If you have numerous experts within your company, nonprofit, government agency, trade association or other group, are you making it easy for the media to find them within seconds? For most of you, I'll bet the answer is no. Take a cue from colleges and universities, which publish annual "experts directories." The directory is an inexpensive, … [Read more...]
How to find freelancers and start forming relationships
When it comes to forming valuable relationships with media people who can help you, treat freelance writers with the same respect you would staff writers. Here's why they can be so valuable to your publicity campaign: ---If you pitch a freelancer, it's their job to tweak the pitch, flesh out the story, and sell the story to the editor. All you … [Read more...]
New to publicity? Start at bottom of media ladder
When someone who has never gotten publicity tells me they want to get onto "Oprah," or onto the front page of The Wall Street Journal, I tell them they're in for a rude awakening. "Do you really wnat to make all your mistakes on America's Number One daytime talk show?" I ask. If you want publicity in major media, you must get experience at a … [Read more...]
TV Weatherpersons Day is February 5
You can score a great publicity hit if you tie into TV Weatherpersons Day on February 5, which this year also happens to be Super Bowl Sunday. I've been preaching about this for years because so many Publicity Hounds have told me it works. A few days before February 5, send your local TV weatherperson who will be on camera that day something that … [Read more...]
Dying to get on ‘Oprah’? Check her website
When Publicity Hounds think of ways to get onto "Oprah," they spend days and sometimes even weeks crafting the perfect pitch that will appeal to her producers. Most of them, I'm guessing, probably miss a vital step that could save them a lot of time. They fail to visit her website and … [Read more...]
Research media outlets before sending expensive press kits
Sotheby's Institute of Art in London and New York sent me a copy of their slick, beautiful 2006/2007 course catalog, which must have cost a fortune to produce. I plucked it from my mailbox this morning. As soon as I opened the envelope, I asked myself, "Why are they sending this to me?" I'm not an artist and don't want to be. I don't … [Read more...]
Attend Business Journal parties, but don’t pitch
The Business Journal in Milwaukee hosts its annual Book of Lists party on January 19, and I'm kicking myself because I have a speaking engagement that night. Similar parties will be held all across the U.S. by … [Read more...]
Dazzling grand opening won’t ensure a great restaurant review
I found the January issue of Restaurant Startup & Growth magazine in my mailbox today, sent by Patricia Luebke, the freelance writer who interviewed me for the story she wrote on restaurant publicity. The article includes a sidebar on how to please the media, with an interesting tip from Craig Gilbert---freelance writer, food … [Read more...]
Don’t lay guilt trips on media that won’t cover you
A reader emailed me today to show me a pitch letter that her friend had composed and wanted to send to her daily newspaper. The letter, about two pages, is meant to interest the media in her business. Not only does it break every rule of pitching etiquette, it pretty much promises that this particular newspaper will write her off as a kook. I am … [Read more...]
Research the media before you pitch
I grumble all the time about media mutts who deliver pitches that have nothing to do whatsoever with the media outlet they're pitching it to. For a perfect example of what I'm talking about, check out this poorly written pitch I received this week from Travel Features Inc., complete with errors: "Kindly find a 900 word travel article on visit to … [Read more...]
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