After watching “To Catch a Predator” on NBC’s “Dateline” Friday night, I was so upset I could hardly sleep. It was the third installment of a show that illustrates a growing and horrific epidemic in the U.S.—grown men, trolling the web searching for minors in hopes of engaging in sex. To expose them, “Dateline” set up… Read More
Publicity Blog
Author resource box the most important part of submitting articles
A consulting client emailed me last week, complaining that she had spent hours submitting articles to online article directories, but they aren’t resulting in any leads. I told her to email me a sample article, and as soon as I looked at it, I spotted the problem. She had a wimpy, worthless resource box at… Read More
Ghost-written or mass-produced columns, articles can spell trouble
The February 2006 issue of Senior Market Advisor magazine includes an article headlined “Get Noticed,” which includes tips from The Publicity Hound and other experts on how to spread the word about your company. It includes a topic that I want to warn you about: mass-produced “columns” or articles, usually written by a big company’s… Read More
Looking for a job in PR? Your media contacts might help decide if you get it
Remember that reporter who you ticked off when you kept calling to ask, “Can you tell me when the news release I sent you will be printed?” Or the editor who won’t talk to you again because you promised him exclusivity on an article, then turned around and gave it to a competing magazine? Both… Read More
8 things that are not newsworthy, so don’t bother pitching them
Lisa Manyon, who is developing a series of classes for small-business owners through the Idaho Small Business Development Center, including a segment on free publicity, asked me to explain the difference between events that are newsworthy and those that aren’t. If you follow my tips, you already know what most of them are—everything from trends that you’re… Read More
Firm absent from ‘Small PR Firm of the Year’ list fights back with letter to the editor
I posted an item earlier this week about how to fight bias in the media, and one of my tips was to write a letter to the editor of publications you think have treated you unfairly. This morning, I came across a perfect example while reading the Jan. 30 issue of PR Week. Ronn Torossian, president and CEO of… Read More
How to piggyback onto the “Million Little Pieces” controversy
Good for Oprah for finally admitting she was wrong and standing up to James Frey, the author who embarrassed her by fabricating parts of his book “A Million Little Pieces,” the story of his recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction. The book zoomed to top of the best-seller’s list and sold 3.5 million copies after… Read More
Critique the president’s State of the Union address
OK, all you speech coaches. This is the night you’ve been waiting for, so don’t blow it. President Bush will deliver his State of the Union address to Congress and people all across America at 9 PM Eastern Time. But this is YOUR night to shine, speech coaches. That’s because if you’re smart, you’ll offer… Read More
How to promote a helicopter charter service
Lauren Tarne of Dallas, Texas writes: “I have a client who is a high-end helicopter charter service in New York City—obviously a very crowded local market. I am struggling to think of opportunities for them because they don’t like doing free promo flights because of the high costs associated and they don’t have any clients… Read More
Crain’s Chicago editor offers tips on how to get into his paper
I swear I’m not making this up. PR people actually call newspapers and ask journalists, “Can you help me get a client into your paper?” As in, “My butt’s in a sling, and I need a media hit—fast!” As in, “I can’t convince anybody else to write about this guy. Do you mind if we… Read More