The Publicity Hound’s Blog  

When you write a press release, how many different versions do you write?

Just one? You’ll kick yourself when you hear about what Publicity Hound Kathi Petersen does.

When Kathi told me she wrote nine versions of one release for a fund-raiser she was publicizing, I thought she was kidding.

Then she told me about “The Doors of Asheville,” a fund-raiser in which local artists in Asheville, North Carolina painted doors that were sold at an auction to raise money for an affordable housing agency.

She could have written the same one-size-fits-all release, then crossed her fingers and hoped for the best.

Instead, she identified nine different media where she wanted the story covered. And because no two media were the same, she wrote nine different versions of the release.

The result? An absolute glut of publicity in local newspapers and magazines, on TV and in community newsletters. Each media outlet felt as though the press release it received was exactly what their audience wanted.

I asked her to write about her strategy for the March/April issue of The Publicity Hound subscription newsletter, and she did. Her article shows how she took just one event–and with some creative twisting, tweaking and retooling–turned it into nine separate stories.

Posted In: PR Consultants/Publicists, Press Releases/News Releases, Radio Publicity, Special Events
posted On: 2/28/2006: 11:45 pm: By Joan
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Ever wish you could get inside the minds of journalists to watch how they think?

Puzzled about what journalists consider news because it bears no resemblance with what you think is newsworthy?

How would you like an inside track on what could be the next hot story of the day? And wouldn’t it be cool if you could pitch that next hot story to journalists in your own community?

Start reading Al’s Morning Meeting, the online column filled with story ideas that journalists can localize for their own print and broadcast media. It’s written by Al Tompkins of The Poynter Institute, the school for journalists in St. Petersburg, Florida. And it includes not only his own ideas, but items about great stories reported elsewhere that could be localized by just any other media.

I left the newspaper business 10 years ago, but I still read Al’s Morning Meeting fairly regularly because it’s chock full of story ideas I’d love to assign if I worked as an editor.

Al posts several ideas each week. Here’s a sample of recent items:

–A report that some schools offer high-speed Internet access and lightning-quick computers, while others have outdated machines and no Internet connection. Much of the determining factors have to do with how much money the PTA raises or whether a benefactor steps forward.

–The Detroit News found that more than 100 dead people “voted” in the last election.

–WTVF-TV in Nashville reviewed more than 136,000 parking tickets for the past two years. Of those that have been adjudicated–88,000 were guilty–the drivers paid the fines. But almost 16,000 parking tickets were dismissed or, in court language, retired–and no one can say why.

–Police are upset about a video game that allows players to shoot officers.

–The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all levels in counting birds and reporting their results to create a mid-winter snapshot of the numbers, kinds and distribution of birds across the continent. Participants count birds for as little or as long as they wish during the four-day period and tally the highest number of birds of each species that they see at any one time.

–For parents who want to spy on their kids, Wired.com gives parents a “cheat sheet” on how to see what their kids are posting on their MySpace.com pages.
If you read Al’s ideas regularly, chances are good you’ll find something that ties into what you do. Then you can pitch the idea to reporters in your own community, in 30 seconds or less,  and look like a hero. If they cover the story, guess who they’ll probably quote? This column is for serious Publicity Hounds only.

Posted In: Pitching the Media, The Local Angle
posted On: : 10:05 pm: By Joan
Comments: 1 Comment

When Harley-Davidson unveiled plans last week for a $95 million museum here in Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel splashed a big beautiful color photo of the museum on the front page.

Since the museum isn’t built yet, but bikers and other visitors appear in the foreground of the photo, I’m guessing that what I saw was a computer-generated architect’s rendering.

It was a lot more interesting than the cliche shot of company executives pulling a piece of cloth off an architect’s rendering that’s sitting on an easel at a press conference. You know what I’m talking about because you see these all the time on the news–staged press conferences with smiling people in suits and ties making “announcements” and acting as if the press conference is, in fact, the news.     

Yawn.

The next time you’re tempted to do something like that, think twice. The media hate, hate, HATE press conferences. The only thing they despise even more are ribbon-cuttings. And ground-breakings. And check-passings. And what they call “grip and grin” photos of somebody receiving an award–gripping the hand of the presenter–and looking into the camera with a dumb grin on their face.

No Publicity Hound worth its pedigree would ever try to wimp out with something like that. 

Dan Collins, one of the best PR guys I know works for Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore and was my guest during a teleseminar titled ”Fun Alternatives to Boring Ground-breakings, Check-passings and Ribbon-cuttings.” Dan says all it takes is a little creativity to come up with an interesting media event without resorting to a cliche production they’ve seen a million times before.

Posted In: Newspaper Publicity, Special Events
posted On: : 4:46 am: By Joan
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Freelance writer Marika Flatt is creating a gift guide for moms for Austinwoman magazine, a 25,000-circulation monthly, to be published in May.

She’s interested in a broad range of products and services that would make good gift ideas for mothers. Email a one-paragraph description of the product, the price, and where it can be bought. If you have specific retail information for Austin, Texas, please note it. She will accept press releases by email only. Deadline is March 15.

 Put “Mother’s Day Gift Guide” in the subject line. Marika is a freelance writer, and hard copy press kits sent to the publication’s office will be delayed. Don’t send images unless they are requested. Tips courtesy of The Gift List, a subscription-based service that has done more than 600 hours of research to find the the national magazines, regional magazines, the top 250 newspapers, top radio stations and news services that want news about products and services.

Posted In: Magazine Publicity
posted On: : 2:07 am: By Joan
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Tom Wray of Chicago, Illinois writes:

“I run a small webmagazine that covers a portion of the gay community in the Great Lakes area. My core coverage area is Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan with some coverage of Ohio, Minnesota and other states near the region. I’ve had it for four years, and the last year it’s been called the Great Lakes Den.

“What are some good ways to publicize a publication that doesn’t have a print edition? I have a pretty decent readership–about 2,000 hits a month. But I would like to expand the readership so I can sell more ads, encourage groups to send me press releases, approach print publications and increase sales from the web storefront I have in conjunction with the magazine. I have good coverage and I’m already considered one of the best resources for news in this community for the region. The problem is getting more people to know it.

“I have almost no budget until I can start selling more ads. Also, the community I cover can be hard to reach. It’s the niche of a niche of a niche, with people often in isolated areas away from large cities and who may not want to advertise their membership. Any suggestions?”

Posted In: Business Promotion, Publicity on the Internet
posted On: 2/27/2006: 10:42 pm: By Joan
Comments: 3 Comments