Update: Zvents is closing its doors on Oct. 31, 2014. Here’s another local events calendar listing service to add to your list. Zvents.com sends your event listings to more than 200 media outlets, for free. They include the San Jose Mercury News, The Denver Post, LA.com and newspapers in the North Jersey Media Group. Read the full list of media partners. News about a… Read More
Online Marketing
PR Web: Disband your Press Release Police
I’ve been a huge proponent of PRWeb, the press release distribution service, because of its great customer service and the rave reviews from publicists whose press releases get fabulous pick-up. But I don’t like what I’m hearing about the company’s Press Release Police who are hassling writers like BL Ochman, one of my favorite press release writers of all time, and award-winning publicist… Read More
Why I hate Amazon, B&N best-seller campaigns
My blood boils when I see authors wasting time on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble best-seller promotions in which they rally their friends and their friends’ friends to buy their book on the same day so it jumps to the top of the list. Unless you’re already a big-name author, these campaigns rarely bring lasting results. Besides, so many… Read More
‘Pink products’ media event helps you meet journalists
Do you have a “pink product” that supports breast cancer research and that you’d like journalists to see in time for their October 2008 coverage of Breast Cancer Awareness Month? The first “Think Pink Media Event” will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 29, at the New York Marriott Marquis Times… Read More
Online press releases help your ideal customers find you
People searching for solutions to their problems type phrases like these into the search engines: “Relationship commitment issues” “Non-engagement letter” “Disgruntled employees” When you write press releases or articles that addresses your customers’ problems, and then post them online, you can generate lots of attention, new business and even journalist interviews. Management consultant Alan Weiss, for… Read More
Green marketing: 5 simple rules to follow
If your product isn’t environmentally friendly, or the marketing message for your green product is poorly planned, consumer groups will be all over you, like they were when they targeted Home Depot for sustainable harvested wood, Nike for child labor practices, and McDonald’s for Styrofoam clamshells and obesity. This article by Jacquelyn Ottman of J. Ottman Consulting, Inc., featured in The Navigator… Read More
Ali Brown’s 2008 ‘Blueprint-in-a-Box’ is ready
I’ve worked hard to build my business to the point where I don’t have to travel anymore. No more sleeping in airports, living in germ-laden hotel rooms or eating lousy food on the road. I do most of my work in my pajamas, or jeans and a T-shirt. About 98 percent of my revenue is… Read More
Book tours being replaced by virtual tours
Book tours—which can be expensive and time-consuming—are falling out of favor, and being replaced by podcasts, film tours, blog tours, book videos, and book trailers. This article in the Christian Science Monitor speculates as to whether the cumulative effect of a huge online presence will one day make the face-to-face bookstore meeting between writer and reader obsolete. I… Read More
Ideas needed for promoting Michigan nature park
Walt Shiel of Lake Linden, Michigan writes: “Our publishing company has just started working with a local nonprofit foundation that operates an outstanding nature park with miles of beautiful trails and three miles of waterfront land—all of which will soon be connected to the local university’s cross-country ski trails. “We are casting about for ideas… Read More
Fiskars’ word-of-mouth campaign a success
Here’s an example of a clever PR campaign that relied not on traditional media coverage but on word-of-mouth buzz and a huge online community that just keeps growing. The campaign—sponsored by Fiskars, the company best known for it’s orange-handle scissors, in conjunction with the Brains on Fire corporate identity—taps into the $3 billion scrapbooking industry. Volunteer crafters known as Fiskateers… Read More