Publicity tips/When Journalists Snub You April 23, 2008

The Publicity Hound's
Tips of the Week
Issue #395 April 23, 2008
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
The Publicity Hound®

Circulation: 44,978

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"Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity"

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In This Issue
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1. When Journalists Snub You

2. Profit from On-Air Interviews

3. 'Put Me on a Billboard' Contest

4. Story Ideas for Summer and Beyond

5. Promoting Lessons in How to Speak Chinese

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Quote of the Week

8. At My Blog...

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1. When Journalists Snub You
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You pitch a story to a top-tier newspaper.

The reporter calls you. You bend over backwards to help with the story. And when it's finally printed, you're crestfallen to learn that the reporter never even mentioned your name.

The first time it happened to me, I wanted to call the reporter's boss and complain. And then I wanted to pound nails into the tires of the reporter's car. I would never do that, of course. But at the time, I was tempted.

A graduate of The Publicity Hound Mentor Program reminded me of this recently when she asked what to do about a similar problem. She pitched a real estate story to a reporter at The New York Times as well as to a section editor.

But she was left out of the story completely.

"Is there anything a PR person can do? I'm not looking to get even," she wrote. "I just want to be considered for another story."

Here's what I told her:

- -Never voice displeasure to the reporter, or go over his head and speak with an editor.

- -Rather, send the reporter a handwritten thank-you note explaining that you saw the story. Thank him for using you as a source. Remind him that you're an expert in the areas of A, B and C, and tell him he should call on you again for background, commentary and story ideas.

- -Call the reporter in a few months and pitch another story.

- -Whether or not he likes your idea, ask "How else can I help you?" (Even if this kills you, ask.)

Whining, tattling to his boss, and pounding nails into his tires gets you nowhere. Do that, and you've forever ruined your chances of establishing a relationship.

By the way, reporters don't view this as "snubbing." The way they see it, they're just doing their jobs.

If you want long-term access to me to help you with problems like this one, brainstorm story ideas, craft enticing pitches, serve as your personal writing coach, and show you how to navigate the world of social networking, The Publicity Hound Mentor Program could be the perfect place for you.

Read about what it offers at http://www.publicityhound.com/mentorprogram/intro.html and then let's talk to see if we're a good match.


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2. Profit from On-air Interviews
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If you're pursuing interviews on radio and TV, and you have a book or other product to sell, you'll drastically increase your chances of selling it if you encourage your audience to grab a pen and paper so they can write down a phone number where they can order it.

But how do you do that without making it sound like you're trying to sell them something?

Before the interview begins, arrange with the deejay or the interviewer to alert listeners just before a commercial break. For example, before the last commercial during your radio interview, the deejay would say: "Grab a pen and paper because when we come back, Dr. Griffith is going to give you five ways to help your child deal with playground bullies."

After the commercial, you share your five tips. Then the deejay immediately mentions your book and gives the toll-free number where people can order it. Because they already have their pens and paper, they can copy down the number and call.

Savvy Publicity Hounds use that trick all the time to sell more books. But if you're new to the publishing game, you haven't done many radio interviews, and you aren't aware of little strategies like that one, you could be leaving money on the table.

Authors and others who use the media to promote their products CANNOT afford to leave even a nickel on the table. That's why you need to listen to a free 75-minute teleseminar hosted by Steve Harrison on Thursday, April 24, where you'll learn practical strategies you can use to promote almost any book, product, business or service.

Choose from two times: 2 p.m. Eastern Time or 7 p.m. Eastern Time. Reserve your spot now at http://www.YourQuantumLeap.com/PreviewCallTwo/?10011

Here's some of what you'll learn:

- -Why conventional press releases aren't always the best way to contact journalists and what to send instead.

- -What a producer for "Good Morning America" says is the absolute best way to pitch his show--something very few publicity-seekers do.

- -The surprisingly simple strategy a former Oprah guest booker recommends everyone should use when pitching the show.

Steve will also discuss how to recruit an army of people to promote your books, products or services for you. Sign up now at http://www.YourQuantumLeap.com/PreviewCallTwo/?10011


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3. 'Put Me on a Billboard' Contest
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Here's a fabulous idea for companies or organizations celebrating an anniversary, or anyone who wants to call attention to a cause or issue.

To raise funds and awareness for a new opera house, The Nashville Opera is sponsoring a "Put Me on a Billboard Contest" this year. In the weeks leading up to the contest, the opera photographed local celebrities like media people and sports figures, opera glasses in hand, on local billboards throughout the city.

The opera then opened the contest to anyone and asked local opera-lovers to write about why they raise their glasses to opera. They even built a special website for the promotion at http://www.RaiseYourGlasses.org

Winners were photographed with their opera glasses, and the series of photos started appearing over the weekend on digital billboards throughout the city.

Publicity Hound Beverly Wichman was chosen as one of the winners. You might know her better as one-half of "The Saucy Sisters." She and her sister, Barbara Nowak, review wine, write books and entertain at corporate events.

Beverly's winning essay explains how her parents treated her to her first opera at age 10. She loved it so much that she calls opera her "soul music."

During her many travels throughout the U.S., she would faithfully listen to radio performances by The New York Metropolitan Opera on Saturday nights. So would her parents. After each program, they would call each other to discuss the shows.

"It was like attending the opera together," she said. "We would wait for the final applause and the curtain would come down. Then we'd call each other and say,'Bravo!'"

Bravo to this billboard idea, too, even though it may require a big budget. It involves your audience in your cause. It brings people to your website. It turns local people into celebrities. And it helps raise money.

Your next special event can include elaborate promotions like this one, or much simpler, less expensive ways to capture people's attention, draw crowds, and attract the media. Debra J. Schmidt and I give you 847 ideas for turning any special event into a huge success.

"How to Plan & Promote Sizzling Special Events" is available as a series of Cds or an electronic transcript that you can be reading as soon as your order is approved. It comes with 15 can't-do- without checklists for event planners and publicists. Read more about it at http://publicityhound.com/publicity/promote.html


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4. Story Ideas for Summer and Beyond
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One of the most difficult parts of a publicity campaign is coming up with a constant stream of story ideas about your product, service, cause or issue.

Some Publicity Hounds, I've found, are so close to their own businesses that it's difficult for them to identify the things that most people would find interesting.

The next several months provide lots of opportunities for piggybacking onto events like high school proms and graduations, Mother's Day and Father's Day, school vacation, summer vacation, travel, warm-weather entertainment, and health issues like sunburn, bug bites and dehydration.

TV producer Shawne Duperon and I thought it would be fun to brainstorm as many ideas as possible. She knows TV better than anybody, and I come from a newspaper background and know what kinds of story ideas editors love. Together, we came up with 219 story ideas.

We recorded two teleseminars that are available on CD, and each comes with a list of all the ideas that you can download for that six-month period as soon as your order has been approved. Steal our ideas and use them during months when you're coming up dry.

Read more about "116 WOW! Story Ideas from January through June" at http://publicityhound.net/116storyideas

Then check out "103 Sizzling Story Ideas from July through December" at http://publicityhound.net/103storyideas


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5. Promoting Lessons in How to Speak Chinese ============================================

This week, four Publicity Hounds have tips on how Alex Foo of Christmas Island, Australia can promote his business which teaches people to speak simple Chinese.


From Jenni Hilton:

"There is a new show on Nick Jr.(Ni Hao, Kai-lan) that is similar to 'Dora the Explorer,' and the main character, Kai-lan, speaks Mandarin Chinese. You could reach parents and children who are interested in learning Chinese through Nick Jr.'s website and show. You could piggyback on the new show and write tips on teaching children Chinese and send them to news outlets."


From Gail Kay:

"My first thought is all the sportscasters and sport talk shows-- both radio and TV. A few might find this a fun adjunct to their news about the Olympics."


From Garth Gibson:

"Could you consider styling a contest in the mode of Big Brother where the prize could be a trip to the Beijing Olympics? Contestants are put in a house where they speak only Mandarin or only English."


From The Publicity Hound:

Alex, I didn't see a blog at your website. Writing about the Chinese language would pull in lots of traffic. "Blogging 101: How to Use Weblogs for Publicity," an interview I conducted with one my favorite bloggers, BL Ochman, is available as a CD, and you'll learn how to get a blog up and running in almost no time at all.

Read more about it at http://publicityhound.net/blogging101


Read all the responses to this "Help This Hound" Question at http://publicityhound.net/speakchinese


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


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6. Help This Hound
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Shirley James of Ormond Beach, Florida writes:

"A partner and I have developed an activity-based trading card for tween girls (ages 7-12) called, UgoGrl at http://www.ugogrl.com/. The cards encourage them to become physically active, mentally challenged, creatively inspired, and socially responsible. This is accomplished across six categories of real-life fun. Each card has a tip, suggestion or idea to try.

"Our target market loves them, but the problem is getting them into the marketplace. The major retailers purchase trading cards through a pay-on-scan contract--a situation that requires more capital than we have, and more risk than we are willing to take. We added a shopping cart to our website 18 months ago but the sales have been slow. We need help developing a strategy to educate parents and tween girls about our product.

"Our second product was developed as a means to earn enough capital to advance the UgoGrl Activity Cards. We developed a line of paper air fresheners with artwork from the cards. We have just fulfilled a chain-wide order for Wal-Mart. Our "Get Fresh" Mood Enhancing Air Fresheners are now on the shelves! It has been a huge success for us, but we're faced with the same problem--how to market them on a shoestring budget.

"Hounds, please help us out! We are two 40something stay-at-home moms, each with four kids. We need a home run."


The Publicity Hound says:

Hounds, I think Shirley's question has all kinds of interesting possibilities, particularly in the area of social media. How can the company use sites like MySpace, Facebook and other networking sites to interest tweens in these cards? Post your best ideas to my blog at http://publicityhound.net/cardgame


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7. Hound Joke of the Week
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You'll howl when you check out the winners of the "I Look Like My Dog" Contest:

http://www.flyaboveall.com/dogs.htm


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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8. At My Blog...
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Columnist seeks entrepreneurs who returned to traditional jobs http://publicityhound.net/entrepreneurs


Journalists search LinkedIn for ideas, topics, trends--and dirt http://publicityhound.net/journalistssearchlinkedin


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Where to See or Hear The Publicity Hound


April 30: Teleseminar

"How to Create a Media Plan," part of the teleseminar series "Intro to Internet Marketing" for health professionals. Perfect for doctors, nurses, spa owners, holistic health counselors, massage therapists, etc. Register at http://publicityhound.net/introinternetmarketing


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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 list "89 Reasons to Send a News Release."

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