PR Tip: Remove Child Before Folding
By Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound
Sponsor a fun contest.
One of my favorites is the Wacky Warning Label contest, sponsored
each year by the Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch, to reveal how
lawsuits have created a need for common-sense warnings on
products.
The grand prize winner receives $500 and a copy of the new book
Remove Child Before Folding: The 101 Stupidest, Silliest and
Wackiest Warning Labels Ever, written by Bob Dorigo Jones, the
group’s president. The title of his book comes from a warning
label that won a prize in the early years of the contest.
I heard a drive-time interview with Bob on a Milwaukee radio
station last week. So I called him this morning to see how much
publicity the book and contest have generated.
He was a guest on about 25 radio shows within the last three
weeks, including four interviews on the BBC. He appeared on “Fox &
Friends” and was also scheduled to be on the “Today” show. But he
was bumped when the show interviewed Donald Trump instead.
Still, that’s a pretty impressive publicity campaign—and all
because of a fun contest.
Bob Wilkinson of Northville, Michigan won the $500 grand prize
for 2006 for submitting this label he found on the side of a
washing machine: “Do not put any person in this washer.”
If you don’t have a contest, you can still get onto national TV.
Find out how during a free 90-minute telephone seminar on
Thursday, January 18, with my friend Steve Harrison, publisher of
Radio-TV Interview Report. It’s called “The Three Big Secrets for
Getting Booked as a Guest on Top National TV Shows.”
In addition to Steve, you’ll hear from a former “Oprah” guest
booker, a Fox News Channel producer and some other surprise
guests.
Together they’ll teach you things unknown to 95 percent of all
people who want publicity.
The call is free, except for normal long-distance charges.
Register here.
You’ll learn things like:
—How to increase your odds of getting on “Oprah,” Fox News, CNN,
the “Today” show, “Montel” and other top shows.
—Understanding the mindset of national TV producers and what
gets them to book you as a guest.
—The strategy a husband-and-wife team used to land a 7-minute
segment on the “Today” Show.
—An important lesson from one author who got on Oprah and saw
sales soar as a result.
—The most important question you must be able to answer to land
a TV appearance.
—The biggest mistakes to avoid when pitching TV producers
(including ones that could get you black-balled forever!).
Once registered, you’ll receive all the details via email in a
few minutes. Register here.
Reprinted from “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week,” an ezine
featuring tips, tricks and tools for generating free publicity.
Subscribe at The Publicity Hound website and receive by email
the handy list “89 Reasons to Send a News Release.”
