The Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week # 339

This is a neat newsletter. I like to pass the good ones along from time to time.
-Cheers! The Cyberian

The Publicity Hound's
Tips of the Week
Issue #339 - March 27, 2007
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.PublicityHound.com

http://www.PublicityHound.net (Blog)
The Publicity Hound®

Circulation: 29,640

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"Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity"

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Please forward this ezine to anyone you know who needs free publicity to establish their credibility, enhance their reputation, position themselves as employers of choice, sell more products and services, or promote a favorite cause or issue.


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Teleseminar Monday: How to Speak at Colleges & Universities

James Malinchak says many consultants, authors and other experts are too quick to dismiss speaking engagements at college campuses as low-paying, small-potato gigs.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Colleges are hungry for interesting speakers who can share advice with students, faculty and staff. In fact, most campuses include several people who are in a position to hire to you, and they have guaranteed budgets from sources such as student activity fees. But you must know how to locate them.

Find out how during a teleseminar at 8 PM Eastern Time on Monday, April 2. Learn more at http://snipurl.com/CollegeSpeakers

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In This Issue
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1. Library Uses Human U-Hauls

2. What Top TV Shows Want

3. Google Alerts

4. High Power, High Heels

5. How to Promote a New Age Book

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Joke of the Week

8. And at My Blog...


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1. Library Uses Human U-Hauls
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When the Mount Kisco Public Library in Mount Kisco, New York needed to move its entire collection of books to a temporary location, it didn't call in a professional moving company.

What fun is that?

Instead, it created "The Great Mount Kisco Book Race," in which
17 teams of volunteers competed against each other on Saturday.
Each team moved a 150-pound pile of books from the main library on Main Street, up a hill, to the temporary library at the Maple Avenue Community Center. The village will tear down the library and build an $8 million library twice as big on the same site.

The teams, from the Boy Scouts and Rotary to local church groups, paid a $250 entry fee. They met on Saturday morning in a balloon- filled room at the public library. Moments later, the 17 teams--100 volunteers in all--were throwing piles of books into cardboard boxes, loading them onto rolling carts and heading out the door.

The library made the race even more challenging by forcing each team to stop at certain points along the route and answer literary questions such as "What is the problem in 'Romeo and Juliet?'" before being allowed to continue. And to make the race even more difficult, contestants had to struggle with a challenging word game.

The Mount Kisco Lions Club won the trophy. The event raised $20,000 for the library foundation. The Mount Kisco News covered it, and you can read their story at
http://tinyurl.com/28vym4

Isn't that clever? The contest had all the elements of a successful special event:

--It involved many groups from throughout the community.

--It had people, color and motion--the three things that virtually ensure media coverage.

--It included two fun contests that tied into books.

--Because the event was so much fun, people will be talking about it for months.

That's what I call "building the buzz." And it's a critical element of special events. Thanks to Publicity Hound Jeanette Benway of Mount Kisco for tipping me off to this one.

If you're planning a special event for later this year, learn clever, creative ideas that other companies and nonprofits have used to stage smashing events. Debra J. Schmidt, a former event planner for a TV station in Milwaukee, teamed up with me to brainstorm 847 ideas on "How to Plan & Promote Sizzling Special Events." It's available as a set of 7 CDs or an electronic transcript that you can download and be reading as soon as your order is approved.

The package comes with 15 can't-do-without checklists for event planners. Read more about what you'll learn at http://tinyurl.com/46jzg


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2. What Top TV Shows Want
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If you're an expert, do you stand a chance of getting onto "The 700 Club," one of the longest-running TV programs in broadcast history, if you can't tie your topic into Christianity?

If you're an author, are the producers interested in your book?

Which two producers don't want unsolicited mail? Which ones invite phone calls?

What about the "CBS Evening News Weekend Edition" which has an audience of 10 million viewers?

What's the one tie-in that your pitch should have if you want to drastically increase your chances of being on that news show?
Should you send a book? If so, to whom?

You must know the answer to those questions before you pitch.
That's because the competition to get onto those big shows is fierce. Publicity Hounds who have the inside track on who to call, when to call, what to send, when to sent it, how to pitch, and mistakes to never make have a huge advantage over the amateurs who are just guessing.

In fact, TV producers have told me that people who waste their time with useless pitches, or an annoying string of follow-up calls, will be banned from their programs forever.

Steve Harrison's directory/database of top shows gives you key contacts and "how to get booked" information for 259 top shows including Oprah, Good Morning America, Today, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, Larry King Live, Bloomberg TV and many more.

Steve and his army of researchers have just released a brand-new, 100 percent updated edition of his directory/database. To celebrate, he's offering it to Publicity Hounds at a special rate, but only if you order by 5 p.m. Friday, March 30. So grab your copy now at http://snipurl.com/HarrisonsGuide

In addition to the printed directory and database, you'll also get great bonuses, including a special report "Getting On Oprah,"
plus a one-on-one, private telephone consultation with a former NBC producer to help craft your own strategy for getting booked on top national TV shows. (How many other media resource guides give you that?)

Also at that web page, you can get four free sample listings from Steve's directory including those for ABC's "20/20," CBS' "60 Minutes," the "CBS Evening News Weekend Edition" and "The 700 Club."

Check it out at http://snipurl.com/HarrisonsGuide


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3. Google Alerts
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This morning, I discovered that blogger Lorraine Cohen, a business coach, included an item about me in a post she wrote yesterday, with a link back to my website.

So I wrote a comment at her blog and thanked her for mentioning me.

When she saw my comment, she emailed me and asked, "How did you know I added you on my new blog?"

Easy, Lorraine. I created a Google Alert for the phrase "writing press releases" and "write press releases." Daily, Google sends me a list of articles and blog items that include those keyword phrases.

Every morning, my first task is to visit each of those blogs or articles. If the blogger accepts comments, I leave one and frequently mention my f~ree email tutorial called "89 Ways to Write Powerful Press Releases" at http://www.PublicityHound.com/pressreleasetips/art.htm

My comments let the blogger know about me. They also pull traffic over to my website where people can sign up for my tutorial. And the more inbound links to my website, the more favorably Google and the other search engines view my website.

You can also use Google Alerts to tip you off to journalists who are writing about your topic or area of expertise. Once you know who the journalists are, you can add them to your media list.
Powerful stuff.

Check out this blog item I wrote several months ago on Google Alerts. It includes a link where you can see a dandy little video that my friend Terry Brock created for me on how to set up a Google Alert: http://tinyurl.com/c82rm (Turn down your speakers if you're at work.)

Now start setting up Google Alerts. Dozens, maybe even hundreds of journalists who don't know you, might want to connect with you. Bloggers, too.

"How to Pitch the Best Bloggers & Create a Publicity Explosion"
explains the etiquette you must follow and the land mines to avoid when pitching influential bloggers. I created it with Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff, aka The Blog Squad, and it's available as a CD or electronic transcript that you can be reading as soon as your order is approved.

Read more about what you'll learn at http://tinyurl.com/m7ymr


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4. High Power, High Heels
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A column on page B1 of Monday's Wall Street Journal says women- only networking events like shoe shopping, spa retreats, evenings at art galleries, and cooking demonstrations are proliferating at law firms and other big companies.

Ernst & Young, Merrill Lynch and General Electric are among companies organizing events in which women can bond with their co-workers and clients.

But are those events, like men's steak-and-cigar dinners, exclusionary? Sounds like a great topic worth pitching to your local newspapers, business journals and business magazines. Or weigh in with a letter to the editor.

On a side note, the Journal is publishing a new special section called "Business Solutions," a take-off on the paper's popular column by the same name. It discusses technology solutions to business problems.

The first installment appeared yesterday and focuses on the problem of email: how to make it more useful, more secure and more easily archived.

If your business has a technology solution to a sticky problem, pitch it to Michael Totty at mailto:michael.totty@wsj.com

Just because your pitch deals with technology, that's no excuse to be long-winded or boring. Raleigh Pinskey, an absolute master at pitching, explains how to refine your pitch (even if it's about a complicated topic) to just a few sentences. "How to Create the Perfect 30-Second Pitch" includes Raleigh's best tips for getting through to busy journalists by using captivating sound bites. It's available as a CD or electronic transcript that you can be reading in just a few minutes. And each comes with a handout of Raleigh's "26 Ways to Reel in Journalists with Hooks."

Read more about what you'll learn at http://tinyurl.com/6xghx


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5. How to Promote a New Age Book
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This week, seven Publicity Hounds have tips for Robert Schwartz of Ashland, Oregon. He needs help promoting his New Age book called "Courageous Souls: Do We Plan Our Life Challenges Before Birth?" It includes 10 stories of people who planned great challenges such as getting AIDS or cancer, for the purpose of spiritual growth.


From Anil Punjabi:

"The concept of 'planned life' would be popular among...adults trying to understand the purpose of life. So look for people that bought the book 'The Purpose Driven Life,' and study how this author promoted her book.


From Karen Bonsignori:

"Mold the theme of your book into off-beat holiday press releases and media queries such as Valentine’s Day ("If you’re alone this Valentine’s Day, it’s because you’ve planned it that way"), Mother’s Day ("You planned to be raised by Mommy Dearest") or even New Year’s ("You planned your New Year’s resolutions before you were born").


From Mary Kraemer:

The following may be open to your book:

--Utilize the momentum of "The Secret," and use a tie-in

--Write articles and Google "article submission" and choose wisely

--Utilize the resources on Joan’s website

--Contact churches that may be open to your topic: Unity and Science of Mind, for example, and see if they are looking for speakers


The Publicity Hound says: I was on the fence about using this question. But the seven well-thought-out responses to this difficult challenge on how to promote a "woo-woo" book delighted me. Read them all at http://tinyurl.com/2znfoz


Here's my own contribution:

Robert, hop on over to Amazon.com and start reviewing New Age books, products and services that your target audience would be likely to buy. Also, Amazon lets you create "So You'd Like to..."
guides. These are places where you can post your how-to articles.

Randy Gilbert and Don Mitchell taught me these two tricks and 15 other ways to use Amazon to promote anything. You can learn them all on the CD or electronic transcript titled "How to Make Amazon a River of Gold (for Authors, Speakers & Experts)." Read more about what you'll learn at http://tinyurl.com/7u76e


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6. Help This Hound
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Felicia Coley of Rochester, New York writes:

"Over the holidays, I launched The Well-Heeled Society. It's the first online gift registry at http://www.wellheeledsociety.com that's exclusively for single women.

"I have received local news coverage, one radio spot in California and some blog references. However, I have not been able to break into national media. Any advice from the Hounds would be appreciated."

Her blog is at
http://www.wellheeledsociety.blogspot.com/


The Publicity Hound says:

"I see one problem with the website that's probably making it difficult for you to attract the attention of journalists. Let's see if the rest of the Hounds see it, too.

Hounds with tips for Felicia can post them to my blog at http://tinyurl.com/2zoo4s


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7. Hound Joke of the Week
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Q. What kinds of dogs have their eyes closest together?

A. The smallest ones.


(Stop groaning and send me dog jokes!)


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://www.publicityhound.com/dogjokebook/


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8. And at My Blog...
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Pros-and-cons article template
http://tinyurl.com/29hl4f

Bad restaurant review? Fight back with a blog http://tinyurl.com/yup6qc

Writers guidelines for publications that will pay you http://tinyurl.com/ypme7v


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Where to Meet or Hear The Publicity Hound®


Monday, April 2: Teleseminar

Join me as I quiz James Malinchak on how authors, speakers, consultants and other experts can tap into the lucrative college speaking market. 8 PM Eastern Time. Register at http://snipurl.com/CollegeSpeakers


April 27, 2007: Webinar

Women Business Owners Virtual Growth Summit Webinar. I'm presenting a session at 1 PM Eastern Time on how to become an expert in your topic, then generate online and offline publicity.
Register at http://www.businesswomensgrowthsummit.com/


May 12, 2007: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Florida Speakers Association: "The New Rules of Press Releases:
How to Write Them for Consumers, Not Only for Journalists." 9 a.m. to noon. "Sleeping with the Competition: How to Collaborate with Other Speakers to Create Profitable Products." 2 to 4 p.m.
For more information, call 561-630-7766 or visit http://www.florida-speakers.org


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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://www.publicityhound.com/ and receive by email the handy list "89 Reasons to Send a News Release."

If you like these tips, please pass them on to your friends, clients and colleagues.

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Joan Stewart
a.k.a. The Publicity Hound®
3434 County KK
Port Washington, WI 53074
U.S.A.

Phone: 262-284-7451 (Central)
Fax: 262-284-1737
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The Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week # 339