A Press Release or a Pitch?

Issue #902 March 28, 2015
Publisher: Joan Stewart

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

In This Issue

1. A Press Release or a Pitch?
2. How to Auto-schedule on Google+
3. Repurpose an Audio Interview
4. Hound Video of the Week

This Weekend in the Hound House:

Thousands of residents in the little town of Port Washington, Wisc., where I live, lined the streets yesterday, waving American flags and saluting a fallen local hero. Marine Staff Sgt. Kerry Kemp was one of seven Marines who died in a helicopter crash off the Florida coast during a March 10 training exercise. Veterans groups and honor guards from as far as Iowa joined us along the route from the funeral home to the reception at the high school. He leaves a wife and a 1-year-old daughter.

1. A Press Release or a Pitch?

It’s OK if you’re confused about when to write a press release and when to deliver a pitch to a journalist or blogger.

Most people who want publicity are confused, too.

Here’s the quick explanation. A pitch trumps a press release almost every time. But you still need both.   

A well-written customized pitch tells a journalist or blogger “I know who you are, I know what you cover and I can help your audience. Here’s my idea.”

The Internet makes it possible for you to thoroughly research the person you’re going to pitch and, if appropriate, weave in details that pertain only to them, like this: “My tips are the perfect follow-up to the story you wrote last month about small business owners who have cash flow problems….”

Yet you still need a press release to explain all the details that you can’t squeeze into a pitch.

Which one do you use, and when do you use both? Two posts at my blog give you all the information you need to make an intelligent decision.

The pros and cons of press releases vs. pitches.

When to use a press release and when to deliver a pitch.

Email me  if you still have questions. I’m always happy to help.

 

2. How to Auto-schedule on Google+

Tools like Hootsuite help you schedule posts and status updates to go out at a certain time and day on your social media accounts.

You can use it if you have a Google+ Page. But not if you have a Google+ profile.

Thanks to my assistant, Christine Buffaloe of Serenity Virtual Assistant Services, for tipping me off to DoShare, a Chrome extension that lets you write and schedule posts on GooglePlus Pages and personal profiles. She found the instructions at Louse Myers’ blog.

Christine auto-schedules posts for many of her social media clients and says it works like a charm. Try it and let me know how you like it.

If you’re on Google+, you can find my free publicity and book marketing tips.

 

3. Repurpose an Audio Interview

A few weeks ago, I told you that I hired someone at Fiverr.com to transcribe an audio interview in which I shared tips on how to get book publicity, and I turned it into four posts for my blog.

I wish I had thought of this years ago! It cost me only $35 to transcribe a 40-minute interview. I divided the transcript into four blog posts. At the end of each post, I included links to the entire four-part series, as well as a link to the audio.

But I didn’t stop there.

I shared the links on social media. You can see how I summarized the entire series on my Google+ profile. Notice the three hashtags–#bookmarketing, #bookpublicity and #bookpromotion–at the bottom. They helped this post rank high on Google search results.  

Steal this idea the next time someone interviews you for their radio show or podcast, or you interview someone.

Confused about hashtags?

Using the symbol # in your social media messages makes it easier for people to find your content, helps you attract hundreds of new followers, and strengthens your PR campaigns. But hashtags can be annoying and obtrusive if you don’t know how to use them correctly. My paid webinar on “How to Use Hashtags: The New Search Tool” gives you the basics, as well as advanced techniques, on how to use the tiny symbol that has become one of the most powerful search tools online.

You can access the video replay and bonus package here.

 

4. Hound Video of the Week

Thanks to Publicity Hound Jeanette Benway of Mount Kisco, NY, for this recent segment from the “Today” show. Drew and Jonathan Scott, HGTV’s “Property Brothers,” reveal the park design they’ve been working on. The obstacle course will be donated to Guiding Eyes for the Blind, a guide dog school. Count the number of treats the trainer gives the puppy!

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