Tips, Tricks & Tools for Free Publicity
Marcus Simmons of Southfield, Michigan writes:
“The Motown Automotive Professionals nonprofit is in its start-up stage. We will provide no-cost automotive vocational training for socially and economically deprived young adults as they emerge from high school.
“I have been on the 6 o’clock news on two channels so far, and we have a website but we need more ways to get donations and support from corporate America. Can your Hounds help?”
My daily newspaper, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, is among “the incredible shrinking newspapers” I wrote about a few weeks ago.
I don’t know if it has laid off staff like other big newspapers throughout the U.S., but the page width is slimmer than it used to be.
If your newspaper is also shrinking, coverage of the arts might suffer. So don’t forget about National Public Radio where you can find many shows that feature stories and interviews with artists, musicians and others involved in the arts.
Curious about the kinds of arts programs NPR features? Use the search box at the top of the homepage to search for “artists” and see what you find. NPR devotes a lot of airtime to the arts because it’s a topic that appeals to its mostly well-educated audience.
If your story idea falls under the category of the arts, NPR could be a publicity gold mine for you. But only if you know how the NPR labyrinth works, which is sometimes difficult.
Book publicist Lissa Warren, who has gotten dozens of her clients booked on NPR shows, recommends using the search box at the NPR website as a starting point to find out which shows might be the best fit for your topic. She was my guest on a teleseminar we called “How to Get Booked on NPR.”
If you’re one of those entrepreneurs who’s luck enough to have a home office, and you enjoy the luxury of doing business in your bathrobe, generate a little publicity.
Kristie Tamsevicius, at left, founder of Webmomz.com, has chiristened Monday, Feb. 12, has Do Business in Your Bathrobe Day.
“Bathrobe Day” has generated publicity for her and other entrepreneurs in six countries, and she’s even encouraging others to piggyback onto the idea by being the local angle to this story. If you want a sample press release to send to your local media, she has written one for you.
This is a perfect story for your daily and weekly newspapers, as well as TV. Just make sure you’re willing to be photographed in your bathrobe.
Every morning, I spend about an hour finding bloggers who wrote about the topic of press releases—one of the biggest pain points for Publicity Hounds—and I post comments to their blogs.
It’s a wonderful way to let them—and their readers—know who I am. Here’s how I do it.
Several months ago, I created a Google Alert for “press release” and “writing press releases.” As a result, Google sends me an email message every day with a list of articles and blog posts that include those keyword phrases. If I find that a blogger is writing about the topic, I’ll click on the link to the blog item, and check out what they’ve written.
If I can add something to the conversation, I’ll usually post a comment at their blog. Sometimes I’ll mention that their readers can sign up for my free email tutorial “89 Ways to Write Powerful Press Releases.” Or I’ll email the blogger privately and let them know about the course.
At first, I hated spending this kind of time every day. But it’s paying off. Last week, for example, Google alerted me that blogger Terry Whalin had written about press releases. So I added a comment to his blog and let Terry know about my tutorial.
He emailed me and thanked me for the information. Then he wrote a follow-up post telling his readers about my website, and he even included my logo. Here’s an excerpt:
“Yesterday I wrote about press releases as a tool to expand your message and reach new audiences. One of the comments came from Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound. Until her comment, I had not visited her website but what a vast resource on this topic (and much of it free).
“In the press release area, Joan has created a free 89 lesson tutorial to teach you how to craft and use news releases. You gain her personal instruction and insight as a 20-year veteran journalist. Late yesterday I signed up to receive this instruction. Why? There is always something new to learn and I am continuing to learn and grow as a writer, editor and now agent.”
Here’s where his comment really pays off for me. Terry’s blog has a Google Page Rank of 5, which means lots of other people link to it. And lots of other bloggers might be linking to Terry’s item about me. And that means more traffic to my website.
You, too, can create a Google Alert so you know who’s writing about you or about your area of expertise or industry. Learn how to create a Google Alert in the short video, made by my friend Terry Brock.
Now, start pitching bloggers. Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff (aka The Blog Squad) joined me several months ago for a teleseminar called “How to Pitch the Best Bloggers & Create a Publicity Explosion.” We explained how to approach influential bloggers and encourage them to write about you. We also detailed the land mines to avoid. It’s available as a CD or an electronic transcript that you can read as soon as your order has been approved.
One of the best ways to attract media attention for your product, service, cause or issue is to invite journalists to actually experience your story, not just report it.
That’s what PR firm Quinn & Co. did when trying to generate publicity for its client, Starwood Hotels and resorts worldwide.
The firm discovered that the locals in the Bahamas had been using pumpkin soup and sea moss for generations to help make babies. Combined with certain spa treatments and lots of relaxation, it made the perfect “Procreation Vacation.”
Then it was time to interest a journalist in experiencing the story. The agency already knew freelance writer Lucinda Hughes, and that she was trying to get pregnant. So they invited her and her husband to be guests at the resort.
A staffer at “Inside Edition” read about the vacation package in “Travel + Romance” magazine and asked to follow the Hugheses. Then “Good Morning America” jumped onboard by featuring recipes for pumpkin soup and sea moss elixir. Next month, it will air a tasting demonstration of the recipes.
Many top-tier publications featured the story, including USA Today (read the story here) as well as CNN, “Live with Regis and Kelly,” “The View,” “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption.”
What happened next copuldn’t have been planned any better. Lucinda got pregnant, and that sparked even more interest from the media. Now, other hotels are stealing the idea for “The Procreation Vacation.”
I think the PR campaign was brilliant. The most important element, however, was that the freelancer experienced the story, rather than just wrote about it from the sidelines.
If you’re trying to interest the media in your story, invite a reporter to go along for the ride. This works particularly well with freelance reporters. Just make sure they have credentials and that you ask to see clippings of their work. This will weed out the freeloaders.
Want lots of tips on how to create a memorable experience for journalists? See “Special Report Special Report #42: Tips for Letting Reporters Experience Your Story, Not Just Write About It.” It explains how to get reporters excited about your story.
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The Publicity Hound