The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #553 May 3, 2011
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://publicityhound.com
http://www.publicityHound.mobi
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
http://www.publicityarticles.net (Ezine Archives)
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“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”
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In This Issue
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1. Twice as Many Facebook Fans
2. Energize Your Boring Bio
3. Sample PR/Marketing Contracts
4. Your Sneaky LinkedIn Profile
5. Help This Hound
6. Hound Video of the Week
7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…
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1. Twice as Many Facebook Fans
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Convince twice the number of people who land on your Facebook
page to click the “Like” button. Create a Welcome page.
Research shows that Welcome pages convert twice as many visitors
into fans compared to pages where visitors land on the Wall.
I hired CustomFanPageDesigns.com to create a Welcome page. I also
did something else I should have done long ago.
I created a new Facebook page to reflect “The Publicity Hound”
brand. The old page, called “Publicity and public relations tips,
ideas and strategies,” doesn’t include my brand because I was
going after keywords, instead. I realized my mistake too late.
Facebook doesn’t let you change the name of a page.
Now, I’m trying to convince my more than 3,200 fans to Like my
new page. I want you to, too. And here’s what I’m offering.
I posted a really helpful tip this morning about a creative item
you can add to your online media room or press kit. It will
encourage journalists and bloggers to write about you. It will
give them lots of fodder and fun facts for articles and blog
posts. PR people, your clients will LOVE this idea. Like my new
page, look for the photo of chef Emeril Lagasse, read all about
it, and leave a comment:
http://www.facebook.com/publicityhound
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2. Energize Your Boring Bio
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When you’re adding the cool item I mentioned above to your
publicity materials, how about sprucing up the boring bio in your
press kit, the much shorter author resource box at the end of
your articles and guest blog posts, and even your Twitter bio?
Here are three examples of bios I like:
At the end of a guest blog written by Allison Boyer:
“When Allison’s not blogging for the BlogWorld blog (say that
three times fast), she runs After Graduation, a career advice and
motivation site.”
Pia Mara Finkell’s bio on Twitter (notice all the keywords):
“Work and play in wine and food, but randomly become obsessed
with beer, bourbon, pie, dogs, the Yanks, running, lacrosse and
anything that makes me laugh.”
Paragraph at the end of the bio for Gabe Benveniste, founder of
SonicLiving, a concert tracking tool and social network:
“Gabe competed in the 2003 World Beard and Mustache Championship,
where his prodigious chops propelled him to sixth place (out of
six) in the first-ever sideburn contest. His work has been
featured in Playboy, MTV and Wired.”
You’ll find lots more examples in my “Special Report #46: Tips
for Rewriting Your Boring Bio,” a steal at only $10:
products/reports.html#SpecialReport46
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3. Sample PR/Marketing Contracts
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If you’re setting up shop as a PR or marketing consultant, and
you’ve got your first client, one of the most perplexing problems
is obtaining sample contracts, or writing a contract from
scratch.
But what if you don’t have the start-up money to consult with a
lawyer? Problem solved.
Kellye Crane, of Solor PR Pro, and Jenny Schmitt of Cloudspark,
wrote the free, 30-page ebook called Get It In Writing, The
Communication Consultant’s Guide to Contracts. They’re not even
asking for your email address.
This is the most comprehensive free book I’ve seen on this topic,
and consultants who work in any area of communications will save
themselves weeks of research. The authors advise that you
eventually talk to an attorney when using a contract, but if
you’re short on cash, this book will at least get you started.
I also recommend this ebook for anyone who needs a publicist or
PR agency, and wants to see what sample contracts look like. Find
out how to access the book in the post at my blog at
http://publicityhound.net/?p=8326
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4. Your Sneaky LinkedIn Profile
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Certain LinkedIn “gurus” have been teaching a sneaky little trick
on how to capture first-place listings on LinkedIn when somebody
is searching for a business person with your expertise.
They tell you to stuff keywords and keyword phrases into your
profile, to the point where it’s obnoxious.
When LinkedIn finally wakes up and realizes what’s happening, it
might slap down the offenders in the rankings, much like Google
does when it finds people trying to game the system. Or it might
simply disable the account. If you have one of these sneaky
profiles, don’t let this happen to you.
Even worse, these profiles look disingenuous and unethical.
LinkedIn expert Wayne Breitbarth says visitors who read your
keyword-stuffed profile will know in an instant what you’re
trying to do and they might wonder, “If this person is trying to
trick LinkedIn, who else are they trying to trick?”
Publicity Hounds flooded Wayne and me with compliments after the
webinar I hosted with him in March. They asked me to bring him
back for another webinar on how-to tips for LinkedIn profiles,
Groups and advanced search.
Mark your calendars for 3 to 4:15 Eastern Time on Thursday, May
19, and register for the webinar when you get this newsletter
next week. If you can’t attend live, you can download the video
replay.
what else do you want Wayne to teach about LinkedIn. Hit “reply”
and tell me what else we should include.
If you missed the first webinar with him, it’s not too late to
start applying what he taught. Access the video replay and the
killer handouts for “Your LinkedIn Power Formula: How to Make
Killer Contacts, Pull Crowds to Events, be a Star in Your
Industry & Track Down Leads Like a Bloodhound” at
http://publicityhound.com/publicity-products/marketing-
tapes/linkedinpowerformula.htm
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5. Help This Hound
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Don Luepnitz of Norwalk, CA, writes:
“I am with the Norwalk, CA, Moose Lodge, and we can sure use some
help getting the word out and trying to get new people to come
down and or join.
“We offer dinners, breakfast, bingo, darts, full bar, a kids
room, and have fundraisers for ourselves and other charities. We
also sponsor kids’ sports teams, and we have a Facebook Fan Page
at
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Norwalk-CA-Moose-Family-
Center-1739/219549031389577
“How can we use traditional and social media to attract more
members and visitors?”
The website is at http://www.norwalkmoose.org
The Publicity Hound says:
Put a Facebook button that leads to your fan page on your
website. Also, start submitting items about your events to
Patch.com, the uber-local website. There’s a Patch for
Cerritos/Artesia and that might be close enough to you for them
to accept your news items. Also see “12 More Ways to Avoid Missed
Opportunities with the New & Improved Facebook” at
http://publicityhound.com/publicity-products/marketing-
tapes/facebook12ways.htm
Hounds, what ideas do you have for Don? Post them to my blog at
http://publicityhound.net/?p=8351
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6. Hound Video of the Week
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Here’s a silly YouTube video of Romeo the Pug playing piano:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFAy84Pesb0
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7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…
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Sample PR contracts included in free ebook
http://publicityhound.net/?p=8326
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Follow me 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
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Joan Stewart
a.k.a. The Publicity Hound
P.O. Box 437
Port Washington, WI 53074-0437
U.S.A.
Phone: 262-284-7451
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