The Publicity Hound’s Blog  

Every Publicity Hound needs a media database of journalists, including contact information and pitching preferences.

During my teleseminar series on How to Create a Media Plan, I explained all the details you need to gather, like when they’re on deadline and the time of day or week when they prefer to be contacted.

That list should also include bloggers you want to target. Don’t assume that deadlines for journalists and bloggers are similar. Many bloggers post as soon as they start their day, and sometimes very late at night.

That’s what David Kiley, senior business correspondent at Business Week, mentions in this interview about pitching with with Bulldog Reporter’s Brian Pittman:

“Always help us find a way to move the story forward. For example, I really like it when somebody says, ‘I saw something you blogged on and here’s a detail or fact that wasn’t quite right’ or ‘Here’s an angle you haven’t covered yet.’ If you email someone like me something like that and it’s not too self-serving, chances are that we’ll look at it and end up doing a subsequent post. But we can’t do that when it’s just a ‘me too’ thing.”

The article offers additional tips for working with A-level business journalists like Kiley. You can also read more tips on how to pitch bloggers.

Posted In: General
posted On: 8/29/2008: 9:43 am: By Joan
Comments: No Comments

If a reporter contacts you unexpectedly and asks for an interview in the next few days, and you don’t feel entirely ready, how do you prepare?

That’s what Leilie McKinley of Soaring-Phoenix.com, one of my business coaches, just called to ask. 

A reporter from a major online business magazine found Leili’s blog post about how the credit crunch will affect small business. The reporter wants to know if the ripple effect has reached Main Street America.  Leili says it has, and she has lots of great materials to share. ”But I’m not quite sure how to organize my ideas and keep everything straight,” she says.

Here’s my advice, much of which you can follow if a reporter from any media outlet will be interviewing you:

1. Research the reporter.
If you don’t know the reporter personally, Google their name and see what you find. If the reporter blogs, read the blog! It will provide valuable clues about issues the reporter cares about. And the writing style might offer insight regarding the reporter’s demeanor and attitude: all-around nice guy or a pit bull?

2. Prepare your key message.
Always identify the Number One message you want to get across to the reporter and make sure you weave it into your answers several times. You can even “flag” the reporter by prefacing one of your answers like this: “Sharon, the most important thing I have to say about that is…”  Way too many Publicity Hounds have kicked themselves afterward for failing to communicate their key message “because the reporter never asked about it.”

3. Prepare your two or three sub-messages.
Weave those into your answers, too. 

4. Offer other contacts.
Offer contact information for several other people who would agree to be interviewed—sources who can round out the story. Be sure you have their permission ahead of time. In Leili’s case, she had several clients whose loans were denied because of the credit crunch, and she started contacting them as soon as she hung up the phone after talking with me.

5. Use notes if you need them.
If the interview is live, and you’re not on camera, it’s OK to refer to notes you’ve brought with you. I’ve done phone interviews with reporters with lots of notes spread in front of me.

6. Offer information for a sidebar.
A sidebar is a shorter story or list of facts that accompany the larger article. I told Leili she might offer a list of short tips for business owners who might be applying for loans. “That’s great,” she said. “One tip is to check the business credit of the bank where you’re applying for a loan.”

7. Offer yourself for other stories.
At the end of the interview, invite the reporter to call on you if she needs sources for other topics on which you’re an expert.

8. Always offer the reporter your photo.
Reporters are mostly concerned about getting the story and sometimes forget about photos. Let reporters know where they can download your high-resolution photo. If you have good-quality environmental photos that show you at work, offer those, too.  

Always end the interview with the question, “How else can I help you?” Few sources ever ask that question. And when you do, you’ll really stand out. That’s one of several magic phrases to use with the media.

What other ways do you prepare for interviews?

Posted In: General
posted On: 8/28/2008: 11:30 am: By Joan
Comments: 6 Comments

A freelance PR person just emailed me and asked, “Did you ever or can you recommend a resource on how to become a magazine columnist?”

I told her that several years ago, I wrote “Special Report #34: Secrets to Becoming a Columnist in Newspapers and Magazines.” It advises writers to offer columns for free and not ask for payment. 

The newspaper industry, and the magazine industry to some extent, has been battered since I wrote that report about seven years ago.  Audiences are more fragmented than ever. Many publications are losing classified and ad revenue because of Craigslist and pay-per-click ads. Costs for paper and ink are rising and the news hole is shrinking. That makes competition for a column more difficult than ever. Readers, particularly of newspapers, are getting older and dying off.  

Trying to get a column in a magazine, I told her, can be mostly wasted effort, unless you’re targeting a B2B magazine that goes directly to your target market.  Her client would be far better off blogging several times a week and offering blog content through an RSS feed.

If you blog, you can really gain traction because if your content is good, other bloggers can link to it. Blogging can offer exposure far greater than a magazines column. Besides, journalists who work in traditional media may find the content and cover you as a result. 

But these days, savvy Publicity Hounds think far beyond traditional media.

Posted In: Advertising, Blogs, Magazine Publicity
posted On: : 7:07 am: By Joan
Comments: 5 Comments

Every week, it seems, I see authors who pour three or more years of their lives and entire bank accounts into writing and publishing a book.

Then, six months after it hits the shelves, they’re drained of all energy and money. So they give up, start thinking about their second book, and the whole ugly mess starts all over again.   

I wish every author wouldn’t put word to paper unless they complete this assignment. List all the ways you can make money from your book, other than from the cover price of the book. 

—How about a board game that continues where the book has left off?

—What about a wall or desk calendar that focuses on the photographic aspects of the book’s topic, or a desk calendar with excerpts or pithy quotes each day, taken from the book?

—Can you create a workbook for readers to tackle, complete with specific assignments, after they’ve completed the book?

—What about a free ezine devoted to your topic? You can monetize it by using it to market not only the book but other products and services such as consulting.

—Can the written book be turned into an audio book? Remember that your audience has different learning modalities.

—Can you convince a company that sells something that solves a problem for people who are likely to read your book to hire you as a media spokesperson?

—How many sub-topics within the book would lend themselves to short special reports that you could write and sell as low price-point electronic downloads?  I explain exactly how to do this in “Special Report #20: How to Write and Market Profitable Special Reports.”

—Can you host a boot camp for readers to teach them something related to the book topic?

—Can you produce CDs or DVDs that tie into the book?

—What about creating a keynote presentation? If you hate the thought of speaking, join Toastmasters.

—Can you offer consulting services for people who need in-depth advice and help that goes far beyond what’s in your book?

—Through paid teleseminars, could you offer guest experts that would lecture, and then answer questions, from people on the line? The topic, of course, would tie into your book. (See “How to Host Teleseminars and Create Profitable Products.”)

–Is a topic within your book perfect for a White Paper? Perry Marshall has an excellent free email course on how to “Attract More Customers with White Papers.”

–Can you create a reference guide that dovetailis with the book?

–What about a home study course?

Lots of those ideas work, too, for fiction authors. One of the biggest mistakes I see authors making is not thinking about multiple strems of revenue they can create AFTER they’ve published the book.

If this idea if foreign, or uncomfrotable, my friend Adam Witty, can help. He’s hosting a marketing conference for authors Oct. 3-4 in Charleston, South Carolina.  He will teach authors how to “unlock the invisible income streams surrounding their book.”

Adam invited me to speak at the conference but I politely declined. I promised myself a few years ago that I’d drastically curtail travel, a lifestyle choice. 

But my mentor, Tom Antion, will be there. He’ll speak on “How Authors Make Money on the Internet….for REAL.”  Also, Cadian talk show host Wayne Kelly will teach the finer points of media training. Many of the multiple streams of revenue in my list above offer numerous opportunities for publicity—and when journalists call for an interview, the author must be ready.!

Posted In: Authors & Publishers, Information Products
posted On: 8/27/2008: 10:19 pm: By Joan
Comments: 2 Comments

Here’s a great example of what I discussed in yesterday’s newsletter about how Publicity Hounds can piggyback off the Democratic and Republican national conventions and the campaign.

Image consultant Sandy Dumont, The Image Architect, tells Barack Obama that a dark suit worn with a dark shirt and tie makes him look “forbidding, even shady, because of the shadows they reflect on his face.” I agree.

I thought Hillary Clinton looked smashing last night in that burnt orange pantsuit, which contrasted nicely with the blue backdrop and really made her stand out.

Posted In: General
posted On: : 11:28 am: By Joan
Comments: 5 Comments