Here’s a great end-of-the-year idea for your publicity campaign. They’re short, punchy lists of “the best” or “the worst.” The number doesn’t even have to be 10. Your list can include 5 items. Or 7. Or 9. Just now, I googled and found these lists: The Top 10 Best Blogs, as chosen by MarketingSherpa.com Best… Read More
Holidays
Black Friday or Jack-ass Friday?
Sick of all the hoopla over Black Friday, the day-after-Thanksgiving media frenzy that’s the “official” start of the Christmas shopping season? A blogger named Chris apparently is and wrote an interesting post about how shameful the media act when they give “free advertising” to the retailers that keep opening their stores earlier and earlier so shoppers… Read More
October story ideas to pitch to the media
TV reporter Shawne Duperon and I had a blast brainstorming “103 Sizzling Story Ideas from July through December.” October is bursting with ideas about the second largest retail holiday of the year that you can pitch to newspapers, magazines and TV stations. Here are some we’re suggesting you use: —That pretty pumpkin looks great now, but how can… Read More
‘Let’s Say Thanks’ campaign by Xerox a great interactive marketing campaign
I love interactive marketing campaigns that engage people online. The “Let’s Say Thanks” campaign, created by Xerox as a way for people to send postcards of thanks to the troops overseas, is brilliant, regardless of what you think of the war in Iraq. Here’s how it works. Visit their website and choose your favorite postcard design. All the… Read More
Gifts for print journalists? Don’t you dare
Publicity Hound Ek Dari writes: “I’ve been reading your tips for quite some time now, and love the articles and ezine. “One question I had was about thanking an editor or journalist. What is the standard on that? I have had successful placements in the New York Times, Washington Post, Fortune, and top-tier magazines, but am not sure how… Read More
Create your own holiday or piggyback off somebody else’s with these resources
Thanks to self-publishing guru Dan Poynter’s excellent Your Publishing Poynters ezine for this tip. Marika Flatt of PR by the Book, says your pitch will always be more interesting to the media if it’s tied to a timely date, such as a health awareness month (October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month) or a holiday (Memorial… Read More
Katrina first anniversary means publicity opportunity
Tom Warneka of Cleveland, Ohio writes: “I spent two weeks in southern Mississippi last fall as a mental health worker with the Red Cross. We’re quickly coming up the first anniversary on August 29 of Hurricane Katrina. “As a way of promoting my book ‘Leading People the Black Belt Way: Conquering the Five Core Problems Facing… Read More
Mother’s Day gift needs pitching tips from Publicity Hounds
Publicity Hound Jennifer Raaths of Barrington, Illinois writes: “I am working on a Mother’s Day gift idea for my client, DiCarlo Fine Wines & Spirits, a liquor store. The gift idea is a handmade purse by my friend, Carrie, a local stay-at-home mom. Each purse is unique. No two are the same. And they’re filled… Read More
Create your own holiday before April 15
Before you get buried in preparing your taxes, write a note and remind yourself that another deadline looms on April 15—it’s the last day to submit your own holiday, or your own day, week or month of the year to Chase’s Calendar of Events. This is the annal reference book used by thousands of journalists all over the… Read More
Valentine’s Day publicity ideas that worked
It’s too late for most of you to get into the news today by using a Valentine’s Day pitch, but remind yourself to start pitching Valentine’s Day ideas early enough next year. Here are some creative ways others have piggybacked onto Valentine’s Day: —Friday’s Wall Street Journal included an interesting article about how February 14… Read More