Publicity tips/Want Publicity? You May Have to Pay Aug 19, 2008

The Publicity Hound's
Tips of the Week
Issue #412 Aug. 19, 2008
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
The Publicity Hound®

Circulation: 50,398

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"Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity"

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Don't Miss These Deadlines & Events:

- -Labor Day is the unofficial deadline for submitting press
releases and photos of your consumer products for holiday gift
guides. Find out which media provide opportunities for publicity
with help from The Gift List at http://tinyurl.com/9es8y


- -Steve Harrison is hosting his free teleseminar "7 Things You
Absolutely Must Know to Get Publicity in Major Magazines &
Newspapers" again, at 2 and 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 21. Register
at http://www.freepublicity.com/printpublicitycall/?10011


- -Publicity Hounds can still get $200 off the $1,195
registration fee for Ragan Communications' Social Media Summit
Sept. 10-12 in Chicago. I'll be there, and I'd love to buy you a
cup of coffee if you're attending. Register at
http://www.ragan.com/publicityhound


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In This Issue
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1. Want Publicity? You May Have to Pay

2. Be the Local Angle to The Olympics

3. An Unlikely Place for Video

4. Don't Get 'Brandjacked' on Twitter

5. Where to Find Book Clubs

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Joke of the Week

8. And at My Blog...


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1. Want Publicity? You May Have to Pay
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As newspapers and magazines shrink their news holes and lay off
employees, PR people are reporting an increase in the number of
times their clients are buying ads in exchange for publicity.

A survey of 252 marketing executives found:

- -Almost one in five said their organizations had bought ads in
in return for a news story. That's 2 percent higher than last
year.

- -Eight percent of respondents said their organizations paid or
provided a gift of value to an editor or producer to place a news
story about the company or one of its products. That's up from 5
percent last year.

- -Ten percent said their organizations have had an
"implicit/non- verbal agreement with a reporter or editor that
you expect to see favorable coverage of your product or company
in exchange for advertising."

You can read more about the survey results in Bulldog Reporter's
newsletter at http://tinyurl.com/6y25mz

Don't be surprised if those "pay for play" stats jump even higher
in the next few years. I'm guessing that trade publications and
smaller newspapers and magazines are the culprits.

In the old days, "a pile of clips" determined the success of your
publicity campaign. The bigger the pile, the better the
campaign.

Today, however, clippings comprise a small piece of the publicity
pie.

Online publicity--from direct-to-consumer press releases to
pitching bloggers and using the social networking sites like
LinkedIn to promote--can produce far greater results than the
biggest pile of clips. Smart Publicity Hounds cover all the
bases by pitching traditional media and participating in social
media.

My teleseminar on "How to Use LinkedIn to Promote--Ethically &
Powerfully" sold out. You can still get the electronic
transcripts and MP3 audios for $77 each.

Read more about how to use LinkedIn to promote at
http://tinyurl.com/5zvzyd


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2. Be The Local Angle to The Olympics
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Publicity Hounds have opportunities galore to be the local angle
to The Olympics competition:

- -Sunday's quarterfinals in the beach volleyball competition, in
which Xue Chen and Zhang Xi of China trounced Elaine Youngs and
Nicole Branagh of the United States, was a display of poor
sportsmanship. Youngs kept berating Branagh when she screwed up,
then again during the break. What do incidents like this one
teach kids about sportsmanship?

- -Nutritionists can pitch story ideas tied to the 12,000-
calories-a-day diet of Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps. You
can see what he chows down every day at http://tinyurl.com/5dk2b3

- -Maybe I'm not looking in the right places. But other than the
sad story about the Chinese girl who won the competition to sing
the country's national anthem at the opening ceremonies, but was
yanked in favor of a prettier girl who was shown lip-synching the
song, I've seen very few stories about the repressive Chinese
government. If you're an expert in international relations, or
you simply want to sound off about freedom in a blog post or
letter to the editor, now's the time.

- -Advertising executives can comment on the large female
viewership for the Olympics and the spate of commercials intended
for women--anomalies in TV sports. Read more about this at
http://tinyurl.com/6mf8s7

Local media are always looking for ways to localize national
stories. If you understand all the opportunities available at
your fingertips, you can generate fabulous publicity in your
daily and weekly newspapers, and on radio and TV. "Special
Report #35: How to be the Local Angle to National Stories" shows
you how to look for the local angle and capitalize on it--even
when you think there's nothing newsworthy happening. Only $10.

Http://tinyurl.com/6uz9g


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3. An Unlikely Place for Video
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Covering your own events the media won't cover, by shooting video
with something as inexpensive as a Flip Video camera, drastically
increases your chances of receiving publicity.

TV and local newspapers, short on staff, have the regular news
cycle to worry about, in addition to their websites. They're
hungry for your video.

So is another unlikely medium: radio. Specifically, National
Public Radio.

"We want pictures, multimedia, audio, video--all of it--on our
sites," says Susan Feeney, senior editor for NPR's "All Things
Considered." "That's what people click on. That doesn't mean
we'll run your multimedia. But mention it if you have those
things, and think about ways to make it easy for us to get those
materials on our own."

You can read the interview she did for Bulldog Reporter at
http://tinyurl.com/5f3tv3

Then start planning your first few videos. During a free
teleseminar I conducted with Mike Stewart (no relation), he
explained how to create and edit your own video with a Flip video
camera and Sony Vegas Movie Studio software. You can listen to
it at http://joanandmikestewart.com/

Let John Easton explain the "9 Clever Ways to Use Video to Become
a Media Darling in Your Industry or Community." It's a recording
of a teleseminar I conducted with him a few months ago, and it's
available as a CD, MP3 audio, or electronic transcript that you
can download as soon as your order is approved.

Read more about creative uses for video at
http://tinyurl.com/5pbgzn


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4. Don't Get 'Brandjacked' on Twitter
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So you think the micro-blogging site Twitter is too frivolous,
too much of a time-waster and too much trouble?

If you aren't Twittering about your product, service, cause or
issue, somebody might beat you to it, pretend to be you, and
write whatever they darn well please. Then it could take you
weeks to unravel the mess.

That's what happened to Exxon recently.

Someone known simply as "Janet" opened a Twitter account under
Exxon's name and started Twittering about the oil company. Much
of what she wrote was favorable. She amassed more than 500
followers fairly quickly. But she wasn't associated in any way
with the company.

Exxon apparently hadn't been monitoring its own brand online, or
Twittering. When it discovered that "Janet" was highjacking its
brand, it asked Twitter to give it control of the fake account.
The page has since been removed.

You can read more about it at http://tinyurl.com/55hofo

If you aren't Twittering, start today. It takes just a few
minutes to open an account and post your first "tweet."

Twitter can be a huge time-waster unless you know how to take
advantage of this site. In "Special Report #52: How to Use
Twitter for Business to Network, Promote, Sell, Recruit &
Profit," I explain how many companies, nonprofits and
solopreneurs are using Twitter in very creative ways. Only $10.

Order at http://tinyurl.com/6uz9g


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5. Where to Find Book Clubs
========================================

This week, five Publicity Hound have tips for Larry Richards of
Raleigh, North Carolina, on where an author can get accurate
information about the many book clubs and book discussion groups
in the United States.


From Gail Sideman:

"Dan Poynter's website at http://www.ParaPublishing.com has more
lists for authors than you ever knew possible! Also, some of the
websites for publications that target your audience will likely
have insight into how to contact those readers."


From Tag Goulet:

"One way you can find a list of hundreds of active book clubs is
by going to the site for Book Club Meetups at
http://bookclub.meetup.com/all/ When you click on the link for
each book club, you will go to the page for that particular club
where you can find a link to email the organizer in the left
column."


From Cheryl Pickett:

"I would also think this is a good use for social networking. If
you're on MySpace or Facebook, Ning or maybe LinkedIn (they are
stricter though) put out a request on your own page, and in any
groups you belong to. If you haven't joined any yet, check them
out. There are many for authors and book lovers."


The Publicity Hound says:

If you missed last week's teleseminars on "How to Use Facebook
for Your Business or Nonprofit," you can still order the MP3
links and the electronic transcripts. The transcripts are being
edited now and should be ready in about two weeks. I'll email
you the MP3 links as soon as you order at
http://www.publicityhound.com/teleseminar/facebook.htm


Read all the answers to this week's Help This Hound question at
http://tinyurl.com/68xzx6


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6. Help This Hound
==================================

Susan Carter of Bloomington, Minnesota writes:

"I own a small book publishing company and recently took on a
project that's near and dear to my heart: a memoir of the life of
a man who has lived as a quadriplegic for more than 40 years.

"It's particularly relevant to returning vets who have sustained
spinal cord injuries and amputations, as well as their friends
and family members. I'm contacting the natural niche markets of
spinal cord injury publications, websites, organizations, medical
facilities, therapists and equipment suppliers, as well as
seeking special sales.

"There's a significant section in the book that is a collection
of 26 stories about the mostly humorous situations he and his
friends have gotten into over the years, hence the title, Another
Fine Mess You've Gotten Us Into: The Life and Adventures of a
Quad. In addition to seeking markets for the niche side of the
book content, he would very much like me to promote this lighter
side of his life to appeal to a more general audience interested
in short stories. Since my comfort zone is in niche markets I am
struggling for a good way to promote this side of the book.

"Can your Hounds help?"


The Publicity Hound says:

This is a difficult challenge, but my Hounds are up to the task.
If you have ideas for Susan, post them to my blog at
http://tinyurl.com/5nqu3v


I'm running out of Help This Hound questions. Send your question
to mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com?subject=HelpThisHound


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7. Hound Joke of the Week
==================================

Thanks to John Ross of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin for this one:


"Darling, you have the face of a saint."

"Thank you, dear. And just which saint would that be?"

"Bernard."


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...
================================

Don't hide behind a cloak of anonymity on Facebook
http://tinyurl.com/5l89ya


Promote nursing homes, senior centers with this tech angle
http://tinyurl.com/64ejpz


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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
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53074
USA
Phone: 262-284-7451 (Central) Fax: 262-284-1737