When I worked in the world of newspapers more than 10 years ago, we’d get the occasional call from a publicist telling us that somebody was walking, or running, or getting down on his hands and knees and pushing a peanut with his nose through our town, and they wanted us to cover it. You can guess what our answer… Read More
Pitching
Publicity tip–To improve your pitches, think like a freelance writer
Mike Spinney of The Horn Group has the perfect solution for PR people who are stuck with drab, uninspired ideas that turn into lifeless pitches. Think like a freelance writer, his blog post says. “Forget about the bland brochure-speak that the client regurgitates and think about the story as if your next paycheck depends upon selling your… Read More
Publicity tip–Get inside the minds of journalists by reading Al’s Morning Meeting which offers story ideas worth stealing
Ever wish you could get inside the minds of journalists to watch how they think? Puzzled about what journalists consider news because it bears no resemblance with what you think is newsworthy? How would you like an inside track on what could be the next hot story of the day? And wouldn’t it be cool… Read More
Publicity tip: What to do when newspapers view you as competition and won’t cover your news
A reader just emailed me with this question: “I live in the Caribbean and am publishing a Real Estate Guide. However, there are two major dailies in my country and they are very territorial and do not want to feature my company or my magazine because we are indirect competitors. “I sent one of the dailies a press release… Read More
Publicity tips on how to be the local angle to the Olympics coverage
I can hardly tear myself away from the Olympics coverage on NBC. I know, I know. The ratings were never lower, and most of you are a lot happier watching “American Idol,” “Desperate Housewives” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” But I don’t care. From the couch where I’m sitting, there’s more gripping drama in one hour of… 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
What to do when you pitch a story idea, the reporter stalls and won’t cover it
A publicist emailed me last week, asking my advice on this dilemma. She pitched a story about her client, whose company is the local angle to a major national business story. A reporter from a big newspaper (one that most Publicity Hounds would give their right paws to get into), bit on the idea in… Read More
Dateline’s troubling predator program begs for comment, follow-up
After watching “To Catch a Predator” on NBC’s “Dateline” Friday night, I was so upset I could hardly sleep. It was the third installment of a show that illustrates a growing and horrific epidemic in the U.S.—grown men, trolling the web searching for minors in hopes of engaging in sex. To expose them, “Dateline” set up… Read More
8 things that are not newsworthy, so don’t bother pitching them
Lisa Manyon, who is developing a series of classes for small-business owners through the Idaho Small Business Development Center, including a segment on free publicity, asked me to explain the difference between events that are newsworthy and those that aren’t. If you follow my tips, you already know what most of them are—everything from trends that you’re… Read More
How to piggyback onto the “Million Little Pieces” controversy
Good for Oprah for finally admitting she was wrong and standing up to James Frey, the author who embarrassed her by fabricating parts of his book “A Million Little Pieces,” the story of his recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction. The book zoomed to top of the best-seller’s list and sold 3.5 million copies after… Read More