Issue #867 Nov. 8, 2014
Publisher: Joan Stewart
“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”
In This Issue
- Free vs. Paid Press Releases
- Pinterest Power Tip
- Follow TV Reporters on Twitter
- Hound Video of the Week
This Weekend in the Hound House:
This Week in the Hound House:
If I could duplicate one secret recipe, it would be for Corsica Loaf, a type of French bread baked in a stone oven. A generous sprinkling of sesame seeds coats the outside. Inside, a layer of oil olive squishes in your mouth when you bite into it. Pure heaven. You can call the Door County Bakery in Sister Bay, Wisconsin. Phone orders only at 920-854-1137. It’s delivered via Fed-Ex. Feast your eyes on the gorgeous loaf.
1. Free vs. Paid Press Releases
Do a search for “free press release distribution services” and you’ll find dozens of choices.
Why would anyone bother with a paid service if all those websites are willing to distribute your release for free?
The dirty little secret is that most of those sites don’t distribute anything.
They park your press release there. And if you’re lucky, someone will find it.
But those paid services can cost a fortune, sometimes up to several hundred dollars to have someone write your press release and actually distribute it to journalists, bloggers and others who want information on your topic.
How, then, do you know which way to go–free or paid?
I’ve broken it down for you in the article I wrote for TheFutureofInk.com. See The Pros and Cons of Free vs. Paid Press Release Distribution Services.
Are you using hashtags when writing press releases? If not, they might not be getting maximum exposure. some smart writers even use hashtags in the headline. “How to Use Hashtags: The New Search Tool” is a video replay of a webinar I hosted that explains how to use these powerful symbols to help people find your content online. Buy the replay and the bonus package.
2. Pinterest Power Tip
My Pinterest board “50 Tips for Free Publicity” STILL has the Number 1 ranking for “free publicity” on Google, Yahoo and Bing.
After I posted Tip 42 this week, I thought to myself, why ruin a good thing?
When I reach Tip 50, I’m going to keep going.
Each image was created in PowerPoint and includes hashtags in the descriptions to make them easy to find. And each image links back to a post at my blog. All those blog posts link to the Pinterest board.
When I want to add a new pin, I don’t even have to write a new post. I can go back and choose a popular post readers will like.
If you’re a publicity newbie, or know someone who is, send them to the board for a quick overview on how to self-promote.
Then grab my step-by-step instructions on exactly how to create a board just like I did for your topic. The cheat sheet is one of four that comes with the video replay of a webinar I hosted on “How to Create How-to Tips for Non-visual Topics on Pinterest.”
These boards work beautifully for boring, academic or yucky topics.
3. Follow TV Reporters on Twitter
One of the advantages of TV publicity is that you can pitch a story in the morning and be on the local news that night.
That’s why you should be following the Twitter streams of reporters who work for your local TV stations. They use Twitter to troll for sources.
That was one of the tips from former TV producer Roshanda Pratt. She wrote a guest post at my blog: “Want local TV publicity? 3 ways to get on reporters’ radar” at https://publicityhound.com/?p=27891.
4. Hound Video of the Week
Why do we love dogs so much? Watch “On the Ninth Day, God Created the Dog,” and you’ll understand.
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