The Publicity Hound’s Blog  

A reader just emailed me with this question:

“I live in the Caribbean and am publishing a Real Estate Guide. However, there are two major dailies in my country and they are very territorial and do not want to feature my company or my magazine because we are indirect competitors. 

“I sent one of the dailies a press release and it published about half of it in the newspaper but omitted the half that had the contact information such as email/phone and website address. It is still a partial win though because I thought that they wouldn’t publish anything at all.

“How can I leverage this to start the buzz for my magazine and to attract more advertisers? The magazine is scheduled for release in early March.

“P.S.  I was also thinking of placing ads in the same dailies as well once the magazine is printed, Is this wrong or tacky?”

Here’s my answer:

Try sending the news release to all the lower-level publications that might not necessarily view you as competition: weeklies, business magazines, weekly shoppers, any special-interest publications you find in the supermarket or in doctors’ offices. You want real estate agents to advertise, right? Do a direct-mail piece to them. That’s your market.

As for buying an ad, even though the newspaper doesn’t want to print your press release in full, they won’t hesitate to take your money for an ad. There’s nothing wrong or tacky about buying an ad. I’d just like to see you shoot for as much free publicity as you can get. 

Also, don’t forget letters to the editor of those publications. You can always write letters that comment on stories they’ve printed. Include your title in the signature of your letter. 

Posted In: Business Promotion, Newspaper Publicity
posted On: 2/27/2006: 10:22 pm: By Joan
Comments: 1 Comment

I’ve already reserved May 5 for Raleigh Pinskey.

She’s one of my favorite Publicity Hounds, and she’ll be in Wisconsin to present a half-day program to the Wisconsin chapter of the National Speakers Association that morning.

It’s called “How To Joint Venture With The Media For Power & Profit, Fame & Fortune.” I can’t think of anybody better than Raleigh to do this.

She’s the co-host of the popular Phoenix TV show “No Limits.” She hosted the Business Success radio talk show. She created, produced and hosted the successful airline inflight business audio program Pipeline for Profits for AmericaWest and Midwest Airlines. And her media resume includes appearances on 152 TV and radio talk shows and in hundreds of articles. 

From 5:30-8:30 p.m. May 5, Raleigh will present a program called “How to Maximize Your Biz-Ability with Viz-Ability™—how to get name recognition in your target market.” It’s for speakers who aren’t yet professional members of NSA and want to get on the fast track to membership.

Information about this program isn’t at the NSA website yet, but if you want to register, email Terry Estness, executive director, or call 414-617-0880.

Raleigh, by the way, saved my butt a few years ago when my guest for a teleseminar called “How to Create the Perfect 30-second Pitch” was ill and canceled several hours before it was supposed to begin. I called Raleigh for help and she stepped in and delivered a fantastic program that, today, is one of my top-selling CDs and electronic transcripts.  

Come help me greet Raleigh at the Ramada Plaza Hotel, 1 North Main St., in Fond du Lac.   

Posted In: PR Consultants/Publicists, Pitching the Media, Special Events
posted On: : 3:47 am: By Joan
Comments: No Comments

Here’s a handy tip on how to brand yourself when you blog.

The folks at MarketingSherpa suggest that when you blog, you include a few words in the headline of each blog post—something that will identify your brand.

Then people who subscribe to your direct-to-desktop feed, or RSS feed, through servicces such as My Yahoo or MSN, will know as soon as they check their RSS reader that the item came from you. The headline on this post, for example, says “publicity tips,” and my readers will know immediately that The Publicity Hound wrote it.

That kind of branding has another big advantage. When people search for “publicity tips,” the search engine spiders will immediately recognize that phrase in my blog headlines, which means this blog should rank high on the list.

What phrase can you use to identify your brand? 

Posted In: Publicity on the Internet
posted On: 2/24/2006: 10:26 am: By Joan
Comments: No Comments

I watched last night’s ”Nightline” segment on Craigslist, the wildly successful global billboard for people around the world seeking everything from speech classes to sperm donors. 

Just hours before, I hosted a teleseminar with Nancy Mills of The Spirited Woman website, who has been using Craigslist as a valuable publicity tool to promote her in-person events and teleseminars with famous woman authors, actresses and editors. Nancy says that when she has posted events to Craigslist, she has been able to track 90 percent of her business as having come from the list.

I didn’t realize it during the teleseminar, but here’s one more huge reason to use Craigslist in your PR campaign. Google gives Craigslist a page ranking of 8 out of a possible 10. Few websites have that high a ranking.

What does that mean to you? Google gives more weight to your website if other sites with a high page ranking link to you. 

Yesterday’s teleseminar is available as a CD or electronic transcript here.   

If you’re using Craigslist as a publicity tool, tell us what you’re doing, and the results. 

Posted In: Business Promotion, Publicity on the Internet, Special Events
posted On: 2/23/2006: 11:08 am: By Joan
Comments: 2 Comments

Sometimes all it takes just a little twist to turn a story idea that goes “thud” into one that scores a home run.

Thanks to Nancy Pierce of Racine, Wisconsin for reminding me about this when I spoke to the Association of Women in Communications last week. She told me The Racine Journal Times recently featured an article on the front page of its business section about her husband, Thomas Hall, an attorney who makes house calls.

In addition to listing virtually every service he provides, the article even said that his hourly rate of $265 is far lower than the $365 he charged when was with one of Milwaukee’s biggest law firms. And an accompanying photo shows Tom, leaning back in a chair and looking relaxed, while visiting with a client at the client’s office.

Here’s the best part. At the end of the article, the reporter listed Tom’s telephone number and email address. It doesn’t get any better than that. The article was picked up by MyShingle.com and Findlaw.com.

“It has resulted in a mixed range of work that has been fun for him,” Nancy said.

The Publicity Hound asks: Do you make house calls in your business? If so, it could be the perfect hook.

Jeff Zbar, the SBA Small Business Journalist of the Year for 2001, was my guest during a teleseminar I conducted called “The Fastest, Cheapest and Easiest Ways to Publicize Your Small Business–Even If You’re a Solo Entrepreneur.” Zbar said sole proprietors like Hall can generate just as much publicity as the Goliaths and can often be even more creative.    

Posted In: Business Promotion, Newspaper Publicity, Publicity for Niche Markets
posted On: 2/22/2006: 7:55 am: By Joan
Comments: 1 Comment