The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #473 Oct. 13, 2009
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://publicityhound.com/
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
http://www.publicityarticles.net/ (Ezine Archives)
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“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”
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In This Issue
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1. 8 Ways to Distribute Your News
2. How the FTC Crackdown Affects You
3. Blogger LinkUp
4. How Publicists Set Fees
5. Help This Hound
6. Hound Joke of the Week
7. And at My Blog…
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1. 8 Ways to Distribute Your News
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When it’s time to share news about your business, how do you
share it?
In the old days, we’d type a press release and mail dozens of
them.
Or, we’d pitch the story to one of the wire services and hope for
the best.
These days, however, the Internet opens many more avenues for
distributing our news. “Moving Beyond the Wire: Tips for Making
the Most of Distribution Channels,” a free White Paper from
Vocus, lists the strengths and weaknesses of eight distribution
channels. You can download it at http://budurl.com/wka4
Writing online press releases is one of my favorites because it
lets us bypass the media and reach consumers directly if–and
this is a very big if–we’ve used the correct keywords in our
releases so consumers can find them.
Two weeks ago, I wrote about the biggest mistake people make when
writing releases: not using keywords. The second big boo-boo is
using keywords that have too much competition.
For example, if you sell handbags, writing a press release and
using the word “handbags” throughout won’t do you much good. Your
release would be competing against companies like Zappos,
Overstock.com, Handbags.com and others that have top ranking in
Google for “handbags.”
But if you write about “quilted handbags” or “handmade handbags”
or “Desperate Housewives handbags,” you’ll be targeting potential
customers like a laser beam, and you’ll have a chance to make it
onto Page 1 of Google’s search results more easily.
Keywords don’t have to be confusing or frustrating if you have a
step-by-step checklist you can use when writing releases. Janet
Thaeler will give you one during next week’s teleseminar on “How
to Use Keywords: The ‘Magic Magnets’ That PUll Consumers and
Journalists to Your Press Releases.” It will be at 3 p.m. Eastern
Time on Wednesday, Oct. 21.
I’m betting that most of your competitors don’t know how to use
keywords. So this is a golden opportunity to learn how, and leave
them in the dust.
Everyone who registers for the call will have the chance to win a
press release written by Janet, and distributed through PRWeb.
Read more about what you?ll learn, and register at
http://tinyurl.com/yeygbqb
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2. How the FTC Crackdown Affects You
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Last week’s ruling by the FTC that forces bloggers and other
business people to reveal paid endorsements that they receive, or
requires them to mention that the products they review were given
to them for free, is sending bloggers into a tailspin.
Most bloggers don’t accept money to write favorable reviews of
products.
But what about sneaking affiliate links into copy so they earn a
commission for recommending somebody else’s products and
services?
What about celebrity endorsements?
What about writing “blurbs” for somebody else’s book jacket? If
an author asks you to write one, is it your responsibility, or
the publisher’s, to let readers know that the publisher didn’t
make you pay for the book?
The new regulations, which take effect Dec. 1, don’t only affect
bloggers. They cover copywriters, Internet entrepreneurs,
affiliate program managers, publishers and others. News stories
last week said that the FTC isn’t quite sure how it’s going to
police bloggers and others and that it doesn’t even have the
manpower to enforce the new rules proactively.
If you’re tempted to ignore the rules, what if a disgruntled
competitor reports you to the FTC?
Publicity expert Marcia Yudkin’s will be interviewing Boston
business attorney Jean Sifleet on Thursday, Oct. 29, about how
the new rules affect bloggers and others. She’ll record the call
and then sell the recording. If you’re curious about what you’ll
have to do differently starting Dec. 1, or you’d like to submit a
question, go to or http://budurl.com/8fj4 and read more about
what you’ll learn, and then register.
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3. Blogger LinkUp
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Publicity Hound Cathy Stucker read last week’s tips about how to
find guest bloggers, and asked me to share another helpful
suggestion.
If you’re looking for guest posts, try submitting a request to
her free service, http://BloggerLinkUp.com/
“A blogger can submit a request for a guest post, offer to guest
post, and more,” she said. “Authors have done blog tours and
gotten their books reviewed. Bloggers have gotten useful content
for their blogs, and others have gotten great links. I got a link
from the Huffington Post through a request posted in Blogger
LinkUp.”
The service launched in April and already has resulted in lots of
matches. You can also use it to look for sources for interviews
or to offer products to bloggers for review. (See Item #2 above.)
When you’ve identified a blogger you want to pitch, do you spend
time becoming familiar with their blog content and posting a few
comments there over several days, so they can get to know you
before you pitch? If not, you’re skipping a valuable step. Learn
more about how to approach bloggers—even the big ones—and
encourage them to write about you. See “How to Pitch the Best
Bloggers & Create a PUblicity Explosion” at
http://budurl.com/gqln
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4. How Publicists Set Fees
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This week, five Publicity Hounds answered a question from Joel
Kweskin of Charlotte, NC. He wanted to know if publicists should
receive higher fees for publicity in major media outlets.
From Diana Ennen:
“I don?t feel it?s necessary to be paid more for a big hit. We do
get rewarded in just landing those. They show our clients that we
really can do it. And those make great additions to their press
page too.”
From Bonnie Harris:
“Best to price your work according to the effort, not the outcome
because that is what you can measure on a consistent basis. Your
big hits will earn you more business, and eventually allow you to
charge more anyway.”
From Gail Sideman:
“I create fees based on the scope of a project. The best I can do
for an honest fee is to approach targeted, appropriate media for
a story and present it professionally and in a way that meets the
needs of said outlet?s audience.”
The Publicity Hound says:
Read all the responses to last week?s ?Help This Hound” question
at http://budurl.com/9h2q
In my ebook, “How to Hire the Perfect Publicist,’ I discuss the
advantages and disadvantages of each of the four ways publicists
charge for their services: by the hour, retainer, by the project
and pay-per-placement. You can decide which model is right for
you. Read more about what you’ll learn at
http://publicityhound.com/hireapublicist.html
Send your own Help this Hound question to:
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com?subject=HelpThisHound
and include your city, state or province.
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5. Help This Hound
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John and Bobbi Robinson of Vanderbilt, PA write:
“Unity, a Journey of Hope, is our nonprofit that grants wishes to
adults with a life-limiting illness.
“We take them to concerts and sporting events, introduce them to
people they want to meet, send them on vacation with a friend or
family member, or send them on trips to meet relatives they
haven?t seen in awhile.
“It has been impossible to get our story onto the local
Pittsburgh TV stations. Coverage in the local newspapers has
been awesome. But the TV stations are like a fortress. If your
Hounds have any ideas on how we can pitch an idea to the local
stations and get on the air, their help would be appreciated.”
The Publicity Hound says:
TV usually requires great visuals along with your pitch, and it
sounds like you have opportunities galore for those. Hounds with
suggestions on how John and Bobbi can get their story onto
Pittsburgh TV stations should post them to my blog at
http://budurl.com/5krx
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6. Hound Joke of the Week
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Did you ever notice when you blow in a dog’s face he gets mad at
you? But when you take him in a car he sticks his head out the
window.
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…
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Win lunch with Jack Canfield and pick his brain
http://budurl.com/46ph
Number One press release mistake: A lack of keywords
http://budurl.com/czqq
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featuring tips, tricks and tools for generating free publicity.
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the handy cheat sheet “89 Reasons to Send a Press Release.”
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Joan Stewart
a.k.a. The Publicity Hound
3434 County KK
Port Washington, WI 53074
USA
Phone: 262-284-7451 (Central) Fax: 262-284-1737
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