Publicity tips/Golden Black Friday Nov. 20, 2007

The Publicity Hound's
Tips of the Week
Issue #373 Nov. 20, 2007
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)

The Publicity Hound®

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"Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity"

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Save the Date:

Learn "How To Write and Publish a Book, Quicker and Easier Than You Ever Imagined" during a free 90-minute teleseminar at 9 PM Eastern Time on Monday, December 3. Authors, don't miss this one. See Item #2 below.


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In This Issue
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1. Golden Black Friday

2. Another Publishing Disaster

3. Create a Cyberbullying PSA

4. Media Lead

5. Promoting a WEbsite for Young Designers

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Joke of the Week

8. And at My Blog...


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1. Golden Black Friday
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They call it Black Friday, and for good reason.

It's the day after Thanksgiving, aptly named as the day when retailers shift into profitability or move "into the black."

For Publicity Hounds, Black Friday can be like gold. First, the media are often working with skeleton staffs. Second, PR peopleand even some publicists, believe it or not, take the day off.

That means less competition for your pitches.

Here are some story ideas to consider:

--With credit card debt at an all-time high, experts can share tips on how to be a smart shopper this holiday season and stay within our means.

--Thieves will be preying on consumers who do much of their Christmas shopping online. If you’re an expert in Internet marketing, offer tips on how people who buy and sell online can avoid becoming victims.

--It's bad enough shopping by yourself. But if you have to haul your kids, it's even worse. How do parents say "no" to children who want everything they see?

--Don't forget bloggers. Many of them don't take time off during the holidays, and they're hungry for content.

--It's worth a call to your local newspaper to see which holiday gift guides they're planning during the next four weeks. Ask for the name of the person who is editing each section, then let them know about your products and services that would make terrific gifts.

--If you've already pitched TV and radio shows where you want to appear as a guest, contact them again and offer to fill in if another guest cancels.

--If you sell anything for children and it's made in the U.S., tie your story to the many recalls of toys made in China.

This time of year, the media particularly love tips lists like "6 ways to stay safe in mall parking lots." You can submit these simultaneously to multiple media outlets. Increase your chances for publicity by writing and submitting them correctly. I explain how on "Briefs, Fillers & Quizzes: How to Submit Them & Why Editors LOVE Them."

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/d74h7


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2. Another Publishing Disaster
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I frequently discuss the many authors who can't park in their garages because of the towering boxes of books they can't unload.

Think I'm exaggerating?

Publicity Hound Paul Furiga tipped me off to a Wall Street Journal article about C. Ben Bosah, an environmental engineer from Ohio who was convinced that a non-fiction book about women's health, written by his wife, a gynecologist, would be a best-seller.

Unfamiliar with the publishing world, the couple self-published the book and did almost everything wrong:

--They failed to line up a distributor before publication.

--They chose a title for the book that limited potential readership. Many readers associated "Letters to My Sisters: Plain Truths and Straight forward Advice from a Gynecologist" solely with black women.

--They neglected to send galleys of the book several months before publication to the key magazines that do early reviews.

--The book was unavailable at local bookstores when the Columbus Dispatch reviewed it on Oct. 19 last year. People wanting to read the book had to borrow it from local libraries.

--The couple refused to go with a print-on-demand company and instead ordered 15,398 books. Today, 4½ pallets of books clutter the three-car garage at the Bosahs' home.

You can read the rest of the story at http://tinyurl.com/ynjgxa but do it today. The Wall Street Journal might remove the article from its website.

If you're thinking of writing a book, don't fall into the traps above. Join me for a complimentary 90-minute teleseminar at 9 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, December 3.

My special guest is Adam Wittey, who will explain "How To Write and Publish a Book, Quicker and Easier Than You Ever Imagined." More than 500 Publicity Hounds listened in several weeks ago when Adam and Tom Antion delivered a content-rich teleseminar on how to sell books online. I was inundated with emails from happy Hounds who loved their tips. And this call will be equally valuable. Save the date. I'll give details on how to sign up in next week's newsletter.

In the meantime, authors who want to park in their garages can learn "How to Revive a Dying Book Marketing Campaign." Book publicist Lissa Warren has a bag of tricks designed to boost sales for even the most lethargic titles. They work for her and they can work for you too.

Continue reading more about what you'll learn from this CD or electronic transcript at http://tinyurl.com/67bhu


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3. Create a Cyberbullying PSA
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Here's a great project for videographers, schools, nonprofits or other groups.

Help end cyberbullying by creating a public service announcement on the issue. Sony Creative Software, the National Crime Prevention Council and the Ad Council want entries from independent producers and schools (K-12). The top submissions may be eligible for national broadcast, and their producer or sponsoring school will receive a complete multimedia editing suite valued at over $18,000.

All entries must be received by January 11, 2008 to be eligible.

Read more about it at http://tinyurl.com/274lu5

Unsure of how to create video? This two-CD set on how to produce videos tells you everything you need to know and more. It includes hundreds of tips on how to get broadcast quality productions on the tightest budget possible, even if you don't have a computer.

Read more about what you'll learn about creating video at http://tinyurl.com/y3b6wj


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4. Media Lead
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Leah Ingram’s blog, The Lean Green Family (formerly Suddenly Frugal), will soon be syndicated nationally through a third-party syndicator whose clients include the Associated Press, The New York Times, CNN, LexisNexis and other major media outlets. She is looking to the PR community to keep a steady stream of "lean and green" story ideas coming her way for inclusion in future blog postings.

When syndicated, they will link to other relevant news on the topic including stock tickers of companies in related industries. The heart of her blog is about how going green can save you green, but she'll write about tangential topics as well, including reusable shopping bags and green limos that the stars hire to take them to Hollywood events. She’d also like to cover affordable, green products (beauty, household, cleaning, fashion, home furnishings, etc.).

Please add her to your media list. Snail-mail samples to 77 Old Mill Rd., New Hope, PA 18938. Read previous postings from her blog at http://suddenlyfrugal.blogspot.com Emailed information is fine to start with. Please use mailto:leah.ingram@comcast.net and put "Lean Green Family Blog" in the subject line.

The Publicity Hound says: If you're pitching Leah, please stick to the topic. If you don't know how to pitch succinctly, with a killer message, Raleigh Pinskey will show you "How to Create the Perfect 30-Second Pitch." You'll see lots of examples of how Raleigh turned long, rambling pitches into 5- or 10-second attention-getters.

Her tips apply mostly to phone pitching, but you can use the same techniques when pitching via email. 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/6xghx


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5. Promoting a Website for Young Designers
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This week, 12 Publicity Hounds have tips on how Rebecca Witek of Buffalo Grove, Illinois can promote her website for young designers at http://www.youngdesignersguide.com


From Shonika Proctor:

"Spend some time on student design related forums and social networking sites like LinkedIn or Facebook."


From Shel Horowitz:

"A great service would be a portfolio section where young designers could post their best pieces and contact information.You could either charge for this or make it free, sort by type of project, and eventually become the destination site for people looking to hire young graphic artists. This should be worthy of significant press, especially in trade journals and student/alumni magazines."


From Meryl K. Evans:

"Hold a graphics design contest or something creative and email or post the info on sites, communities, and blogs like Digital-web.com, Web-graphics.com, Smashingmagazine.com, LissaExplains.com (targets kids--but they may not be far from college) and SitePoint.com. Perhaps you can find a sponsor for a cool prize."


The Publicity Hound says:

Start posting your articles at article directory sites where the search engines can find them. Use my handy template on how to write a how-to article. It comes with the CD or electronic transcript "How to Write How-to Articles for Newspapers, Magazines & Trade Journals." You can learn more about what it includes at http://tinyurl.com/dnxhb

Read all the responses for this week's Help This Hound question at http://tinyurl.com/353xdy


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6. Help This Hound
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Harry Hoover of Charlotte, North Carolina writes:

"Since 2002, I have promoted a project each holiday season called Holiday For Charity. It encourages people to ask for charitable donations in their name in lieu of gifts. I’ve gotten solid local coverage of this program, but I’d like to take it up a notch. I’m hoping your readers can provide ideas to augment my plan.

"Here are my ideas:

--Local media relations with key media like Charlotte Observer, Business Journal, etc.

--PRWeb news release at http://tinyurl.com/2dzaz8

--Story in my ezine

--Continuing coverage on my blog

--Post an article on social media sites

"Thanks in advance for any assistance."


The Publicity Hound says:

What a nice gesture, Harry. Hounds who want to help make this the best year yet for donations can post ideas to my blog at http://tinyurl.com/ypmezl

Harry, how about contacting influential bloggers who write about the nonprofit sector? Or those who blog for specific charities? Let them know what you're doing and suggest they ask their readers to participate in your campaign and donate to that specific cause.

See "How to Pitch the Best Bloggers & Create a Publicity Explosion" at http://tinyurl.com/m7ymr


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7. Hound Joke of the Week
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Cats are smarter than dogs. You can't get eight cats to pull a sled through snow.


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8. And at My Blog...
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Oprah crisis: Topic of my first blog for Huffington Post
http://tinyurl.com/27yrjd


How to publicize a solo law practice
http://tinyurl.com/yrpwks


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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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