If you had to choose one or the other, which would you choose: a blog or press releases?

Arianna Huffington, cofounder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post, says a blog is more powerful. Her comments appear during a Q&A interview in the Febuary issue of  PR Week.  

The magazine asked if PR pros were reaching out to offer rebuttals to opinions at her website, “or are they not reaching out as much?” Her response:

“We absolutely get a lot of response from PR pros. I think a lot of them are recognizing that it is more effective now to blog about something, to have the principals blog about something, rather than send press releases. The world of the press release is dramatically changing.” 

I agree. Here’s why:

• Blogs do a far better job establishing you as an expert in your field.
   
• They give readers a chance to comment, and you can continue the conversation by replying to their comments.
    
•  Blogs generally get better search engine ranking than press releases.
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• Other bloggers who like your posts, or not, will be more inclined to link to them and comment on them instead of linking to and commenting on your press releases. That’s because blogs are usually more visible than press releases, which are often buried inside a company’s online press room.
     
• Blogs are the new website.  Many companies no longer have to pay several thousand dollars or more for a website.  You can even run an Internet marketing business from a free WordPress blog, using a good shopping cart like KickStart Cart.  (Download the free ebook on how to pick a shopping art system that saves you money.  I’m an affiliate.)      

Blogging expert Patsi Krakoff, my guest expert during the teleseminar on Time-saving Tips for Smart Business Blogging, said blogs have also saved many businesses money on search engine optimization. By using keywords in press release headlines and text, your blog posts can pull in free traffic.

That doesn’t mean you should abandon press releases, however.

And unlike blog posts, press releases are generally written in a format that makes it easy for journalists to simply cut and paste.

Many bloggers and journalists, particularly those covering topic-specific beats, subscribe to press releases via RSS feeds or press release distribution services like Expertclick and PRWeb. You can distribute your releases using those services, and then link to the releases from a blog post and your online press room. That’’s what I do.  You can also post releases to your Facebook Fan Page. (See 11 Ways to Avoid Missed Opportunities on Facebook.)  

Are you blogging yet? Check out Patsi’s five blog “must haves.” It’s the second item in this week’s issue of The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week. You can subscribe to the free ezine in the sign-up box just below my photo on the right side of this page.

If you struggle with press releases, sign up for my free tutorial that includes press release tips galore.  It’s a 12-week course packed with information on how to write and distribute online press releases.

Weigh in with your opinion. Which is more powerful? Press releasesd or blogs? How do you use them together?

Phyllis May of Key West, FL, writes:

“March 1 is my day in Chase’s Calendar of Events.  It’s ‘Refired not Retired Day’ and it’s also the title of my book. It’s a humoprous book that shows people how to make the most of life after retirement.  

“Might your Publicity Hounds have suggestions for things I can suggest for people to do on March 1? Amazingly, because I have a Google Alert, there is a restaurant in Australia that has it on their calendar. I wrote and told them I thought I should be there but they didn’t respond. Darn.

“One time I saw an assisted living facility promoting it but I truly don’t know any BIG ideas. Can your creative readers help?”

Several readers wrote to say they loved the item in last week’s ezine regarding the Newspaper Map of the World, the interactive  map at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. that shows headlines in today’s newspapers in hundreds of countries.

When you place your cursor on a particular city, you’ll see headlines for today’s newspaper. If you double-click on the dot, the page gets larger. I was in a hurry when I wrote that item.

But since then, I’ve been thinking about ways to use the map, particularly for people seeking publicity:

1. In place of an expensive media directory. It won’t come close to giving you you all the information a media directory will, but it’s a good place to start if all you need to know is the name of a newspaper in a certain city.
          
2. If you’re traveling to a particular city—for a speaking engagement or book tour, for instance—and you’d love to do an interview with the local newspaper when you get there, you can stay abreast of the news weeks before you arrive.
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3. The map will also help you find local reporters who are covering the major stories of the day. Once you know who covers what, you can read their articles before you pitch them and perhaps tie something they’ve written previously into your pitch. (You can also probably find more in-depth information on who covers what at the newspapers’ websites, particularly for larger newspapers.)
         
4. You can follow the Newseum on Facebook and learn quickly whether major newspapers ran stories of certain breaking news events on their front pages.
       
5. You can refer to it if you’re job-hunting, willing to relocate, and you want a job at a newspaper. (Are any of those people left these days?) 

OK, I thought I could come up with six ways to use the map, but I’m all out of ideas. The sixth one is yours.

How would you use this Map of the World?

Shotgun Sports magazine is looking for articles on trap, skeet, hunting, sports clays and 5-stand.

Hunting articles can include the following topics: upland birds, large game, small game, waterfowl and turkeys. Readers consider these to be the toughest targets: deer, grouse, waterfowl, quail, turkeys, chukar, pheasants and elk (not often taken with a shotgun, but it can be done), so they’d like help with those.

“When you are writing about clay targets, these are the ones they say they most need help with: rabbits, dropping targets, long, flat crossers, chandelles, battues, long, fast crossers, hard rights, straightaways in the wind, teal, trap doubles, and very slight angles that look like a straightaway and, of course, the mental side of the game,” editor Linda Martin says. ” The non-competitive shooters just want to know how to have more fun and beat their own personal best.”

She said readers want more reloading advice, gun-cleaning and maintenance tips, and advice that will help non-competitive and new or struggling shooters improve. They’d also like tips on how to overcome those one or two targets that seem to be keeping them from moving ahead.

Email your stories to her for the 2010-2011 Shotgun Sports schedule

Jill Starishevsky of New York, NY writes:

“I am a prosecutor of child abuse and sex crimes in New York City.  I wrote a children’s book called My Body Belongs to Me to teach children that if someone touches them inappropriately, they should tell a parent or teacher right away. 

“In a non-threatening, engaging manner, this guide establishes boundaries and teaches kids that when it comes to their body, there are some parts that are for ‘no one else to see’ and empowers them to tell a parent or teacher if someone touches them inappropriately. 

“Most importantly, this narrative assures young ones that sexual molestation is not their fault, and by speaking out, the child will continue to grow big and strong.  A ‘Suggestions for the Storyteller’ section is also included to help lead a comfortable discussion afterward.

“How can I promote this book in traditional and social media?”

(Read more about how to submit your own question to this blog.)

Struggling to find a good story idea to pitch to the business reporter at your daily newspaper?

Wondering how to use your Facebook Fan page to promote your product or service?

Trying to catch the attention of the editors at Oprah’s magazine?

Help is on the way. Actually, it’s called “Help This Hound,” and it’s one of the most popular features in my weekly ezine, The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week, delivered every Tuesday.

      
Here’s how it works

Anyone who needs help with publicity or marketing can email a question to me, along with their name and town. If I use your question, I’ll post it here at my blog, and then print the question in my ezine.

Readers who are willing to help can offer their best ideas as blog comments.  I choose the best ideas and print them in the following week’s newsletter. Authors, small business owners, PR people, publicists and nonprofits submit the most questions.

  
Here’s why “Help This Hound” is so popular

• Most of us are too close to our own businesses to be able to see clever angles or unusual hooks that can catch a journalist’s attention.
    
• Many Publicity Hounds are on razor-thin or non-existent publicity and marketing budgets. They appreciate the free ideas.
     
• The blog posts live forever. That means that as the search engines pull in traffic, ideas will be accumulating here over several months or years. If I use your question, check back every few weeks to see who else has commented.
     
• Even though I created this service to help you solve a problem, your question exposes you to my audience. Several people who have submitted questions over the years have gotten calls from journalists and bloggers who read about them in my newsletter. Others have even received additional business.

No anonymous questions, please. Be sure to offer enough information in your question so that my readers fully understand the problem. Explain what you’ve done that has or hasn’t worked. And include a link to your website. If appropriate, attach a photo of your product.

Right now, I’m short on questions, and I could really use yours. But don’t just email it to me. Help other Hounds by contibuting your best ideas when you see a question in my newsletter that you can answer.

  
How to subscribe

If you don’t subscribe to my newsletter, you can do so by typing your name and email address into the box on the right side of this screen, under my photo. Then check your email box (or spam folder) and click on the confirmation link.  

By the way, have you downloaded the five free publicity ebooks that include the best publicity tips from my ezine in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009? They’re chock full of ideas, and there’s something there for everyone. 

As you’ll notice in the ebooks, many of the best publicity tips, success stories, and dog jokes and videos come directly from my readers, with attribution. 

I’d love to see yours.  Bring ‘em on!

If your organization publishes a membership directory, allow members to include URLs for social media sites like Facebook Fan pages, Twitter profiles, YouTube channels and LinkedIn profiles, not just URLs for their websites.

That would be a nice value-added feature for chambers of commerce, convention and visitors bureaus, health care associations, school groups, etc. and it would distinguish your group’s benefits from those of your competitors.

I just received a copy of the 2010 Business Directory for the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. While glancing through the members’ section, I noticed that all the companies, even mine, have only the URLs for their websites.

Can’t afford to let every member include social media URLs because of high printing costs? Then charge a small additional fee. 

Does your organization include these URLs in its membership directories? If not, why not? What other information do you include that members find valuable?

Artists frequently make the mistake of failing to capture email addresses at their websites because they can’t think of anything to offer in return.

That’s why I was gratified that on today’s preview call for the smARTist Telesummit 2010, the annual virtual extravaganza on how artists can market their work, artist Melanie Banayat asked:

“What’s the best way to use your website to build a mailing list? Internet marketers use lead capture pages to build theirs and offer something of value in exchange for someone’s email address. What can an artist offer?”

Host Ariane Goodwin directed the question to me. Here’s my list of nine freebies:

1. A video. Demonstrate how to do something. An oil painter can show how to blend colors. A needlepoint artist can show how to do a complicated stitch. A woodworker can show the best way to polish a piece of furniture. 
      
2. Special previews. Offer “sneak peek” previews of your artwork and other projects only to those on your email list.
     
3. A coupon. Offer a coupon good for X dollars off a purchase. The bricks-and-mortar stores do this all the time. A good shopping cart will let you create a coupon. Here’s a free ebook on how to buy a shopping cart. (I’m an affiliate.)
     
4. An article. Think of the Number One question people ask about your artwork. Write an article on that topic.
    
5. A buyer’s kit. Let’s say you sell beautiful handmade jewelry. What’s the best way to store it so it doesn’t get damaged?
    
6. A flow chart.  Show the steps you follow to create something.
     
7. Quotations and jokes. If you paint horses, how about offering the top 20 quotes about horses? Or the 10 best horse jokes? You can find them free all over the Internet.
     
8. A trouble-shooting guide. If you sell beautiful clothing made of rich fibers, explain how to remove stains from the material. What can the buyer do if the material snags? What are some tricks on how to cover up a spot that can’t be removed?    
       
9. A cleaning guide. How do you clean various types of artwork or things like delicate figurines, origami,  or beaded jewelry?

I offer a free cheat sheet on “89 Reasons to Send a Press Release” which you’ll get when you type your email address in the box on the right side of this screen. I listed many more ideas in my special report that lists 55 free things you can offer to generate publicity or capture people’s email addresses.

Once you start building a list, keep in touch with your readers by reguarly sending free tips and updates about your businesses. And don’t forget to let the media know about the freebie you’re offering. That’s one of many ways that artists can generate publicity.

If you’re an artist, or you’re in any other type of business, what kinds of freebies do you offer in exchange for email addresses? Let’s hear about yours.

If the media, bloggers or anyone else come to your website looking for the navigational button that will give them all the background information about your company, what will they find?

If you’re trying to be  clever and call that part of your website an “asset library” or “company press club,” visitors will find utter confusion, says publicity expert Marcia Yudkin. In this week’s issue of her ezine, Marketing Minute, Marcia correctly points out that an organization’s attempt to be creative can backfire.

She says she found one company that called its online media room an “asset library,” a phrase that stonewalls the visitor. She Googled “asset library” and discovered that other companies are using it, too. She also found a company that calls its online media room a “company press club.”

“Press Club implies a clique of media followers who clink glasses with each other,” she said.

What should you call it?

So what SHOULD you call that part of your website that helps the media and other  visitors find your bio, photos, background material, press releases and contact information?

I like “Press Room,” which is what I use, or “For the Media.” ”Media Kit” is OK, too, although a media kit can sometimes be part of an online press room. ”Media Room” is OK but some people don’t like it because they think it sounds too much like a home entertainment center.

If you REALLY want people to click on that navigational button, you can call it “For the Media Only.”

Yikes! I  just noticed my online press room is horribly out of date. I need to add links to my profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube, as well as information about my new company, My Social Media Solution.   (See “Special Report #22: How to Create an Online Media Room and Keep the Media Coming Back.”)

  
What do you call it?

What do you call that part of your website designed spcifically for journalists, bloggers, or anyone else who wants background information? What names have you found that are too confusing?

And how long has it been since you visited your own Press Room? How much of the content there needs to be updated?

I’d also love to hear your comments about features in your own online press room that have proven helpful to the media and other visitors.

Consuelo Okdie from Tampa Bay, Fla., writes:

“I’m hoping that you or one of your readers will be able to tell me how to get my artwork used as set decoration for TV or films. 

“My work is unique in medium and application as I am one of a very few artists using polymer clay to create illustrations & paintings.  Any information you may be able to give me will be greatly appreciated.”
 
The Publicity Hound says:

First, you need to be willing to do the research necessary to pitch set designers, costume coordinators, production coordinators, prop masters and product placement decision-makers for specific movies and TV shows. I hosted a teleseminar with Amy Bates Stumpf two years ago on How to Get Your Consumer Product  onto the Sets of Movies and TV Shows.

A few quick pointers from that training session:

• The Hollywood Reporter and Daily Variety are magazines that report on upcoming production schedules. That’s a good place to start.
    
• If you’re pitching specific TV shows, be sure watch the show first. In your pitch, explain why you think your product or artwork is a good tie-in.
      
• Don’t send unsolicited products.
     
• Pitch early. Getting in on the ground floor of a TV show or movie or you might miss your opportunity.