Fun Facts on Your Birthday

Issue #924 June 13, 2015
Publisher: Joan Stewart

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

In This Issue

1. Fun Facts on Your Birthday
2. Ask, “How Can I Help You?”
3. Publishing at Sea Deadline
4. Hound Video of the Week

This Weekend in the Hound House:

My friend, a gardener, broke her arm and asked if I’d weed her 4-by-4-foot strawberry patch today. No problem, I said. I have my waist-high Fiskars weed puller. Then she told me it’s stubborn quackgrass, that has to be pulled by hand. No rest for the weed-weary.

1. Fun Facts on Your Birthday

You don’t have to be an author to steal this idea that will help your friends, followers and fans–including journalists–know you a lot better.

On your 40th birthday, write a blog post on 40 fun facts about you. If it’s your 50th birthday, share 50 fun facts, and so on.

That’s what CBC Books, a Canadian book publishing company, did when its best-selling children’s author, Bob Munsch, turned 70 on Thursday. Three days before, CBC published 70 amazing facts about Robert Munsch at its blog.

Such detail! I don’t know Bob. But after reading only a handful of tips, I feel like we’re best buds.

Most tips link to an article or other information about him. And the 13 images embedded within the post will want to make you keep reading. Thanks to Publicity Hound Joel Friedlander, a book publishing expert, for passing this along.

Join Joel and me on the third annual Publishing at Sea cruise Jan. 24-31 for authors and publishers. We’ll be headed to Jamaica, Haiti and Cozumel on Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas.

During our days at sea, Joel and I–along with book shepherd Judith Briles, book distributor Amy Collins and virtual assistant Kelly Johson–will teach book publishing. On the days in port, you’re on your own.

Seven glorious days of sunshine, gourmet food, being waited on hand and foot, fun shore excursions and shopping.

Early-bird discounts end June 30. Read more here.

2. Ask, “How Can I Help You?”

It’s the most important question you can ask anyone who you want to promote you: “How can I help you?”

Ask it:

• When sending or accepting an invitation to connect on LinkedIn.
• When talking with a journalist or broadcaster.
• When introducing yourself in a LinkedIn group.
• When sending a status update on Facebook or Twitter.

After you ask, listen. And help however you can.

3. Share Your Mobile Number

If you ask, “How can I help you?” and a journalist asks for your mobile number, what should you do?

Give it! And if you don’t know how to text, learn. Pronto.

Many journalists text to keep in touch with their sources, especially on deadline.

4. Hound Video of the Week

Thanks to Publicity Hound BL Ochman of New York, N.Y., for this video of a bulldog riding in the car and singing along with the humans to the song “You Raise Me Up.” It has more than 3.3 million views. (You can X out of the annoying ads.)

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