The Google Alert You Never Got
On March 11th, I received an email alert from my buddy, Marc Harty who posts his PR Traffic tips on this blog.
His email was disturbing because it was in response to an an email he received from my about my Virtual Book Tour with another buddy of mine, Harvey Mackay.
Here’s what Marc wrote me:
Alex, I wanted to let you know this right away … Gmail doesn’t show URLs with initial caps as link. This changed happened recently. For a URL to be a link in Gmail it needs to contain: 1. the “www” and 2. all lowercase . Thought you should know.
Gee, thanks Marc … both my emails for Harvey Mackay were in the queue and sent, so I couldn’t anything about it and I did get over 500 people on that VBT to listen in … but I wonder how many more people could have listened if I was aware of the recent change.
If you’re scratching you head right now say “Huh?” to yourself, then do yourself a favor and watch a 2 min. 5 sec video posted by Frank Bauer. It’s the best explanation I’ve seen and he posted it back on Feb. 10th!
Click here for the video tutorial and please put a ton of comments on Frank’s blog and show him some love :-) Tell him I sent you. His “fluff-free” style of explaining the predicament that Google failed to announce is worth passing on.
What To Do Now: 1) Watch the VIDEO … 2) Comment and share … and as Frank says, 3) Have “an awesome day!”
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Negative Publicity? Not for Ex-Baywatch Star
Celebrity and negative publicity often go together like hand in glove.
I’m sure you’ve followed the David Letterman extortion plot saga.He had affairs with female staff members and when faced with extortion he went public and admitted his failings with transparency and humor.
Letterman has received good grades in his response to the negative publicity. And his ratings are up 38% since the disclosure.And while Letterman’s ethics and response have been debated at length, in this article I focus on a lesser known celebrity’s response to negative publicity.
I chose this example because the issue is one more common and sympathetic: weight gain from a previously “hot” body.
Here’s the headline from The Huffington Post: “Nicole Eggert Fat? Baywatch Babe Takes on Weight Critics In Funny or Die Video”
The Situation
Nicole Eggert played lifeguard Summer Quinn in over45 episodes on Baywatch, the TV show from 1992-1994.
As such, she spent many an episode in (more…)
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The 4 Pillars of the New PR
New PR offers far more publicity opportunities than old PR ever did, especially for those who are not marketing experts.
In “The New Rules of Marketing and PR” author David Meerman Scott explains, “The Internet has made public relations public again, after years of almost exclusive focus on media. Blogs, online news releases and other forms of Web content let organizations communicate directly with buyers.”
In the past, the media, as gatekeepers, deemed who received exposure and who didn’t. New PR offers many ways to reach prospects, buyers and key influencers directly.
And yet with so many choices available, it’s easy to over emphasize technology and tools while core activities like strategy development often receive short shrift.
For that reason, I present “The 4 Pillars of the New PR.” (Complete with handy mnemonic device for easy reference: each pillar begins with the letter “S.”)
New PR Pillar #1: Strategy
Strategy is “the what” and tactics are “the how.” The “what” could be (more…)
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3 Ways Free Press Release Sites Can Cost You
Press release marketing is one of the most effective methods to generate both media attention and targeted traffic to your web site.
Now if a little voice in your head cries “Oh no! One more thing to learn!” just calmly tell the little voice “thanks for sharing” and know this: if you blog, write articles and email autoresponders, you can easily repurpose that content into press releases.
All you need is the right formula and resources which I’ll share with you at the conclusion of this article. Now once a press release is written you need to distribute it. Enter today’s topic: free press release sites. The allure of free distribution is quite appealing. You can submit articles for free so why not press releases, right?
Most often, articles appear in directories. (Like EzineArtices.com) With press releases, they are distributed to thousands of different web sites. As a result, sometimes costs are involved.
And while free press release sites can work, be aware of these three ways free press release sites can cost you:
1. Extra time investment
Time is money. With paid distribution you can rely on just one service, especially with established newswires like PR Newswire, BusinessWire and Marketwire. Even PRWeb provides enough coverage all on its own.
However, some major newswires aren’t budget-friendly. So it’s natural to consider free press release sites. But instead of using one provider now you’re using several. Each comes with its own interface, unique requirements, upgrades, etc. (more…)
