Issue #875 Dec. 6, 2014
Publisher: Joan Stewart
“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”
In This Issue
- Join 48 LinkedIn Groups
- Why Images Help You Promote
- Media Kits for Authors
- Hound Video of the Week
This Weekend in the Hound House:
Today and tomorrow, I’ll be compiling the best two dozen tips from this past year for my annual “Best of The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week of 2014.” It’s a free ebook with the very best tips and advice from this past year. It’s been an annual tradition for the last several years, and my Publicity Hounds love it. Feel free to regift it to your friends, followers and fans. It will be ready for you by Dec. 16. If you’re a new subscriber and you missed last year’s ebook, you can still grab it.
1. Join 48 LinkedIn Groups
Six consulting clients I’ve worked with during the past two weeks all had the same problem on LinkedIn. They were only in a handful of groups.
Groups are the secret sauce on LinkedIn, a place where you can promote your expertise, and discover trends in your industry. You can ask and answer questions. Group membership gives millions more people the ability to find you if they’re searching for someone with your credentials.
But here’s the biggest reason. Groups let you directly contact influential people who are in the same group you’re in, even though you’re not their first- second- or third-degree connection. Stop and think about how powerful that is.
Even though LinkedIn lets you join 50 groups, I recommend 48, in case you find a group later you want to join. You won’t have to go back and unsubscribe yourself from a group you no longer need.
“But I don’t want all that email flowing in every time someone starts a conversation,” you’re thinking.
That’s why you configure your settings so that you’re notified only as often as you wish, and only by the groups you designate.
When I tell my clients about that tip, it’s an “aha” moment.
Let me create some “aha” moments for you too. Reserve an hour of consulting with me now and you’ll get a coupon good for $100 in products. After our call, I’ll recommend which ones you should choose. You can book your time at my site.
I have only a few days left in December when I’ll be scheduling calls, so run several times and dates by me when you’re available.
2. Why Images Help You Promote
Is the content you’re sharing on social media receiving too few likes, comments or shares?
It could be because it’s missing a key component: a photo, graphic, video or other type of image.
Images command attention. In many cases, they steal the show. They force your followers to look, click and share. Sometimes those photos or videos end up on the Pinterest board of one of your followers, exposing that content to even more eyeballs even if you don’t use Pinterest.
But what if your topic doesn’t lend itself very well to an image? Or what if you don’t want to use one of those tired stock photos?
Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick to the rescue.
They’ve written a very helpful list of “12 Ways to Use More Visuals on Social Media.”
You’ll be familiar with many of their ideas like photo albums and slidedecks. But I’ll bet you’ve never used some of the others like Hyperlapse Instagram videos, Flipagrams or slow motion video.
I love their reminder, Number One on their list, that Twitter lets you add up to four images on a tweet.
3. Media Kits for Authors
If you’re an author who bought my Quick & Easy Media Kit Templates for Indie Authors this year, I might like to include you in a project that’s under way. It will get your book plenty of exposure.
If you’ve used most of the templates, and you have the media kit available at your website or blog, I’d like to take a look and see if you’re a good candidate for this project. Email me. If I choose your media kit to feature, I’ll send you all the details.
Please put “Media Kit for Fiction Authors” in the subject line. And don’t forget to send the link. I’m hoping to wrap up this project in a few days, so respond ASAP.
4. Hound Video of the Week
Nothing drives a dog crazy like a mirror. Here’s a compilation of short clips of Dogs and Mirrors.
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