Publicity Tips/New Global Media Leads Service Sept. 3, 2012

Port Washington, WI

Sunday, September 02, 2012

Tips, tricks, and tools for free publicity delivered weekly!

Tips Of The Week -- Sept. 1, 2012

Issue #643

In This Issue:

1. New Global Media Leads Service

2. LinkedIn's Free Billboards

3. New Posts at My Blog

4. Hound Video of the Week

This Week in the Hound House:

Over Labor Day weekend, I'll be laboring over pots of boiling water and a sink full of jars, canning beets. Why you ask? In the winter when you open a jar, the beets will taste MUCH better than any store-bought canned beets that originated in Holland!

1. New Global Media Leads Service

If you're a subject matter expert looking for free publicity around the globe, or if you're a blogger or journalist looking for sources in other countries, check out MediaDiplomat.com

It's a new media leads service similar to HARO, but it's devoted to connecting experts to journalists or bloggers internationally.

Paul Dixon, a former PR pro and freelancer who's based in the United Kingdom, started the service about two months ago and already has about 2,000 experts in his database. The website is in beta. He emails leads as often as he receives them, but won't send them on a regular schedule until the database grows significantly and he starts actively promoting it to more journalists and bloggers.

"Most industry professionals, especially in the U.S., know of online services connecting reporters with sources," he said. "The concept has been around for a while. But we discovered that high- level reporters and sources from Asia, Latin America and elsewhere have been forgotten."

He already has connected numerous journalists with the expert sources they need. Dixon says that in many cases, journalists who submit media leads to him encourage you to share them with your friends and followers on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. (What great content, especially for a LinkedIn group!)

That's one more reason why it's worth your time to at least try this service.

2. LinkedIn's Free Billboards

LinkedIn would love it if you bought an ad.

But you're smarter than that. Instead, you'll have a designer create one or more banners for your business and you'll upload them to the "Products & Services" section of your LinkedIn Company Page. And you won't pay LinkedIn one cent.

Here's the best part. When visitors click on each banner, it can send them to a specific page at your website.

Authors, send them to the sales page for your books. Speakers, send them to the page where you list your keynotes and workshops.

If you're giving a way a freebie in exchange for an email address, or to sign up for your newsletter, send visitors to the opt-in page.

Banners, which resemble giant billboards, are one of the most valuable but seldom-used tools on LinkedIn, says LinkedIn expert Wayne Breitbarth.

Wayne blew the roof off the dog house during Thursday's webinar on "4 Secret LinkedIn Tools Power Tools to Connect with Journalists & Put Money in Your Pocket." The banner ad, by the way, wasn't even one of the four tools we discussed. It was a bonus tip.

Read about the others, and how you can access the video replay when it's available later this weekend, probably late on Saturday. As soon as you order, however, you'll receive an email with a link to the bonus handouts.

3. New Posts at My Blog

Pitching tips from ABC, NBC, CBS Thursday

Need national publicity? Master the art of storytelling

11 things to give journalists instead of a pitch

The LinkedIn tool that unlocks a company's door

Dog Tweets: Tell a story with your next press release

4. Hound Video of the Week

Guilty! That's what the expression on this dog's face says when his owner asks whether he stole the cat's treats. The video is a little over two minutes, and worth it. More than 19 million views. I howled.

Dog Jokes & Quotes Ebook: 170+ G-rated dog jokes and quotes, perfect for a dog-lover, your favorite vet, or just for a few good laughs.

Permission to Reprint:

You may reprint any items from "The Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week" in your print or electronic newsletter. But please include the following paragraph:

Reprinted from "The Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week," an ezine featuring tips, tricks and tools for generating free publicity. Subscribe at http://www.publicityhound.com/ and receive by email the handy cheat sheet "89 Reasons to Send a Press Release."

If you like these tips, please pass them on to your friends, clients and colleagues.

You are receiving this because you signed up for it at The Publicity Hound website or you told me you want to subscribe.

Privacy Statement:

The Publicity Hound respects your privacy and has a strict anti-spam policy.