Stay informed on what journalists are looking for. (100% FREE)
By Karen Post, on July 14, 2009
Peter Shankman, a veteran PR, speaker, and marketing guru launched Help A Reporter which connects journalists with the sources they require using a social media platform. HARO (Help A Reporter Out) is already over 36,000 members and growing, and has a growing stable of national journalists using the service on a daily basis. Signing up is FREE and you’ll receive up to three emails, each with anywhere from 15-30 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 then reply.
Basic rules: Only respond to queries where you can really help. Don’t hound dog the list for future PR spamming sleeze, however do feel free to share with Journalists who may not know about this great resource to get source help.
Cost: Zero
Oddpodz review: This is great, useful FREE resource. The only challenge for me has been it’s a lot of leads everyday to go through. But, who ever said getting PR was instant or easy 
Get a 14-day of FREE cyber monitoring and Web clipping service
By Karen Post, on June 3, 2009
Keeping up with what the media is saying about you, what your competitors are doing and what’s new in your industry is a grueling task. CyberAlerts® offers a variety of monitoring services including: news, broadcast, video, blogs and even a consumer word of mouth program. Monitor your own key words in up to 25,000+ online news sources.
Cost: Zero
Corporations, government agencies and not-for-profit organizations can order a 14-day No Risk Free Trial of CyberAlert news monitoring, tracking and clipping services. No credit card is required or requested for the free trial.
Oddpodz review: Oddpodz just signed up during the week of 11.25.08, we will be updating this post once we start getting news clips.
Get your PR pitch reviewed here. (100% FREE)
By Karen Post, on January 17, 2009
Did you know that 98% of all press releases are tossed in the trash can after being given about 5 seconds of review? Like this site says, “bad writing is good rubbish.” www.Yourpitchsucks.com invites visitors to submit their news release to a team of senior PR pros who have had their stories picked up by notable media sources like The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time and BusinessWeek. The pros review the release and offer ideas on how to make it more compelling to journalists.
Cost: Zero
Oddpodz review: This is a great FREE find. Within 24 hours of submitting my news release, I got a reply from Jim the leader of www.Yourpitchsucks.com. He provided some very top-line comments on what needed improvements, which made good sense. I elected to buy a flat fee fix it up session with one of his PR gurus for $200.00. Within 24 hours, I had a call scheduled with Sev Williams of sevwilliams.com. While Sev’s firm specializes in non-profit and social/cause related projects, we provided a full hour of ideas, release improvements and angles to pursue. I received a solid return for this investment and would seriously consider giving Sev’s group a project to work on.
Not 100% FREE, but a valuable find for $20.00
By Karen Post, on January 16, 2009
News release optimization. www.Newsforce.com provides a tool for optimizing news releases in minutes. Upload your press release to the Optimization Wizard. The tool shows you where to insert and repeat your keywords so that your release ranks higher in search engine results. ‘A La Carte’ Subscription–$20 per use.
Cost: $20.00
Oddpodz review: I used this service in the past and it is very useful and affordable. You simply submit your release and it suggests keywords and placement of those keywords in the body to optimize SEO results. The company also offers monthly programs with discounted rates for multiply release submissions.
Media lists. (100% FREE)
By Karen Post, on December 15, 2008
Every business and or business authority (whether you have a media relations department, work with a professional firm or do it all yourself) should have their own, regularly updated media list. Here’s a great way start building this important list.
Sign up for a Free Trial to MyMediaInfo.com This free trial will enable you to do 10 searches for Media Contacts, Editorial Calendars or Outlets. You are under no obligation to purchase or even register a credit card for this Free Trial. Founded in 2006, MyMediainfo.com offers a variety of services to support PR activities. Their customer base includes 9 of the top 10 PR agencies, 25 of the Fortune 100 companies, hundreds of small-medium agencies and companies and hundreds of solo practitioners.
Cost: Zero
Oddpodz review: This is a great find. I signed up for the FREE trial service and easily got access to 10 separate media categories. (My search included: women in business, Tampa business, Start up business, media and advertising etc.) I selected contacts, however, you can also choose editorial calendars or outlets. Not only is this trial service valuable, but, the company has some really great tools to manage and communicate with the media.
News release distribution resources. (100% FREE)
By Karen Post, on December 7, 2008
Getting your news out to solid news outlets is a good thing. Spamming people through wire-type services is not. If you access any of these FREE distribution services, pick 2 or 3 and submit different news angles and modify the copy accordingly. Should you have the resources to pay a distribution company, the fee will start at $400 and go up. Your deliverables may vary and could include: more reports, more targeted lists and ability to add images. We also strongly recommend you build your own media contact list. Also see FREE Findz #5 this week for a FREE trial to media lists.
Here are many viable news release distribution sources. We have selected just two to try.
Cost: Zero
Oddpodz review:We will post our comments about our experience soon. The week of 11.15.08 Oddpodz sent out a news release using the following 2 services with different headlines/angles. We will post about the experience next week.
Selected free distribution services:
We have not tried all the other companies, but invite you to. Please post comments about your experiences with them so others in our community can learn.
• PR-Inside.com
• PR9.com
• PR.com
• PRCompass.com
• PRlog.com
• PRurgent.com
• PRzoom.com
• PressAbout.com
Yes. Yes, I know there is free food in the kitchen
By Karen Post, on March 21, 2008
I know you don’t all make king’s ransoms. I don’t. And I know that you probably eat some crappy food. But holy %&$##, when there is free food in the kitchen do you all have to stampede in there like a herd of starved elephants? Because it’s embarrassing.
And look, yes, I know the food in there is as joyously free as soda fill-ups at an Olive Garden or as plentiful as a Seth Godin library. But you needn’t tell me; when I see ten of you get up at the same time with those dumb smiles on your faces and waddle in there on the double-quick I know that there is nothing else possibly driving you but something free that you can put into your mouth. Do you tell me because you think that you’re doing me a favor? Because you think I look emaciated? Do you tell me because having more people rushing in there somehow validates your third meal of the day before 1:30 pm? I don’t know why you tell me; because I have no doubt that were I to come face to face with you before the last Cosi pressed sandwich, even if it were one of the mozzarella and eggplant ones, you would cut my Achilles tendon with a plastic fork.
So, seriously people, get a hold of yourself. It’s pitiful.
