Publicity tips/Think Christmas in June June 24 , 2008
The Publicity Hound's
Tips of the Week
Issue #404 June 24, 2008
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
The Publicity Hound®
Circulation: 47,857
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"Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity"
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In This Issue
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1. Think Christmas in June
2. A Big Payoff of Social Networking
3. What You Can Learn from a Dog's Obituary
4. Get 'em to Mention Your URL
5. Promoting Books on Christmas, Cooking
6. Help This Hound
7. Hound Quote of the Week
8. And at My Blog...
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1. Think Christmas in June
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Now is the time to start pitching if you're hoping to convince journalists to feature your consumer product or service in holiday gift guides.
Gift guides appear in many forms:
- -As special sections in newspapers, like holiday gift guides printed by USA Today and the Wall Street Journal.
- -As special holiday features in magazines like Redbook, Allure, Wired, Stereophile, Fast Company, Organic Gardening, Cooking Light, Shape, Atlanta Magazine, Cottage Living and Elite Traveler.
- -As special segments on TV such as Oprah's "Favorite Things" show each year in which she lists her favorite holiday gifts.
- -As special radio promotions.
- -As columns, reviews or special holiday features in online magazines.
- -Even bloggers feature their favorite things to give as holiday gifts.
If your consumer product or service would make the perfect gift, getting a placement in some of these media is easy--but only if you know where to look, whom to pitch, when to contact them, and if they want photos.
The Gift List can make your job easy. Its staff contacts the top 250 daily newspapers, all the major wire services, and television shows like "Filter," "The Look for Less," and, of course, MTV, "Ellen," "The View," and hundreds more.
It doesn't bother with media outlets that won't mention products by name or those with circulations under 25,000. Broadcast outlets must reach a national or significant regional audience.
Already, The Gift List has compiled a whopping 400 leads for this year's features. You can buy a subscription to either The Gift List for Holiday 2008 Print & Broadcast, or The Gift List for Holiday 2008 Web & Blog, or both.
What if "Oprah" or USA Today changes its feature focus the week before a deadline? Not to worry. The Gift List will notify subscribers who sign up for their ezine and email alerts. You won't miss a beat. And you'll be miles ahead of the competition.
Take a test drive today at http://tinyurl.com/9es8y
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2. A Big Payoff of Social Networking
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When the media are searching for interview subjects, or guests for a TV show, they often search profiles of people who participate at social networking sites.
That's how producers for a TV series found Publicity Hound Dorothy Neddermeyer of Phoenix, Arizona. She's a board-certified regression therapist who will be featured in the series "Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal" that's being aired right now on the A&E channel.
"My role in the documentary was doing a past life regression with an 8-year-old boy who had memories of his life in Egypt," she said. "The regression was revealing, and I was amazed at the outcome."
The production company, Four Seasons International, chronicles the lives and experiences of kids with psychic abilities.
The producers found her on Ziggs, a social networking site at http://www.Ziggs.com that is devoted to "organizing and connecting people in a professional way." You can join groups and make contacts through your Ziggs account to increase your company's presence online and further your own personal career.
"It shocked me because I had only recently added my profile there," Dorothy said. "It was just my lucky day. Of course, I don't believe in luck. I, no doubt, was prompted to start posting on social networking sites."
Internet marketing expert Don Crowther says everyone should have a presence on seven social media sites. If you're pitching only traditional media, you're missing a huge opportunity to use online tools like social networking sites to promote. Learn about the seven websites Don recommends. His interview is included in the eight-part series "How to Create a Media Plan," available as a series of Cds, MP3 audios on a CD, or electronic transcripts. Each comes with handouts that include a fill-in-the-blanks template for a media plan.
Read more about how you can take the pain out of creating a media plan at http://www.publicityhound.com/mediaplan.htm
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3. What You Can Learn from a Dog's Obituary ===========================================
When Publicity Hound Michelle Tennant emailed me last week to let me know that her beloved pet, Lex, a strawberry blonde Siberian husky, had died, the obituary she wrote for him made me smile.
While reading it, I couldn't help but think that Lex's obituary is more interesting than the personal bios of many humans I know. As you read what Michelle wrote, notice the fun little details-- something that's sorely missing from so many human bios.
"Lexington (Lex) passed yesterday at 3:50 p.m. Eastern at our vet's with my husband Shannon and myself at his side holding his paws. He was the most gentle, loving dog one could know and love. He had complications from a lung condition, pancreatitis and diabetes. He is survived by Lou Lou, the black and white husky in the photos attached.
"In 1998, I rescued Lex from a Cincinnati kill shelter when he was six months and he's lived a fabulous, adventurous life traveling throughout Ohio, West Virginia and the Smoky Mountains (and other great places whitewater rivers run).
"His life's work: children.
"He attended children's birthday parties with me while I was living in Cincinnati and working on the weekends as a children's entertainer. He was my 'pirate' sidekick teaching children manners at the dinner table because he knew how to 'wait' until others were served before eating. (He would even WAIT with a small White Castle hamburger placed on his paw. Now that's a good dog.)
"He earned his 'good canine citizen award' in 1999. (This is like a Ph.D for dogs!)
"His favorite past-time--chewing/catching tennis balls, digging holes, and cooling off in a baby pool.
"Please have a moment of reflection today to celebrate this very special soul. And then hug a pet or person you love and remind everyone wanting a pet to adopt from shelters first. They are so appreciative of second chances."
We can learn two things from this:
- -Use details, details and more details.
- -Writing about the relationship with our pets in our professional bios can teach readers more about us than a monotonous list of academic degrees and other trivia we think are important.
Some of you might argue that details about your pets don't belong in a professional profile or bio. What do you think? Would you consider including information about your pet in your bio? If so, tell us something about your pet that lets us know more about you. Or link to a bio at your website that has information about your pet.
Post your comments at my blog at http://tinyurl.com/5b2nlu
"Special Report #46: Tips for Rewriting Your Boring Bio," gives you lots of examples of fun, compelling, witty bios and tips on how rework your bio--or start from scratch. Only $10. Order at http://www.publicityhound.com/publicity-products/reports.html
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4. Get 'em to Mention Your URL
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A common frustration with media interviews results when the reporter, for whatever reason, never mentions your website.
Here's a way to solve that problem.
The next time somebody interviews you, and the reporter asks for the name of your company, use your website URL, not the actual company name.
Instead of me being the owner of "The Publicity Hound," my company is simply PublicityHound.com.
That little trick won't work every time, but it should work with telephone interviews, and especially when the reporter is rushed.
OK, but what happens if you can't even persuade reporters to call? You pitch a story and it goes nowhere. Then what?
Have you followed up your pitch at least seven times?
If you haven't, no wonder they're not calling you. Don't believe journalists when they tell you they hate follow-ups. They hate LOUSY follow-ups.
Jill Lublin, author of "Guerrilla Publicity," says following up your pitches is critical to catching the attention of hassled reporters and editors who sometimes let things fall through the cracks. I interviewed her about "Failproof Ways to Follow Up with Reporters."
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. Start following up today and getting the media stories you deserve by going to http://tinyurl.com/bmyn7
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5. Promoting Books on Christmas, Cooking
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This week, 10 Publicity Hounds have tips on how Tracy Arceo of Pelican Publishing of Gretna, LA can generate interest in two separate series of books on Christmas and Southern cooking.
From Julia Hillegass:
"It shouldn't be difficult to promote these great southern cities. Try doing a tasting event with area restaurants creating the recipes for people to nosh on--like a progressive cocktail party in a ballroom or at a major landmark in that town. You could create the great southern Taste Series of events: "A Taste of Charleston," "A Taste of New Orleans" perhaps in Jackson Square or the French Market, "A Taste of Savannah" maybe at Forsyth Park. Price of admission could be donated to your local food bank, so party goers get to do good too."
From Rachelle Matherne:
"Numerous discussion groups online trade free recipes. Upload a recipe from the book to these sites and include the source information. Video of the author reading from the kids' book is always fun, and can include some of the illustrations as well."
From Stacey Kannenberg:
"Find regional 'all Christmas' stores and coordinate with them to be involved in a Christmas in July Party. I did a Google search and found a few of these stores: Traditions Year-Round Holiday Store in Canoga Park, CA and Kristmas Kringle Shoppe in Fond du Lac, WI.
"Since the recipes are classics, see if you can partner with Rachael Ray, the Food Network, Martha Stewart, or online places like Recipes.com to share some of the local flavor behind these classic recipes."
The Publicity Hound says:
I know I sound like a broken record. But reach out to bloggers. Those who write about children and parenting issues might want to hear about the Christmas books. Bloggers who write about food might appreciate some recipes and tips about southern cooking. "How to Pitch the Best Bloggers & Create a Publicity Explosion" shows you how to find the bloggers who need what you have, and convince them to write about you.
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 start pitching them at http://publicityhound.net/cdpitchbestbloggers/
Read all the responses to this week's Help This Hound question at http://tinyurl.com/4orekj
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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Patricia "Trish" Gallagher of Worcester, Pa. Writes:
"My husband, John, and I are doing a print on demand book and need help to publicize it and book paid speaking engagements.
"The book is 'Don't Jump! Out of the Shadows about Depression and Suicide.' It's about how John tried to commit suicide by jumping from a building onto a cement slab. The attempt failed, and he was seriously injured.
"For nine years, he stood behind a wall of silence, hiding the truth of his resulting injuries, and sabotaging his relationships. In January this year, after reading about a teenage boy who tried suicide but was unsuccessful, John knew it was time to end the silence.
"His message will help anyone who is personally dealing with a crisis or tragedy, and will inspire caregivers, people struggling with addictions, and anyone who wants to learn how to help others during times of despair.
"We have a possible 700 Club interview, a local NPR affiliate interview, and we did a Philadelphia Inquirer story you can read at http://tinyurl.com/3vfcd2 No luck with any paid speaking or major interviews that have helped with expenses. So we're putting out the white flag."
The Publicity Hound says:
Unless I'm missing something, Patricia, I don't see a website or even a single page at your site at http://www.teamofangels.com devoted solely to the book. I even Googled the title and couldn't find anything. That could be the main reason why the book isn't selling as well as you had hoped.
Let's see what other ideas my Hounds have on how to promote the book and get speaking engagements. Hounds with tips for Patricia can post them to my blog at http://tinyurl.com/44vt26
Authors who are frustrated by their own books' slow sales can check out "Special Report #40: 42 Publicity Tips for Authors and Small Publishers" and get back on track quickly. See http://www.publicityhound.com/publicity-products/reports.html
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7. Hound Quote of the Week
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Thanks to Publicity Hound Kerry Hargraves of Oakland, California, 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 his ears, he 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/
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8. And at My Blog...
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If a journalist uses humor in a query, use it in your pitch
http://tinyurl.com/3eme9u
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Reprinted from "The Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week," an ezine featuring tips, tricks and tools for generating free publicity. Subscribe at http://www.publicityhound.com/ and receive by email the handy list "89 Reasons to Send a News Release."
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Joan Stewart
a.k.a. The Publicity Hound®
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Port Washington, WI 53074
USA
Phone: 262-284-7451 (Central) Fax: 262-284-1737
Labels: book promotion, holiday gift guide, media plan, Oprah, publicity tips for authors, social networking
posted by Publicity-Hound @ 3:54 PM
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