The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #432 Jan. 6, 2008
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. Don’t Let Blog Content Confuse You
2. How About a Little Good News?
3. How Could I be So Dumb?
4. Beware of this Twitter Scam
5. Promoting a Christmas Tree Accessory
6. Hound Joke of the Week
7. And at My Blog…
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1. Don’t Let Blog Content Confuse You
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If you’re an expert, you’d better be cranking out lots of content in these formats:
Blogs. Ezines. Twitter posts. Facebook notes. Articles at article directory sites. Articles at your own website.
Yet some Publicity Hounds are easily confused about what kinds of topics to write in which types of formats, particularly when writing for their blogs.
Over the weekend, Publicity Hound Michele Nightengale, who teaches bricks-and-mortar businesses how to market online, told me she’s going to start blogging. But she’s confused about the difference between content for her blog and content for articles at her website.
“I can’t seem to differentiate them in my mind,” she said. “The ideas for my articles page and my blog are identical. I can only think to post my articles on my blog. How do you treat them separately and without too much duplicate content?”
She’s right. There’s a lot of overlap. Here’s how I differentiate the two:
Articles posted at article directory sites like EzineArticles.com generally focus on helping people solve a particular problem. The structure of these articles can follow various
formats. But in general, they offer solutions to a problem. And they’re about 500-700 words. Examples:
–TV Publicity: 6 ways to find your way onto the local evening news
–Inflight magazines: 8 topics editors love to write about
–Hiring a publicist? Know the 4 ways they charge for their services
–Public service announcements have these 6 elements
Almost everything else, I told her, is fodder for a blog. Think of blogging as journaling, or keeping a business diary. It usually includes much more opinion than how-to articles do. And the writing can be a little more personal and informal. You can use a blog to:
–State an opinion on a topic.
–Comment on somebody else’s blog post or article and link to it.
–Comment on something happening in the news.
–Offer a quiz for a reader.
–Present a question from a reader and then offer the answer.
–Present a case study.
–Disagree with somebody else’s position on a topic, and explain why.
–Discuss something in your personal life that relates to something in your professional life.
–Review a book, home study course or other product you’ve bought.
–Comment on a service you have used.
The ideas for blog content are endless. If you’re still short on ideas, create several Google Alerts for topics you want to blog about.
Google will then email you as often as you wish and let you know what articles, videos, news stories and other content about those topics appear online.
I’ll address the topic of avoiding duplicate content in an upcoming issue of this newsletter. But in general, you don’t want to use identical content at your website, blog and article directory sites.
If you’re new to blogging, or if your current blog isn’t generating the traffic or sales you had hoped, you’ll learn some quick tips from Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff, aka The Blog Squad, during a f~ree teleseminar from 4 to 5 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 26. It’s called “Boost Your Biz with a Blog” and Denise and Patsi will explain how they differentiate blog content from all the other kinds of content they produce. You’ll also learn about the biggest mistakes bloggers make and how beginning bloggers can sabotage their own
success.
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2. How About a Little Good News?
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All those bad news stories about the economy that the media love will soon turn into old news. And when the economy worsens this year, as predicted, that old news will be downright depressing.
It’s time to start thinking about a few good news ideas to pitch. TV producer Shawne Duperon offers these ideas:
–Credit unions in four Midwestern states are generating fabulous publicity in top-tier media outlets like USA Today by pledging $10 billion in loans to car buyers and teaming with General Motors to offer special deals to boost car sales. You can read the USA Today story.
–How are retailers using tough times as an asset to sell products? Some car companies launched new campaigns that guarantee if you buy a car and lose your job within the year, you can return the car. How effective will strategies like this be?
–How are you making the most of the economic downturn in your business? Are you investing more in marketing? If so, let the media know.
–Are you in an industry or niche that, so far, has been unaffected? Many Internet marketers, for example, particularly those who sell training on how to build a business, are reporting increased sales, and have the shopping cart statistics to prove it.
If you have little good news to report but you still want to pitch, let Shawne and me help you. We brainstormed “116 WOW! Story Ideas from January through June” when we teamed up for a teleseminar for Publicity Hounds. We recorded it, and it’s available as a CD complete with a handout of all 116 ideas. You can download the handout as soon as your order has been approved.
This product is now longer available. See “A Simple 5-Part Formula for Delivering the Perfect Media Pitch and Hitting it Out of the Park.”
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3. How Could I be So Dumb?
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If you’ve already made a list of the top five or six goals you want to achieve this year in your business, make sure they’re the types of goals in which you can measure their success.
I have five goals for this year. Each one, if achieved, will help me build my business by at least 15 percent. If I succeed at them all, I’ll double my business.
All five are recommended by Paul Lemberg, a business coach who created the Formula 5 system, a package of videos, checklists, worksheets and mastermind coaching groups that provide ongoing support. I’ve been devouring all of it the last several weeks, and I already have the wheels in motion to survey Publicity Hounds in the next few weeks about what they want and need–a technique that will shorten my learning curve even more.
Several times during the course, when Paul explained a great strategy, I slapped my palm against my forehead and asked out loud, “Why am I not doing this? How could I be so dumb????”
One of the most valuable tips I learned is that the onslaught of emails I’m receiving from business people offering cut-rate prices on their products and services is, for them, the quickest way to the poor house. In fact, raising prices, even in a meltdown economy, is one of the fastest ways to success.
Interested? If not, move onto the next item. If so, here are two ways to learn more about each of the five Formula 5 elements:
–Get direct access to Paul during a f~ree teleseminar I’m hosting with him from 3 to 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, January 8. He’ll explain the five elements of Formula 5 in more detail, and you can even email questions to us during the call.
Don’t miss this one. And for heaven’s sake, don’t fall into the trap of lowering your prices without understanding the consequences.
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4. Beware of this Twitter Scam
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Are you receiving strange email messages from people referring you to photos and other posts about you at Twitter.com?
I am. The messages are a scam.
Here’s how it works. This particular scam sends out emails resembling those you might receive from Twitter if you get email notifications of your Direct Messages. The email says something like, “Hey! Check out this funny blog about you…” and provides a link. That link redirects to a site masquerading as the Twitter front page. Look closely at the URL field. If it’s different than Twitter’s URL, leave the site immediately.
Do not enter your username or password. If you do, the scam artists can use that information to send out direct messages on your behalf which could trick your followers. Read this post at Twitter’s blog to find out what else you should do if this happens to you.
Not Twittering yet because the site is too confusing? Join the crowd. Most of us who Twitter felt the same way when we started.
But don’t give up on what has become one of the most powerful communication and promotion tools for business. Learn in step-by- step detail how to navigate the site, and how to adopt smart strategies that will save you hours of time. Order the webinar replay “Twitter for Beginners: A Step-by-Step, Can’t-Fail System.”
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5. Promoting a Christmas Tree Accessory
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This week, five Publicity Hounds have tips for Shannon Hein of Fort Collins, Colorado, who needs ideas on how to promote “Branchies,” a product that helps you hang heavy objects on your Christmas tree.
From Shirley George Frazier:
“My suggestion is to ‘branch out’ to other reasons for people to buy Branchies: Easter ornaments, gardening tools, every day uses, etc.
“If you only focus on Christmas buying reasons, you won’t sell all year long, and that’s a disservice to a great product and customers who’ll benefit every day.”
From Dale W. Hutchings:
“I think your target market for these giant ornaments is not the typical homeowner, but the commercial market. These massive ornaments would look so much better on the giant trees that are put up every year in city parks, government offices, large bank lobbies, and shopping malls, among other venues. I would recommend that you target the commercial market through a holiday decorative contest.”
From Barbara:
“For Christmas next year: send some to major consumer magazine editors in June or so. If they like them, they may feature them in the Christmas issues of their magazines. There are always articles about gift giving and how to decorate for the holidays.”
The Publicity Hound says:
Send a press release and generic photo showing garden tools used as ornaments to gardening magazines. Send a press release and photo showing heavy sports-related ornaments like football helmets to sports magazines. Just change the ornaments in each photo to match the needs of various niche audiences. Your goal is to make every magazine editor say “Aha! this is PERFECT for our readers.”
And don’t forget to create videos that demonstrate how to trim a tree with Branchies. Here are just a few things you can do using captions on videos.
Read more about how to start using video.
Send your own Help this Hound question and include your city and state.
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6. Hound Joke of the Week
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“Dogs have no money. Isn’t that amazing? They’re broke their entire lives. But they get through. You know why dogs have no money? No pockets.”
–Comedian Jerry Seinfeld
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7. And at My Blog…
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