The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #594 Feb. 14, 2012
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 Truth About Pricy Media Lists
2. Don’t Send Junk to TV Producers
3. Pinterest: The Shiny New Bauble
4. Patch Scales Back
5. Follow Up Your Pitches
6. Hound Video of the Week
7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site
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1. The Truth About Pricy Media Lists
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Big media directories are like expensive security blankets.
Armed with contact information for thousands of newspapers,
magazines, TV shows, radio shows, bloggers and more, you know
that when you need it, it’s there.
Problem is, by the time you get around to using only a miniscule
number of the listings, many of them are out of date. Big PR
firms that serve dozens of clients can afford these expensive
databases. Most do-it-yourself Publicity Hounds, nonprofits and
small boutique firms cannot.
Help is on the way.
On Thursday, I’ll show you how to create your own directory of
media contacts and fill it with juicy nuggets that you’ll never
find in the big directories. If you register, you’ll receive
eight templates I use for newspapers, magazines, TV shows, radio
shows, freelancers, bloggers, websites, and print newsletters and
ezines.
Media relations is about building relationships. That means no
blast emails and no “spray and pray” pitches–a sin you’ll be
tempted to commit with thousands of email addresses at your
fingertips.
Join me at 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, Feb. 16, when I host
the webinar, “How to Build Your Own Database of Valuable Media
Contacts.” Whether you’re doing publicity for yourself or your PR
clients, you’ll learn about the types of information to include
in your database, shortcuts that will help find the best contacts
quickly, and the most important details to include in each entry.
Here’s the best part. The morning of the webinar, I’ll email you
a link where you can download my eight fill-in-the-blank
templates, so you don’t have to start from scratch.
Don’t miss this one. It’s going to fill up fast. Register at
http://publicityhound.com/publicity-products/marketing-tapes/mediadatabase.htm
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2. Don’t Send Junk to TV Producers
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Here’s a small sampling of the junk that TV shows receive from
Publicity Hounds who want to get booked as guests:
Expensive press kits. Multiple copies of the author’s book (one
for everybody on the staff). Press clippings. CDs. DVDs.
Envelopes stuffed with brochures and other marketing materials.
Even gag gifts that the sender tries to tie into a clever pitch.
But the staff doesn’t have time to wade through it. So it ends up
in the trash.
If you want to get onto shows like “Rachael Ray,” “The Wendy
Williams Show” and “Live with Kelly,” don’t pester them with
things they don’t want.
Instead, find out what they DO want from you and what you must do
to make them say “yes.” Steve Harrison will interview producers
and bookers from those three shows, and others, during a 90-
minute webinar at 2 and 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 16.
If you can’t attend, register anyway:
https://m164.infusionsoft.com/go/tvcall/A10011/
If you want to attend my webinar on media databases and Steve’s,
his afternoon session overlaps with mine. You have two options.
Attend his evening session so you don’t miss any of mine. Or,
attend his afternoon session and watch the video replay of mine.
He almost never records his webinars. I do. And anyone who
registers, but cannot attend, can access my replay and all the
handouts.
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3. Pinterest: The New Shiny Bauble
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Pinterest, the online social media corkboard, is the new kid in
the social media classroom and grabbing most of the attention.
It’s almost all visual–and so doggone beautiful.
Create an account at Pinterest.com. You can then start creating
boards where you can “pin” photos and videos around a common
theme that you find when browsing the Web, and write a short
description of each. I’ve started a board called “My Favorite
Products.” People who follow you can “repin” your board and share
it with others.
About three-fourths of the more than 3 million users are women,
perhaps because most of the topics fall into the lifestyle
category: parenting, home/family, bridal, baby, hobbies and
collectibles, food and fashion/cosmetics.
The big temptation is to turn your boards into giant commercials
for your products and services, but there are many better
options. This article at Copybloger explains “56 Ways to Market
Your Business on Pinterest”:
If you’re using Pinterest, join the conversation on my Facebook
page, tell me what you like or don’t like about it, and offer
your own tips:
https://www.facebook.com/publicityhound/posts/311749112207011
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4. Patch Scales Back
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If you’ve come to love Patch.com as I have, you’ll be
disappointed to hear reports that AOL is planning to drastically
reduce staff and change the editorial focus.
Jim Romensko reports that the site, which serves 22 states in the
U.S. and the District of Columbia, is planning to lay off from
one-half to all of its freelancers. He also says a Patch insider
told him they’re planning “easy, quick-hitting, cookie-cutter
copy.”
Read the sad news at
http://jimromenesko.com/2012/02/08/patch-to-reduce-staff-change-
editorial-focus/
Patch is one of the many websites where you can promote your
local events. Learn about 50 more sites here:
http://publicityhound.com/events.htm
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5. Follow Up Your Pitches
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When you hear journalists say, “Please don’t follow up,” what
they really mean is “Please don’t follow up and waste my time.”
Here’s how not to waste their time:
If you pitch and hear nothing within, say, a week or two, email
again and offer a little extra. If you pitched a story on how
parents can deal with cranky toddlers, offer a list of the “Top
10 Ways to Tame the Terrible Twos” to accompany the story.
That’s the fifth part of my formula on how to pitch. Learn about
the first four parts here:
http://publicityhound.com/publicity-products/marketing-
tapes/pitchingformula.htm
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6. Hound Video of the Week
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Thanks to Publicity Hound Elaine Grassbaugh of Columbus, Ohio for
this oldie-but-goodie video of two dogs eating, side by side.
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=
EVwlMVYqMu4&vq=medium#t=125
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 Blog & Mobile Site…
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Great content for tweeting:
6 ways to overcome a writing setback
http://publicityhound.net/?p=10389
TV producers will share pitching tips Thursday
http://publicityhound.net/?p=10375
Sidestep expensive media directories:
Create your own
http://publicityhound.net/?p=10346
Dog Tweets:
7 crucial tactics for writing
a radically successful guest post
http://publicityhound.net/?p=10340
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Read my publicity tips on Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/PublicityHound
Join my Facebook Fan Page:
http://www.facebook.com/publicityhound
Connect with me on LinkedIn (and tell me how we know each other)
http://www.linkedin.com/in/publicityhound
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Reprinted from “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week,” an ezine
featuring tips, tricks and tools for generating free publicity.
Subscribe at http://publicityhound.com/ and receive by email
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Joan Stewart
The Publicity Hound
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