Biz Tips Blog: Internet Marketing Tips

Help a Reporter Out: A Goldmine for PR Opportunities

A couple of weeks ago I learned about a guy named Peter Shankman who publishes requests from reporters to his list of subscribers a couple of times a day. His list is called Help a Reporter Out and he gets good stuff.

If you're looking for opportunities to be interviewed for media stories, you want to subscribe to this list. Warning: you will get 2-3 emails per day from Peter. And that's a good thing.

Peter has refined his emails so 1) the subject of each query is near the top of the email so you can quickly scan to see if there is anything you need to pursue, 2) the full request with details and reporter contact info follows.  He's also got a good sense of humor and usually leads the email with a funny comment or observation.

I read Help a Report Out emails as soon as they hit my email box because media inquiries usually require a quick response.  They don't take long to scan and you may hit the jackpot. You can't lose. It's free to subscribe.

Source: Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound

The Blog Squad quoted in The Wall Street Journal

In today's print and online edition of  The Wall Street Journal, I'm quoted in an article about pitching bloggers.  Also included is a case study from one of our clients. I blogged about it on Build a Better Blog.

If you've arrived on this blog as a result of The Wall Street Journal article, welcome! You can learn more about The Blog Squad at our hub site. And if you're new to blogging, get our free white paper on The Great Internet Marketing Challenge: How to Get Your Business Found on the Web.

Everything you ever wanted to know about business blogging is covered on our blog at Build a Better Blog.

Can journalists find you online? Do you have a media plan?

From: The Blog Squad

RE: Our Next Blogging & Beyond Member Call is Wednesday, January 16, 2008, 5:00 pm Eastern

TOPIC: "How to Create a Media Plan for 2008" with The Blog Squad and special guest Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound.

If you want free publicity for your book, product, service, cause or issue, and you don't have a plan on how you're going to achieve it, you've lost the battle even before you've started. Without a plan, you're simply reacting to news events, pitching blindly, and missing opportunities to target the media when they're planning things like seasonal gift guides, and special sections devoted to topics that are a perfect fit with your expertise.

During this 60-minute teleseminar, The Blog Squad will interview publicity expert Joan Stewart (The Publicity Hound). Joan will discuss the importance of creating a media plan that will serve as your roadmap every month of the year.

This call is FREE for all member of the Blogging & Beyond Mentor program. Not a member? Join now to access this call with our special $9.95  30-day trial. 

Join the Blogging and Beyond Mentor Program here.

You will learn:

Free Press Release Builder

It's a privilege to be able to share with you a little solo entrepreneur internet marketing wisdom while Denise is off teaching and vacationing! I'll dive right in with a great new resource I just found out about.

A few years ago, Solo-E.com mounted a 6-month press release campaign. Although we spent a lot of time writing what we thought were solid, non-promotional press releases, they just never achieved the results that made it worth the effort, and so we dropped it as a strategy.

But I know that properly written and promoted press releases can definitely  work -- and maybe if we'd had access to this hot new press release writing tool, we'd have done a better job and gotten the press attention we wanted!

This astounding press releasing-writing resource from EvanCarmichael.com is the most comprehensive I've seen -- and it's easy to read and understand, too. Best yet -- it's free! It features a five step process, with dozens of topic ideas to get you started and a template where you fill in the blanks and it builds your press release for you. Plus direct links to lists of media outlets and scores of additional resources. A definite recommended resource:

Free Press Release Builder

Publicity on a tiny budget

Read this article on Marketing Sherpa: How to Get Tons of Publicity on a Tiny Budget

The methods described in this case study are essentially exactly what Patsi and I advise our clients to do when they have a book, product or service to promote. The author in this case study methodically leveraged the blogosphere to generate not only publicity, but a lot of sales for her books and audio products.

Janine Bolen had a 5 prong stragegy:

• A blog and website
• email newsletter
• solicited reviews from financial bloggers
• Set up Google Alerts to track mentions/reviews
• Sent handwritten note thanking reviewers

Everytime a blogger reviews her book, sales happen.

For more about how to pitch bloggers and the do's and don'ts of getting publicity in the blogosphere, check out the 70 minute audio program we did with Joan Stewart, The Publicit Hound, on How to Pitch the Best Bloggers.

How to Be A Super Radio Guest

You know we love Internet radio and it is all the rage right now. There are more sources for you to get interviews and guest appearances than ever before. But not everybody is accustomed to being on the radio. Whether it's a live show or a podcast that gets turned into an audio MP3 file, there are certain tips for being a super guest so you get invited back. We've had to figure a lot of this stuff out ourselves as we developed our own show, Blogging and Beyond.

The following tips come from Kathleen Gage's ebook Directory of Resources for Internet Radio Interview Opportunities.

Be a STAR Radio Guest

1. Great guests are more difficult to find than most people realize. If you are a star guest, chances are you will be invited back again and again. Additionally, you may get referred to other show hosts.

2. Treat a radio interview as a great opportunity because it is. Here are some simple tips to help you shine.

New Rules for Press Releases: Audio is posted

The audio from today's Blogging and Beyond show, featuring guest expert Joan Stewart is now posted. Joan gave run down on the "new rules" for writing press releases and how much more liberal the rules have become.  No longer are releases written just for the media, but also for consumers.  Check out the show; Joan was terrific, as always.

Earlier this week Patsi posted her 10 Steps for Writing a Press Release. If you're stuck, this is a great place to begin.

We use PRWeb.com to distribute our releases.

RSS Feeds: New Poll

I just set up a new poll over on Build a Better Blog. We want to know if you prefer getting a full feed or a partial feed when you subscribe to get blog update.  Take the poll and let us know!

Blogging Relations: How to Pitch the Best Bloggers

News Flash: You can get huge traffic and sales by getting bloggers to talk about you and your products.

Caveat: Approach bloggers with care or your efforts may explode in your face.

You've heard about PR and how a carefully crafted (usually expensive) public relations campaign can get you media attention that may drive sales.

There's a new game in town: "BR" or Blogging Relations. The stakes are high, and so are the risks. Pay attention to your blogging relations, and you can win big time. But you can’t pitch bloggers the same way you pitch traditional journalists.

www.howtopitchbloggers.com

How to Pitch Bloggers to Get More Publicity

Do you ever wonder how you can create more buzz and awareness for your business?

Special Event!
Join The Blog Squad and The Publicity Hound for an important teleseminar:

How to Pitch the Best Bloggers to Create a Publicity Explosion
Wednesday, September 20, 2006 at 8:30 p.m. ET
Get the details and register here.

(The official announcement will be going out later this week; the first 50 registrants get a free CD of the audio program so register now to reserve your space and your CD!)