Many of the great ideas you read about here come from the many Publicity Hounds who read this newsletter and my audiences who hear me speak. When I spoke recently to the Virginia chapter of the National Speakers Association, I picked up another great tip.
It’s from Brian Kirwin, a consultant for Rourk Public Relations. His PR firm does political consulting and develops strong relationships with reporters and editorial boards throughout Virginia. Whenever possible, he provides background information to reporters to flesh out coverage. He also keeps his eyes on blogs. A blog is short for web log, and it’s an online diary kept by anyone who wants to provide information or commentary about a particular topic. Brian says Publicity Hounds can use other people’s blogs to grab some traditional media attention of their own.
“I bookmark several political blogs throughout the state and check them every time they’re updated,” he said. “Why? To feed a reporter a scoop! Recently, a rumor popped up on the blogs and I called the reporter covering the race, who hadn’t heard it. The candidate’s staff hadn’t even heard it. The reporter built it into a story and called me back to go ‘on the record’ with a reaction as a ‘thanks for the tip.'”
Brian says this strategy can be used in every area of expertise. Search the web for blogs in your expert area, and help build a story that can tie your own expertise into the coverage.
If you’re not blogging yet, you’re missing a fabulous chance to help web surfers find you. The search engines love blogs because they’re timely and topic-specific. If you are blogging but you’re not getting much traffic or website sales, start adopting new strategies. Don Crowther, author of the ebook “How To Build Your Business Using Blogs,” has found more than a half dozen ways to make money by blogging.