Issue #837 July 22, 2014
Publisher: Joan Stewart
“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”
In This Issue
- Influencers You Haven’t Thought Of
- Talk About the Weather
- Second Annual Authors Cruise
- Hound Video of the Week
This Week in the Hound House:
The slobs who infiltrated my beautiful little town on our annual Fish Day Saturday left litter everywhere. Beer bottles, soda cans, fast food wrappers, empty cigarette packages, even used baby diapers. I’m picking up as much as I can (except the diapers) on my daily walks to the marina with Bogie, and then power-washing my hands and arms when I return home. Please, don’t harm the charm.
1. Influencers You Haven’t Thought Of
When you’re planning a publicity campaign and want to target influential people, think far beyond journalists and bloggers.
Here are nine types of influencers and where to find them:
–Ezine editors. Try Best Ezines, the Ezine directory and New-List.
–LinkedIn group moderators. Log into your LinkedIn account, and use the search box at the top to search for Groups. Look for large, active groups with content-rich discussions. Many moderators blog and have their own ezines and email lists.
–Google+ Community moderators. Same as above.
–Podcasters. Rather than slogging through zillions of podcast directories, one of the easiest ways to find influential podcasters in your niche is with a simple Google search “top 10 christian podcasts” or “best parenting podcasts.”
–Moderators of message boards and forums. A fabulous way to target very narrow niches. Example: “crohn’s disease message board”.
–Authors. If you can get into a book, your message can have a very long shelf life. Go to Amazon and use the search box to look for authors in your niche. Follow them on social media and at their blogs.
–Celebrities. Even though you probably won’t be able to reach A-list celebs, target less famous stars from TV and movies. Many will give book blurbs if your topic is one that’s close to their heart.
–Reviewers. These include anyone who reviews books or products.
Many of these will lead to even more influencers. Just follow the trail of breadcrumbs.
Don’t waste time crafting your own pitches to reviewers. Use one of the five templates I’ve created for you. They come with the video training “How to Ask for Book and Product Reviews from Bloggers, Journalists and Consumers.” Order the webinar replay.
2. Talk About the Weather
Smart Publicity Hounds keep their eye on the weather.
If you’re willing to discuss how it affects your business, publicity is practically yours for the asking.
Read my newest article for Entrepreneur.com: “An Easy Way to Get Publicity: Talk About the Weather.”
Lots of creative ideas that have worked for other business owners.
3. Second Annual Authors Cruise
Authors, mark your calendars.
Join us for our 2nd Annual “Publishing at Sea” Cruise Jan. 18-25 that turns smart authors into savvy publishers.
We’ll set sail from Fort Lauderdale aboard Royal Caribbean’s luxurious “Allure of the Seas.” When you aren’t learning about publishing, you’ll be visiting St. Thomas, St. Martin and the Bahamas.
Your hosts? The Chicks at Sea.
We’re book shepherd Judith Briles, social media expert Georgia McCabe, book distributor Amy Collins and The Publicity Hound. We’ve also invited guest instructor Michele DeFilippo who knows everything about how to design dazzling book covers, marketing materials and author websites.
In Saturday’s tips, I’ll share the link where you can learn more about how early birds can save big.
4. Hound Video of the Week
This dog steals the show at a girls softball game. Maybe it wants to play shortstop?
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