When a meeting planner wants to hire me, or a PR firm wants me to train their staff on how to generate publicity, or someone says they want to join The Publicity Hound Mentor Program, the first question I ask is, “What, exactly, do you want me to help you do?” Occasionally, somebody says, “I… Read More
Public Relations
How to find a publicist
It happened again this week. Two Publicity Hounds called and asked for my recommendation for a publicist. They expected me to rattle off a list of my top three choices, including contacting information. As I stated in my ebook “How to Hire the Perfect Publicist,” I rarely if ever do that because I don’t know… Read More
Review a product before giving a testimonial
I just finished a teleseminar this afternoon for members of The Publicity Hound Mentor Program. The topic? How to get and give powerful testimonials. Giving testimonials can be as powerful as getting them, and even though authors, speakers and others solicit me regularly for testimonials, I’m very careful about offering kind words only for people… Read More
Let’s Expose the PR Flunkies
One of the worst ways that PR agencies rip off their clients is by forcing new hires to make those idiot phone calls to journalists asking questions like “I’m just calling to see if you got my news release and if you know when it will be printed?” These calls infuriate the reporters. The company… Read More
Research reporters with a “Reporter of the Month” club
If you don’t have a big PR budget, you’ll love this idea. In fact, it’s so cool, I wish I had thought of it myself. It’s called the “Reporter of the Month Club” and Dean Rotbart, a former Wall Street Journal columnist, deserves credit for suggesting it. Dean is head of the TJFR group and… Read More
How to find PR clients
It baffles me why so many PR people complain about a lack of business yet never think of offering to present a program to their local Rotary or Kiwanis Club on how to get publicity. When they grumble that they don’t have enough clients, I suggest they create an inexpensive information product on how to… Read More
Travel writers complain about lazy PR people
For every PR person who grouses about a rude, inconsiderate journalist, there’s a journalist complaining about a lazy PR person. And the writers are sharing their gripes online. Thanks to Publicity Hound Lori Lisi of Joshua, Texas for pointing out this interesting thread at a discussion board for travel writers. Their gripes include PR people… Read More
Voicemail messages that help the media
This morning I called someone and had to sit through a 45-second email message that about drove me nuts. If I had been a reporter calling her for an interview, I probably would have hung up and called someone else to interview. Here are three voicemail tips that will make it easy for the media… Read More
Bulldog Reporter: Please start blogging
One of the best little tip sheets to hit my email box is Journalists Speak Out, the ezine published by Bulldog Reporter and edited by Brian Pittman. I find something useful in every one of them, like the nifty pitching tips in yesterday’s issue under the headline “Be a Resource, Not a ‘One Pitch’ Wonder:… Read More
PR Week awards deadline is Friday
When I worked as a newspaper reporter, nothing made my day more than winning a writing award from one of my trade associations. It’s no different if you work in PR. So you might want to hustle if you haven’t yet entered the 2006 PRWeek Awards. The deadline is Friday, October 14. The awards really… Read More