PATRON SAINT PRODUCTIONS, INC.

~ CHAT TRANSCRIPT ~

Patron Saint Productions, Inc.
Internet PR Chat Series

Topic: Blog PR
Guests: Steve O'Keefe, author of "Complete Guide to Internet Publicity"
Date: March 7, 2008

Opening URL for the day: http://www.patronsaintpr.com/chat
Technologies used in chat series so far:
Skype
Free Conference Call
PHP Chat

Check IAOC website for schedule updates

What is a blog: Categorical, Chronological Diary.
Article/Reading assignment: How Blogging Ruined My Life and Your Internet
http://www.patronsaintpr.com/resources/UMAR%20307%20Class%20Materials/index.html

- Tagging with keywords important
- Google search loves blogs
- High visibility in search engines

Different ways of using blogs for public relations purposes
1. Building the blog itself
- Example: http://patronsaintpr.com/samples.html
-Health Care Reform, http://healthcarereformnow.blogspot.com/
-Example of News Summary blog
-will ramp you up in the google rankings, especially using newsworthy material and pictures
2. Comment on other peoples' blogs
- Example:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/07/MNT4VFUI6.DTL
-To contact journalist getting difficult, via voicemail and overloaded e-mail boxes. Must crack the "electronic shell"
-Gain visibility by commenting on their blogs
-Intelligent Comment is the key!

3. Blog posts & blog announcement
- Example: http://patronsaintpr.com/samples.html#halvorson
- Blog Pitch Report: http://www.authorviews.com/authors/halvorson/public/blogpitchreport.htm
- Case Histories
-View blog pitches and other information under these examples

Transparency comes into play with bloggers. Be prepared for them to post even private e-mails on blogs. "No wink, wink. Nudge, nudge without it showing up the next day"

4. Blog touring - "Painting a bulls eye on a celebrity"
- Example: http://www.patronsaintpr.com/resources/UMAR%20307%20Class%20Materials/index.html
How Blogging Ruined My Life and Your Internet
- Found under Tulane Class, Readings on Patron Saint site
Discussion:
- Add blog contacts to your Dex, difficult to find but valuable resource
- Cultivate a relationship with the blogger/journalist

Producing News Summary blogs:
- http://healthcarereformnow.blogspot.com/
- Adding images and crediting gains visibility
- Creative commons: copyright free art as long as it is properly credited
- Proper linking and crediting important to maintain ethics

- NY Times Blog example: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/
- How to find blogs?
- Steve's Recommendations
- Google search results - submit to google blog search http://www.blogseach.google.com
- Technorati - How they are measured as top complicated http://technorati.com/pop/blogs

The Author Will Take Q.'s Now
The New York Times Online
Kara Jesella
September 2, 2007

This article basically discusses the practical uses of a utilizing a blog for product promotion and in this article's case, book promotion. Jesella describes the typical blogging process as "an author pops up on a series of blogs, usually over days or weeks, variously writing guest posts, answering questions from the host or sitting for a podcast, a video interview or a live chat." She also highlights that the only way the product (book) will be successfully promoted is if those who are most invested in the product (authors) are active within the blog answering questions or discussing the topic of conversation.

Jesella stated that blogs tours were utilized mostly by lesser-known authors who were less likely to be reviewed by mainstream press, as I expected. Yet what I found interesting was the points that she had following the statement: that the Internet exposes authors to a broader audience than most bookstore readings or as she quotes Felicia Sullivan stating "' You can reach a least a few hundred people on a blog, and save time, money, and the fear of being a loser when no one shows up to your reading." The point that I found most interesting was when Jessella stated that although authors saw an increase in visits to their sites during and after a blog tour, there was no real way to tell how much blog tours increased sales yet, following this statement was a quote by Dave Weich, director of marketing and development at Powell's Books, " But then, the dirty little secret of real-life author tours, he said, is that 'most of the people who go to to events don't buy books.'"

I LOVE that closing statement because it really shows that there is a new method in PR that is relatively inexpensive (if you hirer a blogger) and very effective, if not more effective than older methods of PR.

Title: "Blogging's A Low-Cost, High Return Marketing Tool"
Date: December 27,2007
Author: Marci Alboher
URL: www.nytimes.com/2007/12/27/business/smallbusiness/27sbiz.html?_r=l&oref=slogin

This article is about how companies are using blogging more as a marketing tool and a low-cost advertiser. While more small companies are using blogging more often, experts say that it is not suited for everyone. Alboher states that "most small businesses do not have the man-power because blogging requires a large time commitment and some writing skills.

This article describes a few small companies that use blogging in their everyday business strategy. The company I thought was the most interesting was Denali Flavors, "an ice cream manufacturing company in Michigan that licenses its flavors to other stores. It is a small company with a limited ad budget, so it decided to use a series of blogs to build brand awareness". Joe Nardini, the company's marketing director, researched some popular search categories on the web and came up with "Free Money Finance". He "wanted to create a blog with so much traffic, that it could serve as its own independent media outlet owned by Denali Flavors, where the company would be the sole sponsor and advertiser". And thats just what he did. Nardini never tires about posting about personal finance; "he posts about five times each weekday". Using free tools from the web, Nardini gages that this site has about 4,200 visits a day, all costing about $400 a year! Denali Flavors also allows other advertisers come in and use the site which rakes in about $30,000 to $40,000 a year, which they donate straight to charity.

Alyice Edrich is the author of an article entitled, "Host Your Own Event: Take a Blog Tour---A book tour without ever leaving your home." The article begins with Edrich explaining what a blog is and why it is such a great resource in the promotion of books/e-books.
As we have learned in class, a blog is often considered an online journal designed to entertain and educate the public. It is also a resource for readers to post comments related to each blog, and thus, acts much like an interactive forum. Blogs can be run by individuals or by professionals who are looking for a way to interact with their target audiences and have their voice(s) heard.
One of the ways for authors to get their voices heard and to spread word about their book(s) is a virtual book tour. Blogs are a great way to hold a virtual book tour, because the search engines make finding blogs by subject easy to find and blogs often have a very loyal reader base. But while many people think that blog tours serve the purpose of generating revenue and increasing sales for your book, such is not the case. Instead, the purpose of a blog tour is to generate "buzz" about your book, which you hope, in turn, may increase sales for your book. In order to do the latter, there are many things to watch for when creating a blog tour.
Blog tours must carefully target their audience in order to create the maximum buzz and reach the largest amount of readers on the Internet. The author wants to also be careful in the number of questions asked and answered during each blog so that reader interest is kept. Also, always include link(s) to your book's sales page so that readers know where they can purchase your book.
Additional things that you may want to include in your tour are pictures of yourself and of the book cover, a deadline that states how long people have to participate in the blog, an itinerary, give something away (free .pdf file of your book), and preparation/information of your next tour.
Most importantly, Edrich stresses the importance of having fun and enjoying the opportunities that blogs can bring not only for your career but also for your network of readers.

Blog Touring 101: Around the Blogosphere in 80 Days is the title of the article I picked on conducting blog tours. I picked this article because it gives a step by step guide on how to do a blog tour. This article also explains how blog tours can help your cause by getting the word out. It also has a blog on the site so people that have viewed it can comment on what they think. I think this is a great site because it is a summery over view of almost everything you need to know to make a successful blog tour.
The URL is: http://futureperfectpublishing.com/2008/01/02/blog-touring-101-around-the-blogosphere-in-80-days/

PATRON SAINT PRODUCTIONS, INC.
~ CHAT TRANSCRIPT ~
Patron Saint Productions, Inc.
Internet PR Chat Series

Topic: Social Networking PR
Guests: Steve O'Keefe, author of "Complete Guide to Internet Publicity"
Date: March 14, 2008
Check IAOC web site for schedule updates

If you would like to follow along with the lesson, please copy and paste these URLs into your browser:

Opening URL for the day: http://www.amazon.com/Not-My-Turn-Die-Childhood/dp/0814401651/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205510781&sr=8-1
Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com
Reader Reviews - User contributed content, more valuable to browsers than PR produced information
Examples: Trip Advisors: http://www.tripadvisor.com
- catchy subject lines TripAdvisor Update: The Dirtiest Hotels in America
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g60864-d89148-Reviews-Monteleone_Hotel-New_Orleans_Louisiana.html
- user contributed review and rating becoming wave of the future

Social Networks - Main characteristic or value of these networks is that they are member generated, not as user generated like Youtube.com.
MySpace.com http://www.myspace.com
- Started as a site to promote bands
Example: http://www.myspace.com/authorviews
- You can have a MySpace page for people, products, characters in a book, programs, etc.
Friends List- Social networking happens best through friends (potential PR activity).
Can send bulletins (mass messages) to friends.
Can post public comments on friends pages (potential PR activity)

Facebook.com http://www.facebook.com
- harder to penetrate Facebook for PR purposes
- started with college students, almost an online address book.

Livejournal.com http://www.livejournal.com
- Blog-based social network

Wikipedia.com http://www.wikipedia.org (Social Media)
Example, Public Relations: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_relations
- Edit this page tab - can edit or add information to the page.
- Discussion tab - dialogue about edits
- Wiki: Document that lives on line that can be edited by any user at anytime

Digg.com http://digg.com (Reviewing and Rating News Stories)
- Digging and burying (rating) "hot" stories online for the day
- Commenting - Example: http://digg.com/political_opinion/FINALLY_Keith_Olbermann_rips_Hillary_to_shreds
- Ability to find what is interesting in the public's eye
* Good for PR - Digg your client when found in a story. Establishing connection to journalist and other users. Not just social networking.

No class next week - Spring Break!! Next class subject is E-mail News Releases on Friday, 3/28