2009 January

PR, marketing, comms article writers: Submit to Cision ezine

1/30/2009 By Joan 1 Comment

If you have valuable advice to share on any aspect of PR, marking and communications, submit your articles to the The Navigator, the email newsletter that Cision will relaunch in a few weeks.

Cision makes media relations software and other tools, so any tips you can offer for the company’s target audience could bring you some decent online exposure. I’ve been submitting articles to Cision for the past few years and have always gotten great feedback from its readers. The ezine includes the latest media news, new placement opportunities, profiles of top media contacts, and in-depth articles from industry experts.

It wants bylined articles about media relations, the intersection of public relations and Web 2.0, press release writing, public relations technology, consumer marketing, branding, event planning, product marketing, search engine optimization, writing and speaking skills, best practices, strategy and trend stories. The Navigator will also consider articles on any topic that will benefit its audience.

Once Cision launches its redesigned website, you’ll be able to submit articles via a form on the website. Before the launch, send articles directly to Editorial Director Kim Roberts. She hasn’t even completed the launch issue, so don’t hesitate to send her articles immediately.

Can’t think of an idea? Read my long list of suggested headlines for how-to articles. When you see a headline that leads to an idea, just fill in the blank, and then start writing.

Newsletters like The Navigator usually don’t pay for these kinds of articles, so be sure they let you maintain the copyright. That was one of the piece of advice from Patricia Eyres, an intellectual property attorney who was my guest expert during a teleseminar I hosted on Legal Issues You Must Know When Writing Articles for Fee or for Free.

Filed Under: PR Consultants/Publicists, Press Releases/News Releases, Publicity on the Internet, Search engine optimization, Social media marketing, Social networking, Special Events, Writing Articles

Happy Birthday, Oprah! Here’s how we’re celebrating

1/29/2009 By Joan Leave a Comment

Oprah, make your 53rd birthday your best ever today!

To celebrate, many of my Publicity Hounds will be devoting 90 minutes to learning what they must do to land a spot on your show as a guest WITHOUT pestering your producers.

They’ll be participating in a call that Steve Harrison is hosting with Michelle Anton, your former guest booker. It’s called “The 3 Big Secrets for Getting Free Publicity as a Guest on America’s Top National TV Shows ?” at their choice of two times—2 or 7 p.m. Eastern.

We suspect you’re either off celebrating somewhere, or you’re preparing for your TV show. You’ll be happy to know, however, that Hounds who participate in today’s call will learn:

Why they MUST stop pitching ideas that aren’t a good fit with your audience.
How to deliver pitches that are spot-on, succinctly and with passion
What NOT to say when they pitch
What NOT to send when they pitch
How to be a great guest on your show
How to get on the Fox News Channel, CNN, the “Today” show and other top shows. (Sorry. We know your producers are picky and if you don’t want them, somebody else might.)
What they should send to national TV producers (and what they shouldn’t).
An important lesson from one author who you interviewed on your show and saw sales soar as a result.
The most important question people must be able to answer when talking to a guest booker.
Case histories of four other authors and entrepreneurs and the strategies they used to get onto your show and others.

So enjoy your special day, and look forward to interviewing lots of interesting Publicity Hounds who have wonderful advice, ideas and stories to share with the world.

Filed Under: General

Can your social networking profile pass the 10-second test?

1/29/2009 By Joan 5 Comments

How many times do you read somebody’s profile at a social networking site, and then devour everything they’ve written because the profile sounds so interesting?

Almost never. But last week on Twitter, I stumbled across Judy Lederman’s profile:

It clearly passes the 10-second test. That’s the barometer that social media strategist Nancy Marmolejo uses to determine whether she stays on somebody’s Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn page, or bails out.

“Within 10 seconds of visiting your social networking profile, a prospective client, alliance partner, or media contact must be able to understand who you are and why they should follow you,” Nancy says. “Most people’s profiles are a hodge-podge of information. A good number are unsure how to balance personal and professional details, so they either leave them out entirely or throw in the kitchen sink. Both are bad strategies.”

Help is on the way

Nancy, of Viva Visibility, will be my guest during a paid teleseminar called “Can Your Social Networking Profile Pass the 10-second Test?” From 4 to 5:10 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, Feb. 11. You’ll get the tools you need to spruce up your social networking profile so it’s crystal clear who you want to connect with and why you’re a valuable, attractive contact. We’ll discuss:

5 simple things to remember when creating your social networking profile
How to tweak a profile so it fits the culture of different sites like Linked In, Facebook and Twitter
SEO tips that will generate valuable “Google juice” and draw traffic to your profile pages , loike this this tip on how to get Google juice from your LinkedIn profile.
Common mistakes even the most experienced professionals are making
Examples of great profiles
How to write a profile for a niche social networking site

You’ll also get a link to a one-hour webinar Nancy is hosting that goes into even greater depth than what we might get into on the call, including more specific examples of profiles.

PR folks and publicists, you’d be crazy not to attend this one. Your clients need this kind of guidance! The teleseminar, MP3 download, electronic transcript and webinar link are $49.95. Sign up for the teleseminar here.

Let Nancy remake your profile

As a special treat for my Hounds, Nancy will give a live “profile makeover” to one lucky caller. You must first register for the call in order to be eligible for the makeover. Then tell us in the comments section below at this blog why we should choose your profile for the makeover.

See you Feb. 11.

Filed Under: Facebook, LinkedIn, Publicity on the Internet, Social media marketing, Social networking, Twitter

Can astrology author ride coat tails of author Stephanie Myer?

1/27/2009 By Joan 3 Comments

Venice clock tower dial cutout Michele Lessirard of Vero Beach, Fla. writes:

“I have been blogging for more than seven years at New Moon Journal and my blog.

“Now, there’s a high-profile Harry Potter-type author named Stephanie Myer Meyer who’s written a series of vampire novels. One best-seller is New Moon. Of course, I am competing now for search engine optimization with her New Moon book and soon-to-be movie. The New Moon Journal is an astrology blog dedicated to creativity and personal growth using the lunar cycles for power, healing and problem solving.

“How can I use this name recognition and ride on the coattails of her book. Is it possible?”

Filed Under: General

Here’s another keyword density tool for press releases

1/25/2009 By Joan Leave a Comment

Search engine optimization experts don’t like the keyword density checkers that help you determine if you’re using keywords often enough in your press releases.

Keywords should appear naturally, they say, and if you’ve written the release correctly—without stuffing keywords into the copy arbitrarily—the search engines will find it and reward you.

They’re right, of course. But I still think those tools can be very helpful. Long before we started posting press releases online, writing releases has always been a monumental and confusing task for many people. They have a hard enough time deciding on a headline, the first paragraph and the “hook.” Using keywords and keyword phrases throughout the release complicates it further.

Thanks to Publicity Hound Jennifer Filgate of ETrafficSolutions.com for letting me know about PR Newswire’s Keyword Density Tool:

Simply paste the text of your news release into the box on the page, and then enter up to three separate keywords or phrases in the fields on the left side. Click the “Calculate Term” button and view your results. PRNewswire suggests you aim for a keyword density of 1.5 to 2.5 percent. SEO gurus suggest 1.5 percent might be too low, so I’d shoot for closer to 2.5 percent.

At this point, you can make changes to your release if necessary, before uploading the release. You don’t need to buy PRNewswire’s service to use this tool. It’s similar to the Live Keyword Analysis tool I discuss in my free tutorial 89 Ways to Write Powerful Press Releases, which explains how to write a press release.

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