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3 critical details to include in your media database

2/15/2012 By Leave a Comment

business section of newspaper You’ll seldom find these details in those big, expensive media directories:

1. The names of a reporter’s spouse and children.

2. An editor’s likes and dislikes. For example, the food editor of your local newspaper mentions in her column that she loves crispy, crunchy snacks in mid-afternoon but doesn’t touch the typical bagged snacks found in the supermarket because they have too much salt. 

3. Other publications where  a freelance writer sells his articles.
 

Why These Details Are Important 

If you can weave into your customized pitch the names of a reporter’s family members, including pets,  that will get attention like nothing else. Let’s say you know from reading the local business reporter’s blog that his wife, Sally, is training for a marathon. Your company sells insoles for walkers, runners or anyone who has foot problems. A smart Publicity Hound would weave Sally’s name into the pitch.   

If you’re pitching a story about your company’s low-salt rice cakes to the food editor, you’d mention her dislike for salty snacks.

As for the freelancer, if you know the names of other magazines he writes for, you can pitch story ideas that would be a perfect fit for those publications but only after researching the magazines.

It’s difficult to learn things like this about your media contacts, unless you know where to look. I’ll be explaining all my little tricks tomorrow—Thursday, Feb. 16—when I host the webinar “How to Create Your Own Database of Valuable Media Contacts” at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. 

Creating your own customized media database of far fewer contacts gives you flexibility to include valuable details that will help you build a relationships with your contacts and craft more powerful pitches. It will also save you thousands of dollars because you won’t have to buy the big, bulky databases that include a gazillion contacts you’ll never use, but are paying for. 
   
   
8 Fill-in-the-blank Templates for You 

So that you don’t have to start from scratch, I’m giving all registrants eight fill-in-the-blanks templates for newspapers, magazines, TV shows, radio shows, freelancers, newsletters, bloggers and websites.  

If the time is inconvenient for you, sign up anyway because, within 72 hours after the call, I’ll email you a link where you can download the video replay, the PowerPoint slides I used during the presentation, and other materials. Register here. 

Filed Under: Pitching the Media Tagged With: , , ,

Sidestep expensive media directories: Create your own

2/11/2012 By 4 Comments

rolodex of media contacts with yellow phoneIf you do your own publicity, or you’re a publicist who has a small number of clients, you probably don’t have to spend thousands of  dollars on those massive media directories that are as big as phone books.

Here’s why:

  1. You’re paying for thousands of listings. Yet you’ll use a small fraction of them. So why pay for what you don’t need?
       
       
  2. Many of those listings are out of date by the time they get to you.  Pervasive layoffs in the newspaper industry, and frequent staff turnover at TV and radio stations, mean the revolving door is always in motion.   

       

  3. Media relations is all about building relationships. You can’t build relationships with thousands of journalists and broadcasters.
       
       
  4. With a big database of journalists at your fingertips, you’ll be tempted to send email blasts to many of them even though you know darn well that they despise them. (Repeat after me: “I will not send email blasts to journalists.”)

       

  5. Many of the big databases don’t include golden nuggets of information that you can find yourself online. That’s because many of the companies that sell media lists collect their information by asking journalists to fill out questionnaires. When I worked in a newsroom, I hated answering those questionnaires because they were a time suck. And it seemed like they all arrived in the mail within a few weeks of each other.  I completed them as quickly as possible. Other journalists do, too.

By spending some time online researching a half dozen key reporters, editors or talk show hosts, you can gather details that you’ll never find in those big databases. 

For example,  in about 10 minutes, I discovered a treasure trove of personal information about Deborah Kotz, former health reporter for U.S. News & World Report who now writes a consumer health blog for the  Boston Globe. By spending time at her blog, I learned that Kotz had thought about her risk of staying on birth control pills until she reaches menopause, and lamented the dearth of research on the long-term use of contraceptives by women. You will NEVER find juicy details like that in the big media directories. 

So how about creating your own?

Join me at 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, Feb. 16, when I present the webinar “How to Create Your Own Database of Valuable Media Contacts.” Register here.

If you’re trying to generate publicity for yourself, or you’re a publicist, you’ll learn about the types of information to include in your database, shortcuts that will help find the best contacts quickly, and the most important details to include in each entry.

I’m offering a huge bonus for everyone who registers: a package of eight templates, the same ones I use, so you don’t have to start from scratch. These will be PDFs and you’ll have to recreate them depending on what program you’re  using to build your database. More about that on Thursday.

  

  

Filed Under: Pitching the Media, PR Consultants/Publicists Tagged With: , , ,

Doing business locally? Share your blog at Patch.com

1/31/2012 By Leave a Comment

patch editors lyssa beyers and matt schroederAt the winter farmer’s market in my town, I ran into my local editor for Patch.com, the uber-local website that’s giving Publicity Hounds yet another outlet for their press releases, photos and local news.

Lyssa Beyer and Matt Schroeder, her associate regional editor, were stopping shoppers and asking if they knew about Patch, which operrates in 22 states in the U.S. and the District of Columbia. Two weeks earlier, I had pitched a story about my local garden club to Beyer, and she said yes. They’re interviewing one of our members this week. So this was a good chance to meet her in person.

Here are her tips on how to use Patch:
  
 
1. Share your blog posts.

If you have your own blog, or even if  you don’t, you can register to be a blogger at your local Patch site. Go to Patch.com, click on the state where live, and then the Patch community where you want your blog to appear. Scroll down and look for the “Want to Blog on Patch?” button in the middle column. Introduce yourself, tell the editor a little about your blog, and wait for instructions.

You can share all your posts, or some of them. I recommend you tweak your posts to give them a local angle.  

Your post won’t appear until the local editor approves it. Patch welcomes moderated comments at all blogs. So check back periodically to continue the conversation if people comment on your posts.

Local nonprofits, this is a great opportunity for you, too!
   
  
2. Pitch news and feature stories to your local editor. 

Beyer responded to my pitch within 48 hours. Remember, local news is their bread and butter, so don’t be shy. 

When you pitch, let the editor know if you can offer contact information for other sources, or photos and graphics.
   
  
3.  Invite your local editor for coffee.

Beyer says she meets regularly with people in the community, usually at local coffee shops.  This is a great chance to start building the relatonship. Invite your local editor for coffee even if you don’t have  a story to pitch. See 18 ways to schmooze with reporters and Magic phrases to use with the media.
   
  
4.  Claim your free listing for businesses and organizations.

Patch includes a free directory of local businesses and organizations. Listings include details such as hours, payments and more, tools for owners, original photos, a description, and customer feedback.  If you’re squeamish about people reviewing your business, get over it. They’re probably already talking about you somewhere online. Read about 11 ways to use Yelp to respond to bad reviews. Much of that applies to Patch, too.   

 

chocolate chisel listing on Port Washington Patch

5. Post your event on the calendar.

One of the reasons I love Patch is because readers can sign up for daily email alerts. When I get mine, I usually drop what I’m doing and head on over to Patch to see what’s happening in my community.
   
  
6.  Share your photos and videos.

The Gallery section is a great place to upload photos or videos that promote an upcoming event, or photos or videos you took at an event.  Remember, stand-alone photos and videos are welcome. You don’t necessarily have to have a big news story.
   
  
7. Write an announcement.

Just married? New baby? Make the honor roll? Spread the word in an announcement. This is for personal news only, not promoting your business. 
  
  
Those are my tips for using Patch. What are yours? If you’re using Patch, what kinds of results have you seen? More people attending your events? More people saying, “I saw you on Patch”?

Filed Under: Photos & Graphics, Pitching the Media Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Dog Tweets: 10 content marketing tips for 2012

1/13/2012 By Leave a Comment

Here are my Top 10 tweets from this past week, great for retweeting! If you missed these, follow me on Twitter.

10 content marketing tips for 2012. http://ow.ly/8mLqd

Top 3 Video Marketing Lessons from Nielsen. http://ow.ly/8mLRO

Bloggers: Want (recurring) donations from your readers? Just ask! http://ow.ly/8ohOz

Daily newspapers going the way of the milkman. http://ow.ly/8ox57

Authors: 10 Cool & Creative Ideas for Bookmarks. http://ow.ly/8pyWH

Blogggers & Columnists: Submit your best stuff for the 2012 Column Contest. http://ow.ly/8oy5O

How to Destroy Your Online Reputation in 3 Days or Less http://ow.ly/8obvQ

How to learn which content you’re sharing on Facebook is hitting your fans’ hot buttons. http://ow.ly/8ohbA

5 incredibly fun ideas to build your fan base & engage them on Facebook & Twitter. http://ow.ly/8mNYQ

16 things to check when you edit. http://ow.ly/8mNBH

Filed Under: Authors & Publishers, Pitching the Media, Publicity on the Internet, Twitter Tagged With: , ,

15 magnets to help you capture & convert leads at your website and more tweets

12/23/2011 By Leave a Comment

Here are my Top 10 tweets from this past week, great for retweeting! If you missed these, follow me on Twitter.

PR Pros: When you write a press release, do you share it on social media sites? Experts disagree. http://ow.ly/8486v

15 magnets to help you capture & convert leads at your website. http://ow.ly/83XYg 

Heading To a Trade Show in 2012? 5 Tips for Getting the Most ROI Out Of Your Event: http://ow.ly/859iM

Retailers: 17 ways to use Twitter to engage your audience. [No excuse not to tweet!] http://ow.ly/83UdR

Publicity Tip: Readers LOVE year-end lists, like this one, The 50 Best Workout Songs of the Year. http://ow.ly/83RUZ 

The Essential word List for Lazy PR Writers.http://ow.ly/859s3 

5 ways to master the new Facebook timeline. http://ow.ly/86rsi 

When Business Blogging Works Too Well… | Writing On The Web by Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad http://bit.ly/ukgnlr

Do you have a form at your website? Add this clever tool to encourage people to promote you: http://ow.ly/85fX7

Local news outlets among Google’s most-searched terms:  http://ow.ly/85ath

Filed Under: Media Leads, Pitching the Media, Social media marketing, Special Events, Twitter Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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