Publicity tips/What the rich tell their shrinks June 27, 2006
The Publicity Hound's
Tips of the Week
Issue #300 - June 27, 2006
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.net (Blog)
The Publicity Hound®
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Teleseminar: How to Create an Online Press Kit the Media Will LOVE
Join us tomorrow afternoon for a complimentary teleseminar on how to create the ideal online press kit. Drew Gerber, a publicist whose company created PressKit24/7, a program that lets you create an online press kit without the need to know complicate HTML coding, will join me on a teleseminar at 4 PM Eastern Time on Wednesday, June 28. He'll explain the basics of online press kits, the little extras that will delight journalists, and he'll explain how to build a press kit to satisfy the media and not to massage your own ego. There's no charge for this teleseminar, but only the first 100 people can listen.
You don't need to sign up. Simply call 218-486-1105. The conference ID number is 2-1-7-9-6-7. If you miss out on the call, I'll make the recording available as an MP3 download.
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In This Issue
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1. What the Rich Tell Their Shrinks
2. Take a Reporter to Lunch
3. Pitch Bathing Suits
4. Media Leads
5. How to Archive Your Clips
6. Help This Hound
7. Hound Joke of the Week
8. And at My Blog...
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1. What the Rich Tell Their Shrinks
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When I was in Naples, Florida over the weekend, the headline at the top of the Gulfshore Life magazine in my hotel room caught my eye: "Confessions of a Therapist for the Very Rich."
Writer Tracy Jones interviewed Naples psychiatrist Richard Capiola, who went into great detail about the things that worry his very rich clients who live in southwest Florida:
--Their sense of identity after they retire. They used to hold power positions in their company. Now their life is getting a bagel in the morning and taking a nice walk on the beach.
--Others, who worked as former corporate bigwigs, suddenly revel in their "regular Joe" status. But their wives become depressed over the transition. "In Michigan and Ohio, she was married to an industrial titan; now she lives in Southwest Florida with some guy in Dockers who drives his golf cart around all day," the article states.
--Many wives are shocked to learn how much of their husbands' daily lives included drinking. Capiola treats clients who had no idea they were alcoholics until they were hospitalized for an unrelated health problem and they suddenly started having withdrawal symptoms.
--They're worried about how to divvy up their inheritance, particularly in situations in which the surviving spouse is not the first wife, and several children from the first marriage are in the picture.
--Not being able to apply solid business principles to their personal relationships.
And on and on. I was fascinated at the way Capiola was able to go into great detail about his clients, without identifying them. You can read the entire story at http://www.gulfshorelife.com/Pages/hotstories/hotstories.asp?5328
The media Love--and I mean Love with a capital L--stories about the rich. So if you serve a rich clientele, and you feel comfortable doing it, pitch stories about how they use your products and services, without revealing their identities. Most of you will back away from this, and the bold Publicity Hounds will get the coverage.
A few years ago, the same magazine did a similar story just before Valentine's Day in which two divorce attorneys who were married to each other talked about how the rich battle it out in divorce court.
Tying your story pitches to the holidays is always a terrific strategy for publicity. "Special Report #14: How to Piggyback Your Story Ideas onto Holidays and Anniversaries" gives you lots more ideas on how to do it. Order the report at http://tinyurl.com/6uz9g
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2. Take a Reporter to Lunch
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When was the last time you invited a journalist to lunch or coffee?
I can just see lots of you squirming in your seats as you're reading this. Some of you are even starting to perspire.
A few of you, I bet, are paralyzed at the thought of eating lunch for an entire hour with a journalist because, well, what would you say? How would you act? And what happens if they back you into a corner and you're stuck there in the restaurant with way no way to retreat?
Well guess what? Lots of savvy Publicity Hounds are using these slow days of summer to invite reporters to lunch or coffee. When I worked as a reporter, I almost always accepted people's invitations for lunch because it helped me learn more about them and how they could help me. And every reporter knows they're only as good as their sources.
If you're inviting a reporter to lunch:
--Remember that your Number One goal is not to encourage them to cover your story. It's to find out how you can be helpful. So ask the question, "How can I help you?" If you can help them, I can almost promise you that, eventually, they will cover you because they'll know you're a valuable source who they can come back to again and again.
--Don't dive for the check. Many print reporters work for newspapers and magazines that have ethics policies prohibiting them from accepting anything of value, even free lunches. So before the wait staff comes to the table, say: "I'd be happy to buy your lunch, but I know you might not be able to accept free lunches. So how would you like to handle the check?" Then do whatever they prefer, and don't worry that you'll look cheap. The last thing a reporter wants is to be put in the uncomfortable position of arguing with you over who pays.
--Bring story ideas, information about trends you are seeing in your industry, and contact information for other sources the reporter will find helpful. Reporters love it when you tip them off to trends, and you'll score valuable points that will make them remember you.
The etiquette of breaking bread with reporters is only one of many topics I covered when George McKenzie interviewed me for the CD we produced called "How to Get F*ree Publicity in Print." It's available as a CD or an electronic transcript that you can download and be reading in a few minutes. Read more about what you'll learn at http://tinyurl.com/4kpmx
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3. Pitch Bathing Suits
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Jess Todtfeld says that if you're trying to get onto your local TV news, your chances skyrocket if you can tie your story idea to bathing suits.
Yes, bathing suits.
That's because skin sells, and TV producers like nothing better than dragging out old file footage of "Joe 6-pack Abs" on the beach, alongside women in bikinis, to illustrate news stories. In fact, Jess, a former producer for Fox & Friends who now works as a media trainer in New York City, says it's kind of a joke in TV newsrooms.
In the daily story meetings, when somebody suggests a story about water quality in the summer, or skin cancer, somebody else pipes up and says "Hey, we can use footage of bathing suits!" Then everybody nods in agreement and the producer schedules the story. It's that simple.
We both spoke on Saturday in Naples, Florida, to the Gulf Coast chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, and when he told me this, I was intrigued.
"If Publicity Hounds pitch stories like that, should they actually suggest in their pitches that the TV station illustrate the story with people in bathing suits?" I asked.
"Why not?" he replied.
So there you have it. Here are some stories I thought of that would be good tie-ins:
--How the sun's rays can damage your skin. In fact, I saw a story Friday night on "20/20" about whether suntan lotion with a high sun protection factor keeps you safe from all of the sun's rays. (It doesn't). And sure enough, guess what they used to illustrate the story? Lots of skin.
--How to take off those last 5 pounds and still look good in a bathing suit this summer.
--The best and worst beaches in your community.
--How safe is the water at your local swimming pool?
--Water exercises that firm you up and slim you down.
--Keeping children safe at the beach.
--How to buy suntan lotion. What does the sun protection factor really mean?
I'm sure you can think of more.
If you want other tips on how to get onto TV, listen to Shawne Duperon. She's a TV reporter who was my guest on a teleseminar and she explained all the insider tricks, just like the one above. "How to Get onto the Local TV News Tomorrow" shows you how to track down the person inside every TV newsroom who decides what gets on the air, deliver a compelling pitch, then wow 'em with your media savvy. It's available as a CD or electronic transcript that you can download and be reading in a few minutes. Read more about what you'll learn at http://tinyurl.com/4zpuz
You can sign up for Jess' media training email newsletter at http://www.successinmedia.com/3newsletter.htm
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4. Media Leads
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--Image consultant Sandy Dumont and Hollywood hair stylist George Caroll are looking for good-natured Baby Boomers, men or women ages 42 to 60, who would agree to be "reworked and reinvented" and appear on a TV show they're hoping to sell to a cable station. They will film two segments in August in Los Angeles--one for women and one for men (two Boomers each). To apply, fill out the form at http://babyboomermakeovers.com/signup/
--Radio host Jacey Eckhart is looking for guests to interview on "The Jacey Eckhart Show" on KCBQ-AM 1170 in San Diego. The show will run live on Sunday mornings, and it will be available by podcast. "Our goal is to reach and teach the military community without making them get out of their jammies. Or unplug their iPods. I'm looking for experts who will outline some of the ways our listeners can build a solid home life in the military community. I'm especially looking for marriage experts, child psychologists, educators in military towns, grandparenting experts, people who know how to stretch a buck, former military folks who have interesting jobs in the civilian community, and anyone who can help us deal better with stress." Email Jacey at mailto:jacey1@earthlink.net?subject=TheHoundSentMe
The Publicity Hound says: I keep harping that Publicity Hounds who want publicity MUST become experts in their fields. Expertise isn't only about what you know. It's about what you do. Read the excellent White Paper on exactly what constitutes expertise at the National Speakers Association website at http://nsaspeaker.org/pdfs/Expertise_Wht_paper.pdf
Then start doing one of the things the White Paper recommends: writing articles. If you don't know how to write, or you don't have time, you can use the handy template I've provided for you. It comes with the CD or electronic transcript called "How to Write How-to Articles for Newspapers, Magazines & Trade Journals." Read more about what you'll learn at http://tinyurl.com/dnxhb
Experts also make sure they're in the Yearbook of Experts so the media can find them easiliy. Reserve your space at http://tinyurl.com/f5evn Order by June 30 and they'll tack an additional three months onto your membership.
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5. How to Archive Your Clips
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This week, 13 Publicity Hounds responded to publicist Kathi Peterson's plea for ideas on how to keep a neat, organized archive of news clippings.
From Jim McDonald:
"Most document scanners will scan into a Portable Document File (PDF).
It will take about as much hard drive room as an image file from other scanning methods, but it shows the actual clipping. You can set up an easy to manage database in any spreadsheet program and code name the file to correspond to the database entry. Retrival is a few clicks away and the PDF will attach, can be buried in the copy or printed."
From Cheryl McPhilimy:
"Three-ring binders--definitely! I put big bold labels on the sides with the name of the project in all caps. It serves as a terrific reminder to me and to anyone who comes to my office that I achieve results. If you need to conserve space, toss or scan something else. Keep your clip binders prominently displayed. It’s physical evidence of the hard work done."
From Bryan Stanton:
"We keep the 'cream' only. More important, we keep a relational database of all clips on a daily basis, so pulling number of clips for a report, etc., is easily done with a few keystrokes. We use FileMaker Pro v7 for this, I believe."
The Publicity Hound says: If you're a publicist who's reading this and thinking to yourself, "I WISH I had the problem of too many clips," it's time to do something about it. My ebook "How to be a Kick-butt Publicity Hound" is the best overall resource you'll find anywhere on how to form valuable relationships with the print, broadcast and online media. The updated edition has an entire chapter on blogging.
Read more about what you'll learn at http://www.publicityhound.com/publicity/publicityhound.htm
Read all the responses about archiving athttp://publicityhound.net/index.php/archiving-news-clips-how-do-you-manage-this/
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6. Help This Hound
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Rob Grede of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin writes:
"The Second Edition of 'Naked Marketing--The Bare Essentials' is hot off the presses.
"Back in 1997, when Prentice Hall first published the book, it became a bestseller. It is still used by universities and advertising agencies as a basic primer on marketing and promotion. But Prentice Hall is out of business and the publisher of the second edition, Marquette University Press, has no budget for promotion.
"The website at http://www.thegredecompany.com/ is also complete and allows browsers to order off the site with a link to http://www.800CEOREAD.com
"My question is: How does an author publicize a second edition of a successful book? Do we tap the same TV and radio stations as last time? Does anyone care about a second edition?"
The Publicity Hound says: You bet they do! Mostly because second editions include lots of updates. Many Hounds on this list are authors and book publicists and they know all the tricks for promoting second editions. If you have great ideas for Rob, post them at my blog at http://publicityhound.net/index.php/how-to-promote-a-books-second-edition/
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7. Hound Joke of the Week
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"I know that dogs are pack animals, but it is difficult to imagine a pack of standard poodles...and if there was such a thing as a pack of standard poodles, where would they rove to? Bloomingdale's?"
--Yvonne Clifford, American actress
DOG JOKES & QUOTES EBOOK: 170+ G-rated dog jokes and quotes, perfect for adog-lover, your favorite vet, or just for a few good laughs.
BONUS: Buy the ebook and you also get a compilation of the 50 bestwebsites for dog humor.
http://www.publicityhound.com/dogjokebook/
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8. And at My Blog...
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Pay-per-play alive and well, survey shows
http://publicityhound.net/index.php/pay-per-play-alive-and-well-survey-shows/
Publicist does almost everything wrong
http://publicityhound.net/index.php/publicist-does-almost-everything-wrong/
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Joan Stewart
a.k.a. The Publicity Hound®
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Phone: 262-284-7451 (Central) Fax: 262-284-1737
