When it comes to deciding if I want free publicity or a paid ad, I’m the Queen of Cheap. I’ll choose free publicity almost every time. You should, too. But if you’re submitting articles to online portals, where you're promoting your expertise and attracting the attention of editors and publishers, you don’t want to broadcast to the world that … [Read more...]
Hounds help author of book on grief
Fourteen Publicity Hounds had advice for Julie Berry of Rivendell Communications in Sugar Grove, Pennsylvania. Julie's company represents an author who has become an expert on grief and loss. The author is also a mountain climber and nature lover who enjoys sharing the lessons she learns from physical challenges with nature. Julie said typical book … [Read more...]
Make it easy for us to write your obituary
Publicity Hounds everywhere like to go out with a bang. No, they don't write their own obituaries. They make it easy for others to write them. How? By making sure they have a lively, interesting, compelling bio on file. That means: --No tedious summaries of every job ever held. --No mention of every school they've attended. --No boring … [Read more...]
“Fox & Friends” takes irreverant view of top stories
As an associate producer of "Fox & Friends," Jess Todtfeld has heard it all from people who have no clue how to pitch. Particularly annoying are authors who call and want to spend the entire time asking him about topics that the show covers. "Then they follow that with a book title pitch," he says. "They figure the book title should be the … [Read more...]
Fighting City Hall with a pothole party
Thanks to Publicity Hound Gina Warner of New Orleans, Louisiana, for telling me about a clever publicity stunt that resulted in stories galore in the media awhile ago in the Big Easy. Residents in the 5100 block of Cannes Street celebrated the first birthday of a pothole measuring 5 feet across and more than a foot deep. The bash--complete with … [Read more...]
Pitch stories for TV’s warm & fuzzy finale
Just before the local evening news is coming to an end, you hear the TV anchor lead off the final story of the night with the same two words. "Finally, tonight..." What follows is a warm and fuzzy finale, a 60-second slice of fluff that makes you smile as you head to bed. It might be a story about a worker from the sanitation department … [Read more...]
How to promote an online honeymoon gift registry
Maya Sunpongco of Giftpile.com in Chula Vista, California, wants to know how to promote her online honeymoon registry. From Danielle Shanke of Tempe, Arizona: "Rather than pitch a story to her local media, target brides specifically through bridal magazines and websites. You'll have a much more qualified audience. I bet you could easily pitch a … [Read more...]
Emphasize readers in press releases
Christine Slowinski of the Girl Scout Council in Waukesha, Wisconsin writes with a helpful reminder about writing news releases: "I created a release based on a national Girl Scout study that defined what girls are afraid of. Initially, my headline was "Girls and Safety: National Institute Releases Study Linking..." (by that time I lost them, … [Read more...]
Help weeklies cover sports
If your daughter plays on the junior high soccer team, but your local weekly newspaper acts like the team doesn't exist, quit grumbling and find a notebook and a pen. If your son participates in ice skating competitions, but the team has never had its photo in the paper, get a camera and learn how to use it. Even if you participate in an obscure … [Read more...]
Use powerful boldface type when emailing story ideas
When you send a journalist a story idea, either by snail-mail letter or email, do you put the most important phrases in boldface? You should. Boldface type is powerful. It attracts the eye and helps the reader cut through the clutter. It's also a powerful sales tool. All those long sales letters you receive in the mail are filled with boldface … [Read more...]
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