Free Publicity Tip: How to Hitch Your Star to Today's Headlines

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Now, an explanation for why Prince William is on the Amy Mac blog ...

Whether you’re a small business owner, a blogger, a photographer or a corporate professional with a dream of opening a lovely antique boutique, it is imperative to develop a publicity plan to keep your name top-of-mind with your target audience.

And while occasionally posting a snappy promo on your Facebook status is a great supplemental publicity tactic, you must take the time to develop other avenues of getting the word out about your business.

An easy way to do this is what I like to call Bandwagon Publicity. That’s right, go ahead and hitch your star to somebody else’s news wagon. Why? Because this makes an editor’s job really easy – you’ve created a new angle to a story that’s proven itself newsworthy.

Here’s a perfect example: I follow the website Flashlight Worthy Books, which publishes lists of books readers compile and vouch that the book is good enough to keep you up at night. When Prince William and Kate announced their engagement, I knew the media would be saturated with news about their impending nuptials. So I created the list “Enlightening Reads for Today's British Invasion" and submitted it to FLW for publication.

Not only is the list currently on their website (and driving traffic back to my blog), but this list has legs – FLW plans to pitch it to a media outlet where they have a contact, and I can pitch it to a few where I have contacts. 

Everybody wins.

So take a look at what your favorite news outlets (mine are listed under Daily News Reel on the blog panel) are reporting. How can you tie your product or service into today’s headlines? Think about it, and we’ll talk more about creating an effective pitch soon.

'Til Thursday --Amy Mac

On Being Bookish (Or, how you can use best seller lists as market research in moments of desperation)

First, I should warn you I plan to talk a lot about books and reading this month. In fact, I shall officially declare this Amy Mac Reading Month. Or maybe Amy Mac Book Month. Or maybe Amy Is Procrastinating By Trying To Name A Month After Herself Month. Anywho …

Effective marketing, in its simplest form, is understanding what your target audience wants and communicating how your product fills that need. If we could take a gander at the marketing research budgets for advertising big-spenders like Apple, Amazon, and The Coca-Cola Company, I assure you we’d begin imagining the wonderful things we could do with that massive sum of money (for example, retire to a secluded beach and focus on perfecting our ability to do nearly nothing all day. But I digress….)

Most small businesses and non-profits don’t have an enormous chunk of cash to throw at learning the intricate mental workings of a 30-something stay-at-home mom who decides which detergent to buy, how much to spend at Christmas, and which type of vehicle to purchase to keep her family safe on the road.

Analyzing The New York Times Bestseller lists can be a superior way to home in on general trends. For example, a quick peek at the bestsellers for 2009 tells me:

• We gravitate toward the inspirational (The Last Lecture)
• We’re always searching for the edge for success in business and life (Outliers)
• We’re examining and growing our faith (The Shack, Have a Little Faith)
• Based on the number of zombie and vampire-related books, we like to be spooked (Pride & Prejudice and Zombies)
• We enjoy revisiting our youth by sharing our kids’ books (Harry Potter, Twilight, Diary of a Wimpy Kid)

Pinpointing what an audience is reading and why tells you a lot about what motivates them to buy, and translating a book trend into a marketing opportunity is easier than you think. For example, if I owned a home design boutique, I would load up on inspirational quotes on wall hangings and throw pillows (the non-cheesy kind, of course), I’d lean heavily toward religious symbolism for the holiday season, and I might display a few items that provide a little retro-flashback to when my target audience was growing up.

But only after I’d cleared out all the scary vampire and zombie creatures from Halloween.

Check out what is flying off the shelves at your local bookstore and use what you learn to incorporate a few ideas into your marketing plan. You can thank me later for saving you $8 kazillion on marketing research.

Xo- Amy Mac

PS – Do you subscribe to the Amy Mac Blog? Please do so when I do my giveaways you’ll know when you win!

The Greatest Snack Giveaway

Everyone has a favorite snack. You know, the one that makes your mouth water and calls your name if it’s in your pantry or fridge. One of my favorite snacks is salsa and chips. More specifically, Remember Alamo Salsa – which is home made by my friend and neighbor Jane. Jane hails from Texas, and I tell ya, those folks know how to whip up some tasty salsa. Combined with Hint of Lime Tostitos, Remember Alamo Salsa makes me happy.

Another favorite is Cambozola cheese with roasted garlic on baguette. All you do is cut off the top of a head of garlic, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, wrap in foil and bake at 400 degrees for about an hour. Cut the baguette into slices, toast, and then spread the roasted garlic and Cambozola on top. Mmm-mmm.

What’s your favorite snack? Leave a comment, and you’ll be entered to win two free jars of salsa (one mild, one spicy), compliments of Remember Alamo Salsa! You have until April 23 to leave a comment. If you're the winner, I'll get them in the mail to you in time for Cinco de Mayo!

PS-You must leave a comment to be entered, but you get extra credit of you sign up for e-mail updates, too!

The Good Egg

One of my first post-college jobs was at a public relations and advertising agency in Cincinnati, and I was lucky enough that the woman who hired me was (and still is) one of the best in the business. She taught me more about writing, client relations and creating the “wow” factor for every public relations campaign than any of my college courses … but she also taught me how adding the special touch to the little things can make everything you do memorable. And when it comes to public relations, advertising, branding and writing – being memorable is a key to success.

For example, my husband and I were married a few months after I started working with Gail. She gave us a lovely Williams-Sonoma egg skillet for which we had registered and added the note “For two good eggs on their happy day!” Almost fifteen years later, I still remember that message (and made eggs on that very skillet this morning!)

I still draw on the things Gail taught me all those years ago – the measurable ones (like spell check doesn’t catch all your mistakes, but cultivating an excellent eye for proofing will) and the slightly more nebulous, but equally important (like how being especially sweet to coworkers attempting to undermine you befuddles them, but often makes them putty in your capable hands.)

So, two questions: who’s the person who taught you more than any professor in a lecture hall?

And, what are you doing today to make your product or service memorable?

The Grape Debate (and your Free Publicity Tip of the Week)

If I forget to bring a snack into my home office while I’m working, I’m hopping up approximately every 47 seconds to find something to eat. Not a very effective way to get work done. Some might suggest medication to stave off this habit of jumping up and running around. “Pshaw!” I say (I have always wanted to work Pa Ingalls favorite saying into my writing. Mission accomplished.) I just bring snacks, and line them up on my desk like my own personal little convenience store.

Today, I decided to be virtuous and bring these grapes instead of the chocolate chip cookies nestled in the treats basket in my pantry. Those cookies, I swear they are screaming my name. They are loud. And aggressive. Quite pushy, and rude. The grapes are much more subtle, but it seemed like the right thing to do … so here they are.

Anywho, as I’m gobbling my grapes, I’m simultaneously preparing a client for an upcoming radio interview. Radio interviews are more relaxed than television interviews, if for no other reason than you don’t have to worry if your hair is doing something weird. But there are a few things you must do in a radio interview so you’ll sound like the intelligent professional I know you are. So here’s your free Publicity Tip of the Week:

In a radio interview (or television, telephone, or job interview for that matter) - slow down. Take a deep breath. When we’re a little anxious, we tend to talk faster. Eliminate the “ums” and “you knows” from your lexicon, if just for the few minutes you’re on air. And type up the main points you want to drive home, in a decent-size font, so it’s easy to get back on track if you lose your train of thought.

Now, to find a way to silence those cookies. I don't have a good feeling about this .... Happy Weekend!– Amy Mac