Issue #886 Jan. 17, 2015
Publisher: Joan Stewart
“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”
In This Issue
- PR Services on a Budget
- Tie Into Food Trends
- Free “Swipe” Materials
- Hound Video of the Week
This Weekend in the Hound House:
I’m headed to Fort Lauderdale where we leave on the Publishing at Sea cruise I’m co-hosting for authors. I’m presenting three programs onboard Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas, including a new one that teaches authors how to become experts in their topics, even if they write nonfiction. I’ll be glued to one of the big-screen TVs to watch the Packers-Seahawks game on Sunday. Then I’ll get lost in one of the huge ship’s seven distinct “neighborhoods” that include Central Park. Look for your next email tips on Tuesday, Jan. 27.
1. PR Services on a Budget
Need a logo for your business but don’t have several hundred dollars to spend?
In the market for someone to do a voiceover for your new podcast?
Looking for help creating a WordPress blog?
Consider Fiverr.com.
It’s the global online marketplace of vendors offering tasks and services starting at $5 per gig. As I was looking around the site this week, I found more than two dozen types of services people are selling that would appeal to Publicity Hounds. They include:
–All types of freelance writing, from articles to press releases.
–Researching journalists and bloggers in your niche.
–Promoting your event by posting it to online calendars.
–Video and photo editing.
Many vendors offer additional services. Before you hire anyone, check their references on Fiverr.
Also know about the six services you should never buy. For example, don’t hire anyone on that site to pitch a story idea to journalists on your behalf, unless you’re working with a professional publicist. Pitching is a science and an art, and few people can do it well.
Read the list of 27 services you might consider. It’s at my blog.
2. Tie into Food Trends
“I’ve opened a restaurant and I need publicity. What do I do?”
“Our adult education department is starting a series of cooking classes. But the local newspaper isn’t interested in writing about them. How can I get the word out?”
“My supermarket will soon offer free delivery. Should I write a press release or do I have to buy an ad?”
Generating publicity is a lot easier if you can tie whatever you need to promote into a food trend.
Food Genius, a Chicago-based firm, has identified 10 food trends for 2015 based largely on the convenience, healthy options and local ingredients that consumers are demanding.
More restaurants are giving customers the option of ordering with their mobile phones. Grocery stores are adding in-store restaurants where people can eat while they shop. Meal-delivery services are accommodating busy workers who eat at their desks.
At my blog, I’ve taken each of the three questions above and shown you how to tie it to a food trend or other angle.
See “Restaurants, chefs, foodies: Tie publicity into these food trends.”
3. Free “Swipe” Materials
If you’re generating publicity for digital product like an ebook, or a full-blown online course or coaching program, you can start publicizing it long before you even create it.
Let Danny Iny help you.
You can grab more than $1,500 worth of sales scripts, talking points and email copy that will help you pre-sell your next product. It’s Danny’s ultimate plug-and-play, “done for you” kit that will let you start your marketing campaign with a bang.
It’s literally a copy-and-paste job with a few slight tweaks to match your business.
4. Hound Video of the Week
If you think you like being pampered by a day at the spa. Watch this pooch’s expressions as he is coiffed and groomed. Love the stylist too! (Warning: the videographer drops an F-bomb.)
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