I despise Internet petitions and am sick to death of being asked to “sign” my name for whatever and pass it along “to everyone in your address book.” Then along comes this post at book marketing guu John Kremer’s blog about a petition being circulated by an author who wants to get onto “Oprah.” In at least… Read More
TV & Radio
Oprah booking: More difficult than ever
In the old days, booking a coveted spot on “Oprah” was one of the most difficult tasks a Publicity Hound could face. But there were some tricky ways to get around the problem. You simply recorded a show, then watched the recording in slow motion, checking the credits at the end for names of producers… Read More
How to promote a podcast for women
Kit Behling of Milwaukee, Wisconsin writes: The writers of “Single Married Widowed Divorced” need your help. We are a group of technologically challenged, over-35 women who have jumped on the podcasting bandwagon—uh, make that bandwidth. We have a website and a play and a weekly podcast in which we examine real women’s relationship stories. “Each week… Read More
Child abuse stories can make it onto TV with creative pitches
My friend, TV reporter Shawne Duperon, has fabulous ideas on how to get TV people interested in your story. In her ezine this week, she featured the following question from Chris Jamieson of the Washington Council for Prevention of Child Abuse & Neglect: “I work in the child abuse prevention field. Typically, these stories only hold water with the… Read More
Radio, TV talk shows need emergency guests
If you’ve been a guest on a TV or radio show and you’d love to make a return visit this summer, here’s a quick way to get the producer’s attention. Offer to fill in if a guest cancels or runs into travel problems. Radio and TV talk show hosts dread having to fill an entire hour… Read More
TV talk show guest wannabes make these critical mistakes
Here are the biggest mistakes people make when they pitch TV talk show producers. They pitch a producer whose name they added to their Rolodex four years ago, but they haven’t contacted the producer since then. They contact the wrong producer at the show and don’t know who’s the correct one for their topic. The lead the… Read More
Diane Rehm Show doesn’t want self-published authors
If you’re trying to get onto “The Diane Rehm Show” on National Public Radio, forget about pitching her for an author interview if you’re self-published. “If a publishing house is not interested in publishing your book, there has got to be a reason,” she said, speaking on a panel at the Publishers Marketing Association University today. … Read More
Radio talk show guests have two more items to add to their pre-show checklist
Publicity Hound Carol White of RLI Press in Wilson, Oregon adds to last week’s item about things to do before you do your stint as a guest on a radio talk show. “I’ve had some similar bone-head incidents,” she says. They include: “While doing an hour-long NPR show in Dallas, TX (we were in Hawaii!)… Read More
Radio talk show guests need checklist of things to do before the show begins
I just got off the phone with Pam Newman, who interviewed me for one hour on her program “Unlocking the Secrets of Your Small Business” on Hot Talk 1510 AM Radio in Kansas City about how small business people can generate free publicity. I called in about 5 minutes before the hour, as instructed, then listened… Read More
‘Today’ looking for great grandmas, foodies, cheap dates
The “Today” show will be honoring outstanding grandmothers this May and wants you to nominate your favorite grandma. It also wants to hear from Publicity Hounds who live in or near Chicago, Seattle or West Palm Beach and love food. This is for an upcoming series with Giada De Laurentiis, author of “Everyday Italian” and… Read More