A few hours after I posted that, one of my most successful subscribers, Dan Page, emailed me some more brilliant strategies he’s willing to share. Dan is also one of my favorite subscribers, because he takes action.

Here’s what he had to say (see how you can do the same things with your business):

Hey Paul,

Dan Page

Any wonder that Dan is so successful?

Now, take what I gave you last time and what Dan is giving you this time and get your share of the Valentine’s Day publicity.

And be sure to sign up for my monthly hard copy publicity strategies newsletter at www.BestPublicityNewsletter.com

Not only do you get the newsletter each month, you get free admission to the live coaching calls where I personally answer your questions, help you plan and strategize and give you advice geared to getting you the most publicity possible for your business.

See you next time.

What’s that you say? Your product, service or business doesn’t tie into Valentine’s Day?

I don’t believe it.

Almost all businesses can tie into Valentine’s Day. In fact, almost all businesses can tie into all holidays.

Let me give you some very clear examples.

Dentists could send out a press release talking about a study or poll that shows how people with white, straight teeth wind up in relationships more often and those relationships last longer and are happier.

If you’re in the financial services industry you could send out a press release talking about various ways couples save more money than single people.

If you’re a chiropractor you could send out a tongue-in-cheek press release talking about safe ways for people to be intimate on Valentine’s Day without risking injury that would require a chiropractor.

If you own a clothing store you could send out a release talking about the best clothes to wear on a first date.

The owner of a bookstore could send out a release that tells the press which characters its customers thinks are the most romantic.

If you are a travel agent you could send out a release talking about the most romantic places to go for a weekend get-away.

If you’re in real estate you could send out a release talking about how to avoid relationship problems when buying a house together.

If you’re a professional speaker you could send out a release advising people of the best way to pop the question on Valentine’s Day (or any other day for that matter).

If you’re a personal coach you could talk about how relationship coaching has become one of the hottest ways for couples to grow together. Or you could reveal the most common relationship problems you come across in your practice.

Oh, that’s enough. You get the idea.

If you don’t think your business, product or service ties in to Valentine’s Day, you’ll pass up a bunch of great publicity opportunities.

Don’t let them slip by you. Grab them and take full advantage to get publicity for your business.

I’m going to talk more about this on our next coaching call. Don’t miss it!

Superb question! Publicity and advertising are worlds apart. Before you start any media campaign, you’ve got to understand this difference.

One of the fundamentals I teach my members in my “How to Get $1 Million Worth Of Publicity…FREE!” kit is:

Ads try to sell something. Press releases never try to sell. They simply give information.

When you place an ad, people immediately see you as a salesman. Ads are meant to sell. When you place an ad, people put up their defenses. You’re going to have to convince them of a number of things:

1 – that you’re legitimate

2 – that you’re telling the truth

3 – that your product is for real

4 – that you won’t take off with their money

5 – that you’ll live up to your guarantee

6 – that you’re not a con artist

and so on. That’s an awful lot of objections to have to knock down.

When you run an ad, you put yourself in the hole of having to convince people that you’re for real.

On the other hand, when a story appears about you in a newspaper, the entire picture changes. Stories in the newspaper aren’t seen as advertising, they’re seen as news!

Now, here’s the killer benefit of publicity.

When people read about you in a newspaper or magazine, hear you on the radio or see you on TV, they *instantly* believe you. You actually get the implied endorsement of the media!

People assume that if you’re on the radio, you must be the expert – the best in your field.

Let me give you a crystal clear example.

Let’s say you sell insurance. There are 17 insurance salesmen in your town, you being just one of them.

You know how to use publicity. The other 16 don’t. So, what do they do to get new clients? They advertise.

When people open the newspaper, on the left-hand page they see 16 ads – one from each of the other insurance agents. The ads are screaming things like “Pick me for your insurance needs. I’ll give you good service” (like that’s a compelling reason to pick anyone!).

Or they say: “I’ve been selling insurance for 27 years”, “I’ll give you a free calendar”, “I’ll get you the best rates”.

That’s brutal, head-to-head combat. Nothing I’m interested in – and hopefully you aren’t either. I want my sales to come a whole lot easier than that.

So that’s what was on the left hand page – an advertising showdown.

On the right hand page is a full page story all about you (the only agent who knows how to use publicity). It talks about how you’ve been in town for over 14 years. How you sponsor the Little League. How you’re a member of the Rotary and JayCees. How you’re the chairman of the local food bank and a volunteer fireman.

The story goes on to talk about how you make yourself available every Friday just to answer questions community members have about their insurance policies. How you have free seminars each month on different insurance topics. How each year you go to the senior citizen home and, at no cost, check all the senior’s policies to be sure they’re up to date.

There’s a big picture of you, your wife, 3 kids and 2 dogs. You’re all smiling.

Not once in that story was there a sales pitch.

When people in that community need insurance, who are they going to call? One of the 16 salesmen on the left-hand page cutting each others throats or you, the man who the newspaper thought was so important they ran a full page article about you?

Now do you see the incredibly powerful difference between publicity and advertising?

Learning the right way to get publicity is one of the most powerful, profitable skills you’ll ever learn.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

If you’d like information about my complete “How To Get $1 Million Worth Of Publicity…FREE!” publicity kit, go to:

www.MillionDollarPublicity.com

When you send out a press release, you have to have some name attached to it. You certainly can use a pen name. Many people have used them throughout history – Mark Twain being a name that quickly comes to mind. But, you cannot send an anonymous press release expecting it to be published. It just won’t happen.

Several of you came up with instances where using a name other than yours would be appropriate.

Cynthia Alexander said: “Here’s a reason I can think of to use an assumed name: Suppose that someone wants to spill the beans on something & has written an expose. They can’t reveal their name because they still work within that industry & would be considered a traitor or whistle blower.”

That’s an excellent reason, but notice that the person sending the press release was still using a name, just not their name.

Here’s one from Brijinder Singh:

“One possible reason for this is this situation: You have a high stakes project. You want to try out certain approaches without tipping your hand to competitors or even eventual clients. You think a poorly designed approach would not reflect well on you. So you try out a few pilots under pen names. When you find one that works, you then launch and pursue it under your real name.”

Scott Becker said: “I’ve been putting together a media release for my mortgage business, and was wondering the same thing about keeping my name out of the release. The reason is because I don’t want others in the business to catch on to what I’m doing. Probably not a good idea, but the thought of keeping my name out has crossed my mind.”

Scott, if you send a release with no name at all, it just won’t be printed. Reporters put themselves out on a limb when they run a story. That’s why good reporters will check, double and even triple check their sources and information.

If you use a pen name without letting the reporter know, you’re taking a risk and so is the reporter. For example, let’s say you offered a reporter some very inflammatory information about your competition and used a pen name. The reporters runs the story with your pen name. Your competitor files a law suit against the reporter and the person with the pen name, who actually was you. It becomes very easy for you to deny that you are that person. Meanwhile, the reporter is stuck with the legal problems.

Reporters are very reluctant to let people use false names. The obvious exception to this is “Deep Throat” of Watergate fame. But even then, Woodward and Bernstein knew his true identity. The false name was used to protect the person providing the information.

So, while I agree that secrecy can be used to your benefit, you’ve got to be very careful when using it with your press releases.

See you next time!

Yesterday he sent me a link to a video TV interview he did on a new procedure. Here’s the link:

http://8hp.org/153

Wow, what I major success! How much do you think Dr. Lycka would have had to pay that TV station to run a commercial for that name amount of time?

And even if he did buy the commercial and run it, commercials are seen as ads. They don’t have the same credibility as a TV reporter doing a story.

Stories are news, commercials are ads. People believe stories, they don’t believe ads.

Do you think this is the end for this video interview? Do you think it played one time on the news and now it’s over?

Not by a long shot.

Dr. Lycka can put that video on his website.

He can link to it in his ezine.

He can play it in his office on a small TV in his waiting room.

He can put it on DVDs and send it out to prospective patients.

And that’s just a few things off the top of my head.

As I’ve said over and over for years, when you get publicity, it doesn’t end when the story is printed or broadcast. It should go on for years.

All of these publicity hits become fantastic marketing materials for any business.

For your business.

Dr. Lycka has had incredible success with my publicity system. Not because he has a unique, wild, sexy, crazy story, but because he keeps at it. He gets success after success and he keeps sending out those press releases.

When he sent me the link to his story, he also said: “Sometimes we get lucky. And the harder I work, the luckier I am.”

Get the idea?

If you’re not getting my monthly, paper and ink newsletter, go to:

www.BestPublicityNewsletter.com

and sign up.

If you don’t have my publicity kit, go to:

www.MillionDollarPublicity.com

and become a member of our publicity family.

Get on the coaching calls and let me help you get the publicity success you deserve.

Then let me give you more publicity by telling my entire mailing list about it, just like I’m doing for Dr. Lycka.

See you next time.

Paul

The flyer was posted by one of the other dog trainers in town (me being the best one in town!). The contest is being called something like “Your Best Dog Trick”.

There’s an entry fee, but like lots of things in my tiny town, the entry fee is whatever you want it to be (isn’t life simple in farm communities?).

The topic of the contest is a sure winner. Who wouldn’t go to see a bunch of dogs perform their best tricks? You know it’s going to be a bundle of non-stop laughs!

I had 6 dogs in the car so I couldn’t stop to read the entire flyer, but my mind has been racing ever since.

Think about how you can use this as a template for your business.

Have a contest challenging people to do their best whatever. Or have their pet do their best whatever. Or their mother-in-law do her best whatever.

Make it fun.

Charge an entry fee, but make the amount up to the people entering.

Donate all the proceeds to a *local* charity.

As people register, send out press releases about the most interesting ones. One press release a week.

Have a representative of the charity at the event to accept the check.

Have a photographer there to take plenty of pictures. You don’t have to hire a pro. Just get someone who has a reasonable camera and can reasonable shots.

Have a press release all ready to go concerning the winners. Within an hour of the end of the contest fill in the names of the winners in the press release you pre-wrote. Get it out to the local media both on and offline. Be sure to send lots of great photos.

Announce the next contest you’re going to have. Or let people know this is going to be an annual event.

The dog trainer who’s having the Best Tricks contest is using the facility she normally uses for her classes, so there’s no extra cost there. She may have a few bucks into trophies or prizes. But what a jackpot of publicity she can get for a tiny cost to her.

What other ideas can you come up with along these lines? Let me know your thoughts.

In the meantime, if you’re not a subscriber to my paper and ink newsletter and you’re not getting free access to my live coaching calls each month, what are you waiting for? On my next coaching call I’ll be talking much more about this contest idea and exactly how to do it plus loads of other strategies you can’t afford to miss.

Sign up at:

www.BestPublicityNewsletter.com

I’ll also be talking about the biggest mistake people new to publicity make and how you can – and must – avoid it.

And if you’re really serious, get my complete publicity kit. It has everything you’ll need to get publicity for ANY type of business, service or professional practice. Sign up at:

www.MillionDollarPublicity.com

Now go start planning your contest!

See you next time.

Paul

Before I left, I post a message asking if you are a victor or a victim of this economic downturn. I got a lot of response to that email.

Today, I’m posting the comments from one of my SuperStar subscribers, Dan Page.

If you’ve been reading these posts for a while, you’ve seen Dan’s name before. One of the things I like most about Dan is that he’s not just a talker, or a whiner – he’s a doer; an action man.

The action people are the ones who are doing the best in these rough times. They try one thing. If it doesn’t work, they try another, and another and another until they have success.

One of my favorite quotes is from Muhammad Ali:

“I doesn’t matter that you were knocked down 68 times. The only thing that matters is that you stood up 69 times.”

So, here are Dan’s comments:

Hi Paul,

3.) The “How to Create and Sell iPhone Apps” webinar was so successful, I am taking it out on the road. Already have three list owners interested.

It’s me, Paul, again.

How’s that for taking action, being creative and not becoming a victim of the economy?

When I asked Dan for permission to reproduce his comments, he agreed and added this:

“ABC news called and is interested in doing a national story on my son’s ‘PopcornForHungryKids’ program. Bringing out a film crew and following him. We’ll see!”

You’ve got to love the guy.

If you’d like to get in touch with Dan, his email address is: dan@fundingstrategypartners.com

That’s it for today. It was a long one, but well worth it.

I’ll be back soon with more.

Paul

Let’s assume, though, that we are being affected by a second recession in some form. This, then, becomes one of the greatest opportunities for your business to explode. Sounds strange but true.

When business owners face economic hard times, the *vast* majority of them (my guess is 98% of them) do the turtle routine. They tuck their heads in and hope their shells are strong enough to protect them from whatever’s going on outside.

It never is.

The turtles cut back on advertising and marketing. Their reasoning is “I’m not making as much money, so I’ve got to cut back.” That cutting back reduces sales even more…and so on until extinction.

Smart marketers, though, see their opportunity. They know that their competition is waving the white flag and praying for the best.

Smart marketers take every advantage they can find. They may have reduced income as well, but they become razor-sharp stealth marketers.

That’s where publicity comes in.

When you know how to use publicity to promote your business, you can continue your marketing without spending one thin dime.

Your competition doesn’t know what to do. They’re too busy tucking their heads in their shells. They never bothered to learn how to use publicity. They came up with a whole list of reasons for not learning about publicity.

Some of them even became somewhat arrogant during the boom times. They thought they’d never end. They thought they were marketing geniuses, because their business was doing well.

Anyone can make a fortune in good economic times. That doesn’t take any skill.

It’s rough economic times that bring out the best marketers.

Right now is one of the greatest opportunities in our lifetimes to explode our businesses and reap phenomenal profits…while others pray and wait.

Publicity shines the brightest in times like these. It’s low/no cost and it’s incredible power are waiting to be put to use.

So, are you a turtle? Are you making excuses for why your business isn’t doing well? Or why you’ve got to cut down on expenses?

Or are you an eagle, using publicity the way it should be used and watching your business soar?

I’m headed for two glorious weeks at the NY State Fair. As I always do, I’ll probably post some publicity tips I see at The Fair – that’s publicity in action.

This happened a while back but the message is clear and powerful.

I live in a small town. We have an equally small radio station in the area. It’s the kind of station that loses power after sundown.

At this station there was a “traffic girl”. I put that in quotes because she was an 18 year old right out of high school with no experience whatsoever – although I don’t know what experience you would need to be a traffic reporter anyway.

All she was required to do was read a sheet of paper that already has the traffic report written on it – “Traffic is heavy on Route 46 west. I suggest you take Route 80 instead” and so on.

One day I was listening to the station and heard that this traffic girl was making an “appearance” at a local market. An appearance!!! Who the heck is she???

But I knew the power of “The Halo Effect”. If anyone is on radio or TV, they instantly become celebrities and cause people to line up to meet them, hear the pearls of wisdom coming from their ruby lips, etc.

The day of the “appearance” came. I couldn’t resist. I had to drive over to the market and see what was up.

Even though I was several blocks away, I could see the crowd. There were hundreds of people. I parked and walked up to several people and asked them what was going on. They told me that the traffic girl from the radio station was at the market…

and she was signing autographs!!!

I asked them what her name was. They said:

“We don’t know, but we want her autograph.”

I could not make up a more incredible story. It shows you the astonishing power of publicity.

It makes no difference whether you’re a chiropractor, own a pizza shop, do bicycle repair, have a bakery or any other product, service, cause or issue imaginable. When you get publicity on radio and TV or in newspapers and magazines, you become an instant celebrity and you get instant credibility.

Harness the power of publicity and put it to work for you!

See you next time.

The halo effect is one of the most powerful benefits of getting publicity. I’ll demonstrate this by comparing advertising and publicity.

When you place an ad in a newspaper for your product or service, what do readers see you as? They see you as an advertiser.

When people see you as an advertiser, their guard goes up. They know you’re going to try to stick your hand in their pocket and come out with their money.

In order to make a sale, you have to convince the reader that you’re honest, you’ll actually provide the product or service you’re advertising, the product or service will be of the quality you advertise, you won’t run away with their money, you’ll live up to your guarantee and on and on and on.

That’s a pretty big mountain to climb.

Now consider what happens when you get publicity for that same product or service. Do people see you as an advertiser? No way! After all, the newspaper did a full page story about you and your product.

They mentioned how you’ve been in the community for over 14 years. In addition to describing your product or service in glowing terms, the article talked about how you support the local Little League, you’re a member of the Kiwanis and Jaycees, how you want to help the community and how you’re happy to give members of the community free advice.

You’re no advertiser – you’re an authority, an expert…a celebrity! After all, aren’t celebrities in the newspaper all the time?

That’s the halo effect.

When you run an ad for a product or service, you’re simply an advertiser. But if the same newspaper runs an article about that very same product or service you’re offering, they give you their implied endorsement. Readers assume the newspaper wouldn’t run a big story about you unless you were a good guy and your product or service was well worth the money.

By doing this, the newspaper puts a halo over your head. You’re one of the good guys. You’re an “angel”.

Next time I’ll tell you a story that will demonstrate how incredibly powerful this halo effect can be. It’ll be a dazzler!

In the meantime, work on getting that publicity and the benefits of the “halo effect”.