Almost every Tuesday during the last decade, my readers and I have been sharing our best tips in “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week.”

If it’s Tuesday, and it’s Christmas, the ezine arrives via email on Christmas Day and the other 51 weeks of the year.

On April 16 this year, I’ll published Edition Number 500, and I’m looking for a clever promotion or contest that will engage current readers, create a buzz on the social media sites, and attract new subscribers.

Because I’m knee-deep in three other projects, I’m not even sure I’ll have time to pull this off. But I’d be crazy not to ask my Hounds for help.

What can I do to promote the newsletter, pull in new readers, attract attention for the archived issues, encourage people to submit questions for Help this Hound, and make this a really fun celebration?

Linda Alexander of Pitman, NJ, writes:

“I work for an association management and publishing company, and we have just published the book Mentoring the Stars: A Program for Volunteer Board Leaders. 

“The book is designed to help new board members on association boards understand their new roles and learn the skills and competencies they need to be a successful board member.  Leadership, decision making, teamwork, strategic planning, effective meetings and mentoring are just some of the topics covered.

“Mentoring the Stars is a great resource for association board members in any industry—nursing, hospitals and health care, education, banking, real estate, human resources, plus church groups, community organizations and more.  While it’s great to be applicable to anyone, it’s also hard to promote to everyone!

“The book is available on our website and on Amazon. We have done some traditional PR and will be trying some targeted advertising on Facebook, Google and Yahoo.  Can your readers offer any suggestions for ways to promote Mentoring the Stars to members of association boards?”

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.

Cheryl Muskus of Oak Creek, WI, writes:

“I’m the owner of  The CarmelRose, a floral shop, and I’m looking for ways to generate publicity in a very competitive market.

“Even though our industry is hurt to a large extent when obituaries state ‘in lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to…,” we’re trying to form relationships with local funeral homes so they can refer us to families that are buying flowers for the funeral.  I’d also like to target the local corporate market because revenues from local businesses that need floral arrangements can be significant.

“What ideas to your Hounds have for events I can sponsor at the shop or elsewhere, story ideas I can pitch to the local media, press releases I can write, photos I can offer the local media, opportunities for getting onto local TV, and joint venture partnerships I can form with other businesses? 

“Also, suggestions for using social media would be appreciated.”

Jeff Clear writes of Monument, Colo., writes:

“I do the Internet marketing for Lasater Grasslands Beef, a grass-fed beef ranch in Colorado.

“Our target audience consists of environmentally conscious people, moms who want to feed their families healthy beef, and people who have spent money on vitamins because they have already proven they will spend money on health.

“Our beef is sold in Whole Foods, so that will give you an idea of the demographics of our customer base. Our grass-fed beef has less saturated fat and is lower in calories than grain-fed beef, and has no hormones, additives or pesticides.  It has higher amounts of omega-3 fatty acids and other vitamins.

“What’s the best way to reach our target market online?”

One of the biggest mistakes people make when measuring the success of a publicity campaign continues to be counting the number of newspaper clippings, or the number of page views, that result from a press release or promotion.

But a pile of clips, or thousands of page views, don’t mean diddly.

Instead, determine whether your campaign did one of these three things:

• Build awareness
    
• Shift opinion
         
• Motivate people to do something (the most powerful of the three)

Changing behavior is so much more effective than simply getting an article published in the Daily Tattler. If your target audience is the under-30 crowd, the Daily Tattler is probably insignificant to your customers. You need to find out where they are, and present a compelling marketing message.  

Did your PR campaign encourage people to make a donation? Or write to their U.S. Senator? Volunteer their time? Opt into an email newsletter? Follow you on Twitter?  Visit your YouTube channel? Download a free White Paper? 

All of those “calls to action” are much better indicators of success, particularly if you can measure the results.

Nancy Schwartz, an expert in marketing for nonprofits, wrote an excellent item about this in the most recent issue of her Getting Attention newsletter. It’s must-reading, even if you’re a for-profit company. In fact, I recommend it for anyone creating a media campaign or a 12-month publicity plan. 

I like her tips so much that I’m featuring Nancy here as this month’s guest blogger. I love her blog, too.   

Media Relations Planning — 11 Steps to Success

By Nancy Schwartz

Relax and breathe a sigh of relief.

• Once you buckle down to this media planning process, it’s extremely doable.  Depending on the time you can dedicate, the process can be executed in a variety of ways.  For example: 
      
• If time is extremely tight, allocate 2 hours weekly to this process.  It will take longer but it will get done.
      
• If you have a bit more time, spend 6 hours a week on this process.  You’ll be done in two weeks max, assuming you have a colleague or freelancer doing the research for you.

The staff or consultant primarily responsible for media relations should own this process and do the initial strategic thinking.  That person, or another team member, can be assigned to research (e.g. to develop your press list).

    
Here’s How to Start

Begin by reviewing this list.

Next, dive into the low-hanging fruit (#1-5 below).  You should be able to complete these tasks without additional research.  Run by colleagues to ensure you are on target.

Assign an intern or assistant (you could even hire a virtual assistant for this) for tasks #6 and #7 to start researching key media to follow, and to draft a top ten press list.

Take these findings, finalize the press list, and address the balance of the planning tasks (#8-11).

Review the draft plan with key colleagues, and revise as needed.

   
The 11 Steps 

1. Estimate what you can invest in building your media relations program, time and budget.
    

2. Set goals.

—What are your three main program goals? 

—How can media relations be used to achieve these goals:  Build awareness, shift opinion, motivate action?

   
3. Define realistic objectives, both output and outcome. 

What do you envision your media work will generate?  These objectives serve as the measures you’ll track to evaluate your success.

   
4. Identify three or less primary target audiences.

—Define each group’s connection to each issue or story, what you want them to do, what is important to them, and what they read, watch and listen to.

—Audience definition shapes your key messages and press list.
   
   
5. Tell your story.  Pinpoint the key messages you’re trying to communicate.

—Try to distill your message into a 25-word (maximum) statement that will get the point across.  Add supporting messages of one to two sentences each, max.

—Make sure these messages are integrated into all of your communications. 

—Mixed messages are confusing.  Consistency ensures that your points are heard and recognized and likely to be repeated.

  
6. Build your media database/press list. 
  
Identity key media covering your issues, themes, geographies via these strategies:

—Capture information on reporters who contact or cover your organization (log conversations/emails with media so you have this information). 

—Find related stories via Google news, noting sources and reporters’ names.

—Exchange media contact lists with your colleague organizations.
      

7. Read, watch and listen to these media over a month or so to pinpoint your top-ten press list.

   
8. Identify the best way to get journalists to cover your story.

Through news releases?  Personal visits to reporters?  On-air interviews?  Each approach has its own advantages and disadvantages.

   
9. Craft the timetable.

—Consider external events, editorial calendars and date-based news hooks.

—Organize key media outreach efforts chronologically and prioritize, being realistic about what you can accomplish.
  

10. Define the work plan, and roles and responsibilities.

Remember, everyone on your staff and your external supporters are communicators.  Give them what they need to spread the word directly as well as via media contacts.
    

11. Track, measure and fine-tune (ongoing, forever).

—Log all contacts with the media.

—Make the log easily accessible.

Let me know how this process works for you!  I’ve used it with client organizations time and time again with strong results.

And please let me know if you have any steps to add to this process, or guidance on those listed here?  Please share them with me today.

*     *     *

Nancy mentions hiring a virtual assistant to help. I offer more tips on how to do this in my article on how to train your virtual assistant to help with publicity.

Cynthia Barnes of Fort Wayne, Ind., writes:

“After moving to Fort Wayne, Ind., and being unable to find an African American doctor, I decided to create BlackHealthCareProviders.Org.

“The site has a nationwide free referral service that helps consumers find black health care providers in their own neighborhoods. The challenges I face are getting the word out to enough doctors so they’ll visit the site and register, and spreading the word to enough consumers to let them know that this directory is available.

“I’d like to make money from the site eventually, via pharmaceutical endorsements, but for now it’s just a labor of love. What ideas do your Hounds have for marketing the site to doctors and consumers?”

(Shutterstock photo)

Thousands of people who are being downsized, right-sized and capsized during this bad economy aren’t waiting around for a job offer. They’re looking to the Web for their next career—and maybe even riches.

Enter e-Riches 2.0–Next-Generation Marketing Strategies for Making Millions Online, a new book by Internet success coach Scott Fox.

If you’re one of the victims of this economy and you want to start selling online, or you’re new to Internet marketing, you can learn all about the basics of what it takes to create a successful business online. If you’ve been selling online for several years, the book will bring you up to speed quickly on how to add social media to your marketing mix.

Here are Scott’s 10 recommendations on how to use social networking as a marketing tool.

1. Invite a half-dozen or more friends to get your network started. Practice using the tools of the social network to communicate with them. For example, you can “add” friends on MySpace, “poke” or “write on the walls” of Facebook connections, or respond to some questions in the LinkedIn “Answers” section. (See Social networking ROI: A testimonial more valuable than an ad.)
              
2. Start engaging, publishing, and interacting. Get to know some people—that’s  why you’re here.
       
3. Be authentic. A big part of being authentic is letting the “real you” out to play. Nobody wants to play with a “suit,” so don’t be afraid to be yourself (within professional and legal limits, of course). Mixing the personal and business sides of your life is more common than it used to be.
       
4. Only try to connect with others with whom you really do have common ground. Indiscriminate friend requests are “friend spam.” They are  no more appreciated than email spam or junk mail in the real world. (And if people you don’t know starting linking with you, your own network will soon be less valuable, too.)
                
5. Ask for help. Most social network users are online to be social, and most are happy to help by sharing their knowledge about how the systems work.
              
6. Use feeds to keep up with your friends’ activities and broadcast your own. Posting your own status constantly and cleverly is a great distributed engagement marketing tactic. This is one of the “missed opportunities” I discussed during the teleseminar I hosted this month on 11 Ways to Avoid Missed Opportunities on Facebook. 
      
7. If you have a blog, feed its posts into your profile page. This will automatically help keep your pages fresh and share your writings with a new audience, too.
      
8. Join some groups—learn the lingo and the tools of the network by using them and observing how others use them, too. Joining groups will also begin to create a natural dialogue with other users that will grow over time.
      
9. Be a good and involved citizen in those groups to cultivate new friends. There’s no better way to gain the respect of any community than adding value by sharing info, support, or companionship—and these tools will amplify the effect. If you are an expert, social networks are a great way to spread your reputation cloud for that expertise.
     
10. Create your own group. Once you are comfortable, start a group around your product or brand. Position yourself as an expert resource and offer to help and facilitate community. Members usually proudly display the names of the groups to which they belong on their profile pages. This can lead to lots more clicks (and members) as others see your group’s name or logo on friends’ pages and in their feeds.

Scott’s book includes more than a dozen examples  of real-life Internet marketing success stories, from a North Carolina furniture store that profitably captures high-end customers using pay-per-click search engine text ads on Google, Yahoo! andMSN (Chapter 21), to the article syndication strategy that has helped a Christian stay-at-home mom to attract lots of profitable traffic for her blog (Chapter 16).

The book  is $25 and published by AMACOM, the American Management Association.

With all the focus on social media, you’re probably scampering to create new content for sites like EzineArticles.com, Facebook and Twitter. 

You may be writing articles, creating tips lists, and offering quizzes.

That’s great. But don’t make the mistake of abandoning online press releases, which is all too easy to do when you’re consumed with posting every day to Facebook and Twitter.

Here are eight reasons why you should continue posting them to your website:

1. Optimized press releases pull in traffic. 
   Make sure you use relevant keywords in the headline and throughout the body copy.  But don’t stuff the release with keywords, or that will be a red flag to the search engines. Take advantage of StomperNet’s excellent seven-day free email course on search engine optimization. Each lesson in “7 Deadly SEO Mistakes” takes just a few minutes to review. 
            
2. They save time for visitors.
   It’s a great way to show journalists, bloggers and others what’s new and important, without making them spend a lot of time investigating your site.  New product launch?  They’ll find it in a press release.  New CEO?  There should be a release at your site that announces that.  Special promotion under way at your company?  Write a release that explains it.  Put a link to all your releases in your online pressroom.
           
3. You can use them to reach consumers directly–and promote.
   Years ago, we had to write printed press releases and cleanse them of anything that sounded like hype or promotion before sending them to journalists.  Gone are the days, thankfully, when we had to genuflect at the altar of traditional media, say a prayer and hope they covered our story.  Online press releases let us reach consumers directly without relying on the media gatekeepers.
            
4. Video and audio links.
   Video and audio links  can lead visitors to content that goes into more depth on a particular topic.  It’s a convenient way to get that information in front of visitors instead of making them wade through page after page at your website.
           
5. They help bloggers.
   Online press releases make it easy for bloggers to provide more information for their readers.  All they have to do is link to the release from within their posts.
            
6. Links to landing pages.
   From an online release, you can link to specific landing pages at your website where readers can find more information.  Yes, you can even link to sales pages where you list all the benefits of the product you’re selling, and then ask readers to hit the “Buy Now” button.  How cool is that?
       
7. They keep your site looking fresh and updated.
   This is assuming that you post them regularly. It just dawned on me that it’s been several months since I’ve posted a new release, and I’ve just added that to my “to-do” list for today.  
            
8. They can help you build your tribe on social networking sites.
   From the releases, you can provide links so readers can connect with you at social networking sites. Why not include a link to your Facebook Fan Page, like I have here?
         

Two tips that will help anyone who wants to post online releases:

From the press room at my website, I link to my at ExpertClick.com: The Online Yearbook of Experts.  This subscription service lets me post up to 52 press releases a year with no additional per-release fee.  It also gives me a page in their online database of experts, which journalists search frequently when looking for sources for articles. If you subscribe, tell them I sent you and they’ll knock $100 off the subscription.

If you want to learn more about how to write and distribute online press releases, you can opt into the free 12-week tutorial I created on “89 Ways to Write Powerful Press Releases.”  More than 6,000 people have taken the course.

Jeanette Simpson of Lakewood Ranch, Fla., writes:

“I have just published my first book, From Interior Design Intern to Employee: How to be a Keeper (Including Tips from Those Who Hire.)”

“It’s written specifically to help interior design interns transition from college to career.

“Aside from social networking, contacting university design departments and all vendors, reps, designers and architects I know, how can I reach my target audience—college students?

“Any advice from your Publicity Hounds would be greatly appreciated.”