2009 February

Dominate Page 1 of Google: Try Expertclick free for one week

2/18/2009 By Joan 5 Comments

When somebody uses Google to search for a person with your expertise, and types in “time management expert” or “leadership expert” or “parenting expert” or “(fill in the blank) expert,” does your name show up near the top of the list of search results?

Does it even show up on Page 1 of the results?

If not, here’s a powerful way to land a spot on Page 1. If you’re already on Page 1 for your website or blog, you can use this same trick to generate another listing on Page 1.

Use a service like Expertclick: The Online Yearbook of Experts to appear near the top of the list. As you can see below, my Expertclick subscription which includes my expert profile, gives me a #3 ranking for the term “publicity expert,” just behind the #1 ranking for my website and the #2 ranking for the bio in my online press room.

publicityexpert1

This drives my competitors crazy.

Send releases free for a week

Here’s the great part. Mitchell Davis, who owns Expertclick and NewsReleaseWire.com, is letting anyone take a free test drive for a full week, with no commitment to subscribe.

I recommend you take advantage of his offer and create a profile. Then start writing and distributing several press releases. You can distribute up to 52 a year with a paid subscription, in addition to getting a listing in the Yearbook of Experts, which journalists search frequently when they’re looking for sources.

Your profile won’t land you on Page 1 of Google instantly because Google probably won’t index the page for several more weeks. But if you stick with the service, you’ll most likely make it onto Page 1 of Google for the phrase ”(fill in th blank) expert,” assuming that you use it within your Expertclick profile. The search engines view Expertclick as an authoritative site. That’s why you’ll rank high.

I’ve written about how Adam Armbruster’s Expertclick listing gives him the #1 spot on Google for “TV advertising expert” and “television advertising expert.” Tim Walsh is #1 for “toy expert.” And Debra Holtzman has the #1, #2 and #3 spots for “child safety expert,” thanks to Expertclick.

Sign up by Feb. 19

To take a test drive, you have until the end of tomorrow, Thursday, Feb. 19, to sign up:

—Call Mitch at 202-333-5000 and ask him for The Publicity Hound special. He’ll set it up for you so you can see how the service works—with no commitments to subscribe. (They answer their own phones.)

—Or set it up yourself by clicking here. Choose the Gold Level. Then complete the “Participant” information for the person who the account will be bout and the ”Subscriber” info for the person in charge of the account. Check the credit card box, but don’t enter your number because you aren’t paying for this.

In the “Special Offer” box enter: “Free Week from Publicity Hound.” Then click on “Create Your Press Room Page” and you’ll able to edit instantly. Once they approve your account, you’ll be able to start sending press releases. Their terms of service apply, so be sure to read them.

Use Expertclick to bury bad news

If you’re ever in a bad news situation, you can ”push down” or bury the bad news on the search listings by using a service like this one to distribute several press releases on different topics. Because your press releases are more current than your older, bad news, they will usually be closer to the top of the list.

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

Home & garden show needs promotion ideas FAST

2/17/2009 By Joan 12 Comments

Lori Feldman of St. Louis, Mo. writes:

“My client is a home and garden show that’s produced in four cities—Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Indianapolis and Portland—from late February through early March.

“We’re launching a social media plan for this company that has done nothing but traditional advertising for the last 50 years! Last year was the first time they even attempted to collect email addresses from attendees, so we have a list of 20,000 we can use.

“As you can imagine, ad costs significantly increase each year with significantly declining ROI. So the challenge was to find alternative media to combat the ineffectiveness of old media. They also face these hurdles: Home starts and real estate are way down. Young people have not supported these live shows (but this could be due to a lack of an online presence). All marketing is local—you’re not going to jump on a plane to attend.

“Because time is short, I’d like to get as many suggestions from your readers as possible to consider every option to increase traffic. The pre-show promotions site is http://www.ImproveYourHomeAndGarden.com. We’ll be press releasing, tweeting, and social networking between now and show day. I can do a shopping spree contest winner. Thoughts?”

Filed Under: Advertising, Business Promotion, Press Releases/News Releases, Special Events, Twitter

Online promotion tips in Jan/Feb issue of SUCCESS magazine

2/17/2009 By Joan 3 Comments

If you want to promote anything online, be sure to check out the January/February issue of SUCCESS magazine, on newsstands now.

I’m featured along with Internet marketers Joel Comm and Scott Fox in the Ask the Experts column. Here are the topics we discussed and a few snippets of advice from the article.

—Blogs: If you aren’t blogging, start now.

—Websites: Update content regularly.

—Video: It’s the best free way to pull traffic.

—Generating more traffic: Produce interesting, targeted and timely information for your customers.

—Search engine optimization: Use keywords and phrases that emphasize your product offerings.

The online version of the article, by the way, is slightly different than the printed version, so buy the magazine and get even more tips. In fact, why not subscribe and get 65 percent off the news stand price.

Little time to read? Every issue includes a Dual Disc (CD AND DVD) inserted into the magazine. The March issue, for example, includes audio and video tracks from Seth Godin, Napoleon Hill, Harvey McKay and SUCCESS publisher Darren Hardy.

Tomorrow, I’ll be including in my ezine, “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Weeks,” ways to recycle this kind of publicity. Whenever you’re mentioned in a newspaper or magazine, NEVER be content with just one media hit. Already, I’ve recycled this publicity into four other ways to promote my business. I’ll explain them all tomorrow, add them here after I email tomorrow’s newsletter, and then ask my readers to list their favorite ways of recycling in the comments section. See “Special Report #13: How to Recycle Your Publicity (for Serious Publicity Hounds Only).

Filed Under: Blogs, Business Promotion, Magazine Publicity, Newspaper Publicity, Publicity on the Internet, Search engine optimization

The Number One mistake of online press releases

2/16/2009 By Joan 3 Comments

One of my newsletter readers writes:

“We’ve used PRWeb a couple times for press releases. The first time, last summer, resulted in a few small market radio show interviews. The second release, this past week, which seemed to be more likely to gain some attention, resulted in nothing. Zero. We realize that a press release needs to be written well and newsworthy to get coverage, but also wonder if a release is more likely to get lost in the media sea through a service like PRWeb.

“In your experience, do you find EReleases.com more effective? Or is there an even better service that may cost the same ($399) or less?”

The writer is making the Number One mistake that many people make with press releases: using them to catch the attention of journalists. Here’s what I told the reader:

“You’re using online press releases incorrectly. In the vast majority of cases, you cannot rely on online press releases for media hits. Why? Because that’s what everybody else is doing. And a one-size-fits-all-media-outlets press release ends up appealing to no media outlets, many of which are different. The far better way to generate publicity is through customized pitches to a targeted list of media outlets, either from you or from a publicist. (See How to Create a Media Plan.)

“The big advantage to online press releases is that you can use them to pull in lots of traffic to your website. How can you measure results from such a release? Two ways:

“Within the release, you use a URL that leads people to a landing page at your website that was created specifically for that press release. Then you check your web stats to see how many people have visited.

“You also set as a goal how many additional email addresses you want to gather as a result of that press release. You are collecting email addresses at your website, I hope? I use the Hover Ad Creator, special HTML coding that creates the box that bounces down from the top of the screen at my website. This simple box TRIPLED sign-ups to my newsletter as soon as I started using it.”

Sure, the media can find your press releases online and, in some cases, you generate publicity. But the percentage of success stories is slim. Anyone who is serious about using online press releases should subscribe to Expertclick, the Online Yearbook of Experts which will also let them distribute press releases. I’ve been a subscriber for several years and you can see some of the Expertclick press releases I’ve posted.

Two other huge advantages of Expertclick:

—A subscription automatically gives you a spot in the online Yearbook of Experts which journalists use frequently when looking for specific types of sources. I’ve interviewed dozens of Publicity Hounds who have been interviewed as a result of their Yearbook profiles.

—Because the search engines view Expertclick as an authoritative site, my Expertclick profile gets excellent ranking when someone types “publicity expert” into Google. In fact, I have the top three positions for that keyword phrase. The first position is the homepage at my website. The second is to the bio at my website. The third is my Expertclick profile.

publicityexpert

So, in effect, I’ve trounced my competitors for this keyword phrase, and I’m working hard to secure the fourth position. How well do you trounce your competitors? Are you even on the first page of Google?

If not, an Expertclick subscription could put you there. In addition to your profile, you can post up to 52 press releases a year at no additional per-release charge.

This week is an ideal time to give Expertclick a try because Mitchell Davis, who runs www.NewsReleaseWire.com and Expertclick, wants you to “taste” his service and send press releases this week without cost or obligation. You can get a free week to send releases and create a Press Room Page about your business. See their video about how it all works. You must respond by Thursday, Feb. 19. Call them at 202-333-5000 during Eastern Time office hours and for the “Free Week from Publicity Hound,” and they can set it up for you.

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

Media event to feature products linked to celebs, good causes

2/15/2009 By Joan Leave a Comment

rihanna If you sell a consumer product that has a celebrity connection, or supports a good cause, you’ll be able to pitch your product to the media, face to face, at a media event on Wednesday, April 1, in New York City.

Two shows—The Celebrity Connections Media Event and the Good Causes Media Event—will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the New York Marriott Marquis. Registration is $1,250 for up to 2 company representatives to attend.

Journalists are always looking for a great angle when it comes to covering new products, and many journalists are looking for products with a celebrity connection. The celebrities event will showcase:

—Products celebrities love like the jewelry that pop R&B star Rihanna is shown wearing at left
—Products they’ve endorsed
—Products from a celebrity product line (Rihanna also has her own line of umbrellas)
—Products that have been in a movie or TV show
—Products that have appeared in a paparazzi snapshot

Exhibitors at last spring’s media event met and talked to representatives from more than 70 media outlets including “Good Morning America,” “Every Day with Rachael Ray,” Working Mother, Real Simple, People, O at Home, Lifetimetv.com, Bridal Guide, CosmoGirl!, Country Home, Parents magazine and Playgirl magazine.

The good causes event calls itself “an intimate showcase of products that do good deeds.” It will feature products that have an association with a good cause or charitable organization, from saving the rain forest to literacy, solving world hunger and helping the homeless.

The show is limited to 50 exhibitors and offers agency discounts. If you’re going, be sure to read the helpful tip sheet for exhibitors. If you’re not going, remember to piggyback off celebrity news and gossip, regardless of what you’re selling. This blog has an entire category of posts on celebrity tie-ins. Also see “Special Report #50: How to Piggyback onto Celebrity News to Promote Your Product, Service, Cause or Issue.”

Filed Under: Business Promotion, Celebrity tie-ins, Magazine Publicity, Newspaper Publicity, Pitching the Media, Publicity Resources, TV Publicity