Here’s how they work. When a journalist wants to find an expert to interview, they post a listing with one or more of the services. Experts who want to be interviewed subscribe to the email posts for these services, which indicate what type of expert they want to talk with, what the topic is about and (usually) what the media outlet is.

If you’re interested, you can sign up to one or all of these services for free. They are a great way to connect with journalists, bloggers, columnists and others who want to find you.

Be forewarned, these services are very popular, so there will most likely be a lot of competition from other experts in your field. But if you don’t subscribe, your chances of being one of the chosen few will be zero.

So here are the services:

PitchRate.com

HARO (Help a Reporter Out)

Reporter Connection 

Want help with Press Releases and other publicity services? Go Here.

So how can you achieve this exalted status?

The first thing to do is establish a relationship with a journalist who covers your area of expertise. If you don’t know of one, read the papers or watch the news broadcasts to see who covers what.

If you’re in the natural health field, for example, find out who covers health topics. Then think of some possible story ideas that might make good stories for the health reporter.

Next, create a list of experts who can address these subjects. You might want to contact these experts to be sure they want the publicity. Be sure to include your own name and contact information on the list if you are an expert on any of the topics.

The stories must have a news hook and are not simply a promotional pitch. Often, you can get ideas from trade publications, that is, periodicals that are written for professionals in your field. Look for stories about trends, new products, and such. Brainstorm ways in which they might have a local angle.

One really great way to get free publicity is to generate controversy. Journalists love controversy. If you come across a controversial topic, consider adding that to your list of story ideas.

Next, call or email the journalist who covers health. If you call, introduce yourself briefly. Very briefly. Tell him you would like to send some possible story ideas from time to time on natural health, with a list of local experts who will speak to these issues. Then get off the phone and send your story pitches-unless the journalist wants to talk longer.

Or, you could simply email your list of story ideas. Introduce yourself and mention your credentials in the beginning of the message. Indicate that you will send ideas from time to time. You can usually get the email address of a journalist by calling the main phone number of the media outlet.

If the reporter likes any of your suggestions, you’ve helped her in two ways. First, you’ve given her a great story. Second, you’ve saved her a lot of time doing research because you’ve provided a list of experts to interview. When the reporter does the story, a couple of things might happen. You can be one of the experts who gets quoted. Or, you might not. Either way, you win. In the first case, you’ve gotten some publicity.

In the second case, you’ve at least established the beginning of what could be a long-term relationship. The journalist now knows who to call to find out who some of the experts are on certain topics. If you don’t know who might be appropriate for a given story, offer to find out. Your assistance will be remembered.

If you are continually helpful, eventually, you will be one of the experts who gets most of the free publicity. Plus you have an open door to pitch stories that might feature only you.

Want a FREE PUBLICITY CONSULTATION? Write dkaus @ sbcglobal.net

In order to get the most from free publicity, think seriously about why
you want to be famous.

But isn’t fame an end unto itself?

For many people, it may be.

But there are other, better things you can do with fame than
stroke your ego.

Here are a few things free publicity can do for you. Some of them I’ve
already mentioned, but they are worth repeating so that your mind
can start thinking of all the benefits and possibilities. Publicity can:

• Help you sell more of your product or service—
for higher fees

• Bring new customers to you

• Bring former customers back

• Get you recognition on the job

• Help you get a new job

• Bring more job applicants to your company

• Get volunteers for your cause, issue or organization

• Raise money for your cause or organization

• Help you become recognized as an expert in your field

• Make you the go-to person at your company

• Get brand recognition

• Improve your social life

• Get a book deal

• Promote your book

• Promote your career as an entertainer or artist

Take a moment and think about the level of fame you want
and how it can help you to achieve your dreams.

Armed with your goals and insights about yourself, you’ll be
able to choose which of the free publicity tools will best serve you.

Want a Free Publicity Consultation? Write dkaus @ sbcglobal.net

This is a sure-fire way to get your press release thrown away.

The first sentence of your press release, also known as the lead, is the most important part of the release, other than the headline. Don’t waste it. It should briefly state what the entire press release is about.

You only have a few seconds to get the attention of journalists. Use your time, and your words, wisely.
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If you’re writing a blog, you probably want more subscribers. Right?

There are several steps you can take to attract and keep readers:

1. Keep the posts short. People are busy and have short attention spans.

2. Use bullet points when appropriate. Like here. Bullet points or numbers are very reader family.

3. Use an RSS (Really Simple Syndication). Click on the orange chicklet (as it’s called) above.

4. Ping your blogs to announce a new post. I like Pingoat but there are others you might try. Best to stick to one to avoid double pinging.

5. Post regularly, which is a strategy I need to adapt.

6. Be a guest blogger. Offer a free original post to someone who blogs on a similar but not competing subject. Make sure you get a byline and a link to your blog.

7. Plug your blog on social media such at Twitter and Facebook.

8. Put your blog/website in your email signature.

9. Post  helpful comments and information on forums.Be careful not to do a sales pitch.

10. Create a podcast and put it on iTunes.

Want a FREE  PUBLICITY CONSULTATION? Write dkaus @ sbcglobal.net

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Be interviewed on Radio Talk Shows

By now you probably realize how powerful Twitter can be for marketing. In order for Twitter to be truly effective, you will need to have a lot of followers. Here’s how:

1. Create a great Twitter bio. One of the key factors in whether or not people decide to follow you is the quality of the information in your bio. If you have a relevant website, be sure to include the URL. You only have 160 characters, as opposed to the 140 allowed in tweets, so use them well.

2. If you’re new to Twitter, create about 10 or so interesting tweets before looking for followers. You have to give people a reason to want to follow you.

3. Links to interesting websites, articles and videos make great tweets. Because the URLs will be too long for Twitter, you’ll need to create a short version. You can do this at tinyurl.com. Copy the long link and paste it into the appropriate window there and it will generate a short link that is suitable for Twitter.

4. Humorous and inspiring quotes make great tweets and are among the most popular. Lots of sites post great quotes for you to use. Find them with a Google search.

5. Tweet links to interesting videos from YouTube and other such sites.

6. Make sure you re-tweet other people’s tweets. Many of them will do the same for you, which exposes you to their followers, some of whom may decide to follow you.

7. Join the conversation. Reply to other people’s tweets, give them a compliment or thank them for sharing. These people may also decide to send you @ messages, which will also make their followers aware of you.

8. Be sure to thank people who re-tweet you. All you have to do is hit the reply button and send a short note.

9. Become active on Follow Friday. Each Friday, recommend some of your favorite tweeters to your followers by typing in #FollowFriday or #FF and then their Twitter handle, such as @JaneSmith. Others will do the same for you. This is a great way to get more Twitter Followers.

10. Follow all of Twitter’s rules about following and un-following. Don’t become too aggressive or your account will be suspended.

11. Limit your marketing tweets. Try to keep a ratio of about one marketing tweet for every 10 regular ones.

12. Use  We Follow. Type in a key word that relates to  your topic, such as parenting.  A list of Twitter people with large followings will come up. Follow these people and, more importantly, follow their followers. If you have interesting tweets, about 20 – 30% of them will follow you back. In the early stages, follow about 100 a day. You don’t want to have a too disproportionate ratio of people you are following.

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For a Free Publicity Consultation
Email Me

GO HERE

A great way to get free publicity is to submit articles to article directories. It’s a technique that I used to take this site to #1 more than once and keep it in the Top 5 for the term “Get Free Publicity.” That’s out of 7,280,000 results, as of this writing.

I took one of my clients to #6 on Google in 4 Days. Within two weeks, he went to #2, #3, #7 and #9 — all at the same time. You can read his testimonial here

You can use article directories in two ways.

Basically, an article directory is a website in which people who want to get free publicity submit articles on various topics, with their contact information, such as a website, at the bottom. They give them to the directories  for free.

People who want material for their websites, blogs, and newsletters search the article directories by topic for suitable articles, which they then copy and use on their sites, etc., for free.

There are a couple of stipulations. They must use the article as is, with no changes, including author credit, and they must leave in the contact information.

It’s a win-win-win. You get free publicity and the user gets a free article. The people who operate the article directory usually make their money from ads on the site.

There are hundreds of directories, and each has its own preferred submission procedure, so sending your articles to a number of them can be time consuming. I have software that can help with that.  I will submit your articles to literally hundreds of directories, blogs and websites. To learn more, Email Me

Each article directory that accepts your article creates a back link to your site, which will increase your standing in the search engines. Each article that gets used by a website or blog also creates a back link and can also send potential customers to your site.

It becomes an ever-growing spiral of free publicity.

One of the easy things about using article directories to get free publicity is that you can recycle articles you’ve already written and perhaps even posted on your own blog or website.

Would you like a FREE PUBLICITY CONSULTATION? Email Me

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A lot of business owners wonder how they can get free publicity. The answer is quite simple. Be newsworthy. You can do this by sending press releases based on one or more of the following strategies.

Tie into the news, current events or holidays. For example, if you own a health spa or gym, write a press release about how people can lose those unwanted pounds they will gain during the holiday season.

You can piggyback on a national story, such as the weak economy. If you are a business consultant, show business owners how to cut expenses or create clever ways to attract new clients or customers.

Do a survey on something that relates to what you do. Most people love to express their opinions. Offer them the opportunity to express their feelings and thoughts about a topic that relates to what you do.

Sponsor a humorous contest. A sports shoe company once ran a contest for the ugliest pair of sports shoes. You might do something along those lines. If you are the owner of an auto repair shop, you might have a contest for having the ugliest car. A pet store could stage an ugliest pet contest.

Write a top 10 (or 5 or 7) list. David Letterman made these kinds of lists very popular. If you run a computer repair shop, you could create a list of the top complaints or likes people have about their computers. An ice cream shop owner could send out a list of their most popular flavors.

Reach a milestone. If you have been in business 10, 25 or 50 years, let the world know about it. If your business just sold your 10,000th car or gained a large client, brag about it. This is a very powerful way to get free publicity.

Start some controversy. Are their differing opinions from the experts in your area of expertise? Tell people about them, and what side you take.

Do some charity work, both to help people and to get free publicity. Do something hands-on to help a local charity or non-profit. You might paint a homeless shelter or clean up a local park or volunteer at a senior center.

This site went to #1 on Google on September 1. I used a very basic publicity technique to do it. Would you like me to help you rocket up the Search Engines? Email Me