When I checked my website and blog statistics recently, I noticed a huge spike in traffic since January 1.

Since I wasn’t doing any special promotions, I forgot about it until Diana Ennen, a virtual assistant in Florida, congratulated me for being mentioned in the January issue of Family Circle magazine. 

“Family Circle?” I asked. ”That’s one of the last places I’d expect to be mentioned.”

Right there, at the bottom of Page 61, I’m mentioned in the article titled “Mothers of (Re)Invention.” The writer, Suzanne Chazin, shares a variety of tips for women who want to switch career gears, rejoin the ranks of the gainfully employed, or start a business. The last tip is to “build buzz” by giving free workshops in libraries and community centers and sending press releases to local papers.

See PublicityHound.com for tips

That’s it. Just four words. And a rush of traffic to my website and this blog. I can think of several ways to piggyback off this publicity:

—Write a press release noting the mention in Family Circle, include several of my own tips, and post it online. I have a subscription to Expertclick: The Online Yearbook of Experts which lets me post up to 52 press releases a year. (Tell them I sent you and they’ll knock off $100.)

—Send a letter to the editor commenting on the article.

—Send a press release to my local newspaper about the mention in Family Circle magazine. 

—Post an item to Craigslist.

—Add the information to my MySpace and Facebook pages.

I don’t remember the writer contacting me, so I have to conclude that she found me through the search engines, or somebody told her about me.

Bottom line: When you’re considering media to target with your message, think beyond the obvious.  

Posted In: Blogs, Magazine Publicity, Press Releases/News Releases
posted On: 1/14/2008: 11:30 pm: By Joan
Comments: 11 Comments