Food writing isn’t the glamour job everybody thinks it is. That’s why I love the practical tips from food writer Melissa Bradley Diskin on how food writers, restaurant reviewers, bloggers and hospitality reporters who write about food can make their jobs easier. If you’re dying to write about food, either as a freelance food writer or a staff… Read More
Pitching
Harvard Business Review pitching tips
If you or the boss are aching to get into the Harvard Business Review, the management bible, check out these pitching tips from Deputy Editor Karen Dillon, courtesty of Marketing Sherpa. You have until March 23 to read the interview for free. Here’s the bad news: Dillon says you have a 2 percent chance of making… Read More
Unusual product packaging is worth publicizing
“How do I open this damn thing?” I ask myself in frustration at least once a week. I’m trying to tear the wrapper off a piece of candy, open one of those big padded envelopes, rip the stubborn cellophane off a new CD, or get inside a molded piece of plastic glued to a cardboard backing so I can retrieve the CD headphones I just… Read More
Small newspapers prospering, so contact them now
Amid all the grim news we’ve been hearing about the demise of big-city newspapers, some small newspapers are sitting pretty. An article at WashingtonPost.com says that while the Internet is transforming the largest papers in the business dramatically—siphoning classified advertising and commoditizing national news—many small papers are weathering the decline with relative ease, and some are even prospering.… Read More
Book marketing: Pitch high-traffic, niched websites
Here’s a great success story on how authors can get exposure at high-traffic websites by writing a regular column. Mike Archer of Firebomber Publications emailed it to me and I’m reprinting it here. My ‘Firebombers Incorporated’ novels relate the adventures (and misadventures) of a high-tech wildland firefighting outfit that employs a high percentage of ex-military personnel.… Read More
‘The Secret’ offers publicity opportunities galore
You’ve heard of the “The Secret,” haven’t you? It’s the best-selling hardcover book and DVD that tells people how to achieve what they want from their relationships, jobs, finances and future through positive thinking, gratitude for what they have, and envisioning what they want. And Jim Labadie, who coaches personal trainers, has a terrific idea on… Read More
Advertising Age editor offers pitching tips
About 280,000 marketers—the majority of them client-side—pay to get Advertising Age every week. Plus, hundreds of thousands more look at the website. Check out Marketing Sherpa’s exclusive interview with Editor Jonah Bloom for advice on how to build a relationship with his reporting staff that might result in valuable coverage. Includes useful email addresses, phone… Read More
Online printing company needs marketing ideas
Chris Kelley of Emigrant, Montana writes: I’m a publicist, and Andrew Field, the founder and CEO of PrintingforLess.com, the world’s largest commercial online printer, is one of my clients. More than 50,000 customers nationwide—mostly small and mid sized businesses—annually visitor our website for affordable, full-color marketing materials such as business cards, brochures, postcards, newsletters, letterhead and so on. Andrew now… Read More
Pitching tip: Join the conversation first
Shel Israel, co-author of the blockbuster Naked Conversations, has helpful advice for PR people who are tempted to contact a journalist or blogger and launch into a pitch about their client: “I think you need to stop pitching and start becoming part of the conversation relevant to your market and your client. The blogosphere is becoming more relevant to… Read More
Voiceover talent needs ideas to promote himself
Ginger Bell of Tyler, Texas writes: “After spending 20 years in radio, my husband launched his own production studio five years ago. With a ‘voice like God’ and a smooth delivery, he has stayed fairly busy creating commercials for local radio and television production departments and providing voiceovers for commercial shoots. He even has acquired accounts from… Read More