The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #585 Dec. 13, 2011
Publisher: Joan Stewart
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“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”
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In This Issue
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1. 52 Headline Hacks
2. Heads-Up: Deadline Tonight
3. No-no’s for Nonprofit Publicity
4. Holiday Greetings for Journalists
5. 17 Freebies for Publicity
6. Hound Video of the Week
7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…
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1. 52 Headline Hacks
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When it comes to writing headlines, pretend like you never heard
of the Seventh Commandment, “Thou shalt not steal.”
There’s nothing wrong with stealing other people’s headlines. I
do it all the time. So do magazine copywriters. You should too.
We’re stealing formula headlines–the type that force people to
pick up a magazine and head for the checkout counter. Formula
headlines usually have a few words or a phrase which can be
removed and substituted with another that will serve the purpose
of whatever you’re writing. Like this:
–How [Blank] Gamble with Your [Blank]. 7 Ways to Protect
Yourself
–10 Shortcuts for [Completing Tedious Process] in Record Time
–7 Things Your [Target Audience] Needs to Hear You Say
–How to be Smart in a World of Dumb [Group of People]
–What [World-Class Example] can Teach Us About [Blank]
Those five examples are from the free report “52 Headline Hacks–
A Cheat Sheet for Writing Blog Posts That Go Viral.”
Blogger Jon Morrow wrote it. Copyblogger, the popular writing and
blogging site, offered it this morning as its holiday gift to
readers. I want you to have it, too. Even if you don’t blog, you
can use the headlines for articles and press releases.
You don’t need to buy anything. You don’t need to give up your
email address. Just click here and save it to your hard drive:
My annual gift to you, “The Best of the Publicity Hound’s Tips of
the Week” ebook, will be ready for you next week. Share it on the
social media sites and re-gift it to friends and clients.
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2. Heads-Up: Deadline Tonight
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You only have until 11:59 p.m. tonight to answer several
questions at http://www.PublicityHoundSurvey.com.
You only have until 11:59 p.m. Friday to use the $25 coupon
that’s my way of thanking you.
What’s your Number One problem with publicity or social media?
And how can I help?
Publicity Hounds who already have answered those questions are
using their coupon and claiming special reports, CDs, transcripts
and ebooks they’ve been eyeing. They are also eligible to win one
of three $50 Amazon gift certificates. The first two winners are
Publicity Hounds Victor Brodt and Ernie Boxall.
I’m wrapping up the survey tonight and compiling the results
tomorrow. So don’t miss out. Go here now, answer a few questions,
grab your coupon code, and choose the training tools that will
help you most: http://www.PublicityHoundSurvey.com
The third $50 Amazon gift certificate winner will be chosen
tonight when the survey closes. Don’t miss out. Go to
http://www.PublicityHoundSurvey.com
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3. No-no’s for Nonprofit Publicity
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Your mailbox is probably overflowing with appeals from nonprofits
this time of year, when you’re feeling most generous.
Nonprofit marketing expert Sandy Rees says these two themes are
showing up repeatedly in direct mail pieces, press releases and
pitches to the media. And they’re a big turn-off:
–What your organization needs. Nobody cares that you’re short-
staffed. The public doesn’t give a hoot about your high utility
bills. And stop grumbling about a lack of volunteers.
–The bad economy. The constant “woe is us” mantra gets very old,
very quickly. And it won’t endear people to your cause. Forget
about the bar charts showing the big difference in donations at
this time last year compared to this year.
Instead, concentrate on the almost-guaranteed strategy that will
force donors to dig into their pockets for money, and compel
journalists to cover you.
Tell a compelling story of how your nonprofit has changed lives.
It might be a rags-to-riches story about one of your clients. Or
a hero-of-the-day profile of one of your volunteers who made a
big difference.
For more nonprofit publicity tips, including an easy formula for
profiling and finding your ideal donors, access the video replay
of a webinar I hosted a few months ago with Sandy, “Failproof
Publicity Tips for Cash-strapped Nonprofits to Raise Money,
Recruit Volunteers & Promote a Worthy Cause”:
http://publicityhound.com/publicity-products/marketing-tapes/nonprofitpublicity.htm
You can use your $25 coupon. (See Item #2 above.)
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4. Holiday Greetings for Journalists
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Skip the gifts and food trays.
If you want to say “thank you” to a favorite journalist or
blogger this year, send a holiday greeting card in the mail.
(Email seems too lazy and impersonal.)
This isn’t the time to pitch. But you CAN mention that you enjoy
working with them.
Return to them next month with a story idea, or an idea for a
guest blog post their readers will enjoy.
See “How to Pitch the Best Bloggers & Create a Publicity
Explosion” at
http://publicityhound.com/publicity-products/marketing-tapes/pitch_bloggers.htm
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5. 17 Freebies for Publicity
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If you’re a smart Publicity Hound, you know that the easiest sale
of all is a sale to someone who already knows, likes and trusts
you.
One of the best ways to create loyalty long before a customer
buys from you, or generate fabulous publicity for your business,
is to offer a valuable freebie that ties into your topic. A free
ebook, White Paper, quiz, special report or a calculator can be a
convenient way to enhance your expertise, position yourself as
the go-to expert in your field, and generate free publicity for
your business or nonprofit.
Journalists and bloggers love telling their readers about these
freebies. Readers love getting them, and they’re eager to share
the goodies with their friends and followers on the social media
sites.
When Distribion, Inc. invited me to write a guest post for The
Distributed Marketing Blog, I agreed. It’s a high-traffic blog
for marketers at big companies in regulated industries, and it
gives me exposure to an audience that might not know about me.
You can read the post here and share it at your own blog or on
the social media sites:
http://distributedmarketing.org/2011/12/12/17-fun-freebies-that-
build-thought-leadership-2/
Next week, I’m going to feature a guest post at my own blog from
Deb McAlister-Holland, director of marketing at Distribion,
explaining how she publicizes guest bloggers. It’s fascinating,
and I asked her to write about it. She sure taught this old dog
some new tricks! Stay tuned.
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6. Hound Video of the Week
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If you don’t like the thought of stuffing a puppy into a
cardboard gift box, don’t watch this video. But if you want to
see sheer happiness and yelps of joy from the new puppy owners,
check out this “Puppies for Christmas” video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDgh14043dA
Dog Jokes & Quotes Ebook: 170+ G-rated dog jokes and quotes,
perfect for a dog-lover, your favorite vet, or just for a few
good laughs.
BONUS: Buy the ebook and you also get a compilation of the 50
best websites for dog humor.
http://publicityhound.com/dogjokebook/
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7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…
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Piggyback PR onto Baldwin & celebrities behaving badly
http://publicityhound.net/?p=9867
Nominate a newspaper for a notable idea, achievement
http://publicityhound.net/?p=9884
Guest blog post:
17 Fun Freebies that Build Thought Leadership
http://distributedmarketing.org/2011/12/12/17-fun-freebies-that-
build-thought-leadership-2/
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