Issue #752 Sept. 21, 2013
Publisher: Joan Stewart
“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”
In This Issue
- An Email Pitch Template
- Google+ Photo Editing Tools
- New Posts at My Blog
- Hound Video of the Week
This Weekend in the Hound House:
If you love deals, sign up for Groupon, the deal-of-the-day site. I bought a gorgeous lavender Aduro iPad case and Bluetooth keyboard (list price $79.99). I bought it from Groupon for only $36.99. When I bought another Groupon this week for something else and decided I didn’t want it, I called Groupon. A human answered the phone and cheerfully refunded my money. You’ll get great deals on local restaurants, spas, techie gadgets, even dog and cat vaccinations, depending on where you live. I earn $10 in my account if you click here, sign up, and buy something. Have fun with Groupon.
1. An Email Pitch Template
If you’re not on Quora.com, the giant question-and-answer site, you’re missing the chance to become a whole lot smarter about almost any topic.
I found a template for an email pitch for a startup product. It was submitted by Mikael Cho, founder of ooomf.com, in answer to a question from an entrepreneur who wanted to know how to get press coverage for a startup:
“Should I write a press release?”
Well, no. Not if you’re using it as the main tool to generate publicity.
On launch day, Mikael got major coverage for his web startup from TechCrunch, VentureBeat, GigaOm and other major blogs in his niche as a result of sending a super-customized pitch to each blogger and journalist.
I’m guessing the pitches took a long time to research, but an easy template made the writing go faster.
You can see the question, Mikael’s entire answer, and the handy template he provided.
No cookie-cutter pitches! No one-size-fits-all press releases!
Do the hard work like Mikael’s company did and the payoff can be huge.
Another way to contact people who you want to cover you is to connect with them on the social media sites, which sometimes will get your a faster response than an email.
My webinar on “How to Use Social Media to Connect with Journalists” takes the guesswork out of getting their attention. I identify 2 valuable tools on LinkedIn that can help you find journalists within seconds, 8 important things journalists want from you, 8 ways to research them and learn personal details so you can customize a pitch, and 6 phrases they absolutely love to hear.
2. Google+ Photo Editing Tools
If you’re like me, you find Photoshop way more than what’s needed for simple photo editing.
PicMonkey is my favorite for simple editing. Now, along comes the Google+ photo editing tool. I haven’t tried it yet, but you can watch a video here that demonstrates all the fun things you can do with photos:
Not on Google+ yet? You need to be! Your level of participation is part of Google’s algorithm, the formula it uses to determine where you show up in the search results.
A few days after I hosted a webinar with Google+ whiz BL Ochman, Google changed its format. But the strategy on how to use the site and really make it work for you is still the same. I’m offering the video replay with BL for more than half off the regular price. That’s a steal. Take a look at what you’ll learn and order it.
3. New Posts at My Blog
Targeting media in Alberta? Use these helpful resources
iPad + Keynote, a $10 app, can let you make killer slides that include video — Free Training 9/19
(If you missed this webinar, I’ll include the replay link in Tuesday’s newsletter.)
4. Hound Video of the Week
The next time you vacuum dog hair off the couch, don’t forget to vacuum the dog. This Corgi loves it!
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