Tips, Tricks & Tools for Free Publicity
by Joan Stewart
I confess to watching most of "Who's Your Daddy?", Fox's maudlin melodrama in which a blonde babe tries to pick her biological father out of a line-up of seven men and pocket $100,000. She guessed correctly, of course.
Adoptive parents and others, including the National Council for Adoption, pleaded with Fox's 182 affiliates not to air it. … [Read more...]
by Joan Stewart
When I worked as a newspaper editor for more than 20 years, I had my own pet peeves about people who were clueless about working with the media. They included: --Idiots who called to complain, "You've written about my competitor three times but you've never written about me!" --News releases that didn't list the name or phone number of a … [Read more...]
by Joan Stewart
Did you get mentioned in a newspaper or magazine article recently? Savvy Publicity Hounds are always looking for ways to turn one hit into multiple hits. Here's how: --Make reprints of the article and include them in your media kit. --Post articles by and about you at your web site. --Send an e-mail to business associates with a link to the … [Read more...]
by Joan Stewart
Beth Ann Black of Coppell, Texas has a client, a large group of specialty veterinarians--all for animals--that will celebrate their fifth anniversary this spring. She wants fun promotional ideas, beyond the one they've already thought of: hosting an open house where current and potential clients bring teddy bears to be examined so the doctors … [Read more...]
by Joan Stewart
Smart Publicity Hounds know about the Associated Press Stylebook, "the journalist's bible."
It's the 427-page, spiral-bound book, organized liked a dictionary, that journalists throughout the world consult when they need to know the correct acronym for a government agency. They … [Read more...]
by Joan Stewart
In my workshop “Hey Boss, Mike Wallace is on Line 2,” I share a sneaky tip about how to do background checks on reporters.
Not the kind that will tell you whether they’ve been picked up for drunken driving or filed for bankruptcy. Rather, the kind that will help you determine … [Read more...]
by Joan Stewart
Journalists refer to it as the "nut graph."
It's short for "nut paragraph," the part near the beginning that explains, in a nutshell, what the story is about. The nut graph often lends perspective, includes statistics or makes a comparison between something then and now.
Here's an examples from a recent Wall Street Journal.
A … [Read more...]
by Joan Stewart
Sometimes all you need is a clever play on words and a fun event to generate some great publicity.
Take the concept of happy hour. Remove the booze. Add four-legged hounds. What do you get?
"Yappy Hour," a play date for pooches from 6 to 8 p.m. on a recent Friday night at the Amiable Dog Training School in Milwaukee, … [Read more...]
by Joan Stewart
Prudy Taylor Board of Delray Beach, Florida wants to know how to promote her book, "Murder a la Carte," the first a series titled Recipes for Murder.
From Harry Hoover of Huntersville, North Carolina:
"Every major paper has a food writer or editor. Pitch a story about how to do a themed dinner party featuring murder, mayhem and … [Read more...]
by Joan Stewart
If you manage a restaurant, B&B, museum, amusement park or any other attraction that appeals to tourists, stop dreaming about getting free publicity and do what John Muller does.
John, general manager of Punderson Manor Resort at Punderson State Park in Newbury, Ohio, wants to know what his local tourism board is doing to drum up … [Read more...]
Copyright © 2024 The Publicity Hound ™ · PublicityHound.com