When I hosted the recorded webinar last week on How to Use Twitter Lists & Directories to Promote Your Expertise and Build Your Brand,  I encouraged participants to get onto as many Twitter lists as possible because lists are a powerful form of free advertising. 

One of my suggestions was to write a blog post telling readers the types of lists where you’d be a perfect fit, and then suggesting that they add you to existing lists on those topics, or create new ones.

But before you do that, it’s helpful to first find out how people on Twitter perceive you.  This will give you other ideas to add to the list of topics on which you’re an expert, and some of them might surprise you. The instructions below are included on the handouts from last week’s webinar, and the entire package is available here.

To see whose lists you’re on:

• Log into your Twitter account
    
• Go to your Home page
    
• Look in the upper right corner, near your gravatar, for the word “Listed.” It will tell you how many lists you’re on.
    
• Click on it. You’ll see all the names of the lists and the gravatars of the people who created them. The names of the lists will be in bold.

Scan the list and you should start to see a pattern. The screenshot above shows some of the 668 lists I’m on. Many of the lists are devoted to PR, publicity, marketing communications, book marketing and social media.

Now that you have a good idea how you’re perceived, write a blog post like this one, suggesting that your Twitter followers add you to their lists on certain topics.
    
   
Add Me to These Lists

Here are topics for other lists you can consider adding me to, based on many of the other lists on which I appear:

Writing or Writers

Editing or Editors

Journalists or Journalism

Marketing

Authors

Business Women

Small Business

Online Marketing

Digital Marketing

Self-promotion

Shoestring Marketing

Book Publicity

Resources for Authors

Inspiring Quotes

Humor

Entrepreneurs

Advertising/Marketing

PR Pros

Press Releases

Blogging or Bloggers

Dog Jokes (I include a dog joke in each issue of The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week, my free weekly ezine, and often share it on Twitter)
     
     
Other Ways to be Included on Twitter Lists

1. Tweet helpful, relevant content frequently and forego the “here’s what I’m doing today” tweets. Help people solve their problems!

2. Add yourself to your own lists if you’re a perfect fit. Remember that other people will be subscribing to your lists. If you’re a small business expert, for example,  and somebody is following your list of small business experts, you want to be on it.

3. Include a short blurb in your email signature suggesting that people add you to their lists, with a link to your Twitter page.

4. Ask! Don’t be shy about suggesting that people add you to a particular list they’ve created. They might be grateful that you’ve helped them grow their lists.

Be sure to reciprocate. Welcome requests from other people who ask you to put them on your lists.

What other ways do you use Twitter lists? Is there anything about lists that you don’t understand? Sharre your own tips here on how to get onto other people’s lists.

When you land a big story in a magazine, it’s all too easy to become giddy with excitement, and miss doing the hard work necessary to “publicize the publicity” and turn one media hit into what can become multiple hits.

Order Reprints
You never know when you might need reprints of the article.  So it would be worth your while to order as many copies of the June issue of Golf Digest as you can afford, or see if the magazine sells reprints.  Many larger magazines have reprint services.
   
Pitch the Inflight Magazines
The target audience for these publications—business people and frequent travelers—is perfect for you!  How about offering the magazines a list of tips on how golfers can lose weight?  In your pitch, mention the June article.
  
Here’s a powerful tip for really catching the editor’s attention. If you helped a golfer from an area that’s served by the magazine, mention it in your pitch. For example, if you worked with an Australian golfer who’s fairly well-known, mention that when you pitch Qantas magazine, which serves Australia. 
  

I’ve been inundated with questions from Publicity Hounds about how to use Twitter lists. 

Lists are all the rage right now, for so many reasons.

They save you time two major ways. First, they help you categorize, group and isolate the tweets of people within a specific industry, niche or topic so you don’t have to search through your miles-long Twitter feed for their tweets. Lists also one of the most powerful research tools on the planet if you’re looking for experts within a niche. 
  
They help you spy on your competitors and let you know instantly which influential people they’re following on Twitter. Lists also help position you as an expert in your field. I’m on 660 lists, many devoted to the topics of PR, publicity and social media.  That’s a ton of free advertising!

When I host the webinar How to Use Twitter Lists & Directories to Generate Publicity and Build Your Brand on Thursday, Aug. 26, I’ll be discussing and illustrating dozens of tips, including these five ways to use Twitter lists in a publicity or PR campaign. You can use some of these tips even if you aren’t tweeting:

1. Save hours of time researching  journalists, broadcasters, Internet radio hosts, freelancers, beat reporters, editors and others by looking for lists that other people on Twitter have created. Within seconds, you can even find lists of journalists in specific cities, like this list of Milwaukee media that Tom Snyder, president of a Milwaukee web design company, created on Twitter. (You can do this even if you aren’t tweeting.)
     
2.  Want to get in front of influential bloggers who write about a particular topic? Save hours of time by finding them on Twitter lists that other people have created. (You can do this even if you aren’t tweeting.) 
     
3.  If your favorite journalists, or journalists who you want to notice you, are on Twitter, and you have a Twitter account, create a “(Fill in the blank) Journalists” list  and add them. If you have a food-related story to pitch, for example, and you want to get in front of food journalists, add them to a “Favorite Food Journalists” list. And then let them know you’ve done so. They’ll be flattered. This is a great way to start a relationship with journalists before you pitch them. 
      
4. Position yourself as a super-valuable source. Let journalists or bloggers who are interviewing you know about Twitter lists you’ve created where they can find other sources on a specific topic. They’ll love you for doing this!
      
5. Pull journalists to your Twitter profile by including links to your own Twitter lists in your online media room.

I’ll be sharing more tips like these, and giving you step-by-step directions on how to use Twitter lists and directories, during the webinar. If you can’t make it, register anyway and I’ll send you the replay link where you can watch the video, as well as the MP3 link if you’d rather listen on your iPod.

As a special bonus, you’ll also get my special report “How to Use Twitter for Business to Network, Promote, Sell, Recruit & Profit.”

This webinar is filling up fast because Twitter lists are such a hot topic. Hope to see you there.

If you’re new to hosting webinars, the team at SocialBrite.org has a very helpful summary of 10 steps for planning a successful webinar.

It includes nine ways to promote your webinar. I took their list and added to it. Most of these ideas will also work when promoting teleseminars. Here’s their list of suggestions on how to promote:

1. At your website.

2. On online event calendars such as Upcoming.com

3. Relevant listservs

4. In print and online newsletters

5. On Twitter channels

6. In Facebook groups

7. As a local event for nonprofits (SocialBrite.org specializes in teaching social media to nonprofits).

8. On Web pages that promote webinars in your industry.

9. At the end of current webinars.

Here are my own ideas

I added to their list and came up with 12 of my own ideas:

10. On Craigslist, but only on the list for the city that’s closest to where you live. (See How to Use Craigslist as a Global Publicity Tool.)

11. In the events or calendar sections in traditional media, including newspapers, magazines, trade journals and business journals.

12. In an online press release. (See Keywords: The Magic Magnets That Pull Consumers & Journalists to Your Press Releases.)

13.  On the websites of local newspapers, magazines, radio and TV stations.

14. In videos, where you can excerpt tips and lead viewers to the sign-up page. Upload the video to video sharing-sharing sites.

15. At your guest experts’ blogs, at their websites, in their newsletters, and on their social media sites.

16. Create an Event on Facebook, and share with your Friends and Fans. (See 11 Ways to Avoid Missed Opportunities on Facebook)

17. In an email blast to your opt-in list, and the lists of your guest experts.

18. In a podcast.

19. At the end of a quiz you create around the topic of the webinar.

20. In targeted ads on Facebook and LinkedIn.

21. If you have an affiliate program, encourage your affiliates to promote the event, using their affiliate links.

Add to this list

Did I miss any? How do you promote your webinars and teleseminars, and which are the most effective?

What about paid ads? Have you used them,
and are they effective?

My Next Webinar: How to Use Twitter Lists

I’m presenting “How to Use Twitter Lists to Generate Publicity & Build Your Brand” at 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, Aug. 26.   This one-hour webinar is perfect for anyone who hasn’t yet started using Twitter lists, or for Twitter users who aren’t sure how to get the most out of their lists.

Everyone who attends will also receive a bonus special report I wrote on “How to Use Twitter for Business to Network, Promote, Sell, Recruit & Profit,” a $10 value, as well as slides of the PowerPoint presentation I’m using for the video, a link for the streaming video and the video download, and the MP3 recording.  So if the time is inconvenient for you, register anyway and you can watch it afterward at a time most convenient for you.

Register here.

The next time you’re looking for a topic for your blog, ask yourself these three questions, suggested by small business marketing coach Sydni Craig-Hart in 5 Simple Steps to Generate Relevant Content for Your Blog:

1. What’s keeping your clients up at night?
 
2. What’s the biggest challenge or problem they’re facing right now?

 3. What information and resources do you have to share to make their lives easier?

Here’s what I love about those questions. 

For each one, you can probably come up with more than one answer. Three answers equals three blog separate blog posts. Eight answers? Eight posts. 

Here are four more questions I’d like you to consider when trying to find content:

4. What question have I received from someone recently in my email?

Pay attention to ALL questions in your email. When you answer, cut and paste it into a new blog entry, and then elaborate and, if appropriate, link to resources.  

5. What’s the most frequent question beginners in my niche are asking? If I’m a speaker, I’d ask myself, what’s the Number One question that beginners in my audiences are asking? 

Keep a running tally of all these questions, and use them when you need blog content. Never assume that just because you know the answer, it isn’t interesting to others who follow you.

6. What’s the one issue I’m struggling with right now and searching for the answer?  

When I can’t find the answer to a question, I go to LinkedIn and ask. Sometimes, only one or two people respond. But often, I receive several great answers that can be woven into a blog post. I’m suddenly smarter, and so are my readers.  I’m careful to explain within the LinkedIn question that I want to blog about the issue.

7. What’s the “hot new thing” or controversial topic in my industry that everybody wants to know about? For example, people in my audience, mostly self-promoters, want to know what they need to do to get a great return on their investment of time with social media. They might know how to use Facebook. But they want to know how to use Facebook to make money. 

Patsi Krakoff, who was my guest expert on the teleseminar Time-saving Tips for Smart Business Blogging, partnered with me to create a list of 101 ways to find content for your blog, a handout we offered to teleseminar participants.

Here’s a sneek peek at six more ideas on that handout:

8. Invite your followers to ask you questions. Answer them at your blog. Become “The Answer Man” or “The Answer Woman.”  

9. Find inspiration in photos. Browse through photos on a site like iStockPhoto.com. Look for a cute animal photo, or a funny image, or a photo that makes you think, and write a post around it.

10. Industry definitions. Create a list of industry definitions, particularly those that confuse people.

11. Visit Craigslist. You might find interesting workshops, press releases or other material worth a comment in the small business, community or events categories for the cities nearest you. (See How to Use Craigslist as a Global Publicity Tool.)

12. Don’t do it all yourself. Recruit a guest blogger on BloggerLinkup.com.

13. Show readers both sides of an issue. Write about the advantages/disadvantages of something.

How about adding to the list? How do you find content for your blog?

Everything you say online reflects on your reputation.

By Phyllis Zimbler Miller
Guest Blogger

And while some people might say “What’s the big deal?” about incorrectly spelled words, some people who read your tweets might think you’re careless with other things too, such as their business needs if they were your clients.
     
    
Off-limits: Swear words, off-color comments and slang 

I personally was taken aback when a person for whom I was about to write a guest post called me “mate” in an email.  In my perception, “mate” has a very particular meaning, and it’s not that positive.  I nicely pointed out to him that I was rather surprised by the use of the term.

I thought this an extremely reasonable strategy.  I did not “put down” the other person’s answer, but I did share my own opinion with the person who asked the question.

And this advice definitely includes the photos you post.  For example, whether you believe in Facebook’s privacy settings (which are changed, it seems, almost on a daily basis), do NOT post a picture of yourself holding a bottle of beer in each hand and looking the worse for wear.  Of course, this advice is even more so for videos on YouTube.

Regardless of whether you think such photos or videos are in “good fun,” your brand or business does not need to take hits from such missteps on your part.

  
Phyllis Zimbler Miller (@ZimblerMiller on Twitter) has an M.B.A. from The Wharton School and is the co-founder of the social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing.  The company has a monthly mentorship program that focuses on social media marketing, WordPress websites/blogs and email marketing.

By now, you’ve probably read most of the arguments on why companies should be blogging.

But here’s one you don’t read about very much.

Blogging makes you smarter. And that goes for your employees, too, if they’re posting to your blog.

Almost every time I write here,  I do research, even if it’s simply Googling the topic I want to write about. That usually leads me to a few websites I check out before I start to write.

Other simple research includes double-checking names, searching for the exact definition of words if I’m unsure of their meaning, and reading other bloggers’ posts if they’ve written about my topic.
   
  
What blogging forces you to do

Here are 7 other ways blogging can make you and your employees smarter (use this for ammo with your boss):

1. Good bloggers know they are accountable for what they write. So they check and double-check facts until they’re confident that what they’ve written is correct. I learned this the hard way when I was sued for defamation. 
       
2. Linking to outside resources from your blog is a valuable service to readers. But you can’t link to garbage. You have to find quality content. That takes time. During your search, you can stumble onto other meaty topics that are also worthy of blog posts—and learn a few new facts along the way.
       
3. Employees who are well trained in business blogging will repeatedly communicate to readers the company’s key message. And they won’t forget it. 
      
   One of my corporate clients, who will be recruiting a group of employees to post to the company’s new blog that I’m helping them create, asked about how to make the blog posts cohesive. Easy. Make sure everyone in the company, not just the bloggers, understands the company’s key message and incorporates it into their posts.  Each blogger can write in his or her own voice. That will make the blog more interesting. But the message should be consistent.     
     
4. Blogging is a smart way for writers to learn about other departments within the company, and vendors too.  If you work in customer service and blog about what’s happening in your department, you may not give a hoot about the vendor that prints the paper bags in your bricks-and-mortar stores, until somebody calls you to complain that the ink from the bag bled onto her white skirt when she was walking in the rain.  If you’re writing about how your company will solve that problem, you’ll most likely be calling the vendor to see if they can use a different type of ink.
    
5. You’ll learn a lot from people who leave comments at your blog, including people who complain about your products and services. Even though this post lists six ways blogging makes you smarter, I’m betting somebody will comment and add one more reason to my list. Or, perhaps, a complaint. Better they list it here than someplace else.
      
6. Really good bloggers respond to comments. For me, that sometimes means even more research. It’s also means, occasionally, admitting I was wrong when somebody points out something dumb that I said.
     
7. You’ll know what other people are saying about you when they link to your blog posts. You can then comment at their blogs, mention your expertise, and get a backlink to your corporate blog, thus driving more traffic.

How has blogging made you smarter?

What about you? How has blogging made you or employees within your company smarter?

Does your company give employees the time to research topics?  Do you encourage employees to go outside the company to find information? Have you found any super-helpful online research tools?

I love exposing readers of this blog to new viewpoints related to publicity, even if  they disagree with mine.

Topics can include anything dealing with traditional publicity to reviews for books and products that deal with publicity, online marketing, self-promotion or social media. I’m not interested in posts that aren’t related to those topics.

Truth is, I wish more people offered to write for this blog.

And I’d like to hear what you have to say. Here, then, are the guidelines you should follow if you want to write a guest post.

Read the blog!

Don’t  even think of pitching an idea to me unless you’re familiar with the content here.

Take a quick peek at the topic categories by clicking on the arrow next to the blue “Topics” bar in the right margin.  Click on a category and you’ll see a long list of all the topics within that category that I’ve already written about.

If I’ve already covered it, I’m probably not interested in your pitch, unless what you will say is substantially different than what I’ve already covered, or if you’re providing updated information or taking a contrarian viewpoint.    
   
Original content only

I only want content that hasn’t appeared elsewhere online. Please don’t pitch one of your recycled blog posts, or an article or post you’ve written for someone else’s website. Original content will guarantee that the search engines give this blog credit for what you’ve written.

Why should you write original content for me when you can just as easily write it for your own blog? Because my blog, which gets about 10,000 visitors a month, will expose you to many people who don’t already know about you.

Pitch before you write

Don’t send me anything unless we’ve discussed it by phone or email.

If I like your topic, I may want you to touch on a particular sub-topic that would interest my readers. I love talking to potential guest bloggers by phone, so don’t hesitate to call me at 262-284-7451 or email at JStewart (at) PublicityHound.com.

Explain your expertise

Be ready to answer the question, “What makes you an expert on this topic?”  Have you written a book about it? Do you speak on it? Are you a coach?     
 
What visuals can you offer?

Let me know if you have a photo, map, bar chart, graphic, drawing or cartoon to accompany your guest post. You must own the rights to whatever content you are offering me.  I almost always use a photo or graphic for my posts. So don’t make me work hard to find one.
   
I will also need your above-the-shoulders business photo.
       
Show me samples of your writing

If I like your pitch, I’ll want to see a sample of other things you’ve written. I worked as a newspaper coach for many years, and my standards are pretty high.   Please provide three samples to give me a good idea of your writing style.

Make it easy for me to work with you

I usually don’t give guest bloggers a deadline, and I can work around your schedule. But if you promise me copy by a certain date, please keep your promise. And don’t be a prima donna.

Guidelines for editing and rewriting

I edit as little as possible. But if I think you need to rewrite the post, I’ll ask you to do so and make specific suggestions. I edit out all obscenities and inappropriate content.

Please help me promote your work

When your guest post appears here, I’d be grateful if you’d try to pull traffic by tweeting the link and sharing it on Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media sites.

Stay in touch

If you think your guest post was a win-win for both of us, stay in touch, and please pitch another idea several months later.  And, by all means, please encourage others who you think would make terrific buest bloggers to pitch me, too.

Mickie Kennedy’s excellent post Blog commenting for PR–do’s and dont’s, reminded me about something that every smart Publicity Hound do. 

State your expertise whenever you comment.

For example, if I’m commenting on a post about how to write well, I’ll start by saying…”As a publicity expert who worked as a newspaper writing coach for many years, I disagree with….”

Here are ways to state your expertise:

• Have you written a book on the topic?  If so, say so.
    
• Are you a speaker or trainer?
      
• Are you a consultant?
     
• Have you written more than two dozen articles on the topic?
    
• Do you have a Facebook Fan page devoted to this topic and does it have a large number of fans? (Be sure to link.) 

Mentioning this just might tempt people to click the link.

When Patsi Krakoff was my guest expert on the webinar “Time-saving Tips for Smart Business Blogging,” she mentioned the value of comments, especially for people who don’t yet have blogs. I spend as much time as possible commenting at other people’s blogs. In a few instances, the bloggers have liked the comments so much that they extended an invitation to me to be a guest blogger.

How much time  do you spend comnmenting at blogs? Have you seen a good return on your investment of time? If so, what has happened as a result?

News is breaking all around you.

Here are 6 tips on how to generate publicity from breaking news.

Update: We’ll be discussing these tips and many others during the webinar “How to Tie Your Story Pitch to Breaking News and Make the Media Interview YOU” tomorrow, Wednesday, July 21.

1. The local angle. If you’re the “local angle” to a national breaking news story, let the media know.  Example: Coffee prices nationwide skyrocket.  You own a coffee bar.  How will you deal with the price increase?  Let your local newspapers and TV stations know. (This blog has an entire sub-category on the local angle.)