Nothing to Say? 4 Publicity Ideas

Issue #1067 Oct. 25, 2016
Publisher: Joan Stewart

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

In This Issue

1. Nothing to Say? 4 Publicity Ideas
2. When to Hire a Publicist
3. Post Contact Info Everywhere
4. Hound Video of the Week

This Week in the Hound House:

Those nasty boxelder bugs, sunning themselves in big colonies on the side of my neighbor’s garage, are moving onto my back porch. I found a YouTube video that demonstrates how to kill boxelders safely with dishwashing soap, water and a spray canister. Don’t watch this if you’re eating.

1. Nothing to Say? 4 Publicity Ideas

The media loves a good start-up story, especially if you’ve just landed a windfall from an investor, or if you have an unusual product you’re introducing to the market.

After that big wave of publicity, then what?

PR consultant Jane Callahan has four ideas to consider. You can use them too, even if your business has been around awhile.

Here’s one. People like to read about companies that treat their employees well. The more unusual the perk, the greater the chances for publicity.

Domo, a business data company in Utah, gives a $2,000 “Haute Mama” bonus to its pregnant employees so they can buy a new wardrobe. Your bonus doesn’t have to be that extravagant.

Read about the other three ideas in “How to get media attention when you have nothing to say.” Notice she also recommends an idea I gave you on Saturday about local publicity.

#localpublicity #publicrelations #businesspublicity

2. When to Hire a Publicist

If you’re willing to spend the time learning the tricks of the trade and following a lot of the advice you see here twice a week, you can do what the best publicists do.

But sometimes it makes perfect sense to hire a publicist, like the celebrities do. Expect to spend at least $1,500 a month.

Here are three situations when a publicist could be well worth the money:

1. You have a job such as a consulting practice, and your time is better spent making money on client projects than it is doing your own publicity
2. You’re familiar with the basics of how to get local publicity, but you want to take your campaign to the national level and don’t know how
3. You hate pitching, and you’re willing to pay someone to do it for you.

To do: Learn about the 11 other instances when you should consider working with a publicist. They’re in the article “How to Know When You Need to Hire a Publicist” at my blog. For the record, I’m not a publicist. But in The Publicity Hound Mentor Program, I work with authors, speakers and experts to build a huge online presence and teach how to self-promote.

#hireapublicist #publicsts #findapublicist

3. Post Contact Info Everywhere

A business friend was frantic when she couldn’t reach one of her clients who was about to lose several hundred dollars, and she asked for my help.

After a quick Google search, we found three different websites, but no working phone number. The email address posted on one of the websites bounced back. Finally, we found a “Contact” form. Within minutes, the missing person was on the phone to my friend.

Most other people wouldn’t have been as patient.

You can’t post contact info in too many places. A shipping address, working phone number and current email address that you check each day should be on

• Every page of your website. If that’s impossible, put it in an easy-to-see location on your homepage. Don’t bury it under a “Contact” button.
• The “Contact” page on LinkedIn. Look for the small Rolodex card in the lower right, just under the number of connections you have.
• The “Contact and Basic Info” page on Facebook. I’m guilty as charged. I checked just now and found four out-of-date web addresses.

To do: Contact information is one of many recommendations in the free video training “7 Things Your 2017 Publicity Campaign Must Include.” Reserve a one-hour “Rent My Brain” session by Nov. 1 and get a coupon good for $100.00 in your choice free learning tools at my website. This offer disappears in eight days.

#websitetips #contactinformation #publicitytips

4. Hound Video of the Week

The only thing better than a Hound video is a Hound video featuring a German Shorthaired Pointer. Watch as Sierra stars in “The Case of the Missing Cupcakes.”

[Tweet “RT @PublicityHound #PublicityTips –Nothing to Say? 4 Publicity Ideas #hireapublicist #localpublicity”]