8 Ways to Get the Biggest Marketing Bang Out of SlideShare [Love Tip #4 for capturing leads] http://ow.ly/aLJGG

How to Use Facebook Ads to Get More Quality Leads and Attract More Blog Traffic. http://ow.ly/aLP4N

Wall Street Journal uses Facebook timeline to tell the story of Facebook’s IPO [Very clever] http://ow.ly/aNlnY

5 things they never tell Twitter newbies, but should. http://ow.ly/aNBnb

What to do when a LinkedIn recommendation for you isn’t quite right. http://ow.ly/aNl4q

27 highly recommended WordPress plug-ins. http://ow.ly/aOtTl

PR Peeps: Check out the “insta pitch” idea from PR guy Christopher Lee Nutter. [6th sub-head] http://ow.ly/aP0Ig

25 Link-Building Tips to Drive Traffic to Your Website. http://ow.ly/aPajJ

Infographic explains how long it takes to become an expert in various fields. http://ow.ly/aPcdD

 When Becky Gomes of Pittsburgh attended the ArtiGras festival in Jupiter, Fla., several years ago, she saw colorful doodles, drawn by well-known celebrities, that were being auctioned off.

“That is just brilliant!” she thought. “Why don’t I do that for Cystic Fibrosis?”

Becky is on the Board of Directors for the nonprofit and got involved because her daughter, who is now 11, has the genetic disease that affects the lungs and the pancreas. When it was time to duplicate the fund-raiser for her own group, she  turned to Contact Any Celebrity (affiliate link), which sells the Celebrity Black Book, a database of contact information for more than 59,000 celebrities.

It includes a template for a “doodle letter” that Becky used when writing to celebs to ask for their contributions.

She include a photo of her daughter and mentioned that “Katie has Cystic Fibrosis” and gave a short explanation of what CF is. 

“I tell them a little bit about her day, what she goes through,” Becky said.

The response has been so good that CF has been sponsoring the fund-raiser for five year. It has received doodles from:

• Loni Anderson
   
• Mort Walker, creater of the “Beetle Bailey” comic strip
   
• Cathy Guisewite, creator of the “Cathy” comic strip
   
• Betty White, who drew a picture of her dog
   
• Dom DeLuise
   
• Sarah Jessica Parker, whose 8 x 10 portrait of herself , signed, along with another doodle of herself, started a bidding war and raised $500
   
• Roseanna Arquette, who sent a 3-pack

Cystic Fibrosis sent 600 letters and got a 6 percent response rate, much higher than the normal 1 percent.

“It really raises a lot of money for CG. It gives us something for the silent auctions that’s a little bit different. It’s not just a basket of wine. It’s something that people like.”

Plan a special event around the celebration, invite the community, offer a fund-raising component to help a local charity, and promote it like crazy online and offline.

That’s what the Niederkorn Library in Port Washington, Wis., is doing this Saturday, May 12, to celebrate two librarians’ combined 206-pound weight loss.  Adult services librarian Annie Bahringer (shown at left in the striped shirt) has lost 105 pounds under her doctor’s supervision. Children’s librarian Cindy Beyer, who is in my Weight Watchers class, has lost 101 pounds.

“The Wellness Open House was my idea,” Cindy said. “Annie and I talked about it when we started on this weight loss journey and agreed that when we each reached 100 pounds, we’d have a private party and invite our friends. I thought it would be fun to have a Wellness Open House and invite the community.”  

The open house will feature local health care experts who have donated prizes that include massage certificates, Weight Watchers products and gift certificates.
   
   
Healthy Food, Too

Annie will be making healthy snacks such as Wasabi Crisps, Apricot Canapes with blue cheese and chopped pistachios, and Mini Caprese Bites featuring fresh mozzarella, basil and cherry tomatoes on a stick. Cindy will bring the desserts, including a Weight Watchers recipe for Peanut Butter Dip. 

The library is asking those who attend to contribute a non-perishable food item to give to the local food pantry. It hopes to collect at least 200 pounds of food.

I love the fliers that that library is using to market the event. At the bottom, it lists each woman’s goals for 2012.
 

Cindy’s goals:

• Lose another 50 pounds
• Participate in two charity walks
• To be fit and strong
   

Annie’s goals:

• A 60-mile bike ride
• Participate in a charity bike ride
• Write a healthy meals cookbook

Ideas on How You Can Celebrate

Here are six ideas on how you can sponsor other types of special events and generate fabulous publicity.
   
   
1. Employees Who Have Stopped Smoking

If a group of employees have stopped smoking beyond, say, six months, plan a celebration. For entertainment, invite a magician who can create “smoke” with dry ice as part of his show. Ask for donations for the American Lung Association or another worthy smoking cessation group.
   
   
2. Employees Who Have Run, Walked, Swam, Rowed or Skied

Sports-related competitions often attract teams from an organization or company. If your team takes the first-place trophy in, say, a cross-country ski event, sponsor a ski clinic with free lessons. Ask for donations to groups that teach people with disabilities how to ski.   
   
   
3. Employee of the Year

If your organization honors an Employee of the Year, a company open house would be a nice tie-in. Invite the community, and provide refreshments. Does the employee have a favorite charity?

Pitch the story to your local business journal, local bloggers and industry bloggers. 

4. Volunteer(s) of the Year

Does your nonprofit choose a Volunteer of the Year? Honor him or her—or all of them—at special awards ceremonies.  The Hospice of Palm Beach sponsors an annual luncheon for volunteers. Look on the left side of this page, where visitors to their website can contribute without attending. 

5. Honor Local Heroes

What a great community service this would be! Decide what types of heroes you want to honor. Consider asking the community to nominate their favorites.

Invite the heroes, as well as their families, to the event. 
   
If you have other ideas for similar events, I’ve reserved a spot for you in the Comments section below.

Do you feel that someone you are close to such as spouse, significant other, family member or close friend doesn’t listen to you? Does this drive you nuts? How have you tried to solve this problem and remain in the relationship? Have you found ways to cope with people in your life who are not listening? Has anyone ever accused you of not listening? Have you taught yourself to be a better listener?

Note: This is not a story about how kids don’t listen to their parents.

If you have funny or interesting stories to tell about this topic, please email to aceb5@aol.com and send details of your anecdote and contact information. Anyone quoted will need to be willing to use their name.

1. Multi-tasking, research shows, isn’t productive. In fact, the opposite is true.

If I’m in the audience to learn, and I’m busy listening, and busy tweeting, something’s got to give. If you can do both tasks exceptionally well, great. I can’t. So I won’t.
   
   
2. I don’t want to miss one valuable lesson from the speaker who’s on the platform or from things I see in the room.

At Publishing University, sponsored by the International Book Publishers Association, in March of this year, I was a member of three panels that discussed social media and online book promotion. I love hearing Dan Poynter, the self-publishing expert, and attended his presentation on Saturday morning, but arrived late. If I hadn’t been paying attention, I would have missed the clipboard he had sent around the room so audience members could give him their names and email addresses and subscribe to his ezine.

“That’s brilliant,” I thought to myself when I glanced up and saw the clipboard. When I speak, I send a basket around the room and ask for business cards if people want to subscribe to my newsletter. Problem is, people’s email addresses are sometimes old ones, or they’re not even printed on their business cards. I don’t know that until I get back to the office.

Thanks, Dan. I now use a clipboard.
   
   
3. I don’t want to have to worry about tweeting when I’m away.

Leaving for a conference for a few days and freeing myself of any social media responsibilities is actually a treat. Try it. 
   
   
4. These events are terrific places to network, build relationships and recruit joint venture partners.

I don’t want to miss hearing an interesting question from an audience member who I might want to meet later for coffee.
   
   
5. When I speak at these events, it galls me to see audience members glued to their mobile phones, texting like mad.

If I had my way, I’d prohibit anyone from even bringing a phone into the room. I want to give the speaker the same courtesy I expect. That means I’m no longer going to encourage audience members to use a special hash tag, or even tweet tips from my presentation. I want their eyes on me, not their phones.   
   
   
What about you? If you tweet from these events, why do you do it? If not, why not? If you’re a speaker, what do you think when you see people texting during your presentations?

5 things to do if your Facebook fan page disappears. http://ow.ly/aDJW5

Need Pinterest stats to convince the boss that you should be pinning? Cool infographic at http://ow.ly/aBmbW

Don’t freak if a reporter asks, “Is it OK if I record our interview?” Here’s what to do. http://publicityhound.net/?p=11134

Pinning videos on Pinterest is a cinch with these tips [some of them advanced] from Grant Crowell. http://ow.ly/aDrOR 

6 questions to determine if your story is worthy. http://ow.ly/aFgNW 

5 Major Trade Show Nuisances for the Press & How to Avoid Them.  http://sandstormmedia.com/home/nuisances

How Many Of These Hard-To-Pronounce Brand Names Are You Saying Wrong? http://read.bi/K2giAv’ 

How to create a successful editorial calendar for your blog. http://ow.ly/aGPQI 

Create a cool infographic comparing your Twitter stats to your favorite celeb’s. Free. http://ow.ly/aHtZG 

Best book publicists on Twitter (long list). http://ow.ly/aHJyR 

They’re everywhere these days, and you can’t spend much time on Twitter, or surfing the web, without stumbling across one.

Create your own at Visual.ly, a start-up that allows anyone to quickly and easily create professional quality designs with their own data. When you’re ready to show your work to the world, publish it on your Visual.ly profile, your own personal showcase. Here’s what Mashable says about the site.    
 
 
The Publicity Hound vs. Oprah

I don’t have any data at my fingertips that I’d like to use as the basis for an infographic, so I created an account and then chose one of their templates that lets me compare my Twitter stats with those of a celebrity. I chose Oprah, and told Visual.ly I want a “Faceoff.” I let Visual.ly access my Twitter account, and then chose my hairstyle, hair color, eye color and skin color. Just a few clicks of the mouse and—voila!—you can see how we compare (I’m definitely NOT a rocker, and if only I were that skinny!).

Go ahead. Create your own Faceoff with your favorite celebrity or Twitter friend and share the bit.ly link below so we can see how you compare. Or, choose “What Kind of Facebook Monster Are You? Create a Custom Monster from Your Facebook Stats.” This site has at least one bug. I tried comparing my Twitter stats with those of Martha Stewart, and she appeared as a man.

What do you think of Visual.ly? Do you know of similar sites that let you create infographics this easily? If so, have you used them in a PR or publicity campaign? Don’t forget to share your bit.ly link below.

If you like this tip about Visual.ly, sign up for my free ezine in the box at right. Publicity, PR and marketing tips every Tuesday and Saturday.

You spend the first 10 minutes making nice, and then the reporter pulls a notebook and pen out of his pocket.

After the first few easy questions to put you at ease, he asks, “Is it OK if I record our interview?”

Don’t freeze up. Don’t freak out. Don’t walk out of the restaurant. 

That question actually works in your favor because, with a recording, there’s no excuse for inaccurate facts or quotes.

If the reporter records the interview, you should, too, so you have a record of it.

Here’s a list of six voice-recorder apps for the iPhone. If you have a different type of phone, do a Google search for an app for your brand.

“Is it OK if I record our interview?” is one of 27 questions a reporter might ask you. I’ve included them all, explained how you should answer them, and noted which ones are trick questions, in my updated “Special Report #2: Questions You Can Expect Reporters to Ask During an Interview.” (I worked as a newspaper reporter and editor for 22 years and I know all the trick questions.)  

The best surprise is no surprise.

Mistake #1 Made by Many Authors:

They wait until their books are written to figure out the target market.

Mistake #2:

They give no thought whatsoever to marketing the book until it’s printed.

How do I know? 

Because over the years, several hundreds authors have called me for help when they can’t sell their books. The first question I ask is, “Who’s the target market for your book?”

Often, this is what I hear: “My Aunt Sally loves the book and says she thinks everybody should read it. So I guess the answer to your question is everybody.”

Dear author, you’re saying, then, that you want your book to compete with every other book out there? And you’re tying up, in some cases, several years writing, rewriting, editing and proofing, yet you have no idea who should buy it? And you don’t know how to craft a specific sales message to a targeted audience?
   
   
Learn to Spin Two Plates at Once 

You need to force yourself while you’re writing your book to figure out the many ways you’re going to market it.  By working on the marketing and the writing simultaneously, you will end up writing a better book. 

By forcing yourself to think about how you’re going to sell the book, you’ll end up improving the content. In fact, I compiled this list of 10 questions you should ask before writing your book.

Spinning two plates at the same time is particularly important if you’re hoping to lure a major publisher. And every publisher will want assurances that your book will sell. They also want to know that you’re willing and able to shoulder a major part of the publicity effort, even though their publicist will be working on your behalf for about six months.
   
   

Let Peggy McColl Help 

Author Peggy McColl teaches the “market and write simultaneously” trick to authors. Peggy really knows how to sell books.  She has catapulted her own book to the Amazon, Barnes & Noble and New York Times Bestseller Lists.

She has an ingenious yet simple, five-step formula any author can use to make their book a bestseller at almost no cost. She has used it to generate $35,618.52 in sales the very first time out of the gate.

She’ll explain it during a free 90-minute webinar (or telephone seminar) at either 2 or 7 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, May 3, when Steve Harrison interviews her on “How to Make Your Book a Bestseller Even If You’re a Marketing Novice. Register here.

You’ll hear why her method works for all types of books, fiction or non-fiction, regardless of subject including self-published, POD, ebooks, newly-published—even those that have been out for years.

Peggy will also discuss Facebook pages, and why you need your own page just for your book. As for selling your book on Amazon, learn the big mistake most publishers make on that site.

I promote this free webinar as a compensated affiliate because I dislike hearing from sad authors who don’t know their target market, and can’t park in their garages because of stacks of cardboard boxes filled with books they can’t sell.

How authors promote each other’s books on Pinterest. http://ow.ly/asCKj

Speakers, Trainers, Authors: Excellent source for finding best vendors & solutions to problems: http://ow.ly/at3f8

8 rules of Pinterest etiquette. http://ow.ly/at5Vj

4 ways to promote your retail business BEFORE you open. http://ow.ly/aw536

PR pros, 10 ways to woo journalists on Twitter. http://ow.ly/awvbp

Blogging tips for fiction authors. http://ow.ly/awvqg

Great tips on how to respond to a HARO query. [Tip: Read the ENTIRE query.] http://ow.ly/ayPT6

The Fancy, a rival to Pinterest, lets people do a “match by color” visual search. http://ow.ly/atSjo

5 ways to use LinkedIn Company Pages to drive traffic and sales. http://ow.ly/asbbJ

Guess how many small businesses don’t link to their social media profiles? Lost opportunity! http://ow.ly/asbve