Break These Bad Habits

Issue #913 May 5, 2015
Publisher: Joan Stewart

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

In This Issue

1. Break These Bad Habits
2. What Experts Do
3. Meet Chicago Journalists
4. Hound Video of the Week

This Week in the Hound House:

One of my favorite stress relievers is standing by the kitchen window, watching the birds line up to use the bird bath. There’s so much splashing and preening that I have to change the water twice a day. I’m pretty sure it doubles as a watering hole for the deer that sneak into yard in the middle of the night.

1. Break These Bad Habits

Here are three mistakes you might be making that are killing your efforts to promote yourself:

1. Hiding behind a “Contact Us” form on your website. There’s nothing wrong with these forms. But give visitors the option of sending an email and marking it “urgent.”
   Most journalists and bloggers on deadline don’t bother filling out these forms. They leave and find someone else to interview.
2. Failing to research people you’re pitching. Even using that generic invitation to connect on LinkedIn says “I’m too lazy to find out if we have anything in common.”  
3. Setting your sights only on top-tier media outlets and thinking that “one big hit” will make you famous. If you sell vitamins for chickens, you can build up far more traction with an article in Chicken Breeders Monthly than by trying to be booked on the “Today” show.

   Read the new article I published on LinkedIn on 13 publicity habits you should quit now.

   In only five days, 148 people have seen it, 12 people have Liked it and six have commented. Wayne Breitbarth explained the huge benefits of LinkedIn publishing and how a popular article can make it into Pulse, LinkedIn’s magazine. Read more about how to grab the video replay of the webinar I hosted with Wayne on “10 LinkedIn Changes, Workarounds & Apps.”

2. What Experts Do

Expertise isn’t only about what you know. It’s about what you do.

What are some of the things experts do?

Write books. Speak. Hold patents, copyrights and trademarks. Teach. Mentor and coach. Podcast. Publish. Blog.

I’m teaching two sessions on how to build and promote your expertise:

• At the Author U Extravaganza in Denver this week. Register here. Save $100 by using the coupon code AU2015. Live near Denver? Visit the free exhibit day from 2 to 5:30 on Thursday and connect with book reviewers, printers, book designers, editors and publishing execs.   
• At the Madison Area Business Consultants meeting in Madison Wisconsin on Tuesday, May 12. Register for this three-hour workshop.

3. Meet Chicago Journalists

If you want publicity in Chicago media, walk, run, drive or fly to the Windy City tomorrow and May 13 to hear journalists share their best pitching tips.

The Publicity Club of Chicago will feature two presentations, one tomorrow night from 5:30 to 7:30 on “speed pitching” and another on May 13 with a panel of journalists who cover the health care industry.  

Tomorrow’s event features journalists from the Chicago Sun-Times, “Windy City Live,” Time Out Chicago, AdAge, Crain’s Chicago Business, CBS 2 Chicago, and the Chicago Tribune.

Details at my blog where I shared a link to 50 terrific pitching you can use anytime.

4. Hound Video of the Week

You know what to do with that furry tail…waggle, waggle, waggle! Here’s what dogs do with theirs.

 

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