The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #568 Aug. 16, 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. A Dirty Word When Pitching
2. Offer Extras & Sweeten the Pitch
3. Attract More Facebook Fans
4. Wanted: Your Guest Blog Post
5. Help This Hound
6. Hound Photos of the Week
7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…
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1. A Dirty Word When Pitching
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The next time you pitch a story idea to a journalist, don’t use
the one word that will force the reporter to hit the delete key,
write you off as a jerk, and maybe even blackball you.
The word?
Publicity.
As in, “We’re hoping for a little publicity for our fund-raiser
to benefit cancer research.”
Journalists HATE that word. They don’t view their jobs as giving
people publicity. They cover news.
Bloggers might cut you a little slack, but don’t use the word
with them, either.
Your job as a Publicity Hound is to be as helpful as possible to
anyone you pitch and to send the message, “I’m here to help you,”
not “I’m here so you can help me.”
The list of pitching mistakes is longer than my dog’s 3-foot
leash. It includes sending the same one-size-fits-all pitch to
dozens of media outlets, putting all journalists’ email addresses
in the CC line of your email, misspelling their names, pitching
via Twitter when the journalist doesn’t want to be pitched there,
and obeying journalists when they tell you, “Do not follow up.”
What they really mean is, “Don’t follow up if you don’t have
anything of value to offer.”
So what can you offer that will make them pay attention?
Lots of things like photos and graphics, and even audio and
video. I’ll cover them all when I host the webinar “A Simple 5-
Part Formula for Delivering the Perfect Media Pitch and Hitting
it Out of the Park” from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday,
Aug. 18. If the time is inconvenient, register anyway, because
you’ll receive the video replay and other materials within 72
hours.
You can use my formula as a cheat sheet every time you pitch. And
I’ll give you 27 story angles you can steal on days when the idea
well is dry.
Register here:
http://publicityhound.com/publicity-products/marketing-
tapes/pitchingformula.htm
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2. Offer Extras & Sweeten the Pitch
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One of the little extras you can offer journalists when you pitch
is a list of other sources they can call to round out their story
or their program.
That’s one of three strategies that a husband and wife used to
clinch a seven-minute segment on the “Today” show.
Steve Harrison interviewed them and found out they used two other
strategies to get the producers to say “yes.” He’s repeating a
teleseminar with producers who book guests on TV talk shows for
ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox, at 2 and 7 p.m. Eastern Time today.
Register at http://www.tvpublicityteleseminar.com/?10011
I promote this teleseminar as a compensated affiliate, because an
appearance on a big TV talk show can propel authors, speakers,
experts and small business people to stardom. Producers pay
attention to who’s booking which experts, and it isn’t unusual
for you to receive multiple calls from other producers if you
make it onto just one show.
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3. Attract More Facebook Fans
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An excellent way to pull more people to your Facebook page is to
post on the walls of other Facebook pages if the target audiences
are similar to yours.
But don’t promote. Share helpful content their readers will find
interesting.
How do you find those page owners? Simple. By following the trail
of bread crumbs on Facebook.
Start with someone you already know who reaches the same audience
you do, perhaps somebody in your industry. Go to their Facebook
page and look along the left margin where it says “Likes.” Find
out what pages they have Liked. Click through to each one.
When you see a page that’s a good fit, click on “Like” at the
top. But don’t leave just yet. Look along the left side for a
list of pages that that page owner has Liked. Before you know it,
you’ll have another dozen or so pages that you’ve Liked, and that
means more pages where you can comment on their content and post
to their walls.
During this exercise, it’s a good idea to use a paper and pen and
keep track of whose site you started on and where you went from
there. Then, you can go back to your friend’s site and see what
other pages they have Liked.
That’s one of several dozen ideas I discussed with Mari Smith,
the world’s Number One Facebook expert, when I hosted a webinar
recently. We came up with “33 Ways to Attract Facebook Fans,
Provide Sterling Content & Keep Them Coming Back for More.”
If you missed it, you can still access the video replay, Mari’s
PowerPoint slides and a helpful handout of all 33 ideas so you
don’t have to take notes. Access it at
http://publicityhound.com/facebookpages.htm
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4. Wanted: Your Guest Blog Post
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Bloggers are trying to squeeze in a week or two of vacation
before the kids go back to school.
August is the ideal time to suggest a guest blog post to a
blogger whose audience needs to hear what you have to say.
That’s what I did last week and the blogger said “yes!” He also
mentioned that my timing was perfect because he’s going on
vacation next week. I’ll share the link here as soon as he
publishes it.
If your idea isn’t a perfect fit and the blogger declines, ask,
“What other bloggers do you know who might be interested in this
topic?”
I always welcome guest posts on topics that include how to use
traditional and social media, and not just when I’m going on
vacation. Pitch me, and explain why my audience would be
interested.
Send an email to JStewart@PublicityHound.com and put “Guest blog
post” in the subject line.
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5. Help This Hound
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Dr. Karen Hoving of Aurora, Colo., writes:
“I have a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and specialize in two
areas: Bipolar Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
“Here’s what I’m doing right now to market myself:
–A Facebook page.
–A website.
–Two blogs: The Couch Trip for general psychology and
“Shrinking” Chronic Illness.
–A monthly newsletter (with only 11 subscribers-–sigh).
–A Twitter account.
–A LinkedIn profile (but am not terribly active). I share
different information on each site.
“Here’s my question: Do shrinks get patients via social media
marketing? I am doing a lot and watching all of the videos you
and others send. But often, people are trying to sell something
online. I am trying to sell ME-—my services and education, and my
time.
“Can this be marketed on sites like Facebook and Twitter? If so,
how? Marketing for therapists is different than marketing for
someone selling widgets.”
“If social media won’t work for me—and I’m willing to be
patient-—I don’t want to waste a lot of time.”
The Publicity Hound says: Many other professionals face the same
frustrating dilemma, Karen. But I know they’ve found ways to use
Facebook and Twitter creatively. How about it, Hounds? What are
some things Karen can do to reach her target market and turn
social media friends and fans into paying clients? Post your best
ideas to my blog at http://publicityhound.net/?p=9172
Send your own “Help this Hound” question to:
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com?subject=HelpThisHound and
include your city and state.
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6. Hound Videos of the Week
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10 Adorable Corgi Videos on YouTube (I love the one of the Corgi
that wants to be vacuumed):
http://socialtimes.com/corgi-videos_b72360
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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Pitch Patch.com for a new series on the American Dream
http://publicityhound.net/?p=9181
Pitching journalists? How to avoid “spraying & praying”
http://publicityhound.net/?p=9148
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Joan Stewart
The Publicity Hound
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