Issue #846 Aug. 26, 2014
Publisher: Joan Stewart
“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”
In This Issue
- How to Make Your Pet a Celebrity
- A Fun, Hip “About Us” Page
- Pitch the Struggle
- Hound Video of the Week
This Week in the Hound House:
When I see someone whose leg or arm is in a cast, I promise not to ask, “What happened to you?” I’ve answered that question a zillion times thanks to the big, black, ugly splint I’m wearing on my right arm. After hauling luggage two and from three speaking engagement a few months ago, I have tendonitis in my wrist. The hand doc says I have to wear the spint for six weeks. It’s sweaty and uncomfortable. But the worst part is answering the question, “What did you do to your arm?” from total strangers who I see in stores and even on my daily walks with Bogie. Note to self: MYOB.
1. How to Make Your Pet a Celebrity
When the Great Canadian Theatre Company sent Christmas cards last year to its hundreds of program advertisers, subscribers and local politicians, it featured a photo of Simon Teakettle, a black and white cat, on the front of the card.
Simon, after all, is a theater patron and has his name listed along with other patrons on the theater wall.
He has his own calendar, Facebook page and website. His MEWSical society includes members from nine countries, and his fan club has several hundred pets from 21 countries and five continents.
And oh, the publicity!
Simon has been featured in Business Week, on MSNBC and several times on the CBC/Radio-Canada.
He sends birthday cards to media people and celebrities, and he even got a card back from Whoopi Goldberg.
“Human fans are often ignored, but pets are a different story,” says Barbara Florio Graham, a communications consultant who named her company after her cat.
“I learned quickly that the radio audience remembered Simon Teakettle more than anyone else who contributed to the programs,” she says. “One host I hadn’t contacted before even remarked how pleased she was to finally receive a letter from Simon Teakettle.”
Barbara, the newest contributor at my blog, explains how you, too, can make your pet a celebrity and part of your brand, and reap mountains of publicity.
2. A Fun, Hip “About Us” Page
If your “About Us” page suffers from a bad case of the blahs, this is for you.
Feature members of your team in photos that reflect their hobbies or give visitors a glimpse into their personalities.
Check out the “About Our Team” page for Piktochart, the website where you can build infographics for free.
Photos show team members with musical instruments, stuffed animals, goofy hats, sunglasses and water pistols.
The page says, “We’re hip. We’re young. We’re cool. And we’re so creative that you’ll love what we have in store for you.”
Piktochart is one of the websites I recommend in the video replay of a webinar I hosted on “How to Easily Create Free or Inexpensive Infographics.” Grab it for half-price until midnight Wednesday night. Use the coupon code “august” at checkout.
3. Pitch the Struggle
We all pitch success stories.
Next time, pitch a story about how you failed and recovered. Or about something you tried that didn’t work so well, says Tom Post, managing editor at Forbes.
“You’re facing a lot of competition when pitching a success story or case study,” he told Bulldog Reporter in an article on PR pitching tips.
“Be willing to share the ‘struggle to get it right’ journey and share the tougher lessons for entrepreneurs.”
Other tips from the article:
–Offer a financial snapshot in your pitches, especially to business publications.
–Provide multimedia, especially video, even to print media.
–Understand shifting newsroom realities: smaller staffs and no divide between print and digital at most media outlets.
Read “4 Journalists Dish PR Pitching Tips: How to Score More Business Press.”
Every pitch needs a juicy headline or subject line. But if you aren’t creative, that’s a tough job. I’ve made it easy for you. The webinar replay “Headline Tips, Tricks, Tools and Templates That Make Readers Click” gives you shortcuts, ideas, free resources, and websites you can use to creative killer headlines and subject lines. Read about the helpful bonuses that will cut your time in half and come with the video.
Yep, this one is half-price, too, when you use the coupon code “august.”
4. Hound Video of the Week
Thanks to Publicity Hound Bev Hanna of Ontario, Canada for this video of a woman playing her little dog like a musical instrument. You’ll love the dog’s response.
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