2005 April

Newsletter shows you what to do before crisis hits

4/30/2005 By Joan

“Crisis Manager,” the free international email newsletter about crisis management, has a complementary website, Crisis Manager University.

The goal of the site is the same as that of the newsletter–it brings crisis management education to those who don’t work in this field, or even necessarily in PR. “People are crisis managers, whether they want to be or not,” said newsletter publisher Jonathan Bernstein, president of crisis management consultancy Bernstein Communications.

Crisis Manager University has been set up as a Yahoo Group and gives members the ability to post messages at the site or via email, participate in chats, upload and download files, take polls, display a calendar of events and list useful links. New members are being encouraged to take the site’s first poll, indicating their interest in various crisis management topics.

A Yahoo ID is required, but is free, easy to create and can be set up to preserve a user’s anonymity if so desired. For more information mailto:jonathan@bernsteincom.com

Jonathan is one of the foremost experts on what to do to keep your crisis from spinning out of control. He shared dozens of excellent tips during a teleseminar last year called “How to Keep the Media Wolves at Bay–The Do’s and Don’ts of Crisis Communications.”

Filed Under: Crisis Communications

Small business news is red hot

4/29/2005 By Joan

If you own a small business, you needn’t feel like the tiny David up against the giant Goliath when it comes to being covered by the media.

Small business news is red hot right now because a huge segment of the economy is fueled by small businesses hiring.

Check out the tips I offer on how to generate publicity for small businesses in the “Publicity for Niche Markets” section of my Free Articles page at my website.

Filed Under: Business Promotion

Go out with a bang and write your own obit

4/27/2005 By Joan

True Publicity Hounds take every opportunity to build the buzz and keep it humming, even long after they’re gone.

How? By writing their own obituaries. Check out this article in Newsweek magazine on an emerging trend–writing your own obit.

Filed Under: Newspaper Publicity

Double-check dates in press releases

4/26/2005 By Joan

Here’s a tip that seems so obvious that you’ll wonder why I’m even mentioning it. But TV personality Connie Dieken says it’s a frequent mistake that will send your news release or story pitch right into the TV station’s wastebasket. Ditto for news releases sent to print media outlets.

Too often, the day and date of an event don’t jibe. For example, if I send a news release promoting an event on Saturday, August 17, this year, and the media are interested in covering it, the first thing they will notice is that August 17 is not a Saturday. It’s a Sunday. But many of them will be too busy to make a phone call to find out the correct day. So they’re likely to toss the news release and cover someone else’s event instead.

Another big no-no is failing to tell the producer of a TV talk show that has booked you as a guest where you can be reached in an emergency. All kinds of last-minute emergencies happen in TV Land. If a talk show has booked you for a live appearance tomorrow afternoon but needs to cancel at the last minute so the host can concentrate on a breaking news event instead, they will need a cellphone or pager number. If they can’t find you because you’re driving to the studio, it will make you look out of touch and unprofessional. Besides, you’ve made a wasted trip.

Connie was my guest during a teleseminar a few years ago titled How to be a TV Talk Show Host’s Dream Date.”

Filed Under: Press Releases/News Releases

Submit online articles to pull website traffic

4/26/2005 By Joan

Once a month, small-business marketing expert Sharron Senter writes a how-to article that helps small businesses tackle a problem.

She submits it to up to 30 different portals. A portal is a launching pad of sorts that helps consumers find destination and commerce sites. Search engine websites you are familiar with such as Google, Yahoo!, Lycos and AltaVista are all considered portal websites.

Then she waits. Usually, within a few hours, email messages start pouring into her mailbox from readers asking her for more information. Or inquiring about something at her website. Or buying a product.

“Depending on the topic of the article and the headline, I’ll get as few as 30 leads from one article, and as many as 75,” Sharron said.

Sometimes her articles even show up in offline publications she never knew existed such as the 25,000-circulation Southern Florida Business Exchange, a business tabloid. The editor checks the portals to see what online articles are a good fit for the publication. Sharron found out that her article titled “6 Affordable Strategies to Build a Cash Cow” ended up on the front page, but only after a reader emailed and told her about it.

Writing articles for online publications offers so many other benefits. It helps you build a big list for your ezine, sell more products and services, book speaking engagements and establishes you as an expert. It also alerts the media to your presence because 8 out of 10 journalists use the Internet to research their articles.

If you’re a smart Publicity Hound, you should be submitting articles online too. Sharron explained her best tips during a teleseminar called “How to Submit Expert Articles Online That Pull Traffic to Your Website.”

If you market on the Internet, you can learn tips like these and many more by becoming a member of the Internet Association of Information Marketers.

Filed Under: Publicity on the Internet, Writing Articles