Online PR and social media expert BL Ochman reminds us to Google reporters and bloggers whom we’re targeting with pitches and press releases, so we’ll know if they’ve covered our competitors. Her eight-question quiz for PR people is a dandy. It includes a question I can’t ever remember anyone asking: Are you reading your competitors’ press releases? If not, start. Subscribe… Read More
Ditch the Shovels, Scissors & Checks
This week’s edition of my local weekly newspaper had another one of those ghastly ground-breaking photos. You know what it looks like because you’ve seen hundreds of them. Four guys wearing business suits and hard hats are posing, each with their foot on a shovel, looking very uncomfortable and out of place. These photos belong… Read More
Embarrassing a reporter during an interview can backfire
When you’re doing a media interview and the reporter asks you a question you’d rather not answer, never say “no comment.” The only thing that’s worse than that response is trying to embarrass the reporter by asking an unrelated question so preposterous that it’s designed to throw him off guard. People who do that usually end up… Read More
Dirty hotel glasses story on D.C. radio show today
Thanks to Publicity Hound Natasha Henry, a writer for the Tower Federal Credit Union in Laurel, Maryland, for letting me know that the story on dirty hotel glasses, which I wrote about several weeks ago, was featured this morning on “The Steve Harvey Morning Show” on 96.3 WHUR-FM in Washington, D.C. “It’s interesting to see how fast this story is getting… Read More
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‘Feeding Pets of the Homeless’ needs publicity ideas
Genevieve Frederick of Carson City, Nevada writes: “I am the executive director of Feeding Pets of the Homeless, an organization that helps to feed pets of the homeless and disadvantaged in cities across the country. “We enroll members who collect pet food and partner with a food bank that distributes the pet food to those… Read More
Hollywood bad girls provide pitching opps galore
Piggybacking onto celebrity news and gossip is one of the best ways to generate publicity for your own expertise. Commenting on Britney Spears’ lousy parenting skills, her mother’s apparent absence of parenting skills, or celebs bouncing in and out of rehab has never been easier. The article “Rise of the Hollywood Bad Girl” at GlobeandMail.com explains what’s behind… Read More
Dirty hotel glasses: Fodder for more TV I-team stories
More Publicity Hounds have responded to the items you’ve read here and here, about the Atlanta TV station’s I-team report on dirty hotel glasses, than any other item in recently memory. An observation: I half-expected the PR departments at Embassy Suites, Sheraton Suites and the Holiday Inn in Atlanta to email me and explain improvements they’ve made… Read More
New Year’s resolutions: Don’t make them on Jan. 1
Several years ago, I saw the same psychiatrist interviewed for a story about New Year’s resolutions almost everywhere I looked. He was quoted as saying that Jan. 1 is the worst day of the year to make them. That’s because most of us are stressed out from the holidays. We’ve overspent and overeaten. We’re tired. We’re cranky. And we’re… Read More
Pay-per-placement PR pros and cons
If you’re on a shoestring budget, pay-per-placement PR isn’t for you. But if you have the money to spend, it can land you on a top TV show or in a top-tier newspaper or magazine quicker than if you tried to pitch yourself. Rather than paying a publicist or PR firm a retainer, regardless of whether they… Read More