You are here: Home / Contests

Need a clever tagline? Learn from nonprofits Taggies contest

7/3/2010 By Joan 3 Comments

Taglines, those pithy one-liners that follow the name of an organization, can let people know within two seconds what your organization does and how it helps them.

Yet too many companies don’t have a tagline because they can’t think of something clever.

If that’s you, Nancy Schwartz’s 2010 Tagline Contest for Nonprofits will inspire you. Nancy is a nonprofit marketing expert, and she’s sponsoring the third annual Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Award (a.k.a. The Taggies).

Nancy Schwartz, nonprofit marketing expert“A strong tagline does double-duty—working to extend your organization’s name and mission, while delivering a focused, memorable and repeatable message to your base. It’s one of your most basic, and effective, marketing tools, but a GettingAttention.org survey showed that 72% of nonprofit organizations don’t have a tagline or rate theirs as performing poorly.”

You can see a complete list of 2008 and 2009 tagline winners here.

These are some of my favorites:

Montana Historical Society:
Big Sky.  Big Land.  Big History.

Texas Nonprofits:
Building community deep in the hearts of Texans

The United Negro College Fund:
A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste ®

PA Breast Cancer Coalition:
Finding a curenow…so our daughters won’t have to

Nothing But Nets:
Send a net.  Save a life.

Homeboy Industries:
Nothing Stops A Bullet Like A Job

NYC Theatre Spaces:
Where Actors Find Their Space

If you want to enter this year’s competition, turn it into a fun contest for your organization. Ask your employees, volunteers and others to submit ideas for the your tagline, and then award a prize for the best one. Once you’ve chosen it, enter it in the 2010 Taggies contest.

Do you have a clever tagline? If so, share it here.

Filed Under: Contests, Nonprofits Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Fiction authors: Blog about these 19 topics

5/12/2010 By Joan 6 Comments
The most fun thing in my office: A miniature replica of my first car, nicknamed “The White Tornado”

Fiction writers often struggle with what to write about at their blogs.

Help is on the way.

Check out these five ideas specifically for fiction writers, at the Writer’s Digest blog. Be sure read all the comments where more ideas are buried.
    
Here are 19 of my own ideas, most of which work just as well for  non-fiction writers.
    
Print this list and tack it to your bulletin board, so you’ll never be lacking for something to write about:
  1. What writing problems do you struggle with, and how do you solve them?
        
  2. Share fun facts about geographic locations where your romance novels or other fiction takes place.
        
  3. Pay attention to questions people are emailing you. Often, these are great fodder for a blog. (Excerpted from the handout “101 Ways to Find Content for Your Blog” from the teleseminar Time-saving Tips for Smart Business Blogging.)
        
  4. What’s the most unusual thing in your office that inspires, entertains or humors you?  Make sure to include the photograph when you post.  Mine is a miniature replica of my first car: a 1962 white Chevy Nova we affectionately nicknamed “The White Tornado.”
        
  5. What sparks your creativity?
        
  6. Who is your hero?  And why?
        
  7. What one event in your childhood had the greatest effect on your writing career?
        
  8. If you weren’t doing what you do today, what other job would you have?
       
  9. Who is your best friend, and what do you like best about him or her?  List your best friend’s favorite books. How do they compare to yours?
        
  10. What “lesson from mom” do you still live by today?
        
  11. What’s the one thing you want to accomplish, or write about, before you die?
        
  12. If you could spend a week anywhere in the world, where would it be?  Would you write or read there, or do something else?
        
  13. Do you have a pet that keeps you company when you write?  If so, write about him or her.  Has your pet taught you anything about writing?  If so, what?
        
  14. What’s the worst writing mistake you ever made that taught you a valuable lesson?
        
  15. What’s the most unusual place you have visited?
        
  16. What’s the most unusual book you’ve read that’s made a lasting impression on you?
        
  17. If you could have a quiet dinner with just one author, who would you choose?
        
  18. Create a survey that’s related to the topic of your book and share it with readers.  Report the results.
        
  19. Create a fun quiz about one of your books and award a cool prize.

Finally, the very best free tool for finding content for your blog is Google Alerts. Create one or more alerts using keywords or keyword phrases that tie into the topics you write about. You’ll have so many ideas for blog posts that you’ll wonder how you ever worried about finding enough.

Authors, what do you blog about? Which posts elicit the greatest number of comments from your readers?

Filed Under: Authors & Publishers, Blogs, Contests, YouTube Tagged With: , , , ,

Magazine turns typo in an ad into a contest

4/5/2010 By Joan 1 Comment

Texas dog and cat magazine coverHere’s a great example of how to generate publicity from an embarrassing mistake.

When the editors of Texas Dogs & Cats magazine discovered a typo in a paid ad in the April issue, they invited readers to find the typo. Everyone who emails the editor with the correct answer gets a coupon for $5 off an order of $10 or more.

Brilliant.

Deadline for entries is April 30.

It reminds me of a story I heard several  years ago about an author who discovered a missing line from her book after it had been published. She invited writers to write their own line to replace the one that was missing, and awarded a prize to the winner.

Does anyone know who the author was? What about embarrassing mistakes in your own work? Have you turned it into a contest?  If so, tell us how.

Filed Under: Advertising, Contests, Magazine Publicity Tagged With: , ,

How have my publicity tips helped you? Win $500 in prizes

3/23/2010 By Joan 16 Comments

Jack Russell with trophy and gold medalHow has my free ezine, “The Best of The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week,” changed your life or your business?

That’s the question you should answer if you want to win $500 in products or consulting services from me.

Why $500? Because I’m doing this to promote Issue 500 of my newsletter, which I’ll publish on April 13.

Last week, I asked you for help on how to promote the 500th issue, and got several excellent suggestions. This promotion combines two ideas submitted by Publicity Hounds Diana Ennen and Kathy Slattengren.


The rules

  • Answer this question in 200 words or fewer: What new publicity tactics do you use as a result of reading my publicity tips and what results did you experience from them? (You may link to a newspaper article/TV show clip). PR pros can discuss ideas they used for their clients.
  • The 10 best entries I receive will be put to a vote by Publicity Hound readers (people will only be able to vote once).  The more helpful the tips in the entries, the better chance they will have at making the ballot. Blatant commercials that just promote you or your business won’t make the cut.
  • The winner gets a choice of $500 in products or consulting services, or both.
  • All entries become property of The Publicity Hound and can be used as testimonials at my website or blog.

And a Free Ebook of Ideas…

Now, I’ll sweeten the deal. All entries that adhere to the rules will be compiled into a free ebook that I’ll offer to all my readers, and I’ll encourage them to pass it along to their friends, followers and connections on the social media sites.

That’s a TON of publicity for you, with a link to your website or blog, if you participate and share a great entry.  Again, don’t enter if all you can offer is a free commercial or I won’t approve your comment or include you in the ebook. I want a success story and an explanation of how the tip worked for you.

Have at it, Hounds. Post your comments below. Next week, I’ll explain how to vote.

Filed Under: Business Promotion, Contests, Information Products, Social media marketing Tagged With: , ,

How can I promote issue Number 500 of my free newsletter?

3/16/2010 By Joan 6 Comments

The Publicity HoundAlmost every Tuesday during the last decade, my readers and I have been sharing our best tips in “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week.”

If it’s Tuesday, and it’s Christmas, the ezine arrives via email on Christmas Day and the other 51 weeks of the year.

On April 16 this year, I’ll published Edition Number 500, and I’m looking for a clever promotion or contest that will engage current readers, create a buzz on the social media sites, and attract new subscribers.

Because I’m knee-deep in three other projects, I’m not even sure I’ll have time to pull this off. But I’d be crazy not to ask my Hounds for help.

What can I do to promote the newsletter, pull in new readers, attract attention for the archived issues, encourage people to submit questions for Help this Hound, and make this a really fun celebration?

Filed Under: Authors & Publishers, Business Promotion, Contests, Publicity Resources, Publicity on the Internet Tagged With: , ,
« Older Posts