Hi! Welcome to the latest issue of
'Nita's Helping Hands'! A special welcome to our new
subscribers -- I hope this finds you all safe and well!
I've kept very busy the last couple weeks and am enjoying
the slightly cooler weather we've been having here. I
love it when I'm able to open up all the windows and turn
on the ceiling fans! I hope you all enjoy this great
weather too!
After getting 'off-course' last issue because of wanting
to get all Hurricane Katrina information to you promptly,
I'm going to get back on track with this issue.
In this issue you'll find information about Publicity and
how to get it - and how not to get it - as well as an
article from a well-loved publicity specialist. I do
encourage you all to subscribe to her newsletter --
it's always full of very useful information.
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At my website, you subscribed to 'Nita's Helping Hands'
newsletter / ezine. I sincerely hope you enjoy your
experience with this ezine and never want to leave, but if
you ever wish to unsubscribe, a link is included at the
bottom of each e-mail message you receive from me so you
can quickly and easily unsubscribe.
Note: I regret that I may need to replace some characters
in a few of the words to avoid triggering
sp@am filters.
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Quote:
"The Past is like a river flowing out of sight, the Future
is an ocean filled with opportunity and delight." - Anna
Hoxie
"The Perfect Way To Kill Your Chances of Getting Publicity"
A friend of mine frequents radio talk shows and has made
many friends in the industry. One thing they really
stressed is that you should NEVER have a friend call to
promote you, your product, or ask for the best way to reach
you.
Talk show hosts have been through it all and can easily see
through any 'fake' callers and word will get around quickly
that you try to play tricks on the hosts and you will be
very hard pressed to ever get on a radio talk show again!
Not only that, but they also keep in close contact with
producers, talk show hosts, reporters, etc. Not only do
they share with each other the great people to interview,
but they also share the list of people to avoid -- like a
plague!
So make sure you give a great interview, and don't be
surprised when you pick up the phone and there's a media
person you've never heard of on the other end asking you
for an interview!
By Nita L. Ammon
(c) 2005 Nita Helping Hand?, all rights reserved.
You are free to use this material in whole or in part as
long as you include the following:
About the author: Nita is a professional proofreader,
copy-editor and the President of Nita Helping Hand?
Please visit Nita's website for information about
proofreading, copy-editing and other administrative
needs available at
www.NitaHelpingHand.com. Nita is
your 'Partner In Perception'.
This new Katrina scam is out there and strong! Read this and
get the word out to your friends too!
If you receive an e-mail (or any other correspondence) from
americansalvationarmy-reliefs@yahoo.com IT IS A SCAM. This
is
NOT a valid Salvation Army e-mail address.
The e-mail indicates being from the Salvation Army's
national headquarters and gives instructions to donate
money by money transfer, mail, or credit card. The address
for money transfer or mail is to a Joseph Bonn in Palm Bay
FL and donors are instructed to reply with their credit
card information.
If you receive this mail, please call your local Salvation
Army and inform them.
They've come up with some fascinating solutions that
I am sure will save you thousands of dollars over the
life of your car.
For example, who knew the time of day would make a
difference when you should fill up your tank?
It does. So click on the below link to get this e-book
for only $17 - and if you don't like it, you can get your
investment back anytime within 6 weeks! What a deal!
They're referred
to as Publicity Hounds and I'll bet
you know at least
one.
They're the
people smiling back at you from color
photos that
accompany their profile story in the
morning paper.
Turn on the radio and there they
are again,
chatting away on a local talk show. Two
months later,
they show up on the cover of your
trade journal.
Then they're being interviewed on
the 11 o'clock
news. While you're buying expensive
advertising to
deliver your message, they're doing it
for free.
During my 22
years as a newspaper editor and
reporter, I have
seen well-meaning people fail
repeatedly in
their attempts to beg and cajole the
media to pay
attention to them. That's because
media relations
is a sophisticated game with its own
etiquette,
protocol and rules. Today, as a media
relations
consultant, professional speaker and ezine
publisher, I
teach people how to create free publicity
to sell a product
or service, champion a cause,
create an image
and establish their expertise.
Here are my Top
10 tips for free publicity:
Send news
releases about new products and
services, contests, awards, open houses,
speaking engagements. The handy checklist
"89 Reasons to Send a News Release" is yours
free when you subscribe to my free ezine, "The
Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week," using the
sign-up box on this page.
Start an
e-zine. A free electronic newsletter
helps you sell your products and services to
an
international audience and costs almost
nothing
compared to expensive direct mail campaigns.
With permission, you can send the ezine to
reporters who cover your industry. See
Special
Report #38: How to Publish a Profitable
Electronic
Newsletter.
Get to
know reporters. Offer yourself as
someone they can call on for background,
commentary and story ideas. Call and ask, "How
can I help you?" See
Get Free Publicity in Print.
Start
your own TV show on your local cable TV
company's public access channel. Air time is
free. You pay a minimal amount to rent the
camera equipment.
Look for
photo opportunities. Local
newspapers, TV stations, weekly shoppers,
trade publications and other media are always
looking for interesting photos. Call the media
with ideas, or submit your own photos.
Participate in online discussion groups and
offer
lots of helpful advice. Reporters lurk here,
and if
they're impressed with your messages, they
might contact you for a story. Use a signature
file
in your e-mail that explains what you do and
how
you can help solve people's problems. Link to
your
web site. See
Secrets for Getting Through to the
Media Online.
Above all, be patient
and persistent. The key to savvy
media relations is understanding how to
dovetail your
wants and needs with
those of the media.
Need More Help with Publicity?
If you like all those
ideas but would rather hire a publicist
to help you implement them, see
How to Hire the Perfect
Publicist, an 85-page
ebook that walks you step-by-step
through the entire
process. Includes 307 tips such as
where to find
candidates, questions to ask during the
interview, the
advantages and disadvantages of the
four types of billing
methods, how to help your publicist
help you, and a handy
chart that will help you rank your
final candidates.
Includes special chapters for authors and
musicians. Read this
ebook before you waste thousands of
dollars on the
Publicist from Hell who will take your money
and ruin your
reputation. Downloadable, so you can be
That's all the handy tips and tricks for this issue of
'Nita's Helping Hands' -- I hope you enjoyed it and found
some useful information. As always, please e-mail me if you
ever have questions, concerns or would like me to include
information about certain topics.
Remember to keep the victims of Hurricane Katrina in your
heart, count your blessings, stay safe and be happy! I'll
'see' you in a couple weeks!
