The Publicity Hound’s Blog  

Don’t miss this critical step when creating your publicity plan.

Start adding bloggers and editors of electronic newsletters (ezines) to the list of people who you will contact if you want publicity.

If you’re a publicist, and your PR client is adamant about getting coverage in top-tier media like USA Today, The New York Times, O magazine and on big shows like “Today” and “Fox & Friends,” take the time to explain that your client must also get in front of the thousands of people who don’t read those newspapers or watch those shows and prefer, instead, to receive their information online.

One of the big advantages of pitching bloggers and ezine editors is that unlike traditional media, the information you provide has a way of spreading online rather quickly. If it shows up in an ezine, and that ezine is archived, people will be able to find it months and even years later.

—Most bloggers and ezine editors write about specific topics. A stay-at-home mom who has her own home-based business, for instance, can offer information to bloggers and ezine publishers who write about stay-at-home moms or home-based businesses, or both.

—The best bloggers blog several times a week. Because they present a constant stream of new information, the search engines give good ranking to blog posts. That means that when somebody searches Google for “dog obedience tips,” the list that Google returns on the left side of the screen will include blog posts, not just websites.

—When journalists are doing research for their articles, most of them use a search engine to find background, commentary, statistics, experts and other sources. If they end up at your blog, at a blog where you are mentioned, or at an ezine archives where there’s an article about you, they might call you for their story. Many journalists also subscribe to electronic newsletters devoted to the topics on their beats.

—Bloggers love to link to each other’s posts. If an influential blogger mentions you, or your product or service, other bloggers who link to that post may help you get in front of an entirely different audience. The publicity builds and builds, like a snowball rolling downhill.

—I publish an ezine on publicity. Another ezine publisher who writes about publicity might ask if she can use one of my articles in her ezine in exchange for me using one of her articles in my publication. Some of the people on her ezine list, who want information about publicity, might not know about me. When they read about me, they might visit my website, sign up for my ezine and perhaps even buy my products. It’s a win-win.

How to research blogs

I’ll bet many of you already know about bloggers you’d love to target.

If you’re looking for others, go to Technorati.com. Type in a topic such as “engineering” and you’ll get a list of either engineering blogs, or blogs that mention the word engineering. From there, you can research each blog and see if it’s likely to reach your target audience.

Once you’ve found a blog that’s a good candidate for your pitch, spend some time reading it so you’re familiar with what the blogger writes about.

One of the very best ways to get a blogger’s attention before you pitch is to post a comment about a topic they discuss at their blog. I’ll sometimes post two or three comments within a week or two at a particular blog before pitching that blogger with my idea.

Why? Because I want the blogger to recognize me when I pitch. It shows I’m willing to become involved in the conversation, not just contact them when they want something.

It’s best not to be too promotional within your comment. Instead, add to the conversation, then email the blogger privately to let them know about other information you have about your product, service, cause or issue. (See “Let Bloggers Create Publicity for You.”)

How to find ezines

I like to use New-List.com where about 9,000 ezines are listed. You can also do a Google search for “health care ezines” or “construction ezines” or whatever the topic happens to be.

EzineSearch.com lists more than 10,000 ezines, with thorough instructions on how to search for what you need.

BestEzines.com includes includes information on more than 2,200 ezines representing more than 15 million permission-based email members.

NetTop20.com website includes the top 20 ezine directories.e most popular and highest-rating ezine directories on the Net today.

What ezine editors want

Ezine editors want content-rich material for their publications. So don’t be shy about pitching them. This is the type of content they love:

• Free advice
• Press releases about news their readers want
• Links to short videos that are entertaining or instructional
• Top 10 lists
• Commentary on controversial topics
• Other resources their readers will find helpful
• Success stories
• “How to” information (See “Headlines for how-to articles”)
• Frequently asked questions and answers on a particular topic
• Jokes and quotes (I include a dog joke in each issue of my ezine and readers love them!)
• Polls and surveys
• Quizzes and other briefs (See “Briefs, Fillers & Quizzes)

Another way to research is to ask the kinds of people you’re trying to get in front of which ezines they read. Ezine editors just like me are always looking for content like success stories, comments on controversial topics, innovative business practices, anything that will save people time and money, the rising stars in a particular industry, and the story and personalities behind a particular award a company has received. Email the editor and offer your information.

Now, you’re ready to start contacting bloggers and ezine editors. If you’re successful, email me and tell me all about it. I might write about you in my own ezine or this blog.

Posted In: Blogs, PR Consultants/Publicists, Press Releases/News Releases, Publicity Resources, Publicity for Niche Markets, Publicity on the Internet, Video, Writing Articles
posted On: 3/30/2008: 10:48 am: By Joan
Comments: 3 Comments

The new book “The Million-dollar Idea in Everyone–Easy New Ways to Make Money from Your Interests, Insights, and Inventions” includes five of my tips on how experts can promote themselves. 

Author Michael Collins asked me to contribute some of my best ideas for the book, and of course I said yes. (By the way, accepting invitations like this one to be in an author’s book is a powerful publicity strategy.)  

Here are five ways to promote your expertise:

1. Use website statistics to track what keywords and phrases people are using to get to your site. Although I write predonimantly about free publicity, I about fell out of my chair when the statistics on my site showed that I get more hits for the phrase “how to write a bio” than any other publicity-related keyword. Use the statistics to create more products and services geared toward the things people are looking for.
2. Use Google Alerts to find out what is happening in your niche. Every night, I get an email listing of websites, blogs, news stories, etc., on ”writing press releases,” because I have created a Google Alert for that  topic. Then I go through the list and look for publicity opportunities. I get very excited when I find a blogger writing about my area of expertise. This opens the door for me to go to the blog, read the comments, and post a few expert comments of my own. I recently posted a comment to a high-trafficked site. Not only did the blogger respond to my comments, but he invited me to be a guest blogger. (See “Let Bloggers Create Publicity for You.”)
3. Write and post articles that content-hungry online editors, publishers and bloggers can use for free. EzineArticles.com is the best free article directory around because it has a high page rank, will give you a byline for your article and will allow you to link back to your rown site. Post several articles here and I promise you” will be amazed at how often they appear elsewhere online. (See “How to Write How-to Articles.“) 
4. Speak at tradeshows, industry conferences, and other gatherings for free or for fee. I speak publicly all the time. But I always bring a door prize that I can raffle off while I’m there. Then I tell the people in the audience that I’ll send them my free newsletter, “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week,” if they write “tips” on the back of their business card and drop it into the basket that I send around the room.  That way, I leave the speaking engagement with a fistful of new email addresses. I can market to them indefinitely until they tell me to stop.
5. Take small steps. There are so many ways to get free publicity that trying to do them all at once can be overwhelming. I tell my clients to pick three options. Do those. See how they work. Then pick three more.

Posted In: Authors & Publishers, Blogs, General, Publicity on the Internet, Writing Articles
posted On: 3/29/2008: 4:02 pm: By Joan
Comments: 1 Comment

If you’re hoping to connect with journalists and broadcasters who might interview you for a story, or include you in a TV show they’re planning, here’s another resource. 

It’s a website called “If I can Help a Reporter Out,” and it was created by Peter Shankman, owner of a New York PR firm.  His many journalist friends send him queries regularly about specific types of sources they are seeking for stories.

If you give him your email address, he will email the queries to you. Currently, he’s sending three emails a day. It’s your job to then contact the journalists on your own and start to build the relationship. (See “Magic Phrases to use with the Media, and Deadly Gaffes to Avoid.”)

The service is free. If you like it, Peter suggests you make a donation to an animal group such as Best Friends Animal Sanctuary or The National Search Dog Foundation.

Posted In: Pitching the Media, Publicity Resources
posted On: 3/26/2008: 9:39 am: By Joan
Comments: No Comments

USA Weekend magazine is looking for the best high school musicals.

Students, parents and schools are invited to enter the second annual HSM Showstopper event. Any musical performed during the 2007-2008 school year is eligible. The winning show will be announced and featured in a late spring issue of USA Weekend magazine.

In a separate contest, the magazine is also partnering with Disney Theatrical to recognize a winning school that is performing the smash Disney hit High School Musical. For more information on both contests, visit http://www.usaweekend.com/hsm/ 

Posted In: Contests, Magazine Publicity, Newspaper Publicity
posted On: 3/25/2008: 9:07 am: By Joan
Comments: No Comments

Nycole Pederson of Eden Prairie, Minnesota writes:

“My sister and I love to have garage sales and have always made our own fun, creative, bright signs to attract shoppers.

“We had so many people asking us where we bought our signs that we realized there really was a huge need for chic, funky, sassy garage/yard sale signs. We started doing some research and found there was nothing on the market other than the boring black/white, red/white garage sale signs.

“With a lot of hard work, we started Sassy Signs and are currently selling them at retail outlets such as Lowe’s, and independent hardware, scrapbook and party stores. We have also been selling online at http://www.sassysigns.com/ since we started the company two years ago.

“We would really like to increase our online sales and we’re hoping for advice on how to do this. We’re already paying for Adwords with Google and Yahoo, among other advertisers.  We are also trying to get the word out with the bloggers of America.  Do you have any other ideas?”

Posted In: Blogs, Business Promotion, Publicity on the Internet
posted On: 3/24/2008: 1:47 pm: By Joan
Comments: 10 Comments