If your online pressroom looks anything like mine did about two hours ago, it’s time to drag out the dust mask, the Shop-Vac® and maybe even a garbage dumpster.

I found so much outdated information and ancient publicity photos in the pressrooms at my website and at the PressRoom247 site that I almost didn’t recognize myself! And then it dawned on me that the current photo at this blog is about a decade old. That, too, is being replaced. 

Here’s a list of some of things to look for in you rown pressroom, including some not-so-obvious things that might escape your attention. 
     
     
Old Photos

I trashed most of my 10-year-old photos and replaced them with the 2010 versions. All the old ones will disappear when my website eventually moves over to this blog in a few months. I’ll do a wholesale cleaning after the transition. But for now, at least the really old  content is gone.

You may love that photo of yourself taken 15 years ago sans the baggy eyes and gray hair. But trying to pass yourself off as somebody who looks a lot younger than you do now is disengenuous. Besides, it makes people who know you and see the old photos wonder, “If his photos are that outdated, I wonder what else at his website is out of date?” (Please contact me if you find old photos of me at my website.)
     
     
Old Addresses, Phone Numbers and Fax Numbers

I found one old address, and a fax number that was disconnected two years ago. Try typing an old phone number or address into Google and see what comes up in the search results. If the old number is at your own website, update it!
     
    
Email Addresses

Scour your site, not just your pressroom, for any old email addresses that need to be removed.
     
     
Awards and Other Bragging Rights

Does your profile include an industry award you received recently? What about that major publicity hit from a few months ago? Have you mentioned it and linked to the article or the broadcast clip?

Does your bio mention the new books you’ve published? If not, add them. 
     
    
Out-of-date Products & New Product Sites

I found several references to products I’ve pulled from my inventory. 

If you’re an artist, you might have started selling products at sites like Etsy. If you write, you might sell ebooks for the Kindle at Amazon.com, or for the Nook at BarnesandNoble.com. There’s nothing wrong with linking to those sites.

   
Logos, Taglines and Other Branding
  
If you’ve introduced new elements like a logo or tagline to your marketing, make sure they’re part of the pressroom. Nothing would be more embarrassing than to be featured in a two-page spread in a magazine, with your old logo right there at the top of the page. 

Journalists don’t always take time to double-check these things. Smart Publicity Hounds do.
    
    
Links to Social Media Profiles 

Let people know where they can follow you on sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Quora. Do you have photos and slideshows at Flickr? 

Have you created Squidoo lenses or HubPages? And don’t forget the link to your Google profile. 
     
    
Your Ezine and Blog

Remember that journalists and others might be entering your website from your pressroom, not necessarily from your homepage. If so, will they know that you blog and that they can subscribe to the RSS feed?

Will they know that they can subscribe to your ezine? I need to add a sign-up box for my ezine to my pressroom. What a great way to stay in touch with journalists!
     
    
Other Free Content

Do  you have a podcast or online radio show? Have you written articles for sites like EzineArticles.com? 

I’m even thinking of adding a section where visitors can find several guest posts I’ve written at other blogs, including this one on 17 Freebies  That Build Thought Leadership, one of the Top 10 posts at The Distributed Marketing Blog.
     
    
What Have I Missed?

Go ahead. Inspect your own pressroom right now and comment below on what you’ve found that’s outdated. Or let us know what you’ve added.

When you’re pitching the media, don’t spend all your time crafting your pitch.

Think about how to weave what I call the “10 Magic Phrases” into a telephone conversation, email interview or face-to-face chat with journalists and bloggers. I’ve printed the questions on handy notepads and I use them whenever a reporter calls, or when I contact a journalist or blogger.

You could also use some of these questions when a journalist or blogger calls you for an interview, but you’re not an appropriate source. If you can help them, even if you won’t be quoted, you’ll make a good impression, and they’ll remember you.   
   
  
The 10 Magic Phrases:  

1. “Is this a good time to talk?”

Asking this question shows you’re considerate of their deadlines. If it’s not a good time,  they’ll tell you. Ask when you can call back, and follow their directions to the letter.
     
    
2. ”Do you need other sources for this story (or blog post)?”

The more you can help a journalist or blogger find people to interview, the more they will view you as a valuable source. Be ready with two or three other sources, including contact information, you can offer them. Make certain, however, that those people agree to be interviewed.
     
    
3. “What other information do you need?”

Sometimes journalists and bloggers might not need more sources. They might need statistics, the definition of a word or phrase used in your industry, White Papers or research on a certain topic, or other data to round out their article or blog post. If you can provide it, you become an even more valuable source.
     
    
4. “How can I help you”?

Almost nobody asks this qusetion. Most people who pitch journalists and bloggers are too busy delivering their pitch. Asking “How can I help you?” is often an excellent way to start a relationship with someone who you want to eventually use you as a source. When they start talking, listen!    
     
    
5. “Would you like my press kit?”

Your press kit should include information that many journalists and bloggers can access, without spending valuable interview time acquiring it. 

Things like a short and long version of your bio, facts about your industry or company, frequently asked questions, links where they can follow you on the social media sites, and a place where they can download photos like your professional head shot and photos of your products will go a long way toward ensuring accuracy. 

Offer the link to your online press kit. Never, ever send hard-copy press kits to journalists or bloggers without asking their permission. 
     
     
6. “I can provide a (map, pie chart, illustration or other graphic).”

Graphics are sometimes an afterthought, particularly among beginning journalists and bloggers. The best time to offer this is immediately after an interview.  You might have a map that shows people how to get to your event. Or a pie chart that helps people better understand a complicated topic. Or a graphic that would really dress up a long article. 

Make sure these are available in whatever format the journalist or blogger requests.
   
  
7. “Are you looking for photo ideas?”
   
Photos, too, are sometimes an afterthought.  If you can save a journalists or blogger time tracking down photos, you’ve scored even more points.  

Smaller publications, like weekly newspapers that have limited photo staffs, will sometimes publish photos you’ve taken. My ebook, How to Use Photos & Graphics in Your Publicity Campaign,  explains everything you need to know on how to take great photos and share them with your media contacts. 

Gina Spadafori, who has been writing primarily about pets and their care for almost 30 years as a syndicated columnist and author, has told me she’s had problems finding good publicity photos to fill a small hole on a page. “The availability of high-quality, high-resolution art can tip a ‘maybe’ item into the ‘yes’ category,” she says.
     
    
8. “Please call on me if you need anything. I am also an expert on…”

Your media contacts will appreciate knowing about your various areas of expertise. If a business blogger is interviewing you because you’re an expert on the economy, it doesn’t hurt to also let her know that you’re a wine collector.

Why would she care? She might not. But if she knows a wine blogger, she might be happy to pass along your contact information.
     
    
9.  “May I call you in three months with other story ideas?”

Even though journalists claim they hate it when people follow-up, what they really means is that they hate it when pests follow up.   They love it when helpful sources call them again with other story ideas, tips, leads and helpful suggestions.

If they give you permission to call again, say in three months, when you contact the reporter, say, “We agreed that I’d call you this week. You might want to know that…”
   
   
10. “What’s the best time to call you?”

Some journalists and bloggers welcome phone calls from sources they know will share valuable information. So it never hurts to ask this question. Find out when they’re on deadline, or whether they prefer calls during a certain window of time during the day or evening.
    
   
Keep Notepads Close By

Keep my notepads next to your telephone, and be ready when a reporter, editor or blogger calls. Or tuck them into a briefcase. If you meet a journalist or blogger at, say, a convention, don’t be embarrassed to pull it out and start using the magic phrases. 

You can read about order the “10 Magic Phrases” notepads here and read about eight gaffes to avoid when dealing with journalists.

What other magic phrases would you add to this list?

At first glance, it looks like a crossword puzzle that can appear almost as small as a postage stamp.

It’s a QR code, short for quick response.  And it can be one of the most valuable tools in your PR arsenal.

QR codes, similar to bar codes that appear on packaged products, are used widely in Japan but are becoming a popular way for marketers to catch the attention of busy consumers.  You can find them on everything from the sides of buses to the backs of business cards.

Mobile phones that have bar code scanning applications installed can “read” the code, which can have URLs and other information embedded.  Within seconds, a visitor can arrive at your website to learn more about a product or service.  The code you see at left should take you to Google.com. Make sure your phone can scan a QR code with its camera, either with an application that you download or via software that’s already installed on your phone.
   
  
How to Use QR Codes

Here are nine ways to use QR codes for publicity, PR and marketing:

1. Lead reporters to your online pressroom.
     
2. Point consumers to a press release.
     
3. Authors, use it to lead people to reviews for your books.
     
4. Speakers, use it at your website or on printed materials to send people who are considering hiring you to a short video demo.
    
5. Restaurants, print the code on your menus and let diners read about the specials of the day so they don’t have to wait for the waiter.
     
6. Take consumers to a video that demonstrates tips for using your product or service.
     
7. Nonprofits, you can use them to send visitors to a donations page.
     
8. Save money on expensive printed fliers or paid ads by taking people to a web page where they can find the same information.
    
9. Save money on ads in newspapers and magazines by inserting the QR code instead of a lot of text

Don’t Second-guess Your Customers

If you’re thinking, “But our customers won’t use this,” consider that there are more mobile phones on the planet than personal computers.  If most of your customers aren’t using QR codes now, they might within six months.  The ship is leaving right now. Hop aboard, or let your competitors stand at the helm.

I’ll share more tips on QR codes, including how to get them and use them, during my webinar “60+ Places Offline to Promote Your Product, Service, Cause, Issue or Event to Build the Buzz and Encourage Others to Promote for You.”  It’s at 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, Nov. 23.  The first 20 people who register get the free handout “13 Ways to Involve Journalists and Bloggers in Whatever You’re Promoting.”  Those first 20 seats will be gone by the end of today.

Register here.

Let me know about offline tactics you use to promote, and send a photo if you can.  I can work the idea into my presentation and create even more publicity for you!
   
   
Promote Your Own QR Code Here

Do you use QR codes? If so, how? And what kind of response have you received?

Where can we find your QR code?

Looking for a tool to help you navigate PR, communications  or social media, or do you have one you’re selling? There’s a new service that can help.

JungleBuzz lets you search its online catalog of more than 250 tools organized in 25 categories.  Search results provide a description of available tools, features, functionality and access to more detailed information.  JungleBuzz is free, but you must register at the site.

The paid service costs $95 a year ($65 until September 30, 2010).  Search results for this service includes access to vendor pricing and reporting, comments from other members who have used the tools, and the ability to make comments and recommend tools to be added.

If you have a tool you’d like added to the directory, email Gina Milani, creator of JungleBuzz.

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 the media, bloggers or anyone else come to your website looking for the navigational button that will give them all the background information about your company, what will they find?

If you’re trying to be  clever and call that part of your website an “asset library” or “company press club,” visitors will find utter confusion, says publicity expert Marcia Yudkin. In this week’s issue of her ezine, Marketing Minute, Marcia correctly points out that an organization’s attempt to be creative can backfire.

She says she found one company that called its online media room an “asset library,” a phrase that stonewalls the visitor. She Googled “asset library” and discovered that other companies are using it, too. She also found a company that calls its online media room a “company press club.”

“Press Club implies a clique of media followers who clink glasses with each other,” she said.

What should you call it?

So what SHOULD you call that part of your website that helps the media and other  visitors find your bio, photos, background material, press releases and contact information?

I like “Press Room,” which is what I use, or “For the Media.” ”Media Kit” is OK, too, although a media kit can sometimes be part of an online press room. ”Media Room” is OK but some people don’t like it because they think it sounds too much like a home entertainment center.

If you REALLY want people to click on that navigational button, you can call it “For the Media Only.”

Yikes! I  just noticed my online press room is horribly out of date. I need to add links to my profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube, as well as information about my new company, My Social Media Solution.   (See “Special Report #22: How to Create an Online Media Room and Keep the Media Coming Back.”)

  
What do you call it?

What do you call that part of your website designed spcifically for journalists, bloggers, or anyone else who wants background information? What names have you found that are too confusing?

And how long has it been since you visited your own Press Room? How much of the content there needs to be updated?

I’d also love to hear your comments about features in your own online press room that have proven helpful to the media and other visitors.

Occasionally, I’ll get a call from somebody who thinks it might be “fun and interesting” to be in the world of PR, or a publicist. But they don’t want to go back to college and spend more than $50,000 on a degree in PR or communications.

So they ask me what the best way is to break into the business. I suggest they follow the same people I follow:

—BL Ochman and her whatsnext blog

—David Meerman Scott

—Book marketing guru John Kremer and his excellent blog and weekly ezine

—Anything published at the Bulldog Reporter site, particularly its Journalists Speak Out interview series. 

I’m adding Gaetan Giannini Jr.’s new book, “Marketing Public Relations: A Marketer’s Approach to Public Relations and Social Media” (Prentice Hall, $93.33) to my list. Several years ago, Giannini, business department chair at Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pa., seached for a public relations textbook tailored to marketing students, instead of communications or journalism students.  When he couldn’t find what he was looking for, he decided to write one.

He has had an extensive marketing background, having worked for several years in sales and marketing for industrial instrumentation companies before landing at Cedar Crest . In addition to writing a public relations book from a marketer’s perspective, he reveled in the opportunity to write about the burgeoning world of social media, which he claims has been widely ignored by academics.
    
      

PR and social media from a marketing perspective

“Most of the textbooks that were written about Web 2.0 were written on the technical side.  As far as I know, there is not one textbook out there at this point that covers this topic from a marketing perspective,” he said. 

Each chapter begins with a PR success story. They include:

• Dunkin’ Donuts’ Facebook page that boasts more than 825,000 fans.
     
• Ben & Jerry’s “Random Acts of Cone-Ness” campaign. Employees “showed up” in undisclosed locations in three major cities and distributed ice cream in support of the company’s new waffle cone. The story attracted the attention of CNN, ESPN, national and local newspapers, and trade magazines.
          
• Gary Vaynerchuk, a New Jersey liquor store owner who founded Wine Library TV, a “shoot-from-the-hip” Internet video podcast about wine that boasts nearly 100,000 views daily.  Vaynerchuk connects with his audience through frank, honest wine talk to which people can relate.
    

Practical experience for students

What really makes this book a must-read for anyone going into PR or publicity, or for marketing student who want to learn more about PR, are the “chapter objectives” that kick off each chapter and show show students what they should be able to do after reading it, and the three special sections at the end of each chapter. They include:

1. Chapter key terms, which lists words and phrases used in that chapter, with their definition.
     
2. Application Assignments. Students can  complete from one to five assignments that involve more research, reading articles online or finding examples of strategies and tactics they just learned.
      
3. Practice Portfolio. This activity is related to the material covered in the chapter. It allows students to contribute to a marketing public relations portfolio that they can use during their job search. The portfolio can be based on a fictitious company or on a real company that the instructor assigns to them. The student “works” with the company the entire semester. At the end of the chapter on press releases, for example, students are asked to write a backgrounder, fact sheet and two press releases for their company.   

One of the problems with books about social media is that sections can be out of date by the time the ink is dry. Still, this is a valuable book that encourages the student to not just learn it, but do it. My only wish is that it had included informaton about the importance of using keywords in press releases so they are search-engine friendly. 

Don’t let the steep price deter you. There’s three times as much content as you’ll find in most other PR books, and most chapters tackle a topic in-depth, with lots of practical tips.

I loved the chapter on Building a Connector List, and how to determine the types of media that can help you spread your message. I’ll be sharing those tips later this week and excerpting more from the book in the months ahead. (Disclosure: I contributed to the book.)      

While “Marketing Public Relations” is a textbook for mid-level marketing students—one which Giannini will use in his classes this fall and which will be available for general consumption for educational institutions by spring semester—he is quick to note that the content is perfect for any organization that wants ideas and strategies to promote its products and services.

 By the way, I love the press release about the book.

One of the best ways to generate publicity from traditional media outlets is to form a relationship with reporters, editors, broadcasters and freelancers.

That’s a critical step that 99 percent of the people miss!

And what a shame. If you know what they’re looking for, how to talk to them, how to help them, and how to stay on their radar screens, you’ll have a huge advantage.

When I worked as a reporter and editor for 22 years, I was able to tell within about 15 seconds if somebody pitching a story idea was genuinely concerned about helping me, or if their Number One goal was to simply generate free publicity.

If you’re meeting reporters face to face, or pitching an idea by phone or email, nine magic phrases can help you build a relationship with them. This video, created with a cool program called Animoto, explains all about the phrases I loved to hear when I was speaking with somebody who was either pitching a story idea to me, or wanted to get to know me better and genuinely help. It also explains one opportunity to meet journalists face to face.

What other phrases do you use when talking to journalists to help build the relationship?

Lots of books on PR dole out advice on how to generate publicity, but few encourage the reader to take the next step needed to reach a particular goal.

Power Up with PR—A publicity guide for artists by Jackie Abramian does just that. The 105-page softcover book (ArtNetworkPress, $14.95) is packed with information on how artists can claim their share of publicity in traditional media. 

Except for a short section on blogging, you won’t find anything on how to promote yourself in social media. If you’re after publicity in newspapers, magazines, and on TV and radio, however, this book shows you how to get it.   

On Pages 92 and 93, the author gives examples of four main PR goals, and the four steps necessary to reach each one of them.

Goal #1: Exhibit in local galleries

1: Research local galleries, including studying their websites and visiting their galleries.

2:  Include local galleries on your mailing list.

3: Contact local galleries to enquire about an exhibit.

4: Hold an Open Studio to introduce galleries to your work.
         
        
Goal #2: Get a media review of your exhibit.

1. Write a catchy press release.

2. Decide on a great visual.

3. Send to media and follow up.

4. Ask an art editor to review your exhibit.

    
Goal #3: Publish one of your artworks in a local newspaper or magazine, with a caption that includes title, medium and price.

1. Find local publications with art features.

2. Submit your best visuals with captions.

3. Follow up with the editor to pitch your art.

4. Ask if they would use your artwork for the cover. (This is gutsy, but it might work! You never know when plans for another cover photo have fallen apart.)

          
Goal #4: Reach national media

1. Research appropriate out-of-state galleries to contact.

2. Submit artwork for review to 10 such galleries.

3. Let local and distant media know about your shows.

4. Use the one show you receive to get more shows.

The author then gives artists a “fill in the blanks” page where they can list their annual PR goals and steps needed to meet them.

The book also features stories about other artists’ media successes, charts to help track of media contacts, examples of press releases that will help you write your own, information on how to compile a targeted media list, and more than 300 national media contacts.

Jackie and her husband own Haley Farm Art Gallery in Kittery, Me. As a PR and marketing consultant, she conducts seminars for artists and entrepreneurs. She has created successful media strategies for national and global organizations, as well as for individual artists.

In the resources section, Abramian mentioned my free email course on how to write press releases, as well as my free publicity newsletter, The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week.  (Also see How Artists Can Sell More Artwork through Online and Offline Publicity.)

Karen Kalisek of Escondido, Calif. writes:

“WomensMedia.com a seven-year-old website that has undergone a major overhaul and is in the process of relaunching.

“We pride ourselves in offering ‘expert advice for working women.’ Currently, we have 30,000 unique website followers each month (20% of those are overseas), 10,000 follow the blog, Women’s Lunch Talk, and, 1,000 listen to our podcast, Working in Heels.

“We don’t male bash, but do offer realistic advice concerning being a working woman.  We also have a library with over 200 articles written by people such as Madeline Albright, Suze Orman, and many other notables.  We also are proud of our Google ranking of 5.

“We have done all this with no advertising or sponsorship. With the new ‘look’ we want to increase our followers, create revenue channels, offer classes, provide speakers and build relationships.  Where do we start getting the word out that we exist?  Any suggestions for a media kit, PR kit, etc. would be greatly appreciated.  We have no money, but we have a great message with a proven history.”