Issue #793 Feb. 15, 2014
Publisher: Joan Stewart
“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”
In This Issue
- Stop Using This Word
- LinkedIn’s Nasty Slap
- Get Paid to Speak
- Hound Video of the Week
This Weekend in the Hound House:
This is the only February I can remember when Wisconsin folks are grateful for not living in the South. Prayers go out to the families whose relatives were killed in the storm, and to the stranded motorists, police and firemen, utility crews and others who are showing up for work every day during the brutal winter we’ll never forget.
1. Stop Using This Word
When you’re interviewing with the media, think very carefully about how you want to use that free publicity to pull traffic to your website.
Chris Miller, a consultant who works with radio station executives to make them more profitable, urges his clients to stop using the word “details” when trying to pull traffic to a radio station’s website, as in “For all the details, log on to radio 103.com.”
“That’s EXACTLY what I need in my life…more details,” Chris says.
Don’t send listeners to your website to drown in details. Tell them about how going there will make their lives easier.
That’s great advice for Publicity Hounds, too.
If you’re a guest on a radio show, ask the host beforehand if it’s OK to pitch something like a handy cheat sheet, a helpful checklist or a video that explains how to make a difficult task easy. To access it, listeners must go to your website.
You can force them to opt in with their name and email address before they get the goodies.
I compiled a long list of freebies that are perfect for luring people to your website. They’re all in “Special Report #51: 66 Free Things You Can Offer to Generate Publicity or Capture Email Addresses.” Only $15.
2. LinkedIn’s Nasty Slap
If you’re a member of a LinkedIn group, and you discover that information you’re posting isn’t appearing, you could be the victim of LinkedIn’s most recent slap.
Let’s say a moderator in an industry group flags your post because she thinks it’s too promotional.
All of your future posts in every group where you’re a member will be sent to the penalty box, platform-wide. You’ve just been “SWAM’ed” which stands for Site-Wide Automated Monitoring. And it means all future posts, comments, responses or questions must await moderator approval before they appear.
But what if a moderator is inattentive or out of town for three weeks?
You’re stuck. The only way out of the mess is to petition every group moderator to manually “unflag” you for that particular group.
The problem is creating horrible PR for LinkedIn. There’s even a SWAM support group on LinkedIn, and a companion group on Google+ where SWAM victims are defecting.
Forbes contributor Cheryl Conner writes about the LinkedIn ruckus.
3. Get Paid to Speak
Two decades ago, it was a lot easier for a speaker to book a paid gig and walk away with a check for several thousand dollars.
Today, many event planners are inviting experts to speak for free in exchange for getting in front of audiences that can hire them for consulting assignments and other projects.
If you refuse to brand yourself as a “free speaker,” you can still make decent money speaking, but only if you know the ropes, the best strategies and the handy tools that are right at your fingertips.
Six successful speakers will explain how to get started in this lucrative field during a free telephone seminar this Thursday, Feb. 20, at 2 and 7 p.m. Eastern, hosted by Steve Harrison.
You will learn why you shouldn’t ask for less than $3,000 as a speaking fee–even if you’re a complete unknown with an “ordinary topic.”
Register for the free call here.
Even though it’s free, I’m promoting it as one of Steve’s affiliates.
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