cleveland, explains
what they are and "How to be a TV Talk Show Host's Dream Date." .

It's available as a CD or an electronic transcript that you can
download and be reading as soon as your order has been approved.
Read more about how to get onto talk shows and wow producers so
they invite you back: http://tinyurl.com/3z7ut


Read all the responses to this week's Help This Hound question
http://tinyurl.com/4a4yjv


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


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6. Help This Hound
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Jeff Elliot of Cedar Rapids, Iowa writes:

"I am a manager at Planet X, a family entertainment center in
Cedar Rapids, Iowa featuring mini golf, bumper cars, space bikes,
space ball, rock climbing and arcade games. We serve food and
cater to many birthday parties and corporate events.

"Do your Hounds have any clever ideas on how we can celebrate our
10th year anniversary in January 2009? We're planning our
anniversary celebration all of next year. Our website is at
http://www.planetxfuncenter.com "


The Publicity Hound says:

Anniversaries lend themselves beautifully to publicity, as
long as you don't rely on the same old tired ideas. I can think
of several really fun publicity ideas for this one. Let's see how
sharp my Hounds are today. Hounds with great ideas can post them
at my blog at http://tinyurl.com/6okmne


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

Thanks to Dan Poynter, the self-publishing guru from Santa
Barbara, California, for sharing these great photos of "upside
down dogs." They made me laugh:

http://upsidedowndogs.com/


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8. And at My Blog...
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Life coaches: Offer tips on weathering the economy
http://tinyurl.com/6kcyas


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/



WHERE TO SEE AND HEAR THE PUBLICITY HOUND:

Nov. 6 -- Teleseminar

"How to Use Publicity To Become an Expert and Grow Your
Business," part of the Business Owner Super Conference. It's
already started, but you can still get in on the action at
http://tinyurl.com/633m83 A terrific training session for
business owners everywhere, with a line-up of top speakers.



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Reprinted from "The Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week," an ezine
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Subscribe at http://www.publicityhound.com/ and receive by email
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Joan Stewart
a.k.a. The Publicity Hound®
3434 County KK
Port Washington, WI 53074
USA
Phone: 262-284-7451 (Central) Fax: 262-284-1737