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Nonprofit needs ideas for marketing training programs

4/27/2010 By 8 Comments

woman's face on laptop screenDeborah Avens of Temple Hills, MD writes:

Virtuous Enterprises, Inc. is a nonprofit devoted to transforming lives of underserved women and girls in the Washington, D.C. area through training and development.

Our programs include training in computer science, engineering and computer information systems; a 16-week program for women who want to become entrepreneurs; and a leadership development and mentoring program for girls in foster care in Maryland.

How can we promote these programs without a marketing budget?

(Shutterstock photo)

Filed Under: Nonprofits, Publicity for Niche Markets

Learn words for persuasive PR during May 4 teleseminar

4/26/2010 By Leave a Comment

Frank Lutz, word wizardCompany PR departments spend hours—entire days even—poring over a press release, picking apart every paragraph and sentence—and then waiting for multiple layers of approval before it goes live.

Everyone puts their stamp of approval on the document that includes words and phrases THEY like. If only the readers were that receptive.

The next time you write a press release, or copy for marketing materials, or your CEO’s next speech, don’t guess about whether the message will resonate. Know exactly which words and phrases drive persuasive communications.

Word wizard Dr. Frank Luntz will discuss “Words That Work in the Press, Politics & Public Relations” during an audio teleconference at 1 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, May 4, hosted by Bulldog Reporter. Registration is $99 per person. You can lean more and register here.

If Luntz looks familiar, it’s probably because he’s been a guest on almost every talk show in America, including  Meet the Press, Nightline, The Today Show, Charlie Rose, The Jim Lehrer News Hour, The O’Reilly Factor, Tavis Smiley, Montel Williams, and Hardball.  He also served as a consultant to the award-winning NBC hit show “The West Wing.”

The “Instant Response” focus group technique Luntz pioneered, in which focus group respondents “dial” their approval  or disapproval on hand-held gadgets, has been profiled on 60 Minutes, Good Morning America (on Election Day 2008) and on the award-winning PBS show Frontline.

His focus groups have become so influential that presidential candidate Barack Obama had this to say following the PBS presidential debate, “When Frank Luntz invites you to talk to his focus group, you talk to his focus group.”

During next Tuesday’s call, you’ll learn how to grab your audiences’ attention and, ultimately, influence their behavior. You’ll also discover how to maximize what Luntz e calls “ROL” (return on language) in areas ranging from corporate reputation and employee satisfaction to product development and media relations.

Filed Under: How to Interview, PR Consultants/Publicists, Press Releases/News Releases, Public Service Announcements, Writing Articles Tagged With: , , , ,

Do you thank people for retweeting your content?

4/25/2010 By 19 Comments

thank you note and green envelopeImitation is the greatest form of flattery, and in social media circles, that means retweeting somebody’s content.

But what do you do when you check your Twitter mentions (@PublicityHound, below your photo)  every day and see that, say, more than a dozen people—or two dozen, or three dozen—have retweeted your content during the last 24 hours?

I’ve noticed fewer people thanking me recently, and I haven’t taken the time to thank people for sharing my stuff either.

Would you thank 36 people, one by one? Or does that just add to the noise?

Is your time better spent gathering more interesting content to share? Does it bug you when you read a slew of “Thanks for the RT” messages from people whose content you’ve RT’d?

Or do all those thank-yous make your day?

(Shutterstock photo)

Filed Under: Social networking, Twitter Tagged With: , , , ,

Frustrated authors, speakers: Canfield has sage advice

4/22/2010 By 1 Comment

Cover of Chicken Soup for the SoulIf you’re a frustrated author who has been trying to think of an idea for a book, finish a book already under way, or boost sluggish sales of a book that’s been on the shelves for several months, Jack Canfield has some sage advice for you.

And who better than Jack to give it?

He and Mark Victor Hansen recveived 144 rejection letters from publishers who all gave a resounding “no thanks” to publishing their first “Chicken Soup for the Soul.” book. As you know, the entire series went on to become one of the hottest selling mega-series of books on the planet.

Jack will share his best advice for frustrated authors during a free 90-minute teleseminar at 7 p.m. Eastern Time tonight, April 22. (If you can’t attend, recruit somebody to listen for you and take notes. These are almost never recorded.) You can register here.

You will learn:

  • How Jack went from being an inner city public school teacher to bestselling author and speaker.
  • What to do if you find yourself reluctant to aggressively market your work.
  • Jack’s advice if you need to make money within 30 to 60 days.
  • The two mindsets you need to create a bestselling book.
  • How to find someone to sponsor your book.
  • The “bypass marketing” strategy that made “Chicken Soup” a big hit.
  • How to systematically create word-of-mouth marketing for your book.
  • Jack’s advice for getting started as a public speaker.
  • What most people don’t understand about the Law of Attraction and how it helped him get on Oprah and hit the New York Times Best Seller List.

I’m promoting the call as an affiliate, and I don’t want you to miss out.  Register here, and then be prepared to take lots of notes.

Filed Under: Authors & Publishers

Harpist needs computer tips to save time—and her hands

4/20/2010 By 14 Comments

Anne Roos standing next to her harpAnne Roos of  South Lake Tahoe, CA, writes:

“I am really struggling with time management.  I’m a professional musician and a published author, working on two upcoming CDs, live performances, and an upcoming book.”
    
“I am also very physically active, taking classes in the martial arts. These activities all involve practice/rehearsal and being offline to concentrate on my writing.”
    
“I have very limited time to spend on the Internet, and in fact, as a harpist, I am trying to pace myself when typing at the computer to save my hands. I already work with a wonderful virtual assistant, Christine Buffaloe, and she can handle many tasks for me, but it’s not enough. I know that she can’t do everything for me. It’s not a question of whether I know what I need to do or whether I am capable of doing them. It’s a question of finding time to do what really needs to be done.”
    
“So, I need to know what I absolutely must do at the computer and what I can forego. What’s a time waster and what is not? What are the activities that are necessary (other than the obvious—answering my emails, replying to direct messages on social networks, etc.), and what is a waste of time? And how do I streamline my time doing these things?”
    
“OK, the harpist is tired of typing.”
Filed Under: Authors & Publishers, Publicity on the Internet, Publicity Resources, Social media marketing Tagged With: , , ,
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