Publicity tips/Internet predators February 7, 2006
The Publicity Hound's
Tips of the Week
Issue #280 - February 7, 2006
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.net (Blog)
The Publicity Hound®
Circulation: 14,271
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"Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity"
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Attention Washington, D.C. Hounds:
If you live in or near Washington, D.C., or you're coming for the Publishers Marketing Association University or to BookExpo, join me for "Savvy Media Relations: How to Get FREE Print, Broadcast and Online Publicity" from 7:30-11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 16, at the City Club of Washington at Franklin Square, 1300 I Street, NW. Take advantage of the early-bird sign-up. Read more about it at http://www.Publicityhound.com/washingtondc.htm
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In This Issue
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1. Internet Predators
2. Spy on Your Competitors
3. The Dreaded Ground-breaking
4. When Reporters Keep Stalling
5. How to Market a Helicopter Service
6. Help This Hound
7. Hound Joke of the Week
8. And at My Blog...
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1. Internet Predators
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After watching "To Catch a Predator" on NBC's "Dateline" Friday night, I was so upset I could hardly sleep.
It was the third installment of a show that illustrates a growing epidemic in the U.S.--grown men, trolling the web searching for minors in hopes of engaging in something that rhymes with hex.
To expose them, "Dateline" set up multiple hidden cameras in a house in Riverside, California.
The show enlisted the help of volunteers from Perverted-Justice, a watchdog group that regularly catches online predators by posing as kids online. They were also assisted by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
Over a three-day period, Perverted Justice volunteers accepted invitations from dozens of men who set up liaisons with what they thought were minors who would be home alone. But once each man arrived at the Riverside house thinking he would find the 12- or 13-year-old who lived there, he met up with "Dateline" correspondent Chris Hansen.
By the end of the three-day sting, 50 men of all ages had been arrested. Their names, faces--and in some cases their long criminal records--were shown to viewers around the world. You can read more about it, including the entire transcript, at http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3032600/
NBC promises to keep reporting on this crime, which means lots of opportunities to use this story as a springboard to publicize your related cause or issue:
--Child advocacy groups can weigh in with commentary about the problem, from light sentences for offenders, to parents who are unaware of what their children are doing on the Internet.
--In Hartford, Connecticut, police are investigating whether as many as seven teenage girls have been assaulted by men they met through MySpace.com, a popular social networking website that allows users to create profiles that can include personal information, cellphone numbers and even photos of themselves in suggestive poses, or worse. Internet experts familiar with MySpace.com can advise parents on how to check these kinds of websites to see if their own children have profiles.
--Computer consultants and other techies can let parents know about safeguards such as programs that filter, block and monitor Internet use.
--Child psychologists can comment on age-appropriate discussions that parents should have with their children about online predators.
--Police can discuss the kinds of minors that most susceptible to being victims.
--Do you think people in your state should be alerted when a predator moves into the neighborhood?
--What are the schools doing, if anything, to keep children safe?
--Should parents snoop in their children's rooms, pockets, backpacks and drawers? Or does this ruin the trust between parent and child?
If you have more ideas, you can post them to my blog at http://publicityhound.net/?p=488
TV reporter Shawne Duperon says pitching stories like the ones above to your local TV station that's affiliated with the network where you first saw the story is an excellent strategy. But how do you get through to busy newsroom people? She knows how, and she give you all her best tips on "How to Get on the Local TV News Tomorrow," available as a CD or electronic transcript. Read more about it at http://tinyurl.com/4zpuz
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2. Spy on Your Competitors
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Thanks to Publicity Hound George McKenzie for this tip, which you'll find in his "Free Publicity Action Plan" at http://tinyurl.com/927g5
Use your competitor's online media room to generate publicity for yourself.
Simply check the media room on their website. George says they’ll probably be crowing about their media successes (as they should).
You can contact the media outlet that gave them publicity, and strike up a relationship by offering to help reporters next time they do a similar story.
You can even find out when your competitor has gotten publicity beforethey have a chance to post it to their website, so that you can immediately contact the reporter and offer a follow up or "another angle."
That’s where Google Alerts and similar services come in very handy.
I wrote about Google Alerts last year in this newsletter. If you missed it, you can see the short video that Publicity Hound Terry Brock, created for me at http://tinyurl.com/c82rm It shows you how to use Google Alerts to find journalists.
"Special Report #22: How to Create an Online Media Room and Keep the Media Coming Back" explains why you need an online media room if you expect journalists to take you seriously. It tells you what your media room must include, and gives you lots of ideas for other things you can offer, even if you're a one-person business. It's $10. Order at http://tinyurl.com/6uz9g
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3. The Dreaded Ground-breaking
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A friend whose company is opening a new addition called to ask for my best tips on how to stage a ribbon-cutting ceremony the media will love.
"That's an oxymoron," I said. "The media don't love ribbon-cuttings. They despise them."
So stop wasting your time trying to make a big pair of cardboard scissors, then lining up your execs in front of a long red ribbon and asking somebody to do "the honor" of cutting it. These kinds of staged media events are cliche and just plain dumb. There are far more creative ways to get publicity for a new addition:
--Why was it built? Are you bursting at the seams and need more office space to accommodate all your new employees?
--Is there anything unusual about the architecture or construction? Was it built with environmentally friendly materials? If so, why did you choose that kind of construction?
--What will take place inside the addition, or how will your customers or clients be affected?
--If you can't think of an interesting story idea, call the media and ask for a stand-alone photo and caption. Suggest photogenic things inside the addition, like employees filling their coffee mugs at the latte bar in your new cafeteria, or the employee work-out room.
Dan Collins, one of the best PR people I know, has dozens of suggestions on how to avoid these cliche events and, instead, offer the media enticing story ideas, photos and special events. He explained them all on the CD or electronic transcript called "Fun Alternatives to Boring Ground-breakings, Ribbon-cuttings and Check-passings." Read more about what you'll learn at http://tinyurl.com/7cl6z
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4. When Reporters Keep Stalling
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A publicist emailed me last week, asking my advice on this dilemma.
She pitched a story about her client, whose company is the local angle to a major national business story. A reporter from a big newspaper (one that most Publicity Hounds would give their right arms to get into), bit on the idea in November and asked for exclusivity.
But the reporter kept stalling and wouldn't schedule the interview because he was either on another assignment, or the timing wasn't right. He kept telling the publicist to be patient and that his editor was still interested.
Here we are two months later, and the client is getting antsy. He even suggested that his publicist offer the story to other major newspapers.
This one was an easy call. Here's what I told her.
Every time the journalist has replied, his answer has been positive, and that means he and his editor are still interested. If you offer this story to somebody else, you'll forever ruin your relationship not only with this reporter, but with the newspaper.
Tell the client it's not unusual for the media to sit on a story for several months, or even up to a year, before they cover it. But in this case, the story idea is timely and the topic will be in the news for many months, so give the reporter several more weeks and see what happens.
Sure enough, the very day I replied to her, the reporter called to schedule an interview. If this ever happens to you and the story is timely, give the reporter an ultimatum without using the word ultimatum. Just say something like, "I have to know by the end of the week if you're interested in this story. If not, I'll be offering it to others." If they aren't interested, they'll tell you.
This is just one of many important steps in learning how to be patient so you don't blow a great opportunity. I know all the other steps, and I shared them with George McKenzie when he interviewed me on how to "Get Free Publicity in Print," my very favorite interview. It's available as a CD or an electronic transcript that you can download and be reading as soon as your order is approved. Read more about what you'll learn at http://tinyurl.com/4kpmx
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5. How to Market a Helicopter Service
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This week, a whopping 18 Publicity Hounds have tips for Lauren Tarne of Dallas, Texas on how to promote her client's high-end helicopter charter service in New York City.
From Theresa Krump:
"Would your client be willing to donate a free ride to a charity auction attended by people in his target demographic? I am working on several different events in Westchester County, New York, the affluent suburb just north of NYC...If this firm donated a ride to one of these auctions as an auction item, it would be written up in tempting terms in the Journal and a poster or display would be set up featuring his firm on the auction bidding table."
From Carol Stevens:
"Focus on the benefits of the service. Such as if you’re flying to the Hamptons for the day as opposed to driving--or what are some other destinations that you can compare drive time to? Is the service available 24 hours a day? If so, talk about it. Do you have to schedule well in advance or can you go last minute in the event a client needs you to come right away and other forms of transportation will delay the meeting? And focus on celebrity status--everyone wants to feel special and that their time is extremely valuable so if you want that VIP treatment hop on the heli pad."
From John Elmore:
"Even rich business guys like simple toys--so how about printing the company business name and contact information on a box of those plastic twirly helicopter blade toys that launch from between your hands with a quick rub of the hands in opposite directions? Mail that out to the top executives in New York along with a color flyer or brochure."
Read all the responses at my blog at http://publicityhound.net/?p=479
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6. Help This Hound
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Corinne Donlin, San Francisco, California writes:
"I am looking for recommendations as to how to get publicity to promote seminars which will present how individuals (real estate agents, financial planners, salespeople, insurance agents, etc.) as well as small business owners can increase their sales through networking. I'd like ideas as to 1) Where to start, 2) Any promotion/publicity/marketing ideas anyone can provide and 3) How can I find partners to help publicize the seminars with them receiving compensation for the referrals?"
The Publicity Hound says: This is a difficult one, simply because there's probably more free information out there an how to network than on any other business topic. But my Hounds love tough questions that keep their minds sharp. Hounds with ideas should post them to my blog at http://www.PublicityHound.net/?p=489
In the meantime, I shared my best tips on how free or professional speakers can get a boatload of free publicity when Tom Antion interviewed me for "Kick up a Media Storm." It's available as a CD and you can read all about it at http://tinyurl.com/buq8s
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7. Hound Joke of the Week
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Thanks to Publicity Hound Sophie Wajsman of Australia for this one:
"Oh, that dog! Ever hear of a German Shepherd that bites its nails? Barks with a lisp? You say, 'Attack!' and he has one. All he does is piddle. He's nothing but a fur-covered kidney that barks. --Phyllis Diller
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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7. And at My Blog...
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Here's what you can read in recent posts at my blog:
--Ghostwritten or mass-produced articles can spell troublehttp://publicityhound.net/?p=486
--Looking for a job in PR? Your media contacts might help decide if you get ithttp://publicityhound.net/?p=485
--8 things that aren't newsworthy, so don't bother pitching themhttp://publicityhound.net/?p=487
--Archive of past issues of this newsletter http://publicityhound.com/tipsoftheweek/
My blog at http://www.publicityhound.net/ has 20 categories so you can read only items on whatever publicity-related topics interest you. Click on the blue "Topics" bar on the right side.
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Where to Meet or Hear The Publicity Hound®:
February 10: Washington, D.C.
National Speakers Association Winter Workshop, concurrent session for staff on "How to Position the Boss as an Expert the Media Love," 4:30 to 5:45 p.m., Crystal Gateway Marriott. Details and registration at http://www.nsaspeaker.org/dc/online_schedule.shtml
February 14: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Association for Women in Communications, "How to Use the Media to Position Yourself as an Expert," noon to 1:15 p.m., Italian Community Center, 631 E. Chicago St.; $30 for members, $40 for future members, $20 for students. Register online at http://www.awcmilwaukee.org/register.htm before Feb. 10.
March 22: Waukesha, Wisconsin
2006 Micro Entrepreneur Expo, "How to Get F~ree Publicity," Part 1 from 5:30-6:15 and Part 2 from 8-8:45 PM, Waukesha Area Technical College; pre-registration $25 or $30 at the door (includes dinner). To register, call 262-695-3468.
May 16: Washington, D.C.
I'll be hosting a half-day public seminar called "Savvy Media Relations: How to Use Your Expertise to Get Thousands of Dollars in F~ree Publicity." Don't miss out on the early bird sign-up. Read all about it at http://www.Publicityhound.com/washingtondc.htm
May 17: Washington, D.C.
PMA University, Washington D.C. Convention Center. Robin Bartlett and I will present "Advanced Website Tricks to Pull More Traffic and Sell, Sell, Sell," 8:30-10:00 a.m. Sponsored by Publishers Marketing Association.
May 18: Washington, D.C.
PMA University, Washington, D.C. Convention Center. Penny Sansevieri and I will present "How to Turn Your Ezine into a Cash Machine." Sponsored by Publishers Marketing Association. 8:30-10:15 a.m. Details pending.
***If you're in the National Speakers Association or the Public Relations Society of America--or another business, marketing or PR group--and you want details on how to bring in The Publicity Hound to do a fund-raiser for your chapter, or you want me to host a teleseminar customized just for your group, contact me at mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com?subject=speaker_inquiry or call 262-284-7451.
***Attention Meeting Planners: If you're booking speakers for winter, spring or summer conferences or events, keep me in mind--even if you have a last-minute cancellation. I deliver high-content, interactive programs that are lots of fun. Call 262-284-7451 or mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com?subject=speaker_inquiry for details.
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Reprinted from "The Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week," a free ezine featuring tips, tricks and tools for generating free publicity. Subscribe at http://www.publicityhound.com/ and receive free by email the handy list "89 Reasons to Send a News Release."
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Joan Stewart
a.k.a. The Publicity Hound®
3434 County KK
Port Washington, WI 53074
U.S.A.
Phone: 262-284-7451 (Central) Fax: 262-284-1737
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