When you’re pitching the media, don’t spend all your time crafting your pitch. Think about how to weave what I call the “10 Magic Phrases” into a telephone conversation, email interview or face-to-face chat with journalists and bloggers. I’ve printed the questions on handy notepads and I use them whenever a reporter calls, or when I… Read More
Publicity Blog
Moose Lodge in Norwalk, CA, needs marketing ideas
Don Luepnitz of Norwalk, CA, writes: “I am with the Norwalk, CA, Moose Lodge, and we can sure use some help getting the word out and trying to get new people to come down and or join. “We offer dinners, breakfast, bingo, darts, full bar, kids room, and have fundraisers for ourselves and other charites.… Read More
Sample PR contracts included in free ebook
If you’re setting up shop as a PR consultant, and you’ve got your first client, one of the most perplexing problems is obtaining sample contracts, or writing a contract from scratch. But what if you don’t have the start-up money to consult with a lawyer? Problem solved. Kellye Crane, of Solor PR Pro, and Jenny… Read More
Monitor “(your brand) sucks” and do damage control
What nasty things are people saying about you online, even if they haven’t done business with you? Has somebody tried to buy a product at your website, but a glitch in your shopping cart wouldn’t put through the order? Have they called you, left a message, but no one has returned the call? Have they… Read More
Stop automating social media content—More tips May 7
Several years ago, when busy people were looking for ways to save time with social media, they relied on programs like Ping.com to automate their content. Post a status update and Ping could push it out to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and the other sites you see in the photo at left, with just a click… Read More
15 ways to publicize a major publicity hit
The next time you generate publicity in a major newspaper or magazine, or at a blog, or you get onto a TV or radio show, don’t stop there. You also need to publicize your publicity. That’s what Michelle Tennant of Wasabi Publicity is doing, after landing her client, Landmark Education, in an article headlined Friendly Fight:… Read More
Fail to prepare for an interview? Prepare to fail
If you, or your PR client, are interviewing with the media, and you haven’t prepared answers to difficult questions, particularly if you’re in a bad news situation, you’ve blown it. That’s what happened last week when a correspondent for the BBC interviewed Mike Lazaridis, the co-chief executive of Research In Motion (RIM), the Canadian firm… Read More
Authors, meet me May 7 in Denver; discount ends today
If you’ve written a book or want to write one, don’t miss this rare opportunity to see me in person for a two-and-a-half-hour presentation on how to use traditional and social media to promote your expertise to sell more books. I’ll be presenting on Saturday, May 7, at Author U in Denver. It’s Colorado’s premier two-day authoring… Read More
Marketing tips needed for photos-on-glass company
Matthew Bivens of Gainesville, FL writes: “I work at a startup company called Fracture, which gives people an innovative way to print, mount and display their personal photographs. Send us a photo and we’ll print it on a pane of shatter-proof glass. “We’ve been in business a little over a year, and we’ve received press from various… Read More
13 ways to cross-promote on social media sites
If you’re like me, you sometimes spend so much time and effort trying to understand the minutiae on a site like Facebook, that you forget to let your regular customers know where to find you there. Here are 13 ways to create a trail of digital bread crumbs that will let your friends, followers and… Read More