2009 March

Writers, pitch your idea to TV producers, agents on Tuesday

3/26/2009 By Joan 2 Comments

chadgervich If you dream of writing for TV—comedy, drama, reality, or alternative—but you’re not sure you’ve got what it takes, you can pitch your idea to a literary agent and TV producers next week and hear their feedback on your pitch.

And it’s all free.

Chad Gervich, author of the book Small Screen, Big Picture: A Writer’s Guide to the TV Business, is hosting the event in Los Angeles with Barnes & Noble. It’s at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 31, at the bookstore at The Grove, 189 Grove Drive, Suite K-30.

Chad will speak for less than an hour about pitching, and then it’s your turn. Lindsay Howard, a scripted TV lit agent from APA Talent Agency, and producers from Joke Productions (Scream Queens, Beauty & the Geek) will listen to your pitch and then offer feedback on your idea and your pitching style.

The first 25 people who buy copies of the book that night will be guaranteed the chance to pitch.

Chad also writes the Script Notes Blog for Writer’s Digest.

Filed Under: Pitching the Media, TV Publicity

Top food trends and how PR people should pitch them

3/25/2009 By Joan 3 Comments

If you want publicity in traditional media for a food-related story, don’t miss these tips from Nancy Wall Hopkins, deputy editor of food and entertaining at Better Homes and Gardens.

Brian Pittman of Bulldog Reporter interviewed her. Here’s a quick summary, but please read the entire article. After each one of Nancy’s tips, I’ve also given you some of my own ideas on other ways to pitch, or ways to sweeten your pitch. These ideas also work well when pitching bloggers and in social media.

Nancy’s tip:

People are cooking more these days because of the bad economy. (I assume that means they’re eating out less.)

My tip:

Pitch stories on how to save on grocery bills. Restaurants, what are you doing to respond to this? Any special marketing promotions that have worked well? Are you altering menus, changing your hours or adding cooking classes to draw the crowds? (See “Publicity Tips for Restaurants, Chefs & Foodies.“)

Nancy’s tip:

Consumers are using more cents-off coupons.

My tip:

Professional organizers, suggest ways for us to organize all those coupons and actually use them. Consumer experts, are using coupons usually better than buying the store’s generic brand?

Nancy’s tip:

People are still entertaining an average of twice a month but it’s casual and low-key.

My tip:

Pitch your local “grub club” or dinner group to the food columnist at your local newspaper. It might also make a fun feature story for your local TV station. If an upcoming dinner is tied to the holidays or a religious celebration, that’s a nice little extra.

Nancy’s tip:

Consumers are still very interested in health and prevention.

My tip:

This is a chance for health departments and others to pitch story ideas like how to wash produce and avoid food poisoning. What about all those food allergies we’re hearing so much about?

Nancy’s tip:

PR people, leave the office for good old-fashioned face-to-face, desk-side meetings with journalists. This goes against advice that Steve Mullen of the Social Media PR blog wrote in his post 10 Dead or Dying PR Tactics.

My tip:

When you visit, ask the Number One most important question you can ever ask: “How can I help you?”

Nancy’s tip:

Give exclusives.

My tip:

Be careful because this can backfire, particularly if it’s a breaking-news story. The writer might be excited about the story and love the exclusive. If her editor isn’t nearly as interested and buries it way inside the magazine, you’ve blown a publicity opportunity.

Nancy’s tip:

Report on trends. Remember that magazines are restricting travel for some journalists so they rely on expert sources to keep them informed about trends and what’s happening at shows like the Fancy Food Show.

My tip:

Report on trends even when the story doesn’t directly affect you. This positions you as a golden source.

Nancy’s best take-away tip:

“It’s all about the relationship. The best PR people talk to me before pitching me to see what’s new with me and to ask me what’s going on. They then tailor ideas to me that no one else is getting. That’s how you build trust with us.”

My tip: Never forget it.

Filed Under: Blogs, Business Promotion, Holidays, Magazine Publicity, Newspaper Publicity, Photos & Graphics, Pitching the Media, PR Consultants/Publicists, Publicity for Niche Markets, Social media marketing, TV Publicity

Want your own radio show? Discover how on Thursday

3/24/2009 By Joan 3 Comments

Red "on air" radio sign If you write books, or you want to write one, don’t even think about catching the attention of a major publisher unless you have what’s called platform.

The bigger your platform, the greater your influence and following. It’s that simple.

You can build your platform dozens of ways online and offline. One way is by having your own radio show. I can’t begin to count the number of Internet radio hosts who have invited me to be a guest on their shows. I always say yes because I never know who might be listening.

Traditional radio has big pay-offs, too. I’ve gathered hundreds and perhaps thousands of email addresses from people who have heard me on radio shows. A local business talk show here in Milwaukee invited me as a guest, and a listener who heard me called and asked if I’d create a PR campaign for him. I’m not a publicist but referred him to one of my friends, who ended up with a $15,000 contract.

Even if you’re not an author, having your own radio show can be downright impressive to potential clients and meeting planners who hire speakers.

Radio show a path to stardom

Over the years, this proven marketing strategy has worked for such diverse personalities as Oprah, Dr. Ruth, Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Phil, Donald Trump, Martha Stewart, Dr. Laura and many others. In fact, one of the best ways to get media attention is to become a member of the media yourself.

To discover how to get started hosting your own show, join my friend Steve Harrison of Radio-TV Interview Report (RTIR) for a free 90-minute telephone seminar at your choice of two times on Thursday, March 26, on “How to Get Started Hosting Your Own Radio Show For Fame, Fortune and Fun!”

On the call, you’ll hear Steve interview radio veteran Martin Wales, who’s hosted a number of different shows on both traditional and Internet radio. You will learn:

The pros and cons hosting on traditional radio station vs. Internet radio
Common mistakes to avoid either way you go.
How one Internet radio host parlayed her show into a trip to the White House and meeting with the president in the Oval Office.
Why you don’t even need to leave home to host your own show.
How to make money with your show even if you have few listeners to start.
Why recent technological advances mean you should really consider having your own show—even if your subject is extremely specialized.
Martin’s ‘Leapfrog Strategy’ wherein you start on a small station then continually move up to increasingly larger audiences.
How to get freebies and press passes to special events by having your own show.
Strategies for quickly generating sponsorship revenue for new shows.
Got a business you’re promoting? How one mortgage broker saw his business skyrocket after he started hosting his own show.

And if you need a guest…

If you end up with your own show, don’t forget about me. I’d love to be a guest and share my best publicity tips with your audience.

I typically do shows on how to promote your expertise online and offlne, blogging, social networking, and how to write press releases.

Filed Under: Authors & Publishers, Business Promotion, Radio Publicity

4 ways I censor myself in social media circles

3/24/2009 By Joan 21 Comments

When you tweet or post on somebody else’s Facebook wall, do you censor yourself?

It’s an interesting question.

Joyce Dierschke asked it at the Social Media Today blog, and it really made me think.

Recently, a Cisco job applicant tweeted his way out of a job. In New York, a PR guy at Ketchum got caught dissing Memphis, a city he was visiting for a client meeting. The tweet made it back to the client, and the client told his boss.

Here are four ways I censor myself on social media:

Sites like Twitter, where some people bare all, could be a criminal’s best friend. Here and elsewhere online, I never let people know when I’m leaving the house if it’s during a time when it will be unoccupied. I’m aghast at the number of people who do. I also find an incredible number of people I’m following who broadcast when they are going on vacation, where they are going and when they are returning home.
I don’t share my politics or religion. During the ’08 presidential campaign, I saw people get into ugly shouting matches on Twitter and Facebook over their preferred candidates. If you’re a consultant who wears your politics on your shirt sleeve, I probably wouldn’t refer my client to you if you describe yourself as “very liberal” and my client is “very conservative,” and vice-versa. Nancy Marmolejo, a social media expert who was my guest recently during the teleseminar “Can Your Social Networking Profile Pass the 10-Second Test?” says she also thinks it’s dangerous to mention politics and religion unless, of course, that’s part of your job.
I don’t use four-letter words but see lots of otherwise bright business people who do on Twitter and in their blogs. A few of them work in the corporate suite and, I’m sure, would never think of uttering those words, including the F word, in front of clients and other business associates. Will one of you offenders please explain why you think it’s OK to do it online?
As difficult as it is sometimes, I try to refrain from criticizing people publicly. I abide by the saying, ”People won’t remember what you said or did. But they’ll always remember how you made them feel.”

How about you? Do you buy into the whole “transparency” argument?

Or do censor yourself? If so, how?

If not, why not?

Filed Under: Blogs, Facebook, PR Consultants/Publicists, Social media marketing, Social networking, Twitter