The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #481 Dec. 8, 2009
Publisher: Joan Stewart
“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”
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In This Issue
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1. Your Bio: A Sleeping Pill?
2. Journalists Who Twitter
3. Corporate Sponsors Want You
4. Promoting Booklets About Aging
5. Help This Hound
6. Hound Video of the Week
7. And at My Blog…
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1. Your Bio: A Sleeping Pill?
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If your bio is anything like the bios written by most other
people, it’s more potent than a sleeping pill.
Boring bios usually include a big gray paragraph of schools
attended and academic degrees earned, a long list of awards, no
fun facts, and nothing that shows the writer’s personality.
These bios, void of anything remotely interesting, are bogging
down websites and online press kits and turning off potential
customers, clients and the media.
I came across photographer Terry Turrentine’s bio last week while
preparing my presentation on “Ezines, Blogs & Bios” for the
smARTist Telesummit 2010. I found her bio so intriguing that I
started to dissect it.
Terry photographed egrets for her book, Great Egret. Her bio
concentrates on only one theme: her relationship with birds.
She discusses learning how to shoot them when she was 10 years
old and a card-carrying member of the National Rifle Association.
She lovingly mentions the mallard wing her father gave to her,
which she tucked into her drawer with her other cherished
possessions. She later admits to feeling revulsion for having
killed birds.
Her bio gives readers an intimate glimpse into her life and what
shaped her love of birds. It’s void of the standard “where I
attended school” facts that can clutter a beautifully written
piece.
So what about her degrees earned, schools attended, awards won
and other minutiae that ruin bios? You can include them in your
standard resume, and link to it from your bio.
“Special Report #46: Tips for Rewriting Your Boring Bio,”
includes ideas for various ways to approach your rewrite,
examples of bios I love, and how to incorporate key events from
your childhood, just like Terry did. Only $15.
If you’re an artist whose marketing campaign needs a jolt,
there’s still time to register for the smARTist Telesummit 2010.
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2. Journalists Who Twitter
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Thanks to book marketing guru John Kremer’s excellent ezine,
“Book Marketing Tips of the Week.”
He provides a list of where to find journalists who Twitter, and
it’s important because many journalists use these sites to find
experts to interview. “Follow those journalists that you want to
begin creating relationships with,” John says.
Just Tweet It
Features 156 reporters and editors.
MuckRack.com
Features journalists by beats (world, U.S., politics, business,
technology, sports, arts, etc.) and media company.
If you’re twittering and not seeing a return on your investment
of time, check out “How to Use Twitter to Amass an Army of
Followers, Customers & Valuable Contacts–and Promote,” a two-
part teleseminar series I hosted with Twitter expert Warren
Whitlock.
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3. Corporate Sponsors Want You
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One of the best ways for corporations to market themselves is
through experts like Brendon Burchard and Jacqueline Whitmore and
maybe even you.
After a lot of trial and error, Brendon cracked the code and
developed a surprisingly easy way to get major companies like
Wachovia, Coke, Toyota and Sony Pictures to promote and sponsor
his books, publicity and speaking tours.
Jacqueline has had equally impressive success.
She’s the gift-giving expert for Sam’s Club, the gift buying
expert for Office Depot, and a national spokesperson for Sprint.
She also has partnered with Clarisonic skin care products and
Hologic, which sells imaging equipment for the health care
industry. In both cases, Brendon and Jacqueline found companies
that were a perfect fit with their area of expertise and have
received mountains of free publicity from national print and
broadcast media.
“When you’re aligned with a corporation, especially a Fortune 500
company or one that has a reputable name, you’re perceived as
more credible because that corporation has chosen you as its
spokesperson,” she said.
In fact, at the National Speakers Association convention last
year, Jacqueline heard Brendon speak about how to land corporate
sponsors and said he was one of the highest-rated speakers at the
event.
This year, Brendon will share his secrets during a free
teleseminar this Thursday, Dec. 10, with Steve Harrison. Discover
how you can use his methods to promote your own book, product or
business, just like Brendon and Jacqueline do, and get PR firms
to pay all your expenses.
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4. Promoting Booklets About Aging
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This week, five Publicity Hounds have tips for Ted Fuller of
Lafayette, CA, on how to promote his two tips booklets for senior
citizens, “The Best Ideas Yet About Aging Successfully” and “Tips
for Writing a Great Memoir.”
From Berg:
“It shouldn’t be too expensive to send actual samples.”
From Mary Jane Hurley Brant:
“Allot a certain amount of your newly written booklets and make
like Santa and give them away for free. Also, start giving talks
with a ‘buy 2, get 2 free’ offer.”
From Carrollyn C. Cox:
“Many retired seniors have the time to spend on Facebook, Twitter
and especially LinkedIn. Build a Facebook page and promote via
other social media sites.”
The Publicity Hound says:
Read all the responses to this week’s “Help This Hound” question.
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5. Help This Hound
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Gabrielle Yetter of Marblehead, MA, writes:
“I recently launched my new company and produce The Screaming
Pillow which is a pillow you scream into when you need to let off
steam.
“It came about after my sister and her baby were killed in a car
crash many years ago and my mother was counseled by a bereavement
therapist to scream into a pillow. The product is more of a
novelty item and I’m selling it through my website because it
isn’t cost-effective to sell retail.
“I have been doing a huge amount of online promotion and recently
had a nice article written about me in our local paper which
resulted in a decent number of sales.
“But I’m looking for creative ways to get the message out to
broader audiences. I’ve made contact with a few therapists who
love it and I have lots of ideas, but am somewhat limited since I
am a company of one.
“I’d love some ideas from your Hounds about how I might be able
to reach more targeted audiences and ways in which I may be able
to get press other than just in our local paper.”
The Publicity Hound says:
Gabrielle, your challenge is easier than you think because you
have a compelling story behind the product–something media love.
Hounds, post your best ideas to my blog.
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6. Hound Video of the Week
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Dread trimming the tree this year? Get some inspiration from this
video, courtesy of Publicity Hound Kathleen Mahan of San Juan
Capistrano, CA. Watch how these clever four-legged Hounds trim
their own tree. One even climbs up on a ladder. If they can do
it, you can do it.
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7. And at My Blog…
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Offer 30-second spots featuring “how to” tips for local radio
Love the “Journalists Who Twitter” list. I wish there were more contacts to South East Asian journalists, though.
Berg, I know there’s a professional group called the Society of Asian Journalists or something like that. I’d Google it and see what you can find. I doubt you’ll be able to get your hands on their entire list of members, but it might lead you in some other interesting directions.
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