Ebola, ISIS Halloween Costumes

Issue #861 Oct. 18, 2014
Publisher: Joan Stewart

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

In This Issue

Ebola, ISIS Halloween Costumes
Think You Know Your Audience?
Talk Your Nonfiction Book
Hound Video of the Week

This Weekend in the Hound House:

I’m compiling a list this weekend of ways to avoid putting on weight on the “Publishing at Sea” cruise I’m taking Jan. 18-25 to the Caribbean with a group of authors. Here’s a Weight Watchers tip I’m using. A week or two before the cruise, I’ll hand out small pieces of paper and pencils at my WW meeting. I’ll ask each person to write one tip or a motivational message that will keep me from pigging out. I’ll tuck the messages into my suitcase and open one before each meal on the ship. Isn’t that clever? Any tips you think I should add to my list? Email them to me.

1. Ebola, ISIS Halloween Costumes

Here are five ideas you can pitch for Halloween–all the better if you’re an expert on any of these topics:

–Should parents let their kids dress up in Ebola or ISIS army Halloween costumes? Or should adults show up at Halloween parties in these outfits? Far-fetched? Hazmat suits are already selling out.

–The dangers of marijuana edibles, particularly in states like Colorado where pot is legal.

–How to manage the amount of Halloween candy your kids eat.

–Safety tips for humans and pets.

–Halloween is the second biggest retail holiday of the year. Is your business offering a special contest or promotion?

Here’s a list of dozens of Halloween-related stories that USA Today has covered. It might spark an idea or two for you.

2. Think You Know Your Audience?

Let’s see how well you know your audience.

That includes the people who already know you, and those who don’t but need what you’re selling.

Do this little exercise.

Grab a pen and paper, or open a Word document. Think about the typical person in your target market. Choose just one person–real or imaginary.

Pretend you’re in their shoes. Now, start writing a page in that person’s daily journal, the same way they’d write it.

When I attended an Internet marketing event hosted by Perry Marshall, one of my coaches, several years ago, he challenged his audience to perform this not-so-simple exercise.

If you don’t know how to begin writing, or if what you’ve written has big gaps, you don’t know your market as well as you think you do.

And if you don’t know your market’s problems, concerns and what keeps them up at 3 a.m., you’re not ready to launch a publicity campaign that will bring results.

What does one have to do with the other?

A well-thought-out publicity plan includes creating content that provides solutions to your audience’s problems.

I mentioned that exercise when I hosted a webinar on Thursday. I shared dozens of tips, tools and recommendations that will help you identify media outlets, social media sites and other places where your target audience gathers.

If you missed it, you can watch the replay on my YouTube channel. Go to “7 Things Your 2015 Publicity Plan Just Include.”

Leave a comment. Google pays attention to the number of comments your videos receive, and uses that data to help rank your channel on search results.

3. Talk Your Nonfiction Book

You want to write a non-fiction book but you hate to write. Or you don’t have time to write.

Talk your book.

Ann McIndoo, the former creative assistant to author/speaker Tony Robbins, has helped more than 260 authors use her system for writing a quality, non-fiction book in a fraction of the time it takes most authors to write one.

It requires spending three hours per week for six weeks preparing, and then knocking out your first completed draft.

Ann’s system works best for non-fiction books on a topic you know well, particularly how-to, leadership, business, self-help, autobiography, etc. It doesn’t work very well for children’s books, novels or poetry.

Ann will be Steve Harrison’s guest on a teleseminar from 2 to 7 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, Oct. 23. You will learn how to get your book out of your head and onto paper. Even though this call is free to you, I am one of Steve’s affiliates and earn a commission from him if you buy anything from him down the road.

4. Hound Video of the Week

Watch these adorable Chocolate Lab puppies play tug-of-war with a teddy bear.