The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #467 Sept. 1, 2009
Publisher: Joan Stewart
==========================================
“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”
===================================
In This Issue
===================================
1. Texting in the Dentist’s Chair
2. Pull Traffic to Your Blog
3. The Gift List is Back
4. Marketing a Beef Ranch
5. Help This Hound
6. Hound Joke of the Week
7. And at My Blog…
=====================================
1. Texting in the Dentist’s Chair
=====================================
Text messaging has become so pervasive that in a recent study,
four out of five dentists said patients send or receive text
messages while in the dentist’s chair.
When the Chicago Dental Society took the survey, Dr. Alice
Boghosian, a dentist from Niles, Ill., reported that one of
her patients, a young boy, told her to stop what she was doing
when he heard his phone beep. You can read more about the survey
results at http://budurl.com/wtww
Compulsive texting, and how your company or organization is
dealing with it, is a great story to pitch to journalists and
bloggers.
–What’s the texting policy in the classroom? Pitch this as part
of back-to-school coverage.
–Are people texting during worship services? If so, is anybody
doing anything to stop it?
–What’s the policy regarding texting among doctors, nurses and
other health care providers while on duty?
–Can compulsive text messaging lead to carpal tunnel syndrome?
Doctors and chiropractors, are texters complaining about wrist
and hand pain?
–Speakers and sales trainers, do you admonish those who text
during your presentations? Does shaming them do any good?
If you can think of other story ideas that tie into texting,
pitch!
You can still participate in social media without letting it
consume you. Blogger BL Ochman, an active social networker,
explains “How to do Social Networking, Run a Business and Still
Have a Life.” See http://budurl.com/7gck
=======================================
2. Pull Traffic to Your Blog
=======================================
Dismayed by the skimpy traffic visiting your blog or website?
Colin Martin has a fairly easy solution.
Several months ago, he wrote a blog post about celebrity gossip.
Then he went to Digg.com, the giant social bookmarking site, and
bookmarked it.
After that, the post got three more Diggs from other users. A
blogger who he doesn’t know, went to the Digg site, found Colin’s
blog post, and wrote about it at his own blog. It included a link
to Colin’s post.
“That person’s blog was so incredibly popular that my blog post
got 185 views that day,” Colin says. “My Friends on Digg didn’t
generate the Diggs and views, but because I bookmarked it there,
and made the content available, this blogger who I don’t even
know was able to go in, find it, and put it on his own blog and
link back to me.”
By checking his web traffic statistics, Colin was able to tell
that 185 people came to his blog as a result of his bookmark on
Digg.
You, too, can let other people do all the hard work. You can do
the easy part and spend five or 10 minutes a week bookmarking
interesting content, including your own.
But you must follow several important rules. Colin explained the
formula he uses for bookmarking his own content vs. content from
other people during the teleseminar I hosted on “How to do Social
Bookmarking to Promote Your Expertise, Attract Followers & Pull
Massive Amounts of Traffic.” Learn more about it at
http://budurl.com/mdn5
========================================
3. The Gift List is Back
========================================
If you have a subscription to The Gift List but have been unable
to reach their staff, it’s because they evacuated their offices
near Los Angeles for several days due to the wild fires.
“We are back in the office and will be unpacked shortly,” said
Amy Bates Stumpf. “The winds have changed and the smoke isn’t an
issue for us. However the fire is still a very serious threat to
the area.
“We apologize for the intermittent brief outages on the
Gift List Media site and expect them to be resolved very shortly.
Contact information for both the Print & Broadcast and Web & Blog
lists should be fully loaded by Tuesday morning, Sept. 1.
Research on The Gift List databases is continuing, and the staff
will let subscribers know about new pitching opportunities for
media that are planning special coverage of holiday gift-giving.
This is a great opportunity to get a photo and press release
about your product or service in front of your target audience.
Test drive The Gift List at http://snipurl.com/GiftListMedia
=================================
4. Marketing a Beef Ranch
=================================
This week, four Publicity Hounds have tips for Jeff Clear, of
Monument, Colo., who does Internet marketing for Lasater
Grassland Beef, a grass-fed beef ranch. He is searching for more
ways to reach his target market online.
From Wendy Edsall-Kerwin:
“Try to find blogs aimed at foodies or health-conscious moms, and
see if you can guest post or submit recipes calling for your
grass-fed beef.”
From Christine Roen:
“Check out the blog attached to Foodnetwork.com and the
‘community’ at EatingWell.com. Start a blog of your own or a
newsletter. Finally, how about participating in the Forum
section on the Whole Foods site?”
From Laura Mackenzie:
“You might want to create some press releases or articles that
tell people why your food is a good choice instead of all these
tainted foods, and then explain, point by point, why your beef is
so healthy.”
The Publicity Hound says:
Read all the responses to this week’s Help This Hound question at
http://budurl.com/ejze and then check out “Publicity Tips for
Restaurants, Chefs & Foodies” at http://budurl.com/hyv8
Send your own Help this Hound question to:
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com?subject=HelpThisHound
and include your city, state or province.
===============================
5. Help This Hound
===============================
Maria Antonia, of New York, N.Y., writes:
“I volunteer for a small independent film company based in New
York, NY. We recently completed filming for a feature film
called ‘Under Jakob’s Ladder’. Set in the Soviet Union in 1941,
it’s based on a true story about a man who was thrown into prison
for praying at a funeral.
“We’re still editing the movie and it’s almost ready to be
screened. How can we spread the word that this movie is coming
soon?
“Any ideas for unique and intriguing ways that we can use our
blog, website, and our Facebook page to get people interested?
What would make YOU want to go see an independent feature film
that doesn’t have oodles of money for advertisements? Remember,
we’re not studio backed. Right now, we’re looking at releasing
this movie ourselves and booking our own theaters.”
The Publicity Hound says:
You have a great blog at http://amoonbrothersfilm.blogspot.com/
that keeps fans updated while you’re making the movie. Let’s see
how many ideas my Hounds can suggest for other ways to attract
the attention of people who don’t yet know about the movie.
Hounds with creative ideas for Maria can post them at my blog at
http://budurl.com/d42w
===============================
6. Hound Joke of the Week
===============================
I couldn’t help but smile when I read this profile story of
Chanel, the world’s oldest dog:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30596398/ The dachshund mix from
Long Island, N.Y., died Friday at age 21.
Chanel, by the way, wore “doggles” for her cataracts and lived to
a ripe old age despite downing an entire bag of peanut butter
cups.
DOG JOKES & QUOTES EBOOK: 170+ G-rated dog jokes and quotes,
perfect for a dog-lover, your favorite vet, or just for a few
good laughs.
BONUS: Buy the ebook and you also get a compilation of the 50
best websites for dog humor.
http://publicityhound.com/dogjokebook/
================================
7. And at My Blog…
================================
Sept. 11 deadline for O Magazine pitches
http://budurl.com/3bvj
================================================
Joan Stewart
The Publicity Hound
Share Your Two Cents