The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #474 Oct. 20, 2009
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. Experts Research; Amateurs Guess
2. Estee Lauder’s Makeover Promotion
3. Balloon Boy Hoax
4. How to Penetrate Pittsburgh TV
5. Help This Hound
6. Hound Joke of the Week
7. And at My Blog…
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1. Experts Research; Amateurs Guess
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One of the biggest mistakes I made early in my career cost me
dearly.
I assumed that people who wanted information on how to write
press releases were typing “news releases” into the search
engines. So I used the phrase “news releases” in my articles, at
my website and in the titles of products I created on that topic.
Then one day, an Internet marketer told me that people were
typing “press releases” into the search engines seven times more
often than they were typing “news releases.”
Seven times more! My heart sank. I could have had seven times
more traffic.
He was an expert because he had done his keyword research. I was
an amateur because I simply guessed.
If you sell telephones, do you know if people are typing
“telephones,” “phones” or “phone systems” into the search
engines?
If you’re a management consultant who teaches leadership skills,
do you know how many people search for “leadership skills” vs.
“lead more effectively” vs. “management coaching”?
The only way to know is to do your research, an important step
that nine out of 10 press release writers skip. The one in 10 who
do the research can know within a minute or two the answers to
the three questions above. If they take a few additional steps in
their research, they can also learn which keywords are the most
competitive. Using two or three keywords that don’t have as much
competition can still help your press releases and articles rank
on Page 1 on Google.
Press release expert Janet Thaeler has created three videos that
show you in step-by-step detail how to use two keyword research
tools that make you a whole lot smarter than the people who don’t
want to bother with this. The links are in handouts that I’m
emailing later this afternoon to everyone who has signed up for
tomorrow’s teleseminar on “How to Use Keywords: The ‘Magic
Magnets’ That Pull Consumers & Journalists to Your Press
Releases.”
The handouts also include a checklist you can refer to every time
you start writing a press release.
Read more about what you’ll learn on tomorrow’s call, and
register at http://tinyurl.com/yeygbqb
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2. Estee Lauder’s Makeover Promotion
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I love Estee Lauder’s recent promotion that offers free makeovers
and photo shoots at its cosmetics counters so women can use them
for their online social media profiles.
The promotion, which started Oct. 16 at Bloomingdale’s department
stores in New York, will extend to Macy’s, Saks and other
Bloomingdale’s stores in Southern California, Miami and Chicago.
After a free makeover, Estee Lauder will shoot your photo which
you can then use as the avatar at sites like Facebook, LinkedIn
and Match.com. The company’s logo is in the background and, if it
isn’t erased with Photoshop, can live on the social media sites
forever.
You can read about the promotion in an AdAge article at
http://adage.com/article?article_id=139524 and see the great
before-and-after photos of Kunur Patel, an Ad Age reporter who
took advantage of the makeover and then wrote about it at
http://adage.com/article?article_id=139749
If you aren’t getting journalists and bloggers involved in your
promotions, you’re missing a great opportunity. See “Special
Report #42: Tips for Letting Reporters Experience Your Story, Not
Just Write About It.” You’ll learn how to create memorable
experiences for the media and entice them to cover your product
or service. Only $10. Order at http://tinyurl.com/invitereporters
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3. Balloon Boy Hoax
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So much for publicity stunts gone bad.
Law enforcement officials say that if Richard Keene is charged
with perpetrating the hoax, it probably won’t be until next week.
That means there’s plenty of time to piggyback off this story and
get some good publicity for yourself. The most obvious angle is
the way the parents recruited their children to be part of the
hoax.
–Mommy and daddy bloggers, what are your readers saying about
what happened? Share your comments with other bloggers and the
media.
–Child development experts, what do stunts like this teach
children about right and wrong and common sense? What’s the long-
term damage?
–PR experts, what should the Keenes have done when their 6-year-
old son vomited on the set of the “Today” show? I found it
unsettling that they barely skipped a beat and continued the
interview, as if nothing unusual had happened.
Authors, speakers and experts, if your topic ties into this
bizarre story, pitch it.
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4. How to Penetrate Pittsburgh TV
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This week, three Publicity Hounds have tips for John and Bobbi
Robinson of Vanderbilt, PA on how to pitch local TV stations for
their non-profit organization that makes wishes come true for
people with severe illnesses.
From Gail Sideman:
“With a family?s permission, invite one of these television
reporters to accompany Unity to an event with a local recipient.
Suggest that reporters talk to the family, someone from your
organization and a physician about how these outings and trips
help them forget about their health challenges and simply focus
on a good time.”
From Bonnie Harris:
“TV stations are more willing to run footage they take
themselves. Extend individual invitations to members of your TV
stations to accompany you on these outings. If you get no takers,
ask just one of their team to go along, perhaps the weather
person. A good reporter will also want to talk to participants
about what the program means to them.”
From The Publicity Hound:
Try pitching the morning news/feature shows in Pittsburgh,
including the weekend shows. They’re often easier to get onto
than the weekday news, where you’re facing more competition from
hard news stories. If you’re granting a wish that ties into
Thanksgiving, like sending someone to see their relatives on
Turkey Day, pitch that a few days before Thanksgiving. Likewise
with Christmas.”
Read all the responses to this week?s ?Help This Hound” question,
or add your own, at http://budurl.com/5krx
Send your own “Help this Hound” question to:
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
and include your city and state or province.
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5. Help This Hound
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Ivy Mendoza of Manila, Philippines writes:
“My small PR firm just got an account that needs a lot of
exposure in the lifestyle sections. The previous PR person had
been sacked due to some anomalies which she was supposed to have
committed while conniving with the client?s marketing department.
“To neutralize the situation, the marketing people have gradually
been replaced, the marketing manager was asked to resign, and the
contract of the old PR consultant was no longer renewed.
“The problem is that the previous PR person has already started
badmouthing the client to editors whom she is very close to. One
particular editor of a very highly circulated newspaper has
already declared that our client?s press releases will not see
print in her section anymore. They liked the old PR person and
they believed everything that person said about the client.
“The client (not us, the PR firm) wants us to start on a clean
slate, so they made an effort to appease this particular editor
by setting up a meeting. But the editor flat out refused to meet
with them and directly said that she cannot help the client
anymore as far as press releases are concerned.
“What should we do? Her paper and her section are very important
for our client because of its target readership and circulation.
I advised the client to let the editor ?thaw? first and just use
other sections of the same newspaper (Business, Entertainment,
etc.) in the meantime. Would you have other tips for me as far as
?power tripping? media is concerned?
The Publicity Hound says:
Ouch! There’s more than one way around this problem, however.
Let’s see what my media-savvy Hounds would do. If you have ideas
on how Icy can deal with this problem and generate publicity for
her client, post them to my blog at
http://tinyurl.com/editorsaysno
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6. Hound Joke of the Week
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Thanks to Publicity Hound Barry Lebow of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
for this one:
A dog went to a telegram office, took out a blank form and wrote:
“Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof.”
The clerk examined the paper and politely told the dog: “There
are only nine words here. You could send another ‘Woof’ for the
same price.”
The dog replied, “But that would make no sense at all.”
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…
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How to thrive as an author, speaker, expert in any economy
http://tinyurl.com/thriveasanauthor
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Joan Stewart
a.k.a. The Publicity Hound
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