Publicity Tips/How About a Little Good News? Mar 3, 2009

The Publicity Hound's
Tips of the Week
Issue #440
March 3, 2009
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)

Circulation: 42,341

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

"Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity"

Receive this ezine direct to your desktop
http://www.publicityhound.com/tipsoftheweek/

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

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.

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

My Survey is Being Emailed Now:

During the next several days, you'll receive my Customer Profile
Survey. Complete it, and you'll get $40 off of any products or
services I sell, by March 13. Your name will also be entered in a
drawing for a Kindle 2, the new wireless reading device that
Amazon sells for $359. If the winner doesn't want the Kindle,
I'll send an Amazon gift certificate for that amount.

We're already tabulating responses, and the results are
illuminating. I'll share them with you in a few weeks once all
the surveys are tabulated.

If you've already completed yours, thank you! Your honest
feedback will help me improve this newsletter and every other
aspect of doing business with me.

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

1. How About a Little Good News?

2. It's Square Root Day

3. 3 Teleseminars to Help You

4. The Advantage of Freelancers

5. Ugly Patio Furniture

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Joke of the Week

8. And at My Blog...


====================================
1. How About a Little Good News?
====================================

You and I aren't the only ones sick of bad news.

TV news producers are sick of it too. That's what my friend, TV
producer Shawne Duperon, told me a few days ago. We were talking
about the demise of the Rocky Mountain News, one of Colorado's
two biggest daily newspapers.

"Are things as bad in the TV industry as they are at newspapers?
"I asked her.

"It's not even the same conversation," she said. "Everything is
fine. But TV people are sick of all the gloom and doom.

"What does that mean to Publicity Hounds?

Pitch good news stories:

--My local newspaper had a story on Page 1 yesterday about how a
little small-town bank, where the bosses commute to work on foot,
is doing just fine, thank you, while bigger financial
institutions are grabbing bail-outs right and left. That bank
might never have received front-page publicity in a boom economy.
But today, it's the exception to the rule.

--Has your family found creative ways to skirt high grocery
bills? Are you and the kids cooking more instead of eating out
and, in the process, learning more about each other? If so, pitch
lifestyle reporters, bloggers, and explain your own story at your
blog.

--My friend opened The Chocolate Chisel, a gourmet chocolate shop
in my town of Port Washington, Wisconsin a few weeks ago. When I
asked her if she had second thoughts about opening in this
economy, she said no. While creating her business plan with her
partner, they researched the history of chocolate and learned
that it's one product that does well during bad times. People
might not be able to afford a $300 day at the spa, but a $10
sample pack of gourmet chocolates makes the world right again. I
told her that's a terrific angle she ought to pitch.

--Moore Oil Company in Milwaukee has its own economic stimulus
plan. President Scott Haag is offering employees $2,000 if they
buy a new car, or $1,000 for a used car. "It's just a gift.
There's no there's no payback," he said. "It's tough out there,
and a little positive news today goes a long way.

"Indeed. That story made it onto the local ABC station's news last
night.What good news story can you pitch? If you're having trouble
identifying it, you can learn all their inside secrets about what
TV stations want. Shawne Duperon was my guest during a
teleseminar on "How to Get on the Local TV News Tomorrow." 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 has been approved.

Read more about how to get your story onto TV at
http://tinyurl.com/4zpuz

Learn three more ideas on how to piggyback your story idea onto
the economy by joining my "Friends of The Publicity Hound"
Facebook group at http://tinyurl.com/bawp2z

In the next day or two, I'll email the group with more ideas on
how to piggyback your story ideas onto the economy.


====================================
2. It's Square Root Day
====================================

Today is Square Root Day, a holiday celebrated on dates where the
day and the month are both the square root of the last two digits
in the current year.

For example, the last square root day was March 3, 2009 (3-3-09),
and the next square root day will be April 4, 2016 (4-4-16). The
final square root day of the century will occur on September 9,
2081 (9-9-81). Square root days fall on the same nine dates each
century.

Ron Gordon, a Redwood City, California high school teacher, first
created the day for 9-9-81. He's the official PR person and sends
press releases to media outlets around the world.

There's even a Facebook group devoted to Square Root Day at
http://tinyurl.com/d7gz39 and it has more than 2,600 members.
Many of them have written wall posts that explain how they're
celebrating.

For all you foodies, one suggested way of celebrating the holiday
is by eating square radishes, or other root vegetables cut into
shapes with square cross sections.

If you think this is silly, check out the mountains of publicity
Square Root Day has received throughout the world:
http://tinyurl.com/ak4hjs

Now quite smirking. Go over to Chase's Calendar of Events at
http://www.Chases.com and create your own holiday, or your own
day, week or month of the year by clicking on "Submit an Entry"
on the left side of the screen. You have until April 15 to submit
an entry for the 2010 printed edition.

Once you've created your day, use it as a springboard to pitch to
the media. When Dan Janal interviewed me about how to pitch, I
explained all the ways sources caught my attention with their
pitches when I worked as a newspaper editor. I shared them all in
the recording "Secrets of Perfect Pitching."

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 pitch the right way at
http://tinyurl.com/s3tyx


===================================
3. 3 Teleseminars to Help You
===================================

--"Media Star Power: How To Become a Celebrity and a Media
Darling All at the Same Time," with Tom Antion and Judy Jernudd.
Judy is a former Los Angeles talk show host who has interviewed
presidents, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Selleck, Tom Cruise, Regis
Philbin, Larry King, Barbara Walters and hundreds of other
superstars. At 9 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, March 5. This is a
paid teleseminar. Register at http://tinyurl.com/ako5x7


--"Best-seller Blueprint--How To Make Your Book An Almost Instant
Best-seller and Sell Tons of Copies Even if You're A Marketing
Novice," with Steve Harrison, Randy Gilbert and Peggy McColl. At
2 or 7 Eastern on Thursday, March 5. Register for this
complimentary call at http://tinyurl.com/ccdbb7


--"How to Create Your own Strong Economy This Year with Online
Information Marketing," with Alexandria Brown, The Ezine Queen,
on Thursday, March 5. Learn 5 ways to recession-proof your
business. Register for this complimentary call at
http://tinyurl.com/bnh627


=====================================
4. The Advantage of Freelancers
=====================================

How many freelance writers have you built relationships with this
past year?

How many freelancers are you trying to court this year?

Publicity Hound Pam Lontos of PR/PR at http://www.prpr.net says
getting to know freelancers has paid off big.

Her company pitched one if its clients, Dr. Kenneth Christian, a
psychologist and author of "Your Own Worst Enemy," to a writer at
Self Magazine a few years ago.

The writer, a freelancer, was going to interview Dr. Christian,
but the magazine decided to kill the story. The writer also wrote
for Parade magazine and decided to write the whole story for
Parade around Dr. Christian's new book. In fact, she needed more
sources so she ended up using another one of PR/PR's clients, Dr.
Pamela Brill, author of "The Winner's Way." The story skyrocketed
the ranking for both authors' books on Amazon.

Dr. Christian's new book jumped from 35,000 to 35. Dr. Brill's
book, which was available pre-sale, jumped to 300 before it was
even released."

Be helpful and give the media more story ideas and resources
than they ask for," Pam says. "You never know which small town
newspaper writer also writes for a major media outlet."

"Special Report #40:42 Publicity Tips for Authors and Small
Publishers" shows you how to target niche markets, position
yourself as an expert and pull the media and others to your
website. Only $10, and you can download it as soon as your order
has been approved. Read more about it at http://tinyurl.com/6uz9g


====================================
5. Ugly Patio Furniture
====================================

This week, four Publicity Hounds have tips for Jill Cranford of
Livermore, Colo., on how to publicize her "Ugly Patio Furniture"competition at http://tinyurl.com/auhj8e


From Tonya:

"I am a huge fan of design, especially green design and I have a
Google reader full of design blogs. I would recommend that Jill
put together a little blurb about the competition along with some
photos of her products, and submit them to different design
blogs. I have a bunch of them in a list if she'd like to email
me, but she can go to Google and type in 'design blog' and she
will find a ton of them."


From Hendry Lee:

"These competitions are all over the place within Twitter. Zappos
has done it successfully, as well as solopreneurs.

"Nothing allows you to interact with your target market more
directly than Twitter. With the power of retweets, your info
can go viral. Not to mention that it makes a good case study for
many bloggers to write about, increasing your publicity even
more."


The Publicity Hound says:

I love those ideas. Twitter expert Warren Whitlock shows you "How
to Use Twitter to Amass an Army of Followers, Customers &
Valuable Contacts--and Promote." My teleseminar series with him
is 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 all the ways you can use Twitter at
http://tinyurl.com/3lbcaw


Read all the responses to this week's Help This Hound question
http://tinyurl.com/apbzws

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


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

Colleen Schmid of Heathrow, Fla. writes:

"I've recently started a new business teaching families how to
start going green in their homes. I go through their homes and,
room by room, show them what things they can be doing to save on
power and water bills as well as removing toxins. I will also
begin showing small businesses how to do the same.

"Earth Day is on April 22, and I'm trying to come up with a big
idea to get media attention for my business. It's so critical
that we all become aware of what we're are doing to harm our
environment, waste precious resources and pollute. It's also
important to show people how living green saves them money and
takes care of our Earth.

"Can your Hounds thing of some powerful ways for me to tie my
business into Earth Day for some publicity?" Her website is at
http://green-colleen.com


The Publicity Hound says:

Some media people say they're suspicious about green pitches
which seem to be everywhere. So my Hounds need to come up with
some really clever angles for you, Colleen. Hounds with tips for
Colleen can post them to my blog at http://tinyurl.com/besbzg


==================================
7. Hound Quote of the Week
==================================

The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.- Andy Rooney.


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...
===================================

Hiring a VA to book speaking gigs sends a bad message
http://tinyurl.com/akmxfv


---------------------------------------

WHERE TO SEE AND HEAR THE PUBLICITY HOUND:

March 6-8--Atlanta, Ga.
I'll be at the Stompernet Live 7 event. If you're going, let's
meet for coffee.


March 16--Teleseminar on Internet Marketing

I'll be Marilee Tolen's guest from 8 to 9 p.m. Eastern Time for
her teleseminar series "Introduction to Internet Marketing" for
nurses, healers, coaches and holistic professional solopreneurs.
If this is your niche, and you're tired of running after the next
client, this is the training session for you. It starts Feb. 23.
Learn more at http://tinyurl.com/dl3xhm


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,
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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

Publicity tips/Grand Slam Giveaway Feb 17, 2009

The Publicity Hound's
Tips of the Week
Issue #438 Feb. 17, 2009
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)

Circulation: 42,573

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

"Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity"

Receive this ezine direct to your desktop
http://www.publicityhound.com/tipsoftheweek/

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

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.

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

Complete My Survey, Get a $30 Coupon & Chance to Win a
Kindle:

I'll be sending 500 readers of this newsletter, chosen randomly,
my customer satisfaction survey as soon as it's ready later this
week. If you complete it, you'll get a $30 coupon good for any
products or services I sell, and your name will be entered in a
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The first batch of 500 surveys will help me identify any glitches
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================================
In This Issue
================================

1. Grand Slam Giveaway

2. Don't Ask to Review an Article

3. How to Recycle Publicity

4. 2 Events for Hounds

5. Promoting a Farmer's Market

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Joke of the Week

8. And at My Blog...


========================================
1. Grand Slam Giveaway
========================================

Call it what you want--a handout, a sample, a giveaway.

When the economy is tanking, consumers want a good deal. That's
exactly what Denny's restaurant delivered two days after the
Super Bowl when it gave away 2 million of its signature Grand
Slam Breakfasts.

Denny's reported that its $3 million commercial drew that many
people to its 1,600 outlets in North America and Puerto Rico. The
company spent $5 million for the promotion that generated $50
million in news coverage.

"A lot of people have forgotten what Denny's is, or they think
they know, while we've come out with a whole lot of new products.
We felt like we needed to jump start the brand," said Mark
Chmiel, Denny's chief marketing and innovation officer.

Mitchell Davis, who owns Expertclick.com and
NewsReleaseWire.com, loved the Denny's promotion.
If it could work for people who needto eat breakfast,
why can't it work for Publicity Hounds who need to
write press releases, he reasoned.

Mitch wants you to "taste his service" and send news releases
this week without cost or obligation.

"I got the idea after seeing Denny's give out 2 million Grand
Slam breakfasts and thought more people should see how good our
News Release Wire service works--and understand our
commitment to customer service," he said.

So here's the deal. For one week, you can test-drive his service
by sending press releases and creating a Press Room Page about
your business. Watch his video about how it all works at
http://www.ExpertClick.com/brochure

I subscribe to the service, which helps me claim the first three
spots on Google for the keyword phrase "publicity expert" and
drives my competitors crazy.

Don't expect those kinds of results within one week, however,
because Google probably won't index your pages that quickly. But
if you call Mitch at 202-333-5000 and ask him for The Publicity
Hound special, he'll set it up for you so you can see how the
service works--with no commitments to subscribe. I love the fact
that they answer their own phones and jump through hoops for
their customers--like the time I spotted a heinous typo after I
posted my release. I called them, and they corrected it within
minutes.

If you don't want to call Mitch, you can create the test-drive
yourself at https://www.ExpertClick.com/create

Choose the Gold Level at $995. Then scroll down and complete
the "Participant" information (who the account will be about)
and the "Subscriber" info (for the person in charge of the
account).

Check the credit card box but don't enter your number because you
aren't paying for this.

In the "Special Offer" box enter:"F*ree Week from Publicity
Hound." Then click on "Create Your Press Room Page" and you'll
be able to edit instantly. Once they approve your account, you'll
be able to start sending press releases instantly. Their standard
editorial policies at http://www.TermsandConditions.com apply, so
be sure to read them.

Try it for a week and let me know how you like it.


==============================================
2. Don't Ask to Review an Article
==============================================

Publicity Hound Gail Sideman saw a Twitter post that caught her
attention recently.

It was from someone who said that Inc. magazine was doing a
feature on him until he asked the magazine to let him review the
article for his final approval.

"Was I wrong to ask? Yes or no?"

She replied and told the guy he was wrong. That led to a spirited
debate on Twitter. So she emailed me and several others in the
journalism world and asked our opinions.

Here's what I told her:

--You were right. He was wrong. By asking that question, he
showed he wasn't media-savvy, and it sounds as though it cost him
publicity in Inc. magazine.

--He certainly could have asked the writer, "Would you be willing
to run by me any direct quotes you are attributing to me?" Some
journalists will say yes, some will say no. It never hurts to ask
because some journalists will want to make sure their quotes are
accurate. But the deal is, if you hear the quote and you know you
said it, but you don't like the sound of it, you can't ask the
writer to change it. That's one of the ground rules they never
teach you.

--He could also have asked if the magazine will fact-check the
story. Inc. most likely has its own fact-check department and
would do this anyway. But again, it never hurts to ask.


Bottom line: Never ask a journalist to show you a story before
it's printed so you can "approve" it. For sensitive interviews,
you can negotiate the terms of the interview, but little else.

I devoted an entire chapter of my ebook "How to be a Kick-butt
Publicity Hound" to what you should do before, during and after
an interview. These are the ground rules the media never tell you
about and hope you never learn. The ebook is the most
comprehensive product I offer on all aspects of generating free
publicity. The 2009 update includes six new chapters on social
media.

Read more about what you'll learn at
http://www.publicityhound.com/publicity/publicityhound.htm


========================================
3. How to Recycle Publicity
========================================

When you generate a publicity hit in a newspaper or magazine, on
a TV or radio station, or in the social media, don't be
satisfied.

Try to recycle that hit into multiple hits, or multiple
promotions.

I'm one of three experts featured in the January/February issue
of SUCCESS magazine, offering my advice on how to promote
online.
You can read more about it at my blog at
http://tinyurl.com/bg33ml

Here are six ways I've already recycled that publicity:

--I tweeted about it at Twitter.

--I included some of the tips that didn't make it into the
magazine in the "What's New" section of my Facebook group
called Friends of The Publicity Hound. If you already have a Facebook
profile, join the group by logging into Facebook, then pasting
this link into your browser and join: http://tinyurl.com/d2h8gk
I'll be sharing more tips over there and I might not always
remember to share them here.

--I went to the blog of Joel Comm, who was featured along with me
in the article. I posted a comment to an unrelated blog post and
then mentioned in a "P.S." how interesting it was to read his
advice alongside mine in SUCCESS.

--Ditto for Scott Fox, the other Internet marketer featured in
the article.

--I added a line to my email signature that lets people know I
was in the magazine, and I linked to the article.

--I'm writing about it here.

That's only six ways! And I know you Hounds can think of many
others. Add them to my blog at http://tinyurl.com/bg33ml

Recycling publicity is an important part of a media plan because
you must follow up, follow up and follow up. I explain in step-
by-step detail how to create a yearlong plan, follow up, and take
advantage of every publicity opportunity in front of you. The
teleseminar series "How to Create a Media Plan" is available as
CDs, MP3s and electronic transcripts. Read more about why you
need a plan and how to create one at
http://www.publicityhound.com/mediaplan.htm


==========================================
4. 2 Events for Hounds
==========================================

Event #1: Teleseminar on how to start a coaching program

Do you offer coaching services? If not, consider it.

Coaching is one of the quickest ways almost any non-fiction
author or anyone with expertise can make more while also helping
a lot of people. For example, I have three types of coaching
programs: one-on-one coaching over the phone, my group mentor
program at
http://www.publicityhound.com/mentorprogram/intro.html
and teleseminar series devoted to specific topics.

You'll be surprised how much others will gladly pay for what you
know, even though you take it for granted.

To discover how to get started offering coaching services, you're
invited to a free telephone seminar on Thursday, February 19.
Hear Steve Harrison interview Tim Paulson, an author, speaker and
coaching expert who's helped many people start thriving coaching
practices. You'll learn how to get others to pay you from $100 to
$1,000 an hour, or more, for your expertise.

Register for the call at
http://www.CoachingTrainingTeleseminar.com/?10011

If you have another commitment, register anyway and recruit
somebody to take notes for you. Steve doesn't record most of
these teleseminars and if you miss it, it's gone.


Event #2: Media event for products tied to celebrities or good
causes.

If you have a consumer product that's tied to a celebrity or a
good cause, consider displaying it at the annual Celebrity
Connections Media Event and the Good Causes Media Event, to be
held April 1 in New York City.

Journalists are always looking for a great angle when it comes to
covering new products, and many journalists are looking for
products with either a celebrity connection or products that help
worthy causes. The events draw an impressive list of top-tier
media.

Read more about them at my blog at http://tinyurl.com/awdwlx


==========================================
5. Promoting a Farmer's Market
==========================================

This week, 12 Publicity Hounds have tips for Rose Strong of
Springtown, Pa. on how to publicize a local farmer's market.


From LisaMarie Dias:

"Send an online newsletter through a company like Constant
Contact. You could profile the vendors, post a calendar and
include recipes. If you send the newsletter out monthly, you
could do weekly reminders in a smaller form--with links back to
your website. You could have prizes and giveaways to gather email
addresses."


From Michael Carr:

"Invite local chefs to create an ongoing set of promotional
opportunities. Book your chefs in advance and publicize their
participation. Your chefs can shop the market to select fresh
produce to use in their demonstrations. Customers will appreciate
sampling what the chef has made as well as learning about using
fresh seasonal ingredients at home."


From Tara Bright:

"Kick off your season with a Raw Food Uncook-off. Host a Green
Foodie Contest. Join forces or initiate a "Buy Local, Live
Sustainable" group. Host weekly potlucks on a day you are closed.

"Why not set aside a space where children can start seeds while
their parents shop? They will need to come back every week to
check the progress and water their little sprouts. Also, do a
comparison shopping trip at a local chain grocer. If your cart
ends up costing less at the farmer's market, publicize it."


The Publicity Hound says:

Team up with local artists, musicians and other entertainers. One
week, feature an art show and let the artists manage it. The
next week, how about a bluegrass band? The following week,
feature arts and crafts vendors. All would provide one more
reason to shop the farmer's market.

The teleseminar I hosted on "Publicity Tips for Restaurants,
Chefs & Foodies" offers 51 ideas you can use for almost any food-
related story. The recording is available as a CD or electronic
transcript that you can download as soon as your order has been
approved. Each includes a downloadable list of all 51 ideas.

Read more about how to generate food publicity at
http://tinyurl.com/clr26


Read all the responses to this week's Help This Hound question at
http://tinyurl.com/bayg2c

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


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

Lori Feldman of St. Louis, Mo. writes:

"My client is a home and garden show that's produced in four
cities--Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Indianapolis and Portland from
late February through early March.

"We're launching a social media plan for this company that has
done nothing but traditional advertising for the last 50 years!
Last year was the first time they even attempted to collect email
addresses from attendees, so we have a list of 20,000 we can use.

"As you can imagine, ad costs significantly increase each year
with significantly declining ROI. So the challenge was to find
alternative media to combat the ineffectiveness of old media.
They also face these hurdles: Home starts and real estate are way
down. Young people have not supported these live shows (but this
could be due to a lack of an online presence). All marketing is
local--you're not going to jump on a plane to attend.

"Because time is short, I'd like to get as many suggestions from
your readers as possible to consider every option to increase
traffic. The pre-show promotions site is
http://www.ImproveYourHomeAndGarden.com We'll be press
releasing, tweeting, and social networking between now and show day.
I can do a shopping spree contest winner. Thoughts?"


The Publicity Hound says:

You--and my Hounds--are up against a tough deadline. But that's
when my Hounds are most creative! I know a lot of them publicize
events, so they'll post their best ideas to my blog at
http://tinyurl.com/atm843

Don't have time to wait to hear their ideas? "How to Plan &
Promote Sizzling Special Events" will give you hundreds of ideas.
Read more about what you'll learn at
http://publicityhound.com/publicity/promote.html


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

Thanks to Publicity Hound Kerry Hargraves of Oakland, Calif. for
this one:

Little Harold was practicing the violin in the living room while
his father was trying to read in the den.

The family dog was lying in the den, and as the screeching sounds
of little Harold's violin reached the dog's ears, it began to
howl loudly. The father listened to the dog and the violin as
long as he could. Then he jumped up, slammed his paper to the
floor and yelled above the noise, "For Pete's sake, can't you
play something the dog doesn't know?"


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...
===================================

Online promotion tips in Jan/Feb issue of SUCCESS magazine
http://tinyurl.com/bg33ml


The Number One mistake of online press releases
http://tinyurl.com/d86hxx


Media event to feature products tied to celebs, good causes
http://tinyurl.com/awdwlx


---------------------------------------

WHERE TO SEE AND HEAR THE PUBLICITY HOUND:


March 6-8--Atlanta, Ga.

I'll be at the Stompernet Live 7 event. If you're going, let's
meet for coffee.


March 16--Teleseminar on Internet Marketing

I'll be Marilee Tolen's guest from 8 to 9 p.m. Eastern Time for
her teleseminar series "Introduction to Internet Marketing" for
nurses, healers, coaches and holistic professional solopreneurs.
If this is your niche, and you're tired of running after the next
client, this is the training session for you. It starts Feb. 23.
Learn more at http://tinyurl.com/dl3xhm


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

Publicity tips/Put Your Pet in the White House Jan 20, 2009

The Publicity Hound's
Tips of the Week
Issue #434 Jan. 20, 2009
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)

Circulation: 43,628

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

"Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity"

Receive this ezine direct to your desktop
http://www.publicityhound.com/tipsoftheweek/

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

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.


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

1. Put Your Pet in the White House

2. The Real Power of Your Press Release

3. Formula Five is Live

4. Still Not Blogging?

5. Promoting Sensitivity Training

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Video of the Week

8. And at My Blog...


===================================
1. Put Your Pet in the White House
===================================

When the party's over tonight, you just know that Malia and Sasha
will start pestering mom and dad for that puppy.

How about giving the First Family a taste of what the White House
will look like if they choose a pet just like yours? Heck, let's
make your pet the Official Obama Pet--right now!

Head over to Pawfun.com, a new custom photo T-shirt site for pet
lovers and participate in the Obama spoof that lets you super-
impose a photo of your pet, and then send it as an e-card.

That's what I did this morning. You can see Bogie, my German
Shorthaired Pointer, peeking out from under the president's
outstretched arm, to the left of the photo, at
http://www.pawfun.com/ecards/?c=210

While you're at the site, how about ordering a T-shirt that shows
your pet with its new owners?

Talk about perfect timing. Social media expert BL Ochman and her
partner, Caimin Jones, launched the site late Saturday night.
Since then, eager pet lovers have sent the e-cards more than
4,500 times.

Create your own card at http://www.pawfun.com/promo/

"While there's no shortage of T-shirt sites, our goal is to make
ours more fun than the rest," BL said. "And we've picked a niche
we'll go deep into instead of trying to be all things to all
people. That's because the Internet, and increasingly the world,
is a niche-or-be-niched place these days."

She and her partner will be using all the social media tools on
Pawfun.com that they're always trying to get their Fortune 500
clients to try--but now they're the client.

What an incredibly clever tie-in to today's world event. BL
always keeps me posted on what she's doing, and I'll share her
success stories with social networking, and anybody else's, here.
(Hint: Send me your success stories.)

BL, by the way, presented a content-rich teleseminar a few months
ago on "How to do Social Networking, Run a Business & Still Have
a Life." If you follow her on Twitter at @whatsnext, you'd swear
she spends all her waking hours tweeting. But launching a
business eats up hours upon hours, so BL has had to create
shortcuts for keeping Twitter and the other social networking
sites in which she participates within her control--so they don't
control her.

You can order the electronic transcript or MP3 audio of our
teleseminar and download them as soon as your order has been
approved, or you can choose the CD. Read more about how to save
time and your sanity during social networking at
http://tinyurl.com/a6guxq


=======================================
2. The Real Power of Your Press Release
=======================================

How much power do you really have to promote your product,
service, cause or issue with the lowly press release?


If you're hoping to generate a major story in the traditional
media, not much. That's because journalists despise them and
delete nine out of 10 press releases. A big story usually
requires a customized pitch, not a one-size-fits-all press
release.

If you're hoping to catch the attention of bloggers, consumers
and those on the social media landscape, quite a bit. But only if
you throw most of the old press release writing rules out the
window.

For example, in the old days, we absolutely could NOT write a
press release that smacked of promotion or it would repel
journalists. Today, however, smart Publicity Hounds use the press
release to give away information and tips, and then link to what
they're promoting at their websites--not with just one link high
in the release but with several links throughout.

That tactic means you can completely bypass traditional media and
go straight to the decision-makers who will find your release, if
you've written it correctly, when Googling.

If you're new to releases, or you've been writing them for years,
sign up for my free email tutorial "89 Ways to Write Powerful
Press Releases." It's an intensive 12-week course delivered by
email. Stick with it right to end and it will be like you've
earned a master's degree in writing and distributing releases.
You'll know more about the topic than most professional PR
people.

I'm honored that the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary under the
Department of Homeland Security is using the course to train its
communications officers at the grassroots level through an online
training site. Deputy Chief Tom Nunes of the Public Affairs
Department says they're even creating quizzes for students as
part of the course. Cool!

Haven't taken the tutorial yet? Sign up at
http://tinyurl.com/pressreleasetutorial or buy the entire course
in a handy ebook for only $27. You can read the long, long list
of glowing testimonials from happy Hounds who loved it and are
already generating fabulous publicity as a result.


========================================
3. Formula Five is Live
========================================

For the last several weeks, I've been raving about "Formula
Five," the business building program that's perfect for any
business, regardless of what you're selling.

Now, the wait is over.

The shopping cart opened yesterday for "Formula Five." It was
created by Paul Lemberg, who shared dozens of take-away tips
during the teleseminar with him that I hosted for several hundred
Publicity Hounds on Jan. 8.

You can pick up your copy of Formula Five here:
http://tinyurl.com/PaulLembergFormulaFive

Because the package includes ongoing support, there are limited
spots in the program.

Business owners just like you have already earned tens of
thousands of dollars only using 1/20th of Formula Five. Today,
you can be one of the first to get the whole enchilada so you
can start doubling your business this year.

Even if Formula Five isn't within your budget right now, at
least check out the package of videos on the page, take good
notes and start tweaking your business to make more money
starting today.


P.S. This is a no-brainer. Just hope your competitors haven't
heard about it.


=======================================
4. Still Not Blogging?
=======================================

Attention bloggers, or those who are just creating a blog.

Learn proven tips on how to drive thousands more visitors to your
blog, sell your products and services there, and write compelling
posts that build a loyal customer following and position you as
an expert.

Here's the best part. You don't have to be a techie.

Join me as I interview Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff, aka The
Blog Squad, during a free teleseminar called "Boost Your Biz with
a Blog" from 4 to 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, Jan. 26.
Register at http://www.blogsquadteleseminars.com/joan/


==========================================
5. Promoting Sensitivity Training
==========================================

This week, five Publicity Hounds have tips for Pegine Echevarria
of Jacksonville, FL, who is launching a licensed training program
called "White Guys Are Diverse Too!" She is looking for ideas to
capture the interest of corporate and government chief diversity
officers.


From Candy Tutt:

"In all honesty, I would recommend changing the title of the
project. While it is catchy, it will be perceived as separatist
and off-putting to many people. Our society still tends to tip
the scales in favor of "white guys" and the program title
perpetuates a feeling of cultural superiority.

"If, in your experience white guys tend to walk out of D&I
programs thinking they are excluded and not valued for the unique
individualized impact that they bring, perhaps the D&I sessions
are not geared to reaching the very people at whom they are
aimed."


From Kevin Gaydosh:

"Constant portrayals by the news media and popular culture as
Walter Kowalskis or Archie Bunkers displays a prejudice--yes,
prejudice--that is perhaps the biggest fear/largest turn-off that
the target audience has with much diversity training.

"Also, I'm not in HR, but an earlier Hound might be correct in
suggesting a name change. While an arresting, attention-getting
and (to some) a cute/funny title, it's doubtful that many Fortune
500 companies are going to post that seminar up on their Intranet
or in the employee break rooms precisely because of the title.

"Perhaps it would be best if you pitched your program under a new
(PC) moniker but touted it as being better than the competition
because you do pay particular attention to this often
'overlooked, under appreciated' group."


From Dal Jeanis:

"You might want to contact companies, especially minority-owned
companies, that do diversity (or cultural sensitivity) training.
Provide each company with two f~ree copies of your book. If they
add your book in as, say, one-third of a course, then you're
golden.

"One current events hook you can use to promote your mix is the
following: With Obama's success, pre-existing diversity programs
are going to need major retooling. Are they needed at all?
Diversity trainers say yes, some pundits say no, and Pegine
Echevarria says no, but they need to address all the
consistencies of diversity."


The Publicity Hound says:

Pegine, how about going over to LinkedIn and using the question
and answer feature to generate some additional feedback and
exposure for your training? I wouldn't post the identical
question you asked in Help This Hound, but there are lots of
other things you could ask about.

Scott Allen, a LinkedIn expert, says the Q&A feature is a
fabulous way collect information and let the world know what
you're doing. But you have to use it correctly. He explained how
during the teleseminar I hosted with him on "How to Use LinkedIn
to Promote Anything--Ethically & Powerfully."

It's available as electronic transcripts and your choice of MP3
audios or CDs. Read more about what you'll learn at
http://tinyurl.com/5zvzyd


Read all the responses to this week's Help This Hound question
at http://tinyurl.com/829jv3

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


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

Beth Stafford of Concord, N.C. writes:

"I am an artist working in collaboration with my dog to produce
some of the wildest, most colorful and joyous abstract art
around.

"Our label is 'PiCassieO,' combining her name (Cassie) with an
artist name (obviously) who represents the human half of the team
(me). We have a store at CafePress which opened in July. It is
so far non-profit, even though the merchandise is really great!

"I have been attempting to promote it on my own website and
through our blog, but am spending too much time on nonproductive
promotion and not enough on the art. I need a few quick, simple
tips to get the ball rolling.

"Warning: My budget is 'thread' instead of 'shoestring,' and I'm
a disaster at social networking on the web. Help!"


The Publicity Hound says:

To quote BL Ochman, mentioned in item Number One above, the
social networking train has already left the station. If you're
not onboard now, you'll get eaten alive by your competitors who
are. I highly suggest you read the transcript or listen to the
audio recording of the teleseminar I conducted with BL on "How to
do Social Networking, Run a Business & Still Have a Life" at
http://tinyurl.com/a6guxq

But that's not all you can do. Hounds with great ideas for Beth
can post them to my blog at http://tinyurl.com/7jqucq


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

Save this video to watch on one of those Days from Hell when you
need a pick-me-up or something to make you smile.

It's a CBS report from a few weeks ago on the Animal Odd Couple--
an 8,700-pound elephant named Tarra and her best friend, Bella
the dog.

http://tinyurl.com/8v2bza

Thanks to Publicity Hound Kim Condrin for sending 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/


===================================
8. And at My Blog...
===================================

Let's meet at Stompernet event March 5-8 in Atlanta
http://tinyurl.com/94vmvn


How Twitter can help you fix your toilet
http://tinyurl.com/8lcjvt


--------------------------------------

WHERE TO SEE AND HEAR THE PUBLICITY HOUND:



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 to 2:45 Eastern Time on Wednesday,
Jan. 21. Sorry, but registration is closed. You'll have to wait
until Ariane Goodwin offers the training as a product.


Monday, Jan. 26--Teleseminar

"Boost Your Biz with a Blog," from 4 to 5 p.m. Eastern on Monday,
Jan. 26. Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff, aka The Blog Squad,
will explain how to draw more traffic and boost more sales from a
blog. You'll also learn about the biggest mistakes bloggers make
and how they sabotage their own success. Register at
http://www.blogsquadteleseminars.com/joan/


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

Publicity tips/It's Not About You Jan 14, 2009

The Publicity Hound's
Tips of the Week
Issue #433 Jan. 14, 2009
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)

Circulation: 43,767

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

"Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity"

Receive this ezine direct to your desktop
http://www.publicityhound.com/tipsoftheweek/

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

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.

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

Teleseminar: Build a Better Blog

Attention bloggers, or those who are just creating a blog. Learn
proven tips on how to drive thousands more visitors to your blog,
sell your products and services there, and write compelling posts
that build a loyal customer following and position you as an expert.

Here's the best part. You don't have to be a techie. Join me as I
interview Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff, aka The Blog Squad,
during a free teleseminar called "Boost Your Biz with a Blog"
from 4 to 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, Jan. 26. Register at
http://www.blogsquadteleseminars.com/joan/

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

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

1. It's Not About You

2. The Power of Surveys

3. Sell Books by the Truckload

4. Create Your Own Holiday

5. Promoting a Book on Marriage

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Quote of the Week

8. And at My Blog...


===================================
1. It's Not About You
===================================

Trusting the wrong doctor almost killed motivational speaker
Edward Leigh of Cleveland, Ohio.

In 1997, at age 39, Edward started having abdominal pains. His
doctor prescribed Pepto-Bismol. The doctor then performed a
sigmoidoscopy, which came back normal.

During the next two and a half years, his condition worsened and
included nausea, dizziness and rectal bleeding. His doctor
recommended that Edward continue with over-the-counter
medication.

When his symptoms became so severe that he collapsed on the
bathroom floor, he sought help from another doctor who ordered a
colonoscopy. The diagnosis: Stage III Colon Cancer.

The initial test he had, a sigmoidoscopy, is a partial colon exam
that views only the left portion of the colon. The complete colon
exam, the colonoscopy, found his right-sided tumor.

After his surgery and chemotherapy, Edward joined the Colon
Cancer Alliance and later joined a colon cancer listserv via the
Association of Cancer Online Resources.

In March 2000, when "Today" show host Katie Couric was creating
her series called "Confronting Colon Cancer" following the death of
her husband from that disease, Katie's producer contacted the
Colon Cancer Alliance seeking people who had been diagnosed
and survived.

Edward stepped forward.

"The producer interviewed me, checked back with Katie who was
the decision maker, and she said 'Bring him to New York.' A week
later, we did the taping and I was part of Katie's week-long series
that won a Peabody Award."

From there, the publicity snowballed to include:

--An appearance on "Mystery Diagnosis" on the Discovery Health
Channel which is now being repeated on the Learning Channel.

--An interview with Montel Williams in March last year. You can see
it at http://tinyurl.com/9xsvy3

--Numerous requests for speaking engagements and consulting for
the health care industry. Today, Edward teaches doctors how to
communicate better with their patients. He also helps patients
become their own health care advocates.

He said he uses many of the tips he reads in this newsletter to
pitch media large and small. Even though he has a compelling
story to tell, he follows his own advice when pitching.

"Don't be focused on your own agenda. You have to be focused on
your topic and the media outlet's audience when you're talking to a
producer. It's not all about you. If you make it all about you, that's a
death sentence as far as the media is concerned."

Ditto when the cameras are rolling. TV talk show host Connie
Dieken, who also hails from Cleveland, says that if you're bombing
on the air, producers will cut the interview short and hustle you out
of the studio--pronto--before you can do any more damage.

But why take that chance?

Know exactly how to endear yourself to the host and the producers
and get invited back. Connie explained how when she was my
guest during a teleseminar on "How to be a TV Talk Show Host's
Dream Date." 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/3z7ut

Edward, by the way, says he'll be glad to answer colon questions
from Publicity Hounds if you contact him at
mailto:Edward@EdwardLeigh.com


===================================
2. The Power of Surveys
===================================

If knowledge is power, then surveys are like a giant jackhammer in
your marketing toolbox.

You can take a fun, controversial or timely survey and report results
to the media and to consumers.

Or, you can do what I'm doing and survey your customers to see
what else they need from you that you're not currently providing.
That survey should be ready for you in a few weeks, and I'll even
reward you with some cool stuff to encourage you to complete it.

Business consultant Paul Lemberg says too many business
owners are obsessed with chasing down new leads when they
should be spending some of that time also figuring out how to sell
more products and services to their existing customers. That's one
of his five formulas for any business that wants to double its
business this year: sell more stuff to the same people.

During last week's teleseminar on "5 Ways to Double Your
Business in 2009," Paul explained that you don't need an elaborate
survey like the one I'm creating. Instead, one phone call to just one
customer can result in valuable information that can lead to new
products and services.

In fact, he suggests just one short question and he tells you
exactly how to word it. About 200 people joined us on last week's
call and heard Paul's other valuable advice on how to raise prices in
a meltdown economy, one task to do at the beginning of every day
that will make your business soar, and a really clever way to reward
your customers for bringing you new leads, without breaking the
bank.

You can read more about his tips and listen to the replay at my
blog at http://tinyurl.com/9fzrq9

Paul's Formula Five series of videos and checklists will be available
soon from Stompernet at http://tinyurl.com/a6j4pw where you'll find
an entire series of videos on this program, and dozens of take-away
tips you can start using today.


========================================
3. Sell Books by the Truckload
========================================

Too many authors try to sell books the hard way. They look for
10,000 customers so they can sell 10,000 books.

It's sometimes a lot easier to sell all those books--or even 100,000
books--to only one customer.

How? By searching for companies that typically buy books in mass
quantity and give them away as free "premium incentives" to
encourage people to buy their products. Many of these same
companies:

--Give away the books as thank-you gifts to people who buy other
products and services.

--Use the book to thank members or subscribers who renew.

--Rely on the book to help train their employees.

Matthew Bennett has used this simple strategy as an unknown,
self-published author to sell more than 5 million books.

He has written books on health, pets, fitness and inspiration and
then sold them in quantity to companies like Disney, Reebok,
NBC, Abbot Labs, Pfizer, US Healthplans and Subway.

Steve Harrison is hosting a free one-hour teleseminar with Matthew
on Thursday, Jan. 15, at your choice of two times. If you cannot
make either call, find someone who can listen and take notes for
you.

Matthew will share his tips on how he sold more than 80,000
copies of an inspirational book in just one phone conversation.
He'll also explain how you can tie in with major charities like the
March of Dimes and the American Heart Association to sell
truckloads of books and raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for
charity. You'll also learn the three things you absolutely must arm
yourself with before ever pitching your book.

Like most free teleseminars, Steve is hoping that after you listen to
the call, you'll buy their consulting services to learn how to do this
in detail. So just sit back, relax and listen.

Click here to continue reading about what you'll learn and to sign
up: http://www.freepublicity.com/mattbennett/?10011


=======================================
4. Create Your Own Holiday
=======================================

If you haven't created your own holiday, or your own day, week or
month of the year, you're missing out on the chance to generate
tons of print, broadcast and online publicity.

Take a look at some of the cool holidays that members of the
National Speakers Association have created. I found this list in the
current issue of NSA's Speaker magazine:

--Steve Hughes created "Be Kind to Lawyers Day" the second
Tuesday in April.

--Laura Stack created "National Leave the Office Earlier Day" on
June 2 to promote her book, Leave the Office Earlier. It coincides
with her birthday. Problem is, so many media outlets want to
interview her that she ends up working 12 hours on her birthday just
to accommodate them all.

--Publicity Hound Michelle Nichols created a wildly successful
nationwide campaign to promote National Hug Your Kids Day, the
third Monday in July. She convinced Clear Channel Outdoor to
donate 135 digital billboards, eight Gannett newspapers to run
"Citymoms.com" contests, and three Major League baseball teams
to announce it on their Jumbotrons.

--Publicity Hound Carol Copeland has christened June as Student
Safety Month.

--Marilee Driscoll has designated October Long-Term Care Planning
Month.


What are you waiting for? Now, it's your turn.

If you're on LinkedIn, you can use that popular social networking
site to actually promote your holiday, just like Michelle Nichols did.
Scott Allen, an expert on LinkedIn, critiqued Michelle's LinkedIn
campaign and made several suggestions which she used.
They resulted in instant feedback from the LinkedIn community
within only 48 hours.

Scott explained her campaign when he was my guest during a
teleseminar on "How to Use LinkedIn to Promote Anything--
Ethically & Powerfully." It's available as electronic transcripts and
your choice of MP3s or CDs. Read more about how to launch a
publicity campaign on the world's largest business networking site
at http://tinyurl.com/5zvzyd


==========================================
5. Promoting a Book on Marriage
==========================================

This week, 11 Publicity Hounds have tips for Sheryl P. Kurland of
Orlando, FL, author of Everlasting Matrimony: Pearls of Wisdom
from Couples Married 50 Years or More. She needs new ideas to
stimulate sales of the book in time for Valentine's Day.


From Lisa Lockwood:

"Announce your book in a press release on PR Web. I'm self-
published and landed a spot on The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch
just by announcing that I was launching my book tour."


From Cheryl Pickett:

"I suggest you check out the book The Daughter-in-Law Rules at
http://www.thedilrules.com. Author Sally Shields lists some of the
publicity success she's had with her self-published book, and you
share a similar audience. I also know she'd be willing to share more
help if you contacted her."


From Bonnie Lowe:

"Can you jump on the 'bad economy' bandwagon? Are there any
stories in your book that might show readers how to be romantic
without spending much money? Could you do a press release on
'How to spend less on your Valentine without looking cheap' or
something like that, and tie it into your book?"


The Publicity Hound says:

Sheryl, if you could round up a few couples who would be willing to
be interviewed, this would make a great segment for National Public
Radio. Go to the NPR site at http://www.npr.org and use the search
box at the top of the screen to search for words like "marriage" and
"matrimony" and see what you find. You can listen to many of the
shows in the archives before you pitch the producers.

But before you do, follow Lissa Warren's tips on how to navigate the
NPR labyrinth because it can get confusing. Lissa, a book
publicist, has successfully pitched dozens of her clients to NPR,
and she shared all her secrets during a teleseminar I conducted
with her on "How to Get Booked on National Public Radio."

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 need to get onto NPR at
http://tinyurl.com/ayms6

Read all the responses to this week's Help This Hound question
http://tinyurl.com/832mpk

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


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

Pegine Echevarria of Jacksonville, Fla. writes:

"I am launching a licensed training program called 'White Guys Are
Diverse Too!'

"I want to capture the interest of corporate and government chief
diversity offers, chief learning officers and senior leadership of large
corporations who can purchase this program to spread the word to
their employees.

"The topic is controversial. In large organizations, Diversity and
Inclusion (D&I) programs are part of everyone's training.
However, white guys tend to walk out of D&I programs thinking they
are excluded and not valued for the unique individualized impact
that they bring.

"'White Guys Are Diverse Too!' celebrates the diversity among white
guys, the value they bring to their organizations and teams along
with how managers can engage, motivate and inspire their white
male team members.

"I need ideas, help to get the word out that 'White Guys are Diverse
Too!' The website at http://www.WhiteGuysAreDiverse.com
offers a no-obligation special report. Can you give me some no
cost/low cost ideas?


P.S. I've spent my life savings on this product. It has to reach the
masses.


The Publicity Hound says:

See the fabulous movie "Gran Torino" in which Clint Eastwood
plays the racist Walt Kowalski, a tough, gruff, crotchety old man
who hates everybody who isn't white--or at least thinks he does.

Start writing press releases and articles and using the social
networking sites to write about "What Would Walt Kowalski Do?"
and then tie it into your training. Piggybacking off celebrities and
red-hot movies (this one is a contender for several Oscars) is a
fabulous way to pull in traffic from the search engines.

My "Special Report #50: How to Piggyback onto Celebrity News to
Promote Your Product, Service, Cause or Issue" gives you lots
more ideas. Only $10. Order at http://tinyurl.com/gy6bd


Hounds with other ideas for Pegine can post them to my blog at
http://tinyurl.com/829jv3


==================================
7. Hound Quote of the Week
==================================

"I know that dogs are pack animals, but it is difficult to imagine a
pack of standard poodles...and if there was such a thing as a pack
of standard poodles, where would they rove to?
Bloomingdale's?

--Yvonne Clifford, American actress


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...
===================================

Why lowering your prices can ruin your business
http://tinyurl.com/9fzrq9


--------------------------------------

WHERE TO SEE AND HEAR THE PUBLICITY HOUND:


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 to 2:45 Eastern Time on Wednesday, Jan. 21.
Register for the telesummit at http://tinyurl.com/5axy3x


Monday, Jan. 26--Teleseminar

"Boost Your Biz with a Blog," from 4 to 5 p.m. Eastern on Monday,
Jan. 26. Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff, aka The Blog Squad,
will explain how to draw more traffic and boost more sales from a
blog. You'll also learn about the biggest mistakes bloggers make
and how they sabotage their own success. Register at
http://www.blogsquadteleseminars.com/joan/


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

Publicity tips/Twitter Leads to TV Publicity Dec 30, 2008

The Publicity Hound's
Tips of the Week
Issue #431 Dec. 30, 2008
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)

Circulation: 44,446

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

"Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity"

Receive this ezine direct to your desktop
http://www.publicityhound.com/tipsoftheweek/

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

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.

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

Did You Download My Holiday Gift to You?

More than 2,500 Publicity Hounds have already downloaded my "Best of the Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week of 2008," the free ebook that's my holiday gift to you. Lots of Hounds are tweeting about it on Twitter and offering the book to their followers, too. Yes, I am encouraging you to regift it.

You can claim your copy here. Please use this link when sharing the book with your own readers, followers and connections: http://tinyurl.com/Bestof2008Tips And if you'd like to download the "Best of" books from previous years, you can do so at http://tinyurl.com/bestofebooks

Thanks to all of my loyal Publicity Hounds for your continued support. May you have a safe and happy New Year.

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

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

1. Twitter Leads to TV Publicity

2. 5 Formulas for Doubling Your Business

3. Wanted: Your Opinions & Ideas

4. How to Get Corporate Sponsors

5. How to Find a Ghostwriter

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Joke of the Week

8. And at My Blog...


===================================
1. Twitter Leads to TV Publicity
===================================

This is for all you Twitter naysayers who think you're far too busy, or too important, or too disinterested to participate on Twitter, the red-hot social networking site.

Twitter, it turns out, is attracting the attention of many journalists and broadcasters who are actually using it to look for sources for their stories and guests for their shows. For patient Publicity Hounds on Twitter, that means big-time media hits in traditional media outlets if you're following these journalists and you can provide what they need. You can find a list of journalists who Twitter at http://tinyurl.com/a8xsqo

Rebecca Shapiro, an artist in Portland, Oregon, landed her own spot on a popular TV show in Portland as a result of Twitter.

It all started several weeks ago when one of Rebecca's Twitter buddies told her that "AM Northwest," the most widely watched morning TV show in Oregon, was looking for somebody to come to the studio and tape a segment demonstrating how children can make inexpensive holiday gifts. Rebecca, who teaches crafts in addition to working as an artist, responded immediately, and the producers said yes.

During the segment, she demonstrated how kids can make votive candle holders, gift tags, and a pinch pot made with Sharpie markers. The producers loved it.

"Now, they want me to submit ideas for a series of segments for 2009," Rebecca said.

Her second media hit as a result of Twitter occurred about six weeks ago when her 5-year-old daughter bundled up in a snowsuit to go out to play and got stuck crawling through the cat door. Rebecca tweeted about it. One of her followers is Stephanie Stricklen, a producer for "Live at 7," a TV show on Channel 8 in Portland. When Stephanie saw Rebecca's tweet, she replied and asked her to submit a photo of her daughter in the snowsuit so Stephanie could put it on "Live at 7."

But that's not all. Rebecca's biggest Twitter success has been building relationships with art galleries and submitting her artwork to the well-respected Tinku Gallery in Toronto, which has a huge presence on Twitter and elsewhere online.

"The gallery owner sent out a call for artists, and I never would have known about it had it not been for Twitter," Rebecca said.

If you've been reluctant to Twitter, it's finally time to join the millions of Twitterers who are making valuable connections, friends and joint venture partners on this site.

Warren Whitlock, one of the most well-respected Twitterers, was my guest during a series of teleseminars on "How to Use Twitter to Amass an Army of Followers, Customers & Valuable Contacts--and Promote."

The recording is available as electronic transcripts and your choice of Cds or MP3s. Learn more about how to start building a huge following on Twitter at http://tinyurl.com/3lbcaw

If you're an artist, you can hear my presentation on social networking, part of the 2009 smARTist teleseummit. Register at http://tinyurl.com/5axy3x and learn how to grow your art business.


========================================
2. 5 Formulas to Double Your Business
========================================

Have you noticed the gazillion emails from authors, Internet marketers, coaches, consultants, publicists and others who are lowering their prices so drastically that they're practically giving away the store?

Business coach Paul Lemberg says that if you're selling refrigerators, or other consumer durables, dropping your prices might make sense during tough economic times.

But if you're selling books, information products, consulting services or coaching programs--even publicity services like writing press releases or pitching the media on a client's behalf--lowering your prices is the quickest way to see your revenues plummet.

That's because a higher profit margin is critical to becoming more profitable. And you can increase profit margin only two ways. You can cut expenses. Or, you can take the counter- intuitive step of raising your prices, even in competitive markets and even in a bad economy.

Increasing profit margin is one of five formulas that Paul says are critical to growing your business during 2009.

In fact, by increasing business just 15 percent in each of the five areas, the "compounding effect" will double the size of your business in a short time. Formula Five, a 15-week coaching and study program with five distinct modules, will be released Jan. 15 through Stompernet, the membership site for Internet marketers.

Stompernet asked me to review the product, and even though I haven't completed all five modules, I've already started following a series of action steps to grow my own business. I'll explain some of what I'm doing during a free teleseminar from 3 to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 8. But you'll mostly hear from Paul, who will explain all five formulas and how to integrate them into your business. You can sign up for the teleseminar at http://www.Publicityhound.com/teleseminar/formulafive.htm

In the meantime, you can see testimonials from a beta test group, and sign up for a series of three free Stompernet videos that explain more about how to use Formula Five to grow your business. The first video will arrive via email on Monday, Jan. 5. Go to http://tinyurl.com/PaulLembergFormula5 to sign up for the videos.

Formula Five is brilliant--so you and I don't have to be. Hope to see you on the call Jan. 8.


===================================
3. Wanted: Your Opinions & Ideas
===================================

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to keep in closer touch with all of you and regularly ask for your opinions and ideas (this is one action step recommended in the Formula Five strategy mentioned above).

I want to know about how satisfied you are with my products and services, improvements you'd like to see in this newsletter, what you need that I'm not providing, and other issues that will help me help you.

I'm putting a system in place to survey you regularly, and you'll even be rewarded for completing each survey. The first survey should be ready in a few weeks.

In the meantime, jot a few notes to yourself and be ready to share them with me when the first survey arrives.

Let's make 2009 our best year ever, and let's help each other to make it happen.

Surveys--not the customer surveys I'm referring to above, but surveys on fun, controversial or compelling topics--are a powerful publicity tool. One of my favorites was the survey the Iams pet food company took about eight years ago in which it asked its customers about their relationship with their pets. The survey showed that more than 93 percent of those surveyed admitted saying "I love you" to their pets. Results were publicized several weeks before Valentine's Day, a brilliant PR move.

The updated edition of my ebook "How to be a Kick-butt Publicity Hound," gives you lots of ideas on how to use surveys and other tools such as quizzes, briefs and contests to generate publicity for just about any product, service, cause or issue.

The 2008-2009 edition includes seven new chapters on social networking and social media marketing. Read all about the book at http://www.publicityhound.com/publicity/publicityhound.htm


===================================
4. How to Get Corporate Sponsors
===================================

This is a quick reminder that Steve Harrison is hosting today's teleseminar on "How to Get Major Companies And Nonprofits To Sponsor The Promotion of Your Book, Product or Service" at 7 p.m. Eastern Time.

If this time is inconvenient for you, ask someone to listen and take notes for you.

Even speakers, authors and experts who have very niched topics are in a perfect position to find corporate sponsors--if the people who are already in your target market want or need the products or services that company provides.

Brendon Burchard, an author and speaker, has figured out some really ingenious ways to land corporate and non-profit promotional sponsorships and use them to fund his marketing efforts, and he'll explain them on today's call.

To discover how you can use his methods to promote your own book, product or business, you can sign up for today's call at http://www.SponsorshipTrainingTeleseminar.com/?10011

Here's just some of what you'll learn:

* What to do step-by-step to get a major company to sponsor your national promotional tour and pay for everything!

* Why the current economic downturn means more big companies and non-profits sponsoring authors, speakers and entrepreneurs--even if they're not famous.

* A website you can use to find potential sponsors and promotional partners.

* The "secret phrase" which gets big nonprofit organizations to endorse your book and promote it to their members.

* The title of the BEST person to contact with your proposal and why you should never send one written in Microsoft Word.

* The Number One fatal mistake to avoid when trying to land a sponsorship deal with a Fortune 500 company.

* How to write a short proposal that gets huge companies to sponsor you--even if you're an unknown, self-published author (HINT: there are five elements and he'll reveal all five on the call.)

Again, to sign up for the call, go here now: http://www.SponsorshipTrainingTeleseminar.com/?10011


==========================================
5. How to Find a Ghostwriter
==========================================

This week, six Publicity Hounds have tips for Nancy Wurtzel of Thousand Oaks, California, whose client, a physician, needs a ghostwriter for a book on brain health for Baby Boomers.

From Dorothy Pedersen:

"Look for a writer who has (a) a successful track record with published books, (b) a good track record of meeting, or beating, deadlines, and (c) who has a personality that's a good match with yours, your client, and the physician."

From Linda Adams:

"Try contacting the American Independent Writers (formerly Washington Independent Writers). It's the largest regional writing organization in the United States and is primarily made up of freelancers. They have a job bank for writers at http://washwriter.org/ It's a little hard to find. Look in the right column."

From Madisen Harper:

"I know a number of people, including myself, who have had great success finding ghost writers on http://www.Elance.com.

"You can post a job, get writing examples and receive competitive quotes. I've been impressed at the quality of writing and range of expertise."

The Publicity Hound says:

Elance.com and some of the other freelance sites like it are great for outsourcing projects like ghostwriting. But make sure you understand how these sites work, and what to do to ensure you're getting the best freelancers available. A low bid often means you're getting what you pay for. Trust me. I've made this mistake.

Leili McKinley, one of my business coaches, is an expert at outsourcing work. She was my guest during a teleseminar on "Outsourcing Secrets: How to get the Best Quality, Price & Teamwork from Freelancers." It's available as a CD, or as an MP3 or electronic transcript that you can download as soon as your order has been approved.

Read more about how to hire freelancers at http://tinyurl.com/7r793b

Read all the responses to this week's Help This Hound question at http://tinyurl.com/994lwl

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


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

Shannon Hein of Fort Collins, Colorado writes:

"I am helping a friend promote Branchies, a product she invented that lets people hang heavy objects on their Christmas trees. It's at http://www.Branchies.com

"They attach easily to the trunk of your Christmas tree and support very heavy and bulky ornaments. They are a great way to transform your tree using themes you've never been able to create before. For example, you can decorate your tree with your favorite football helmets if you want!

"Of course, Christmas is over, but we want to get a jump on promoting this next year. What ideas do your Hounds have for promoting Branchies?"

The Publicity Hound says:

I'm using this question this week because many Christmas trees are still up, and they might help spark some great ideas from my Hounds. If you have a suggestion for Shannon, you can post it to my blog at http://tinyurl.com/8k25hc


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

A New York City yupette was shopping in an upscale pet center.

"I want a dog of which I can be proud," she told the salesman. "Does that one have a good pedigree?"

"Miss," declared the clerk, "if she could speak, she wouldn't talk to either one of us."

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...
===================================

Obama inauguration donors: Pitch to your local media
http://tinyurl.com/6wnkd2


Artists, learn the 10 qualities of a marketing plan
http://tinyurl.com/6w3t2o

--------------------------------------

WHERE TO SEE AND HEAR THE PUBLICITY HOUND:

Thursday, Jan. 8--Teleseminar

"Formula Five: 5 Ways to Double Your Business in 2009" with my guest expert Paul Lemberg. From 3 to 4 p.m. Eastern Time, he will explain five ways every business person can double their business. This is perfect for anyone who is frightened by all the gloom-and-doom talk about the bad economy. This is a free teleseminar. Register at http://www.Publicityhound.com/teleseminar/formulafive.htm


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 to 2:45 Eastern Time on Wednesday, Jan. 21. Register for the telesummit at http://tinyurl.com/5axy3x


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

Publicity tips/The Perils of Friending Journalists Sept 9, 2008

The Publicity Hound's
Tips of the Week
Issue #415 Sept. 9, 2008
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
The Publicity Hound®

Circulation: 50,542

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

"Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity"

Receive this ezine direct to your desktop
http://www.publicityhound.com/tipsoftheweek/

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

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.

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

Don't Miss These 5 Deadlines & Events:

- -Publicity Hounds can still get $200 off the $1,195
registration fee for Ragan Communications' Social Media Summit
Sept. 10-12 in Chicago. Let me know if you're going so I can
meet you over coffee on Thursday or Friday. Register at
http://www.ragan.com/publicityhound

- -Learn why the college speaking circuit is one of the most
lucrative places for speakers, particularly if you speak on one
of about a dozen topics that are in demand. I'm hosting a free
teleseminar with James Malinchak, king of the college speaking
circuit, from 3 to 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, Sept. 17.
See item #2 below.

- -Tom Antion will teach you his (and my) three-part strategy--
public speaking, Internet marketing and success principles--to
position yourself as an expert and grow your business. From 9 to
10 p.m. Eastern tonight, Sept. 9. See Item #3 below.

- -Steve Harrison repeats his teleseminar on Thursday, Sept. 11,
on how to get onto major TV and radio shows. Learn more at
http://tinyurl.com/5ah6ah

- -Stompernet received such overwhelming response last week to
its free offer of a set of DVDs called "Stomping the Search
Engines 2" and the premiere issue of "The Net Effect," its
journal on Internet marketing, that too much traffic crashed the
system. Not great PR for a company that teaches Internet
marketing, but proof that an irresistible offer can blow the roof
off anybody's best laid plans. You can still claim your DVDs and
journal at http://tinyurl.com/5au4lo

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

1. The Perils of Friending Journalists

2. Why College Speakers Aren't Worried

3. What Experts Do

4. Media Leads

5. How to Promote a Keepsake CD

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Joke of the Week

8. And at My Blog...


=========================================
1. The Perils of Friending Journalists
=========================================

Journalists have always hated being identified publicly as the
"friend" of a source.

"I'm not your friend," many insist. "I'm just trying to do my
job."

But that was 10 years ago, long before social networking sites
came onto the scene.

These days, if you're trying to get in front of a reporter at The
Washington Post, for example, and you know he has a Facebook
page, asking him to be your friend is as easy as a few mouse
clicks.

Easy and dangerous.

- -He can identify you as a spammer.

- -If he thinks your invitation is improper, and he's in a lousy
mood, he can put you on his blacklist and "out" you to other
journalists.

- -He can post a nasty comment about you. Or worse.

Journalists create Facebook pages as one way of taking advantage
of Web 2.0 tools. Facebook is a great place to look for sources.
They can friend other journalists. They can listen to and
participate in the online conversation. They also use Facebook
as a secondary distribution system for their work and link to
their articles, op-ed pieces, blogs and videos.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has directed its
journalists to avoid adding sources or contacts as Facebook
friends.

"It may compromise your work by letting friends see other friends
on your network," the policy document says. "It may also not be
in your interest to identify yourself as a 'friend' of a source
on their network."

You can read the entire policy at
http://www.insidethecbc.com/facebookpolicy

So what should you do if so see a journalist on a social
networking site and you want to connect? Here are three ways to
start building the relationship:

- -Publicity Hound Harry Hoover has compiled a list of
"Journalists Who Twitter" at
http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/?p=694
He suggests that if the journalist is on the list, you can follow
him or her and reply to their tweets when appropriate.
At some point, you can email them from Twitter and ask if
it's OK to invite them to be your friend on Facebook, and
connect with you on LinkedIn.

- -If the journalist has a page on LinkedIn, check to see if any
of their connections are also your connections. If so, you can
ask the connection to introduce you. If you are introduced, do
not pitch. Instead, offer yourself as a source who can provide
background, commentary, story ideas and anything else the
journalist needs. See "How to Promote Anything on LinkedIn,
Ethically & Powerfully," a series of two teleseminars I hosted
with LinkedIn expert Scott Allen, at http://tinyurl.com/5zvzyd

- -Can't find your favorite journalist at any of the social
networking sites? Google their name and see if they blog. If
so, read the blog and comment.

Let's see what other Publicity Hounds have to say about this
topic. Journalists, what's your policy of accepting friending
invitations from people you don't know?

Sources, have you made valuable contacts with journalists on
these social networking sites, or others? If so, how?

Post your comments to my blog at http://tinyurl.com/5769nf

If you're new to Facebook, or you've had a page for awhile but
you don't know all the insider tricks on how to use it to
promote, Jason Alba can help. He explained them all, including
an entire timeline on what to do on Facebook, and when, if you
have something to promote.

The two teleseminars are available as electronic transcripts plus
MP3s which you can download as soon as your order is approved.
Learn how to start using Facebook the right way at
http://www.publicityhound.com/teleseminar/facebook.htm


=========================================
2. Why College Speakers Aren't Worried
=========================================

Every time the economy takes a dive, professional speakers feel
the pinch.

Companies and nonprofits have less money to pay speakers, and
they invite experts who are often willing to speak at seminars
and conventions for free.

But the college speaking circuit is almost immune from that kind
of ripple effect. That's because colleges and universities pay
their speakers from sources like student activity fees, which
aren't affected by a bad economy.

James Malinchak, king of the college speaking circuit, says
Publicity Hounds who are experts on a wide variety of topics--
leadership, dating and relationships, and drug and alcohol abuse,
to name just a few--have a fabulous opportunity to expand their
business by adding colleges to their target market.

If you're hired to speak at a college, it also increases your
chances for publicity. Fraternity and sorority newsletters,
college newspapers and radio stations, even MySpace and Facebook
pages and groups, can multiply your exposure and spread the word
about your expertise.

James will be my guest during a free one-hour teleseminar at 3
p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, Sept. 17. He'll give you a peek
at the kind of material he'll be presenting at his College
Speaking Success Boot Camp Dec. 4-7 in Los Angeles. If you have
no interest in attending the boot camp, join us for the
teleseminar. You'll come away with several valuable lists that
will help you get started that day booking speaking engagements
at colleges.

You'll learn, for instance, what topics are most in demand and
why, which departments have the budgets to book you, who are the
people you must contact to get booked as a college speaker, and
why creating traditional marketing materials for colleges is a
huge waste of time and money.

Register for the teleseminar at http://tinyurl.com/6dpaud


=========================================
3. What Experts Do
=========================================

If you want to be an expert in your topic, or more of an expert
than you already are, read the free 12-page White Paper titled
"The Expertise Imperative" at
http://www.PublicityHound.com/expertise.pdf

The National Speakers Association published it several years ago,
and I refer Publicity Hounds to it often, regardless of their
occupation. Speakers, remember, come from a wide variety of
backgrounds. The White Paper is an excellent starting point for
anybody who wants to be an expert.

Expertise, it explains, isn't only about how much you know. It's
also about how much you do.

What, exactly, do experts do?

Coach and mentor. Create products. Write articles. Write
commercially-published books. Blog. Do media interviews.
Provide commentary for the media. Take leadership positions in
trade associations.

Speak for free or for fee. Accept invitations to lecture on
other people's teleseminars. Accept new clients every year.
Research new topics to stay at the forefront of their field.
Create a huge presence for themselves online.

The White Paper says experts also demonstrate their own ethics
and character by admitting mistakes and correcting errors
promptly, sharing credit and acknowledging others in the field,
and exhibiting the highest standard of behavior.

Unfortunately, the White Paper doesn't explain how to do much of
what it says you should do. That's where I relied on Tom Antion
to teach me. I was a member of his mentor program for several
years and learned his three-pronged strategy for growing a
business--public speaking, Internet marketing and success
principles he learned from his father.

He has graciously agreed to do a complimentary teleseminar with
me from 9 to 10 p.m. Eastern Time tonight, Sept. 9, to explain
various aspects of that same business model.

The call will introduce Publicity Hounds to the type of content
he will present at this live event called "Fusion," Oct. 17-19,
in Los Angeles. Tom will do what he preaches on tonight's call:
under promise and over deliver. If you can't attend the live
event, you'll still come away with pages of notes you can start
implementing immediately.

Sign up for tonight's teleseminar at
http://www.PublicityHound.com/teleseminar/fusion.htm

Learn more about the conference at http://tinyurl.com/5cefjt


=========================================
4. Media Leads
=========================================

- -Susan Reynolds of Literary Cottage needs stories from anyone
who attended Woodstock in 1969 for Woodstock Revisited, an
anthology to be published by Adams Media next spring. Adams
Media pays $100 and one copy of the book. "We are seeking 50
true stories (850-1100 words) written by people who attended the
1969 Woodstock Festival. This anthology will document the event
itself, but will also provide a portrait of America as that
tumultuous decade came to a close. Stories should be historical
within the context of 1969 and yet unique to your experience.
Stories must be TRUE, vivid, and substantive. You can write an
'as told to' story if you have friends or family who attended.
If you are not a writer, send me a narrative of your experience,
and I will help you craft your story. Please carefully review
the details and sample story provided on the 'Woodstock '69
Guidelines' page at http://www.literarycottage.com/woodstock.html
Deadline is Sunday, Sept. 14." Please email Susan immediately if
you'll be sending a story. Mailto:sreynolds@literarycottage.com


- -Kathy Gerschutz, an intern at WIMA-AM radio in Lima, Ohio, a
Clear Channel station, says the Mike Miller Morning Show is
looking for interview subjects, including showbiz updates, home
improvement guests, health experts, TV critics, child care
experts, pet experts, travel experts, odd news, personal finance
experts, book reviewers, management experts, someone who can
explain how stuff works, consumer experts, collectable experts,
food experts, economists, video game experts, music reviewers,
dating experts, and more. Pre-recorded interviews are three
minutes. "We'd prefer a weekly guest, though we would definitely
consider bi-weekly guests, and in some cases, one-time guests."
The target audience is men 35 to 40. The show broadcasts from 6
to 9 a.m. weekdays. Contact Kathy at
mailto:kathygerschutz@yahoo.com


Smaller shows like that one are great places to get experience
before you hit the big-time. But the competition for the big
shows is incredibly tough. Alex Carroll, who has done more than
1,000 radio interviews, was my guest during a teleseminar and
showed Publicity Hounds how to "Get Booked on Big Radio Shows in
the Top 20 Markets."

It's available as a CD. You can read more about how to get your
foot in the door at the mega-shows at http://tinyurl.com/asgyx


==========================================
5. How to Promote a Keepsake CD
==========================================

This week, three Publicity Hound have tips for Alaa el Ghatit of
Libertyville, Illinois, on how to promote LifeOnRecord, a service
that lets people capture and preserve their memories from any
phone. The recordings are available on a keepsake CD, and can
also be managed and played via his website, or downloaded into
iTunes.


From Linda Swisher:

"I'm a genealogist. Family historians are a natural target
market. You might also branch out into family and military
reunions, where members of a certain military unit can record
their recollections from wherever they are. How about high
school reunions? Print media include Reunions magazine,
Ancestry, Family Tree Magazine, etc."


From Cheryl Pickett:

"Since one use for your product is a wedding gift, do you do
cross-promotions with other professionals? Certainly wedding
planners should top your list, but also Djs, photographers,
florists. See if you can get on the recommended vendor or
networking lists where these people are. If you aren't doing it
already, pitch wedding bloggers, websites and magazines.

You could also promote general event planners as well. The great
thing is you aren't limited by location so the sky is virtually
the limit for you as to who you can contact in just these two
groups alone."


From The Publicity Hound:

"The Gift List--a service that provides contact information for
national and regional magazines, the top 250 daily newspapers,
news wires and syndicates, national television, and national
radio, as well as a list for web and blog outlets--is perfect for
product publicity for this CD.

"These media are HUNGRY for press releases and photos about
consumer products that make great gifts for Christmas, Mother's
Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day and Graduation Day. Learn
more about how to get into these gift guides at
http://tinyurl.com/9es8y


Read all the responses to this week's Help This Hound question at
http://tinyurl.com/64tgx7

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


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

Rik Feeney of Orlando, Florida writes:

"I need help from fellow Hounds on how to best promote my new
book, the Puppy Lover's Journal.

"It's made up of 104 lined journal pages with pictures of cute
little puppies of several different breeds on the bottom outside
corner of each page. Since it's a journal, you can write fond
memories of your puppy, personal notes about your life, shopping
lists for the grocery, or maybe even the next great romance
novel. I am also publishing a similar book titled the Kitten
Lover's Journal.

"My problem is cash flow, so I need ideas that use more sweat-
equity than cash from my wallet."

The Publicity Hound says: My Hounds don't discriminate, Rik, and
will give you great ideas for your kitten journal as well as your
puppy journal. Have a great idea for Rik? Post it to my blog at
http://tinyurl.com/6g6wx5


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

Thanks to Publicity Hound Barry Lebow of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
for this one:

A dog went to a telegram office, took out a blank form and wrote:
"Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof."

The clerk examined the paper and politely told the dog: "There
are only nine words here. You could send another ‘Woof’ for the
same price."

The dog replied, "But that would make no sense at all."


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...
================================

Authors, pitch issues & shows, not your books
http://tinyurl.com/5d7kvl


Why is 'the mic is always on' so difficult to understand?
Http://tinyurl.com/55bpa9


If you missed Oprah's guest booker, join her Thursday
http://tinyurl.com/5ah6ah


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 list "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

Publicity tips/Is Palin's Daughter Off-limits? Sept 2, 2008

The Publicity Hound's
Tips of the Week
Issue #414 Sept. 2, 2008
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.net/(Blog)
The Publicity Hound®

Circulation: 50,520

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

"Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity"

Receive this ezine direct to your desktop
http://www.publicityhound.com/tipsoftheweek/

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

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.

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

Don't Miss These Deadlines & Events:

- -Publicity Hounds can still get $200 off the $1,195
registration fee for Ragan Communications' Social Media Summit
Sept. 10-12 in Chicago. I'll be there, and I'd love to buy you a
cup of coffee if you're attending. Register at
http://www.ragan.com/publicityhound

- -A free teleseminar with Tom Antion, who will teach you his
three-part strategy of public speaking, Internet marketing and
success principles to position yourself as an expert and grow
your business. From 9 to 10 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 9. See Item
#3 below.

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

1. Is Palin's Daughter Off-limits?

2. Beware the New 'Public Record'

3. How to Earn Expert Status

4. Why Hounds are Internet Marketers

5. How to Promote a Book Signing

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Joke of the Week

8. And at My Blog...

=========================================
1. Is Palin's Daughter Off-limits?
=========================================

When the news of GOP Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin's
pregnant 17-year-old daughter broke over the weekend, Barack
Obama was quick to issue an order to his campaign workers to
"back off."

Family members of candidates aren't fair game, he warned, adding
that his own mother gave birth to him when she was 18.

"We don't go after people's families, we don't get them involved
in the politics. It's not appropriate and it's not
relevant...And if I ever thought that it was somebody in my
campaign that was involved in something like that, they'd be
fired."

But what about the rest of us?

Should anti-abortion or abortion-rights advocates piggyback off
this news event to further their cause or issue?

What about opponents or proponents of condoms in schools? What
about churches? Abortion clinics? Adoption agencies? Roe v.
Wade backers and opponents? Parents groups?

Is the pregnancy fair game?

I say it is. So is the issue of Michelle Obama's feelings of
pride--or not--for her country, and the issue of Joe Biden's son
who is a high-priced federal lobbyist, an occupation Obama
disdains. But when it comes to the media shoving microphones in
the face of minor children, hands off.

What about you? Do you work for a company or agency that will be
piggybacking off the news of the pregnancy? Or have you decided
to let it rest?

If you're an author, speaker or expert whose topic or area of
expertise ties into this news, will you be writing press releases
or blogging about your opinions? Will you be offering yourself
as a source to the media? Why or why not?

Weigh in at my blog at http://tinyurl.com/5ho3tg

If you have a media spokesperson, or if you'll be training one,
make sure you know the difference between a media spokesperson
and an expert spokesperson. An expert spokesperson must be able
to do something that a simple spokesperson doesn't. Media
trainer Al Rothstein explained the difference, and discussed the
skills an expert spokesperson must have during a teleseminar I
hosted and recorded.

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 be an Expert Spokesperson the Media Love"
at http://tinyurl.com/rzcdd


=========================================
2. Beware the New 'Public Record'
=========================================

In the old days, you had to scour public records for any hint of
bad news in your history that the media might make public and ask
about during interviews.

That included things like drunken-driving arrests, lawsuits, and
transcripts of messy divorce proceedings.

Today, scouring the "official public record" of government
documents isn't enough.

Recordings of private conversations, videos of activities that
were never meant to be public, private emails, and even snippets
of information on social networking sites like MySpace have a way
of becoming part of the unofficial but very "public record"
within minutes.

Here are two examples we saw over the weekend:

- -Conservative blogs and, eventually, the mainstream media,
reported on a YouTube video of Don Fowler, former head of the
Democratic National Committee. Taken with a cell phone camera by
someone sitting behind him on an airplane, the video showed
Fowler commenting to his Democratic seat mate about the timing of
Hurricane Gustav and the opening of the Republican National
Convention:

"The hurricane is going to hit New Orleans about the time they
start. The timing is, at least it appears now, it will be there
Monday. That just demonstrates God is on our side." You can see
the video at http://tinyurl.com/6bznw4

- -Liberal blogs and the mainstream media reported on comments
made on Levi Townsend's MySpace page. He's the father of the
baby of 17-year-old Bristol Palin, the daughter of GOP vice
presidential candidate Sarah Palin. On his MySpace page, Levi
reportedly commented that he's a "redneck" and even though he's
"in a relationship," he doesn't want children. The page
apparently has been taken down. But you don't have to look far
to find that news. Here's a story from the New York Daily News:
http://tinyurl.com/63lgnp

So what's the lesson for Publicity Hounds?

- -You're safer assuming that any email you write will become
public. That includes jokes and anything else you forward to
others.

- -Don't say anything in a public place you don't want to show up
on YouTube.

- -Know what's on the social networking sites of your employees,
your children, or others associated with your company.

- -Know EVERYTHING that's said about you online. Set up a Google
Alert at http://www.Google.com/alerts Create one each for your
name, your website URL, and your company name. Tell Google you
want alerts daily, or as soon as the information appears.
Monitoring these alerts is time-consuming. But well worth it.
It's a task you can give to an assistant.

If you don't have an assistant, you can get one without hiring a
full- or part-time employee. The telephone and email make it
easy to use a virtual assistant--even one who lives several
thousand miles from you. Learn about where to find Vas, how much
you can expect to pay, and the types of tasks you can give them.

Cindy Greenway and Diana Ennen, both very successful Vas, were my
guests during a teleseminar I hosted on "How to Find a Virtual
Assistant to Help with Your Publicity Campaign." 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 find a virtual assistant at
http://tinyurl.com/2e5875


=========================================
3. How to Earn Expert Status
=========================================

If you want to become a well-respected expert, here are five
powerful ways to make that happen:

- -Speak publicly on your topic, even if it's only local speeches
to Rotary and chamber of commerce groups. During the first few
years of my business, I relied almost exclusively on these
speaking engagements to find consulting clients. Depending on
your topic, you can, too.

- -Create a great website that pulls traffic like a magnet, with
dozens of free articles and other resources for visitors. Try to
capture every visitor's email address like I do with a box that
bounces down from the top of the screen. That box is called the
Hover Ad Generator and you can buy it at
http://tinyurl.com/2sa3u9

- -Create a huge presence elsewhere online. That includes
writing articles for article directory sites, blogging,
commenting at other people's blogs, and writing an ezine.

- -Create downloadable information products on your topic--
quickly and with no up-front costs. I can create a special
report in only a few hours and have it for sale at my website.
And it costs me nothing to produce.

- -Adopt a policy to always "under promise and over deliver."
Your customers will love you for it.

I've just described my business model, and many of you have
emailed me to say you like it and want specific instructions on
how to do one or more of what I've described above.

I wish I could take credit for it, but I can't. Tom Antion, my
first mentor, taught it to me. And he's graciously agreed to do
a complimentary teleseminar with me from 9 to 10 p.m. Eastern
Time on Tuesday, Sept. 9, to explain various aspects of that same
model.

The call will introduce Publicity Hounds to the type of content
he will be presenting at this live event called "Fusion," Oct.
17-19, in Los Angeles. Tom will do what he preaches on this
call: under promise and over deliver. If you can't attend the
live event, you'll still come away with pages of notes you can
start implementing that same night.

Sign up for the Oct. 9 teleseminar at
http://www.PublicityHound.com/teleseminar/fusion.htm

Learn more about the conference at http://tinyurl.com/5cefjt


=========================================
4. Why Hounds Are Internet Marketers
=========================================

Can you think of a good reason why you shouldn't be concerned
with Internet marketing? If so, let me know because I can't
think of one.

If you have a website, and most of you do, you or someone in your
office should know things like how much traffic you get and how
much of that traffic you can convert to customers.

Let's say you aren't selling anything. You're simply trying to
lure journalists to your website. You should know which colors
and graphic elements immediately turn off visitors. You can have
dynamite content, but if it's difficult to read, journalists will
bail out.

I want to give you the heads-up about a set of DVDs called
"Stomping the Search Engines 2.0" and an accompanying journal
called "The Net Effect" that the folks at Stompernet asked me to
review last week.

The product launch is tomorrow. They won't say how much they're
asking for it, but they call it "Liberty and Justice for All,"
whatever that means.

Here's a quick critique of the materials:

- -They call the 45-page publication (with only two full-page
ads) a journal. I hate that word because it makes it sound dry
and academic. I wish they'd just call it what it is: a damn good
magazine.

- -Several of the articles might bore you tears, like the one
about how search engines decide which pages get ranked at the
top. But unless the person managing your website knows this
stuff, you can't hope to compete.

- -A few articles will knock you off your chair, like the one
titled "Wanna be Broke? Then Maybe You Shouldn't Sell Cheap."
It explains why selling a bunch of inexpensive products can send
you to the poor house.

- -On several pages, the graphic artist slapped graphics on top
of print which makes some of the type difficult to read. So I
hope they clean up the graphics in future issues and keep the
content just as compelling.

- -The most valuable part of the magazine is at the end: a 14-
point checklist of things you should do based on the articles in
the review issue. Some you may have already done, but many of
them I still need to do.

- -The DVDs are excellent but some of the material may be too
advanced for people who aren't technically inclined. If that's
the case, then at least encourage your webmaster, who MUST know
this stuff, to buy it. The entire table of contents is at
http://tinyurl.com/5au4lo

When I learn more about this tomorrow, I'll send you a follow- up
email.


==========================================
5. How to Promote a Book Signing
==========================================

This week, five Publicity Hound have tips for Roz Wolf of Los
Angeles, California, on how to promote the book signing for "How
To Woo A Bi’aaatch: The Key To Attracting Females" by Brian
Zoozoo, a guide that speaks to a generation of single men and
curious women aged 18-35. She thinks the title is turning off
some journalists and she needs a way around that problem.

From Jennifer Melnick Carota:

"Why not do a signing at a local university where your target
audience already is? Develop MySpace and Facebook pages for your
book, choose regional friends accordingly and promote the heck
out of it online. Be sure to promote any giveaways like free
books or T-shirts that can also draw college students to your
event."

From Natasha Henry:

"Try to get in touch with Wendy Williams' booking agent. Wendy
Williams is a popular radio shock-jock in that area who recently
started her own TV talk show in NYC. When contacting her agent,
be sure to highlight your book’s title. Williams most recently
had Donald Trump’s notoriously raunchy Apprentice guest, Omarosa,
on her show to promote her book, "The Bitch Switch." You can put
a spin on your book in that it speaks more positively about
women, contrary to your book's title and contrary to what
Omarosa's book is about...Also mention that you would be a more
pleasant-mannered guest than Omarosa. YouTube has a snippet of
that show for reference."

From Ken Okel:

"The title will likely either make people laugh or cringe and
sometimes that keeps the media away. Any wacky morning radio
shows that might give you a segment? Any singles groups or
events you could partner with for publicity?"


The Publicity Hound says:

Don't forget about all the online event calendars. I blogged
about this and included several of the best sites at
http://tinyurl.com/6qhejc Those include Craigslist which, of
course, has its own list for Los Angeles.

Nancy Mills, a Craigslist expert, explained smart ways to promote
with Craigslist when she was my guest during a teleseminar on
"How to Use Craigslist as a Global Publicity Tool." 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 get started promoting on Craigslist at
http://tinyurl.com/geog2


Read all the responses to this week's "Help This Hound" question
at http://tinyurl.com/6cslfs

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


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

Alaa el Ghatit of Libertyville, Illinois, writes:

"I own a national service called LifeOnRecord which lets people
capture and preserve their stories and memories from any phone.
The most popular product is a keepsake CD that people will give
for birthdays, anniversaries and other events.

"Here's how it works. Someone planning the celebration will sign
up for a LifeOnRecord account. Friends and family all call a
toll-free number and leave stories, memories and well-wishes.
The recordings are all preserved onto a keepsake CD, and can also
be managed and played via our website, or downloaded into iTunes.
The web site is http://lifeonrecord.com/uniquegift.htm

"Much of my business comes from referrals and people coming from
the search engines. But I'm looking for other ways to reach
people who are looking for gift ideas for milestone birthdays or
anniversaries. What ideas do your Hounds have for spreading the
word?"


The Publicity Hound says:

If your product would make a perfect gift, subscribe to The Gift
List, a service that provides contact information for national
and regional magazines, the top 250 daily newspapers, news wires
and syndicates, national television, and national radio, as well
as a list for web and blog outlets.

These media are HUNGRY for gift ideas for things like Christmas,
Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day and Graduation Day.
Learn more about how to get into these gift guides at
http://tinyurl.com/9es8y


Hounds with ideas on other ways to promote these keepsake Cds can
post them to my blog at http://tinyurl.com/64tgx7


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

Actual classified ad that appeared in a weekly newspaper in Ohio:

FREE to a good home: Domestic tan male. Neutered and declawed.
Has shots.


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...
================================

Know bloggers' pitching preferences; avoid 'me too' emails
http://tinyurl.com/58v5wd


Prepare for an interview with a reporter these 8 ways
http://tinyurl.com/6gwmlt


Why trying to get a magazine column can be wasted effort
http://tinyurl.com/6qgbkf


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 list "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

Publicity tips/Look Who's Twittering May 20, 2008

The Publicity Hound's
Tips of the Week
Issue #399 May 20, 2008
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
The Publicity Hound®

Circulation: 46,751

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

"Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity"

Receive this ezine direct to your desktop http://www.publicityhound.com/tipsoftheweek/

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

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.

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

Save the Dates:

May 21: Teleseminar

Videographer John Easton explains "9 Clever Ways to Use Video to Become a Publicity Darling in Your Industry or Community." 3-4 p. m. Eastern Time. Register at http://www.publicityhound.com/teleseminar.htm

June 11: Teleseminar

PR whiz Robert Smith explains "How to Earn An Extra $100,000 This Year as a Publicist, Even in a Bad Economy." 3-4 p.m. Eastern Time. See item #3 below. Register at http://www.publicityhound.com/teleseminar.htm

June 18: Teleseminar

Business coach Leili McKinley shows you "How to Outsource Almost Any Part of Your PR Campaign or Your Business." 3-4 p.m. Eastern Time. See next week's newsletter for sign-up details.

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

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

1. Look Who's Twittering

2. I Hate When This Happens

3. PR People: Thrive in a Bad Economy

4. Share Your Best Tips on How to Save

5. Promoting 'Say Something Nice' Sunday

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Quote of the Week

8. At My Blog...


===================================
1. Look Who's Twittering
===================================

Don't complain that you're too busy to twitter.

Dell, H&R Block, Jet Blue, Comcast, Southwest Airlines and other mega-companies have made time to join the Twittosphere. You should, too.

I've been twittering for several months at http://Twitter.com/PublicityHound and have found it's not only a fabulous publicity tool, it's fun.

The free microblogging service lets you create a page at Twitter.com, and then check in throughout the day and report on what you're doing. Each message, or tweet, is limited to 140 characters.

Twitter started primarily as a social networking service for personal use. Daily, scores of business people are becoming addicted to it. Twitter, it seems, is the new online crack.

Because tweets are so short, twittering takes far less time than what you have to invest in many other social networking tools.

Even better, it can produce incredibly powerful, instant results. Businesses and nonprofits large and small continue experimenting with dozens of ways to use Twitter. Here are just a few of them:

- -As a crisis communications tool. The American Red Cross uses Twitter to announce disaster news. During this year's tornadoes, tweets listed emergency shelters in several states, led followers to Flickr photos that showed tornado damage, and invited tornado survivors to report in as being "safe and well."

- -To announce new products and services.

- -To promote articles and blog posts.

- -To follow journalists who Twitter and learn what they think is important.

- -To respond to media coverage, good or bad.

- -To monitor what others are saying about you and your brand.

- -To share with your followers interesting tips, helpful suggestions, great articles or humorous blog posts.

- -To monitor customer service problems and respond within minutes. If used correctly, Twitter can be more powerful than those annoying and expensive customer service call centers.

So how about shaving just 15 minutes a day off the non- productive, energy-sucking, time-wasting task of reading and responding to your email? Use those 15 minutes, instead, spaced throughout the day, to Twitter.

"Special Report 52: How to Use Twitter for Business to Network, Promote, Sell, Recruit & Profit" includes 10 pages of examples, tips and resources. Learn how to enhance your Twitter experience and make it dovetail with other social networking tools like Facebook.

Start building customers for life by ordering the special report, only $10, at http://publicityhound.com/publicity-products/reports.html

P. S. My special reports are usually only five pages, but we had so much fun with this one, we couldn't stop writing!


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2. I Hate When This Happens
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I'll bet you've done this, too.

You want to see where your website ranks in the search engines, So you type one of your most important keywords into Google and hit "enter," hoping to see your website URL in that lofty position at the top of the organic list on the left side of the screen.

The page no sooner appears and your eyes are darting back and forth, up and down, frantically searching. But the only websites you're seeing are that darn Wikipedia, Amazon.com, and the sites owned by the Bad Guys, a.k.a. your competitors.

Your heart starts pumping faster as you click onto Page 2. When you don't see your website there either, you're left wondering, "What did I do wrong?"

The Internet marketing experts at Stompernet will tell you exactly what you did wrong, right down to the last little detail. They're offering a free competitive analysis report of your own website as well as those owned by the competition.

Until the end of the week, you can order the reports--up to five per day--at http://www.stompernet.net/jvp/aw.aspx?B=44&A=332

You'll even find a video at that site right now that gives you step-by-step instructions on how to go about fixing all the errors that are dragging down your ranking.

While you're there, check the comments from people who have already seen the video and read their own reports.

Then think about what will happen if your competitors check up on you but you fail to check up on them.

Go there now: http://www.stompernet.net/jvp/aw.aspx?B=44&A=332


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3. PR People: Thrive in a Bad Economy
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I first met Robert Smith about 10 years ago when he was working as a frustrated bill collector, looking for a fun hobby to offset his boring day job.

He called and asked my advice about writing press releases.

We've kept in touch on and off since then. When he called again last week, my chin dropped as he explained what he's been up to. The term "fast learner" doesn't even begin to describe what he's accomplished.

Robert manages his own PR agency based in Rockford, Illinois and has a full-time staff of eight and four sub-contractors. In 10 years, he's gone from a net worth of zero to more than $1 million.

Here's how he does it:

- -He pays a paltry $67 a week to have his own half-hour TV show on the leased access channel in Chicago--and rakes in PR clients who see him on the air.

- -He swings deals with guys who drive delivery trucks by persuading them to drop off one of his brochures with each package they deliver to a business customer. In return, the drivers get a commission on any PR clients who call Robert and sign a contract.

- -He buys and sells leads. If a small-business client has only $1,000 to spend on a publicity campaign, far less than the kinds of projects Robert takes on, he sells the lead to a budding PR practitioner who is hungry for the work.

Robert will be my guest during a teleseminar from 3 to 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, June 11 on "How to Earn An Extra $100,000 This Year as a Publicist, Even in a Bad Economy."

This teleseminar is perfect for publicists, PR practitioners, wanna-be PR people, and even virtual assistants whose clients are in PR.

Everyone who attends gets a copy of the MP3 recording to listen to afterward. I expect this session to be packed, and seating is limited, so sign up today: http://www.publicityhound.com/teleseminar.htm

By the way, the photo of Robert on the sign-up page was taken for the cover of Dr. Phil's magazine. He'll explain how that happened, too.


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4. Share Your Best Tips on How to Save
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Everywhere I look, experts are offering advice on how to save money while food and gasoline prices go through the roof.

Here are two great tips to help you save at the grocery store:

- -During each trip to the supermarket, the average shopper makes $10 worth of impulse purchases. Solution: Make fewer trips.

- -One of the biggest money-wasters is letting food sit in the refrigerator so long that you can't even tell what it is. Solution: Make better use of leftovers and eat produce quickly.

I also heard three great tips about how to save on gasoline, courtesy of a guy who works for one of the big oil companies.

- -Buy gasoline in the morning, when it's still cold. That's because warm gasoline expands. The pumps are not set for temperature change, so one gallon can actually be less than a gallon.

- -Buy it when your tank is half empty. The more air in your tank, the more gasoline tends to evaporate.

- -Never buy gasoline when you see big tanker trucks at the station or you could end up with gasoline that has dirt and other debris that's been stirred up by the recent delivery.

What are your best tips for your own customers? Pitch them to the local and national media.

And make them do double- and triple-duty by posting them at your blog, at Twitter, in articles you post at article directory sites, and at your own website.

How about offering your tips via briefs, fillers and quizzes? I show you how on the CD or electronic transcript "Briefs, Fillers & Quizzes: How to Create Them and Why Editors LOVE Them."

You can download the transcript as soon as your order is approved. Read more about how to start using briefs as a valuable publicity tool at http://publicityhound.net/briefs


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5. How to Promote 'Say Something Nice' Sunday ============================================

This week, four Publicity Hounds have tips on how Mitch Carnell of Charleston, South Carolina can promote "Say Something Nice Sunday."


From Kim Duke:

"I think this would be a great topic for John Tesh to cover on his international radio show. Throughout his show, he reads quips from magazines, unusual tips and he definitely does spread the word about unusual ideas--and I think 'Say Something Nice Sunday' would fit his mandate. Contact him at http://www.tesh.com"


From Cheryl Pickett:

"How about encouraging churches that have an announcement type sign out front to put the info there? Hopefully, people will end up seeing the message all over town. Don’t forget to contact any radio or TV community calendars as well."


The Publicity Hound says:

Rally churches all over the world as quickly as you can to post this item to their local Craigslist at http://www.Craigslist.org. Don't post it yourself to every list or you'll violate the rules. See "How to Use Craigslist as a Global Publicity Tool" at http://tinyurl.com/geog2


Read all the responses to last week' Help This Hound question at http://publicityhound.net/help-promote-say-something-nice-sunday/

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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Mary Ammons of Nashville, Tennessee writes:

"We had a successful launch of a book on physical and financial fitness (authored by celebrity Jack LaLanne and financial advisor Matthew J. Rettick) in New York and have had a great run with television on shows like the Today Show, Fox Business, etc.

"But we're having trouble garnering more exposure for Matt. He’s almost become Jack’s shadow or 'the other author.'

"I'm also having trouble promoting the two topics (finance and health) with the print media. Even journalists understand that you have to have both physical and financial fitness to enjoy a great retirement, which is the full topic. But they don't know where to quite fit it in to their beats, or they've covered it recently.

"I've pushed the fact that this is a unique book because it's basically Planning for Retirement 101. I've also had what feels like a million ideas shot down.

"The book is titled Fiscal Fitness: 8 Steps to Wealth and Health from America’s Leaders of Fitness and Finance. We're on the third printing and need to keep generating press, but, again, I'm having trouble pitching to the print media. Help!"


The Publicity Hound says:

I suspect your topic is too broad. Break it down by pitching story ideas and tips on narrow sub-topics to specific section editors and beat reporters. Also, you'll find some terrific tips on the CD or electronic transcript "How to Revive a Dying Book Marketing Campaign" at http://tinyurl.com/67bhu


Hounds, let's hear your best ideas for Mary. Post them to my blog at http://tinyurl.com/545r96


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7. Hound Joke of the Week
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A tail is a dog's PR department. A smile is yours.


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8. At My Blog...
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Bad landing pages, resource boxes can confuse article readers
http://tinyurl.com/48bhgx


NPR Books Watch Contest goal: Get more authors on NPR
http://tinyurl.com/4sj7bj


Newest occupational hazard: Death by blogging
http://tinyurl.com/5heabv


Blog comments position you as an expert, pull traffic
http://tinyurl.com/5fazfp


Google Friend Connect brings social media to any website
http://tinyurl.com/657co2


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Where to See or Hear The Publicity Hound


May 21: Teleseminar on Video

Learn "9 Clever Ways to use Video to Become a Publicity Darling in Your Industry or Community" with guest expert John Easton, a videographer and media darling in Charlotte, NC. Register at http://www.Publicityhound.com/teleseminar.htm


June 11: Teleseminar for Publicists

PR whiz Robert Smith explains "How to Earn An Extra $100,000 This Year as a Publicist, Even in a Bad Economy." 3-4 p.m. Eastern Time. See item #3 below. Register at http://www.publicityhound.com/teleseminar.htm


June 18: Teleseminar on Outsourcing

Business coach Leili McKinley shows you "How to Outsource Almost Any Part of Your PR Campaign or Your Business." 3-4 p.m. Eastern Time. See next week's newsletter for sign-up details.


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 list "89 Reasons to Send a News Release."

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

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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

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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