The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #495 March 9, 2010
Publisher: Joan Stewart
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“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”
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In This Issue
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1. The Next Big Thing: Mobile
2. Time-saving Blogging Tips
3. Social Media Cheat Sheet
4. Marketing a Lifestyle for Boomers
5. Help This Hound
6. Hound Joke of the Week
7. And at My Blogs…
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1. The Next Big Thing: Mobile
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Ten years ago, the hot new thing was building an email list.
Seven years ago, it was blogs and video.
Last year, it was Twitter.
This year, it’s mobile marketing. In 2010, our planet already has
more mobile phones than it does TV sets, cars, credit cards or
computers.
New generations of mobile devices are being unleashed not every
few months, but every few WEEKS. Hundreds of millions of
consumers worldwide are glued to their iPhones, Blackberries or
other mobile devices. To put it bluntly, they are waiting for
YOU.
That means more new technology to learn. But the opportunities to
reach your ideal customers, whether they’re standing in line at
Starbucks or lying in bed, is huge–only if you do it right and
don’t believe the two biggest misconceptions about mobile
marketing:
–It’s just like Internet marketing, but on a much smaller
screen.
–Sending a string of text messages is just like sending a series
of autoresponder messages.
If you’re confused about how to tap into this opportunity, let
StomperNet help. I’m their affiliate and they’re letting me share
these two goodies with you:
–A free webinar at 8 Eastern tonight featuring Dan Hollings, the
creator of StomperMobile and the guy who did the Internet
marketing behind the phenomenon “The Secret.” Sign up for the
webinar at
https://stompernet.infusionsoft.com/go/SMW1/SN332 If you can’t
make it, sign up anyway in case they record it. Or recruit
somebody to watch and take notes for you.
–A free series of three video lessons that will help you get
started the right way:
https://stompernet.infusionsoft.com/go/SM1/SN332
I’ll be on the webinar tonight. See you there.
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2. Time-saving Blogging Tips
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The biggest excuse people use to explain why they aren’t
blogging, or why they don’t comment at other people’s blogs, is
“I don’t have time.”
Here’s a tip that that lets you do both at the same time.
Create a Google Alert at http://www.Google.com/alerts for a
keyword or keyword phrase. When you check your alerts and you
find a blog post that screams out for your expert commentary,
tell yourself: “What I’m going to write here will be the basis of
a post at my own blog.”
Write the comment. Save it to your clipboard. Then take it over
to your blog where you can expound on it a little more. Then,
link back to the blog where you commented. That’s exactly what I
did over the weekend when I saw law firm marketing expert Kevin
O’Keefe’s blog post about press releases.
The topic was perfect for me. I wrote a lengthy comment, brought
it back to my own blog and elaborated, linking back to Kevin’s
blog. You can read my post “Why a press release and not just a
blog post?” at http://ow.ly/1pVlma
This little trick also works when you’re answering questions on
LinkedIn.
The 27 pages of handouts that I offered during the teleseminar
“Time-saving Tips for Smart Business Blogging,” with Patsi
Krakoff in January, are as helpful for veteran bloggers as they
are for newbies. They include 101 places to find content for your
blog, the first 7 steps before creating your blog, how to write
better and faster, and 20 mistakes smart professionals make with
blogs.
The handouts accompany the electronic transcript, CD or MP3
recording. Learn more at http://tinyurl.com/businessblogger
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3. Social Media Cheat Sheet
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You’ll love Drew McLellan’s handy, color-coded Social Media Cheat
Sheet that will help you understand how to leverage major social
media sites: http://ow.ly/1g8CO
Notice how well Digg, the popular bookmarking site, fares on this
chart. It’s a valuable tool for brand exposure, generating
traffic to your site, and search engine optimization.
If you’re not using Digg, now is the time to start. Colin Martin
explains how during the teleseminar on “How to do Social
Bookmarking to Promote Your Expertise, Attract Followers & Pull
Massive Amounts of Traffic.” The CD, MP3 and electronic
transcript include a series of four videos in which Colin
demonstrates how to create your accounts at bookmarking sites,
how to bookmark content, how to make friends and join groups, and
everyday uses for this powerful marketing tool.
Read more about what you’ll learn at http://tinyurl.com/ybzam7u
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4. Marketing a Lifestyle for Boomers
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This week, three Publicity Hounds have tips for Patti Chavet of
Frisco, Texas who wants to brand herself as an expert in active
adult lifestyles for Baby Boomers who live in Texas.
From Camille Torres:
“To position yourself as an expert, I suggest starting with a
blog. Offer information that helps your target audience, finding
the intersection between their informational needs/wants and your
expertise. Mixing it up a bit and having a video blog posting
every now and then might be a good idea. It would help people
identify with you and connect with you better, and the videos can
also be posted on YouTube and other video-sharing sites for extra
exposure. Tweet and Facebook your blog postings, along with other
info that will appeal to your audience.”
From Eric Gruber:
“You should be writing articles and submitting them on top
websites and ezines that your targeted audience (Baby Boomers
looking to retire) goes to every day for solutions you provide. I
know you’re looking for a local area, but article marketing works
for you, too.”
From Reece Franklin:
“Target the Boomers: While there are usually several networking
organizations within a large community that target the senior
market, there aren’t many that target Boomers. I suggest you
either find one or two that do hit the Boomers, or start your
own. Put together a list of the top 30 companies that might
target Boomers, and can influence them to use you. Then invite
these folks to your first networking meeting. Networking really
works if you’re the founder, or the key speaker.”
Read all the responses to this week’s ?Help This Hound” question
http://ow.ly/1die7
Send your own Help this Hound question to:
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com?subject=HelpThisHound
and include your city and state.
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5. Help This Hound
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Susan Murphy of Pleasant Ridge, MI writes:
“I’m looking for some interesting avenues in which to promote our
client, an environmental scientist who specializes in toxic mold
education, detection and remediation.
“Connie Morbach, M.S. CHMM CIE, is a respected national authority
on indoor air quality (IAQ) who has performed over 10,000
residential/commercial air tests and environmental evaluations.
“Since 1994, her team has witnessed the illnesses and devastation
caused by many ill-equipped and unscrupulous IAQ/Mold
‘professionals’ in their industry, and they continue to help so
many who have suffered from these injustices. She has just
started a blog at http://cleanlinest.wordpress.com/ and is
tweeting to share her knowledge as well.
“Connie has been featured on a half dozen indoor air quality
investigative segments for NBC’s “Today” show (“Why your gym may
be making you sick” and “Watch out for hidden germs in
supermarkets”), as well as “Rachael Ray” and “Extreme Makeover
Home Edition.” But she hasn’t worked with a PR firm since then.
She’s looking to get the word out again about her expertise, and
I’m hoping your loyal Hounds can suggest some thoughtful ideas.
The Publicity Hound says:
What a great topic! The “your (fill in the blank) is making you
sick” theme can be used dozens of ways. Let’s see what my Hounds
have to say. If you have a great idea for Susan, post it to my
blog at http://ow.ly/1g9z9
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6. Hound Joke of the Week
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“Dogs have no money. Isn’t that amazing? They’re broke their
entire lives. But they get through. You know why dogs have no
money? No pockets.”
–Jerry Seinfeld
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/
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7. And at My Blogs…
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Consider retweeting these blog posts:
Job-hunters, publicity seekers: Wake up your boring bios
http://ow.ly/1frh9
Why a press release and not just a blog post?
http://ow.ly/1pVlma
Your dog can soon have its own Twitter account
http://ow.ly/1g48j
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Joan Stewart
a.k.a. The Publicity Hound
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