The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #597 March 7, 2012
Publisher: Joan Stewart
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“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”
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In This Issue
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1. Interest in Pinterest Skyrockets
2. Is This Pitch Too Creepy?
3. Don’t Make These Website Mistakes
4. Authors: Why Persistence Pays
5. Grab My CDs for 80 Percent Off
6. Hound Photo of the Week
7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site
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1. Interest in Pinterest Skyrockets
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It’s been around for two years. But in the last few months,
interest in Pinterest, the social media site that lets you “pin”
images onto a virtual corkboard, is off the charts.
Before you start groaning because it’s one more program to learn,
check out these stats:
–From December 2011 to January 2012, unique visitors to
Pinterest.com increased by 155 percent.
–More than one in four users earns more than $100,000 a year.
–The site registered more than 7 million unique visitors in
December, up from 1.6 million in September.
–It’s pulling more traffic to company websites and blogs than
YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn combined, according to one study.
–Research shows that many people are spending more time
“pinning” than they are connecting with their friends on the
almighty Facebook.
Why do Publicity Hounds need to know about Pinterest?
–By putting the “Pin It” button on your pages, all of your pins
will include a link back to the source, such as your website or
blog, a great way to revive interest in old content.
–You can connect Pinterest to your Twitter and Facebook
accounts, which means you don’t initially need a huge number of
followers on Pinterest to start picking up steam.
–You can create boards around topics that tie into your products
and services, being careful not to overtly promote.
–Users admit that Pinterest is absolutely addictive. That’s
because, unlike other social media sites, it’s filled with
millions of colorful, captivating photos and a clean design that
pulls you in.
–I’ve seen far more excitement and chatter about Pinterest than
I have for Google+, which suddenly seems like a dinosaur.
And I’ve received many questions, including “How do I get an
invitation for Pinterest?” As a result, I’m hosting a 90-minute
webinar at 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, March 15. It’s
called, “How to Use Pinterest to Generate Clicks, Traffic, Links,
Leads and Sales,” and is for beginners as well as pinners who
have been on the site for a while.
Register here even if the time is inconvenient because I’ll be
recording it and making the downloads available:
http://publicityhound.com/publicity-products/marketing-tapes/pinterest.htm
For an invitation to join Pinterest, go to http://pinterest.com/
and click on the red button “Request an Invite.”
If you’ve done something really cool on Pinterest that ties into
your business or hobby, hit “Reply” and let me know. I might
feature your board in my webinar.
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2. Is this Pitch Too Creepy?
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A friend says she thinks this is “somewhat creepy but smart.”
It definitely isn’t for everybody. But I guarantee it will get
attention.
Mention the name of a blogger’s or journalist’s dog, cat or kid
in your pitch–with care.
I walk you step-by-step through the entire process of how I did
this in less than 60 seconds.
Are you brave enough to pull this off? The Comments section
awaits at http://publicityhound.net/?p=10510
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3. Don’t Make These Website Mistakes
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Nothing frustrates visitors to your website more than searching
for something to buy, credit card in hand, and not being able to
find your phone number when they have a question about shipping
or another topic.
That’s my Number One pet peeve. I created this little video in
which I explain two more:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxOHt97boGs
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4. Authors: Why Persistence Pays
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If you wrote a book that you wanted picked up by a publisher, how
many times would you be willing to hear the word “no” before you
gave up?
Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen heard it 144 times before a
small publisher agreed to pick up their first “Chicken Soup for
the Soul” book. Since then, more than 500 million copies have
been printed.
What kept them moving forward?
Two mindsets that they had kept them going. Canfield will explain
what they are when Steve Harrison interviews him during a 90-
minute webinar at your choice of two times on Thursday, March 8.
You’ll also learn how to get started as a public speaker and what
to do if you need to make money within 30 to 60 days. Even though
the webinar is free, I promote it as an affiliate because too
many authors give up too quickly. Register at
https://m164.infusionsoft.com/go/JackQL15/A10011/
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5. Grab My CDs for 80 Percent Off
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I’m eliminating most CDs from my inventory very soon, and
scrapping some old titles altogether.
This means unheard of discounts for Publicity Hounds who love
sniffing out bargains.
The discount is good only for titles on this list and only if you
use the coupon code CLOSEOUT80 when you check out.
http://publicityhound.com/publicity-products/inventorycloseout.htm
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6. Hound Photo of the Week
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This photo of a Flying Maltese is courtesy of Jenny XOXO on
Pinterest, where you’ll find more cute dog photos on the left.
Warning: This site is addictive. (See Item #1 above.)
http://pinterest.com/pin/206110120415904307/
Dog Jokes & Quotes Ebook: 170+ G-rated dog jokes and quotes,
perfect for a dog-lover, your favorite vet, or just for a few
good laughs.
BONUS: Buy the ebook and you also get a compilation of the 50
best websites for dog humor.
http://publicityhound.com/dogjokebook/
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7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…
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Great content for retweeting:
Publicists: Can I buy you coffee in San Francisco?
http://publicityhound.net/?p=10616
Find the name of a blogger’s dog, cat, kid in 60 seconds
http://publicityhound.net/?p=10510
Authors: If publishers reject your
book title, don’t give up
http://publicityhound.net/?p=10589
Dog Tweets: 50 Ways to Get More People to Like Your Facebook Page
http://publicityhound.net/?p=10570
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