Publicity tips/You Snooze, You Lose Jan 8, 2008

The Publicity Hound's
Tips of the Week
Issue #380 Jan. 8, 2008
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
The Publicity Hound®

Circulation: 38,480

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"Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity"

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Save the Date: Jan. 16

The "Speakers Cruise Free: Trade Your Talents for Free Luxury Cruises" teleseminar is from 3 to 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, Jan. 16. Daniel Hall will explain how to turn your hobby or expertise into a cool presentation you can offer to cruise ship lines that are looking for experts to entertain and educate their passengers. You don't even have to be a professional speaker. If you teach arts and crafts, play bridge, or offer classes on how to use a computer, for example, you could be just the person they're looking for.

He'll explain how to turn your presentation into a series of products you can sell long after the cruise is over. And, of course, he'll also explain how a gig on a cruise ship can generate lots of free publicity for you and your business.

Sign up for the teleseminar here only if you want to participate live and be able to ask questions. If you can't make the call, I'll include the link in this newsletter so you can listen to it later. Sign up for the live call here: http://www.speakerscruisefree.com/hound

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In This Issue
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1. You Snooze, You Lose

2. 2008 List of Banished Words

3. Another Way to Embarrass a Reporter

4. Piggybacking onto the Election

5. Promoting Pet Food for the Homeless

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Joke of the Week

8. And at My Blog...


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1. You Snooze, You Lose
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Publicity Hounds fall into two camps.

The first camp is comprised of those who snooze and lose. I know who they are because they email me questions like these:

--"I want more traffic at my website, so what's the best way to get a big article about my business in The New York Times or USA Today?"

--"I've identified 12 journalists who cover my area of expertise and I've been pitching them for the last six months, but not one has returned my call. What do I have to do to get their attention?"

--"My dream is to make it onto 'Oprah' and have her plug my new book. How can I convince her producers that I should be on her show?"

Why are they snoozing and losing?

Because they're relying solely, or mostly, on traditional media.They're spending the majority of their time and effort trying to gather a pile of newspaper and magazine clippings or make it onto the greatest number of TV and radio shows possible.

The second camp is much smaller--but so much smarter.

It's comprised of Publicity Hounds who understand that relying only on traditional media to deliver their message is like paddling a rowboat with only one oar. They know that a far more powerful strategy is to join the conversation at social media sites like MySpace, Facebook and YouTube and, eventually, pull many of the people at those sites back to their own websites.

The smart Hounds in the second camp understand that those sites attract not only kids with tattoos and tongue rings but millions of older, well-educated consumers with money to spend. Many of those consumers hang out at social media sites looking for other people who share their interests and concerns.

A few months ago, I admitted that the confusing maze of social media sites left me frustrated. My friend, Don Crowther, told me about a 50-minute video he was creating for StomperNet.com that explains how smart Publicity Hounds are using social media marketing to promote their product, service, cause or issue. I just finished watching the video and highly recommend it for everybody in the first camp. I guarantee you'll have an "Aha, now I get it" moment.

If you're already in the second camp, the video is for you, too, because it will give you lots of ideas you might not have thought about. Before you watch the video, sign up for StomperNet's special report on how to social market to the world on an enterprise level and steer around the land mines that can blow up in your face if you make the smallest mistake.

Not interested in social media? Go back to your nap. But don't say I didn't warn you.

Watch the video and sign up for the free report at http://www.stompernet.net/jvp/aw.aspx?B=25&A=332

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2. 2008 List of Banished Words
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It started as a publicity ploy back in 1975 for the little-known Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

PR director Bill Rabe and his colleagues cooked up an idea to banish overused words and phrases. Much to the delight of language enthusiasts everywhere, the list has stayed the course into a fourth decade.

This year's list comes from more than 2,000 nominations received through the university's website. It's at http://tinyurl.com/2qvpey and includes several of my own petpeeves:

--"Under the bus"

--"Authored," as in "I authored the book." (Former TV commentator Edwin Newman once asked if it would be correct to say that someone "paintered" a picture. Authors, stop using this annoying verb in your press materials and website copy.)

--"Sweet" as in "awesome."

After Rabe retired in 1987, the university copyrighted the concept and continued offering the annual list on New Year's Day, traditionally a slow news day (now that's smart).

The popularity of the effort shows no signs of dwindling. Word- watchers nominate hundreds of words and phrases each year. The LSSU Public Relations Office staff does dozens of media interviews, largely with radio stations throughout North America and sometimes overseas on all major networks, including Cable News Network, Associated Press, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and more.

An annual list like this one, released on a slow news day, is a super way for schools, nonprofits and just about anybody to generate publicity. What list can you create?

"Special Report #15: Publicity Tips for Schools, Colleges and Universities" is a must-read for any school PR department. It helps you generate news when the idea well is dry. Only $10.Order at http://tinyurl.com/6uz9g

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3. Another Way to Embarrass a Reporter
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Publicity Hound Karen Pierce Gonzalez responded to last week's item about the St. Louis politician who tried to embarrass a TV investigative reporter by answering the reporter's question with comments about the reporter's relationship with Jesus. He ended up embarrassing only himself.

If you missed it, it's the first item here: http://tinyurl.com/2uaubg

Karen, who worked as a journalist for many years, writes:

"I remember one person in particular pitching me a story idea about how, as a church minister, he picked up trash on his morning walks. The idea was catchy (God’s Garbageman) and I thought that would make for a really fun human interest story.

"However, when I actually sat down to interview the man, he grilled me about what my angle would be, what tone would I use, and how I would present him to the public.

"I reminded him that he came to me with a story. Then I calmly asked him what he thought I should do. After some silence, we were able to resume the interview. The story came out (making the front page because it was so unusual) and he returned to the newsroom with a very large bouquet of flowers for me.

"Thanks for reminding readers that journalists are people, too, and that most of us really want to do a good job and write a great story. Trying to outwit or control the process is not only insulting to the reporter who gets the message that he or she is somehow incompetent, it also ruins future possibilities with that particular media outlet."

She's right. There's nothing wrong with asking reporters what angle they're going to take. But don't grill them.

Publicity Hounds can do several other things to ensure a fair and accurate story. I explain them all in "Special Report #1--DamageControl: How to Keep the Media from Making a Mess of Your Story."Only $10. Order at http://tinyurl.com/6uz9g

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4. Piggybacking onto the Election
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I can't remember a more interesting presidential election in my lifetime, and I'm devouring everything I can read and watch about the primaries.

I've been wondering: How are Publicity Hounds generating publicity by piggybacking onto the race?

Bloggers, how are you tying into the campaign to pull traffic to your blog?

Speech coaches, are you critiquing the candidate debates?

Image consultants, are you offering tips on how to alleviate baggy eyes and that look of utter exhaustion that we're seeing on the faces of many of the candidates?

Leadership experts, are you commenting on Barack Obama's appeal?Did Hillary Clinton lose points when she almost cried this week?

Authors, are you tying the election to a topic in your book?

Social media junkies, are you participating in sites like the MoveOn.org/League of Young Voters Primary or Facebook's youth primary?

Publicists, how are you advising your clients to piggyback off the election?

Post your comments to my blog at http://tinyurl.com/3c8soo and I'll share the best responses next week.

In the meantime, start writing press releases about the campaign regularly and posting them online. You can comment on several topics I've listed here, or come up with your own. "The New Rules of Press Releases: How to Write Them for Consumers, Not Only for Journalists," featuring David Mearman Scott, explains how to use press releases to pull traffic to your website. It's available as a CD or electronic transcript you can be reading in minutes. Read more about what you'll learn at http://tinyurl.com/ndwfo

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5. Promoting Pet Food for the Homeless
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This week, 16 Publicity Hounds have tips for Genevieve Frederick of Carson City, Nevada. She wants ideas on how to promote Feeding Pets of the Homeless, an organization that helps to feed pets of the homeless and disadvantaged in cities across the country.


From Jena Zakany:

"Why not create an Internet-based marketing campaign? Create either one or a series of videos about your program for YouTube (perhaps you could even highlight some of the pets in particular and what you’ve done for them) that showcase what it is your organization is doing. Next, create a blog featuring someone who is out there in the trenches day after day. I’m sure the emotional involvement in this program is great for those in the organization."


From Candy Tutt:

"Being in Carson City, you are not that far from the University of California at Davis. Students from all over the U.S. and foreign countries attend the UCD veterinary college which is still, I believe, the largest on the West Coast. Put together a nice tight presentation and contact the college."


From Donna Cook:

"Contact area schools and churches. Many, if not all, would love to have service groups or youth groups help out with this. Even contact area preschools. My niece had a birthday party for her daughter, and instead of birthday gifts, the children brought food, leashes and dog toys to donate to Stray Rescue of St.Louis."


The Publicity Hound says:

Since this is a national effort, not just regional, reach out to the blogging community. Pitch bloggers who write about pets, homelessness, community activism and any topic that ties in with what you're doing. See "How to Pitch the Best Bloggers & Create a Publicity Explosion" at http://tinyurl.com/m7ymr

Read all the responses to last week's Help This Hound question at http://tinyurl.com/34smzz


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6. Help This Hound
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Darcy Silvers of Bristol, Pennsylvania writes:

"A friend of mine in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, near Philadelphia, is making a midlife career change from the corporate world to starting his own personal training business.

"He has traveled the world in his previous jobs, including numerous Third World countries, and is using his insight into the human condition as a hook for his business. His target audience is Boomers/seniors, and he provides a holistic approach, including nutrition counseling and cognitive stimulation.

"His focus is on weight training, combined with aerobics. He'll train clients either at a gym, business, or in their homes. He is working on a website and eventually may sell related products.

"Any ideas on how to get the word out about his new venture and attract clients?"


The Publicity Hound says: Darcy, I'll bet you didn't know that more than half of MySpace visitors are older than 35 and more than 100,000 Facebook users are 64 and older. I didn't know either until I watched the 50-minute video that I referred to in Item #1 above. You and your friend should watch it at http://www.stompernet.net/jvp/aw.aspx?B=25&A=332 and sign up for the free special report that shows you how to use social marketing tools to drive tons of traffic to your website. Hounds with other ideas for Darcy and her friend can post them to my blog at http://tinyurl.com/2c6xd2


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7. Hound Joke of the Week
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Thanks to Publicity Hound Jeff Haebig for this one:

An old, tired-looking dog wandered into the yard. I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home.

He followed me into the house, down the hall, and fell asleep in a corner.

An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out.

The next day he was back, resumed his position in the hall, and slept for an hour. This continued for several weeks.

Curious, I pinned a note to his collar: "Every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap."
The next day he arrived with a different note pinned to hiscollar:

"He lives in a home with ten children -- he's trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?"

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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Google reporters, bloggers before pitching
http://tinyurl.com/39ekba


'Dirty hotel glasses' story on D.C. radio show today
http://tinyurl.com/2vk626


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Where to See or Hear The Publicity Hound:


January 21: 2008 smARTist Telesummit

I will teach artists "The New Rules of Press Releases: How to Write Them for Art Buyers and Collectors, Not Only for Journalists" from 1 to 1:45 p.m. Eastern Time. Register for the entire telesummit at http://tinyurl.com/3x35vr If you want a taste of what you'll be learning, you can register for a one-hour teleseminar at 7 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, Jan. 8. Three experts will give away their best marketing advice on how to succeed without sacrificing your artistic voice or wasting tons of time on dry business stuff. To register for that call, click on the link above, then "Register" at the top of the page.


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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®
3434 County KK
Port Washington, WI 53074
U.S.A.
Phone: 262-284-7451 (Central) Fax: 262-284-1737