You can lump groundbreaking ceremonies, check-passings and ribbon-cuttings into one category.

They’re tired, lifeless events staged for the media and to stroke the organizers’ egos. Smart Publicity Hounds avoid them at all costs.

But if you absolutely MUST have a groundbreaking event because your boss demands it, here’s a different twist on a tired theme. It’s courtesy of Lois Kirkpatrick of the Fairfax County Department of Family Services in Fairfax, Va. Lois submitted a “Help This Hound” question for my blog and ezine a few weeks ago, and got some great ideas from my readers about alternatives to cliche groundbreaking ceremonies.

When Lois emailed her question to me, she mentioned a clever idea for a groundbreaking her department hosted several years ago that actually resulted in fabulous publicity in her local weekly newspaper.

If you aren’t using surveys in your business, you’re missing a chance to read your customers’ minds.

Surveys will let you outsmart your competitors,  generate publicity that pulls traffic to your website and blog, and know immediately which products and services your market wants, how people want them delivered, and how much they’re willing to pay.

Yesterday’s webinar hosted by survey expert Jeanne Hurlbert was filled with valuable take-aways that can help any business or nonprofit  do more with less, despite the crummy economy.

You can sign up to listen to the free replay of “Your Cash-Generating Crystal Ball: How to Use Simple Surveys to Read Your Prospects’ and Customers’ Minds, Build Lists, Create Products, and Make Money.”  Keep a pen and paper close by, because you’ll be taking lots of notes.

I watched the webinar and listed these seven ways Publicity Hounds can use surveys for publicity and to build their businesses:

1. Speakers and trainers, deliver a mobile survey to your audience while you’re on stage, at the start of your presentation. Ask them what they want to learn, and weave the answers to their questions into your program. You’ll look like a hero on the stage!
2. Use a customer profile survey to find out what business problems keep your customers up at 3 a.m. Then create products and services that help them solve the problems.
3. To find joint-venture partners. Once you create that new product or service, a simple survey of no more than five questions can results in hundreds of leads that include names and contact information for people who’d like to help you promote it for a commission.
4. Conduct an annual survey relating to an interesting, hot or controversial topic in your industry. Brian Kluth, a former church pastor, takes an annual “State of the Plate” survey to see if church giving is up or down.  More than 150 media outlets have covered his survey results.  You can see his press release, read the survey results and see the array of dozens of media logos at his website.
5. Conduct a survey that relates to your product or service, ties into an upcoming holiday, and reports on how people behave. One of my favorites is the survey taken several years ago by Iams, the pet food company, on the relationship between people and their pets. It found that more than 90 percent of respondents surveyed admitted saying “I love you” to their pets. The survey results were released several weeks before Valentine’s Day, and the story was covered by top-tier media outlets and picked up by the Associated Press.
6. To gather dozens of instant testimonials. In a customer profile survey, you can ask respondents about specific products and services, or general comments about things like your customer service. You can use those responses as testimonials on sales pages, at your website, and in marketing materials. That’s what I did when Jeanne created my customer profile survey for me 18 months ago.

How to Avoid Survey Suicide

Jeanne also shared tips on how to avoid what she calls “survey suicide.”

The first questions on your survey should never ask respondents for information about demographics. Do that, and they’re likely to abandon the survey.

You must get them engaged immediately, and Jeanne showed exactly how to do that.

If you think have a good idea for a survey you want to conduct, or even if you have no idea about what you can ask your target market, sign up to watch the 77-minute replay. By the time you’re halfway done, you’ll have all kinds of ideas of how to use surveys to build your business.

Important: At the end, Jeanne made a special offer that expires at  5 p.m. Eastern Time tomorrow, Aug. 14.

UPDATE on Aug. 16 at 9:38 p.m. Central:

I just learned that Jeanne is extending her offer again because so many people who wanted to listen to the webinar were on vacation. Listen by clicking the link above  but do it before 5 p.m. Central Time on Wednesday, Aug. 18. If you snooze, you lose!

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.

If you’re around today, Thursday, Aug. 5, join Steve Harrison for a free webinar (or teleseminar) and discover 12 strategies you can use to get more publicity. It’s called “Discover the Secrets of the Publicity Superstars & Get a Lot of Media Coverage.”

The call is at 2 and 7 p.m. Eastern.

Steve will be talking about things you can do right away to score more media coverage including:

• What one Publicity Hound did get on Fox News Channel repeatedly.
• A clever thing Robert Kiyosaki did to catapult sales for his bestselling book “Rich Dad Poor Dad.”
• The two types of stories you need to tell if you want to sell more on radio shows.
• Publicity strategies you can glean from watching Donald Trump, Suze Orman and Dr. Oz.

You’ll learn some great stuff so I hope you can make it.  The call is part of a free series of calls that Steve is offering to promote the National Publicity Summit Oct. 20-23 in New York City, where 100 pre-qualified Publicity Hounds will be able to meet dozens of journalists and broadcasters face-to-face and deliver a pitch.

I’m promoting the summit as an affiliate, because I’ve received great feedback from people whose topics were a perfect fit for the event.  If your topic is better suited to trade publications, or niche publications, you probably won’t be accepted.

Register for today’s call. If the time is inconvenient for you, recruit somebody to listen and take notes.

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?

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.)

Journalists and booze don’t mix.
    
Just look at what happened to Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who was dumb enough to let an investigative  freelancer for Rolling Stone into his inner circle and conduct a tape-recorded interview—over drinks.

1. After-work networking events
The  media sometimes attend these events, often hosted by the local chamber of commerce. Smart reporters know how to make nice with you and get you talking. If you aren’t holding a drink in your hand, and you’re busy prattling on about your business, they can slyly lead you to the bar and offer you a drink.
    

2. Events hosted by the media
Business journals and other business magazines generate a large portion of their revenue from these events, and reporters and editors are everywhere. It’s a great chance to schmooze with the media, but only if you aren’t drinking.
  

3.  Local and national Press Club dinners and special events
Reporters and editors have a well-deserved reputation for boozing it up at Press Club dinners and awards ceremonies.  I recommend that anyone who wants publicity consider attending these events, often open to the public,  because you can establish valuable relationships with the media—sober.
  

4.  Trade shows
If you’re attending a trade show, you should do your homework and touch base with reporters who you know will be at the show so you can meet them for coffee, offer your expertise and find out what they need from you. Beware, however, of evening cocktail parties hosted by the trade show’s sponsor, where food and booze are plentiful.
  

5. Conferences and conventions the media cover

Dr. Mildred Culp, a syndicated columnist, is looking for a psychologist to interview who hasn’t been featured in her WorkWise column.

“You’ll be asked to comment on coping mechanisms people develop in workplaces with overwhelming stress.  The comment will be featured in a well-respected major daily, the Knoxville News-Sentinel, in Tennessee.  This particular column already has a book in it; so Ianother can’t be mentioned.  However, I’d be happy to mention another activity in your professional life.”

Please send your full contact information, including city, state and telephone number, and tell Mildred why she should select you.  Email her at Workwise (at) Comcast.net

The free media leads services that connect journalists with sources can be a valuable tool in your publicity campaign, but only if you know the right way to answer a query and  convince the journalist to call you.

Otherwise, these services—PitchRate.com, Help a Reporter (HARO) and Reporter Connection—can be a huge time suck, particularly if you’re subscribing to all three.

When I wrote yesterday about how to find journalists online and wow ‘em with your pitch, I got an interesting comment from Shelley Hunter:

“I finally unsubscribed from one of the media leads services because I found myself taking the easy way out.  Rather than spending a few minutes each day mining for PR gold, I just waited for the leads to come to me.  I combed through the requests and answered those that fit my criteria.  But like you said, competition is stiff and only once did I get a call back.  At last, it occurred to me that I could have spent all those minutes (that added up to hours) establishing actual connections on my own.  It feels like a slower way to go, but one good connection could lead to others.”

I replied and told her that a lot of the return on investment of time depends on your area of expertise, and how many other competitors are within that niche. Broad topics like small business success, for example, can result in hundreds of responses, and you can be sure journalists won’t be reading all of them closely.

So what’s a frustrated, time-strapped  Publicity Hound to do?
     
    
Media leads services or your own research?

The smart ones will do both. They’ll use these free services AND pan for gold, using the tips I provided in the blog post mentioned above.

Here are guidelines to follow when answering a journalist’s query:

• Keep your response short. Absolutely no longer than one screen of type.  One-half screen of type is preferred.
• Briefly expain what makes you an expert on this topic.
• If you can offer the journalist other sources, say so, but don’t name them or provide contact information unless the journalist asks. And make sure those other sources would agree to be interviewed.
• Can you provide an image to accompany the story? Mention if you have a bar chart, pie chart, map, cartoon or other graphic, but don’t attach it to the email response. If the journalist wants it, he will ask.
• NEVER tell the journalist to “visit my website to learn more about me.”
• If you have a contrarian viewpoint on an issue, say so up front. The media love controversy, and your response will stand out from among all the others.
• Keep your response on topic. If you can’t help the journalist with the topic she’s writing about, don’t offer your expertise on another topic and NEVER respond to a query only to pitch another story idea. Do this, and the reporter will blacklist you.
• If you’re lucky enough to have a virtual assistant, delegate the task of sifting through all these leads.

One alternative to these free services, which can be like drinking from a firehose, is Dan Janal’s PRLeads. For a monthly fee, Dan will send you only the queries that tie into your area of experitse. 
       
      
Share your own experiences
     
What kinds of responses have you gotten from journalists using any of these services?  What media outlets covered your story as a result of responding to a journalist’s query? What tips do you have to share on how to answer a query? Or is your time better spent building strong relationships with journalists one on one?

Weigh in here.

If you’re new to publicity and you don’t know where to start, here’s one of the best places.

Sign up for a free subscription to PitchRate.com, a service that  connects sources with journalists, bloggers and anyone who provides content. 
    
PitchRate was created by Drew Gerber of Press Kit 24/7. I wrote all about here when it first debuted.  I’m mentioning it now because Pitchrate has recently added a free 6-part course as part of its service. It covers:

Part 1: How to stand out from the crowd and brand what’s unique about it.

Part 2: How to make it easy for customers and journalists to find you online.

Part 3: Who wants your expertise? How to position yourself as an expert.

Part 4: How to grab the media’s attention by creating the perfect pitch.

Part 5: How to get to the point and use sound bites.

Part 6: How to maximize your publicity by leveraging the coverage you’re getting to attract more traffic and leads to your website.