Scrappy Marketing Solutions Blog

Peter Shankman's "If I Can Help a Reporter Out"

About a month ago, I subscribed to a relatively new e-newsletter: Peter Shankman's "Help a Reporter Out" (or HARO, for short).  I read about it in a blog post by Denise Wakeman: Help a Reporter Out: A Goldmine for PR Opportunities.

Each day, you'll receive up to three emails, each with anywhere from 2-10 queries per email. They'll all be labeled with [shankman.com] in the subject line, for easy filtering. If you see a query you can answer, go for it! HelpAReporter.com really is that simple.

I built this list because a lot of my friends are reporters, and they call me all the time for sources. Rather than go through my contact lists each time, I figured I could push the requests out to people who actually have something to say.

In the past three weeks, I have forwarded more than 15 queries on to people in my network.  Reporters have submitted queries seeking experts in such areas as Unique Organizing Niches, Craft Store Owners, Las Vegas, Podcasters, Photographers, Teaching Kids Values, and Thanksgiving Traditions.  (Actually, the queries run a MUCH wider gamut than that - those were just some of the queries I forwarded on.)

The venues for which journalists write also run the gamut - there are some smaller community papers, online communities, blogs, as well as The New York Times, HGTV, and full-fledged books.

As Denise said, this really is a PR Goldmine.  If you want to promote your product/business to a wide audience, you can hardly beat the "free press" of being included in an article.  It provides much more credibility than buying ad space, and is definitely cheaper.  Plus, when you are quoted in an article, or your product/business is featured in an article, you 'become' an expert.  People see you as a "go-to resource" in that topic area.

I haven't seen a ton of craft-related queries come in, but that's where your "PR thinking cap" comes in.  Think outside our craft box, and spin something to see how what you do could fit a given request.  DON'T pitch blindly, mind you - someone looking for molecular biology resources will NOT appreciate you sending info about your line of paper-craft storage.  But if someone is looking for resources in organizing a home office, how could paper-craft storage provide a creative and unusual solution?  If a reporter posts a query for decorating trends for the holidays, what ideas could you offer? (And yes, both of those queries have been posted recently.)

Almost every day I read a query that I'd like to post here to go out to the craft marketing masses.  But rather than posting journalists email addresses here (something I'm SURE they would NOT appreciate, either!), I thought I'd just let you know about the HARO newsletter, and let you sign up yourselves.  Yes, it does arrive three times a day, and yes, there are more queries there that won't apply to you, than those that will, but I think subscribing is a valuable marketing tool.  And, as Peter says, "the good Karma is immeasurable".

If you are a reporter/writer/journalist seeking sources, you can also submit requests for resources. I've passed this query link along to several writer friends, and they are really impressed with the resources they've seen.

If you respond to any HARO query, I'd love to hear how it turns out!  Be sure to come back here and leave a comment!

Self-Publishing Secrets with Elaine Floyd

I was very excited to see that my publisher, Elaine Floyd, is the guest speaker on an upcoming SpeakerNet News Teleseminar - July 8.  She will be addressing "Self-Publishing Secrets: How to Produce Your Own Bestseller". And this lady *totally* knows her stuff.  I mean, she did publish each of my three best-selling scrapbooking idea books.

In this teleseminar, you will learn:

• how to create a system for selling not just one book, but a series [editor's note: from the beginning, she intended to make Book of Me a series, not just a single, stand-alone book.  She's always thinking ahead like that.]
• why your book must exceed the standards of major publishers
• the three critical components to making your book a success and what most self-publishers skip — to their book’s detriment
• key components of a jump-off-the-shelf cover [I still get comments on the appeal of my book covers - Elaine was integral to their design.]
• internal layout tips that separate “home-made” from professional [ditto on the internal pages - people *love* the sidebars in my books.]
• how to decide between soft- and hard-cover

In short, if you are interested in self-publishing (or even if you're publishing with an commercial publisher) - Elaine's expertise will give you the inside scoop on getting your books to fly off the shelves.  I truly cannot sing her praises enough.

[cross-posted on The Blog of Me]

Who's Who in Online Marketing Blogging

I recently received an email from Jimmy Atkinson, at WHDB.com, alerting me of a "Who's Who in Online Marketing Blogging" sort of list he had compiled: 100 Awesome Webmaster Blogs by and for Women.

...over four days through simple keyword searches and through reading blogs and other resources, we discovered at least one hundred women in SEO (Search Engine Optimization), SEM (Search Engine Marketing), public relations and marketing, design, business, social media and in IT. All these women have one thing in common - their work revolves around the Web.

The sum total of the Web women listed here represents just the tip of the iceberg on women involved with Web matters - although we agree with Zeldman that men seem to outnumber the women in this realm. With that said, the women we discovered are strong, talented, innovative and resourceful. And, many of them have joined forces to help each other and many other women.

This is quite a list!  If you are interested in reading about Search Engine Optimization/Marketing, Public Relations, Web Design, and Social Media, consider this your blog reading "shopping list"!

Here's how Jimmy's list breaks down:
Women in Search - 19 blogs
Women in Marketing - 20 blogs (including ScrapbookMarketing!)
Women in Design - 17 blogs
Social Media, Organizations, and Writing Skills - 14 blogs
Women in Business - 14 blogs
Women in Tech - 16 blogs

This list has me thinking I should compile a list of "Who's Who in Scrapbook Blogging" - what do you think?

I would welcome your comments about the "readability" of the blogs on Jimmy's list - do you read any of them regularly?  Which do you find the most useful?  What have you learned from them?  Did the list omit any significant contributions from women bloggers?  Do leave a comment and share your thoughts!

Launch Your New Scrapbooking Product Reviewed on ScrapScene

Celebrity Scrapblogger Angie has posted a review of "Launch Your New Scrapbooking Product".

"...this e-book is full of tips and advice to get you started and lots of informative links to help you along the way.  Even if you are a scrapbook retailer, you will find useful advice that can be applied to your own promotions...From press releases to garnering wholesale orders to promoting your product, Angie covers it all."

Thanks, Angie!

You can read more about this valuable ebook here: Scrapbook Marketing ebooks

Know a Teen with Mad Digi Skillz?

I ran across an interesting article today, posted in the online version of Ventura County Star: Teen choice: summer job or business owner.  In the article, the writers "ask teens looking for a summer job to seriously consider the advantages of starting a business instead."  And check out one business opportunity they highlight:

We know a teen who built a business scanning shoeboxes full of old photographs and building digital albums for people. The work is tedious, but this photography enthusiast views it as a master class; she sees thousands of photos every week, improves her computer skills, and gets paid for it. Thanks to a class in Photoshop, she has the skill to fix damaged images for an additional fee.

If you have an enterprising (and tech-savvy) teen in your house, you might suggest they offer these services.  If you already have the equipment, startup costs could be minimal.  They could advertise in local parenting newspapers and church bulletins, and hang up flyers at grocery stores.  They could leave business cards at local scrapbooking and photography stores.  They could also post a service listing on CraigsList and other local resource sites (though you might consider having them use your email address or a PO Box for contact information, just for added teen security, and screen potential customers/clients).

Those of you who offer scrapbook-for-hire services could also add scanning to your list of services, then outsource the task to a local teen (maybe one in your own home!)