If you’re rolling out a new product or service, make sure you have a plan in place to promote it online and offline. No budget? That’s OK. Maria Reyes-McDavis has a 7-step plan for those with just a small budget. Many of the tips require no money at all. As you’re working the plan, remember to… Read More
Press Releases
Compassionate Friends/USA wants PR ideas
This week’s “Help This Hound” question is from Wayne Loder of Milford, Michigan: “I’m the Public Awareness Coordinator for The Compassionate Friends/USA, a national self-help bereavement organization with a mission to assist families toward the positive resolution of grief following the death of a child of any age and to provide information to help others… Read More
Press release faux pas of the day–and my blogging boo-boo
In the old days, when we screwed up a press release with an embarrassing typo, it was bad enough that we had to humiliate ourselves in front of journalists. Today, it’s a lot worse. Journalists are blogging. And they’re exposing our boo-boos to the whole world in blog posts like this one from a Baltimore Sun reporter.… Read More
Help promote ‘donations instead of gifts’ campaign
Harry Hoover of Charlotte, North Carolina writes: “I’d like to tap into the collective brains of Publicity Hounds. Since 2002, I have promoted a project each holiday season called Holiday For Charity. It encourages people to ask for charitable donations in their name in lieu of gifts. I’ve gotten solid local coverage of this program,… Read More
Entrepreneur’s Almanac features press release tips
When Jacquelyn Lynn contacted me asking if she could include some of my press release tips from the free tutorial “89 Ways to Write Powerful Press Releases” in her book “The Entrepreneur’s Almanac 2008-2009–Fundamental Facts, and Figures You Need to Run and Grow Your Business,” I jumped at the chance. Being included in authors’ books… Read More
Holiday gift guide tips featured weekly in free ezine
Every year, newspapers, magazines, TV news shows, newsletter editors, the wire services and even nonprofits feature products and services that would make ideal holiday gifts for their audiences. It isn’t too late to pitch your product for many of these special features. Newspapers, for example, typically plan several holiday gift sections in November and December. If advertising revenue… Read More
Free press release distribution for Calif. wildfire news
Starting immediately, PR Newswire is offering to distribute press releases free of charge if they pertain to the wildfires in California. It has created an archive of releases on both the public site and the media-only PR Newswire for Journalists website. To take advantage of the free service, submit a news release via email and use the subject line “California Wildfires.” Include… Read More
Press release headlines should be upper- & lower-case
Thanks to Dave Casali from readMedia in Albany, N.Y. for this simple tip about a common mistake I see regularly when I read press releases: Nothing kills a reader’s momentum quicker than a section of text in all caps. Blocks of capital letters are extremely difficult to read, and tend to immediately turn readers off.… Read More
Halloween story ideas should be pitched now
If you sell a product or service related to Halloween, or you’re promoting a cause or issue that ties in, start pitching your story ideas now. Halloween-related stories and magazine covers started showing up as early as Labor Day this year, as the popularity of the holiday seems to grow each year. Halloween is the second… Read More
Virtual assistant can relieve you of publicity grunt work
The image at left accurately portrays what my life was like before I hired Chris Buffaloe of Serenty VA Services as my virtual assistant. She relieves me of tiresome grunt work that sucks energy from me. That frees me up to think more creatively and create multiple streams of income. If you’re frustrated that you don’t… Read More