The Publicity Hound’s Blog  

Whenever I send a news release about something I’ve done to my local newspapers or trade journals, I hardly ever hear feedback from my neighbors or peers, even when I know it’s been printed.

But when I send my photo with the release and it’s printed, I hear a chorus that sounds like this:

—“I saw your picture in the paper!”

—“Did you know you’re in the most recent issue of PR Tactics?”

—“Hey, I was Googling last week and your photo showed up on a website for writers. I thought your article was terrific.”

That’s music to The Publicity Hound’s ears. That’s because in the majority of cases, a photo attracts readers’ attention and draws them to the news item.

Yet journalists remain continually frustrated by the inability of publicists and others who pitch to understand the incredible power of photos. Freelance writer Pat Luebke, who writes for the restaurant and aviation industries, says a lack of photos is one of her top pet peeves.

“People keep trying to get into more and more newspapers and magazines,” she says. “If they’d only understand that especially with the digital cameras that are available today, making photos available to editors automatically DOUBLES the space you receive.”

Gina Spadofori, who writes a syndicated pet page for Universal Press Syndicate, says she has a continual problem finding good images to fill a small hole on a page.

“The availability of high-quality, high-resolution art can tip a ‘maybe’ item into the ‘yes’ category,” she says.

In fact, one good-quality photo that accompanies your story pitch can automatically move a story from Page 21 to Pages 1, 2 or 3 in a newspaper or magazine. Craig Saunders, editor of Prism, Canada’s magazine for eye care, echoes what many other magazine editors say:

“In the front section of our magazine, nothing gets in without good photos–nothing!”

All three are contributors to my ebook “How to Use Photos & Graphics in Your Publicity Campaign.”

I have my own pet peeves regarding photos. One man gave me a photo that looks as though he has a plant growing out of the top of his head. A woman gave me a photo of her in a sleeveless blouse, with her bra strap showing. One person gave me a snapshot of him and his dog. The dog had the dreaded “red eye” problem that we see so frequently, leading us to wonder if all dogs, and even people, have red eyes.

A few hours learning the basics of photography, and a little experimenting with your own camera, could go a long way toward getting photos into newspapers and magazines so that you, too, start hearing “I saw your picture in the paper!”

Posted In: Photos & Graphics
posted On: 9/27/2005: 3:37 am: By Joan
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If you don’t subscribe to Bulldog Reporter’s excellent ezine “Journalists Speak Out,” you’re missing some terrific pitching tips.

Brian Pittman passed along several tips last week after interviewing Penelope Dunham, producer for ABC-TV’s Channel 7 in San Francisco, on how PR people can pitch in the wake of a disaster. He gave me permission to share them with you.

“Surprisingly, I have had NO pitches relevant to Katrina,” Dunham said. “You think I would have. Certainly clients dealing with anti-depressants, antibiotics and disease-prevention, childhood trauma, post-traumatic stress and a host of other angles would be smart to pitch right now.”

Here’s why.

“I am not getting ANYTHING normal on the air right now,” Dunham said. “I’ve found a couple of related stories, but we have also been bounced from several shows because the [story] wasn’t targeted specifically to Katrina. Right now, it’s Katrina or nothing.”

That said, Dunham offers these quick pointers for what–and how–PR pros should be pitching since so much of the news hole is now appropriately devoted to recovery efforts.

1. Step back—and review your idea in light of the disaster. “I did not see any greedy or insensitive releases after [the disaster],” Dunham says. “But stories [and PR pitches] like ‘Breakthroughs in Rosacea Treatment’ should have been held. Plus, any press release that uses the words ‘breakthrough’ gets an automatic black mark from me. It is the most overused word in medical pitching and should be banished unless they really do have the CURE for cancer.

2. If your idea isn’t completely relevant—then advise the client to hold it. “My advice is educate the client to wait [with non-relevant ideas right now]—unless it’s a major drug that got FDA approval that day and HAS to go out,” Dunham says. “Even though this story will go on for months or even years, the media has a very short attention span. Tell the clients to be patient and pitch it two or three weeks from now,” she suggests

3. Timing is everything—so know when the news hole will open up. “Timing is just as critical without a disaster, i.e., during sweeps,” Dunham says. “Educate clients with cosmetics, plastic surgery and even sleep products or migraine cures to do their PR campaigns about two to three weeks before February, May and November,” she advises. “Producers planning for television sweeps are dying for product. Save the boring products for dog days of summer or Christmas or March when not much is happening.”

You can subscribe to this or any of Bulldog Reporter’s free e-newsletters.

The time to time to pitch stories for sweeps week isn’t during sweeps week but long before. TV reporter Shawne Duperon and I teamed up to share more than 200 story ideas that you can pitch during sweeps week and every other week of the year. We shared them during two teleseminars titled 116 “WOW!” Story Ideas from January Through June and 103 Sizzling Story Ideas from July Through December

Posted In: TV Publicity
posted On: 9/21/2005: 3:53 am: By Joan
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This time of year is perfect for pitching a “how to” segment for a local or national TV talk show or a newscast. For example:

—Demonstrate how to carve a pumpkin. If you’re pitching to a local talk show, carve the local TV station’s call letters into the pumpkin. How in the world could a producer not want that segment?

—If you’re a foodie, offer to do a quick class on how to bake a fun Halloween dessert, like witches’ fingers. They’re strips of dough with a slivered almond on the end to resemble a fingernail.

—A chiropractor can demonstrate tips for kids who wear backpacks to school. Be sure to round up a kid or two to appear on the show with you. Book publicist Lissa Warren, who was my guest during a teleseminar last year on “How to Get Booked on the Morning TV Talk Shows,” knows all the tricks on how to get onto the really big shows like “Fox & Friends” and “Good Morning America.” Anytime you can pitch additional guests other than yourself, even those who can speak on the opposite side of an issue you are taking, producers will look more favorably on you.

—TV stations will do the obligatory “first day of autumn” features this Thursday. How about a hardware store offering a segment on how to prepare for colder weather, demonstrating various products that help people winterize their homes?

—October is Consumer Information Month, perfect for a demonstration on product safety.

—Pregnant celebs are showing up on the covers of gossip magazines. A clothing store can pitch a fashion show for moms-to-be.

The Publicity Hound® says: Any time you can get a TV talk show host or on-air reporter involved in your demonstration, all the better.

Posted In: TV Publicity
posted On: : 1:59 am: By Joan
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Angie Pederson of Kansas City, Missouri writes:

I recently completed a Virtual Book Tour for my third book, which is a guide to scrapbooking about relationships. I sent out press releases to local local papers. My publisher sent releases and press kits to trade and consumer magazines in the scrapbooking industry. Even though this tour was the first ever done in the scrapbooking industry, we didn’t get one bite from any of those outlets. The tour went well regardless, with enthusiastic response from all participants. Several site owners have indicated they would like to participate in future endeavors.

The entire tour is now archived on my book website. I also blogged about each “stop” on the tour, so those entries are also archived.

How can I publicize:

—The archived content.

—The concept of a Virtual Book Tour (it’s still a rather new idea) and plans to do another tour in November.

I’d appreciate any thoughts your Hounds might have to offer.

Posted In: Authors & Publishers, Publicity on the Internet
posted On: 9/20/2005: 8:49 pm: By Joan
Comments: 5 Comments

Almost every week, it seems, an author calls me practically in tears, panicked that she can’t park in her garage because it’s filled with stacks of cardboard boxes that hold hundreds of books she can’t sell.

Sometimes, the author tells me that she once dreamed that her book would be a best-seller and that it would prompt her publisher to offer her a 6-figure advance for another book.

Then the troubled author asks me for some quick advice on how she can generate publicity so she can park in her garage again.

Susan Harrow, a media coach and marketing strategist, says authors like that one have it backwards. First, Susan says, they must generate publicity—tons of it, in fact—that position them as experts. Then and only then should they write a book. If you’ve done the hard work that it takes to build your platform, and you have a topic that appeals to a book-buying audience, you might be on your way to a 6-figure book deal. But only if you can convince a publisher that you can do as good a job as he can, or better, selling it.

“Your platform demonstrates that you have a built-in audience already,” Susan says. “Those are people who want your book, want to hear you speak, hang on your every word, buy your stuff, follow you, and maybe even want your autograph, your pencil, your hanky, some piece of you, anything,” she says. “That’s what makes a concrete platform.”

While conducting research for her ebook “Get a Six-Figure Book Advance,” Susan spoke to publisher after publisher who told her that authors need to create a platform BEFORE they even approach an agent.

“Agents don’t want to have to sell you and then sell your book,” she said. “They just want to sell your book.”

Susan will share more about what she learned from publishers this week during an 80-minute teleseminar titled “How to Build a Publicity Platform That Leads to a Six-Figure Book Deal.” It will be at 4 PM Eastern Time on Thursday, September 22.

You can register here.

Many of Susan’s clients have inked 6-figure book deals, and she’ll explain how they built their platforms that convinced publishers to take their books.

You can read more about Susan’s ebook “Get a Six-Figure Book Advance.”

Posted In: Authors & Publishers
posted On: : 1:43 am: By Joan
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