The Publicity Hound’s Blog  

When Bulldog Reporter invited me to be a guest panelist on the July 24 teleseminar designed to help Publicity Hounds create news when there is no news, I jumped at the chance.

I wrote three pages of notes for the session titled “Evergreen Magic for PR: Media Masters Show How to Make News When There’s No News” and reviewed them on Monday with the three other guest experts who will be on the panel with me.  During the call, I learned something fascinating.

Always-cynical journalists are becoming increasingly suspicious of story ideas tied to the green movement. That could be because PR people are bombarding the media with them.

“Everybody wants to be the next Al Gore,” said one panelist, a corporate PR person who says she’s been meeting increasing resistance from journalists when pitching green stories.

If you’re pitching them, too, you’d better know what you’re talking about, have facts to back up your claim, and make the angle unusual enough.

We’ll discuss this topic in more depth next week. We’ll also explain how to get into the news, front and center, when there’s absolutely nothing happening at your business that’s remotely exciting.

We’ll talk, for example, about editorial hot buttons: pegging your story to rumors, future trends, features, divisive issues, dramatic hooks and other sure-fire ways to supercharge your hit ratio, even when you’re not breaking news.

Posted In: Magazine Publicity, Newspaper Publicity, PR Consultants/Publicists, Pitching the Media, Radio Publicity, TV Publicity
posted On: 7/16/2008: 11:02 pm: By Joan
Comments: 2 Comments

My friend, TV producer Shawne Duperon, has a terrific idea for tying publicity into the July 4 Independence Day theme.

Think of a “freedom from…” and use that in your pitch. Examples:

—A health department in the Midwest might pitch tips to give people “freedom from mosquitoes” after the recent floods.

—Credit counselors can pitch a story idea on “freedom from credit cards.”

—Tourist destinations can encourage people to have “freedom from the presidential campaign commecials” by escaping to a vacation get-away.

—A bicycle shop can pitch a story on how sales of bikes are giving people “freedom from high gasoline prices.”

During a teleseminar Shawne did with me on “103 Sizzling Story Ideas from July through December,” Shawne says TV producers love those kinds of tie-ins, even if they don’t relate directly to the July 4 holiday. I’ve seen this kind of an idea land in newspapers, too, but it’s of greater appeal to broadcasters than the print media.     

It’s also worth remembering that on long holiday weekends like the upcoming July 4 weekend, news departments are working with skeletal crews. That means that print and broadcast media might welcome decent-quality user-generated amateur video on topics they might not even consider reporting on during the typical busy weekday.

Posted In: Pitching the Media, TV Publicity, Video
posted On: 6/30/2008: 11:39 pm: By Joan
Comments: 1 Comment

Now is the time to start pitching if you’re hoping to convince journalists to feature your consumer product or service in holiday gift coverage.

Gift guides appear in many forms:

—As special sections in newspapers, like holiday gift guides printed by USA Today and the Wall Street Journal.

—As special holiday features in magazines like Redbook, Allure, Wired, Stereophile, Fast Company, Organic Gardening, Cooking Light, Shape, Atlanta Magazine, Cottage Living and Elite Traveler. Because many of these magazines have early deadlines, you must start pitching now.

—As special segments on TV such as Oprah’s “Favorite Things” show each year in which she lists her favorite holiday gifts.

—As special radio promotions.

—As columns, reviews or special holiday features in online magazines.

—Even bloggers feature their favorite things to give as holiday gifts.

If your consumer product or service would make the perfect gift, getting a placement in some of these media is easy—but only if you know where to look, whom to pitch, when to contact them, and if they want photos.

The Gift List can make your job easy.  Its staff contacts the top 250 daily newspapers, all the major wire services, and television shows like “Filter,” “The Look for Less,” and, of course, MTV, “Ellen,” “The View,” and hundreds more.

It doesn’t bother with media outlets that won’t mention products by name or those with circulations under 25,000.  Broadcast outlets must reach a national or significant regional audience.

Already, The Gift List has compiled a whopping 400 leads for this year’s features.  You can buy a subscription to either the Gift List for Holiday 2008 Print & Broadcast, or The Gift List for Holiday 2008 Web & Blog, or both.

What if “Oprah” or USA Today changes its feature focus the week before a deadline?  Not to worry.  The Gift List will notify subscribers who sign up for their ezine and email alerts.  You won’t miss a beat.  And you’ll be miles ahead of the competition.

Take a free test drive.

Posted In: Advertising, Blogs, Business Promotion, Holidays, Magazine Publicity, Media Leads, Newspaper Publicity, Pitching the Media, Radio Publicity, TV Publicity
posted On: 6/24/2008: 10:00 am: By Joan
Comments: No Comments

Everybody, it seems, is Twittering these days. And for good reason. 

You can follow your friends who are Twittering, use Twitter numerous ways in your business (more about this in a minute), and even search for other Twitterers using specific keywords.   

Last week, Publicity Hound Harry Hoover announced that he started compiling a list of Twittering journalists and media outlets that Twitter.  They include reporters at Business Week, CNET, CNN, the Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, FOX News and the London Times.

And why would journalists Twitter? To keep up on the competition, of course.

Yesterday, he announced he has turned the list into a wiki for the benefit of PR people and other Publicity Hounds, and he’s asking anyone who knows of other journalists or media outlets to add to it.   

The list initially was compiled at our blog, THINKing, from information provided by Red66, CNET, Poynter, as well as Twitter keyword searches on terms such as “journalist” and “reporter”.

Notice how Harry used the search function within Twitter to build his list. If you’re already Twittering, plug in a few keywords or keyword phrases to see who you can find who’s Twittering about your topic. They might be worth following.  And perhaps even emailing if you have the solution to a problem they’ve mentioned in one of their posts.

In the next few weeks, I’ll be putting the finishing touches on my new special report on how to use Twitter for business.  

Posted In: Blogs, Business Promotion, Magazine Publicity, Newspaper Publicity, Radio Publicity, Social networking, TV Publicity
posted On: 5/11/2008: 8:07 pm: By Joan
Comments: 2 Comments

If you’re aching to get onto radio and TV, check out the five free teleseminars offered the last week in May by Web Business Ownership, devoted to teaching small business owners and entrepreneurs how to set up an Internet business.

You can register here for Media Week 2008:

Sunday, May 25: “Small Business Meets Big Media.”
J. Roger Powe of NBC will show you how to engage media professionals and explain why small businesses often miss out on media opportunities.

Tuesday, May 27: “Camera-Ready for TV.”
Shon Gables, host of Black Enterprise Business Report, will explain what producers and show hosts really want in a guest, and what it takes to be camera-ready. 

Wednesday, May 28: “What’s Right for Radio?”
Todd Bell, WPGC-AM will show you how to approach your local or national radio station with your pitch.

Thursday, May 29: “How to Be A Sought-After Newsworthy Professional”
Publicist Annie Jennings will explain how to tell your story.

Friday, May 30: “Getting On the Air - Online”
Stephan Jacob, executive producer of VoiceAmerica will show you how to tap into Internet radio as an information outlet to promote online!

Posted In: Radio Publicity, TV Publicity
posted On: 5/2/2008: 7:03 am: By Joan
Comments: 1 Comment