The Publicity Hound’s Blog  

Whenever I talk to someone who owns a pay-for-placement PR firm and the topic turns to their fees, they’re suddenly tongue-tied.

That’s because the fees are hefty, like $1,500 or more to get a story placed in a business journal—something that isn’t that hard to do yourself, even for inexperienced Publicity Hounds, if you just do just a little research on how to pitch business journals.

A new PR firm, Washington, D.C.-based Publicity Guaranteed, has its fees right on its home page. They range from $195 to get a story placed in a 10,000-circulation daily, up to $2,850 for an article in a publication like the Wall Street Journal or USA Today. In other words, you don’t pay anything unless a journalist writes an article. 

Missing, however, is their definition of an “article.” Is it a brief item? Or a full-fledged feature? That $2,850 figure seems minuscule, compared to what other pay-per-placement firms charge for top-tier media hits.

As I explain in my book “How to Hire the Perfect Publicist,” one of the biggest problems with this kind of PR is that confusion can surface over the types of placements the client must pay for. If you’re in a national newspaper today, as a result of a pay-per-placement pitch, and the story is picked up by a national radio show four months from now, after your contract has expired, do you have to pay the firm for the radio placement? 

If you’re working with a pay-per-placement firm, make sure this is spelled out in the contract.

The best time to use pay-per-placement PR is when you need top-tier media hits and you buy the service to supplement a regular publicity campaign you do yourself, or one done by a PR firm that bills hourly, by retainer, or by the project.

That’s because pay-for-placement the fees are so high that a typical PR campaign done done exclusively that way is far too expensive for most companies.

Posted In: Business Promotion, Newspaper Publicity, PR Consultants/Publicists, Pitching the Media
posted On: 6/19/2006: 9:45 am: By Joan
Comments: 1 Comment

Authors love to debate the merits of having a book published by a publishing house, versus self-publishing.

I’d choose the latter any day. Here’s one more reason why.

I’m featuring the new book “Publicity for Nonprofits” published by Kaplan Publishing in the July/August issue of The Publicity Hound subscription newsletter and was hoping to excerpt several tips from the book to accompany the short item describing the book.

If I had included tips, there’s an excellent chance I would have reprinted them in “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week,” my ezine that goes to 18,000+ subscribers.  

On deadline, I mailed associate publicist Lisa Schuble asking permission. She emailed me back a ”Permissions request template,” a short questionnaire that would take me about 15 minutes to complete and return.

I would have had to drop what I was doing, look through the book and choose the exact material, tell her what page it was on and how it was to be used. Then I’d have to print it out and fax it to her.

Then I’d have to wait for her to fax the permission slip back to me. 

But I was in a hurry. So instead of going through all that hassle, I sent her an email that said: “I don’t have time to fill out this form. I’ll use somebody else’s material.”

And I did. Then I made a mental note: “Monumental pain in the neck to deal with.”     

Why do publishing houses make it so difficult for journalists like me to give their authors publicity?

Posted In: Authors & Publishers, PR Consultants/Publicists
posted On: 6/18/2006: 11:48 am: By Joan
Comments: 1 Comment

Whoever trained Shell Oil President John Hofmeister on how to do media interviews, particularly on TV, forgot to tell the client that when discussing high gasoline prices, don’t smile and look like you’re having a good time.

On “Meet the Press” this morning, Hofmeister had an ear-to-ear grin on his face while he was answering Tim Russert’s questions about why gasoline prices have surpassed the $3 mark in some parts of the U.S. I can’t even remember what he said. All I can remember is being distracted by that inappropriate smile.

Effective TV interviews aren’t just about what you say, but how you look when you’re saying it. 

Posted In: Crisis Communications, How to Interview, TV Publicity
posted On: : 10:30 am: By Joan
Comments: 1 Comment

Kudos to the Spokane Spokesman-Review, which is broadcasting its editors’ daily meetings at 10 a.m. and 4:30 PM Pacific Time. You’ll need to have the latest version of Quicktime installed.

You don’t have to be from Spokane to learn a lot about how newspaper editors decide which stories will get into the paper. To help you understand what goes on in those meetings, check out the neat primer at the newspaper’s website.

If you email or phone your pitch to the Spokesman-Review, you might earn brownie points if you mention that you’ve sat in on the meetings. The newspaper mentions at its blog that it’s monitoring how many viewers tune in.

Don’t expect a roaring great time. I’ve sat in on or conducted these types of meetings for about 20 years when I worked at 4 newspapers and, often, I had to keep from nodding off on those really slow news days.

Read PoynterOnline’s interiew with Editor Stephen Smith about why the newspaper is broadcasting the meetings.

Posted In: Newspaper Publicity, Pitching the Media
posted On: 6/14/2006: 1:48 pm: By Joan
Comments: No Comments

Jenn Wright of New Zealand writes:

How would your Hounds promote Adventure in New Zealand for mid-life women (typically 45-65) which combines life coaching and moderate adventure in a landscape unmatched?

Target market: professional women who are not “athletes” but who have moderate fitness, and are at a place in life where they want to push their inner/outer boundaries and grow exponentially.

The 6-day/5-night adventure costs $1,999 and is all-inclusive. It’s on a private, one-of-a-kind track that traverses in four days amazing rainforest, sea cliffs, beaches, and a distance of about 22 miles. The track, a challenge for most women, is combined with one full day of inner exploration/bonding before the track, and a 10-Step Heroine Process is “worked” throughout the track via group and individual coaching sessions.

“Accommodation is group style, unique, cozy, comfortable. (no roughing it!) and healthy meals. What ideas do your Hounds have for how I can promote this in the U.S.?”
 

Posted In: Business Promotion, Publicity for Niche Markets
posted On: 6/13/2006: 9:11 am: By Joan
Comments: 9 Comments