The Publicity Hound’s Blog  

If you’re a retailer who’s looking for some clever ways to do fun in-store promotions in this sluggish economy, and you’re on a tight budget, pick up a copy of A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions by Carolyn Howard Johnson.

It’s part of her “How to do it Frugally” series. When it comes to marketing on a shoestring, Carolyn knows all the tricks.  

On Pages 67 and 68, she lists some “frugal oopmph builders” that will also create a buzz in your community.

Here are her ideas. Many of them cost nothing or nearly nothing.  Some of them will even make your event profitable. 

• Make your event so much fun or such a good deal that people won’t want to put off their purchase until later—or better can’t because the purchase is an essential part of goings-on. A Make It and Take It event falls into this category.  (A local ceramics shop that lets people make their own pottery can host a special “Make a Jewelry Dish for Mom” event just before Mother’s Day. Invite a local reporter to bring her kids and report on it.)
       
• Provide an ambiance that’s different. Include color and scent and sound. There’s nothing more delightful than a real Christmas party with wassail, carols, and the scent of evergreen. Forget those things and it’s just another hard sell. (Include a description of the colors, scents and sounds in your press releases!)
        
• Use a unique invitation. Send your customers one adorable earring for a Ring in the New Year party. (Include an earring in the invitation you send to a local reporter or blogger.)
                      
• Let your refreshments sell additional products. Put packets of the cider you use for the cider near the punch bowl with a sign announcing the price. Have the host who ladles the punch talk about how easy it was to make and mention that the do-it-yourself packets are available for purchase. Stack tins—festively wrapped and ready to go—of the rum cakes you served up in finger-sized cubes nearby. Good signs are a must. (Off the recipe for the do-it-yourself packets to the food columnist at your local newspaper, and let her know about the in-store promotion.
      
• Feature a tasting table of all kinds of other goodies you sell. If you don’t sell foodstuffs, get someone who does to set up a table in trade for publicity at your event. (Many people will JUMP at this chance to participate because they hate doing their own publicity.)
    
• Ask favored customers to help rather than hiring extra people. It is easy to get someone to be the honored punch ladler. Reward them with a gift and a public thank you. (Send a letter to the editor of your local weekly newspaper and include the names of people and businesses you’d like to thank. Also thank them on your Facebook page, by writing on their Facebook wall, and by complimenting them at other social networking sites where they hang out. See 11 Ways to Avoid Missed Opportunities on Facebook.) 

Bricks-and-mortar store owners can find lots more tips in my article on marketing tips for hardware stores and 13 publicity ideas for retailers. 

Carolyn, by the way, has three decades of experience as founder and manager of her own chain of stores. She has also been a New York publicist, and a retail consultant and journalist. Follow her advice, then be ready for the rush of customers.

The book, published by Thinking Store Press, is $17.95.

Posted In: Blogs, Business Promotion, Newspaper Publicity, Photos & Graphics, Press Releases/News Releases, Social media marketing, Special Events
posted On: 6/26/2009: 5:15 pm: By Joan
Comments: No Comments

Nancy L. Jerominski of SeaTac, Wash. writes:

“I’m a holistic lifestyle coach who has pitched a variety of story ideas, including ‘maddening menopausal symptoms stopped without meds’ and ’stop doing crunches for flatter abs.’ 

“I actually HAVE pitched Oprah several times with no results. There are lots of miserable menopausal women, and I can help every one of them, just by tweaking what they eat.

“I write a regular wellness column for the local neighborhood papers and have traded my services for ad space, but have yet to enjoy any kind of real influx of new blood into my client base.  I’m on Facebook and am trying to figure out Twitter.

“After a fair amount of media exposure, I seem stuck. Suggestions from your Hounds?”

Posted In: Business Promotion, Facebook, Newspaper Publicity, Twitter
posted On: 6/2/2009: 2:02 pm: By Joan
Comments: 11 Comments

When a producer calls you and needs you to fill in for a guest who has canceled, move a mountain if you must, and say yes.

That’s what I did when Jon Missall of VoiceAmerica Business Network called yesterday afternoon and asked if I’d serve as a fill-in on the PRInsider show this morning with Maureen Kedes. Someone canceled, and they needed confirmation, within 30 minutes, that I could appear along with a guest of my choosing.

Of course, I said yes.

I invited Michelle Tennant of Wasabi Publicity, who has a string of A+ media hits to her credit, along with a really fun style. We’ll be a great team. And I know we’re on the same track because she was in The Publicity Hound Mentor Program for several years.

We’ll talk about a half dozen or so of the most important things Publicity Hounds must do to generate online and offline publicity. Michelle will share recent successes she has had getting her clients—including authors, nonprofits and small business owners— onto NBC in Dallas, AOL Canada, Good Morning America, the Colorado Business Journal, Dr. Phil and in other online and offline media.

The show will be at noon Eastern Time and you can listen here. I hope you join us.

Posted In: Authors & Publishers, Celebrity tie-ins, Newspaper Publicity, Nonprofits, PR Consultants/Publicists, Pitching the Media, Publicity on the Internet, Radio Publicity, TV Publicity
posted On: 5/22/2009: 8:35 am: By Joan
Comments: 1 Comment

If you want publicity in traditional media for a food-related story, don’t miss these tips from Nancy Wall Hopkins, deputy editor of food and entertaining at Better Homes and Gardens.

Brian Pittman of Bulldog Reporter interviewed her. Here’s a quick summary, but please read the entire article. After each one of Nancy’s tips, I’ve also given you some of my own ideas on other ways to pitch, or ways to sweeten your pitch. These ideas also work well when pitching bloggers and in social media.

Nancy’s tip:

People are cooking more these days because of the bad economy. (I assume that means they’re eating out less.) 

My tip:

Pitch stories on how to save on grocery bills.  Restaurants, what are you doing to respond to this? Any special marketing promotions that have worked well? Are you altering menus, changing your hours or adding cooking classes to draw the crowds? (See “Publicity Tips for Restaurants, Chefs & Foodies.“)    

Nancy’s tip:

Consumers are using more cents-off coupons.

My tip:

Professional organizers, suggest ways for us to organize all those coupons and actually use them.  Consumer experts, are using coupons usually better than buying the store’s generic brand? 

Nancy’s tip:

People are still entertaining an average of twice a month but it’s casual and low-key.

My tip:

Pitch your local “grub club” or dinner group to the food columnist at your local newspaper. It might also make a fun feature story for your local TV station. If an upcoming dinner is tied to the holidays or a religious celebration, that’s a nice little extra.

Nancy’s tip:

Consumers are still very interested in health and prevention.

My tip:

This is a chance for health departments and others to pitch story ideas like how to wash produce and  avoid food poisoning. What about all those food allergies we’re hearing so much about?

Nancy’s tip:

PR people, leave the office for good old-fashioned face-to-face, desk-side meetings with journalists. This goes against advice that Steve Mullen of the Social Media PR blog wrote in his post 10 Dead or Dying PR Tactics. 

My tip:

When you visit, ask the Number One most important question you can ever ask: “How can I help you?”

Nancy’s tip:

Give exclusives.

My tip: 

Be careful because this can backfire, particularly if it’s a breaking-news story. The writer might be excited about the story and love the exclusive. If her editor isn’t nearly as interested and buries it way inside the magazine, you’ve blown a publicity opportunity.

Nancy’s tip:

Report on trends. Remember that magazines are restricting travel for some journalists so they rely on expert sources to keep them informed about trends and what’s happening at shows like the Fancy Food Show. 

My tip:

Report on trends even when the story doesn’t directly affect you. This positions you as a golden source. 

Nancy’s best take-away tip:

“It’s all about the relationship. The best PR people talk to me before pitching me to see what’s new with me and to ask me what’s going on.  They then tailor ideas to me that no one else is getting.  That’s how you build trust with us.”

My tip: Never forget it.

Posted In: Blogs, Business Promotion, Holidays, Magazine Publicity, Newspaper Publicity, PR Consultants/Publicists, Photos & Graphics, Pitching the Media, Publicity for Niche Markets, Social media marketing, TV Publicity
posted On: 3/25/2009: 3:05 pm: By Joan
Comments: 2 Comments

This month’s guest blogger Mark Macias, author of the book “Beat the Press: Your Guide to Managing the Media,” shares terrific tips on how businesses can grab media attention. How about using his questions below as a checklist every few months?

The story ideas you’ll generate are just as good for bloggers, ezine editors and other “new media” as they are for traditional media. Mark has worked as an executive producer with WNBC, a senior producer with WCBS, producer with NBC and KTVK in Phoenix, and investigative producer with American Journal. You can read more chapter excerpts from his book on how to pitch the media at his website.

* * *

By Mark Macias

It’s the one question every person wants to know. How do the news producers and newspaper editors decide what to print and publish?

Most people ask this question like there is a magical formula that scientifically reveals whether a story should be pursed or scrapped. If it were this easy to identify news stories, you can bet the formula would have been hacked and posted on the Internet by now. The fact is, news selection is an art, and just like any other profession involving creativity, opinions and experiences, it is subjective to where you stand.

If you want a story written about you or your business, you need to first identify what is different, new or unique about your story. News is based on the root “new,” which is something no publicist should ever forget.

Are you helping underprivileged children in a way that others are ignoring? Is your business contributing to the local community in a unique way we might not expect? Are you about to accomplish a feat where others have failed? The more you can clarify and focus your pitch, the better odds you will have of getting your story idea approved by the news organization.

How to identify story ideas

You can help discover your newsworthy element by asking yourself the following questions:

—What is different about my business?

—How does my business help the public and why is that service unique?

—Is there something timely about my business or product?

—Is there a personal story to tell about my business, like maybe a grandfather is passing the 75-year-old family business onto his grandchildren in a public ceremony? Or maybe the owner is battling cancer and running the business at the same time.

—Is there a new trend arising in my business field that will affect the pocket books of consumers? For example, is the rising cost of wheat starting to put a damper on profits for bagel shop or Italian restaurant owners? Will my business soon be forced to raise prices on the menus because the price of wheat keeps rising?

—Have any trade organizations recognized my business as a leader in innovation that will help shape the future? If so, what is that innovation and how will it change lives?

Finding a unique angle is not as difficult as it may sound. You just need to open your mind to timely events that impact and influence sales of your product or service. If you own a fashion or jewelry store, try to link your product to high-profile events like the Academy Awards or the Grammy Awards. If your business is geared towards a niche audience, like traveling business executives, scan the headlines in the business sections of various newspapers for possible tie-ins to current events.

Define the story

Not properly defining the story is one of the biggest mistakes most publicists make.

Your success with pitching depends greatly on how well you define that story because in many cases, you may only get one shot at pitching your story idea. You can focus your story by understanding and applying the five W’s (who, what, when, where, why and how).

Who is this story about? Who is the character in the center of the story? If you are pitching an organization, business or nonprofit, you must identify a person to revolve the story around because the best stories involve people. You will improve your chances of coverage by identifying a sympathetic character that viewers and readers can relate to.

What is this story about? What is unique about it? What is different? What is the conflict? What is the story you want to tell? By identifying the “What” you will have an edge in pitching the story because your story idea will be more focused.

Where is this story taking place? Does the location have any value or importance in the community? A diner in Iowa has little national news value, unless it is a presidential election year when all of the candidates are pressing the flesh with patrons over ham and eggs. Take a moment to examine your entire surroundings before pitching the story because you might uncover something that increases the value of the story idea.

When does your story take place? Does it have any timely components? Will your story take place on a single night or day? Is your story relevant at a certain time of the month? All of these questions could make your story timely, which will increase the value of your story. Why should anyone care about your story? Why is this story happening?

Why are people coming to your event or why are people buying your product or service? Once you identify why your story is important to the public, you have focused your pitch down to the core and uncovered why your story is newsworthy.

How is your story, business, service or product changing lives? How are you helping people? How will your business or product save people money or better their lives? Not every story has a “how” factor, but it is still important to ask yourself this question.

The more you understand the definition and value of “newsworthy” the better chance you will have of getting media coverage for you or your business. And once you are successfully pitching story ideas, you are better able to shape the message and spin the media into your favor.

Mark Macias is a journalist working and living in New York City.

Posted In: Blogs, Business Promotion, Newspaper Publicity, Pitching the Media, The Local Angle
posted On: 2/21/2009: 6:58 pm: By Joan
Comments: No Comments