2006 July

Press releases or news releases? Which is it?

7/27/2006 By Joan Leave a Comment

After I announced my free 89-day tutorial this week called “89 Ways to Write Powerful Press Releases,” Publicity Hound Jim Nugent emailed me with this question:

“In keeping with what you say about press releases, shouldn’t this series be renamed either ’89 Ways To Write Better News Releases?’ or maybe ‘Media Releases’ or perhaps, ‘Universal Information Pitches?’ After all, you’re no longer talking about the traditional press but the whole panoply of ezines, blogs, chat rooms, forums, et al.”

You raise an interesting question, Jim. Yes, we should start calling them news releases instead of press releases since they’re no longer only for the press.

However, I purposely named the course “press releases” because people search for that phrase online up to five times more often than they do “news releases.” Which means the search engines will deliver the sign-up page for the course and information about the course in this blog five times more frequently than if I had called it “news releases.”

As I discuss frequently during the course, search engine optimization is everything. At some point, I might change the title back to ”news releases,” but for now it’s staying as is.

Filed Under: Press Releases/News Releases, Publicity on the Internet

Janet Jackson’s CD cover design contest a clever publicity stunt

7/27/2006 By Joan Leave a Comment

Janet Jackson might never recover from the bad publicity over the wardrobe malfunction incident, but give her credit for a smart publicity stunt.

The first 1 million copies of her next CD, “20 Years Old,” due September 26, will include a design created by one of her fans at the DesignMe website. The contest, which is now closed, invited fans to visit the site and download images of Jackson posted there. They were asked to create a cover design, then post their covers to the website. Participants were allowed to cut, crop, recolor and remix the photos to create their own designs.

Jackson will select her favorite design, which will be announced in mid-August.

Companies rolling out new products, or authors publishing new titles, can take a cue from this interactive contest. Let your customers become directly involved in helping design a new product, or its packaging. The resulting publicity helps build lots of excitement.

Filed Under: Authors & Publishers, Business Promotion, Publicity on the Internet

Write articles in pairs to attract more readers

7/27/2006 By Joan Leave a Comment

Chris Knight of EzineArticles.com, the granddaddy of article directories, says article authors should write articles in pairs to pull more readers.

“Immediately below each article is a list of recently submitted articles in the same category,” he says. “If the reader of your current article didn’t find what they were looking for and they didn’t click on your resource box links, the next most likely click they are going to make is the next most recent article from the same category.”

So if you submitted two articles at a time and EzineArticles.com approved them one after the other, there’s a high probability that readers will read your second article next. That means you hook them twice, not just once. And that means two chances, not once, that they’ll read your author resource box at the end of the article and click on one of the links leading back to your website.

I commented on his post and said there are more reasons why the “pairs” idea works:

—People are busy and think they don’t have time to read a 1,000-word article. But they might gladly read two shorter pieces even though they’re spending the same amount of time.

—You can include different URLs in the author resource box in each of the two articles. In the first, promote your ebook. In the second, promote your ezine.

—Two articles work better than one long one when it comes to search engine optimization. You can use different keywords and keyword phrases in each.

During a teleseminar I conducted called “How to write how-to articles for newspapers, magazines & trade journals,” I mention that writing articles is one of the very best ways to build a platform on the Internet.

Publishers looking for content frequently visit article directory sites like EzineArticles.com. And if they search using specific keywords that are within your article, the search engines will deliver your article in the organic list.

It’s that easy.

Filed Under: Authors & Publishers, Business Promotion, Publicity on the Internet, Writing Articles

Publicity stunts to try when the idea well is dry

7/26/2006 By Joan Leave a Comment

Author Marcia Yudkin is one of the most creative people I know.

Her book “6 Steps to Free Publicity” is perhaps my very favorite book on how to work with the media. I’m one of her groupies, and I read her ezine “Marketing Minute” each week.

So I was thrilled when she gave me permission to reprint one of her articles in the July/August issue of The Publicity Hound subscription newsletter. It’s called “Publicity Stunts that P.T. Barnum Would Love.”

For example, Marcia suggests shaming “do-badders” with awards. Or ranking cities according to their friendliness to new technology. Or issuing brash predictions, with donations that kick in when they don’t come true.

I particularly like her idea about the best cities. That’s because you’re virtually guaranteed publicity in those 10 cities. Create a “10 Best Cities for…” and a “10 Worst Cities for…” and coverage in those 20 cities is almost a sure bet.

The article gives three more clever ideas for publicity stunts you can pull off when it’s a slow news month and you can’t think of anything newsworthy to promote.

The July/August issue also includes articles on how to appeal to the 5 types of journalists, how the U.S. Bowling Congress got more than $2.5 million in free publicity, 5 simple “rules of the road” for PR, how to get free tips on healthcare crisis communications, where to find new ethics guidelines for business writers, a Canadian decorating magazine that will debut later this year, what to do when Hispanic media call, how Florida nonprofits profit from PR interns, a DVD you can buy if you’re training your staff on how to interview with the media, pitching tips on how to get into Consumer Reports, and July/August story ideas.

It’s $10 and you can order it here.

Filed Under: Authors & Publishers, Business Promotion, Pitching the Media, Press Releases/News Releases, Publicity on the Internet, TV Publicity

Bad customer service? Shame companies online

7/25/2006 By Joan Leave a Comment

If you want the real scoop on what people think of your customer service, don’t bother asking the folks in your customer service department.

For a much more accurate look, do an online search for your company. You might be shocked at what you find. A recent story in the Washington Post said disgruntled customers are increasingly turning to blogs where they can publicly shame companies that have ripped them off, made them mad or refused to respond to their complaints.

Last month, for example, AOL was chastised publicly after an angry customer recorded and posted online a service rep’s emphatic reluctance to cancel his service. Count the number of times the exasperated customer says “Cancel the account” in this recording.
Comcast fired a technician after a video showed him asleep on a customer’s couch. The technician went to the customer’s house to replace a cable modem, called Comcast customer support, was put on hold for more than an hour, and eventually fell asleep.
As for Wal-Mart, you don’t have to look far to hear people bad-mouthing the Number One retailer in the U.S. Do a search for “Wal-Mart + complaints + blog” and see what you find.

Wondering what people are saying about YOU? Start doing regular searches for your company using a search engine like Google. Or search the blogs using the Technorati search engine.

If you find something you don’t like, it might be time to swing into action. Crisis counselor Judy Hoffman teaches companies how to react to mud-slinging, lies and other nasty comments online and offline. She says bloggers are more dangerous than traditional journalists but there’s a powerful weapon you can use to silence them.

If a blogger starts complaining about something you’ve done, email the blogger and tell them you’d be glad to tell your side of the story. If they ignore you and keep bashing you, start your own blog, and post a message saying that you’ve offered to discuss your side of the story but that the blogger has refused to listen. If the blogger STILL persists, email them again and tell them that their comments are dangerously close to libel, which is reckless disregard for the truth. If they think a call from your attorney is next on your list, they might stop.

She also says that if you find someone is besmirching your good name, knowing how and when to respond is critical.

I interviewed Judy last year during a teleseminar called “What to do When Someone Damages Your Good Name.”

Filed Under: Crisis Communications, Publicity on the Internet