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Wanted: Tips to publicize ebook for college students

5/4/2010 By Joan 4 Comments

College woman resting her head on a pile of booksKatie Schwartz Chattanooga, TN, asks:

“What are some ways to reach education reporters, or parents of students about to enter college?

“I have written an ebook called Portable Parent for parents and college students, with advice the students need on life skills such as time and money management, as well as much more.  Parents download it, add their input and upload it to the students’ computers so the advice is ready when they are.  Instant info, with a parent’s input, 24/7.  How can I publicize this?”

(Shutterstock photo)

Filed Under: Authors & Publishers, Information Products Tagged With: , , , , ,

9 of 10 pet owners say ‘I love you’ to their dogs & cats

5/1/2010 By Joan Leave a Comment

muscular man kissing his dogIf you have a dog or cat, I’m betting that, at least once, you’ve looked it in the eyes and said “I love you.”

That’s because a clever survey by Iams, the pet food company, showed that 91 percent of customers it contacted several years ago admitted whispering those three little words to their furry friends.

The company wisely publicized the survey results to coincide with Valentine’s Day.  Hundreds of newspapers, magazines and TV and radio stations picked up the story.

Surveys on topics that are fun, edgy, heart-warming, controversial, timely or compelling can generate mountains of publicity.  They can also do something else.

They can tell you EXACTLY what products and services your customers want and EXACTLY how much they’d be willing to pay for them.

Surveys have been the best-kept secret among Publicity Hounds and successful entrepreneurs–the cute little trick that has boosted PR campaigns and let top marketers create products to order, get proof to convert prospects and keep customers buying, and find the ticking time bombs in our businesses before they explode.

Let the Survey Expert Help You

Jeanne Hurlbert, survey expertMy business partner, Jeanne Hurlbert, PhD, is one of the world’s foremost survey experts.  She’s so good at surveys that she’s helped people like The Tony Robbins Companies, Ali Brown, and Joe Polish.  She also created my own customer profile survey last spring, and I’m using the results as a roadmap to guide my business.

She and Mike Koenigs are hosting a webinar called “Your Cash-Generating Crystal Ball: How to Use Simple Surveys to Read Your Prospects’ and Customers’ Minds, Build Lists, Create Products, and Make Money.”  It will be at 2 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, May 4.

They’ll show you how to jumpstart your business by putting your publicity, and your profits, on steroids.

And if you don’t HAVE a business yet, the news is just as good: They’ll help you start one, create products that generate revenue, and build your email list, in as little as 2 weeks.

You will learn:

  • How you can use your own surveys and other people’s surveys to generate buzz in traditional media and social media.
  • How you can create and use good data that will capture the media’s attention and tie into your expertise.
  • The 3 key questions that can build a bond and trust with your customers, and spell the difference between falling victim to this economy or making a fortune from it.
  • How the first question can increase your click-through and conversion rates by as much as 45%–and how the next big wave in social media can let you increase those conversions even more.
  • How the second question will let you create products to order and how you can make your customers feel so invested in those products they’ll beg to buy them.
  • How the third question can generate 3 forms of “social proof” that convert prospects and keep customers buying, over and over.
  • Why thousands of online marketers are leaving money on the table and risking trouble with the FTC by relying on testimonials for social proof.
  • How you can use 3 simple skills to ramp up your profits through social networking, social media, and surveys.

And then, she and Mike will explain the secret weapon that lets you know who your prospects are, what they want and how they think.

Sign up here now.

P. S. When you sign up, you get 2 special reports—and one is about how a survey transformed my business.  On the call, Jeanne and Mike are giving away two things to five lucky winners: a cool new product that will be sold for at least $97 and another helpful special report.

(Shutterstock photo)

Filed Under: Business Promotion, Holidays, Information Products, Magazine Publicity, Newspaper Publicity, Pitching the Media, Press Releases/News Releases, Radio Publicity, TV 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: , ,

Why I don’t worry about people giving away ebooks I sell

2/17/2010 By Joan 5 Comments

Cover of How to be a Kick-butt Publicity HoundTwice this week, people who want to create ebooks but are afraid that the content will be plagiarized, or that their customers will give the ebooks to their friends, asked me how I prevent that from happening to my own ebooks.

I don’t worry about it. Period.

With one slight exception. When you turn a document into a PDF, the security settings allow you to prohibit people from cutting and pasting the text. I always do this to prevent someone from stealing my content and turning it into an article with their byline. They can retype what I’ve written, of course, but preventing cutting and pasting makes plagiarizing more difficult.

But if people are able to download the ebook and save it to their hard drive, there’s nothing I can do to prevent them from passing it along to their friends. Let’s say somebody passes along my ebook, How to be a Kick-butt Publicity Hound, shown here.


Lots of reasons not to fret

  • Throughout the ebook, I include links to sales pages where I sell related products. If somebody who has received it for free clicks on one of those links and buys a product, I win.
  • Ditto for links to other people’s products and services that I sell for a commission. If somebody who has not bought the book clicks on a link and buys a product from a vendor who pays me a commission, I win.
  • My ebooks include a list of “Recommended Resources” at the end of each book. Many of these resources are products and services I sell for a commission. I only include products and services from vendors I know, and that I can stand behind 100 percent.
  • My ebooks also include a list of places where readers can find lots of free content, like my free “The Best of The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week” ebooks. Every December, I give away a free ebook filled with the best two dozen tips from that year’s ezines. I encourage people to regift the book to their friends. Every item includes links to my own products, or to products and services I sell for a commission. I’ve even written about 12 ways you can use my free ebooks.
  • The person who gets an ebook that somebody else bought might not know me. Because my ebooks are content-rich, the reader might think, “This is pretty good stuff. I wonder what else she has at her website?”

When creating your ebook, think of all the ways you can use that book to sell other things. Build in links to your website, links to product pages, links back to your blog, affiliate links, and links to places where a reader can find more free content by opting in with their name and email address.

I always include references to my free ezine, “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week,” and tell people how to subscribe. If somebody who gets the ebook for free subscribes to my ezine, I now have their email address. Again, I win.

Authors and publishers, particularly those who publish printed books and other materials, have taken me to task for this attitude, but that’s OK. Let them spend time worrying about how to protect their content. I’d rather spend my time creating more helpful content that my readers might pass along to someone who doesn’t know me.


Am I wrong?

If you publish ebooks, how do you deal with this “problem”? Do you think I’m wrong?

By the way, if you’re looking for content for your blog, pay attention to questions that people are asking you. This blog post originated because two people asked me the same question. If you want more ideas on how to find blog content, see “Time-saving Tips for Smart Business Blogging,” a teleseminar I hosted a few weeks ago with blogging expert Patsi Krakoff.

One of the handouts includes 101 ways to find content for your blog. Here’s a list of 9 easy places to find content for your blog, from those handouts.



Filed Under: Authors & Publishers, Blogs, Information Products Tagged With: , ,

12 ways to use my free ebook of publicity tips

1/5/2010 By Joan 2 Comments

Ebook cover: The Best of The Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week Have you claimed your copy of “The Best of The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week of 2009″ yet?

It not, grab it here. You’ll find the 26 tips that generated the most response from readers of my ezine last year. 

I give away this ebook each year, and my readers eagerly look forward to it. Many of them regift the book to their own friends and followers. And the big attaction is that anyone can access the ebook. You don’t have to opt in with your name and email address. 

What will you learn in this book? Plenty.

For example, I explain how to create your own day, week or month of the year. You’ll learn about lots of tricks and tools for participating at the social media sites. Read about 10 dead or dying PR tactics. 

And for Publicity Hounds who are looking to connect with journalists, I’ve given you several resources.  The book will help you, regardless of what business or nonprofit you’re in. 

Use the ebook one of these 12 ways:

  1. Create a Facebook note, and excerpt the entire tip. Use the photo along with the text, and you’ve got a nice little item that your followers and fans will love. Christine Buffaloe discussed Facebook notes when she was my guest during a teleseminar on “11 Ways to Avoid Missed Opportunities on Facebook.” 
         
  2. No time for a Note? Write about it and share the link (http://tinyurl.com/bestof2009tips) in a Facebook status update.
        
  3. Write about it in a LinkedIn status update.
         
  4. Blog about the book, and include your own success story that ties into one of the tips. 
         
  5. Offer the ebook as a bonus along with other products and services you’re selling.
        
  6. Give it to your clients and customers.
        
  7. Mention it at your weekly staff meetings.
        
  8. Add it to the Free Articles page at your website.
        
  9. Give it away to the winner of a contest you’re sponsoring.  
          
  10. Offer the ebook as a freebie to help you capture names and email addresses at your website. 
       
  11. Create a video that discusses the ebook and upload it to your website or to YouTube, then share that with your social media friends and followers.
       
  12. Include the link  (http://tinyurl.com/bestof2009tips) in a book you’re writing, or in handouts you’re using for a speaking engagement.

What about you? Have you thought of any other clever ways to use the ebook? If so, share them here. I’d love to hear them.

Filed Under: Authors & Publishers, Blogs, Contests, Facebook, Holidays, Information Products, LinkedIn, Nonprofits, Pitching the Media, Publicity on the Internet, Social media marketing, Twitter, YouTube Tagged With: , , ,
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