How to Learn More About Publicity

How do you learn how to be your own publicist? Good books, courses, and workshops are helpful and I recommend them. But I also suggest using Google and Twitter alerts to learn more about specific publicity topics. It's like having a crash course delivered to your inbox on an ongoing basis.

Alerts for carefully-chosen keywords used in Twitter tweets or anywhere on the Web (delivered via Google alerts) will help you find the many educational, instructive blog postings with the information you need. But it won't always come to you exactly when you need it -- that's what a good in-the-moment Google search is for.

Google and Twitter alerts serve many other purposes -- they can be your online clipping services, too -- but you can't beat them for providing "here's-how-to-do-it" information from some of the top experts in any field. Twitter, in particular, is an essential component of my ongoing professional development. It not only helps me learn -- it helps introduce me to the people who truly know what they're talking about on a specific subject. These people might then agree to write an article for my book publicity e-zine, do an educational teleseminar, or be a guest blogger here.

I offer free instructions on how to set up Google and Twitter alerts available for download here; it's not hard and you'll be ready to roll in minutes. The hardest part is figuring out which terms to use -- and the terms you're searching for should change over time. For example, you might set alerts for "social media release," "press release tips," or "how to pitch" but cancel those once you feel you have learned as much as you need on that subject. From there, you might set alerts for "press release distribution." (You'll note that these all make good Google search engine terms when you add "how to" to your search phrase, if you need the information now.)

• Authors: try "social networking authors" or "book publicity"
• Small business owners: try "small business publicity" or "solo publicity"
• Nonprofits: try "nonprofit publicity tips" or "charity publicity tips"

Play around with your alert terms -- if you get too many, make adjustments. If you get too few, try something else. Other people know more about how to generate the perfect search term than I do (and if you're reading this, I'd love it if you'd share them). I find that just giving it my best shot and then tinkering gives me all the alerts I need to stay informed.

How to Use Google Alerts to Get Publicity

Because I just added a free guide to setting up Google and Twitter alerts to my Web site, I'd like to share the tips on using Google alerts to get publicity that I presented in my book publicity newsletter several months ago.

Here they are:

Set up Google alerts for your name, product, and topic. This free online clipping service will send a note and link to your e-mail inbox every time your specified search term shows up on the Web. When the alerts start popping into your mailbox unexpectedly like those last few popcorn kernels that wake up suddenly when you open the microwave bag, capitalize on this online exposure so you extend the mileage and impact.

Here are four things you can do once Google has alerted you that you’re in the news:

1. Link to appropriate online references from your Web site.

Use those glowing product reviews to influence potential buyers by excerpting them on your Web site and linking to the full review. If it’s an article or interview quoting you as an expert, provide a brief summary on your site with a link to the full article.

2. If your product is reviewed or mentioned on a blog, propose an online interview.

When I received the Google Alert telling me that Chris Forbes of Ministry Marketing Coach included my book Publicity for Nonprofits in his recommended reading list, I sent him a thank you note and asked if he’d like to do a Q&A with me on his blog. He did; we completed the two-posting exchange via e-mail. Chris also suggested I contact his colleague Nedra Weinreich about doing something similar for her Spare Change blog. Thanks to that introduction, I was Nedra’s guest blogger for a week.

3. When the reviewer is a blogger, your product is a book, and the comments are positive, ask the individual to repeat the comments on your book’s Amazon page.

Don’t be shy. When you’ve been alerted that someone has said something nice about your writing, send a note with your version of: “Thank you so much for the kind words about my book on your blog. I would be grateful if you would post your observations on Amazon.com, too, because I’m told that Amazon reviews from influential people like you help others make purchasing decisions. I’d be happy to return the favor by doing a guest Q&A on your blog if you’re interested.”

4. Find and add journalists covering your topic to your publicity media list.

Journalists – whether they are the traditional or “citizen” type – who have written on your topic once might be writing about it again, so put them on your media distribution list once your topic alerts send you links to their stories. Send them tip sheets or news releases, or pitch article or segment ideas. Stay in front of them so they think of you as an expert resource when they need one with your credentials. Add those reviewers mentioned in tip 3 to your list, too.

I hope you find the free guide, "How to set up Google and Twitter alerts," helpful. It won't take much time for you to get on top of who's saying what about your area of expertise.

Have you used alerts to get publicity? Tell us how you did it!