Don’t you  hate it when you visit a blog, read a post, love the topic, and even before you get to the end, you know what comment you’re going to add?

Then you reach the bottom of the post and you see this:
   

   
That’s what happened to me just now when I read the article 10 Ways to Amplify a B2B PR Campaign by Wendy Marx at Fast Company’s blog. I love her list! She invited comments. And I had four more ideas I wanted to add.

Sorry, but I’m not hanging around to log in because I can’t remember if I have a Fast Company account. I’d have to dig around for my login name and password. If I don’t have one, I’d have to register. And that’s way too much trouble.

So instead, I’m criticizing the magazine and its dumb policy here.

Media outlets, by the way, seem to be the worst offenders. Many newspapers, which are dying, force the few visitors they have left to create an account before commenting at their blogs or websites. I’m a former newspaper editor. Before I left the business 17 years ago, I was appalled by the “screw you” attitude and awful customer service that permeates the industry.

My Ideas for Publicizing Your Publicity

Here’s what I would have written at the Fast Company blog. These ideas work for any PR campaign, not just B2B:

1. When you’ve gotten national publicity, let your local newspaper, weekly newspaper or business journal know by submitting a press release. Go one step further. Pitch yourself and offer to explain how you got national publicity. 
      
2. Ditto for your college alumni publication.
      
3. Speakers, photocopy the article, with permission, and add it to your handouts.
      
4. Write a letter to the editor of the newspaper or magazine that just wrote about you. Discuss one or two points the reporter didn’t include, or elaborate on a specific issue within the overall story. You get in front of the same audience twice!  If readers missed reading the original article, they’ll see your name and company name in the letter.

Those are my ideas. Add yours to the list. Or explain why you think media outlets and others have idiotic policies that make readers log in.

A Tool That Can Help You

My Special Report #13: How to Recycle Your Publicity, has many more ideas on this topic. It was updated a few months ago. 

Here are my Top 10 tweets from this past week, great for retweeting! If you missed these, follow me on Twitter.

5 reasons traditional PR is dead. http://ow.ly/aYitX

Authors: How to get your books in front of librarians. http://ow.ly/aYk8n

Tip on finding your target market: Make it easy for THEM to find YOU. Offer various forms of content online.

3 simple ways to turn yr web archive into profitable books & ebooks. http://ow.ly/aYtzc

7 NEW Things to Do After You’ve Written a New Blog Post. http://ow.ly/aYxk6

Still can’t figure out Facebook’s tricky settings? @MariSmith walks you through them. Webinar replay. http://ow.ly/aYQCk

6 tips for asking for–and giving–Linkedin recommendations. http://ow.ly/aYjC7

Guest Bloggers: This is perfect time to pitch a guest post & tell the blogger to save it for “when you’re on vacation”.

4 ways to fire a client without burning your business. http://ow.ly/aYkoa

9 ways to find guest blogging opportunities. http://ow.ly/aYNQu 

Here are my Top 10 tweets from this past week, great for retweeting! If you missed these, follow me on Twitter.

Retailers are missing where the customers REALLY are on Facebook. Are you? http://ow.ly/9saIt

Too many authors give up after only 1 publisher rejects their title. Big mistake. Here’s why. http://ow.ly/9uoJu

The very best way to receive a LinkedIn recommendation. http://ow.ly/9upsl

4 things your blog must do. [Slideshow, excellent reminders] http://ow.ly/9x5ey

12 signs you’re still a tech dinosaur. http://ow.ly/9vTg4

Another major change coming down the pike on Facebook. [Stop already!] http://ow.ly/9uoTu

Are you brave enough to use this research trick when pitching journalists? Or does this pitch creep you out? http://ow.ly/9saYk

Seven Reasons Your Content Marketing Needs a Brand Journalist | MarketingProfs Daily Fix Blog http://ow.ly/9x5w1

Billionaire creator of Spanx explains how she built an empire out of erasing women’s panty lines. [Video] http://ow.ly/9x8PH

7 social media pitfalls for nonprofits. http://ow.ly/9xpXU

Here are my Top 10 tweets from this past week, great for retweeting! If you missed these, follow me on Twitter.

Follow These PR Rules If You Want To Raise Some Real Capital. http://t.co/OFOfjLof

Submit series of articles to papers in rich suburbs via NAPS. Expensive, but might be worth it for you. http://ow.ly/93OKP

Don’t let companies talk you into buying expensive media directories. Read this first, then decide: http://ow.ly/93P9y

3 ways to reinvent yourself on LinkedIn. http://t.co/r68rqIB4

5 ways to increase your Facebook fan engagement. http://ow.ly/95lve

3 critical details to include in your database of reporters, editors, broadcasters. http://t.co/syldFCmW

13 ways to cross-promote on social media sites. http://ow.ly/96rkf

How NOT to do PR: An interview with Peter Shankman who started HARO. http://ow.ly/96uGI

10 common self-publishing scams that can drain your bank account. http://ow.ly/96t3D

5 ways to take back your reputation on the web. http://ow.ly/98eAO

This guest post is written by Lior Levin, a marketing consultant for a company that offers to-do list tool applications for individuals and businesses, and who also consults at a psd to html company.

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Whether you maintain a blog or develop user-friendly content for business websites, every writer fears getting stuck on a topic or a particular post. Fresh, relevant content is a critical component of any SEO strategy, and maintaining a steady and sustainable writing pace is essential.

Here are six strategies for overcoming writing setbacks you might encounter.
   
   
1. Learn How to Generate Content Writing Ideas

The best way to avoid a setback is to plan and brainstorm a wide variety of ideas. You should have a collection of writing topics handy so you only pick the ones that are most interesting and relevant for your website. Keeping a notebook or running list on your cell phone can help you accumulate writing ideas so that you can hit a blank page with a good deal of momentum.

Blogger and author Marelesa Fabrage shares some places where she finds ideas:

• A question a client asks you.
     
• A comment your 2-year-old makes as she is trying to avoid eating her vegetables.
     
• A slogan you read on a billboard.
     
• An article you read on another blog during a coffee break.

Inspiration can strike just about anywhere. Be ready for it!
   
   
2. Focus on the Goal for Content Writing

When writing content for a website, you can fill up your website with information and ideas. An idea doesn’t engage readers, deliver on any kind of promise, or provide a clear focus for your writing.

Brian Clark writes at Copyblogger:

“You have an idea, but what’s the goal? From a content marketing standpoint, you’re usually seeking to educate or persuade.” A clear goal will help you cut away the parts of your content that don’t belong.
   
   
3. Don’t Mistake Facts for Benefits

Before writing, you’ll need to clearly understand how your post will make a customer’s life better, translating your information into benefits. If your goal is to educate customers about your industry and to hopefully convert them into customers, make a list of benefits that directly meet the needs of readers. According the site Improve the Web,“The more benefits you describe, the more you connect your content to the needs, interests and reasons people buy from you, the more efficient your website content will be.”
   
   
4. Focus on Writing a Compelling Title

No matter how hard you focus on identifying a goal and the benefits your content offers, you still need to think of ways to draw the attention of your readers. A solid title that hooks readers may provide the path forward that you need.

Some benefits to crafting a solid title are explained at the Allison Jones blog: “Crafting the title allows me to refine my topic and figure out the structure of my post.”  Learn how to writen effective title at ProBlogger.

   
   
5. Write with an Outline and Bullet Points

If you’re having a hard time figuring out what to write about your chosen topic, experiment with either an outline of sub-headings or even a series of bullet points. Jim Estill writes at CopybBlogger, “Bullet points… can make writing an article a lot simpler in terms of organization because you no longer have to figure out transitions from one idea to the next.”

Work with the most basic parts of your post to create a skeleton before filling in the gaps. You also may find that a skeleton is exactly what you need for your website or blog content.
   
   
6. Focus on a Specific Topic You Understand

If your writing is stalled, the problem may be with your focus. Are you trying to address a topic that is too broad? A stalled writing project is typically a symptom of not understanding a topic well enough.

The solution is to conduct research in order to sharpen your knowledge and to improve the quality of your content. Christopher Auman shares at Blog Critics, “If you try to cover a large topic in a mediocre or unconvincing way, people will probably not bookmark and return or even worse they many not even finish reading and move on.

If you’re still stuck after trying out these tips, don’t worry. There are plenty of ideas for writing effective content. Check out this list of 37 things to keep in mind when writing content for starters. Writing is a craft that requires practice and patience. Give yourself a few months of practice and you’ll be amazed at the progress you can make with your website content writing!

Here are my Top 10 tweets from this past week, great for retweeting! If you missed these, follow me on Twitter.

7 Crucial Tactics for Writing a Radically Successful Guest Post http://ow.ly/8TLYO

Farts: The topic of a 6th-grader’s 1st-place speech. Here are 5 lessons from the speech: http://ow.ly/8TPHk

5 ways LinkedIn can freshen up and be more relevant http://ow.ly/8VfF5

6 ways to get more B2B leads from social media  http://ow.ly/8VkBW

5 tips for measuring ROI of PR and determining if you’re beating your competitors  http://ow.ly/8WCf0

11 things that annoy journalists and bloggers  http://ow.ly/8X9oS

5 tips for choosing a LinkedIn profile photo (and other LinkedIn mistakes to avoid)  http://ow.ly/8YmE2

Google offering $25 in gift cards to let them track you  http://ow.ly/8YnF3

Tip for Publciists: Have a new client? Make sure they know how to do media interviews.

Sleazy and dishonest if true: Pinterest secretly cashes in on user links by adding its own affiliate codes  http://ow.ly/8YxOu

Gannett Blogger Jim Hopkins

By the time Jim Hopkins left his job as a reporter and editor for USA Today on Jan. 10, 2008,  he had already built up a respectable following at the snarky blog he published about his employer, Gannett Co., anonymously.

Called simply Gannett Blog, it kept employees of the largest newspaper company in the United States up to date for two years on almost any work-related topics, from executive compensation and ad rate increases to ethics issues and the revolving door at individual papers.

In an industry pummeled by shrinking ad dollars, a dying reader base, and competition from online news sources, there was no shortage of topics. But there was no gossip, no inside dirt, no office politics—and no “official” affiliation with the company.

Instead, Hopkins relied on published reports and information he uncovered from public documents. His loyal readers provided a steady stream of leads and tips, most anonymously. 

The day after he took a buyout and a 40-week severance package, Hopkins identified himself as the writer of the blog. He kept commenting on everything Gannett and providing updates on budget cuts and layoffs. The sources kept surfacing. The blog kept growing.
  
  
But Who Will Pay the Bills?

When the severance ran out, it was time to start asking readers for donations. That first year, Hopkins set a goal of $6,000 revenue per quarter from the blog.

At first, the donations  trickled in. Some included notes. Many arrived as cash in his mailbox with no indication of who had sent them.

Thinking he was a tad too overly ambitious, he revised his quarterly goal to $4,000 and surpassed it in 2011. He made $5,000 in donations and $11,000 in Google Adsense revenue.

He accepts cash, checks and recently started accepting PayPal payments. You can’t help but notice the little photos of credit cards placed under PayPal’s “Donate” button on the right side of his blog. He even encourages recurring payments for people who don’t want to hassle with multiple contributions and all those postage stamps and PayPal transactions:
 

And he’s turned his appeal into a sort of game where he keeps readers updated on how close he is to reaching his goal. 

“Whenever someone gives me money, I post a note saying that,” he said. They’re accompanied by little photos of dollar bills and headlines like “In an envelope with no address: $60″ and “In the final stretch: another $100.” 

“One of my readers said I should start posting those.”

Those seeds he’s planting lead to more contributions. “It’s like one of those telethons where they have a running total and say ‘Here’s how much we’ve raised…’”

 
Keep Milking the Cow That’s in the Barn 

Hopkins says offering recurring payment is important because online marketers must make it as easy as possible for people to part with their money.
  
“The more obstacles there are for people to give you money, the less likely they are to do it. Obstacles can be something as small as having to click on a couple of links. You have to give them as many ways to donate as possible.”

Indeed. The nonprofit fund-raising arm of Wikipedia gives visitors to its website 9 ways that people can donate to the Wikimedia Foundation.

Hopkins offers space in the banner ad at the top of the blog for $150 a month. But so far, no takers.

“I thought there would be interest from financial advisors who handle retirements and rollovers, and from labor attorneys because lots of (Gannett) people think they’re victims of age discrimination. “

Advertisers might want to look twice at his blog’s monthly stats:

• From 10,000 to 15,000 visitors.
• 225,000 to 250,000 page views.
• About 100 posts.

Last year alone, the blog received 28,000 comments.

These days, the 54-year-old San Francisco resident spends from 25-30 hours a week blogging and says “it’s as much a hobby as it is a source of income.”

When I asked him how he’d respond to blogging purists who disdain any type of promotion at blogs, especially blatant requests for money, Hopkins said:  ”I don’t have any problem with it for the simple reason that  I offer a quality product and it’s entirely  reasonable to expect people to pay for it. I make it entirely voluntary. There’s nothing wrong with asking. If you ask, some people will give.”

He also said the running tally shows his audience—mostly current and former journalists—the challenge of being an online publisher in 2012. “They can see what economic survival is all about.”
 

Make Your Own Blog Go “Kaching!”

Hopkins’ request for donations will be one of 27 ideas I’m sharing on Saturday during the webinar “27 Ways to Monetize Your Blog” from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Eastern Time. If the time is inconvenient, sign up anyway because you’ll get the link for the video replay within 72 hours.

Would you be so bold as to do what Hopkins does by asking for donations? Do you monetize your blog? What ideas have worked best for you? If you don’t monetize it, why not?

Here are my Top 10 tweets from this past week, great for retweeting! If you missed these, follow me on Twitter.

Top 10 creative writing blogs. http://ow.ly/8gzJb

Top 5 New Year’s Resolutions for improving your presence on LinkedIn. http://ow.ly/8gBr9

10-point checklist for growing your blog in 2012. http://ow.ly/8gBY9

10 reasons why you might not be attracting the right (or any) Twitter followers. http://ow.ly/8i6tI

Authors, do you make these 3 disastrous book-writing mistakes? http://ow.ly/8i8gM

New to speaking? 5 great venues where you can book gigs and learn the ropes. http://ow.ly/8ikNR

How bloggers can use book reviews to connect with expert authors & tips on how to write reviews. http://ow.ly/8ikbh

3 big benefits to reading your articles aloud before publishing, from Ann Wylie. http://ow.ly/8jvrx

Get credit for your PR brilliance. Bulldog’s Media Relations Awards deadline is 1/16. http://ow.ly/8kuYP

Hospitals: Want Boomer business? Focus on content marketing & social media. http://ow.ly/8kw7n

Here are my Top 10 tweets from this past week, great for retweeting! If you missed these, follow me on Twitter.

Prevent the “lago effect” from dooming your CEO who tries to “help” during a crisis. http://paper.li/clayedwardspr/pr-pros-paper

How Restaurants Are Using Social Media to Their Advantage. http://tinyurl.com/8xbuyuo

How to Use Great Testimonials, Once You Get Them. http://ow.ly/8b2LS

Get Blog Results for Business | Writing On The Web by Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad | Writing On The Web. http://tinyurl.com/7dzodzr

Top 50 Women Entrepreneur Experts to Follow on Twitter. http://ow.ly/8dj2U

Nice year-end gift for your clients. Free ebook with 2 dozen publicity/social media tips. http://ow.ly/8dj8Z

5 clever uses of LinkedIn’s brand new “group polls” feature. http://ow.ly/8dkJL

5-part strategy for cashing in on content and social media marketing in 2012. http://ow.ly/8dTU6

Freelancers: Pick up some extra cash in 2012. Pitch articles to these paying markets. http://ow.ly/8dUTu

Authors: Compare major print-on-demand companies. http://ow.ly/8dV2u

Another case of a celebrity behaving badly, and another opportunity for Publicity Hounds in a variety occupations to generate some PR by tying into this story.

This time, it’s Alec Baldwin who was kicked off an American Airlines plane on Tuesday for refusing to stop playing Zynga’s Words With Friends on his phone.  The plane was parked at the gate and the seat belt light was still on.

When Baldwin was asked to turn off his phone, things got ugly. He stood up, took his phone into the plane’s lavatory, slammed the door and started yelling at the crew.

Here are 7 ways you could piggyback onto that story:

1. Why are airline regulations so strict? This is a perfect time for flight instructors, pilots, and owners of aviation schools to explain why you can’t use a Kindle, cell phones, laptops or other electronic devices at certain times either in the air or on the ground.
     
2. What makes this game so addictive? “Words With Friends” has 12.6 million active monthly users, according to tracking service AppData. If you’re an addict, let the media know. Where do you play it? When do you play it? How good are you? And what’s the big attraction?
     
3. Is this game a teaching tool for kids?  The game is intended for children 9 and older. Teachers, librarians, tutors and others who teach kids: Explain the benefits of this game for teaching children how to spell and read.
     
4. What are the best ways to control your temper when you’re ready to explode?  And if you do lose control, what’s the best way to apologize? Anger management experts, what a great opportunity for offering tips on how to behave nicely with others on a cramped airplane, and then say you’re sorry. Baldwin apologized to fellow passengers, but not to the airline.
     
5. What are the worst behaviors exhibited by airline passengers? Baldwin is just one of hundreds of boors who make life difficult for airline crews and passengers. What are the Top 10 worst behaviors on airplanes? Frequent fliers, start making a list. And then explain how—or if—you get involved. Offer it as a guest blog post to bloggers who write about etiquette, electronics, human behavior or the airlines industry. Or pitch it to your local newspaper.
     
6. How did American Airlines handle this from a PR standpoint? The airlines wrote about it on its Facebook page, but didin’t mention Baldwin by name.
     
7. What does this kind of publicity mean for a product like Words With Friends? Bloggers have already written about the perfect timing because Zynga is about to go public. Experts in marketing, branding, investmentsw and the stock market should weigh in.

What other ways can you think of to piggyback PR onto this story? Have you ever generated great publicity for yourself or your PR client because you tied your story to Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction,” a celebrity’s drug or alcohol rehab, or any other less-than-flattering celebrity story? Tell us what you did, and the results. And then share this post on the social media sites.

I write more tips like this one in my free weekly ezine, “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week.” You can join the fun and learn new publicity techniques every week by typing your name and email address into the box to the right, beneath my photo.