Issue #914 May 9, 2015
Publisher: Joan Stewart
“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”
In This Issue
- Bird Flu & Dog Flu
- Still, No Gravatars
- Email Marketing for Authors
- Hound Video of the Week
This Weekend in the Hound House:
I’ll know this weekend if my droopy Virginia Bluebells will perk up and act like they belong here. But that’s what happens when you yank plants out of the ground, drive them 20 miles and give them a new home. Here’s what they looked like before we pulled and potted them last weekend.
1. Bird Flu & Dog Flu
If you think the largest-ever U.S. outbreak of avian influenza doesn’t affect you, consider this.
It might be so bad that farmers might be running out of time to raise enough turkeys in time for Thanksgiving, just six months away. If the situation worsens, it could mean publicity opportunities galore for farmers, cookbook authors, clinics, doctor’s offices and health experts.
People are asking if they can catch bird flu from another person. Not as long as it doesn’t change into a human virus.
As for the dog flu, it’s spreading throughout the Midwest, with more than 1,000 dogs infected last month. Vets, kennel owners and people who dog board dogs can comment on this topic.
Both stories would do well on TV because they’re visual. Let Publicist Michelle Tennant Nicholson teach you how to get on the air or into print by tying your expertise into breaking news events like these. See “5 Steps to Use Breaking News to Score Publicity (and Sell More Books and Products).”
2. Still, No Gravatars
When you comment at a blog, don’t let your face show up to the left of the comment looking like a pawn on a chess board.
That’s what happens when you don’t claim your gravatar at Gravatar.com.
Your gravatar is an image that follows you from site to site, appearing beside your name when you do things like comment or post on a blog. Avatars help identify you in web forums, too.
If you’re using your gravatar for business, it’s best to avoid a gravatar that looks like a cartoon character. use a good-quality head shot that’s cropped tight.
3. Email Marketing for Authors
At the Ls Vegas Writers Conference in Las Vegas two weeks ago, and at the Author U Extravaganza in Denver, this weekend, I’m meeting dozens of authors who still aren’t building email lists.
Most of them justify it by saying that any important thoughts are already in their books. Or they just don’t have time.
Those email lists are gold! I’ve been getting lots of questions about what topics authors can discuss in emails they send to their fans.
Just to let you know, I’m busy compiling a list, and it should be ready in about a week. It will give you ideas galore on valuable information you can share with your readers. Stay tuned…
4. Hound Video of the Week
Just one funny clip after another of hyper dogs, playful dogs, confused dogs, and dogs being dogs. I almost lost it when I got to the dogs on the treadmill at the one-minute mark.
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