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
Less is more when contacting the media
Inexperienced Publicity Hounds make the frequent mistake of inundating media people with too much information. For example: –Sending an unsolicited media kit along with a pitch letter, with grand illusions of the journalist spending hours poring over your materials. (Dream on). –Sending an unsolicited book, with hopes that a radio talk show host will find… Read More
Unitarian Church should target its marketing message
Bernadine Whedon Smith of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, does volunteer PR for her Episcopal church and wants to know how to measure the effectiveness of a 2 by 3 ad in local newspapers. She also needs creative ideas on how to promote the church and its new, young, dynamic minister. From Lois Carter Fay of Marketingwomen.com and… Read More
Use sales copy techniques when pitching
When you send a snail-mail or email pitch to a journalist, does the copylook like a big block of gray? Or do you flag the journalist to the most importance elements of your pitch by using things such as sub-heads, boldtype, indented paragraphs, underlined text and a post-script? Publicity Hounds who borrow those techniques, used… Read More
Tips booklet on how to recruit employees
When Publicity Hounds ask me about the best media hit I’ve ever received, they expect to hear about a feature story in the Wall Street Journal or a cover story on the front of a PR-industry publication. No way. I tell them about something far more profitable. It was a little 3-line item that appeared… Read More