If you market to Baby Boomers, get your hands on a copy of the Monday, September 26, issue of The Wall Street Journal. It included a special section called “Encore: a Guide to Retirement Planning and Living.” It’s packed with trends, statistics and other helpful facts that you can use when pitching story ideas that… Read More
Use more care when taking publicity photos
Whenever I send a news release about something I’ve done to my local newspapers or trade journals, I hardly ever hear feedback from my neighbors or peers, even when I know it’s been printed. But when I send my photo with the release and it’s printed, I hear a chorus that sounds like this: —“I… Read More
Tips for pitching TV after a disaster
If you don’t subscribe to Bulldog Reporter’s excellent ezine “Journalists Speak Out,” you’re missing some terrific pitching tips. Brian Pittman passed along several tips last week after interviewing Penelope Dunham, producer for ABC-TV’s Channel 7 in San Francisco, on how PR people can pitch in the wake of a disaster. He gave me permission to… Read More
Pitch “how to” segments for TV talk shows, news
This time of year is perfect for pitching a “how to” segment for a local or national TV talk show or a newscast. For example: —Demonstrate how to carve a pumpkin. If you’re pitching to a local talk show, carve the local TV station’s call letters into the pumpkin. How in the world could a… Read More
Promoting a virtual book tour on scrapbooking
Angie Pederson of Kansas City, Missouri writes: I recently completed a Virtual Book Tour for my third book, which is a guide to scrapbooking about relationships. I sent out press releases to local local papers. My publisher sent releases and press kits to trade and consumer magazines in the scrapbooking industry. Even though this tour… Read More
Learn how to get a six-figure book advance
Almost every week, it seems, an author calls me practically in tears, panicked that she can’t park in her garage because it’s filled with stacks of cardboard boxes that hold hundreds of books she can’t sell. Sometimes, the author tells me that she once dreamed that her book would be a best-seller and that it… Read More
Customize news releases for specific media outlets
When you write a news release, do you write different versions of the same release—emphasizing different things in the first paragraph—depending on what media outlet you’re sending it to? Smart Publicity Hounds do. They want every media person to read their releases and say, “Aha! This is perfect for our audience!” Yet too few people… Read More
And the bad taste award for PR & marketing goes to…
When PR and marketing firms become giddy over their own creativity, look out. A new 44-second commercial called “BANG” created by Maloney & Fox to announce the launch of its Quality Products Division, spoofs a commercial for a male enhancement pill. M&F calls it an “advermation” and is sending the video to new business targets… Read More
How to get publicity for a group ski travel business
Robbie Hickman of Virginia Beach, Virginia writes: “After having been involved in the ski travel industry, I’m starting my own group ski travel business called Snow Adventures. “So far, business is good, but I’m looking for inventive ideas for marketing. My business focuses on but isn’t limited to school groups, church youth groups, corporate outings… Read More
OverTime magazine needs organizing experts
OverTime Magazine, the business and lifestyle guide for professional athletes, needs sources to write or contribute to a story tentatively titled “Thirteen Ways to Simplify Your Life in 2007.” Think of this as a “Don’t Stress the Small Stuff” for athletes. “We’re looking for writers, authors, experts in mental health, and especially people who work… Read More