If you’re submitting articles for online publications, don’t make the mistake of thinking you should follow the same rules you follow for getting articles published offline. Or you’ll blow your chances of ever getting them distributed on the Internet. Here are three major differences: –If you want something published in a print publication, you should… Read More
When being cute works and can result in publicity
Cute headlines on news releases. Cute lead paragraphs. Cute story pitches. It’s enough to make a reporter gag. Unless, of course, they crave cute. But how do you ever know? When pitching a story or sending a news release, err on the side of caution. Don’t send anything that smacks of cute to reporters who… Read More
Photos on CD help TV reporters illustrate your story
Publicity Hound Brad Wilson of East Greenwich, Rhode Island, passes along a handy tip on how to make TV reporters love you. Give them a CD of photos they can flash on the screen during news or feature stories, even if they already have the film footage they need. Nineteen-year-old Brad recently returned from a… Read More
How to avoid being misquoted in media interviews
The next time you think a reporter misquoted you, ask yourself if you were indeed misquoted. Or did you say something dumb to the reporter that found its way into print? And now you regret it? Jill Henry, a contributing writer at the Springfield Business Journal in Springfield, Missouri, wrote to me about how sources… Read More
Use computer worms, viruses for publicity
A virus has infiltrated my email, and about two dozen messages, all written in either German or Dutch, keep pouring into my emailbox. I’m sure some kind of virus has plagued you. The next time that happends, see if you can get some publicity from it. In the days after major worms hit, I read… Read More
Piggyback off the weather
The spring’s unseasonably cold weather here in Wisconsin–complete with wool socks, furnaces at full blast and hot soup for lunch–is a good reminder about one of the easiest ways to gerate publcity–by piggybacking your story idea off the weather. After sweating through a week of 100-degree temperatures a few summers ago, Publicity Hound John Landsberg… Read More
Holiday Inn sponsors Towel Amnesty Day
Publicity Hound Tim Martin of Corona, California first alerted me to this clever contest sponsored by the Holiday Inn. “Holiday Inn capitalized on all their guest thefts over the years by literally throwing in the towel. They had a contest for the best stories of pilfered towels from their hotels. They gave prizes and donated… Read More
Promoting a law firm anniversary
Chris Joy of Methuan, Massachusetts wants to know how she can promote her client, an old and well-established law firm that merged with another firm. The new firm is celebrating its fifth anniversary. From Nicole Lipson of Marietta, Georgia: “To celebrate five years, each lawyer could pledge five hours a month for the next year… Read More
How to promote a computer security company
Doug Baker of Tucson, Arizona wanted to know how to promote his network security services to local CEOs without making their MIS directors angry. From Susan Hammond of Calgary, Alberta, Canada: “Write an article about network security concerns in the paper or local business magazines, painting the IT guys as the heroes, able to plug… Read More
Beware of greedy editors that offer nothing for articles
If you write articles for print and online publications, don’t get trapped by greedy editors who demand exclusive rights to an article but aren’t willing to offer anything in return. If you give an article to a big-name publication that wants exclusive rights, you can’t offer the same article to anyone else. So you might… Read More