New Trend: A Big Butt

Issue #912 May 2, 2015
Publisher: Joan Stewart

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

In This Issue

New Trend: A Big Butt
Free Headline Tool
Free Publicity Telesummit
Hound Video of the Week

This Weekend in the Hound House:

I’m spending today’s gorgeous sunny day in my girlfriend’s garden, digging out dozens of Virginia Bluebells, my favorite spring perennial. I’ll save half for my own garden and donate half to my Garden Club’s plant sale. When the work is done, we’ll celebrate with three games of 500 Rummy and those heavenly foil-wrapped Dove dark chocolate candies.

1. New Trend: A Big Butt

A decade ago, women wanted to make their butts smaller.

Now, rear enhancement is the fastest-growing plastic surgery. Smart Publicity Hounds will try to piggyback onto this fun story for some, uh, media exposure.

Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Miley Cyrus and selfie queen Jen Selter have made the “belfie,” or butt selfie, all the rage on Instagram. Companies are even marketing special “belfie sticks” for taking a better photo from behind. So says The Hollywood Reporter in this recent article.

When I told publicist Michelle Tennant Nicholson about this story, we brainstormed these pitching ideas for you after we stopped laughing:

Authors, speakers and experts on body image: Comment on this phenomenon. Let the media know about the story in The Hollywood Reporter.
Psychologists and therapists: Are there cheaper and more emotionally healthy ways for women to feel better about their butts and their bodies without resorting to the knife?
Fashion experts: What are designers and clothing manufacturers doing differently with new styles to let women show off their behinds?
Fitness trainers: What exercises do you recommend to women who want to enhance their butts?
Plastic surgeons: Your own professional organization, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, reports a 98 percent increase in buttock implants since last year. Include that statistic in your pitch.

This story is perfect for TV because it’s so visual. But how do you pitch it? And to whom? And at what time do you call?

Michelle Tennant Nicholson gave me four written pitches she has used, word for word, to score media placements for her clients on “Larry King Live,” “Good Morning America,” Inc. Media Radio and Charlotte FOX TV. The PDF is yours when you buy the video replay of the webinar I hosted this week with her on “5 Steps to Use Breaking News to Score Publicity (and Sell More Books and Products).” Order it from my shop.

2. Free Headline Tool

Remember the Emotional Headline Analyzer tool I shared with you last year?

I found a more sophisticated tool that’s a whole lot more valuable. It’s the CoSchedule Headline analyzer and it’s also free. Here’s why I love it:

It analyzes the overall structure, grammar and readability of your headline.
It gives your headline a score and rates its ability to result in social shares, increased traffic and SEO value.
It explains the various types of headlines and helps you understand which one is best for your article, blog post or press release.

A big “two paws up, way up” to LinkedIn expert Wayne Breitbarth for this tip. He mentioned it during the webinar I hosted with him a few weeks ago on “10 LinkedIn Changes, Workarounds & Apps.” The video replay comes with a 12-point checklist that will help you grade your LinkedIn profile and improve it. The video also comes with a step-by-step cheat sheet on how to grow your email list from invitations people send you to connect. We even give you a checklist of the top 10 ways to promote your event on LinkedIn.

Order the whole package from my shop.

3. Free Publicity Telesummit

If you can spare the time, you’re in for a treat and a master’s-level education on how to get publicity.

You’re invited to attend the free worldwide telesummit “Be an Attention Getter” later this month.

It’s hosted by Samantha Whittaker who invited me to be one of the speakers. I’m presenting a session on key elements that your 2015 publicity plan must include.

The 20 other speakers are all big-ticket publicity experts whose businesses focus solely on promoting, exposing and generating sales for some of the world’s biggest companies and brands, and lots of small business owners just like you. You will learn:

How to attract your target audience
Clever ways to call attention to your books, products, services and events.
How to create a buzz through viral marketing.
How to structure a press release.
The secrets of mastering interviews with the media.

You don’t have to attend all the sessions. But the more you attend, the more you learn.

My session with Samantha was a lot of fun. You’ll get an excellent overview of what you need to do to stand heads above your competitors when it comes to publicity.

4. Hound Video of the Week

Saving dogs’ lives never sounded so funky. The folks at East Bay SPCA in Oakland, Calif., remixed the hit Bruno Mars song “Uptown Pup” and renamed it “Oaktown Pup” to promote adopting pets from your local shelter. You’ll want to get up and dance to this clever video–and then run out and adopt a dog.

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