Small Business Marketing

Renaming your business? Why it must pass the ‘telephone test’

By Marcia Yudkin In 1994, a young investment banker named Jeff Bezos incorporated a company called Cadabra (after “Abracadabra”) to sell books online. He had second thoughts about the name, however, after talking to his lawyer on the phone one day. “Cadaver?” repeated the lawyer in astonishment. Bezos changed the name of his ecommerce company… Read More

Make your pet a celebrity to help promote your small business

Just as Joan Stewart is The Publicity Hound, I’m tied to my famous cat, Simon Teakettle. Dubbed “the cat who owns the company” in an article in Business Week and on MSNBC.com, his persona has gone through three actual feline incarnations, but the company name, Simon Teakettle Ink, and the website remain constant. Naming your… Read More

20 Things About Publicity True 20 Years Ago and Today – Part 1

By Marcia Yudkin When the first edition of my book 6 Steps to Free Publicity appeared in 1994, email was something used by nerds, websites were a curiosity and blogs had not yet been invented. To celebrate the milestone that this book remains in print 20 years later, in its third edition, I thought I’d… Read More

Help me choose a slogan, get a $10 coupon and a crack at $100

Slogans, also referred to as taglines, should tell people immediately what you do and how you can help them. A clever slogan that accomplishes that is even better. But if it’s too clever, it can confuse them. That’s the dilemma I’m facing while tweaking my current logo above. I paid a graphic designer about $30… Read More

Need TV publicity? Don’t pitch a website. Pitch a yummy hook

One way to kill your chances of getting onto local TV is to pitch your website. That’s what Tom Graber of Milwaukee wanted to do a few weeks ago. Tom’s website, Friday Fish Fry Guide, lists more than 1,000 restaurants in a six-county area in metropolitan Milwaukee. Every Friday of the year throughout the entire… Read More