Tom Warneka of Cleveland, Ohio writes: “I spent two weeks in southern Mississippi last fall as a mental health worker with the Red Cross. We’re quickly coming up the first anniversary on August 29 of Hurricane Katrina. “As a way of promoting my book ‘Leading People the Black Belt Way: Conquering the Five Core Problems Facing… Read More
When a reporter calls, here’s what to ask
Publicity Hounds spend so much time worrying about their pitch—how long it takes, what it looks like, what it sounds like, and the number of words it requires—that they’re often unaware of how to react when the journalist makes the first move and calls them. Your first inclination might be to brace yourself for the just see… Read More
Pay-per-play alive and well, survey shows
If you’re relatively certain you’ll get a good media placement because your story can stand on its own two feet, guess again. You might be elbowed out by somebody who had the big bucks to pay journalists to cover it. Almost half of the 266 marketing executives polled by PR Week and Manning Selvage & Lee, a PR… Read More
Publicist does almost everything wrong
I’ve never heard of the company Invent-Tech, but I’m betting it’s one of those companies that charges amateur inventors a gazillion dollars to help them license and market their inventions. The company sent me a news release and cover letter last week about Freddy Mella from Union City, New Jersey, who invented a product that extinguishes fires.… Read More
Confessions of a therapist for the very rich
The headline at the top of the Gulfshore Life magazine caught my eye when I was in Naples, Fla. over the weekend: “Confessions of a Therapist for the Very Rich.” In an article written by Tracy Jones, Naples psychiatrist Richard Capiola, went into great detail about the things that worry his very rich clients who live in southwest Florida:… Read More
How to promote a book’s second edition
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… Read More
Archiving news clips: How do you manage this?
Publicist Kathi Petersen of Asheville North Carolina writes: “I am wondering how other publicists archive their news clippings. I am surrounded by newspapers and magazines that I cannot bear to toss, though the professional organizer I hired questions the importance of keeping one’s news clips. “I insisted to her that showing a prospective client an… Read More
Pay-for-placement fees: Make sure you know what they include
Whenever I talk to someone who owns a pay-for-placement PR firm and the topic turns to their fees, they’re suddenly tongue-tied. That’s because the fees are hefty, like $1,500 or more to get a story placed in a business journal—something that isn’t that hard to do yourself, even for inexperienced Publicity Hounds, if you just do just a little… Read More
Self-publishing makes it easier for journalists to cover you
Authors love to debate the merits of having a book published by a publishing house, versus self-publishing. I’d choose the latter any day. Here’s one more reason why. I’m featuring the new book “Publicity for Nonprofits” published by Kaplan Publishing in the July/August issue of The Publicity Hound subscription newsletter and was hoping to excerpt several tips… Read More
Mr. Shell Oil, wipe that smile off your face
Whoever trained Shell Oil President John Hofmeister on how to do media interviews, particularly on TV, forgot to tell the client that when discussing high gasoline prices, don’t smile and look like you’re having a good time. On “Meet the Press” this morning, Hofmeister had an ear-to-ear grin on his face while he was answering Tim Russert’s questions… Read More