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Publicity Tips—Make Your Blog Go “Ka-Ching”

January 16th, 2012 by JStewart in Publicity Tips

The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #589 Jan. 10, 2012
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.com
http://www.publicityHound.mobi
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
http://www.publicityarticles.net (Ezine Archives)

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

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

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

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

1. Make Your Blog Go “Ka-ching”

2. Host a Scavenger Hunt

3. No Corrections on Facebook

4. Do You Make This Typing Mistake?

5. Help This Hound

6. Hound Quote of the Week

7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site

=====================================
1. Make Your Blog Go “Ka-Ching”
=====================================

Make this the year you finally start treating your blog like a
business and not a hobby.

That’s what 54-year-old Jim Hopkins is doing. The former reporter
and editor for USA Today has been blogging about Gannett Co. for
several years. His snarky blog at
http://gannettblog.blogspot.com/, which is not affiliated with
his former employer, keeps journalists informed of layoffs,
budget cuts, ethics issues, and other news at Gannett.

Hopkins, who is unemployed, also does what most other bloggers
would never do. He asks his incredibly loyal readers–mostly
journalists or former journalists—for donations. They pay by
cash, check or PayPal.

Want to contribute regularly? Use PayPal’s recurring payments
option, Hopkins reminds readers on the front page of his blog
where they see the big yellow “Donate” button.

Last year, he made about $5,000 in donations from readers and
$11,000 from Google Adsense ads. He also has turned his appeal
for donations into a fun game, with periodic posts whenever he
gets another check in the mail. The posts even include little
photos of $20, $50 and $100 dollar bills and headlines like “A
sudden embarrassment of riches” (when one donor gave him $225
within two days) and “In an envelope with no address: $60.”

Nonprofits, are you listening? Steal this idea and run with it!

I’m sharing 26 more ideas on how to monetize your blog at a
webinar I’m hosting this week. And I’m doing something I’ve never
done before. I’m holding it at 11 a.m. Eastern Time on Saturday
to gauge interest for weekend training sessions. If you can’t
attend, sign up anyway. You’ll get the video replay and other
goodies I’m offering as bonuses.

Read more about Hopkins’ blog at my own blog at
http://publicityhound.net/?p=10130. Or go directly to the
Register here for registration page for Saturday’s session at
http://www.PublicityHound.com/publicity-products/marketing-
tapes/howtomonetizeyourblog.htm

=====================================
2. Host a Scavenger Hunt
=====================================

Here’s a clever idea for pulling more fans to your Facebook page
or traffic to your website, courtesy of small business marketing
expert Janine Popick of VerticalResponse.

Host a scavenger hunt.

“Hide a badge on your blog or website and give your social media
audience hints for what they are trying to find. The first person
that sends you an email with a correct guess will be featured in
your next email newsletter. An even better idea would be to get
together with a few of your partners and each hide something on
your blog – the first person to get all of the items correct wins
a prize. This would help you get in front of a much larger
audience while still engaging your current one.”

She has four more ideas at http://ow.ly/8mNYQ

Like those?

Facebook expert Mari Smith has several dozen more, which she
shared in the webinar I hosted on “33 Ways to Attract Facebook
Fans, Provide Sterling Content & Keep Them Coming Back for More.”
Read more about how to access the handout and the video replay at
http://www.publicityhound.com/facebookpages.htm

======================================
3. No Corrections on Facebook
======================================

If you’re following a media outlet like a newspaper or magazine
on Facebook, and you see an error in the publication, don’t ask
for a correction on their Facebook page.

Send an email. Or better yet, call the reporter.

While looking at the Facebook page of a weekly newspaper in
Wisconsin this week, I saw a comment from someone who thought
that the reporter included incorrect information about someone in
a story. The man said a correction was needed and the reporter
should apologize to the source.

What happens if the reporter never sees the comment? Sometimes I
don’t see comments on my own Facebook page until days later.

Never rely on Facebook to communicate this important information.
And ALWAYS ask for corrections–not only so readers can see them
on the bottom of page 18, but also so the media outlet has a
permanent record of the error, and the correct information. I’ve
seen mistakes repeated two and three times because people didn’t
want to “bother” journalists or “make them mad” by asking for
corrections.

=====================================
4. Do You Make This Typing Mistake?
=====================================

This common typing mistake in email pitches, articles, blogs and
press releases sends the message “I’m out of it” and “I was born
in the Dark Ages.”

The mistake looks like this. Can you spot it? Look closer. See
it now?

At the end of a sentence, after the period, hit the space bar
only once, not twice, before typing the next sentence.

The double space rule went out with the typewriter. Read why at
http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/42683.aspx

======================================
5. Help This Hound
======================================

Diane Kline of St. Louis, MO, writes:

“I am the co-author of QuirkOut! Crazy Things Women do to Stay
Sane. It’s a blog and weekly column, for women 20 through death,
in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper on Sundays—sort of a
Martha Stewart meets Tina Fey.

“We all have QuirkOut! moments. We just named them. They are
quirky behaviors that help women of all ages get through our busy
lives – such as taking three purses on an overnight trip or
keeping shoes in the oven when we run out of closet space.

“We’re trying to increase the number of Likes on our Facebook
page at http://www.Facebook.com/quirkout and encourage women to
submit their QuirkOut! moments to use on our blog. We
occasionally feature some of these items in our Post-Dispatch
column.

“We’re hoping your Publicity Hounds can offer some helpful tips
on how we can reach women by using both traditional and social
media.”

The Publicity Hound says:

You bet! Many of my Hounds already belong to active women’s
communities online and off. They’d love to share your column,
Facebook page and your call for QuirkOuts! OK, ladies, let’s see
who can come up with the best ideas for Diane. What have you done
at your own Facebook page to attract and engage readers? How have
you used traditional media? Post your answers to my blog at
http://publicityhound.net/?p=10134

Send your own question to mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com and
include your city and state.

====================================
6. Hound Quote of the Week
=====================================

“I know that dogs are pack animals, but it is difficult to
imagine a pack of standard poodles…and if there was such a
thing as a pack of standard poodles, where would they rove to?
Bloomingdale’s?”–Yvonne Clifford, American actress

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/

======================================
7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…
======================================

Want (recurring) donations from blog readers? Just ask!
http://publicityhound.net/?p=10130

Top 10 creative writing blogs and more top tweets
http://publicityhound.net/?p=10105

——————————————-

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

Join my Facebook Fan Page:
http://www.facebook.com/publicityhound

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 or you told me you want to subscribe.

Privacy Statement:

The Publicity Hound respects your privacy and has a strict anti-
spam policy at http://www.Publicityhound.com/privacypolicy.htm

=======================================
Joan Stewart
The Publicity Hound

Publicity Tips—Best of 2011 Ebook

December 20th, 2011 by JStewart in Publicity Tips

The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #586 Dec. 20, 2011
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.com
http://www.publicityHound.mobi
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
http://www.publicityarticles.net (Ezine Archives)

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

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

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

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

1. Best of 2011 Ebook

2. Add Skills to Your LinkedIn Profile

3. Guest Host a Radio Show

4. Thanks for Completing My Survey

5. Master Facebook Changes in 3 Steps

6. Hound Video of the Week

7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…

=====================================
1. Best of 2011 Ebook
=====================================

Your contributions to this newsletter are what keeps me going,
and this is the time of year to say thanks.

Every year, I do that by excerpting 24 tips from the past year,
including some that have generated the most response from
readers, and compiling them into a free ebook.

Here are several ways to use “The Best of the Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week of 2011.”

–Regift it to your friends, clients and business associates.

–Share it on the social media sites.

–Speakers, use my tips in your presentations, and include this
link in your handouts so your audience can download it, too.
http://publicityhound.net/?p=9935

–Authors, use my tips in your books.

–Write a blog post and comment on one or more of my tips, and
please include the link.

–Go to a LinkedIn group and start a discussion on something
within the book.

–Save it to your hard drive, in a safe place, so you can dig it
out in a week or two when you’re creating a strategy for 2012.

For a full list of everything that’s included in the book, go to
my blog at http://publicityhound.net/?p=9935

=====================================
2. Add Skills to Your LinkedIn Profile
=====================================

One of the items in my “Best of The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the
Week” ebook lists six places online where you can find your
profile so you can update it.

One of those is LinkedIn. If you’re editing your profile, it’s a
perfect time to also add skills you might have acquired since you
wrote it originally, or skills you might have forgotten about.

LinkedIn emailed me a few weeks ago and suggested four skills I
should add to my profile.

Why add skills? Because those keywords are what other LinkedIn
users might be typing into the search box when they’re looking
for job candidates, speakers, consultants, coaches, joint venture
partners or news sources.

Wayne Breitbarth, one of the foremost experts on LinkedIn, has a
three-part strategy for creating an influential circle of
contacts who are like gold. He explained it during a webinar I
hosted with him earlier this year. You can access the video
replay at
http://www.publicityhound.com/linkedinpowerformulapart2.htm

======================================
3. Guest Host a Radio Show
======================================

This is the time of year when radio stations are scrambling to
find guest hosts.

And even though chances are slim that you’ll be chosen for the
gig if you don’t have any radio experience, it’s worth trying.
Talkers magazine says the holiday season creates a bonanza of
fill-in work. This year, the Christmas holidays coincide with a
big election cycle, which creates even more pressure to keep
stations on track.

Bill White, program director of WGN in Chicago, says he equates a
fill-in host to someone hosting a dinner party in someone else’s
home.

“Fill-in hosts should be respectful of the regular host’s
audience but not rearrange all the furniture,” he said. “We also
look for fill-in hosts who will be comfortable and compliment the
regular host’s audience.”

Ideal hosts can be politicians, community leaders, or people who
have participated on a talk show. They should feel comfortable
behind the microphone and share similar philosophies of the host.

Interested? Call the program director at your local radio station
and make your best pitch. If the answer is no, they might use you
instead as a guest. Read the entire story in Talkers at
http://www.Talkers.com.

=====================================
4. Thanks for Completing My Survey
=====================================

A big thank you for completing the short survey about what you
need most in the areas of publicity and social media.

I found some interesting trends in the data, and your comments
really helped me understand where you need the most help.

I’m still sorting through it all, but I already have some ideas
about things I can do to make it easier for you.

Let’s get through the holidays first, and I’ll explain more after
the first of the year.

Help is on the way!

======================================
5. Master Facebook Changes in 3 Steps
======================================

Facebook rolled out its new Timeline feature last week. It’s a
chronological listing of posts, photos, shared links, check-ins
and other content.

The changes make it easier for people to scrutinize your life.
But you can personalize, privatize and tweak this new feature.

Wired magazine offers a quick guide on how to hide things on
Facebook, how to tell your life story by adding past events, and
how to customize your timeline–all in five minutes.

Read it at
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/12/facebook-timeline-tips/

If 2012 is the year you finally start getting series about
pulling people to your page, use Mari Smith’s 33 tips that will
pull them in. She explained them all during a webinar I hosted
with her earlier this year, and when you order the video replay,
you get all 33 tips on a handy cheat sheet. Read more about “33
Ways to Attract Facebook Fans, Provide Sterling Content & Keep
Them Coming Back for More” at
http://www.publicityhound.com/facebookpages.htm

=====================================
6. Hound Video of the Week
=====================================

Here’s what puppies do on Christmas morning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bzyryg1Rn18

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/

======================================
7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…
======================================

Great content for retweeting:

24 juicy publicity, social media tips in free “best of” ebook
http://publicityhound.net/?p=9935

Create Top 10, 20, 50 lists for year-end publicity
http://publicityhound.net/?p=9924

Ask visitors who complete a web form to tweet about you
http://publicityhound.net/?p=9894

Blogging cheat sheet and more tweets from this past week
http://publicityhound.net/?p=9905

——————————————-

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

Join my Facebook Fan Page:
http://www.facebook.com/publicityhound

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:

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 or you told me you want to subscribe.

Privacy Statement:

The Publicity Hound respects your privacy and has a strict anti-
spam policy at http://www.Publicityhound.com/privacypolicy.htm

=======================================
Joan Stewart
The Publicity Hound

Publicity Tips—Tips for Your 2012 Media Plan

October 5th, 2011 by JStewart in Publicity Tips

The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #575 Oct. 4, 2011
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.com
http://www.publicityHound.mobi
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
http://www.publicityarticles.net (Ezine Archives)

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

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

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

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

1. Tips for Your 2012 Media Plan

2. Your Competitors’ Press Releases

3. How to Find Influential People

4. Don’t Use Facebook’s Links Box

5. Artists Need International Publicity

6. Hound Video of the Week

7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…

=====================================
1. Tips for Your 2012 Media Plan
=====================================

This is the time to start collecting editorial calendars so you
can begin creating your media plan for next year.

Contact the advertising department at each newspaper and magazine
where you want publicity and ask a sales rep to send you a
calendar or lead you to it at their website.

Editorial calendars list special sections and other topical
features being planned for specific publications. They tip you
off to sections where your story would be a good fit. Find out
who edits the section, write a pitch, and then deliver it. Using
editorial calendars will put you miles ahead of everyone else
who’s pitching.

Here are three more tips for creating a media plan:

–Less is more. You’re better off targeting fewer media outlets
and writing customized pitches for each, rather than delivering
the same one-size-fits-all pitch to dozens of media outlets, many
of which will have very different audiences.

–Use the social media sites to find journalists who cover your
topic. If you find a beat reporter on, say, Twitter, follow him.
Pay attention to topics he’s writing about. Retweet his content.
Start the conversation. And then pitch.

–Think of ways to repurpose your publicity, using multi-media.
If a local newspaper prints a story about your company’s new
product, don’t stop there. Create a video for YouTube. Post
photos to Flickr. Feature the product on Company Pages on
LinkedIn. Consider hosting a free webinar showing people how to
use the product, and offer replays of the video at your blog.

If you aren’t creating a strategy right now to generate publicity
in the next 12 months, in another month or two, it may be too
late. Long lead times for some media outlets, like national
magazines for instance, mean you need to be pitching stories six
months before the magazine goes to press.

But you don’t have to start creating a plan from scratch. Let me
help.

“How to Create a Media Plan” is a graduate-level course on how to
get worldwide attention for your product, service, cause or
issue, by creating and following a well-thought-out, month-by-
month strategic plan that also leaves room for publicity ideas
when there’s breaking news.
It’s available as electronic transcripts, CDs or MP3s. Read more
about how it will shorten your learning curve at
http://www.publicityhound.com/mediaplan.htm

=====================================
2. Your Competitors’ Press Releases
=====================================

Your media plan, mentioned above, has an important component:
online press releases.

You will write them primarily to reach consumers directly through
the search engines. For journalists, you’ll deliver those
customized pitches.

Just for the heck of it, go see what kinds of press releases your
competitors are writing. I’m a huge fan of ExpertClick: The
Online Yearbook of Experts, which lets you post up to 52 press
releases per year, with a subscription.

Go to http://www.ExpertClick.com/Referral/Publicity_Hound and
click “Site Map” in the menu bar. Now go to the “Experts” column
and click on “Find Experts.”

Scroll down to the long list of hundreds of topics. Click on your
topic and you’ll see a list of your competitors. You can now call
up their press releases and see what they’ve written. If you
don’t see your topic, use the search box.

One of the reasons I like ExpertClick, and am a compensated
affiliate, is because press releases rank well in the search
engines. You can also write them even when there’s no news.
Create a tips list, take a stand on a controversial topic, make a
prediction, issue a proclamation, or identify a trend you’re
seeing in your industry and write about it, and include a call to
action.

If you use the link above, you can take advantage of the $100
Publicity Hound discount.

======================================
3. How to Find Influential People
======================================

I recently discovered Appinions, a fascinating company that shows
you how to find and connect with influencers like journalists and
bloggers who are discussing topics in your area of expertise
right now.

Unlike sites, such as Klout, that measure only social media
influence, Appinions also tracks traditional media to round out a
true picture of influence.

Appinions claims to be the first service that matches influencers
to specific topics, based on opinions from news, blogs, tweets,
TV transcripts and social networks. Publicity Hounds can then
identify the most influential people who can move the needles of
influence, and pitch them.

After speaking with CEO Larry Levy, and watching him demonstrate
how the service works, I was so impressed that I asked him to
host a free webinar for you.

The ideal client for this service is a PR or marketing agency
that has multiple clients and does at least $5 million a year in
revenue.

If that’s you, join us for a free one-hour webinar at 3 p.m.
Eastern Time on Thursday, Oct. 13. After you sign up, email me
the topics where you need to find influencers. Levy has promised
to demonstrate his service, using as many topics as possible from
participants.

We have room for only 50 Publicity Hounds on the call. But if you
can’t attend live, you can watch the video replay. Register for
the webinar at
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/308195010

Full disclosure: I will earn a commission from all subscriptions
sold.

=====================================
4. Don’t use Facebook’s Link Box
=====================================

When you write a Facebook status update and want to link to an
article, Facebook gives you two options:

–Click on the “Link” box and type your link.

–Simply type the URL directly into your status update.

Lots of testers have done it both ways. They’ve found that, in
most cases, the second option encourages more people to click on
the link.

Mari Smith has lots more ideas on how to encourage people to Like
your page and click on your links. She was my guest during the
webinar on “33 Ways to Attract Facebook Fans, Provide Sterling
Content & Keep Them Coming Back for More.” No time to watch the
webinar replay? That’s OK. Use the handy checklist I compiled. It
includes all 33 tips. Follow one tip each day and watch the
number of “Likes” on your page skyrocket.

Read more about how to access the replay and the checklist, part
of the handouts, at
http://www.publicityhound.com/facebookpages.htm

=====================================
5. Artists Need International Publicity
=====================================

Publicity Hound Kate Farrall of San Diego, CA, writes:

“I need to get national/international publicity for my two
muralist clients who are completing a five-story public art
installation this November for the City of Davis, just outside of
Sacramento. They have transformed a water tank into a 360-degree
kinetic art installation. You can see a short video that explains
the project at
http://lcmuralanddesign.com/watertank/shadow.html

“My pitches have done well, thanks to your great advice. So far,
I’ve gotten my clients a segment on our local PBS channel that
will run for a year and a half, along with a few other news and
print hits. The feedback on my pitches has been really good and
I’ve tailored each one.

“How do I create a hook for national publications, especially art
publications? Or even publications that are not so big but
located elsewhere? Local has been a good hook for us so far, but
that won’t work in the Midwest, New York or Europe. My clients
want to be recognized as professional artists and have a broader
name recognition so they can expand where they work and the types
of projects they do.

You can read a press release about the project at
http://lcmuralanddesign.com/press/pressrelease1.html

The Publicity Hound says:

My readers love questions like this because there are so many
publicity possibilities. One of the first things I’d do is go to
their Flickr and write captions and tags for each photo. OK,
Hounds, let’s hear your ideas. Post them at my blog at
http://publicityhound.net/?p=9512

======================================
6. Hound Video of the Week
======================================

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

http://www.myspace.com/video/vid/52494209

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/

======================================
7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…
======================================

Celebrity publicists: Interviewer will promote your clients
http://publicityhound.net/?p=9494

——————————————-

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

Join my Facebook Fan Page:
http://www.facebook.com/publicityhound

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:

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 or you told me you want to subscribe.

Privacy Statement:

The Publicity Hound respects your privacy and has a strict anti-
spam policy at http://www.Publicityhound.com/privacypolicy.htm

=======================================
Joan Stewart
The Publicity Hound

Publicity Tips—Be Part of a Restaurant’s Name

September 20th, 2011 by JStewart in Publicity Tips

The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #573 Sept. 20, 2011
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.com
http://www.publicityHound.mobi
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
http://www.publicityarticles.net (Ezine Archives)

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

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

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

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

1. Be Part of a Restaurant’s Name

2. Social Media Today Needs Bloggers

3. Three Major Facebook Changes

4. 7 Ways to Land Big Media Appearances

5. YouTube Adds Editing Tools

6. Promoting a Family circle Article

7. Hound Joke of the Week

8. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…

=====================================
1. Be Part of a Restaurant’s Name
=====================================

File this one under “Clever Publicity Stunts.”

Starting Oct. 3 through the end of the month, Smith & Wollensky
steakhouse in Midtown Manhattan will remove the name “Smith” and
replace it with the surname of a devoted customer who agrees to
take a pledge of loyalty to the restaurant.

The new names will also appear on signs, awnings, matchbooks,
cocktail napkins and waiters’ jackets.

Just book a table, take a pledge at their website, and your name
might be one of several dozen drawn at random.

This sounds like an incredibly expensive promotion, and I’d be
curious to know if the return on investment is worth it.

Read more about the promotion on the restaurant’s website at
http://www.smithandwollenskynyc.com. Then read 51 ideas on how
restaurants, chefs and foodies can generate publicity. They’re on
the handout I created that accompanies the audio recording of a
teleseminar I recorded on “Publicity Tips for Restaurants, Chefs
& Foodies.”

Find out how to access it at
http://www.publicityhound.com/publicity-products/marketing-
tapes/restaurants.htm

=====================================
2. Social Media Today Needs Bloggers
=====================================

If you’re an expert in any aspect of social media, consider
submitting a guest blog post for Social Media Today.

SMT describes itself as “an independent, online community for
professionals in PR, marketing, advertising, or any other
discipline where a thorough understanding of social media is
mission-critical. Every day, we provide insight and host lively
debate about the tools, platforms, companies and personalities
that are revolutionizing the way we consume information.”

I’ve submitted a few posts at the site and found it a bit
difficult to navigate at first, but the exposure is valuable. I
recommend offering original content, not warmed-over posts from
your own blog.

Learn more here:

http://socialmediatoday.com/clifffigallo/358121/smts-september-
message-our-contributing-writers

======================================
3. Three Major Facebook Changes
======================================

New changes you need to know about:

–Until now, it hasn’t been easy to choose exactly what you see
in your News Feed. You also couldn’t hear directly from people
you’re interested in but don’t know personally–like journalists.
Facebook is adding a Subscribe button, making it easier for you
to do both. You’ll start seeing this button on your profile and
your friends’ profiles. Use it to choose what you see from people
in News Feed; hear from people, even if you’re not friends; and
let people hear from you, even if you’re not friends.

–Lists have existed for several years, but users have complained
that it’s time-consuming to organize lists for different parts of
their lives and keep them up to date. To make lists easier,
Facebook has made three improvements. Smart Lists create
themselves and stay up-to-date based on profile info your friends
have in common with you–like your work, school, family and city.

Close Friends and Acquaintances lists let you see your best
friends’ photos and posts in one place, and see less from people
you’re not as close to.

You can also add the right friends to your lists without a lot of
effort.

–You no longer need to accumulate 25 friends or fans before you
can claim a vanity URL. Until you got that many, you were stuck
with a long, ugly URL that no one could ever remember. Choose a
vanity URL and check its availability here:
https://www.facebook.com/username/

Now, use the checklist I created on how to attract fans to your
vanity URL. I compiled it when Mari Smith was my guest during the
recent webinar on “33 Ways to Attract Facebook Fans, Provide
Sterling Content & Keep Them Coming Back for More.” Follow one
tip each day, and watch the number of “Likes” on your page
skyrocket.

Read more about how to access the replay and the cheat sheet of
tips, part of the handouts, at
http://www.publicityhound.com/facebookpages.htm

Read what Facebook has to say about all the changes at
https://www.facebook.com/blog.php?post=10150280039742131

=========================================
4. 7 Ways to Land Big Media Appearances
=========================================

One of the big advantages to being booked on a major TV talk show
like the “Today” show, “Good Morning America,” “The View,” or
even for a news segment on the Fox News Channel, is that these
top media aren’t shy about stealing each other’s guests. Do a
terrific interview on the “Today” show, and “The View” might
call.

A single major national TV appearance can change your life
forever. But getting onto these shows isn’t easy.

Discover the breakthrough strategies others have used to be
featured on those big shows and in major print media like Time
magazine and USA Today. Steve Harrison is hosting a webcast at 4
and 8 p.m. Eastern Time today, Sept. 20. This is a free call, and
I’m promoting it as an affiliate.

Learn the 7 things you must know about what separates the run-of-
the-mill publicity seekers from those who get booked onto these
shows and appear in major publications. Register at
http://www.publicitytrainingclass.com/?10011

=====================================
5. YouTube Adds Editing Tools
=====================================

If you’re serious about creating talking head or PowerPoint
videos for YouTube, you’re probably using a video editing program
like Sony Vegas Movie Studio.

But if you’re in a hurry, you can now use several nifty editing
tools from YouTube that let you edit right in the browser.

Watch the video YouTube created that explains all the tools:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-n9p28Yh8w&feature=
player_embedded

When you’re done, learn all the inside secrets on how to use your
YouTube videos to pull traffic to your website or blog. Colin
Martin and Mark Bullock presented a free webinar a few months ago
on “YouTube Secrets: Getting Views, Subscribers and Branding Your
Business.” I took three pages of notes while recoding the
session. If you missed it, don’t worry. We recorded it. You can
access the replay at http://tinyurl.com/62ajq65

=====================================
6. Promoting a Family Circle Article
=====================================

This week, three Publicity Hounds have tips for Carrie Steuer of
Chicago, IL, a bra consultant who wants to know how to piggyback
onto an article Family Circle magazine is writing about her this
month, and continue the great publicity.

From Dan Janal:

“Reporters love trend articles. What’s new in fashion? Colors,
styles, etc.? Is there a spin you can make with the news from
Fashion Week?

“Can you poll your customers on what they like or dislike? One of
my clients surveyed her readers and we wrote a press release
based on the results. You can read it at

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/halloween-costumes-five-
sexiest-halloween-costumes-as-voted-by-men-127822108.html

From Alice Hohl:

“One of the best things you can do is to be prepared for a rush
of people to your site after the article is published. Have
systems in place to handle a flood of inquiries. Create an online
form that captures emails.”

From The Publicity Hound:

“Publicity Hound Larry Jacobs asked a similar question when Golf
Digest magazine wrote about him. I listed as many ideas as I
could think of at my blog at http://publicityhound.net/?p=6944.
One of the most important things I suggested was to order as many
reprints as you can afford. You never know when they’ll come in
handy.”

Read all the responses to this “Help This Hound” question at
http://publicityhound.net/?p=9401

======================================
7. Hound Joke 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 & Mobile Site…
======================================

5 important tips for pitching journalists by phone
http://publicityhound.net/?p=9393

Peek inside the local TV news biz at TV Spy.com
http://ow.ly/6wS4c

——————————————-

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

Join my Facebook Fan Page:
http://www.facebook.com/publicityhound

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:

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 or you told me you want to subscribe.

Privacy Statement:

The Publicity Hound respects your privacy and has a strict anti-
spam policy at http://www.Publicityhound.com/privacypolicy.htm

=======================================
Joan Stewart
The Publicity Hound

Publicity Tips—Facebook Deadline Oct. 1

September 9th, 2011 by JStewart in Publicity Tips

The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #571 Sept. 6, 2011
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.com
http://www.publicityHound.mobi
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
http://www.publicityarticles.net (Ezine Archives)

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

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

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

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

1. Facebook Deadline Oct. 1

2. Make Your Blog Your Home Base

3. The Press Release Addiction

4. Repeat of TV Talk Shows Webinar

5. Help This HOund

6. Hound Video of the Week

7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…

=====================================
1. Facebook Deadline Oct. 1
=====================================

If you’re on Facebook and you have created a page that is
customized and hosted outside of Facebook, you will need to buy
an SSL certificate before Oct. 1. This affects almost all of us.
If you’re in doubt about whether you need it, talk to your web
consultant.

SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer. It lets your customers know
that their transactions and other communications with you are
secure.

You can buy an SSL certificate from hosting services such as
HostGator at
http://secure.hostgator.com/~affiliat/cgi-
bin/affiliates/clickthru.cgi?id=pubhound and GoDaddy at
http://x.co/ZW1h for less than $100.

Please don’t ask me about SSL certificates, because this isn’t my
area of expertise. But this deadline is important enough to
mention here. If you have questions, ask your web consultant or
read this blog post, the best one I found that explains this
topic is at
https://ilocalsearch.net/facebook-pages-changes-ssl-certificate-
requirements-that-you-need-to-know-about

Once this is out of the way, you go back to your checklist of
things you can do at your Facebook account to build a loyal base
of fans who have Liked your pages, the only place on Facebook
where you can promote what you’re selling.

I created a checklist of 33 items that Mari Smith mentioned when
she was my guest during the recent webinar on “33 Ways to Attract
Facebook Fans, Provide Sterling Content & Keep Them Coming Back
for More.” Follow one tip each day, and watch the number of
“Likes” on your page skyrocket.

Read more about how to access the replay and the cheat sheet of
tips, part of the handouts, at
http://www.publicityhound.com/facebookpages.htm

=====================================
2. Make Your Blog Your Home Base
=====================================

It’s darn near impossible to sell something directly from
Twitter, or even the snazziest Facebook page.

But not from your blog.

Your blog is the place where you can promote your expertise,
explain how to use one of your products, answer readers’
questions about your services, or go into great depth explaining
why visitors should donate to a worthy cause you’re promoting.
It’s also the place where you can convince journalists that you
know so much about your topic that they should be using you as a
source, and probably even interviewing you for their articles.

You can post photos and videos at your blog, too. After you’ve
hooked visitors and convinced them they need your products or
services, you can link to a sales page at your website.

The big mistake on social media sites is that most people skip
the blog. They try to take their followers directly from Twitter
to a sales page. Spend a few minutes reading all the junk in your
Twitter feed and you’ll see what I mean.

If you aren’t blogging yet, it isn’t too late to start. I have
yet another cheat sheet for you. It’s more than 100 ways to find
content for your blog so you’re never lacking for ideas. It comes
with the replay of the teleseminar I created with Patsi Krakoff
on “Time-saving Tips for Smart Business Blogging.” Read about
what Patsi will teach you at
http://www.publicityhound.com/publicity-products/marketing-
tapes/businessblogging.htm

======================================
3. The Press Release Addiction
======================================

Writing press releases is like a drug addiction.

It’s a quick fix that feels good, because it makes you think
you’ve really accomplished something. But when you come down from
Cloud Nine, it dawns on you that the press release hasn’t moved
one journalist to call you. The problem of no media attention is
still there–staring you in the face.

Sound familiar?

If so, break the vicious cycle right now by vowing to never write
a press release and send it to a journalist or broadcaster if you
want them to cover your story. Instead, write a compelling,
personalized pitch that tells the journalist, “I know who you
are. I know what you cover. I know what you need. Here’s a story
idea that can help you.”

Keep the press release in your back pocket, just in case they
tell you they are interested in the story and would like a
release along with an interview.

A webinar I hosted recently, “A Simple 5-Part Formula for
Delivering the Perfect Media Pitch and Hitting it Out of the
Park,” shows you how to do what nine out of 10 other people
aren’t doing when they want media attention. They aren’t
customizing pitches.

The replay of the webinar includes handouts that offer samples of
compelling pitches that generated media coverage. When Publicity
Hound Mary Castillo used my formula, two journalists bit and said
they’d cover her client’s story. Find out what she did that you
could be doing at
http://www.publicityhound.com/publicity-products/marketing-
tapes/pitchingformula.htm

=====================================
4. Repeat of TV Talk Shows Webinar
=====================================

If you missed the webinar on how to get booked on big TV talk
shows like “Rachael Ray,” “Live with Regis & Kelly” and the
“Wendy Wilson Show,” you’re in luck.

Steve Harrison is repeating it at 2 and 7 p.m. Eastern Time on
Thursday, Sept. 8. When you pitch, producers and guest bookers
may ask you a question that you must be ready to answer, pronto.
Find out what it is and learn the inside secrets on exactly what
kinds of guests these shows are looking for. Register for the
call at http://www.tvpublicityteleseminar.com/?10011

=====================================
5. Help This Hound
=====================================

Leticia Meireles of San Diego, CA, writes:

“I just had my birthday and, in lieu of gifts, I’ve been asking
friends to support a cure for breast cancer.

“Many generous business owners helped me to gather almost 100
items to be sold on my fundraising online auction—items on
Ebay, too. Many of them are from retailers and restaurants in San
Diego. Others are from national chains such as BestBuy. All
proceeds will benefit the Susan Komen 3-Day for the Cure.

“I need to raise $10,000, but no one seems to be bidding. What
should I do differently? You can see the items up for bid at
http://www.32auctions.com/organizations/1878/auctions/2039

The Publicity Hound says:

Social media to the rescue. At least that’s what I’d do. I’d find
every social media group possible near San Diego and ask people
to spread the message for you. But that’s just a start. What
about other online promotion ideas, and the many ways you can
spread the word offline? Hounds with ideas for Leticia can post
them to my blog at http://publicityhound.net/?p=9341

======================================
6. Hound Video of the Week
======================================

Check out this dog’s eyes as he stands before a plate of
cupcakes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTuOr2vlC-c&feature=
player_embedded

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/

======================================
7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…
======================================

What Taylor Swift can teach you about book marketing
http://publicityhound.net/?p=9320

Press release mistake: Not including a call to action
http://publicityhound.net/?p=9311

Promoting fiction: Should authors fake a memoir?
http://publicityhound.net/?p=9252

9 ways to sneak your website address into media stories
(A guest blog post I wrote)
http://www.arikhanson.com/2011/08/25/9-ways-to-sneak-your-
website-address-into-media-stories/

——————————————-

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

Join my Facebook Fan Page:
http://www.facebook.com/publicityhound

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:

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 or you told me you want to subscribe.

Privacy Statement:

The Publicity Hound respects your privacy and has a strict anti-
spam policy at http://www.Publicityhound.com/privacypolicy.htm

=======================================
Joan Stewart
The Publicity Hound

Publicity Tips–Surprising Source of Traffic

August 31st, 2011 by JStewart in Publicity Tips

The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #570 Aug. 30, 2011
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.com
http://www.publicityHound.mobi
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
http://www.publicityarticles.net (Ezine Archives)

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

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

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

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

1. Surprising Source of Traffic

2. Write Razor-Sharp on Facebook

3. Pitch a “Follow Up”

4. Don’t Share Photo Albums

5. Sell My Products & Services

6. Hound Joke of the Week

7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…

=====================================
1. Surprising Source of Traffic
=====================================

Which website is the biggest referrer of traffic on the Internet?

You get three guesses.

Nope, it’s not Twitter. It’s not Facebook either. And it’s not
LinkedIn.

If you guessed Google, that’s wrong, too. Google is a search
engine, not a website.

The one site that drives more traffic than any other is
StumpleUpon.com, a social bookmarking site.

I was shocked when I saw that statistic recently. But when you
stop to think about it, it makes perfect sense. Social
bookmarking sites exist to share links to interesting content on
the Web. Sites like Facebook exist to keep you on Facebook,
interacting with your friends.

Why is StumbleUpon important for Publicity Hounds?

Because if you create a StumbleUpon account and share terrific
content, other “Stumblers” will view you as a reputable source.
You can then–very infrequently and very carefully–share your
own content, even though it’s better to have someone else share
it for you.

Colin Martin, a social bookmarking expert, says sites like
StumbleUpon also help you become a recognized expert within your
field. He explained how to use that site and Delicious, Digg and
Reddit, the three other major sites, during a teleseminar called
“How to do Social Bookmarking to Promote Your Expertise, Attract
Followers & Pull Massive Amounts of Traffic.” The audio replay or
electronic transcript comes with four short videos that show you
how to create your accounts at bookmarking sites, bookmark
content, make friends and join groups, and find everyday uses for
this powerful marketing tool.

Read more about what you’ll learn to do at
http://www.publicityhound.com/publicity-products/marketing-
tapes/social_bookmarking.htm

=====================================
2. Write Razor-Sharp on Facebook
=====================================

If you’re searching for a compelling topic to write about in your
next Facebook Status Update, and you’re in a hurry, consult this
infographic that lists eight clever ideas:

http://www.allfacebook.com/infographic-8-ways-to-conquer-
facebook-statuses-2011-08

Here’s one of them. Write a fill-in-the-blank sentence, like
this: “___________ always makes me smile.”

I used to think status updates like that were nonsense. But
people love responding to them. And as the infographic I linked
to above explains, the more Likes and Comments your content
receives, the higher your Edgerank score. And the higher your
score, the more your content will appear in your friends’ and
fans’ news feeds.

Of course, the fill-in-the-blank tactic can be used on your Pages
as well. One of the most frequent questions I receive is, “How
can I get more people to Like my pages?”

I hosted Mari Smith, the world’s Number One Facebook expert,
during a webinar recently on “33 Ways to Attract Facebook Fans,
Provide Sterling Content & Keep Them Coming Back for More.” The
webinar replay comes with a handy cheat sheet that lists all 33
tips. Follow one tip each day, and watch the number of “Likes” on
your Page skyrocket.

Read more about how to access the replay and the cheat sheet at
http://www.publicityhound.com/facebookpages.htm

======================================
3. Pitch a “Follow Up”
======================================

One of the easiest ways to generate publicity is by pitching a
story that’s a “follow up” to a story about you that a media
outlet already has covered.

Let’s say you’re a nonprofit that received publicity a year ago
for several new partnerships you formed with local businesses to
place people with disabilities in jobs at those companies.

Don’t let the publicity end there. Return to the same media
outlets and let them know the rest of the story. How are the
employees doing?
Do they have good attendance records? Have any of them been
promoted? Have you placed additional people with disabilities in
jobs?

These stories are easy to place because the media already have
covered you. “Follow up” is media lingo, so use that phrase when
you pitch.

Publicity Hound Mary Castillo of Orange County, Calif., used the
other pitching tips I shared during a webinar earlier this month
and, within 15 minutes of pitching, received two confirmations
from reporters who agreed to run her story. A radio show that
she’s been trying to get her client onto for a year also
expressed interest.

Read more about what I taught Publicity Hounds how to do, and
access the video replay and handouts that include pitches that
received media attention:
http://www.publicityhound.com/publicity-products/marketing-
tapes/pitchingformula.htm

=====================================
4. Don’t Share Photo Albums
=====================================

If a family member or employee who is very famous in your
community dies, and the local newspaper or TV station asks you
for photos, don’t hand over your entire photo album when they ask
for it.

This is an old reporter’s trick, and the media will sometimes try
to pull this off so competing media can’t get access to your
photos.

Offer a few photos, but save several for other media. One way
around this problem, of course, is to offer digital photos.

This tip comes from my ebook, “How to Use Photos & Graphics in
Your Publicity Campaign” at
http://www.publicityhound.com/publicityphotos.htm

If you’re only pitching stories, you’re missing half your chances
for publicity.

=====================================
5. Sell My Products & Services
=====================================

If you love my products and services and want to recommend them
to your own followers, and earn a hefty commission for every
sale, sign up for my affiliate program at
http://www.publicityhound.com/affiliateinstructions.htm

And stay tuned for a webinar I’ll be hosting next month, filled
with helpful tips that will explain the best ways to promote, all
within guidelines from the Federal Trade Commission.

======================================
6. Hound Joke of the Week
======================================

The Publicity Hound asks:

When dog food is “new and improved” and better tasting, who tests
it?

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/

======================================
7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…
======================================

Promoting fiction: Should authors fake a memoir?
http://publicityhound.net/?p=9252

Prepare your PR company for hurricanes, earthquakes
http://publicityhound.net/?p=9233

——————————————-

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

Join my Facebook Fan Page:
http://www.facebook.com/publicityhound

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:

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 or you told me you want to subscribe.

Privacy Statement:

The Publicity Hound respects your privacy and has a strict anti-
spam policy at http://www.Publicityhound.com/privacypolicy.htm

=======================================
Joan Stewart
The Publicity Hound

Publicity Tips—A Dirty Word When Pitching

August 17th, 2011 by JStewart in Publicity Tips

The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #568 Aug. 16, 2011
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.com
http://www.publicityHound.mobi
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
http://www.publicityarticles.net (Ezine Archives)

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

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

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

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

1. A Dirty Word When Pitching

2. Offer Extras & Sweeten the Pitch

3. Attract More Facebook Fans

4. Wanted: Your Guest Blog Post

5. Help This Hound

6. Hound Photos of the Week

7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…

=====================================
1. A Dirty Word When Pitching
=====================================

The next time you pitch a story idea to a journalist, don’t use
the one word that will force the reporter to hit the delete key,
write you off as a jerk, and maybe even blackball you.

The word?

Publicity.

As in, “We’re hoping for a little publicity for our fund-raiser
to benefit cancer research.”

Journalists HATE that word. They don’t view their jobs as giving
people publicity. They cover news.

Bloggers might cut you a little slack, but don’t use the word
with them, either.

Your job as a Publicity Hound is to be as helpful as possible to
anyone you pitch and to send the message, “I’m here to help you,”
not “I’m here so you can help me.”

The list of pitching mistakes is longer than my dog’s 3-foot
leash. It includes sending the same one-size-fits-all pitch to
dozens of media outlets, putting all journalists’ email addresses
in the CC line of your email, misspelling their names, pitching
via Twitter when the journalist doesn’t want to be pitched there,
and obeying journalists when they tell you, “Do not follow up.”

What they really mean is, “Don’t follow up if you don’t have
anything of value to offer.”

So what can you offer that will make them pay attention?

Lots of things like photos and graphics, and even audio and
video. I’ll cover them all when I host the webinar “A Simple 5-
Part Formula for Delivering the Perfect Media Pitch and Hitting
it Out of the Park” from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday,
Aug. 18. If the time is inconvenient, register anyway, because
you’ll receive the video replay and other materials within 72
hours.

You can use my formula as a cheat sheet every time you pitch. And
I’ll give you 27 story angles you can steal on days when the idea
well is dry.

http://www.Publicityhound.com/publicity-products/marketing-
tapes/pitchingformula.htm

=====================================
2. Offer Extras & Sweeten the Pitch
=====================================

One of the little extras you can offer journalists when you pitch
is a list of other sources they can call to round out their story
or their program.

That’s one of three strategies that a husband and wife used to
clinch a seven-minute segment on the “Today” show.

Steve Harrison interviewed them and found out they used two other
strategies to get the producers to say “yes.” He’s repeating a
teleseminar with producers who book guests on TV talk shows for
ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox, at 2 and 7 p.m. Eastern Time today.
Register at http://www.tvpublicityteleseminar.com/?10011

I promote this teleseminar as a compensated affiliate, because an
appearance on a big TV talk show can propel authors, speakers,
experts and small business people to stardom. Producers pay
attention to who’s booking which experts, and it isn’t unusual
for you to receive multiple calls from other producers if you
make it onto just one show.

======================================
3. Attract More Facebook Fans
======================================

An excellent way to pull more people to your Facebook page is to
post on the walls of other Facebook pages if the target audiences
are similar to yours.

But don’t promote. Share helpful content their readers will find
interesting.

How do you find those page owners? Simple. By following the trail
of bread crumbs on Facebook.

Start with someone you already know who reaches the same audience
you do, perhaps somebody in your industry. Go to their Facebook
page and look along the left margin where it says “Likes.” Find
out what pages they have Liked. Click through to each one.

When you see a page that’s a good fit, click on “Like” at the
top. But don’t leave just yet. Look along the left side for a
list of pages that that page owner has Liked. Before you know it,
you’ll have another dozen or so pages that you’ve Liked, and that
means more pages where you can comment on their content and post
to their walls.

During this exercise, it’s a good idea to use a paper and pen and
keep track of whose site you started on and where you went from
there. Then, you can go back to your friend’s site and see what
other pages they have Liked.

That’s one of several dozen ideas I discussed with Mari Smith,
the world’s Number One Facebook expert, when I hosted a webinar
recently. We came up with “33 Ways to Attract Facebook Fans,
Provide Sterling Content & Keep Them Coming Back for More.”

If you missed it, you can still access the video replay, Mari’s
PowerPoint slides and a helpful handout of all 33 ideas so you
don’t have to take notes. Access it at
http://www.publicityhound.com/facebookpages.htm

=====================================
4. Wanted: Your Guest Blog Post
=====================================

Bloggers are trying to squeeze in a week or two of vacation
before the kids go back to school.

August is the ideal time to suggest a guest blog post to a
blogger whose audience needs to hear what you have to say.

That’s what I did last week and the blogger said “yes!” He also
mentioned that my timing was perfect because he’s going on
vacation next week. I’ll share the link here as soon as he
publishes it.

If your idea isn’t a perfect fit and the blogger declines, ask,
“What other bloggers do you know who might be interested in this
topic?”

I always welcome guest posts on topics that include how to use
traditional and social media, and not just when I’m going on
vacation. Pitch me, and explain why my audience would be
interested.
Send an email to JStewart@PublicityHound.com and put “Guest blog
post” in the subject line.

=====================================
5. Help This Hound
=====================================

Dr. Karen Hoving of Aurora, Colo., writes:

“I have a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and specialize in two
areas: Bipolar Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

“Here’s what I’m doing right now to market myself:

–A Facebook page.

–A website.

–Two blogs: The Couch Trip for general psychology and
“Shrinking” Chronic Illness.

–A monthly newsletter (with only 11 subscribers-–sigh).

–A Twitter account.

–A LinkedIn profile (but am not terribly active). I share
different information on each site.

“Here’s my question: Do shrinks get patients via social media
marketing? I am doing a lot and watching all of the videos you
and others send. But often, people are trying to sell something
online. I am trying to sell ME-—my services and education, and my
time.

“Can this be marketed on sites like Facebook and Twitter? If so,
how? Marketing for therapists is different than marketing for
someone selling widgets.”

“If social media won’t work for me—and I’m willing to be
patient-—I don’t want to waste a lot of time.”

The Publicity Hound says: Many other professionals face the same
frustrating dilemma, Karen. But I know they’ve found ways to use
Facebook and Twitter creatively. How about it, Hounds? What are
some things Karen can do to reach her target market and turn
social media friends and fans into paying clients? Post your best
ideas to my blog at http://publicityhound.net/?p=9172

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

======================================
6. Hound Videos of the Week
======================================

10 Adorable Corgi Videos on YouTube (I love the one of the Corgi
that wants to be vacuumed):

http://socialtimes.com/corgi-videos_b72360

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/

======================================
7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…
======================================

Pitch Patch.com for a new series on the American Dream
http://publicityhound.net/?p=9181

Pitching journalists? How to avoid “spraying & praying”
http://publicityhound.net/?p=9148

——————————————-

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

Join my Facebook Fan Page:
http://www.facebook.com/publicityhound

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:

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 or you told me you want to subscribe.

Privacy Statement:

The Publicity Hound respects your privacy and has a strict anti-
spam policy at http://www.Publicityhound.com/privacypolicy.htm

=======================================
Joan Stewart
The Publicity Hound

PublicityTips—TV Interview Emergencies

July 19th, 2011 by JStewart in Publicity Tips

The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #564 July 19, 2011
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.com
http://www.publicityHound.mobi
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
http://www.publicityarticles.net (Ezine Archives)

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

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

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

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

1. TV Interview Emergencies

2. Why So Many Tweets?

3. Piggyback onto Twitter

4. NYT Writers on Quora

5. Help People Share Your Content

6. Hound Joke of the Week

7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…

=====================================
1. TV Interview Emergencies
=====================================

It’s 7 a.m., and you’re scheduled to be at the local TV station
for a talk show interview in three hours.

You pull your favorite silk suit from the closet, remove it from
the dry cleaning bag and put on the slacks.

Horrors! They’ve shrunk.

Now what?

If you were prepared, and you’d tried on the outfit yesterday,
you wouldn’t be in this predicament.

But don’t feel bad. I had my own emergency last week shortly
before I was to appear on a live webcast in San Diego, hosted by
Don Crowther, the creator of the Social Profit Formula 2.0 social
media course I took and highly recommend.

Just before I was to leave for the recording studio, I noticed my
tube of liquid lipstick cracked, or the top came loose. And I had
to deal with a gooey mess that stained my fingers bright pink and
caused unnecessary delays and frayed nerves.

That made me think about other emergencies that pop up before and
during TV interviews, like freeway accidents that back up traffic
and make you late for your appearance. Or questions from the
interviewer that you don’t know how to answer. Or a hair stylist
who cancels your appointment the morning of the interview because
she’s ill.

Read my blog post, and be prepared:

http://publicityhound.net/?p=8866

=====================================
2. Why So Many Tweets?
=====================================

Don Crowther, who hosted the webcast I mentioned above,
recommends that Publicity Hounds who use Twitter to promote their
expertise send up to 20 tweets per day.

Why so many? Doesn’t that brand you as a pest?

Not if you’re sharing terrific content. During last night’s
coaching call for people who have registered for his Social
Profit Formula course, he explained that when people log into
their Twitter accounts, they see the most recent tweets at the
top of their feed. Those are the tweets that catch people’s
attention first.

If yours is among them, and readers click on a link you’ve
shared, they might end up at your website or blog or a helpful
article you’ve written that will position you as an expert. Or
they’ll click on a link to someone else’s content-rich article,
and you’ll look like a hero.

Last week, during the launch of Don’s Social Profit Formula 2.0
course, lots of people missed out because they were on vacation
or had to wait for payday, or whatever.

Don has reopened registration for the course (which I’m taking).
I love the coaching calls because I can ask questions. And his
constantly updated material keeps me abreast of the many social
media changes on sites like Facebook and YouTube. I share only a
few tidbits from his course here.

Is the entire course right for you? Only if you want to be far
ahead of your peers and equipped with time-saving tools and smart
strategies that will make you money, not just friends and
followers. Find out how:

https://btconsulting.infusionsoft.com/go/spfopen/a342/

His next coaching call is Monday, July 25. I hope you can join
us.

======================================
3. Piggyback onto Twitter
======================================

Thanks to Publicity Hound Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of The
Frugal Book Promoter, who tipped me off to this clever way that
KFC piggybacked off a tweet to create great publicity.

KFC paid attention to one of Wade Dwyane’s tweets asking if
anyone was hiring after the NBA lockout.

Dwyane, who plays for the Miami Heat basketball team, used to
work for KFC, so they offered him his old job back. If he’d lead
a team filling KFC buckets fast (instead of NBA baskets), they’d
donate $250,000 to charity.

Here’s the link to read more:

http://aol.sportingnews.com/nba/story/2011-07-11/kfc-offers-
dwyane-wade-a-job-during-lockout?icid=main%7Chtmlws-main-
n%7Cdl10%7Csec1_lnk3%7C218968.

If you don’t have $250,000 to spend on a similar campaign, that’s
OK.

“You just need to keep your marketing bonnet on so that when the
opportunity arises, you will be there,” Carolyn says.

To subscribe to her excellent ezine, Sharing with Writers, send a
SUBSCRIBE message to HoJoNews@aol.com.

=====================================
4. NYT Writers on Quora
=====================================

Three writers for The New York Times will be on Quora today, and
the next two Tuesdays, answering questions related to their new
books. They are:

–Financial writer Diana Henriques

–Business columnist Gretchen Morgenson

–Deputy national editor Adam Bryant

If you’re a smarT Publicity Hound who wants to get in front of
them, you won’t be pitching. Instead, you’ll be asking questions
related to the writers’ expertise. And you’ll be paying attention
to the answers, which might provide fodder for weaving into your
next pitch.

Publicity Tips—33 Ways to Attract Facebook Fans

July 7th, 2011 by JStewart in Publicity Tips

The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #562 July 5, 2011
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.com
http://www.publicityHound.mobi
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
http://www.publicityarticles.net (Ezine Archives)

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

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

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

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

1. 33 Ways to Attract Facebook Fans

2. The Best Times to Tweet

3. Summer Story Ideas

4. Trigger Thousands of YouTube Views

5. Pitch “If You’re Going…” Tips

6. Hound Quote of the Week

7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…

=====================================
1. 33 Ways to Attract Facebook Fans
=====================================

Have you used Facebook’s new Question feature yet?

If not, it’s time to start. Facebook expert Mari Smith says that
asking a question is powerful for these three reasons:

–Facebook gives a question significant weight when deciding
whether to show that content in somebody else’s news feed. You
want your content to show up in as many people’s news feeds as
possible.

–Questions engage your fans.

–Questions are also a handy way for you to find out what
problems and issues your fans are most concerned about, so you
can provide the answers and help them. Ask them what their Number
One question is about a certain topic. When you see all the
answers, you can then create a special report or White Paper. You
can host a free or paid teleseminar or webinar to answer the
questions. Or you can write a series of blog posts.

Asking questions was just one of 33 tips Mari shared during the
webinar I hosted with her on Wednesday.

After the 90-minute call, I reviewed the entire video replay and
compiled a handout listing all 33 ideas. I also created a list of
all websites she referred to during the call so you don’t have to
worry about taking good notes.

I’m using the list of 33 ideas as a checklist, and I’m
implementing all the tips one by one.

The handout, Mari’s slides, the MP3 audio and the video are
available for purchase here:

http://www.publicityhound.com/facebookpages.htm

=====================================
2. The Best Times to Tweet
=====================================

The best time to tweet is around noon and 5 p.m. EST.

The best days to tweet are midweek or on the weekends.

The best time to post on Facebook is noon and 7 p.m. EST.

Sharing one post every two days will garner the most likes on
Facebook.

The Eastern and Central time zones represent almost 80 percent of
the U.S. population, so keep that in mind when timing your posts
on the social media sites. If you live on the West Coast, either
get up earlier, or use a program like HootSuite or Tweetdeck to
schedule your tweets to go out early the following day.

Those are five interesting statistics in a clever infographic
from KISSmetrics, using data from social media expert Dan
Zarrella.

Ragan’s PR Daily offers the entire infographic here:

http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/8728.aspx

I get so many basic Twitter questions that I’ll be sponsoring a
webinar on Twitter for Beginners in a few weeks. Registration
details next week.

=====================================
3. Summer Story Ideas
=====================================

Here are six summer story ideas that journalists will love:

–The 5 most dangerous picnic foods. Chefs and caterers, invite
TV cameras into your kitchen to shoot you making one of the
culprits: potato salad.

–Is your company relaxing its dress code because of hot weather?
If so, what’s acceptable and what isn’t? And what about all those
tattoos that are suddenly in full view, now that the clothing is
skimpier?

–It isn’t too late to start pitching back-to-school stories.
Many newspapers publish special sections in August, and they
assign these stories early. What’s new at your school, college or
university?

–Higher gasoline prices mean many families aren’t traveling as
far as they once did for their summer vacation. What is your
resort or tourist attraction doing to encourage them to spend
money closer to home?

–With the construction industry still in a slump, many smaller
construction companies are settling for smaller “handy man”
projects in their own communities. If you’re one of the
construction people taking smaller jobs, let the media know.
Great visuals!

–5 ways to avoid the emergency room. Summer means hospital
emergency rooms fill up quickly with people suffering from heat
stroke, bug bites and ear infections brought on by swimming. Your
hospital or clinic can offer tips on how to know when you can
treat common ailments at home, and when to come to the emergency
room.

TV producer Shawne Duperon teamed up with me to present the
teleseminar “103 Sizzling Story Ideas from July through
December.” It includes a handout with all the ideas that we
invite you to steal. Great for when you’re short on ideas. Read
more about what we discussed at
http://www.publicityhound.com/publicity-products/marketing-
tapes/JulyIdeas.htm

======================================
4. Trigger Thousands of YouTube Views
======================================

Two minutes.

That’s all it takes to dramatically boost your social media
traffic and sales.

Sound unbelievable? I thought so too, until I saw this video:
https://btconsulting.infusionsoft.com/go/vid4/a342/

Don Crowther, one of my social media teachers, has done it again.
This time, he’s pulled back the curtain on how to generate
thousands of likes and tweets that share your content, gets
dozens of websites to share your content, and pushes your site to
the first page of Google and Bing, with just a few minutes
effort.

I’ll never look at social media the same again.

This video shows you a unique strategy that will trigger
thousands of YouTube video views by only slightly changing what
you’re already doing.

Get the YouTube Explosion Strategy now:
https://btconsulting.infusionsoft.com/go/vid4/a342/

In 8 simple steps, you’ll be able to turn a trickle of traffic
into a wave you can ride all the way to the bank.

Getting hundreds of hits to your blog posts or videos within
hours, and thousands within a day, is easier and faster with this
strategy than you would’ve ever dreamed possible.

Watch the YouTube Explosion Strategy here:
https://btconsulting.infusionsoft.com/go/vid4/a342/

=====================================
5. Pitch “If You’re Going…” Tips
=====================================

If you’re sponsoring an event this summer, and you’ve already
submitted it to all the online and offline event calendars,
here’s how to create one more publicity hit.

Submit a list of “If You’re Going…” tips.

For example, sponsors of outdoor festivals and other events such
as garden walks, concerts, bike races, parades and neighborhood
block parties can compile a list of helpful tips that people need
to know if attending your event:

–Do they need to bring their own bottled water?

–Will they find road construction delays? If so, can you suggest
a detour?

–Are children and dogs welcome?

–Should they bring their own repellant, lawn chairs or
flashlights?

–Are grills permitted?

You get the idea. You can also submit a map that helps people
locate your event. If you have photos from past years, include
those with your pitch.

Did you know there are more than 50 places online where you can
promote your special events? I listed them all, and gave lots of
tips on how to use them to generate publicity, when I hosted the
webinar, “50+ Places Online to Promote Your Live or Virtual
Events to Reach Your Target Market & Pull Sell-out Crowds.”

Stop relying only on the same old websites to promote your
events. Use my list of high-traffic sites to promote, and smaller
niche sites where you’ll find your ideal attendees, and you can
sell more tickets, fill more seats and pack ‘em in.

You can access the video replay, the handouts, the PowerPoint
slides and the audio here:

http://www.publicityhound.com/events.htm

======================================
6. Hound Joke of the Week
======================================

This isn’t a joke, but it made me laugh.

Thanks to Publicity Hound Nancy Juetten for sharing on Facebook
this incredible story of how all dog owners in an apartment
complex in New Hampshire must now submit a sample of their dogs’
DNA, taken by rubbing a cotton swab around inside the animal’s
mouth, so the complex can identify dog owners who don’t clean up
after their pets:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/02/us/02dogs.html?_r=1

======================================
7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…
======================================

Review of e-readers: WSJ likes the Nook (Is your ebook ready?)
http://publicityhound.net/?p=8814

The Top 13 self-defeating practices on LinkedIn
http://publicityhound.net/?p=8793

——————————————-

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

Join my Facebook Fan Page:
http://www.facebook.com/publicityhound

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:

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 or you told me you want to subscribe.

Privacy Statement:

The Publicity Hound respects your privacy and has a strict anti-
spam policy at http://www.Publicityhound.com/privacypolicy.htm

=======================================
Joan Stewart
The Publicity Hound

Publicity Tips—Attract Rabid Facebook Fans

June 24th, 2011 by JStewart in Publicity Tips

The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #560 June 21, 2011
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.com
http://www.publicityHound.mobi
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
http://www.publicityarticles.net (Ezine Archives)

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

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

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

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

1. Attract Rabid Facebook Fans

2. Why Social Media Doesn’t Work

3. Dreaded Check-passing Photos

4. Land a Corporate Sponsor

5. Promote a Restaurant Reopening

6. Hound Quote of the Week

7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…

=====================================
1. Attract Rabid Facebook Fans
=====================================

Mari Smith’s Facebook page has become the go-to place for people
who have questions about Facebook.

On any given day, dozens of people post questions–some of them
no-brainers and some of them so perplexing that even Mari doesn’t
know the answer. But she always finds out and shares the
information with her readers.

She also encourages her more than 43,000 fans to share their best
tips–and share they do.

I learned, for instance, that if you tag someone on Facebook with
his or her first and last name, you can simply remove the last
name after it’s already highlighted in blue, and the status
update will still show up on that person’s page. Removing the
last name makes the message more personal. Very cool!

Mari is arguably the world’s Number 1 Facebook expert. She’s
smart, funny, helpful, and I love listening to her “wee” Scottish
accent.

That’s why I was thrilled when she accepted the invitation to be
my guest expert on a webinar at 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday,
June 28. Choosing the topic was easy. The Number One question
people ask me is, “How do I get more people to Like my page?”

She’ll explain more than a dozen ways (knowing Mari, it will be
closer to two dozen) to attract Facebook fans, provide sterling
content, and keep them coming back for more (just like the
celebrities do).

I took the big batch of question you’ve been asking the last few
months and forwarded them to her so she’ll be ready with the
responses.

One particularly knotty topic is contests. Mari wrote last week
that most people violate Facebook’s Terms of Service when they
sponsor contests. I almost did, too, until I read what she wrote.
Break the rules, and Facebook can close down your account,
pronto.

She’ll cover how to sponsor contests in detail, and address other
frequently asked questions. I’ve also asked her to explain how
you and I can encourage people to post questions on our pages so
we can imitate her, and be the go-to sources for up-to-the-minute
news in our industry.

Join us at 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, June 29. Register at
http://www.Publicityhound.com/facebookpages.htm.

=====================================
2. Why Social Media Doesn’t Work
=====================================

Don Crowther, the Top Gun of social media whose SMARTS course has
been my guiding light for last two years, just posted a free, new
video called “Social Media Doesn’t Work.”

Watch it here and then, correct what you’re doing wrong:

https://btconsulting.infusionsoft.com/go/spf2/a342/

Don readily admits that for most people social media doesn’t
work. And the reason is simple: It’s because of a costly mistake
that most social media marketers are making right now, a mistake
that will doom your social media efforts to failure.

The good news is, Don shows you the deceptively simple, but
highly effective secrets that can turn it all around, and sell
more books or products, get more consulting assignments and paid
speaking engagements, or just plain make more money with social
media.

You’ll also get a downloadable worksheet that shows you in just 5
minutes precisely how well you’re doing with social media. You’ll
quickly discover whether you’re wasting your time, or are on your
way to making serious money.

Last thing: You can watch the video on your iPhone, iPad or
iTouch without any hassles or delays.

Watch it here:

https://btconsulting.infusionsoft.com/go/spf2/a342/

=====================================
3. Dreaded Check-passing Photos
=====================================

When I presented a workshop on Saturday at the international
convention of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, I asked
all Publicity Hounds in the audience to stand, raise their right
paws, and repeat after me:

“I solemnly swear to never assign, take or appear in photos of
checkpassings, ribboncuttings and groundbreakings.”

Everybody had a good laugh, especially when I projected onto the
big screen one photo after another of those incredibly boring
ribbon-cutting ceremonies with the giant cardboard scissors, and
a second set of photos of checkpassings, with the oversized
cardboard checks that dwarfed the people standing on each side of
them.

“Enough, already,” I told them. “You can do better than that.”

One audience member said her club donated money for exercise
equipment to a local hospital. Rather than assigning the photo
we’ve all seen a million times, the dreaded checkpassing, club
members waited until the exercise equipment was delivered.
Dressed in workout clothes, they hopped aboard the equipment and
walked, ran, rowed, pulled and sweated their way to a great photo
that appeared in the local newspaper.

PR guy Dan Collins gives dozens more ideas on how to steer clear
of trite photos. He was my guest during the teleseminar “Fun
Alternatives to Boring Groundbreakings, Ribboncuttings and
Checkpassings.” It’s available as a CD or electronic transcript
you can download right now.

======================================
4. Land a Corporate Sponsor
======================================

One of the best ways for corporations to market themselves is
through experts like Brendon Burchard and Jacqueline Whitmore.
And maybe even you.

After a lot of trial and error, Brendon cracked the code and
developed a surprisingly easy way to get major companies like
Wachovia, Coke, Toyota and Sony Pictures to promote and sponsor
his books, publicity and speaking tours.

Jacqueline has had equally impressive success.

She’s been the gift-giving expert for Sam’s Club, the gift-buying
expert for Office Depot, and a national spokesperson for Sprint.
She also has partnered with Clarisonic skin care products and
Hologic, which sells imaging equipment for the health care
industry.

In both cases, Brendon and Jacqueline found companies that were a
perfect fit with their area of expertise and have received
mountains of free publicity from national print and broadcast
media.

“When you’re aligned with a corporation, especially a Fortune 500
company, or one that has a reputable name, you’re perceived as
more credible because that corporation has chosen you as its
spokesperson,” Jacqueline says.

In fact, at the National Speakers Association convention several
years ago, Jacqueline heard Brendon speak about how to land
corporate sponsors and said he was one of the highest-rated
speakers at the event.

This year, Brendon will share his secrets during a free
teleseminar this Thursday, June 23, with Steve Harrison. Discover
how you can use his methods to promote your own book, product or
business, just like Brendon and Jacqueline do, and get PR firms
to pay all your expenses.

The call will be presented twice–-at 2 and 7 p.m. Eastern. If
you can’t make it, please recruit someone to listen and take
notes for you. Register at
http://www.SponsorshipTrainingTeleseminar.com/?10011 (I’m a
compensated affiliate for Steve Harrison).

=====================================
5. Promote a Restaurant Reopening
=====================================

This week, seven Publicity Hounds have tips for Timothy Nishimoto
of Portland, Ore., owner of Vino Paradiso Wine Bar & Bistro, who
is looking for suggestion on changing the name of the restaurant.
He wants to know how to coordinate PR–drip it out little by
little or announce it all at once?

From Jenni Bowring:

“Courting the local food writers/bloggers is key to creating
advance buzz. Invite them-–when you, the food, and your chef are
ready–-to an advance, food-writers-only tasting.

“Close the restaurant for an evening (if possible) to make it
even more exclusive, or hold a kitchen dinner for them if closing
would be a hardship. Invite them to screen the new menu and taste
the food with carefully chosen wine pairings (perhaps the new
menu could include a wine pairing suggestion for each entrée).

“Each tabletop should have something in the center with the
message about the re-naming.”

From Everett:

“Here is my reaction to your current name (Vino Paradiso: A
friendly wine bar and bistro). Using ‘vino’ and ‘wine’ is a
redundancy, but not a felony. It would indeed be nice if you
could eliminate the repetition. ‘Bistro’ is actually a French
word, although perhaps not everyone knows that. Using a French
word might detract from your desire to communicate the new
Italian menu…You might even consider ‘Vino Paradiso
Restaurant.’ It says it all.”

From Shelley Hunter:

“There is a very popular and long-standing burger joint in Davis,
Calif., that was called Murder Burger. I think the name was
originally about butchering the beef. For obvious reasons, they
also decided to change the name. They, too, held a contest.

“I remember the contest because my brother-in-law (in college at
the time) and all his buddies were thinking of names to win free
food. I think the winner got a burger a week for a year, or
something like that. The name was changed to Redrum Burger,
which is brilliant if you’ve seen The Shining and is perfect for
this college town. I chuckle every time I see the sign and always
remember the contest.”

The Publicity Hound says:

Read all the responses to this “Help This Hound” question
http://publicityhound.net/?p=8690

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

======================================
6. Hound Quote of the Week
======================================

“You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give
you a look that says, ‘My God, you’re right! I never would’ve
thought of that!’” — Dave Barry

======================================
7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…
======================================

Facebook, inflight mag titles added to inventory closeout
http://publicityhound.net/?p=8752

Do you buy ads? Offer a testimonial for free publicity
http://publicityhound.net/?p=8714

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=======================================
Joan Stewart
The Publicity Hound

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