The Publicity Hound’s Blog  

BlueStreak Publishing, which recently published the book, “Lifelong Looper–The Story of a Caddie Legend” by Cindy O’Krepki, is compiling short, heartwarming stories about golf, caddies, fathers or grandfathers for future books and is especially interested in ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

Stories should be non-fiction, from 300-1,200 words. You may submit more than one story. Include an author’s bio in 50 words or less. Email all submissions.

If your story is published, you’ll be credited and your bio will be included. You will be paid upon publication, and payment will be determined at that time.

If your story is chosen for a future book or any other projects, you will be notified and your permission to print it will be requested. However, if your story is not chosen, you will not receive a response due to the fact that there are future books for which it may be considered.

Posted In: Authors & Publishers, Writing Articles
posted On: 5/25/2006: 8:15 am: By Joan
Comments: No Comments

Lots of Publicity Hounds spend far too much time crafting the perfect pitch and ignoring a marketing tool that can get them in front of journalists: their bio. 

At Publishers Marketing Association University in Washington, D.C., last week, I cringed when I heard national correspondent Dan Raviv of CBS Radio talk about what he looks for when someone pitches him.

He doesn’t care about their book. He sometimes doesn’t even care about the pitch. The one thing that’s likely to catch his attention is their bio. 

Why did I cringe? Because most bios are more potent than sleeping pills. Authors and speakers, it seems, write the worst bios.

Pull out your own bio right now and read it. Then ask yourself. “If I were a journalist, would I interview me?”

Chances are, you wouldn’t. I wouldn’t either. And most other journalists wouldn’t.

As I stated in my “Special Report #46: Tips for Rewriting Your Boring Bio,” the best bios reflect the personality of the writer. Great bios include fun little tidbits about people’s hobbies, or their pets, or the one thing they want to accomplish before they die, or the best piece of advice they got from mom.

You can see how I’ve offered short and long verisons of my bio here.

One of my favorite bios that I featured in my special report is actually an introduction for a speaker who is a veterinarian, and it morphs into a funny poem that has the audience howling with laughter before the speaker takes the microphone. 

Take a half hour to rewrite your bio, right now, so journalists like Dan Aviv call you for an interview

Posted In: Authors & Publishers, Media Kits
posted On: : 7:15 am: By Joan
Comments: 1 Comment

OverTime (OT) Magazine, the leading business and lifestyle guide for professional athletes, is looking for product pitches for its annual “Holiday Hot List,” which reveals what athletes will be giving and receiving this holiday season.

The gifts on the OT Holiday Hot List range from the affordable, to the elite and customizable, and include 10-12 gifts and stocking stuffers based on their uniqueness and specific appeal to athletes who might need a little help deciding what to buy their mom, dad, best buddies, or that special someone this year.

If you think you’ve got the right product for this elite demographic audience of more than 35,000 professional athletes and sports industry insiders, email a brief introductory message outlining your product suggestion and its price to Melissa Gillespie. No photos or image attachments, please. The magazine will ask for them if your product pitch passes the editorial screening.

Posted In: Business Promotion, Magazine Publicity
posted On: : 6:26 am: By Joan
Comments: No Comments

If you’re trying to get your product or service in front of girls age 10-16, try pitching to the monthly POP STAR! magazine, with a circulation of 250,000.

The Gift List, a subscription-based service that provides contact info for print and broadcast media outlets that are planning gift sections or features, says POP STAR! is slooking for story ideas, products and services for its gift section in December, as well as information for year-round coverage.

They are interested in reviewing music, entertainment, games, toys, books, beauty products, etc. Clothing is of interest if a celebrity is wearing it. Tech gadgets would have to tie into a story they may be doing.

The magazine prefers digital photos by email at 300 dpi in jpeg, and attachments are OK. The magazine occasionally shoots its own products in-house and will call and ask you to send your product if necessary.

Send information to POP STAR!, 1501 Broadway, Suite 2002, New York, NY 10036. Contact Maressa Brown, Assistant Editor, at maressa@popstaronline.com and Christina Colangelo, Editorial Assistant, christina@popstaronline.com.

Posted In: Magazine Publicity
posted On: 5/24/2006: 6:07 pm: By Joan
Comments: No Comments

Here are the biggest mistakes people make when they pitch TV talk show producers.  

• They pitch a producer whose name they added to their Rolodex four years ago, but they haven’t contacted the producer since then.
• They contact the wrong producer at the show and don’t know who’s the correct one for their topic.
• The lead the pitch with their book instead of with their expertise.
• They mention only themselves and are reluctant to pitch other guests to appear on the same show because they don’t want others to hog the spotlight.
• They have no idea what kinds of segments a producer specializes in.
• They send their entire media kit with all their marketing materials to the producer of a show like “Oprah” thinking that if she has a good selection of things to read, she’ll find what she needs and book them for a segment. (There’s no way a producer would ever open a hefty folder.)
• They pitch shows they’ve never watched.
• They offer the same angle to everyone they’re pitching.
• They include their resume with their pitch, which makes it look like they’re job-hunting.
• They send blast-fax pitches to everyone because it’s cheaper than snail-mail, and the pitches won’t get caught in spam filters.

If you too make any of those mistakes, no wonder you aren’t getting interviews.

You must be thoroughly familiar with each show. You must know the names of the producers and which segments they specialize in. You must send succinct, compelling pitches and deliver them in the format in which the producers prefer, along with the correct marketing materials. And you must make every single media outlet believe that your pitch was custom-made only for them. 

I just got my hands on “Harrison’s Guide to the Top National TV Talk and Interview Shows,” and it’s chock full of contact names and pitching tips for 259 of the top shows. The user-friendly guide lets you search for information by topic, or by program in alphabetical order. It also lets you know which producer is the best overall contact and includes lots of specific information on which kinds of guests these producers are looking for.  

Steve Harrison is raising the price after 5 p.m. tomorrow. If you order it today, you’ll also gain admission to a special training teleconference called “Secrets for Getting Booked as a Guest on Top National TV Shows” and featuring a former NBC producer.

Knowing who to call and what to say is more than half the battle.

Posted In: Authors & Publishers, Media Kits, Pitching the Media, TV Publicity
posted On: : 9:55 am: By Joan
Comments: No Comments