Your Lawyer’s Bad Advice

The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #574 Sept. 27, 2011

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. Your Lawyer’s Bad Advice

2. Ghost-tweeter Runs Amok

3. If You Can’t Get Reprint Rights

4. This Idiom Drives People Nuts

5. See You in Arizona

6. Hound Video of the Week

7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…

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1. Your Lawyer’s Bad Advice
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While you’re at lunch today, a reporter leaves you a voicemail
message telling you that one of your customers has filed a
lawsuit against you for shoddy business practices. The reporter
has called because he wants a comment.

You know nothing about the lawsuit. Your first inclination may be
to call your lawyer.

Clarence Jones, a media trainer and former award-winning
investigative reporter, is betting that your lawyer’s advice will
be wrong.

In almost every instance, Jones says, the lawyer will tell you
not to comment, which is the same as screaming, “I’m guilty!”

Think about it. You’ve reaad dozens of news stories about
companies being sued, and the CEO or company attorney says, “We
can’t comment on this because it’s in litigation.”

Your attorney’s Number One job is to cover your butt in a court
of law. Problem is, most attorneys don’t know anything about
covering your butt in the court of public opinion.

By the time a lawsuit winds its way through the courts, and you
win, your reputation could be tarnished and your business in
ruins.

Jones says your company–and even you, if you’re a sole
proprietor–must know how to respond in bad-news situations so
you can put your best foot forward and take control of the story.
If you find yourself in a PR crisis, weigh your lawyer’s advice
along with the advice of others such as a good crisis counselor.

Jones was my guest during the teleseminar I hosted called “In a
Media Crisis, Your Lawyer Will be Wrong” and offered lots of
advice on exactly how to respond during bad-news stories. Read
more about how to access the recording at
http://publicityhound.com/publicity-products/marketing-tapes/yourlawyerwillbewrong.htm

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2. Ghost-tweeter Runs Amok
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Too busy to write your own tweets?

Lots of people are, so they hire ghostwriters to tweet for them.

That’s what Internet marketing strategist Mark Davidson did. In
fact, he hired an entire team of ghost-tweeters. But when he
fired one of them, he made the mistake of failing to change his
Twitter password.

Take a look at what happened next at
http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/twitter-ghostwriter-
blues_b14044

It’s a good idea to change your passwords on social media sites
every few months, and not just when something like this happens.

If you aren’t tweeting yet, don’t let this scare you. A Twitter
feed that shares helpful advice and solutions to your readers’
problems is a powerful way to position yourself as an expert.

I recently hosted the webinar “Twitter for Beginners: A Step-by-
Step, Can’t-Fail System for Experts and Influencers (and Those
Who Want to Be).” It walks you through all the steps on how to
use Twitter to establish your credibility, influence your
followers, share great content, and attract the types of people
who need your expertise as well as your products and services.
Find out how to access the video replay at
http://publicityhound.com/publicity-products/marketing-
tapes/twitterforbeginners.htm

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3. If You Can’t Get Reprint Rights
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After a newspaper or magazine publishes a story about you, and
you’re on a publicity high, nothing can bring you crashing down
quicker than discovering that you can’t reprint the story unless
you pay the media outlet several thousand dollars for reprint
rights.

As ad revenue and circulation decline at many publications, more
print media–especially big newspapers and magazines–are
demanding hefty reprint fees.

The best way around this problem is to buy as many copies of the
publication as you can afford, as soon as it’s printed. Don’t
wait several months and discover that the company can sell you
only three copies of the magazine that featured a cover story
about you.

These articles are powerful PR tools that you can tuck inside a
presentation folder when offering a proposal to a client. They
can be used as leave-behinds after meeting with someone who you
want to impress. You can mount the article onto a plaque and hang
it in your lobby.

These are the kinds of valuable tips you’ll find in my ebook,
“How to be a Kick-butt Publicity Hound,” a one-stop shop on how
to generate print and online publicity using traditional and
social media. The ebook includes a handy glossary that defines
media terms you might find confusing. Read more about what’s in
the book here at
http://publicityhound.com/publicity/publicityhound.htm

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4. This Idiom Drives People Nuts
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Do you go bonkers like I do when you hear “At the end of the
day…” from a talking head on TV?

That tired, worn out idiom that people think is so very hip is
starting to pop up in writing, too.

Don’t use “at the end of the day” when you’re talking to the
media, or they’ll pounce on it and use it in a direct quote or in
a five-second sound bite.

Speakers, don’t utter it from the platform.

Authors, you can do better than that.

Let me analyze your writing and show you how to improve it. I
serve as the personal writing coach for people in my mentor
program and review their press releases, bios, articles, blog
posts, tweets, status updates and more.

Learn more about the program, and if you qualify, at
http://publicityhound.com/mentorprogram/intro.html

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5. See You in Arizona
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I’ll be in Mesa, AZ, Oct. 20-22, attending Don Crowther’s Social
Profit Live conference on social media and Internet marketing.

If you’d like face-to-face consulting time with me, even if
you’re not attending the conference, let me know and let’s put it
on the calendar. I’ll be at the Phoenix Marriott Mesa.

Just hit “Reply” and let me know your schedule.

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6. Hound Video of the Week
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Thanks to Publicity Hound Kathleen Mahan of San Juan Capistrano,
CA, for sharing this precious 13-second video that shows what a
dog does when it gets cold at
http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2011/07/what-a-dog-does-when-its-cold/

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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13 press release topics when there’s nothing newsworthy
http://publicityhound.net/?p=9451

Pitching Mistake: Calling the media via your assistant
http://publicityhound.net/?p=9436

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Joan Stewart
The Publicity Hound