The Publicity Hound’s Blog  

Some people collect LinkedIn connections like they collect pennies in a big, empty mayonnaise jar.

They add them one by one, watching the pile of names grow bigger and bigger.  They keep track of how many connections they’ve made.  And they feel pretty darn good when their list grows to 100. ..300…500 names and beyond.

People who don’t know any better view their LinkedIn connections like the rainy fund inside the mayonnaise jar.  They’ll use LinkedIn when it’s time to job-hunt.  But until then, their list of contacts just sort of sits there.

That’s because in the world of social networking, people have heard that they should never ever use LinkedIn to promote.

Don’t tell that to Scott Allen, an expert in social media and social networking and a columnist for About.com.  Since creating his LinkedIn profile four years ago, he has used LinkedIn to:

—Close a 5-figure consulting deal with a company that found him at that site.

—Find an agent for his first book, “The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors and Closing Deals.” (You can download the book for free. It’s chock full of excellent examples.)

—Collect feedback from 100 contacts who read the draft of The Virtual Handshake.  Of those, about 80 had never met Scott face to face.  Yet he established such a strong connection with them on LinkedIn that they took the time to not only read his book but provide valuable comments.

—Generate media opportunities.  How many?  “I’ve lost count,” he says.

—Find joint venture partners.

—Connect with authors who interview him and quote him in their books.

Scott calls that promoting.  Not the in-your-face, obnoxious kind that most of us hate.  But the smart, subtle, savvy kind that makes it easy for people to find him if they need the kind of help and information he can offer.

He goes the extra mile on LinkedIn by answering questions from other LinkedIn users whenever he can. 
Add to his 500 connections an impressive 63 recommendations, almost all of them absolutely glowing.

He stresses, however, that someone on LinkedIn with only 70 or 80 really strong connections can make them go a lot farther than somebody with 500 names of people who they barely know. His own connections, I’m betting, are nothing like those forgotten pennies in the mayonnaise jar.  

Scott says Publicity Hounds who aren’t using LinkedIn to promote are missing a huge opportunity.  He’ll be my guest during two teleseminars from 3 to 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, July 16, and Thursday, July 17, called “How to Use LinkedIn to Promote Anything–Ethically and Powerfully.”

This series is limited to the first 100 people who register.  On July 16, Scott will explain how to build an impressive profile, use LinkedIn to position yourself as an expert and do all the little extras on LinkedIn that most other people don’t bother doing–things that can really make you stand out from the pack and get found by the search engines.

On July 17, he’ll walk us step-by-step through the entire process of how to use LinkedIn to promote.  He’ll even share case studies of LinkedIn members who have done just that, with great success.

If you haven’t built your LinkedIn profile yet, this teleseminar series if for you.  Even if you’ve been using LinkedIn for several years, we guarantee you’ll learn far more than you know already. 

Posted In: Authors & Publishers, Business Promotion, PR Consultants/Publicists, Publicity on the Internet, Social media marketing, Social networking
posted On: 7/1/2008: 6:56 pm: By Joan
Comments: 1 Comment

Tracy Arceo of Pelican Publishing of Gretna, LA writes:

“I am a publicist for Pelican Publishing Company. The publicists have been presented with a challenge and we’re having trouble comping up with ideas.

“Our company has two rather large series of books.  One series is based on the classic children’s poem “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” each book with a spin specific to a genre, region or occupation. 

“The other series is based on the classic recipes and dishes of some of the major cities in the South such as New Orleans, Charleston and Savannah.  We have been asked to come up with some form of promotion for each of these series. 

“Do your Publicity Hounds have any suggestions on what we can do to generate interest in each of these groups of books?”

Posted In: Authors & Publishers, General
posted On: 6/17/2008: 2:27 pm: By Joan
Comments: 10 Comments

Just read a great article by Christopher Knight of EzineArticles.com on how incorrectly using the author resource box at the end your articles, or leading readers to bad landing pages, can shatter your credibility.

For example, in one article about how to be a deejay, written in English, Chris clicked on a link in the author resource box and landed on a page with copy written in Japanese. Ouch.

Take note of the six mistakes he mentions. Are you guilty? If so, he offers tips on how to correct them.

During the teleseminar I conducted on How to Write How-to Articles, I mentioned that the author resource box is the most important part of the article. That one paragraph can lead readers to your website—or not. It can force them to pick up the phone and call you—or leave and walk the dog. It can encourage them to give you their email address—or ignore you.

Follow the rules, however, and you can end up with a customer for life. 

Posted In: Authors & Publishers, Writing Articles
posted On: 5/20/2008: 9:50 pm: By Joan
Comments: No Comments

I’ve been waking up every morning for a week with a stiff neck. A tendon in my left wrist still aches, despite four months of doctor’s appointments and three different prescriptions.

My massage therapist says the muscles in my back are so tight that she uses every muscle in her own hands, shoulders and legs to knead the knots out of them. She tells me I need to return to yoga classes, pronto, and start taking better care of myself.

That’s what I get for sitting in front of the computer, sometimes up to 10 hours a day.

Then I read the New York Times story In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop.

A growing work force of home-office laborers and entrepreneurs, armed with computers and smartphones and wired to the hilt, are toiling under great physical and emotional stress created by the around-the-clock Internet economy that demands a constant stream of news and comment.

In the last few months, two technology bloggers have died suddenly and a third has survived a heart attack.

Enough already. Here’s what I’m doing, starting today:

—Attending yoga class twice a week.

—More frequent breaks, at least one per hour.

—More frequent massages.

—Doing the stretching exercises a physical therapist ordered two years ago when I damaged my rotator cuffs from using weights in Jazzercise class.

—Lying backwards on the giant red rubber ball I bought from my chiropractor to relieve the “hunched shoulders” syndrom caused by hours in front of the computer.

—Lying on the floor, on top of a giant styrofoam tube that runs the length of my spine, again per my chiropractor’s instructions, to help stretch my back and shoulders.

OK, bloggers and Internet marketers. What are you doing to avoid death by blogging? Authors and writers, do you have the same problems?

Let’s hear from some physical therapists, too.

Posted In: Authors & Publishers, Blogs
posted On: 5/18/2008: 9:35 am: By Joan
Comments: 7 Comments

If you’re sitting on a mountain of content that you’ve been wanting to submit to EzineArticles.com, do it before the end of the month.

That’s when the site will start limiting writers to no more than four links within each article—two self-serving links and two other links. (A self-serving link is a link that you own or control.)

Christopher Knight, who owns the directory, explains that existing articles will be grandfathered. That means the links can remain intact, unless you edit the article. 

Why the change?

Frequent user feedback confirms that they think articles with 3 self-serving links are perceived as spam…We want to continue to attract high profile expert authors, many of whom say they’d like to be seen in similar company.  High profile expert authors almost NEVER include 3 self-serving links.

Wise Publicity Hounds won’t simply recycle existing articles from their own websites. They’ll submit new content to keep their topics up to date and keep the search engines happy.

If you struggle coming up with ideas for articles, I’ve compiled dozens of fill-in-the-blank headlines that will spark an idea or two. See my article ”Headlines for How-to Articles.”

Now start writing! 

Posted In: Authors & Publishers, Writing Articles
posted On: 5/13/2008: 6:26 am: By Joan
Comments: 2 Comments