About half the posts on the popular blog Gawker deal with pop culture and celebrity gossip. That’s why it’s all too easy to dismiss this blog as frivolous. But Michael Sebastian, a former Chicago newspaper reporter who writes for Ragan Communications, says Gawker is must reading for anybody in PR. That’s because the other half of… Read More
Working with a virtual assistant? Follow these 4 golden rules
If you’ve hired a virtual assistant to help with your publicity campaign, or for any other tasks you don’t like to do or don’t have the talent to do, Tough Love & Accountability, or Four Golden Rules for Working with Your Virtual Assistant is must reading. Denise Aday of Aday VA Solutions, a Dallas, TX based virtual… Read More
How to get journalists to mention your website
A common frustration with media interviews results when the reporter, for whatever reason, never mentions your website. Here’s a way to solve that problem. The next time somebody interviews you, and the reporter asks for the name of your company, use your website URL, not the actual company name. Instead of me being the owner… Read More
If a journalist uses humor in a query, use it in your pitch
If you subscribe to a service that gives you leads from journalists who are looking for certain types of sources, pay attention to the way the reporter has written the query. Peter Shankman, whose free leads service called “Help a Reporter Out,” flags this terrific pitch from Jenny Schmitt, who works for the Georgia State… Read More
Couple needs help promoting book on depression, suicide
Patricia “Trish” Gallagher of Worcester, Pa. writes: “My husband, John, and I are doing a print on demand book and need help to publicize it and try to book paid speaking engagements. “The book is Don’t Jump! Out of the Shadows about Depression and Suicide. It’s about how John tried to commit suicide by jumping… Read More
Obituary for Lex the Husky can help you write a better bio
When Publicity Hound Michelle Tennant of Wasabi Publicity emailed me last week to let me know that her beloved pet, Lex, a strawberry blonde Siberian husky, had died, the obituary she wrote for him made me smile. While reading it, I couldn’t help but think that it’s more interesting than the personal bios of many humans I… Read More
Product publicity for holidays is easier with this resource guide
Now is the time to start pitching if you’re hoping to convince journalists to feature your consumer product or service in holiday gift coverage. Gift guides appear in many forms: —As special sections in newspapers, like holiday gift guides printed by USA Today and the Wall Street Journal. —As special holiday features in magazines like… Read More
Publicists needs ideas for Christmas, cookbook promotions
Tracy Arceo of Pelican Publishing of Gretna, LA writes: “I am a publicist for Pelican Publishing Company. The publicists have been presented with a challenge and we’re having trouble comping up with ideas. “Our company has two rather large series of books. One series is based on the classic children’s poem “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” each… Read More
What Tim Russert taught us about how to interview
After almost five days of non-stop tributes to Tim Russert, none was as fascinating as the five-year-old article I found last night titled “How to Beat Tim Russert.” Jack Shafer, who writes the press column for the online magazine Slate, dissected in step-by-step detail the strategy that any guest can use to disarm Russert, the toughest… Read More
Unusual weather a perfect chance to pitch weather stories
Flooding in the Midwest. Wild fires in California. Snow in the Northwest. Scorching heat on the East Coast. And it’s still only spring. This is the time to pitch weather stories. If you sell or give away a product or service to help people cope with the weather, let the media know. They’re hungry for… Read More