Ramp Up Your Pitching Now

Issue #779 Dec. 17, 2013
Publisher: Joan Stewart

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

In This Issue

Ramp Up Your Pitching Now
End-of-year Publicity Tasks
What Publicity Superstars Do
Hound Heart-warmer of the Week

This Week in the Hound House:

This is the perfect time of year to reconnect with old friends. A good friend who I haven’t seen in more than a decade came to Wisconsin on business and we met for a two-hour lunch last week. On Saturday night, I tracked down my college roommate. She reminded me that in 1973, when we were living off campus in Bowling Green, Ohio, and streaking was all the rage, she dared me. With a bottle of Boone’s Farm in me, I stripped, streaked around our house, and lived to write about it.

1. Ramp Up Your Pitching Now

There’s no better time than now to shift your pitching into high gear.

–Bloggers want guest posts so they can take a break during the holidays.

–Remember that journalists blog. If your topic ties into what they write about, ask if they’d like a guest blog post.

–Reporters are so overworked that some of them, particularly on smaller publications, might ask you to write your own story. This was unheard of two decades ago, but not anymore. If this happens to you, say yes!

–Everyone wants video and infographics to accompany blog posts and articles. If you have them, offer them as part of your pitch. If you don’t have them, create them.

–Journalists are on Twitter, looking for story ideas and sources. Follow journalists who cover your beat there and pay attention to topics they’re tweeting.

The new Fourth Edition of my popular ebook, “How to be a Kick-butt Publicity Hound,” lays it all out for you and tells you exactly what to do and when to do it. Grab it at the pre-publication special before the price goes up.

2. End-of-year Publicity Tasks

Here are five things to put on your to-do list to get ready for the new year:

–This is the most important: Claim Google Authorship, which links your content to your Google profile and places your thumbnail-size photo next to it in search results. Learn more about it.

–Revisit and update all your social media profiles.

–If your professional business photo is outdated, make an appointment to have a new one taken.

–Replace that tired old email signature.

–Update your online press room. Does it include a link to all your press releases and your social media profiles? Can journalists find your photos easily? Does that boring bio need to be updated?

You’ll get inspiration, examples of bios that rock, and a list of question that will help you breathe new life and fun into your bio. Order my “Special Report #46: Tips for Rewriting Your Boring Bio.”

3. What Publicity Superstars Do

Publicity Hounds are casting their votes in my slogan survey.

Why do the same old experts appear again and again on TV and radio shows and in print media? It’s because:

–They know the difference between their message and their “hook.” Their message is what they want to tell the world. Their hook is what gets them booked on the show.

–They brand themselves creatively to separate themselves from their competitors.

–They speak in sizzling sound bites when they’re pitching, and during their pre-interview.

–They know how to tell two specific types of stories when doing radio interviews.

–They use what’s called “The Book-Plus Strategy” to land repeated media gigs and make thousands of dollars on their books–even while doing interviews over the phone.

Learn more about what they do and exactly how they do it on a free call today, Dec. 17, at 2 and 7 p.m. Eastern, with Steve Harrison.

“How To Become A Regular Guest On National TV And Other Secrets Of The Publicity Superstars” will include success stories from authors, entrepreneurs and speakers who have figured out how to crack the protective shell surrounding the national media by playing the publicity game in a very different way than almost everyone else.

One of the most surprising things you’ll learn is that your credentials aren’t as important as you think they are.

4. Hound Heart-warmer of the Week

Thanks to Dan Janal of PRLeads.com for this touching story about Sparkey, the Springer Spaniel that was brought back to life by his owner, Tom Foster, after the dog drowned during a hunting trip.