Publicity tips/Groundbreaking, Harley-style June 6, 2006

The Publicity Hound's
Tips of the Week
Issue #297 - June 6, 2006
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.net (Blog)
The Publicity Hound®

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In This Issue
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1. Groundbreaking, Harley-style

2. Authors Who Have it Backwards

3. Write Killer Headlines

4. Media Leads

5. Promoting Wedding Seminars

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Joke of the Week

8. And at My Blog...

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1. Groundbreaking, Harley-style
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When Harley-Davidson broke ground for its $95 million motorcycle museum in Milwaukee last week, you had to look pretty hard to find a shovel.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel covered the event, but readers didn't have to suffer through one of those awful groundbreaking photos. You know the kind: a bunch of stuffed suits lined up shoulder-to-shoulder, looking ridiculous in those hard hats, and poised with their feet on the shovels, ready to turn over the first spade of ceremonial dirt.

Instead, when it came time to break ground, the company called in dirt track racer Scott Parker to do the honors. Astride a Harley-Davidson Sportster, Parker tore up the dirt by letting the back wheel on his cycle spin for about 20 seconds. He flung dirt into the air, to the tune of the loud "vroooom,vroooom, vroooom" coming from the exhaust.

How refreshing. And all because Harley figured out a clever way to move dirt.

Another Journal Sentinel photo showed people filling vials with dirt as a keepsake of the event.

Corny? Sort of. But thankfully, still no photos of shovels.

The next time you have to schedule a groundbreaking, think of a clever way to move the dirt, or save it. Or don't even worry about moving it or saving it. Instead, plan an interesting groundbreaking event, something the media can really get excited about.

Or forget the groundbreaking altogether. PR whiz Dan Collins suggests commissioning an artist to paint a picture of your new building. Then sell the artwork to raise money for a worthy charity. That virtually guarantees that your local newspaper will publish a photo of the artist at work, and maybe even cover the story later when people start buying the art, then again when the charity does something newsworthy with the donations.

Dan shared lots of other creative alternatives to staged media events during a teleseminar. We recorded it, and it's available as a CD or an electronic transcript that you can download and be reading as soon as your order is approved. Read more about what you'll learn from "Fun Alternatives to Boring Ground-breakings, Ribbon-cuttings and Check-passings" at http://tinyurl.com/hjhqr


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2. Authors Who Have it Backwards
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Here's a typical call I get from an author.

She tells me she's aching for a major publisher to offer her a big advance for her new book. She promises to even do a fair amount of the publicity on her own, setting up interviews with radio and TV talk shows and criss-crossing the globe on book tours.

All that publicity, she reasons, will pay off because it will make her well-known and famous. There's only one problem with that scenario.

The author has it backwards.

She needs to be well-known and famous BEFORE she approaches a publisher--if she has her heart set on a six-figure book advance. That's because the publisher will want to know right up front if she has a ready-made audience that will buy her book.

It's called platform, and it's something every publishing house looks for when deciding which authors to work with. Some publishers receive as many as 5,000 book proposals a month. If yours is among them, they want to know who you know and, more importantly, who knows you. Many publishers will spend no more than a measly five seconds looking for those answers in your proposal before deciding whether it's worth tossing onto the "maybe" pile or the wastebasket.

Do you have a big opt-in list that you email regularly? Do you do lots of public speaking engagements? Are you a keynoter? Have you spoken at adult learning centers? Do you sell other products? Have you already done TV talk shows? What about the national morning talk show circuit? What does your Rolodex of media contacts look like? Have you licensed a product? Are you an expert?

They want all this BEFORE you've written your book.

So if you're thinking of writing one, start building your platform immediately. Susan Harrow, who interviewed publishers on exactly the types of authors they're looking for, shares the secrets of how to build a platform. She was my guest during a teleseminar called "How to Build a Publicity Platform That Leads to a Six-figure Book Advance." It's available as a CD or electronic transcript that you can download and be reading as soon as your order is approved. Read more about what you'll learn at http://tinyurl.com/mplyp

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3. Write Killer Headlines
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I used to throw away all my junk mail without even opening it. Not anymore.

Now I rip open the envelopes and check out the headlines inside--the one or two lines of type that an expensive copywriter created to pull me into the sales letter. If I like the headline, I put it into my swipe file, to be borrowed and tweaked later if I need ideas for a sales letter or press release.

That's one place to find great headlines. The other place is at your local supermarket. That's right. On the fronts of the magazines you scan while waiting in the check-out line.

Pay particular attention to Cosmopolitan. Its wonderfully naughty headlines can often be borrowed and tweaked. If you remove a word in their headline and replace it with your own word, you can create your own killer headline easily.

"Special Report #39: How to Write Eye-Catching Headlines for Your News Releases and Articles" gives you great tips on how to write headlines that the media and your customers will love. You can order it at http://tinyurl.com/6uz9g


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4. Media Leads
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--Newsroom Confidential, a live weekly radio show airing on KRLA 870 in Los Angeles, is looking to profile savvy media relations strategists on upcoming shows. Host Dean Rotbart is also on the hunt for journalists, authors and others who have unique insights into the thinking and motivations of newsroom personnel. You can nominate yourself or someone you know as a future guest on the program. Newsroom Confidential is heard live in Los Angeles and around the world on the Internet. In addition, digital rebroadcasts of the show are available 24/7 at the Newsroom Confidential web site at http://www.newsroomconfidential.com/ To nominate a guest for an upcoming Newsroom Confidential, mailto:dean@newsroomconfidential.com

--Author Judy Colbert will be completing two books about marketing for hotels/resorts and destinations. If you have a marketing idea (publicity, public relations, advertising) that really worked and are willing to share it, please let her know. "I'm particularly interested in free or low-cost ideas, but will accept expensive ones also. How was the idea conceived, approved and implemented? What was the goal, results and approximate cost? This can be combining efforts with another business in your area, unusual or interesting use of the Internet or email, unusual twist to a news release, or anything else that really worked well. Your name, company and client information will be cited unless you don't want them to be." Email her at mailto:JudyColbert@JudyColbert.com

--Mildred Culp always needs compelling stories about people at work for her syndicated column called WorkWise. She's currently looking for humorous bullets and anecdotes on topics related to youth employment. Her column will be featured in the 33 West County Journals of suburban St. Louis on Wednesday. The Fresno Bee Online is now featuring WorkWise Interactive (for youth 18-35) at http://www.centralvalleyjobquest.com/ Email her at mailto:workwise@comcast.net


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5. Promoting Wedding Seminars
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This week, 12 Publicity Hounds have advice for Marisa Menzel of Madison, Wisconsin. She wanted tips on how to boost attendance at a series of wedding workshops at a local bridal shop.


From Patricia F. Klier:

"Wedding websites such as TheKnot.com, WeddingChannel.com and Brides.com often have free message boards where brides-to-be can post ideas, activities and events. The local board for Madison would be especially great for advertising a free event that is wedding-related. Some of these sites do not allow vendors to post information, so make sure it’s OK first."


From Linda Merrill:

"A church I once belonged offered quarterly concerts to those getting married in the next six or so months. Those of us who performed wedding music (singers, instrumentalists and the organist) performed snippets of famous wedding music. The brides were given pen and paper with all the names of the pieces so they could tick off which ones they liked (but didn’t necessarily know the name of). They could also book our services right on the spot. Moral: make things very easy for the busy brides and make sure they know that they are not being 'sold' more services, but that their lives will be made easier."


From Ori Hoffer:

"Check with your local TV station morning show (they usually have at least one female host), and see if they would be interested in doing a 'Wedding Do’s & Dont’s' or 'How to Avoid a Wedding Horror Story' segment, where you could come in and talk about the things to think of. At the end of the show, the hosts will usually mention the seminar as a way to find more information."


The Publicity Hound says: Are you posting information about your workshops to the Madison Craigslist? If not, you should be. See "How to Use Craigslist as a Global Publicity Tool" at http://tinyurl.com/geog2


Read all the comments at my blog at http://publicityhound.net/index.php/wedding-planner-needs-creative-ideas-for-workshops/


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6. Help This Hound
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Roxie Hickman of Racine, Wisconsin asks:

"How can my daughter, a professional model, and I can promote our informational seminars for aspiring models? The target audience is girls ages 12 to 25, and of course, their parents. Lots of young girls want to be a model, but there is not much information readily available that explains the do's and don'ts when trying to break into this profession.

"Our seminars are designed to save these girls and their parents time, money, frustration, and to more readily point them in the right direction. The cost to attend is $95. They are held on Saturdays in Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana, from February through October, in college conference rooms that can hold about 500 people. What creative ideas do your Hounds have for promotion and publicity?"


The Publicity Hound says: Promoting special events is one of the specialties of my Hounds, and I know lots of them will throw ideas into the soup pot. Hounds with ideas can post them to my blog at http://tinyurl.com/m5kfw


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7. Hound Joke of the Week
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"My dog can bark like a Congressman, fetch like an aide, beg like a press secretary, and play dead like a receptionist when the phone rings."

--Former U.S. Rep. Gerald Solomon


DOG JOKES & QUOTES EBOOK: 170+ G-rated dog jokes and quotes, perfect for adog-lover, your favorite vet, or just for a few good laughs.

BONUS: Buy the ebook and you also get a compilation of the 50 bestwebsites for dog humor.
http://www.publicityhound.com/dogjokebook/


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8. And at My Blog...
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How to get traffic for your blog
http://publicityhound.net/index.php/blog-traffic-can-be-yours-if-you-use-these-56-tips-from-seth-godin/

Fitness magazine wants exercise,
health, nutrition products to review
http://publicityhound.net/index.php/fitness-magazine-wants-exercise-health-nutrition-products-to-review/

Los Angeles, Boston police departments are blogging
http://publicityhound.net/index.php/los-angeles-boston-police-departments-are-blogging/

Child abuse stories can make it
onto TV with creative pitches
http://publicityhound.net/index.php/child-abuse-stories-can-make-it-onto-tv-with-creative-pitches/

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Where to Meet or Hear The Publicity Hound®


June 24: Naples, Florida

Public Relations Society of America, Sunshine Chapter District Conference,"Savvy Media Relations: How to Get FREE Print, Broadcast and OnlinePublicity," from 9-11:30 a.m., Ritz-Carlton. Register at http://www.prsagulfcoast.org


July 7: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

"How to Use the Media to Promote Your Expertise and Get Thousands of Dollars in Free Publicity," Network SOHO, Radisson Hotel, 2303 N. MayfairRoad. Registration at 7:15, breakfast at 7:30, program from 8 to 9. $20. To register, mailto:nicole@corebusinessstaffing.com


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Joan Stewart
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Phone: 262-284-7451 (Central) Fax: 262-284-1737