How to Promote in a Guest Post

Issue #826 June 14, 2014
Publisher: Joan Stewart

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

In This Issue

How to Promote in a Guest Post
Juicy Freebies for Opt-ins
How to be a Guest on National TV
Hound Video of the Week

This Weekend in the Hound House:

If you want to keep mosquitoes at bay, consider Coghlan’s Bug Jacket for only $15 at REI. It’s chemical- free relief, perfect for golfers, gardeners, hikers, campers, boaters, even slugs who want to guzzle beer uninterrupted on the backyard lounge chair. A woman modeled it at our Garden Club meeting this week. It looks nerdy but I want one!.

1. How to Promote in a Guest Post

When publicity expert Marcia Yudkin pitched an idea for not one, but two, guest blog posts a few weeks ago, I didn’t waste time considering it. “Go for it,” I told her.

When I left the world of newspapers almost 20 years ago and started my business, Marcia’s book, 6 Steps to Free Publicity, was the first book I read about how to self-promote. Since then, she has published two more editions. For my blog, she wanted to write “20 Things About Publicity True 20 Years Ago and Today” and split them into two posts, part 1 and part 2.

I loved the idea. But when I read them, I realized what a smart, savvy self-promoter she really is.

“When the first edition of my book 6 Steps to Free Publicity appeared in 1994,” she wrote, “email was something used by nerds, websites were a curiosity and blogs had not yet been invented.

“To celebrate the milestone that this book remains in print 20 years later, in its third edition, I thought I’d list 20 points about publicity from the first edition that are as true today as they were when I first wrote them.”

All 20 drive home the point that despite how technology has changed publicity, many things stay the same. Timely pitches still get you into the news. Controversy earns attention. A written column earns you an audience, and so on.

I loved the way she tied her 20th anniversary into rock solid content I know you’ll love. As you read her 20 entries, notice how she weaves details about her expertise into the copy so that it supports her ideas without screaming “buy my stuff.” She refers to her Page 1 story in the Wall Street Journal, a successful publicity project for a client, and a clever idea on how she used postcards.

Read the posts Part 1 and Part 2 and join the conversation in the Comments.

2. Juicy Freebies for Opt-ins

When a website asks for your email address in exchange for a freebie, nine times out of 10, it offers a free ebook.

Regardless of an enticing topic and valuable content, I’ll bet you groan like I do and think, “I don’t have time to read this.”

If you want to capture email addresses at your website, or give away something free and write a press release about it, consider things like a pocket guide, a cheat sheet, a free test drive, or sample contracts for people who work in your industry. Those are among ideas I collected for the guest post I wrote on “11 Juicy Opt-in Offers Ideas Your Readers Will Love” at The Future of Ink blog.

My personal favorite is the Study Buddy, a series of practice tests that Sporty’s Pilot Shop offers to people who need to take the FAA written test to get a pilot’s license.

If you like those ideas, you’ll find 55 more in my special report “66 Free Things You Can offer to Generate Publicity or Capture Email Addresses,” only $15.

3. How to be a Guest on National TV

If you missed the free teleseminar on how to get onto Rachael Ray, the Wendy Williams show or Live with Kelly & Michael, it could be because you decided your topic isn’t a good fit.

Here’s another chance for free training on how to get onto other types of shows like the Today Show, Dateline NBC, the Fox News channel, and into magazines like Success and Entrepreneur.

Join Steve Harrison on Thursday, June 19, as he explains how the “publicity superstars” do it. He’ll explain why most authors and experts fail to make the leap from just getting local publicity to scoring big-time national media coverage. And he’ll show you what the more successful superstars have done to get into the spotlight.

4. Hound Video of the Week

This black kitty helps a dog escape--or is the little kitten just playing? People who commented on the video can’t agree.