The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #470 Sept. 22, 2009
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com

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. How to Promote Local Events on Twitter

2. Five Social Media Marketing Ideas

3. Entertainment Tonight Needs Pitches

4. Promoting a Reading Program

5. Help This Hound

6. Hound Joke of the Week

7. And at My Blog…
=========================================
1. How to Promote Local Events on Twitter
=========================================

You can find some of the best tips by reading comments at blogs.

For example, if you’re curious about how to use Twitter to
publicize local events, you’ll find a slew of tips in the
comments at http://budurl.com/uymm

They include:

–Use Twitter Grader at http://twitter.grader.com/ After entering
your Twitter username and getting your grade, click on your city,
state or country. A list of local tweeters will appear. If you
find them of like mind, you could choose to follow them. Then
tweet about your event so they’ll see it.

–Download and install Tweetdeck, a browser that will let you
organize your tweets and see everything all at once. Then set up
search columns based on your local area. You’ll then “see” people
talking about that area. Chances are that if they are talking
about it, they either live there, or visit regularly, so follow
them. Chances are also good they’ll follow you, too.

–Follow the premiere local tweeters in your area, including
bars, hotels, clubs and local businesses whose target customers
are the people you want to attract. Retweet events and posts they
tweet. This will tell them you’re interested in promoting what
they’re doing and, in turn, they may follow you and promote your
event.

–Two good tools for finding Twitterers in your area are
http://TwitterHawk.com and http://Twellowhood.com

Be sure to read the rest of the comments for lots more tips.

Now that you have the tools, adopt a good strategy. Warren
Whitlock shows you how. See “How to Use Twitter to Amass an Army
of Followers, Customers & Valuable Contacts–and Promote” at
http://budurl.com/b8nj
=======================================
2. Five Social Media Marketing Ideas
=======================================

Social media is more than just collecting Facebook fans, sending
tweets and joining the conversation. It’s also about making all
that hard work pay off.

Here are five great social media marketing ideas, courtesy of DP
Dialogue, a social media marketing agency in Australia. All of
them are free. Pick and choose which ones are best for you:

–Start a Twitter account and give people incentives to follow
you. Read their blog post to see how Domino’s Pizza did this at
http://budurl.com/8flq

–Use Google’s keyword tool at
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal to find
whatever keywords related to your business are being searched for
the most. Blog about them and make videos about them.

–Become an expert and start blogging or podcasting. (Read the
excellent Expertise Imperative White Paper that explains how to
become an expert at http://www.PublicityHound.com/expertise.pdf
It was written specifically for professional speakers from a wide
variety of backgrounds. Use it as a starting point to grow your
own expertise.)

–Start a Facebook group that people will want to join and subtly
sponsor it. If you sell candles, start a Facebook group for
people who are afraid of the dark. (See “11 Ways to Avoid Missed
Opportunities on Facebook” at http://budurl.com/wcxb

–Figure out who the key influencers are for whatever it is
you’re selling. Read their blogs and leave comments on them
regularly. (When it comes time to pitch them, see “How to Pitch
the Best Bloggers & Create a Publicity Explosion” at
 http://budurl.com/xlgw
========================================
3. Entertainment Tonight Needs Pitches
========================================

Entertainment Tonight has asked PitchRate.com, a media leads
service, to suggest segment ideas and experts to be featured in
short segments of three to five minutes. Segments must be unique
and interesting.

PitchRate will review your pitches and pass along the best ones
to Entertainment Tonight. If the producers are interested,
they’ll contact you.

If you’ve already signed up as a Publicity Hound at
http://www.PitchRate.com, simply visit the site again, log in,
and at the top of the requesst list, you’ll see the request for
Publicity Hounds only. If you haven’t signed up yet, use this
link: http://www.PitchRate.com/PublicityHound

P.S. Shannon Nicholson says PitchRate’s recent request for women-
related tips, advice and success stories resulted in 17 great
pitches from Publicity Hounds. He will forward all of them to
PitchRate’s top media contacts, including O Magazine, Montel
Williams, the Associated Press, and more.
Not sure how to craft a great pitch? See “How to Write a Pitch
Letter More Powerful Than a Press Release” at
 http://budurl.com/rphb
=======================================
4. Promoting a Reading Program
=======================================

This week, nine Publicity Hounds have tips for Suzanne Wood, of
Raleigh, NC, who is starting an after-school writing academy to
help kids in grades 8-12 improve their writing.
From Meryl Evans:

“Contact local school PTAs to offer a free presentation on a
topic of value. I am sure there’s something you can offer to help
parents with kids and writing.”
From Karen Zapp:

“Look for any club or group for Home Schooling. Then meet with a
few moms to demonstrate how you can help them and the kids, and
the word will start to spread. These moms can also help spread it
to parents in the neighborhood who don’t home-school.”
From Shel Horowitz:

“Do a free demo for teachers and guidance counselors who then
could send a steady stream of referrals.”
The Publicity Hound says:

Read all the responses from last week’s “Help This Hound”
question at http://budurl.com/3f5n

Send your own Help this Hound question to:
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com?subject=HelpThisHound
and include your city, state or province. I need questions!
===================================
5. Help This Hound
===================================

Vicki Young of Dallas, Texas, writes:

“What’s the best way for a very worthy nonprofit agency to get
free help with their PR campaign?

“I’ve been doing PR work for Captain Hope’s Kids as a nonprofit
client for years, but I have to step down. It’s a great
organization in Dallas, Texas, that’s dedicated to meeting the
critical needs of homeless children in North Texas.

“They need an annual marketing and public relations plan
developed, and help publicizing their annual special events.

“I know this agency isn’t the only one that needs volunteer PR
help, so I’m hoping your Publicity Hounds can recommend ideas
that will help many other groups, too. Where should we be looking
for volunteer PR people who can write press releases, or at least
advise nonprofits on how to create a good marketing plan?”
The Publicity Hound says:

I hear this question all the time, so I hope my Hounds can
suggest ideas for nonprofits or any other company on a budget.
How about it Hounds? Are unemployed PR people, particularly
beginners, a possibility? What about college journalism classes?
Or stay-at-home moms who once worked in PR? Ideas? Post them to
my blog at http://budurl.com/vfe6

If you can find a great volunteer, I can do all the training for
you. See “How to Create a 12-Month Media Plan” at
http://publicityhound.com/mediaplan.htm
==================================
6. Hound Joke of the Week
==================================

The front door was accidentally left open and our dog was gone.
After unsuccessfully whistling and calling, my husband got in the
car and went looking for him.

He drove around the neighborhood for some time with no luck.
Finally he stopped beside a couple out for a walk and asked if
they had seen our dog.

“You mean the one following your car?” they asked.
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…
===============================

Stompernet taking new members: Here’s what you’ll get
http://budurl.com/wwpm

80+ free social media policies: Add yours to the list
http://budurl.com/sr6m

How to publicize your ‘Make a Difference Day’ activities
http://budurl.com/n28y

Gift List offers 25 percent discount until Sept. 30
http://budurl.com/lv6c

————————————

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

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

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 at http://www.publicityhound.com/ or you
told me you want to subscribe.

Privacy Statement:

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

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

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

           The Publicity Hound’s
              Tips of the Week
           Issue #467 Sept. 1, 2009
            Publisher: Joan Stewart
       mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
          http://www.PublicityHound.com
       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. Texting in the Dentist’s Chair

2. Pull Traffic to Your Blog

3. The Gift List is Back

4. Marketing a Beef Ranch

5. Help This Hound

6. Hound Joke of the Week

7. And at My Blog…

=====================================
1. Texting in the Dentist’s Chair
=====================================

Text messaging has become so pervasive that in a recent study,
four out of five dentists said patients send or receive text
messages while in the dentist’s chair.

When the Chicago Dental Society took the survey, Dr. Alice
Boghosian, a dentist from Niles, Ill., reported that one of
her patients, a young boy, told her to stop what she was doing
when he heard his phone beep. You can read more about the survey
results at http://budurl.com/wtww

Compulsive texting, and how your company or organization is
dealing with it, is a great story to pitch to journalists and
bloggers.

–What’s the texting policy in the classroom? Pitch this as part
of back-to-school coverage.

–Are people texting during worship services? If so, is anybody
doing anything to stop it?

–What’s the policy regarding texting among doctors, nurses and
other health care providers while on duty?

–Can compulsive text messaging lead to carpal tunnel syndrome?
Doctors and chiropractors, are texters complaining about wrist
and hand pain?

–Speakers and sales trainers, do you admonish those who text
during your presentations? Does shaming them do any good?

If you can think of other story ideas that tie into texting,
pitch!

You can still participate in social media without letting it
consume you. Blogger BL Ochman, an active social networker,
explains “How to do Social Networking, Run a Business and Still
Have a Life.” See http://budurl.com/7gck

=======================================
2. Pull Traffic to Your Blog
=======================================

Dismayed by the skimpy traffic visiting your blog or website?

Colin Martin has a fairly easy solution.

Several months ago, he wrote a blog post about celebrity gossip.
Then he went to Digg.com, the giant social bookmarking site, and
bookmarked it.

After that, the post got three more Diggs from other users. A
blogger who he doesn’t know, went to the Digg site, found Colin’s
blog post, and wrote about it at his own blog. It included a link
to Colin’s post.

“That person’s blog was so incredibly popular that my blog post
got 185 views that day,” Colin says. “My Friends on Digg didn’t
generate the Diggs and views, but because I bookmarked it there,
and made the content available, this blogger who I don’t even
know was able to go in, find it, and put it on his own blog and
link back to me.”

By checking his web traffic statistics, Colin was able to tell
that 185 people came to his blog as a result of his bookmark on
Digg.

You, too, can let other people  do all the hard work. You can do
the easy part and spend five or 10 minutes a week bookmarking
interesting content, including your own.

But you must follow several important rules. Colin explained the
formula he uses for bookmarking his own content vs. content from
other people during the teleseminar I hosted on “How to do Social
Bookmarking to Promote Your Expertise, Attract Followers & Pull
Massive Amounts of Traffic.” Learn more about it at
http://budurl.com/mdn5

========================================
3. The Gift List is Back
========================================

If you have a subscription to The Gift List but have been unable
to reach their staff, it’s because they evacuated their offices
near Los Angeles for several days due to the wild fires.

“We are back in the office and will be unpacked shortly,” said
Amy Bates Stumpf. “The winds have changed and the smoke isn’t an
issue for us. However the fire is still a very serious threat to
the area.

“We apologize for the intermittent brief outages on the
Gift List Media site and expect them to be resolved very shortly.

Contact information for both the Print & Broadcast and Web & Blog
lists should be fully loaded by Tuesday morning, Sept. 1.

Research on The Gift List databases is continuing, and the staff
will let subscribers know about new pitching opportunities for
media that are planning special coverage of holiday gift-giving.
This is a great opportunity to get a photo and press release
about your product or service in front of your target audience.
Test drive The Gift List at http://snipurl.com/GiftListMedia

=================================
4. Marketing a Beef Ranch
=================================

This week, four Publicity Hounds have tips for Jeff Clear, of
Monument, Colo., who does Internet marketing for Lasater
Grassland Beef, a grass-fed beef ranch. He is searching for more
ways to reach his target market online.

From Wendy Edsall-Kerwin:

“Try to find blogs aimed at foodies or health-conscious moms, and
see if you can guest post or submit recipes calling for your
grass-fed beef.”

From Christine Roen:

“Check out the blog attached to Foodnetwork.com and the
‘community’ at EatingWell.com. Start a blog of your own or a
newsletter. Finally, how about participating in the Forum
section on the Whole Foods site?”

From Laura Mackenzie:

“You might want to create some press releases or articles that
tell people why your food is a good choice instead of all these
tainted foods, and then explain, point by point, why your beef is
so healthy.”

The Publicity Hound says:

Read all the responses to this week’s Help This Hound question at
http://budurl.com/ejze and then check out “Publicity Tips for
Restaurants, Chefs & Foodies” at http://budurl.com/hyv8

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

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

Maria Antonia, of New York, N.Y., writes:

“I volunteer for a small independent film company based in New
York, NY. We recently completed filming for a feature film
called ‘Under Jakob’s Ladder’. Set in the Soviet Union in 1941,
it’s based on a true story about a man who was thrown into prison
for praying at a funeral.

“We’re still editing the movie and it’s almost ready to be
screened. How can we spread the word that this movie is coming
soon?

“Any ideas for unique and intriguing ways that we can use our
blog, website, and our Facebook page to get people interested?
What would make YOU want to go see an independent feature film
that doesn’t have oodles of money for advertisements? Remember,
we’re not studio backed. Right now, we’re looking at releasing
this movie ourselves and booking our own theaters.”

The Publicity Hound says:

You have a great blog at http://amoonbrothersfilm.blogspot.com/
that keeps fans updated while you’re making the movie. Let’s see
how many ideas my Hounds can suggest for other ways to attract
the attention of people who don’t yet know about the movie.

Hounds with creative ideas for Maria can post them at my blog at
http://budurl.com/d42w

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

I couldn’t help but smile when I read this profile story of
Chanel, the world’s oldest dog:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30596398/  The dachshund mix from
Long Island, N.Y., died Friday at age 21.

Chanel, by the way, wore “doggles” for her cataracts and lived to
a ripe old age despite downing an entire bag of peanut butter
cups.

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…
================================

Sept. 11 deadline for O Magazine pitches
http://budurl.com/3bvj

————————————

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

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

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 at http://www.publicityhound.com/ or you
told me you want to subscribe.

Privacy Statement:

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

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

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

     The Publicity Hound’s
          Tips of the Week
       Issue #465 Aug. 18, 2009
        Publisher: Joan Stewart
  mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
    http://www.PublicityHound.com
 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. Feedback, Please

2. Huge Payoff for 15 Minutes a Week

3. Pitch Holiday Gift Guides Now

4. Promoting Intranet Software

5. Help This Hound

6. Hound Joke of the Week

7. And at My Blog…

=====================================
1. Feedback, Please
=====================================

This is the first issue of my newsletter that’s being sent from
AWeber, the list management company I’m using.

I’m also offering you the choice of whether you want to read it
in HTML or plain text.

If you prefer HTML, please understand that using a lot of photos,
different colors and fancy formatting drastically increases the
chances that the newsletter might not arrive in your inbox.
Elaborate designs are more vulnerable to spam filters.

I’ll be making minor design changes in the weeks ahead. But I’m
curious to hear your feedback–good, bad or otherwise. We have
three concerns:

–Whether you’re getting the newsletter

–How it looks on your monitor

–If you’re receiving it in the format you’ve requested (text vs.
HTML)

All comments welcome. Email to
JStewart@PublicityHound.com?subject=Feedback

=====================================
2. Huge Payoff for 15 Minutes a Week
=====================================

If you want to boost the ranking of your blog or website on
Google by getting more authoritative sites to link to you, you
only have to spend five minutes a day, three times a week, on
social bookmarking.

That’s it. Just 15 minutes total. You can even delegate this task
to an assistant.

Colin Martin, who was my guest during last week’s teleseminar on
“How to do Social Bookmarking to Promote Your Expertise, Attract
Followers & Pull Massive Amounts of Traffic,” said that’s how
much time he spends to help get many of his sites in the Top 10
positions on Google.

That’s practically nothing, compared to all the time you spend
tweeting, retweeting, joining the conversation on Facebook and
checking your direct mail on all the social networking sites.

By sharing content, including your own, with other bookmarkers,
you’re making it easy for people to find you and connect.

There’s one other way to encourage people to bookmark your blog
posts, articles at your website, your videos, photos and other
content. (I delegated this to my assistant, and you can, too.)

You’ll learn what it is and how to do it when you listen to the
recording or read the electronic transcript from last week’s
call. CDs will be ready in a few days. The transcript will be
available this weekend. MP3s can be downloaded right now.

Read more about how to use bookmarking to enhance the power of
everything you do online at http://budurl.com/mdn5

=====================================
3. Pitch Holiday Gift Guides Now
=====================================

There’s still time to pitch more than 400 magazines, including
certain editors at Better Homes & Gardens, if you’re trying to be
included in their end-of-year holiday gift coverage.

Most editors are facing late deadlines, lean staffs, and
last-minute special sections that publishers hope will lure
advertisers.

“While this may put many editors in a quandary of pulling their
publications together quickly, it allows you to take advantage
of a unique opportunity to secure editorial coverage at later
dates,” says Amy Bates Stump, whose company, Gift List Media,
provides contact information and pitching tips for hundreds of
media outlets looking for products and services that will make
great gifts.

Long leads for large circulation magazines, however, will be
wrapped up within the next few weeks.

The list of media that are planning gift guides will grow
considerably over the next month as Amy and her staff discuss
holiday editorial plans with editors at newspapers,
syndicates, and broadcasters who traditionally don’t start
planning their editorial calendars until after Labor Day.

Don’t make the mistake of waiting until late autumn to start
thinking about pitching these media. Jump on board now and
test-drive her service at http://snipurl.com/GiftListMedia

=========================================
4. Promoting Intranet Software
=========================================

This week, nine Publicity Hounds have suggestions on how Martin
Amm of Boston, Mass., can market his company, adenin
Technologies, Inc. which provides intranet software for
businesses.

From Mellanie True Hills:

“I found features and pricing at your website, but where the heck
are the benefits for me, if I were still a corporate executive or
IT executive? Don’t waste my time on a demo. Just give me a
concise list of benefits. And if you can apply them to my
industry, so much the better.”

From Gin:

“I would suggest trying the regular and alternative schools and
colleges. Businesses that tend to have groups of people and this
area would be large in the metro areas and available across a
nation though it is just one niche. Maybe youth centres through
children services and small business trade shows and their trade
journals.”

From Reece Franklin:

“Use social media with a different ‘group,’ like on Facebook,
that you create for different types of prospects. Same with
publicity, as Joan taught me. One size does not fit all.”

The Publicity Hound says:

Read all the responses to this week’s Help This Hound question
http://budurl.com/hux6

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

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

Jennifer Louden of Bainbridge Island, Wa. writes:

“I’m a best-selling author and my last book, The Life Organizer:
A Womans Guide to a Mindful Year, got a call back from an Oprah
producer in March 2007. They called us saying, ‘We love the book
but don’t know how to use it. We will be in touch.’

“Nothing since, even though we have repitched.

“The book is for women who juggle conflicting roles and
schedules. It shows them how to slay the ‘time monsters’ that
keep them from following their dreams. It has 13 planning
sections with four weeks of theme-based questions and includes
true stories of other women who have used the program to improve
their lives and discover their soul’s purpose.

“I want to repitch again with a new angle but am so close to the
material, I’m clueless. My wonderful publisher, New World
Library, will do the pitching, but they are out of ideas as well.

“Anybody have a good hook?”

The Publicity Hound says:

Back-to-school seems like the perfect tie-in. But I’m betting my
Hounds will post lots of other terrific ideas at my blog at
http://budurl.com/yldr

=================================
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…
=================================

National Publicity Summit expected to sell out soon
http://budurl.com/jbt8

Measure your PR, publicity success these 3 ways
http://budurl.com/paqf

————————————-

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

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

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 at http://www.publicityhound.com/ or you
told me you want to subscribe.

Privacy Statement:

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

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

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

The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #457 June 30, 2009
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
http://www.PublicityArticles.net (Ezine Archives)

Circulation: 39,264

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

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

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

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

1. Feed Your Twitter Tribe

2. Avoid Excessive Links

3. Think Christmas in July

4. Another Facebook Annoyance

5. Reach Interior Design Students

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Video of the Week

8. And at My Blog…

=====================================
1. Feed Your Twitter Tribe
=====================================

If you use Twitter to provide lots of helpful tips and advice to
your tribe, what happens to all that great content you’re dishing
up every day?

The more you tweet, the more your tips get pushed to the bottom
of your feed, right? Does that mean they’re as stale as last
week’s leftovers?

Not if you follow the lead of Chris Knight, CEO of
EzineArticles.com, who came up with a clever idea this week on
how to recycle his tweets and encourage others to share them.

He collected more than 50 of his own tweets and organized them
into four categories: tips and training snippets, fun facts,
inside information and motivation moments.

At the end of each tweet, you can click on the link and it
will take you directly to your Twitter sign-in page. Once
you’ve signed in, the retweet will automatically appear in the
window. All you have to do is click on “update.”

One caution, however. I noticed that in some cases, the addition
of “RT @EzineArticles” will make the tweet longer than 140
characters, so you may have to shorten it.

Take a look:
http://budurl.com/ugm5

What a fabulous way to feed your Twitter tribe with information
they don’t have to dig up themselves. You’ve suddenly given new
life to a lot of your old but valuable content.

Still confused by Twitter, or not getting the return on
investment that you expected? Let Warren Whitlock guide you. See
“How to Use Twitter to Amass an Army of Followers, Customers &
Valuable Contacts–and Promote” at http://budurl.com/bupu

=====================================
2. Avoid Excessive Links
=====================================

Submitting articles to EzineArticles.com can pull traffic to your
website or blog and make it easy for others to republish your
content.

But don’t make the mistake of stuffing lots of links into your
articles, or the EzineArticles police might reject them.

You should have no more than four links in each article:

–Two links within the body copy that lead to websites you don’t
own. These should be inserted after the third paragraph.

–Two self-serving links that can lead to your own websites or
blog. These should be in the author resource box at the end.

Here’s a tip I learned during yesterday’s “faculty office hours”
call hosted by  Stompernet, the membership site for Internet
marketers. Make sure one of those self-serving links is a raw
link that looks like this: http://www.PublicityHound.com

The second self-serving link should be hyperlink text. That means
my author resource box would include the phrase “publicity tips.”
That phrase would be a live ink that would lead the reader to my
homepage at http://www.PublicityHound.com

Why does Stompernet recommend this?

Because many publishers, when reprinting your articles offline,
will reprint them exactly as they appear on the screen. If an
article doesn’t include a raw link, the reader doesn’t have the
option of clicking on hyperlink text and going to your website.
Without a raw link, readers won’t know where to find your site.
And you lose.

Check out the cool video “Guide to Avoiding Excessive Links” at
http://budurl.com/2syw

If you can’t write, I’ll show you how. See “How to Write How-to
Articles” at http://budurl.com/s6r2 My training session includes
a template for a how-to article that you can use when writing
about almost any topic.

=====================================
3. Think Christmas in July
=====================================

Smart Publicity Hounds are poring over their media contact lists
right now, on the lookout for newspapers, magazines, wire
services, TV and radio shows and other media outlets that are
hungry for press releases and photos of consumer products that
would make great holiday gifts.

Many of these media outlets, particularly national magazines,
work six months ahead of time. Know their deadlines so you can
start pitching while lots of other clueless people are lying on
the beach.

This year, inexpensive gifts that offer high value, as well as
environmentally friendly gifts, will take precedence.

The very best guide on the market for holiday gift coverage is
The Gift List, which includes contact information, deadlines and
pitching tips for hundreds of media outlets. Today is the last
day to take advantage of their offer to knock $100 off the
subscription price, but only if you act before the clock runs out
at midnight and use this link:
http://www.giftlistmedia.com/?link=ph

If you’re donating a portion of the product price to a nonprofit
or charitable group, mention that in your pitch.

=====================================
4. Another Facebook Annoyance
=====================================

Many Facebook users who weren’t able to grab a vanity URL for
their Fan Pages several weeks ago, because they didn’t have at
least 1,000 Fans, waited patiently until this past Sunday when
Facebook opened up the URLs again to everybody who got closed out
the first time.

But–surprise!–Facebook raised the number of Fans you must have
from 25 to 100.

That sent lots of angry users to the message boards, blogs and
their own Facebook profiles where they ranted about how Facebook
unfairly raised the bar at the last minute.

Instead of complaining, how about trying to unravel some of the
other complexities of the world’s largest social networking site
and figuring out what you CAN do to make the experience better
for you and your Facebook Friends?

You can read all the rules about creating Fan Pages at
http://www.facebook.com/help.php?page=900

Then, when you’re done, take a look at all the topics Christine
Buffaloe covered on June 4 when she was my expert on a
teleseminar on “11 Ways to Avoid Missed Opportunities on
Facebook.” We included 28 pages of illustrated handouts that walk
you step-by-step through some of the most confusing parts of the
site. You can read the rave reviews from attendees and see all
the topics we covered at http://budurl.com/jfgw

=====================================
5. Reach Interior Design Students
=====================================

This week, four Publicity Hounds have ideas on how Jeanette
Simpson, of Lakewood Ranch, Fla., can market her ebook, “From
Interior Design Intern to Employee: How to be a Keeper (Including
Tips from those Who Hire)”, to interior design interns:

From Judy Soccio:

“ASID (American Society of Interior Designers) has student
members, and they do a lot to involve students in the society’s
activities. Contact your local ASID chapter to be included in
their newsletter, and offer to do a presentation to student
chapters. ASID also has a LinkedIn group where you could promote
your book.”

From Bruce Jones:

“Being that most of the interns are college students and are
heavily into Facebook and YouTube, how about producing several
videos? Make some simple two- to three-minute videos about
getting a job, with links to Amazon or wherever you’re selling
the book.”

From Susan Murphy:

“Join some of the many LinkedIn groups for interior designers and
promote your book (or blog if you have one) through those
groups…I am an interior designer and brand marketing
professional and find new resources through my groups all the
time.”

The Publicity Hound says:

If you’re using LinkedIn to promote, which can be powerful, make
sure you aren’t too heavy-handed with the promotion. LinkedIn
expert Scott Allen says you must be very savvy about how you use
this site in a marketing campaign. Do it right, and you can
encourage hundreds of your connections to also promote for you.

During the teleseminar I conducted with him last summer on “How
to Use LinkedIn to Promote Anything–Ethically & Powerfully,” he
offered an entire timeline of what a promotional campaign would
look like on LinkedIn. Read more about it at
http://budurl.com/fjm5

Read all the responses to last week’s Help This Hound question at
http://budurl.com/cahj

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

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

Cynthia Harvey, of Pasadena, Calif., writes:

“I am a fashion designer, sewing instructor and fashion career
advisor.

“I own The Sewing Studio in Old Town Pasadena, Calif., where I
have fun teaching kids, teens and adults about the fashion
industry and how to sew.

“For almost two years, I have taught hundreds of students. My
goal is to teach 100 each month.

“How do I reach my goal without an ad budget?”

The Publicity Hound says:

The first place I’d promote it is on Craigslist. See “How to Use
Craigslist as a Global Publicity Tool” at http://budurl.com/hff3

I can also think of several ways to collaborate with other
organizations in your community. Let’s see how many other ideas
my Hounds can generate. Hounds with great suggestions for Cynthia
can post them to my blog at http://budurl.com/hff3

================================
7. Hound Video of the Week
================================

Thanks to Publicity Hound Karla Little, of Toverton, R.I., for
this video of a four-legged hound defending itself from stealing
its own bone. If this doesn’t make you laugh out loud, I’ll be
doggone:

http://ow.ly/ga2p

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…
=================================

Michael Jackson songs won’t stop playing inside my head–help!
http://ow.ly/gbrD

Use social networking to market your product, services 12 ways
http://ow.ly/g9PD

Retailer’s guide lists clever ideas for in-store promotions
http://ow.ly/fXoc

Online press releases: 8 powerful reasons to keep using them
http://ow.ly/ga6y

———————————-

Where to See & Hear The Publicity Hound:

Listen to the Internet radio interview I did yesterday morning
when I was a guest on “Techno Granny,” Joanne Quinn-Smith’s
Internet radio show. Topic: “25 Things to Hate About Facebook.”
http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/tscmd/tc/30986

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

Friend me on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/joanstewart

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 at http://www.publicityhound.com/ or you
told me you want to subscribe.

Privacy Statement:

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

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

The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #435 Jan. 27, 2009
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)

Circulation: 43,505

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

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

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

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

You are receiving this because you signed up for it at The
Publicity Hound website at http://www.publicityhound.com/ or you
told me that you want to subscribe. If you didn’t subscribe, you
can unsubscribe by clicking the link at the bottom of the
newsletter.

Please forward this ezine to anyone you know who needs free
publicity to establish their credibility, enhance their
reputation, position themselves as employers of choice, sell more
products and services, or promote a favorite cause or issue.

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

New Teleseminar:

Can Your Social Networking Profile Pass the 10-Second Test?

Next time you’re surfing around Facebook or LinkedIn, pay
attention to how much time you spend on other people’s profiles
before you click away.

Then, be honest. How boring is your own? Online decisions are
made with clicks, and if your profile isn’t creating clicks TO
you instead of clicks AWAY from you, then chances are you have a
social networking profile that spells B-O-R-I-N-G.

Join Nancy Marmolejo and me for a paid teleseminar on Wednesday,
Feb. 11, when we ask the question “Can Your Social Networking
Profile Pass the 10-Second Test?”

Read about what you’ll learn, register for the session, and tell
us why Nancy should remake YOUR profile during the call. All the
details are at my blog at http://tinyurl.com/blvdby

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

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

1. When Oprah Calls on Sunday

2. 5 Big Blogging Boo-boos

3. Pitch Spring Gifts Now

4. I Don’t Want You to Disappear

5. Promoting Abstract Art

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Joke of the Week

8. And at My Blog…

===================================
1. When Oprah Calls on Sunday
===================================

So there you are on a Sunday afternoon, watching TV with the
kids.

The phone rings. It’s one of Oprah’s producers, following up on a
pitch you sent several months ago.

Panic time! You can’t remember the details. You can’t even
remember the pitch!

That’s what happens when you send a story idea to Oprah or one of
the big TV talk shows and mistakenly assume that if they don’t
bite within a month or two, they’re not interested.

Big mistake.

Oprah’s producers work insane hours, including Sunday afternoons.
That’s why you must be ready at a moment’s notice to discuss your
story succinctly and with passion, even when the kids are
screaming and the dog is barking in the background.

But before you receive that phone call, your pitch has to catch
the producer’s attention. It’s one of the most difficult feats to
accomplish because it must be compelling enough to pique their
curiosity, but not so long that it’s rambling.

Michele Anton, a former guest booker for “Oprah,” has accepted
and rejected hundreds of pitches. She knows what works and what
doesn’t, and she’ll share her tips during a complimentary
teleseminar that my friend, Steve Harrison, is hosting on
Thursday, Jan. 29, at your choice of two times.

Michele will explain what NOT to send to producers, what NOT to
pitch to guest bookers, and mistakes you should never make, or
the decision-makers will blackball you forever.

Then, she’ll explain the three big secrets for doing it the right
way. You’ll also hear from other veteran TV producers and
surprise guests.

Register at http://tinyurl.com/Oprahcall

Then, read about my Number One tip for getting onto Oprah and the
other big TV talk shows. It’s at my blog at
http://tinyurl.com/ab9lkh

=======================================
2. 5 Big Blogging Boo-boos
=======================================

Working too hard on your blog and seeing little traffic, hardly
any comments and zero sales?

If so, Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff, aka the Blog Squad, say
it might be because you’re making one of these five frequent
mistakes:

–You’re not blogging often enough, usually because you don’t
have time. Here’s my solution. Each week, I’m trying to reduce by
at least one hour the time I spend answering email (unproductive)
and using it instead to write on my blog.

–Your blog isn’t focused on a topic, or a series of related
topics. If your content is all over the landscape, you can’t get
the Google juice necessary to pull in traffic for specific
keywords.

–Your readers don’t know who you are because your name, or your
photo, or both, are missing from your blog. If they don’t know
who you are, how in the world can they eventually like and trust
you?

–There’s no way for your readers to subscribe to your blog
updates. Either you aren’t offering an RSS feed, or you’re not
letting readers subscribe to automatic email alerts each time you
post.

–You aren’t engaging your readers and making them part of the
conversation. Instead, you’re writing only about topics you like.
Offer quizzes, write about controversial topics and ask for their
opinions, find out what topics they what to read about, or
challenge them to do something that will improve their lives.
Keep them engaged, and they’ll keep coming back.

Those are only five little morsels from the dozens of tips The
Blog Squad shared during yesterday’s teleseminar on how to “Build
Your Biz with a Blog: It’s Not an Option Anymore!–How to Build a
Professional Blog that Turns Prospects into Clients.”

You can listen to the replay at
http://blogsquad.audioacrobat.com/download/bizblog_012609.mp3

Important Note: Wednesday night, Jan. 28, at midnight is the
deadline for The Blog Squad’s special offer for Publicity Hounds
who want to take 20 percent off the price of any of their three
levels of coaching. That means that if you want them to do
everything for you, including setting up your blog so you don’t
have to bother with all that techie stuff, you can save $400.

Go to http://www.theblogsquad.net/joan and at check-out, use the
code js20 so you don’t have to pay full price.

Grab it now, or kick yourself later.

========================================
3. Pitch Spring Gifts Now
========================================

With all the shake-ups in the newspaper, magazine, TV and radio
industries the last few months, you can’t afford to rely on
outdated reference materials.

If you sell a consumer product, including a book, that would make
a great gift for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Graduation Day, a
prom, a wedding, or any other event taking place in April, May or
June, you must know about the Gift List. It’s a subscription
service that provides contact information and leads for more than
1,000 media outlets.

It profiles new product editors from a range of national
magazines, regional publications, news wires and syndicates,
national broadcast television, syndicated television, national
radio, and the top daily newspapers.

The Gift List interviews them and profiles their interests from
fashion, beauty, tech, home, fitness and more. This is the time
to kick your spring publicity campaign into high gear because
deadlines are now for major national magazines.

Nobody produces a more extensive list of consumer product media
interests, submission guidelines, contact preferences, deadlines
and more.

Learn more about the service and take a test drive at
http://tinyurl.com/9es8y

=======================================
4. I Don’t Want You to Disappear
=======================================

I recently changed servers at the list management company that
distributes this newsletter, and I don’t want you to drop off my
list.

Please add galaxy.sparklist.com to your Friends list or Whitelist
and contact me immediately if you suddenly stop receiving the
newsletter so we can find out what went wrong.

You can find back issue you have missed in the archives at
http://www.publicityarticles.net/archive/

Thanks for your loyalty, Hounds, and for your great ideas,
publicity success stories and other content for this newsletter.

Making sure readers continue receiving your newsletters is a
major problem, but the rewards are worth it. You will increase
your chances of generating publicity if you have both a blog and
an ezine, and cross-promote from each.

I interviewed online marketing expert Don Crowther, who is a
stickler for testing, on all the ways to cross-promote. He
explained the results of his tests during our teleseminar on “How
to Use a Blog and an Ezine Together to Grow Your Business.” It’s
available as a CD or an electronic transcript that you can
download and be reading as soon as your order has been approved.

Read more about what you’ll learn at http://tinyurl.com/79383q

Coming soon: My survey, asking you about what you want to read
here, how I can serve you better, and what products and services
you need that I don’t offer. And you’ll love the way I’ll say
“thanks” to everyone who completes it.

==========================================
5. Promoting Abstract Art
==========================================

This week, three Publicity Hounds have tips for Beth Stafford of
Concord, N.C., an abstract artist who is looking for a few quick,
simple ways to promote her website at
http://www.bethstafford.com/ and her blog at
http://www.airedale-art.blogspot.com/

From Michele Bailey-Lessirard:

“Your art and website are beautiful. My first reaction is why not
blog more. The last post was back in October. It’s about UFOs
which was very interesting and leaves me wanting to know more
about you–and then there is nothing…Join Facebook. Start
twittering in your dog Cassie’s voice, from Cassie’s perspective.
Play up the PiCassieO angle. It’s original and fun.”

From Shelli Johannes-Wells:

“Market to dog organizations, hotels that allow dogs, pet stores,
veterinarians, etc…”

From The Publicity Hound:

Dive into social networking right now, or leave a lot of money on
the table. Here are three of my best tips:

–Create a profile on Facebook and build one or more fan pages.
This is the place to display and promote your artwork. Fans do
not have to be followers. That’s why these pages are so valuable.

–Also, start uploading photos of your artwork to Flickr, the
photo-sharing site.

–Create videos, or an entire series of short videos (about 2
min, 30 seconds each) of you, dog Cassie and your artwork, and
upload to YouTube and the other video-sharing sites. These will
bring tons of traffic to your website.

If you’re new to social networking, find a teen-ager to walk you
through how to do all of the above. For many more tips, check out
“How Artists Can Sell More Artwork through Online & Offline
Publicity,” a recording of a teleseminar I did with art marketing
expert Ariane Goodwin, at http://tinyurl.com/yvewm8

Read all the responses to this week’s Help This Hound question
http://tinyurl.com/7jqucq

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

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

Michele Lessirard of Vero Beach, Fla. writes:

“I have been blogging for more than seven years at New Moon
Journal http://www.newmoonjournal.com and my blog
http://newmoonjournal.blogs.com

“Now, there’s a high-profile Harry Potter-type author named
Stephanie Myer who’s written a series of vampire novels. One
best-seller is New Moon. Of course, I am competing now for search
engine optimization with her New Moon book and soon-to-be movie.
The New Moon Journal is an astrology blog dedicated to creativity
and personal growth using the lunar cycles for power, healing and
problem solving.

“How can I use this name recognition and ride on the coattails of
her book. Is it possible?”

The Publicity Hound says:

It sure is. The many authors, publishers and book publicity
experts who read this newsletter can post their best ideas to my
blog at http://tinyurl.com/dnju3x

Here’s my idea. Go over to Amazon.com and review Stephanie’s
books, which will let you link back to your blogs. You can also
create “best of” lists dealing with your topic and all kinds of
other content to attract the attention of her readers.

Randy Gilbert and Don Mitchell are all over that website and pull
in tons of traffic to their own sites as a result. They were my
guests during a teleseminar on “How to Make Amazon a River of
Gold (for Authors, Speakers & Experts).”

It’s available as a CD or an electronic transcript that you can
download and be reading as soon as your order has been approved.

Read more about how to piggyback onto the popularity of other
best-selling authors or products at http://tinyurl.com/7u76e

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

Thanks to Elaine Grassbaugh of Columbus, Ohio for this one, which
I ran by the censorship police. They said go for it.

Yesterday I was buying a two large bags of Purina Dog Chow at
Wal-Mart for my dogs Dexter, Gypsy, Sky, & Blade. I was about to
check out when a woman behind me asked if I had a dog. (What did
she think, that I had an elephant?)

Since I had little else to do, on impulse I told her that no, I
didn’t have a dog, and that I was starting the Purina eating plan
again, although I probably shouldn’t because I ended up in the
hospital last time. On the bright side, though, I’d shaved off 50
p~ounds before I awakened in an intensive care ward with tubes
coming out of every hole in my body and IVs in both arms.

I told her that the way it works is to load your pockets with
Purina nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel
hungry, and that the food is nutritionally complete so I was
going to try it again. (I have to mention here that practically
everyone in the line was enthralled with my story by now.)

Horrified, she asked if I ended up in intensive care because the
dog food had poisoned me. I told her no–a car hit me after I had
stopped in the middle of the parking lot to lick my butt.

I thought the guy behind her was going to have a heart attack, he
was laughing so hard! Wal-Mart won’t let me shop there anymore.

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…
===================================

Show both sides of your life at social networking sites
http://tinyurl.com/cygctz

Here’s another keyword density tool for press releases
http://tinyurl.com/ca7haw

My #1 tip for getting onto ‘Oprah’ and other big TV shows
http://tinyurl.com/ab9lkh

Can your social networking profile pass the 10-second test?
http://tinyurl.com/blvdby

————————————–

WHERE TO SEE AND HEAR THE PUBLICITY HOUND:

Monday, Jan. 26–Teleseminar Replay

During yesterday’s “Boost Your Biz with a Blog” teleseminar,
Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff, aka The Blog Squad,
explained how to draw more traffic and boost more sales from a
blog. Listen to the replay at
http://blogsquad.audioacrobat.com/download/bizblog_012609.mp3

March 6-8–Atlanta, Ga.

I’ll be at the Stompernet’s Live7 event. If you’re going, let’s
meet for coffee.

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 News Release.”

If you like these tips please pass them on to your friends,
clients and colleagues.

You are receiving this because you signed up for it at The
Publicity Hound® website at http://www.publicityhound.com/ or you
told me you want to subscribe.

PRIVACY STATEMENT:

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

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