Taking your blog from drab to fab

Not all blogs are created equal. Some bloggers are superstars of cyberspace who have countless fans following every update and other bloggers can’t even get their family to read their posts.

Here are some simple tips to make a name for yourself in the blogosphere:

1) Read a bunch of blogs

If you’re new to the game, you have to know what’s out there. Every blogger has his or her own style, but I would say what the most successful blogs have in common is that they conversational, provocative and worth forwarding to a friend.

2) Demonstrate passion and authority

If you’re not passionate about what you’re writing about then who else will be? Pick topics that come from your heart and don’t be afraid to have an opinion. Your knowledge and views on a subject are what will have people coming back for more.

3) Share your work with other bloggers

One of the beautiful things about the Internet is how viral your blog can become. Bloggers quote each other all the time. Don’t be afraid to pass your post on to other bloggers who can share your words with their audience. Never spam a fellow blogger. Read their work first and make sure that you’re passing along something they would actually use.

4) Always spell check

There’s no better way to turn off your readers than to have a bunch of typos and spelling errors. Remember the old carpenter’s motto—measure twice, cut once. I always try to read my posts at least a couple of times before I press “submit” and even then I’ll occasionally misspell something or have a grammatical error. If a newspaper consistently mangles the language, subscribers eventually get fed up and leave. The same is true for the blogosphere.

5) Get professional recognition for your blog

A friend of mine is in the running to be named the “Best Real Estate Blog in Texas.” There’s no cash prize. Candy Evans knows that if she wins the title, the  readership will grow for her Dallas Dirt blog and she’ll become even more influential. You can vote for her by clicking here. I hope you’ll do that and study her past posts. She’s a shining example of how to do it right.

Just imagine that you’re a newspaper columnist trying to develop a following. You have to find your voice. There are many things you can do to grow your readership: be passionate, opinionated, thought-provoking and even controversial. The Internet is a democracy. Readers will vote with return visits to your blog.

If you’ve been putting off starting a blog, it’s time to get busy. It’s free to create through websites like Blogger.com and journalists are constantly reading blogs to come up with fresh story ideas. What do you have to lose other than your anonymity?

After 25 years in TV news, Emmy winning reporter Jeff Crilley left the news business to start the country’s first PR firm staffed exclusively with former journalists. For an example of how his firm helped position one Dallas attorney as a legal expert, just watch the video on their homepage:

Don’t Be Vanilla

There’s nothing wrong with vanilla ice cream. It’s classic and there’s nothing like a good scoop of old fashioned vanilla on some peach cobbler.

But I’m using it here as a metaphor. If you want media attention, that’s one flavor you just can’t be—plain vanilla.

While Googling around, I ran across some ice cream shops that have gotten some tasty news coverage by being different.

An ice cream place called Dominion’s scored a nice article in the Baltimore Sun because of the wacky vegetable flavors they serve up including spinach, carrot, tomato, sweet potato and jalapeno.

A Los Angeles ice cream shop owner made it into Better Homes and Gardens with his Sweet Corn flavored ice cream.

The Udder Delight Ice Cream House in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware has gained international media attention with it’s bacon flavored ice cream.

And the fine folks with the Lions Club of Scappoose, Oregon always manage to win national headlines with the Sauerkraut ice cream they dish out during the town’s annual Sauerkraut Festival.

My point is simply this: all they did to get publicity was to change the recipe. Frankly, I’m not sure they sell very much Sweet Corn ice cream in LA or Sauerkraut ice cream in Oregon. That’s not the point. They’re getting some cool coverage for themselves and are probably doing a booming business selling more traditional flavors to the crowds that are drawn in by the publicity.

So what are you waiting for? All you have to do is take your plain old vanilla PR plan and sprinkle on a little bacon. Trust me, the media will eat it up.

After 25 years in TV news, Emmy winning reporter Jeff Crilley left the news business to start the country’s first PR firm staffed exclusively with former journalists. For an example of how his firm helped position one Dallas attorney as a legal expert, just watch the video on their homepage:

Five PR Resolutions for 2010

This is the week when we all promise to lose weight, spend less, save more and get organized.

So as long as we’re making resolutions, how about resolving to make 2010 your best PR year ever?

Here are 5 ways you can take your publicity efforts to the next level without spending a dime:

1) Do Your Homework

Who is most likely to tell your story? Google around and find a reporter who gets you.

If you’re a Realtor and want to be quoted as an expert in the paper about home sales, find out who wrote the last article.

Reporters have beats. Chances are, the last journalist to write a story about home sales is the real estate reporter. Search the newspaper’s archives online. How often do they write about the housing market? What was their angle? What did they miss? What’s new since the last time they wrote about real estate? Have interest rates changed? Are homes in a certain price range moving?

2) Don’t be Afraid to Use the Phone

I run into PR professionals all the time who have a fear of the phone. They do all their story pitching to journalists by email.

The problem is, when a journalist ignores your emails, you never get an answer. Was it a bad story idea? Did you pitch the wrong angle? Did the journalist even see your email?

When you’re on the phone with a reporter, you get an answer. It may not always be the answer you want, but at least you know whether the journalist is going to do the story or not.

3) Don’t Wait for Tomorrow

If you’re driving in your car listening to the news and they begin talking about something that you’re an expert in, don’t wait.

Lawyers know a lot more about the law than the talk show host who’s blabbering on and on and urging people to call in with their opinion. Stop talking to yourself and call in. Tell the phone screener that you’re a lawyer and that the host is missing the point. I promise you, you’ll be moved to the front of the line and the next thing you know, you’re on the air getting free publicity for your practice.

4) Start a Facebook and Twitter Page

Even if you’re one of those people who still believes that social media is a waste of time, start a page.

Your next generation of customer is Tweeting and posting pictures on Facebook. If you don’t join the revolution, you’ll look like a dinosaur when those 20-somethings come to your website.

The radio was once center stage, it was replaced by TV. Now the Internet is pushing TV out of the spotlight. Social media isn’t a faze people are going through. It’s the way people communicate. Get a page. Period.

5) Take Some Chances

Stop spending all your time in the safe zone. Take a chance. Do something to get noticed by the media. You don’t have to become a carnival barker. Just pick up the phone and call a reporter.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said “Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door.” Well, I’m sorry, Ralphie, that may have been true in the 1800s. But today there are millions of amazing mousetraps that no one will ever know about because the inventor never had the courage to tell anyone. Stop waiting to get discovered.

In fact, in 2010, simply tooting your own horn may not be enough to get noticed anymore, you may just have to start an orchestra!

After 25 years in TV news, Emmy winning reporter Jeff Crilley left the news business to start the country’s first PR firm staffed exclusively with former journalists. To learn more about hiring Jeff’s team: www.RealNewsPR.com