Publicity tips/Turbo-charge Your LinkedIn Profile Nov. 11, 2008

The Publicity Hound's
Tips of the Week
Issue #424 Nov. 11, 2008
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)

Circulation: 50,931

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"Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity"

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Teleseminars: The Next Best Thing to Being There

If you're sick of traveling like I am, you can still sell tons of
books, speak as much as you want, teach to your heart's content,
and do it all in the comfort of your home or office--thanks to
telephone seminars.

Alex Mandossian sold 3,023 books in a single teleseminar. During
a separate call, he made $13,000 from the delivery room at Mt.
Sinai Hospital when his son was born. Learn how he did it, and
find out about the eight models for teleseminars during--what
else?--a teleseminar this Thursday, Nov. 13, when Steve Harrison
interviews Alex. Sign up here: http://tinyurl.com/5pvnvx

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In This Issue
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1. Turbo-charge Your LinkedIn Profile

2. Dominate Page 1 of Google

3. Video Camera Buyer's Guide

4. Retailers Turning to Facebook

5. Promoting a Temper Tantrum Book

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Joke of the Week

8. And at My Blog...


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1. Turbo-charge Your LinkedIn Profile
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If you have a profile on LinkedIn, like every smart Publicity
Hound should, you can really impress visitors by taking advantage
of several new applications.

I haven't had time to experiment with them all, but I wanted to
let you know about six that are particularly powerful for anyone
who wants to promote their expertise or anything else on
LinkedIn:

--With just a few clicks, you can synch your Wordpress blog to
your profile, great for pulling in traffic to your blog and
letting visitors know which issues you think are important. Blog
Link, a separate application, lets you synch blogs that are
created on Typepad and other platforms.

--SlideShare lets you upload and display your own presentations,
check out presentations from your colleagues, and find experts
within your network. What a great way for consultants to share
their expertise!

--With a similar application called Google Presentation, you can
upload your PowerPoint presentation. Or use Google's online
application to embed a presentation on your profile.

--My Travel allows you to see where your LinkedIn network is
traveling and when you will be in the same city as your
colleagues. Share your upcoming trips, current location and
travel stats with your network. This is a super way for speakers
to pick up one or two more speaking engagements, or perhaps even
a consulting assignment, in a city where they're already booked.

--The Reading List from Amazon lets you share the books you're
reading with other LinkedIn members--a handy way to find out what
you should be reading by following updates from your connections
or people in your field.

Try a few of the apps that appeal to you, then start
incorporating them into your publicity campaign. Scott Allen, an
expert on LinkedIn, explained step-by-step directions on how to
use this site to promote any product, service, cause or issue. He
was my guest during two teleseminars in June called "How to Use
LinkedIn to Promote Anything--Ethically & Powerfully." The
classes sold out quickly, but they're available as handy
electronic transcripts and your choice of MP3 files or CDs.

Read more about how to promote the right way--and encourage your
LinkedIn connections to promote for you--at
http://tinyurl.com/5zvzyd

Thanks to Publicity hound Paul Furiga of WordWrite
Communications, LLC in Pittsburgh for letting us know about the
LinkedIn apps.


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2. Dominate Page 1 of Google
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How easy is it for people to find you if they're looking for
somebody with your expertise?

Go ahead. Try it yourself and see what happens.

Go to http://www.Google.com and search for "home schooling
expert" or "self-publishing expert" or whatever your expertise
happens to be, and see where Google places you on the list.
Expert, by the way, is the word most journalists use when they're
searching for sources to interview.

Now, do a search for "publicity expert." That's what I did just
now, and I dominate the first three positions for that keyword
phrase on Google's list--not by accident either.

The first two positions link to my website at
http://www.PublicityHound.com and the third links to my profile
at Expertclick: the Online Yearbook of Experts.

Mitch Davis of Expertclick encourages his clients who are experts
to use the word "expert" in their profile for that reason--so you
can beat your competitors on the all-important organic search
list of Google and other search engines.

Unlike pay-per-click ads, you don't pay for these coveted spots.
And for that reason, they can be far more valuable than paid ads
because Google is giving you its stamp of approval.

That's just one of the many benefits of an Expertclick
subscription. I've had mine for several years and it's paid off
handsomely by bringing traffic to my website and leading
journalists to me for interviews. You can also post up to 52
press releases per year at no additional per-release charge.

They're compiling the 2009 Yearbook right now, and you can save
$100 if you join by Friday, November 14, and another $100 if you
use this link:

https://www.expertclick.com/discount/publicity_hound


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3. Video Camera Buyer's Guide
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Another powerful way to pull traffic to your website is to create
videos for video-sharing sites like YouTube.

The search engines love video so much that they often reward your
videos with a high ranking on the organic search results when
people search for the same keywords you've used to tag your
videos.

But many Publicity Hounds don't know the first thing about video
equipment, and they're scared they'll end up spending way too
much on fancy equipment they don't need.

Don't ask me for recommendations because I'm not a techie. I use
the $150 Flip Video camera which works just fine for me. But you
might want something a bit more sophisticated. Check out Mike
Koenigs' cool video called "The Video Camera Buyer's Guide: What
to Buy and Where to Get It."

He takes you on a half-hour tour of many types of cameras, from
the Flip Video, all the way up to the HD "prosumer" models. He
even shows you which microphones to use and explains the must-
have accessories. And you can download the buyer's guide, a PDF
document you can take with you when you go shopping.

This is great stuff, whether you're trying to crank out a few
quick videos about your business for YouTube, or you're looking
to start a video business.

http://tinyurl.com/6qxa72


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4. Retailers Turning to Facebook
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About one in four U.S. retailers who are trying to ramp up online
holiday sales plans to create pages through Facebook to promote
their sites.

The survey by Shop.org, a unit of the National Retail Federation,
showed that of the retailers who responded, 43 percent are adding
videos of products and 33 percent are posting customer reviews.

That's a great idea, but you have to be careful about how you
promote on Facebook or you can annoy your friends who can report
you to the Facebook police. And the next thing you know, your
account is closed down. I know somebody who experienced that
nightmare a few weeks ago, and it took her days to convince
Facebook to reinstate her account.

The only place Facebook wants you to promote products is on your
Pages. You can include sales copy and photos and recruit "fans."

Do lots of people break the rules. Yep.

Do all of them get caught? Nope.

Is the chance worth taking? Not if you're smart.

In the new update of my ebook "How to be a Kick-Butt Publicity
Hound," which I co-wrote with Tom Antion, we included seven new
chapters on social networking, including a chapter on Facebook.
In it, we detail what happened to our friend whose account was
temporarily suspended, and what Facebook said she had to do to
play by the rules.

One of those new chapters also includes the transcript of a
teleseminar Tom conducted on everything you need to know about
how to use online video. Our proofreader just completed the book
a few days ago, and we haven't even had time to update the sales
page to show you all the new content. This is one of my most
popular products--sort of a one-stop-shop for anyone who needs
publicity. Claim it now at
http://publicityhound.com/publicity/publicityhound.htm


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5. Promoting a Temper Tantrum Book
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This week, four Publicity Hounds have tips on how Judy Colbert of
Crofton, Maryland, can promote her book, The Temper Tantrum
Handbook, to target audiences like day care providers and flight
attendants.


From Bruce Jones:

"This kind of subject makes for great 'how to' information for
parents. I would do some quick tips videos and post them on
YouTube and other video hosting sites. Put keyword text with
links to either your website or to Amazon in the description and
you will do very well. I have been using 'how to' videos on my
products, and customers love them."


From Cheryl Pickett:

"Sending a press release is literally the tip of the iceberg for
you. This sounds like a useful book and you certainly have lots
of options for groups to promote to, including ones you already
mentioned.

"For example, search for national associations of day care
providers, see what conferences they attend, and see if you can
speak or have a booth."


From Gail Sideman:

"Don't forget the power of social networking. Create a fan option
for Facebook members, and connect with moms on the variety of
social networks targeted to that group.

"Register for a Twitter account and link to moms, daycare
providers, babysitters and Mr. Moms. As you establish a following
of your own, post tips on how to deal with tantrums. You may post
links back to a page with more information about how to purchase
your book in those tweets."


The Publicity Hound says:

In-flight magazines might be interested in these same tips which
would be very helpful for moms dealing with their kids' temper
tantrums aboard airplanes. I just updated "Special Report 29: Fly
High with Publicity in the In-flight Magazines." It includes
contact information for 49 magazines, plus pitching tips and case
studies of Publicity Hounds who have gotten into these magazines.
Order the report at
http://www.publicityhound.com/publicity-products/reports.html


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


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

Nancy Cavanaugh of Milwaukee, Wisconsin asks:

"I am a web designer at Cavanaugh Interactive who receives the
majority of my business via word of mouth. I've been a freelance
designer for more than 26 years, and in all that time I've never
seen the economic situation deteriorate so quickly. Because of
this, cash flow is poor and business is slow. Is there anything I
can do to get attention for my business quickly and cost
effectively?"


The Publicity Hound says:

As soon as I visited your website, Nancy, I noticed a problem,
and my suggestion should help you attract more business. I've
posted it in the comments section. Let's see what other ideas my
Hounds have. Offer your best tips for Nancy at my blog at
http://tinyurl.com/6lzg8e


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

You know you're a dog person when you like people who like your
dog and despise people who don't.


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. And at My Blog...
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Twitterers, bloggers, ezine publishers: Your readers can compete
to win a $50 Amazon gift certificate:

Promote an ebook 26 ways--add to this list and you could win $50
http://tinyurl.com/64jkzq


Mac or PC--Which is better for creating videos?
http://tinyurl.com/5hxans


How to find social networking sites devoted to niche topics
http://tinyurl.com/5cwrsr


Writers association also for speakers, experts, entrepreneurs
http://tinyurl.com/59xung



WHERE TO SEE AND HEAR THE PUBLICITY HOUND:


Wednesday, Nov. 19--Teleseminar

"Write Like a Journalist: Media Wordsmiths Share Proven
Copywriting Secrets for Earning More Ink," 1 to 2:30 p.m.,
sponsored by Bulldog Reporter. Join me and three other panelists
for our best writing tips. Register at http://tinyurl.com/5cs6p7


Thursday, Nov. 20--Teleseminar

"How to Use Publicity To Become an Expert and Grow Your
Business," part of the Business Owner Super Conference. It's
already started, but you can still get in on the action at
http://tinyurl.com/633m83 A terrific training session for
business owners everywhere, with a line-up of top speakers.


Wednesday, Jan. 21--Teleseminar

Join me for the third annual smARTist telesummit where
photographers, jewelers. potters, painters, metalworkers,
woodworkers and other artists will learn all the secrets for
growing their art business. I'm presenting a session on how to
use social networking, from 2:45 to 4:30 p.m. Registration
details pending.


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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
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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