The Publicity Hound’s Blog  

Matthew Watson, who blogs about technology PR, has compiled a list of the Top 75 PR blogs.

Check the list and see if he included all your favorites. (This blog is Number 30, thank you.) He produced the list by plucking out blogs with the words publicity, PR and public relations from those on the AdAge Power 150. 

That means that one of my favorites, like BL Ochman’s What’s Next Blog, which ranked Number 39 on Ad Age’s list, didn’t even make The Top 75 list. BL, by the way, is my guest expert during the Nov. 6 teleseminar on “How to do Social Networking, Run a Business & Still Have a Life.”

If your PR blog is missing from Matthew’s list, post a comment and let him know. If it’s missing from the Ad Age list, let them know here. The blog must be operating for the past six months and have at least 50 posts.  At least half of the blog’s content must pertain directly to marketing. Both lists, by the way, generate great publicity for the creators. 

OK Hounds, read the Top 75 list and then weigh in. Which is your favorite PR blog, on or off the list, and why?

Posted In: Advertising, Blogs, Contests
posted On: 10/27/2008: 10:03 am: By Joan
Comments: No Comments

Jeff Elliot of Cedar Rapids, Iowa writes:

“I am a manager at Planet X, a family entertainment center  in Cedar Rapids, Iowa featuring mini golf, bumper cars, space bikes, space ball, rock climbing and arcade games.  We serve food and cater to many birthday parties and corporate events.

“Do your Hounds have any clever ideas on how we can celebrate our 10th year anniversary in January 2009?  We’re planning our anniversary celebration all of next year. Our website is at http://www.planetxfuncenter.com.”

Posted In: Business Promotion, Contests
posted On: 10/21/2008: 8:41 am: By Joan
Comments: 5 Comments

Most of us may forget the “lipstick on a pig” controversy by next week.

But I’m betting the word lipstick will be front and center on the stump, straight through to the election and possibly beyond. As soon as the news about Barack Obama’s lipstick comment broke yesterday, the media went nuts.

Race Taylor, a deejay for WPLJ-FM 95.5 in New York City during afternoon drive time, turned it into a contest. He challenged listeners with three words and asked them to guess what he was referring to—words like raisin, petal and wine.  

They’re lipstick colors, of course, and Taylor gave credit to Revlon ColorStay. I suspect Revlon called the station and suggested the contest. That’s a great example of piggybacking onto a sizzling hot topic. Morning and afternoon drive-time shows LOVE fun stuff like this. (See “How to Get Onto Drive-time Radio Shows.”)

Thanks to Pamela J. Principe-Golgolab of PNA Associates Inc.,  a PR and marketing firm in Chester, N.J. for tipping us off to this one.

Posted In: Business Promotion, Contests, General, Radio Publicity
posted On: 9/10/2008: 8:48 pm: By Joan
Comments: 1 Comment

Are you a business or organization celebrating a big anniversary soon?

Or how about just a Publicity Hound who wouldn’t mind being a celebrity in your own town? This idea is great for both.

This year, the Nashville Opera is sponsoring a “Put Me on a Billboard Contest” to raise funds and awareness for a new opera house. Earlier this year, it launched a promotional campaign in which it photographed local celebrities holding their fancy opera glasses, and put the photos on billboards throughout Nashville.

The opera then opened the contest to anyone and asked local opera-lovers to write about why they raise their glasses to opera. They even built a special website for the promotion.

Winners, including Publicity Hound Beverly Wichman, shown here on the right, were photographed with their opera glasses, and the series of photos started appearing over the weekend on digital billboards throughout the city.

If Beverly’s name sounds familiar, you might know her better as one-half of “The Saucy Sisters.” She and her sister, Barbara Nowak, review wine, write books and entertain at corporate events.

Beverly’s winning essay explains how her parents treated her to her first opera at age 10. She loved it so much that she calls opera her “soul music.”

During her many travels throughout the U.S., she would faithfully listen to radio performances by The New York Metropolitan Opera on Saturday nights. So would her parents. After each program, they would call each other to discuss the shows.

“It was like attending the opera together,” she said. “We would wait for the final applause and the curtain would come down. Then we’d call each other and say,’Bravo!’ ”

I love this billboard idea, too, to promote fund-raisers and special events even though you might have to have a big budget to pull it off.  Here’s why it’s so effective:

—It encourages people to become involved in your cause.

—It brings them to your website.

—It does a great job of turning local people into celebrities.

—It helps raise money for a worthwhile cause or issue.

Your next special event can include elaborate promotions like this one, or much simpler, less expensive ways to capture people’s attention, draw crowds, and attract the media.

“How to Plan & Promote Sizzling Special Events,” a series of six interviews I conducted with Debra J. Schmidt, explains how to inject fun and profit into even routine events like the standard business golf outing. For example, Deb tells the story of a Wisconsin group that hosted a women’s golf tournament and created a huge buzz for the event by featuring something as simple a port-a-potties with candles, scented soaps and pretty hand towels.

At the golf banquet that night, the port-a-potties were the topic of conversation, and the participants raved about that that nice, unexpected touch really made the event special.  

Posted In: Contests, Nonprofits, Photos & Graphics, Publicity for Niche Markets, Special Events
posted On: 4/22/2008: 10:11 am: By Joan
Comments: No Comments

Thanks to those of you who nominated The Publicity Hound website for this year’s Writer’s Digest “101 Best Websites for Writers.”

My website made the list again this year, and I’m thrilled.

“Consultant Joan Stewart shares tips on self-promotion and how to get free publicity—a key for any writer living on a tight budget.”

When I plucked the magazine from my mailbox today and saw that I was on the list, I immediately wrote a letter to the editor, hoping for additional free publicity. To increase the chances that the letter will be published, I didn’t just thank the magazine for the designation. I offered tips on how others who made the list can promote the honor.

Here’s the letter:

I’m thrilled that you’ve chosen my website, PublicityHound.com, for your 10th annual “101 Best Websites for Writers” list.

Your endorsement has pulled traffic to my website, encouraged sales, and helped position me as a valuable resource for writers.

Here’s a publicity tip for writers or anyone else who make these prestigious “best of” lists.  Let your blog and ezine readers know about the honor.  Write a press release and distribute it through one of the paid distribution services.  Send press releases to your local newspapers.  Add the information to your MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles.  And display the logo by the organization that has honored you on the homepage at your website.

I’ve been searching for the “101 Best Websites for Writers” logo from Writer’s Digest and can’t seem to find it anywhere on your website.  It appears that the logo or a photo was once on your “Best 101 Websites” page, but it has disappeared.  If you tell me where I can find the logo, I’ll be happy to give Writer’s Digest some publicity by placing the logo on my homepage.  I’ll bet many of the other 99 website owners would too.    

I Googled “Best 101 websites,” and clicked on “images” and eventually found the logo, so I’ll be adding it to my website.  By the way, displaying logos of your trade associations, or groups like the Business Business Bureau if you’re a member, or any “best of” listings adds credibility to your website and makes visitors more inclined to hang around—and maybe even buy. 

What logos can you add to your homepage today to boost your credibility?

Posted In: Blogs, Business Promotion, Contests, Magazine Publicity, Photos & Graphics, Press Releases/News Releases, Publicity on the Internet, Social networking
posted On: 4/11/2008: 10:32 am: By Joan
Comments: 5 Comments