2005 November

How to get your product onto QVC

11/15/2005 By Joan

Ask yourself these five questions about the product you sell. Does it:

—Demonstrate well?

—Solve a common problem or make life easier?

—Appeal to a broad audience?

—Have unique features and benefits?

—Is it topical or timely?

If you answered yes to every question, there’s a good chance your product is an ideal candidate for QVC, the home shopping network.

QVC, which stands for quality, value and convenience, has been at the top of the home shopping channel food chain for more than 10 years and counting.

Getting onto QVC is difficult, but if you’re among the 4 percent of the products that land on the show, you can rack up phenomenal sales within a matter of a few hours.

Those products include books.

Book marketing expert Penny Sansevieri says that selected books have been known to sell as much as $40,000 in product in only three and a half minutes of airtime. But the title has to be of general interest and not appeal only to a narrow niche.

For more tips on how to get your product onto QVC, read Penny’s article in the November/December issue of The Publicity Hound subscription newsletter.

The issue also includes 6 ideas on how to write world-class news releases, tips on how to publicize a speaking engagement, 9 New Year’s resolutions for Publicity Hounds, the correct way to follow up with book reviewers, where to find cheap sample copies of magazines, the protocol of posting blog comments, a search engine trick to position yourself as an expert, a book that features contact information for more than 2,000 journalists, creative publicity tips for authors, November/December story ideas, and tips from the editorial director of OverTime magazine on how to pitch his magazine that’s read by professional athletes.

Filed Under: Pitching the Media, Publicity for Niche Markets, TV Publicity

Getting to know reporters will help you learn how to pitch reporters

11/15/2005 By Joan

When blogger Connie Bennett comes across an article on the dangers of sugar, she posts an item about it to her Sugar Shock! blog.

She links to the article, then takes an extra little step that will generate publicity down the road. She emails the reporter who wrote the article and mentions that she linked to it.

Connie, a member of The Publicity Hound Mentor Program, says it’s a great way to make contact with health reporters, freelancers and other journalists who are in a position to write about her blog and her forthcoming book on sugar.

Connie, by the way, knows firsthand that reporters love it when you stroke their egos. She’s an experienced journalist who has worked at or written for The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, TV Guide, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Dallas Morning News, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Living Fit, Entertainment Weekly, US, InStyle, Daily Variety, Hollywood Reporter and Billboard. So she’s been on the other side.

Here’s another tip.

Offer to fill in at the last minute if the journalist or broadcaster needs someone to interview, or if a TV or radio talk show guest cancels.

If you extend this invitation, do everything possible to help them when they call on you, even if it means canceling other appointments. If you can help them when they’re in a jam, I promise they will remember you, and it will go a long way toward cementing the relationship.

One excellent time to extend this offer is over long holiday weekends, and particularly during the weeks before and after Christmas when many newsmakers disappear. While other people are doing their last-minute shopping or are on vacation, you could be the lucky Publicity Hound who winds up on TV, simply because you were available.

Those are two of the tips in my newest special report. It’s “Special Report #49: 17 Ways to Build Valuable Relationships with Media People.”

Building relationships now can pay dividends down the road because if you can position yourself as a great source, reporters will return to you again and again.

Filed Under: Pitching the Media, Publicity on the Internet

Sliding newspaper circulation makes papers less relevant

11/10/2005 By Joan

Newspaper circulation is continuing its slide, with the biggest declines in Boston, San Francisco and Atlanta.

Eighteen out of the top 20 papers reported weekday circulation losses in the most recent FAS-FAX report.

What does this mean for Publicity Hounds? Newspapers are becoming less relevant, and you must pay more attention to other media, namely:

—Bloggers. Find bloggers who blog on your area of expertise and pitch them with your ideas. And if you aren’t blogging yet, start, because blogging is a wonderful way to make it easy for the search engines to find you. Don Crowther shows you how with his excellent ebook “How To Build Your Business Using Blogs,” packed with step-by-step directions and tips that include 18 different ways you can use business blogs to make money, something that many bloggers haven’t figured out how to do.

—Pitch ezine publishers. New-List.com is just one of many online directories that list ezines. If you can’t find what you’re looking for there, do a Google search for “ezines + (your topic)”.

—Pitch the online versions of newspapers. Many newspapers have more content at their website that they can’t fit into the printed newspaper.

—Don’t forget print newsletters. Check the voluminous Oxbridge Directory of Newsletters to see which newsletters pertain to your topic. You can find it in the reference section of most bigger libraries.

—Pitch special-interest magazines.

The younger the audience you’re trying to reach, the more you need to be targeting online media.

Filed Under: Magazine Publicity, Newspaper Publicity, Publicity on the Internet

Author misses a shot at book publicity

11/9/2005 By Joan

Norm Goldman, editor of SketchandTravel.com and Bookpleasures.com wrote to complain about authors who miss opportunities to promote themselves:

“I just had an experience where an author, who conducts writing workshops, could not find the time (probably about less than an hour) to participate in an e-interview.

“The interview would have promoted her workshops, herself and her books. Postings would have been on my own site, Bookpleasures.com, as well as Searchwarp.com (this site has the uncanny ability of placing many of my interviews within the first 2 pages of Google), and some press release sites. The cost to her was less than one hour of her time.

“In another instance, the publisher of travel guide books would not give me the names of the authors of the various books they were publishing. I asked him how can I interview a phantom? Again, the interview would have meant some great Internet publicity.”

Indeed. Often, these are the same people who grumble that the media don’t care about them. That’s a fallacy. Many media outlets, like National Public Radio, for example, rely on authors and experts to provide interesting, compelling interviews that attract listeners. Authors should know how the NPR labyrinth works, how to find NPR shows that fit perfectly with their topic, and how to pitch the producers.

Book publicist Lissa Warren, who has booked more than 100 of her clients on NPR, was my guest on a teleseminr called “How to Get Booked on National Public Radio.” She said that sometimes the smallest publicity hits can have a way of snowballing and turhing into bigger hits.

Filed Under: Authors & Publishers, Radio Publicity

Travel writers complain about lazy PR people

11/9/2005 By Joan

For every PR person who grouses about a rude, inconsiderate journalist, there’s a journalist complaining about a lazy PR person. And the writers are sharing their gripes online.

Thanks to Publicity Hound Lori Lisi of Joshua, Texas for pointing out this interesting thread at a discussion board for travel writers.

Their gripes include PR people at hotels and convention and visitors bureaus who:

—Won’t return phone calls

—Tell reporters to “visit our website” when the reporter really wants a fresh quote or a lead

—Are not allowed to speak on the record

—Give reporters information that’s just plain wrong

—Treat journalists like pests

Lamented one writer:

“I often do round-up pieces where I have to leave out certain destinations or events simply because I can’t get a human being at a tourism board or PR firm…There are just so many of these folk that don’t know how to do their jobs. Time isn’t an issue – if they can’t take two minutes to talk to a journalist who is providing market coverage before 500k readers, then they’re in the wrong business.”

Indeed.

If you do PR for a hotel, convention and visitors bureau, or tourist attraction, and you can help travel writers do their jobs, the payoff could be huge because they can show thousands of people the path to your door. Learn what travel journalists want and the best way to give it to them. When PR pro Holly Johnson was my guest a few years ago during a teleseminr called “How to Work with the Travel Media,” she said spa stories were all the rave. They still are. So are spa recipes.

During a teleseminar I sponsored last year called “Publicity Tips for Restaurants, Chefs & Foodies,” I mentioned that following up with reproters who call you is critical, even if you can’t provide information they need for a story. Perhaps you know someone who does. And if you help the media craft a good story, they will view you as a valuable source. http://www.publicityhound.com/publicity-products/marketing-tapes/restaurants.htm

Filed Under: How to Interview, Publicity for Niche Markets