Something New at the DIY Publicity Blog and a Tip to Make Long URL’s Tiny

People connect with me regularly to ask about the DIY publicity products and services I use to help my clients earn publicity.    Today,  I’ve debuted some new links on the right side of the blog navigation so you can easily investigate products and services I use regularly to build buzz for my clients and help them stay in touch and do business with their customers.  I hope you will visit these links and benefit as so many of my clients have.

Since I’ve been traveling the path of an internet marketer for a couple of years now, I’ve learned a thing or two along the way that many new to the journey haven’t yet learned.  For example, just the other day, someone was complaining that the link to a certain blog post was too long to insert into Twitter.  Twitter only allows 140 characters per post, and if your URL is that long, you sure don’t have much room to say much.  If this is a problem that needs easing for you, here is the solution.

Visit www.tinyurl.com.  Then, insert your long, cumbersome URL into the handy-dandy box, and the site will immediately turn your URL into a tiny URL.  If you do this, you’ll have more Twitter real estate by which to tweet, and you’ll make it easier for your blog readers, Twitter followers, or other advocates to find what you want to share with them.

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June 24 Publici-Tea™ Date Added to Serve Tacoma DIY Publicists

Word continues to spread about the Publici-Tea™ Workshop, so I’ve added a new date to take place June 24 in Tacoma, WA from 12:30 – 5 p.m.   I’ll have the shopping cart at the DIY Publicity Store updated any minute to reflect this new date, so take note and act to secure your place.

If you live in the Portland, Oregon area, sign up for the June 12 event.  We’ve got a few extra things planned for that workshop, and you can read more at this link.

If you’d like me to bring the Publici-Tea™ to your community, get in touch and let’s choose a date and make some DIY publicity magic manifest in YOUR backyard.  Call me at 425-641-5214 or send me email at nancy@nsjmktg.com.

The timing has never been better to arm yourself with time tested, proven, and powerful publicity strategies, tactics, and tools to bring your message to the right clients … without spending a fortune or spinning your wheels.  If not now, then when?

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Want Your Products to be Sold at Target? Read This!

Earlier this week, one of my Publici-Tea™ guests scheduled to attend this Friday’s SOLD OUT (hurray!) workshop revealed an interest in learning how to get his DVD’s sold at Target.  I was happy to refer him to Margie Zable Fisher, who literally wrote the e-book on that topic.   Today, I am happy to offer a guest blog post from Margie to shed a bit more light on the matter.  Take it away Margie.

Why would you want to sell to Target? Well, of the 1,500 Target stores usually orders at least a half dozen products from each vendor — that’s at least 9,000 sales right out of the gate. Sounds like a pretty good reason, right?

Plus, Target is the place to sell any high design products – Targé (Tar-jé), as it is sometimes called, has a certain cache.

So how can you get a Target buyer interested in your product? Here are some ways that a Target buyer I spoke with finds new products:

Trade Shows

Do you skip exhibiting at trade shows because you think they’re a waste of time and money? Think again. Many Target buyers find new products at trade shows. It’s a great way for the buyers to see many products at one time.

Publicity

For product companies, publicity provides a double-win: not only do you attract consumers willing to buy your product, but you also attract the attention of retailers who might want to sell your product. My Target buyer source tells me that reading about a great new product in a magazine or newspaper, seeing it on a TV show, or reading a favorable review about a new product online is a great way to get her attention.

Sales Reps

Large retailers like Target often work with professional sales companies that show them products that would work for them. All these sales companies do is sell to large retailers, so they have access to many buyers.

But there’s a LOT more to it…

• What criteria does Target look for in a product?
• What financials do you need to know before approaching Target?
• Will you manufacture or license your product?
• When can you expect to be paid by Target?
• How long is the process?
• WHERE do you start?

To learn my step-by-step formula for getting your products on the shelves of Target and skyrocketing your sales, see my Special Report, “How to Get Your Product on the Shelves at Target,” available here.

Margie Zable Fisher is the president of Zable Fisher Public Relations, and Publisher of Women Business Owners (WBO) Digest. Get fr.e.e Special Reports at www.zfpr.com and a fr.e.e issue of WBO Digest at www.wbodigest.com.

Thanks Margie for offering a solution for one of my workshop guests that I know will return great value in supporting his success with Target.

Nancy’s Request: Tell me, loyal blog readers, what other pressing publicity questions do you have to which I can provide the answer or introduce a perfect expert to meet the need?  Let me hear from you.  Post a comment to the blog so we can keep the conversation — and your DIY publicity success — flowing with greater ease.

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Publici-Tea™ Graduate Steve Juetten Blogs His Way to Greater Prosperity, One Personal Finance Post at a Time

Today’s blog post hits a bit close to home, but the story is worth telling because it shows how powerful blogging about a topic of passion can be to building community, inviting quality business leads, and contributing to greater prosperity.

My husband Steve Juetten is a Certified Financial Planner™ professional based in Bellevue, WA who offers fee only financial planning.   His message is that you can take control over your money and your life, and he blogs about this message just about every other day at Examiner.com.   He started the blog because we agreed that sharing his expertise in a manner that would reach a wide audience of potential clients would be a powerful way to attract the right clients to his door.

Steve prefers connecting with people in small groups or on a one-on-one basis.  That means that attending networking lunches and other group events isn’t the perfect way for him to invest his time.  Blogging opens the door for Steve to share his valuable expertise and empowering point of view with a growing audience so they can sample his approach and find their way to him.

Steve has been learning from Darren Rowse of www.problogger.net and Yaro Starak of www.blogmastermind.com and getting into action on the tried-and-true approaches they recommend for building blog traffic and influence.

To follow is Steve’s account of what has happened in his financial planning practice since he started blogging in January.

My new business activity is about double in the first four months of the year compared to the same time in previous years. I can’t give all the credit to the new blog because the economy has been terrible and people have felt the need to seek help from my specialty. However, as a result of the blog, I’ve been asked to review three books on personal finance and several online sites that offer personal finance software.  In addition, three investment product suppliers have found me and opened a dialogue about their products.  Many of them are linking back to my blog posts from their sites, bringing new readers my way.

The top tactics I use to build viewership are:

So, Steve is growing his influence and enjoying more new business activity than in prior years. A Google search for his name reveals plenty of favorable and influential results that reinforce his expertise, and his Examiner.com blog appears on page one.

He is inviting opportunities to connect with influential authors, business owners, and others who are happy to link back to his posts about them, bringing his potential blog readership to even wider audiences.  Business is good and getting better every day.  And all of this has happened since January 30, 2009.

So, if you are pondering the prospect of blogging, Steve’s progress over four months offers proof that good results await.

DIY Publicity Tip: Learn more about blogging from Darren Rowse and Yaro Starak via the active links above. Both offer abundant, free, and fee services.   Their blogs and free reports are high value and worth your time.  If ths timing is right for you to add blogging to your marketing mix, you know it.  What you do next is up to you.

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Want to Escape from Cubicle Nation? Maybe Now IS the Right Time

I first came to know Pam Slim as one of the students enrolled in Suzanne Falter-Barns’ Extraordinary Business Builders Club.  She was one of the instructors for the course, and her guidance was meaningful in helping me figure out my “Get seen, heard, and celebrated in your own backyard … and beyond” message. Thanks both to Pam and Suzanne for their mighty contribution to my success.

Fast forward to today, and Pam Slim is  a top 4000 blogger with a new book called “Escape from Cubicle Nation.”  Her success is flowing in abundance, and it’s a beautiful thing.

Check out Pam’s blog interview offering tips about whether now is the right time to pursue your entrepreneurial dreams.  My colleague Rebecca Shapiro of The Savvy Collaborative re-posted this interview with Pam and Guy Kawasaki just the other day.  You can even download a chapter of the book for free.  Enjoy.  And congratulations Pam on your success as a blogger and an author of a book with a memorable, repeatable, and remarkable title that most certainly makes an emotional connection.

By the way, Rebecca is is one of the amazing advocates who is bringing the Publici-Tea™ Workshop to Portland, Oregon on June 12.  We’ve already got nine amazing guests registered for the event, and we have room for 35.  We have a few special things planned for the Portland workshop that will add extraordinary value.  Don’t miss out.  Learn more and register at this link.

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Don’t be a Social Media Blowhard – Thank You David Libby for Timely Straight Talk about Social Media

If you are wandering in the desert, wondering about the best ways to deploy social media or what to do about it for your brand and business, treat yourself to this sassy and provocative blog post by David Libby entitled, “Don’t be a Social Media Blow Hard.”  The title speaks volumes, and Libby’s post is well worth your time.

As for me, I continue to test the social media waters, and I share much of what I learn on this blog to help save you time and trouble. I never recommend a product, service or approach to you that I haven’t put to the test myself.

One thing I never forget is that doing great work for clients, earning the honor of their referrals, and executing beautifully in the tried-and-true media outlets that are proven to deliver big time are the best ways for me to make the most of the PR budgets my clients invest toward building the buzz.   After all, given the choice of earning a media placement in O The Oprah magazine or a ReTweet on Twitter, which media placement carries the most influence and impact?  Both are lovely, yet a placement in O The Oprah Magazine is priceless beyond description — and influential to merchandise on your online press room besides.

Nancy Asking a Favor: Speaking of client referrals, if you are a fan of this blog and my work, I’d be honored if you posted a review to the Authentic Visibility page at www.yelp.com.  Yelp is one of the largest and most influential user review and rating sites on the internet today. In a recent survey, 83.8% of respondents said they would trust use reviews over a critic.  That means we trust each others’ informed opinions over experts.  Thank you Practical Social Marketing Expert Steve MacDonald for showing me the wisdom of Yelp. Thanks to all of you loyal blog readers in advance for your support of this review request.

DIY Publicity Tip for the Day: Why not take a few moments and add your company to Yelp and invite your best customers to post a review for how you serve?  These endorsements will then appear in search engine results that reflect favorably upon how you serve the marketplace. That just might help the right clients “get to yes” a bit faster and fuel your prosperity.  Visit www.yelp.com to set up your profile.  It just takes a few minutes.  I know, because I just did this myself.

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Use BizNik to Promote Your Fee-Based Events. It Works!

So many consultants and experts are offering seminars and workshops to promote their events, and everyone is looking for high-value, high-impact ways to invite the right guests without breaking the bank.  As a publicist, I know plenty of ways to do that, and I am always on the lookout for new ways to get the job done for my own events and those of my clients.  Social media marketing is all the rage these days, so I do my share of experimenting to deliver results where I need them in my business.

To that end, this month I am putting BizNik to the test to promote my upcoming May 15 Publici-Tea™  Half-Day Workshop.  These Bellevue events typically serve up to 14 guests who pay a $297 fee to benefit from a half-day of DIY publicity tips, resources, ideas, and inspiration.  Today, a guest registered for the workshop at my BizNik event page.

Biznik attaches a $5 registration fee to event fees prices at $49 and below. Once the event fee hits $50 and above, there’s an additional 3% transaction fee applied to the gross fee collected.  Bottom line – I’ll keep $284.06 after Biznik applies this transaction fee.

Since Biznik is a very robust online social network and many of the members may not yet know about the training I offer, I know new potential event guests are reading about my events on this site beyond those who read this blog.  The site even tells me how many people have visited.  Guest by guest, buzz will continue to build, and it’s a beautiful thing.  After all, few things delight me quite as much as sharing the Publici-Tea™ workshop information with perfect, qualified guests.

Since it’s free to post the events to this site — aside from a few minutes of posting the event details — it’s a good return on investment to have a guest sign up.  I just “cut and pasted” my event information from my DIY publicity store to my event page, and that was it.  How easy is that?

Now, lots of folks use BizNik to promote FREE events just for BizNik members, and that is certainly one way to use the service, connect with event guests, and build buzz for your offering.   Using BizNik to promote a fee workshop that is open to BizNik members and others is still another way. If you are a member of BizNik, take the event posting option out for a spin to invite the perfect guests to benefit from what you have to offer.

I’ve offered plenty of free workshops over the years, and I always enjoy connecting with great event guests and sharing tips and information from which they can profit.  What I’ve found is that event guests who invest time and a fee to benefit from course material, on-the-spot laser coaching, and other abundant and well-prepared resources are very likely to engage with the material, apply it to their benefit, and win in the marketplace.  That’s the kind of event guest I want at my workshops because telling their Publici-Tea™ graduate success stories makes me proud, and their collective success fuels my own.

Here is the link to learn more about the May 15 Publici-Tea™ event I have posted to BizNik.  Only three seats are still open for this Friday’s workshop, so act quickly to confirm your place.  I look forward to meeting you.

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Mom of the Year Video Reaches 1 Million Moms – Could Yours Be Next?

The Mom of the Year video I posted a couple days ago has since celebrated over 1 million moms worldwide.  Clearly, plenty of bloggers like me are helping to spread this very good news.  With Mother’s Day coming up this Sunday, there is still time to celebrate your mom, step mom, sister, neighbor, or friend.  Here is the link to make it easy for you to get into action. It’s a free, fun, and fabulous thing to do for the moms in your life on a Friday like today.

The folks at www.momsrising.com just got word that an anonymous donor has agreed to donate ten cents for every video that’s sent to a mom from now on, up to $25,000.  This money will fund MomsRising.org’s work to support moms and good family policy in Washington, D.C.  If you send to ten moms, that’s a dollar for this good work.  That’s all the more reason to celebrate the moms in your life with this video.  Enjoy!

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Publici-Tea™ Graduate Hoan Do Earns Cover Story in NW Asian Weekly about His June 4 Book Launch Event

In March of this year, a young, inspiring business man of 23 named Hoan Do attended the Publici-Tea™ Workshop, and today his story is on the cover of NW Asian Weekly.  Hoan has written a book for college graduates called “Succeeding in the Real World: What School WON’T Teach You.”

Now, he is applying many of the lessons he learned at the Publici-Tea™ to promote his book.  He’s got a video on Facebook, event notices at many of the social networks, and he’ll be speaking in Kane Hall at the University of Washington on June 4, from 6:30–9 p.m. to inspire soon-to-be college graduates and their parents about his message.   For more information, call 206-257-9515 or visit www.succeedingintherealworld.com.

I congratulate Hoan for getting into powerful DIY publicity action to bring attention to his inspired book so others can benefit from his message.   A cover story is certainly a compelling and efficient way to share the message.  My wish is that hundreds of the right people attend Hoan’s presentation at Kane Hall to benefit from what he has to say.

My Request for You Today: If you know of anyone in your life who can benefit from Hoan’s inspiring message, please track back to this post so your friends, colleagues, and others can learn what Hoan has brewing.

And, if earning this kind of favorable publicity is on your wish list, register now for the May 15 Publici-Tea™ in Bellevue or the June 12 Publici-Tea™ in Portland, OR.  Visit this link now. I am building a powerful community of publicity savvy business people who are earning their own publicity without spending a fortune or spinning their wheels.  Won’t you join us?

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The Vern Yip – Seattle Design Center Coverage for Eye on Design 2009 Keeps Coming

I am happy to report that winning editorial coverage for the Vern Yip/Seattle Design Center Eye on Design 2009 event continues to roll in AFTER the event.  Here is the latest story by Yoon Park in ColorsNW magazine.

Seattle Design Center invested meaningfully in paid advertising to bring attention to Eye on Design 2009.  The modest investment in my publicity services has delivered prominent, compelling, accurate, and favorable coverage leading up to and following the event for a fraction of the price of paid advertising.  And the story links to all the great coverage will reside online indefinitely.  I love a good media mix as much as the next marketer, but you sure can’t beat the bang for the buck that publicity provides.

Speaking of which, are you interested in learning how to use free publicity to drive buzz for your business?  The next Publici-Tea™ Workshop in Bellevue takes place on May 15.  Four seats are still open at the table.  Shall we set one aside for you?  Read more and register at this link.

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