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############################################################ GET FREE PUBLICITY EZINE June 27, 2002 Published by The George McKenzie, Editor See the bottom of this newsletter for Subscribe/Unsubscribe Information ############################################################ This week's headlines (also known in the news biz as "teases"): ***Press Release "Critique of the Week" makes its debut. This feature will evaluate real press releases measured for style and substance. ***Not such a good thing...whether she's innocent or guilty of insider trading, Martha Stewart's "Goddess of Good Things" image is undergoing a meltdown. A panel of PR experts says Martha could be doing a better job of keeping the heat off. ***"Like birds on a wire..." Understand this important trait about the media and your pursuit of free publicity will take flight... ***Are you "wired for sound -- and sight?" You can thump the competition (in addition to "thumping the tub") by offering the media sample audio or video clips on your website. ============================================================ Quick Media Marketing Tip ============================================================ Getting the electronic media's attention with a well written news release is the first step. But if you're not already a "known commodity," they'll want to know if you're a "good interview." Airtime is valuable, and if you can't fill it with interesting information and a lively, enthusiastic presentation (see article below), they won't want you. You can relieve a reporter or producer's anxiety by offering clips from previous radio or TV interviews on your website. Same goes for news stories/features about you that have aired on radio or TV. It sounds intimidating, but you don't have to be a technogeek or a sound engineer to pull it off (I'm neither, but check http://www.get-free-publicity.com/audio/library.htm to see what I've done with our website). Of course, make sure you have the station's permission to do it. They're generally happy to allow it. All you need is a tape recorder, a computer with a sound card that includes a "line in" or microphone input jack, and a sound encoder program. I use Windows Media Encoder, which is available free at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/defau lt.asp For more on how to "wire your website" and even produce your own audio electronic products, check out Tom Antion's teleseminar on creating your own products quickly and inexpensively: http://www.get-free-publicity.com/speakershop.html And for more quick but powerful media marketing tips, get our "Going Public" Fast Track audio cassette. It's a full hour of bits and bites with veteran broadcasters and editors who give you the "scoop" on how to get free publicity that's more believable, powerful, productive, and profitable than any advertising you can buy at any price. http://www.get-free-publicity.com/fasttrack.html ============================================================ RADIO PUBLICITY TELESEMINAR ============================================================ Joan Stewart, a/k/a "The Publicity Hound" will be offering a teleseminar in July with yours truly as guest expert. The topic: how to get free publicity on drive time radio. Tentative date is July 12th at 1:00 PM Eastern. I'll tell you more about it in the next ezine. ============================================================ ADVICE FOR MARTHA ============================================================ If you were Martha Stewart, what would you do about the "insider trading" suspicions swirling around you? A panel of crisis-management consultants and corporate image experts offered some advice in the June 25 edition of USA Today. For a recap, go to http://www.free-advertising.biz/o/martha.htm Thanks to Joan Stewart for spotting this item and printing it in her excellent newsletter. To subscribe, go to http://www.PublicityHound.com ============================================================ SPONSOR MESSAGE ============================================================ Get a free weekly marketing tip directly from Marlon Sanders. Sign up at http://www.get-free-publicity.com/weeklytip.html ============================================================ Advanced Media Marketing Article: The Snowball Effect ============================================================ Okay, so you've tried some of the tecniques we've suggested in this newsletter and WOW! Something clicked. You landed your first radio interview on a local station or a reporter from a nearby newspaper has called. You might be so excited about this initial success that you forget the SECOND most important thing you can do to turn this event into dollars. The end of the interview is just the beginning of your opportunity. During my sportscasting days, I read a quote by baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson. He said, "The media are like birds on a wire. When one flies, they all fly." In other words, once you attract attention, other folks in the media automatically become interested. There's a little bit of a "herd mentality." Here are just a few tips for extending or "proliferating" your media successes WAY beyond the radio station or newspaper that first features you. Broadcast events: Ask the host or producer if they know of others in the media who might be interested in your story. With mass consolidation going on, many media outlets are now part of huge chains or conglomerates, and you may be able to get referrals to people in the same company who produce shows in other cities. Make sure you arrange to get a tape of the show. Offer the tape to print reporters in your area. Post segments of the interview on your website (see Quick Media Marketing Tip, above). Again, make sure you have permission from the station. If you already have some media contacts, be sure to let them know about your appearance before the interview, and offer to send them a tape afterward. Print Stories: Copy the story and put it on your website. Notify other publications who might be interested, including radio and TV. Send a thank you note to the reporter who wrote the story, and in an oh-by-the-way fashion, suggest other topics of similar interest. Think of yourself as a resource, and do anything you can to make the reporter think of you that way too. Get reprints of the interview/story and distribute them. If you're not sure how to go about this, see Joan Stewart's outstanding Special Report #13 "How to Recycle Your Publicity" at http://www.get-free-publicity.com/specialreports.htm Joan also explains in detail how to use the reprints to maximum advantage. Non-media "proliferation:" You can get spread the word in ways that are not related to the mass media. For instance: Send an email or a postcard to your business contacts letting them know where-and-when your media "event" takes place. If you belong to any newsgroups, be sure to let other members know about it, and offer a link to the story or recording if possible. Put some brief info in the signature file of your email program, and again, offer a direct link if possible. Do these things and you'll "get the snowball rolling downhill" as your media successes gather momentum and the free publicity piles up. These are just a few of the possibilities...for more depth and details, see Joan Stewart's Special Report #13, mentioned above. Other Resources: Tom Antion's Teleseminar with Former L. A. Radio Talk Show Host Joel Roberts: "Kick The Ears Off Your Audience: How To Be Great On Radio." Available through Tom's "Speaker Shop" at http://www.get-free-publicity.com/speakershop.html ============================================================ Press Release Critique of the Week ============================================================ Our reader survey last month revealed (in a big way) that subscribers want to know more about how to write an effective, attention-getting, productive news release. So in this issue, a new feature makes its debut: the Press Release "Critique of the Week." In every issue, we'll offer you a lengthy evaluation of a genuine news release that was recently sent to a working news room. We'll look at it the ways a media decision maker would, using the following criteria (among others): The Instant Eyeball Test: What's the overall "look" of the release? You'd be amazed at how important this is. The Headline Test: Does it make the reader want to keep going to find out more about the story? The Newsworthiness Test: Does it legitimately offer information people would want to know about? Each "Critique of the Week" will be posted to an Academy website (we have several). For this week's critique, go to: http://free-advertising.biz/o/critique.htm ============================================================ Success Story ============================================================ Tell us your success story and get a free one-hour audio seminar (downloaded from our website). Plus you could get additional free publicity if we publish your story in this ezine. Email your stories directly to me at mailto:successstories@get-free-publicity.com. In doing so you grant permission for your story to be used in an upcoming edition of this ezine or in a free ebook to be offered to readers upon compilation. You'll receive an email offering you a choice of audio seminars within 24 hours after you send in your story. ============================================================ Do the work once, get paid again and again and again... ============================================================ My friend Tom Antion says he loves doing business on the internet. "In the traditional work model," Tom says, "you do the work, then you get paid. You do the work, then you get paid. You do the work, then you get paid." On the internet, you do the work once. Then you get paid, and you get paid, and you get paid, and you get paid. Possibly forever. That's why you should sign up for our affiliate program, even if you don't market products or sell on the internet. Once you sign up, all you have to do is RECOMMEND our website to your friends, associates, or customers. If they click through your link, and then buy one of our products, you get a minimum 40% commission. And this is not a one shot deal. EVERY time they buy from us, even if it's years from now, you'll get a check shortly after the first of the next month. Don't worry, we won't spam them or bombard them endless sales letters. They don't even have to subscribe to our newsletter. All it takes is one click-through. One time. For more information, go to http://www.get-free-publicity.com/affiliate.htm ============================================================ SPONSOR MESSAGE ============================================================ FREE MARKETING EBOOK - "Six Deadly Small Business Marketing Mistakes (and How to Fix Them!)" http://www.MarketingBestPractices.com/ebook.htm ============================================================ 6. Recommended Resources ============================================================ These are some of the resources that have been most helpful to us in building on online presence: Terry Dean's NetBreakthroughs... http://www.get-free-publicity.com/terrydean.html "Click" by Tom Antion. EBook. A "gotta-have-it" guide for internet marketers. http://www.get-free-publicity.com/speakershop.html Internet Marketing Course-Cory Rudl http://www.get-free-publicity.com/imc.html "The Amazing Formula" http://www.get-free-publicity.com/amazing.html Postmaster General-the listserver we use: http://www.get-free-publicity.com/postmaster.html But THE ONE RESOURCE that has made the biggest impact on our e-business: A shopping cart and automation system so simple even I figured out how to do it. Autoresponders, client database, coupon and ad tracking, this system has everything. If you're serious about doing business on the net, DEFINITELY check this program out. http://www.get-free-publicity.com/tip.html ============================================================ FREE ARTICLES FOR YOUR PUBLICATIONS ============================================================ We have many articles available for reprint in your publication, company newsletter, etc. You may use articles that you see in this ezine. Back issues can be viewed at http://www.get-free-publicity.com/backissues.htm or http://www.get-free-publicity.com/articlelist.htm ############################################################ GET FREE PUBLICITY EZINE June 27, 2002 Publisher: http://www.get-free-publicity.com Editor: George McKenzie mailto:george@get-free-publicity.com Copyright 2002 by George McKenzie This publication is never sent unsolicited. If you are receiving it in error, please accept our apologies. You may remove yourself from our list through the "unsubscribe" link below. 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