Publicity tips/Tie your story to celebrities September 12, 2006

The Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week
Issue #310 - Sept. 12, 2006
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.com/
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
The Publicity Hound®

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New Teleseminar:

"How to Pitch the Best Bloggers and Create a Publicity Explosion"

When: 8:30 PM Eastern Time on Wednesday, September 20

Guests: I'll join Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff, aka "The Blog Squad" so you get three experts for the price of one

(See Item #3 below.)
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In This Issue
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1. Tie Your Story to Celebrities

2. Write Great Photo Captions

3. Pitch the Best Bloggers

4. Media Leads

5. Promoting Asian Products for Women

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Quote of the Week

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1. Tie Your Story to Celebrities
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For years, Debra Holtzman kept wishing and hoping that she’d generate publicity in top-tier newspapers and magazines and on the big morning TV shows like "Good Morning, America" because of her expertise in child safety.

But the wishing and hoping got her a media hit here and there. Then Debra found the key that not only unlocked the door to publicity, but had the media practically tripping over themselves to interview her. Even the bloggers loved her.

Her secret? She ties her expertise to the celebrities--sometimes several times a month. It all depends on how much material the stars feed her. And feed her they do.

Here's what she's done in just the last five months:

--On May 17, when the celebrity magazines printed a photograph showing Britney Spears driving her convertible, with 8-month-old son Sean Preston in the back, sitting in a car seat facing forward and slumped over to one side, Debra wrote a press release titled "Britney Spears Needs Baby Safety Training!" She posted it at Expertclick.com, the subscription-based website that serves as a database of experts for the media and lets subscribers post up to 52 press releases a year. The story was picked up by celebrity gossip bloggers and top-tier media outlets.

--That same month, when Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt welcomed their baby girl, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, Debra swung into action and issued a press release with the headline "Angelina and Brad's Perfect Baby Room for Shiloh." It described some of the dangers of a baby’s nursery and included a checklist of 11 tips on how to keep the baby safe.

--Also that month, the paparazzi got a photo of Pitt during a bike ride in Namibia with his 4-year-old son and 16-month-old daughter. His son wore a helmet and rode his tricycle. The baby rode in a blue papoose strapped to Pitt's back. Debra wrote another press release about the dangers of riding with babies on a bike and was quoted in Us magazine, among others.

--On August 1, just after Mel Gibson’s drunken-driving arrest, Debra issued another release titled "Top 10 Tips to Drive Like a Star, but not Mel Gibson."

--A few weeks later, while law enforcement officials were investigating John Mark Karr, the suspect who claimed he murdered JonBenet Ramsey in 1996, Debra wrote another release headlined "A Focus in the JonBenet Ramsey Case No One is Talking About." It included a list of 21 things parents can do to keep their children safe from child abduction, molestation and other dangers.

Last week, just after Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin was killed by a stingray while diving, Debra posted another press release on Expertclick.com, this one titled "Teach Children How to be Safe Around Pets and Wild Animals." She didn’t name Irwin or mention his death in the release. But journalists and anyone else who searched online for information on that news story probably would have found her press release in the list of organic search results.

All those releases and all that publicity helps her sell more of her books, The Panic-Proof Parent (McGraw-Hill, 2000) and The Safe Baby (Sentient Publications, 2005) which she mentions in every release.

She has been interviewed by papers like USA Today and the New York Times and has a list of media hits a mile long at her website at http://www.thesafetyexpert.com/

Half the work is just keeping your ears open for opportunities. My new "Special Report #50: How to Piggyback off Celebrity News to Promote Your Product, Service, Cause or Issue" gives you 15 ideas on how to tie your news to the celebrities. It's $10 and you can order it at http://tinyurl.com/6uz9g


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2. Write Great Photo Captions
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When I look at myself in the mirror and see that it's time to get my hair colored, I know that some of those gray hairs peeking out at the roots were caused by photo captions.

In my newspaper days, incorrect or poorly written captions caused more problems, and required more corrections, than any other part of the newspaper.

Papers I worked for printed photo captions that mistakenly identified men as women, women as men, or people who were cropped out of the photo. Many captions had misspelled names, wrong facts and missing information that confused readers. I've even seen captions under the wrong photos.

Do an editor a favor and learn to write your own captions for photos you submit to the media.

What? Did I hear a few of you say you don't bother with captions because you know that copy editors will rewrite them anyway? To the doghouse without your dinner!

If you can learn how to write great captions, you will increase the chances of an accurate caption that doesn't require a correction the following day.

A few quick pointers:

--Identify people in the photo from left to right.

--Make sure all names are spelled correctly.

--Write in the present tense. Example: "Second-grader Timmy Smith swings at the T-ball while his classmate, Brady Turner, waits his turn."

--Don't use "looks on" or "smiles" or other phony verbs that say the person is doing one thing when all they're really doing is posing.

--Don't use the verb "poses" or "is posing."

Lots more tips on how to write great captions are in my column in the September/October issue of The Publicity Hound subscription newsletter. It also includes articles on how to get your special event onto event calendars, the incredible shrinking half-life of articles, how to follow up with reporters after you've pitched a story idea, three new lifestyle magazines that debut this fall, a task to put on your publicity to-do list in October, how to recycle publicity from a speech you've given, how to become a heavily quoted source, 5 ways to sell more books on TV, where to find an online newspaper archive, two new and very cool tips booklets on publicity, where to get a free ebook on how to become a syndicated columnist on the web, and September/October story ideas.

My column also includes an absolutely hysterical website where you can find examples of real-life newspaper and magazine corrections that will leave Hounds howling with laughter.

All for $10. Order at http://tinyurl.com/erwqo

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3. Pitch the Best Bloggers
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I'm still aghast at the Media Mutts who never target bloggers in their publicity campaigns. They still think bloggers are mostly young kids who prattle on about last night's date or the newest garage band.

Bloggers include corporate CEOs who you can get in front of by posting comments to their blog. Bloggers also include opinion shapers who can spread your message to thousands of people in a matter of minutes. And they include experts who have a ready-made niche audience of followers who might be eager to hear what you have to say.

But you can't pitch bloggers the same way you pitch traditional journalists.

That's because bloggers don't view themselves as being bound by the same ethics policies and other restrictions that apply to traditional journalists. They're also much more willing to hype your product or service if they think it's a good fit with their audience--something most journalists would never do.

Find the right blogger, become familiar with what they care about, then deliver the right pitch and you could receive far more exposure online than you'd ever get from your local newspaper.

Here's the best part. Unlike journalists, bloggers link to each other's blogs. So if the right blogger picks up your story, it could be spread to other bloggers, and thousands more readers, by the end of the day. And unlike the one-day shelf life of most newspapers, a blog post about your product or service lives on forever, just waiting to be grabbed by the search engines.

But you have to know what you're doing. I'm teaming up with The Blog Squad (Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff) to present a teleseminar called "How to Pitch the Best Bloggers and Create a Publicity Explosion." Join us at 8:30 PM Eastern Time on Wednesday, September 20, for this 60-minute call and listen as we share the secrets of what the best bloggers expect if you pitch them.

Registration is $39 and includes a copy of the CD, which we'll mail to you. You can email questions to me at mailto:jstewart@PublicityHound.com

Register or order the CD or electronic transcript at http://www.PublicityHound.com/teleseminar.htm


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4. Media Leads
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--Celeb Staff magazine is looking for celebrity foundations that are raising money for Katrina victims, for its February cover story. Send leads to mailto:PR@MayoCommunications.com The bi-monthly subscription magazine is also mailed to the homes of more than 10,000 celebrities who are listed in Celeb Staff's exclusive Social Diary Register. Celeb Staff magazine is about managing the mansions and estates of the very wealthy and about the staff that caters to their every need. It deals with a wide range of topics pertaining to the luxury lifestyle of the super wealthy, from where the mega rich shop, who they hire, what they eat, how they stay fit, to where they vacation.

--Cindi Leeman, editor and publisher of WALK! magazine, is looking for submissions for its Gift Giving Guide in the February issue. WALK's audience is comprised of over-40 distance walkers(marathoners), race walkers who compete, hikers and beginners. Items might include foot massagers, athletic clothing, hydration systems, MP3 players, books, backpacks for hikers, or anything an athlete might use during training or to recover from a walking event. "I would prefer new ideas or items with a twist that make them seem new or special." Descriptions should be no more than 200 words and photos should be at least 300 pixels per inch at 100 percent. Photos should be no larger than 4 x 4 inches. Include purchase price and a website. Email information by October 2 to mailto:admin@walk-magazine.com


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5. Promoting Asian Products for Women
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Last week, Rudy Gelton of Cambridge, Massachusetts asked for ideas on how to promote a line of Alluring Items With Asian Influences. The items include home decor goods, gifts and garments from the Far East. She specifically wanted to know how to get information about these items in front of men, who would buy them for the women in their lives.


From Laura Ricci:

"I would suggest using the Chinese zodiac to write a series of press releases about good gifts for people born in those years. Year of the Dog: People born in 1922, 1934, 1946, and 1958, possess the best traits of human nature. They have a deep sense of loyalty, are honest, and inspire other people’s confidence because they know how to keep secrets. (Taken from http://tinyurl.com/l6p0) These people would enjoy having a Chinese jewelry chest with a secret compartment.


From The Publicity Hound:

Once your website has all the elements of a great ecommerce site:

--Pitch editors of holiday gift guides. You can subscribe to The Gift List, a wonderful subscription service that will give you so many leads and contact information for the right editors that this alone will keep you busy for weeks. They’re at http://tinyurl.com/9es8y Some of these leads might be for gift guides in men's magazines.

--Pitch editors of home and lifestyle magazines. Submit a short press release and photo of the wine bottle covers to editors of wine magazines. Send press releases and photos of your kitchen products to the many food and beverage magazines.

--Pitch bloggers.

--What are the hot new clothing items for fall? You can pitch this story to fashion and lifestyle editors.

--Write direct-to-consumer press releases about these products and post them online. Make sure relevant keywords are inserted into the headline and throughout the press release. See "The New Rules of Press Releases: How to Write Them for Buyers, Not Only Journalists" at http://tinyurl.com/ndwfo

Read all the responses at http://tinyurl.com/lxtub


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6. Help this Hound
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Dr. Barry Lycka, a cosmetic dermatologist from Alberta, British Columbia writes:

"I recently wrote the book 'Restoring Youth: How To Keep and Restore Your Natural Beauty.' It's about how our skin is at the mercy of the sun, harsh weather, our own bad habits and our age.

"It discussed the myriad of procedures and treatments such as peels, liposuction, facelifts and others, and which are the best ones for you. I advise people to see a cosmetic surgeon only after they've read this book.

"Can you give some ideas for promoting it?"


The Publicity Hound says:

The first thing I thought about was piggybacking this topic onto celebrities (See Item #1 above). But I know my Hounds have lots more fun, creative ideas. Post them to my blog at http://tinyurl.com/j25uf

In the meantime, how about trying to get onto one of the many health-related shows on National Public Radio? You're certainly an expert, and you could give listeners a really fun, informative interview. See "How to Get Booked on National Public Radio" at http://tinyurl.com/ayms6


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7. Hound Joke of the Week
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Bulldogs are adorable, with faces like toads that have been sat on.


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/


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Where to Meet or Hear The Publicity Hound®

October 31, 2006: West Bend, Wisconsin

University of Wisconsin, part of the "Adding to Your Organization's Toolbox--Media and Public Relations" series, sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Washington County, UW-Extension, Volunteer Center of Washington County and The United Way of Washington County. I'll present "Savvy Media Relations: How to Get FREE Print, Broadcast & Online Publicity" for nonprofits from 8 to 9:30 a.m., followed by a media panel. Over lunch, from 11:30 until 1, I'll present "How to Write Powerful Press Releases." Registration is $35 for the first session and $8 for the luncheon session on press releases. To register, and to submit a press release that you'd like me to rewrite for the second class, contact Dan Anhalt at mailto:dan.anhalt@uwc.edu or(262) 335-5218.


March 17, 2007: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

"Savvy Media Relations: How to Get FREE Print, Broadcast andOnline Publicity." 8 a.m. to noon. Details pending.


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