Here’s a perfect example of how a nonprofit can team up with a popular nationwide chain, and piggyback onto a “Week of the Year” to promote a good cause. Dairy Queen is creating the Girl Scout Thin Mint Blizzard for the month of July to promote Girl Scout Appreciation Week July 7-13. What a wonderful idea! No more… Read More
Wal-Mart offers free online classified ads
Are you selling a car or real estate? Looking for someone to fill a job? Selling concert or sports tickets or miscellaneous items? If so, take advantage of Wal-Mart’s new free classified ads which the giant retailer started offering about three weeks ago in partnership with Oodle.com, which aggregates listings from more than 80,000 local and… Read More
Health system needs ideas to pitch to local business journal
Lisa Cupolo of Ballston Spa, New York writes: “I handle public relations and marketing for Northwoods Health System, four rehabilitation and nursing home facilities that offer pediatric through geriatric care. “I’m looking for story ideas that I can pitch to the local business journal. The newspaper only focuses on hard business stories as opposed to… Read More
New social networking site for New Age, spiritual communities
New Age Directories—sort of a MySpace or Facebook of the New Age, spiritual and alternative communities— has just gone live. “Create your own online world and promote yourself, your ideas, your dreams; share your thoughts, expertise and advice; share your healing, love and gratitude; find, seek, look, listen, ask; make friends, business contacts, even romance – anything… Read More
Why few journalists comment at blogs and in forums
Journalists have traditionally been slow to embrace online tools that will make their jobs easier. Some of them are finally using social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to find sources or look for story ideas. One area where you won’t see many journalists participating, however, is in the comments section at blogs and in… Read More
Crisis at your company? Consider embedding reporters
When seven people in the Chicago area died in 1982 after ingesting Tylenol capsules which had been laced with potassium cyanide poison, Johnson & Johnson moved quickly to manage the crisis. The company embedded journalists in meetings with top management so they could hear first-hand all the issues and problems the company faced. That move, and others, were brilliant. Johnson… Read More
Create video for your chamber of commerce, local media
If you’re a member of your local chamber of commerce and the only thing you have to show for it is the receipt for your annual dues, don’t even think about dropping out. Because you’re a smart Publicity Hound, you have an opportunity right at your fingertips to be a star in the organization and… Read More
Help a designer promote a wardrobe survey for women
Merri Cvetan of Big Bend, Wisconsin writes: “As an interior designer, I’m always looking for ways to drive people to my website and business. “I am creating a fun survey to find out the relationship between a woman’s wardrobe and the colors she decorates her home with. I will offer a designer notebook to one or… Read More
How long before criminals start monitoring Twitter?
Maybe it’s just me. But I fear that one day soon, criminals will discover that Twitter is one of the best places to find empty houses vulnerable to a break-in, or Twitterers who make it easy for them to commit far more serious crimes. I expect to see lots of details in tweets about what… Read More
The Musician’s Guide to Brides includes press release tips
I love books about marketing and publicity that are directed to very niched audiences. So I jumped at the chance to contribute content to the book The Musician’s Guide to Brides—How to Make Money Playing Weddings by Anne Roos, who has been playing the Celtic harp at weddings for more than 25 years. On pages… Read More