Publicity tips/Valentine's Day Quiz February 13, 2007

The Publicity Hound's
Tips of the Week
Issue #333 - Feb. 13, 2007
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
The Publicity Hound®

Circulation: 28,665

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"Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity"
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A Note to My Hounds:

--I'm out of the office this week. If you have a pressing question, I won't answer it until I return on Feb. 19, so thanks for your patience.

--I still need to hear from anyone who has used MySpace or YouTube to generate publicity or sell their products and services. Your success story might be part of a special information product on this topic, as well as articles that will appear online and offline. Please include details on the specific media outlets that found you on MySpace or YouTube, or details on how you've used either website to generate more business for your company, nonprofit or government agency. I want to hear only from people who generated publicity or p~rofits from either website.
Please be specific and name the media outlets that covered you.

Email MySpace success stories to Mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com?subject=MySpaceSuccess

Email YouTube success stories to Mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com?subject=YouTubeSuccess
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In This Issue
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1. Valentine's Day Quiz

2. 'American Idol' Angles

3. Write Book Reviews

4. Research Keywords

5. Promote an Automotive Association

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Quote of the Week

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1. Valentine's Day Quiz
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Quizzes are a fun way to generate publicity and involve people in your topic. That's why the media love quizzes.

To prove how much fun they can be, I'm offering a challenging Valentine's Day quiz. I took it recently while attending a cooking class on how to whip up a romantic dinner. The instructor used it to keep us busy during the times when she was stirring the risotto or the hollandaise sauce.

If you win, you get $100 to do with as you please. Treat yourself to a spa day. Or indulge in chocolates. Or enjoy a night on the town, courtesy of The Publicity Hound.

Here are three sample questions:

--Who was the famous actress who was rumored to have bathed in 350 bottles of champagne?

--Approximately, how many bubbles are there in a bottle of champagne?

--Who drank 50 goblets of chocolate to please his harem of women?

The correct answers will be the ones my cooking instructor provided. So please don't quibble about exactly how many bubbles are in a bottle of champagne. Deadline for entries is 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 14, Valentine's Day.

Take the quiz at http://tinyurl.com/2saj85

The winner will be announced in next week's newsletter. In case of a tie, I'll draw the winning entry from a hat.

Now that you know how much fun quizzes can be, I want you to start creating them. They are among the nine types of briefs the media love, and a great way to get into national magazines. Learn more about "Briefs, Fillers & Quizzes: How to Create Them & Why Editors Love Them." It's available as a CD or electronic transcipt 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/d74h7


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2. 'American Idol' Angles
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"American Idol" is still at the top of the TV ratings and shows no signs of dropping.

That means smart Publicity Hounds will find ways to piggyback their topic onto this show. When the show debuted, publicist Pam Lontos of PR/PR created a pitch for her client, a telecommunications expert.

"In the pitch, we talked about how 'American Idol' was using telephone technology so the viewers could vote by phone," Pam said. "The real hook behind the story was about the fairness of voting by phone because the lines would often be tied up."

Because it was such a timely topic, a USA Today reporter called the client and used him as a source in a Lifestyle cover story about "American Idol" and voting by phone. By tying the client's expertise to a hot TV show, Pam developed a great hook and created fabulous publicity. (You can sign up for her publicity ezine at http://www.prpr.net/ and get more publicity ideas once a month.)

Music publicity expert Bob Baker generated national publicity a few years ago when he distributed a press release explaining how "American Idol" is doing a great disservice to aspiring musicians and the public at large by distorting perceptions of how the music business really works. The show, he explained, sends an outdated message of "dependence" on the industry vs. the more realistic "independence" that artists have today to control their own careers.

Many of you can probably come up with all kinds of other angles that tie into your topic.

But you don't have to piggyback only onto "American Idol." If you can, tie your idea to famous celebrities. I know cosmetic surgeons who regularly dispense "advice for the stars." And image consultants who critique the best and worst of the red carpet events. And relationship experts who are quick to piggyback onto celebrity divorces.

Special Report #50 shows you "How to Piggyback onto Celebrity News to Promote Your Product, Service, Cause or Issue." Order at http://tinyurl.com/3sa3j


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3. Write Book Reviews
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Publicity Hounds who want to create a huge presence online should be writing book reviews and posting them at places like Amazon.com and EzineArticles.com, the giant online articles directory.

Christopher Knight, who owns EzineArticles.com, says that last month, articles in the Book Reviews category received seven times the amount of traffic per article than articles in the main category of Shopping & Product Reviews, and two times more traffic than the average of all articles in the same main category.

He offers a list of helpful tips on how to write book reviews at his blog at http://tinyurl.com/yvmrcb

Why are book reviews so powerful? For several reasons.

People who buy books read reviews to determine whether they should spend time and money on certain titles. Also, if your review includes relevant keywords, the search engines will find them. That means people who don't know you will find your review and, if they like what they read, they might end up at your website.

Don Mitchell and Randy Gilbert have turned Amazon.com into a veritable goldmine of leads by writing book reviews and posting all kinds of other information there.

"How to Make Amazon a River of Gold (for Authors, Speakers and Consultants)" explains their step-by-step process, and you can follow in their footsteps, even if you aren't a published author.

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/7u76e

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4. Research Keywords
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Every smart Publicity Hound should be paying attention to keywords--in your press releases, in copy at your website, in Google pay-per-click ads and in articles you're posting to online article directories.

Many of you have used Overture's f~ree Keyword Suggestion Tool.

And it used to be a terrific little way to do some quick keyword research in a hurry. But the tool no longer works.

Amateurs guess at which keywords customers are using to find them. But true professionals know. That's why I recommend a subscription to Wordtracker, one of the very best keyword programs.

Andy and Mike Mindel created Wordtracker in 1999 to answer a fundamental question in the search engine industry:


"What are people searching for on the Web?"

Wordtracker helps press release writers, website owners and search engine marketers identify keywords and phrases that are relevant to their or their client's business and most likely to be used as queries by search engine visitors.

Marketers can also determine how many competing sites are using those keywords, and they can identify the phrases that have the greatest traffic potential.

Take a test-drive at http://tinyurl.com/3697mp


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5. Promote an Automotive Association
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This week, seven Publicity Hounds have tips for Marcus Simmons of Southfield, Michigan. He wanted ideas on how to promote the Motown Automotive Professionals, a start-up nonprofit that offers no-cost automotive vocational training for socially and economically deprived youths.

From Susan Yancy:

"Most housing authorities have employment initiative programs to help people on subsidized housing improve their economic futures. You might consider partnering with the local housing authority to provide this training to their residents."


From Peg Kelley:

"One of the difficulties facing small automotive shops as dealers take over more and more of the services for post-sale cars is finding competent and reliable mechanics/technicians. You might create an opportunity for these smaller shops to sponsor students or contribute to scholarships that will allow them to have first interview rights upon graduation."


From Garth Gibson:

"The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy in Washington came out with the top 12 Green Cars. You can piggyback onto this news by creating the First Green Mechanics!

"Green Mechanics: Specially trained on car waste disposal procedures and prevention that best protect the environment.

--Wear mechanics clothing designed as earth-friendly

--Use tools made from earth-friendly products

--Trained to make Green Cars run even better

"Partner with Green Car dealers seems like a win/win for publicity."


The Publicity Hound says: Pitch a story about what you’re doing to Crain's Detroit Business. The hook? The labor shortage, of course. Explain how the local auto industry will benefit from your trained mechanics. You can also offer a "tip sheet" to the media titled "8 tips for hiring a top-notch auto mechanic."

See "How to Use Business Journals to Tell Your Story," in which Paul Furiga teams up with me to share our best secrets on how to get into your local business journal or a business magazine.

We're both former business journal editors, so tap into our brains. Read more about what you'll learn from this CD or electronic transcript at http://tinyurl.com/q4rf7

Read all the responses at http://tinyurl.com/2htmxa


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6. Help This Hound
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Chris Kelley of Emigrant, Montana writes:

"I’m a publicist, and Andrew Field, the founder and CEO of PrintingforLess.com, the world’s largest commercial online printer, is one of my clients.

"More than 50,000 customers nationwide--mostly small- and mid- sized businesses--annually visit our website at http://www.prinintingforless.com/ for affordable, full-color marketing materials such as business cards, brochures, postcards, newsletters, letterhead and so on.

"Andrew now wants to become the first national brand name in the printing industry. He was runner-up in the national Best Bosses of the Year contest and has generated substantial publicity, including stories in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. All this has helped, but he wants the Printingforless.com name to be to the printing industry what Kinko’s is to the copying industry.

"Can your Hounds help?"


The Publicity Hound says: They sure can, Chris. They'll be able to give you lots of ideas to promote the business, as well as provide tips on how to recycle the publicity you've already generated. C'mon, Hounds. Help Chris make the client happy. Post your best ideas to my blog at http://tinyurl.com/3dcxxc


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7. Hound Joke of the Week
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My dog chewed the tongue on one of my new, very expensive running shoes.

I hoped to save my investment, so I took the shoes to a shoe repair shop. I placed them on the counter and told the man, "My dog got hold of this."

The repairman picked up the shoe, looked it over, and placed it back down on the counter.
"Well, what do you recommend?" I asked.

He looked at me and replied, "Give your dog the other shoe."


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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Where to Meet or Hear The Publicity Hound®

March 8, 2007: PR University's Bulldog Reporter Teleconference

"PR Writing--Top PR Wordsmiths Analyze Proven Press Releases to Reveal Best Practices for Writing Compelling Copy That Reaches Millions," 1 p.m. Eastern. Want to improve your press releases and boost media pickup fast? I'm part of a panel of wordsmiths that will deconstruct some of the year’s best releases and personally hand you the keys to duplicating their successes. Details pending.


March 17, 2007: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

"Savvy Media Relations: How to Get Free Print, Broadcast and Online Publicity." 8 a.m. to noon. Learn more at http://www.nsapittsburgh.com/calendar.htm


May 12, 2007: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Florida Speakers Association: "The New Rules of Press Releases: How to Write Them for Consumers, Not Only for Journalists." 9 a. m. to noon. "Sleeping with the Competition: How to Collaborate with Other Speakers to Create Profitable Products and Programs."
2 to 4 p.m. For more information, call 561-630-7766 or visit http://www.florida-speakers.org


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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."

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

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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