Prudy Taylor Board of Delray Beach, Florida wants to know how to promote her book, “Murder a la Carte,” the first a series titled Recipes for Murder. From Harry Hoover of Huntersville, North Carolina: “Every major paper has a food writer or editor. Pitch a story about how to do a themed dinner party featuring… Read More
Publicity for restaurants
If you manage a restaurant, B&B, museum, amusement park or any other attraction that appeals to tourists, stop dreaming about getting free publicity and do what John Muller does. John, general manager of Punderson Manor Resort at Punderson State Park in Newbury, Ohio, wants to know what his local tourism board is doing to drum… Read More
Good news for newspaper readers
Newspapers have tried a variety of tactics over the last 20 years to reverse those sliding circulation figures. They’re writing shorter stories, using more color and graphics, and placing a greater emphasis on local news. But few of those tricks seem to be doing much good. The News & Record, a daily newspaper in Greensboro,… Read More
The danger in HTML newsletters
If you publish an ezine like I do, but you create it in HTML so you can make it look pretty with different colors and graphics, there’s a good chance that many of your subscribers aren’t receiving it. That’s because HTML, which is often used by spammers, triggers spam filters. The problem is particularly troublesome… Read More
Give a wacky award
There’s nothing funny about the campaign by President Bush and congressional Republicans to put caps and other limits on jury awards in liability cases. But the Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch, a group that supports the anti-lawsuit campaign, made this Hound howl with laughter when I read a newspaper article recently about a contest it sponsored… Read More
Apple theme perfect for resume writer’s 30th anniversary
Doris Appelbaum of Milwaukee, Wisconsin owns a resume writing and career consulting business that will celebrate its 30th birthday in April. She wants to have an open house for clients but also wants to generate publicity for the anniversary without inviting everyone. She also needs ideas on how to play off the apple theme. From… Read More
News release screams for an accompanying photo
I just read a scrumptious news release about an unusual new package used to hold a well-known brand of food. (The brand will remain anonymous to protect the guilty.) The copy provided a detailed description of the package and gushed about its unusual shape, and how it shimmers and shines when the package is moved.… Read More
Healthy ideas help author promote spinach cookbook
Burgundy Olivier of Lafayette, Louisiana asks: “On every list I see about the Top 3 or Top 10 healthy foods for disease-prevention, spinach is always on the list, usually in the top spot. How can I use this fact in the publicity arena? “I have, what is believed to be, the world’s only ‘exclusively spinach’… Read More
Finding the right story hook will help you sell on radio
Veteran radio talk show host George McKenzie thinks radio is an often overlooked publicity outlet for authors, consultants, and anyone who has a product or service to sell. Why? Because they pitch their books, products or service to radio DJs, and fail miserably. The secret, he says, is not to pitch what you are selling.… Read More
How to find PR clients
Pitching business journals is one of the most effective ways to tell your story to the local business community. Publicity Hound Jim Nugent shares his own idea: scan the “Help Wanted” classified ads. “Knowing what companies are hiring points to likely prospects. And ads seeking public relations or publicity staffers or part-timers also reveal potential… Read More