Share My purpose behind 30minutepr.com is really quite simple. Take a sliver of time called a “time slice” where you can either learn or implement one of my proven Online PR tips in 30 minutes or less. With that in mind, I assembled some of my best tips in 7 minutes, 14 seconds. And rather than take you though a long article, let me share these Online PR tips in visual form. If you’re like me (and about 70% of us) you process information best visually. I have embedded a TV interview I did recently. You know what is the best thing about TV interviews? You absolutely must speak in sound bite form. This interview features those sound bites… Share

Share Got traffic? Authors, writers, speakers, as well as small business and marketing professionals need consistent online visibility. Enter the most comprehensive, step-by-step Online PR training system available today. Preview this new system via a free Online Training: http://www.onlineprmadeeasy.com/onlinetraining Dallas, TX. June 24, 2010 — The online marketing landscape has a serious case of content overload. Consider this: in one 24-hour period, over 900,000 blog posts are published. Over 28,800 hours worth of video is added to You Tube. And marketers wonder why their content fails to get the job done. Marc Harty wants to help change all that. As Mr. Harty shared, “The Online PR materials I saw on the web were quite fragmented. An ebook here, a video or ...

Share Editor’s note: welcome to another episode  of “The London Chronicles.” Online PR and branding strategist Marc Harty, with the United Kingdom as his story backdrop, reveals proven methods for Online PR, publicity, marketing and branding, as you’ve never seen them before… Question: would you consider your marketing a success if it became a historical landmark? Answer? Heck yes! This episode of “The London Chronicles” focuses on an enduring and iconic brand: the red phone box. And more importantly, the three key publicity and branding lessons we can apply to our businesses right away. It’s easy to think of a phone booth as something generic and utilitarian. That certainly has been the approach in the US. (With ...

Share A discussion about  press release performance is one that’s always worth having.  Even more so considering the many dynamics at play. From big “make it or break it” factors like the main story to more incremental elements like formatting nuances, any of these, either individually or collectively can impact overall performance. Before I present my list of impact factors here’s some context. My objective here isn’t to overwhelm you with an intimidating checklist. Rather, lets be mindful of these impact factors, test some of them and then course correct over time. And while we’re at it, prioritize the most crucial factors. This impact factor list also serves as a prelude to the surprising results of ...

Share Since this article is about branding and I’ve been a branding strategist for many years, let’s be clear from the get go. I’m not talking about logos! This is about brand personality and marketing positioning. It all started with my recent world travel to Singapore and Malaysia. The trip lasted nearly three weeks. And while I enjoyed the local cuisine (Malay, Chinese and Indian) I did experience a craving or two for Western fare. Imagine my surprise when at the Subang airport (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) I entered donut heaven. Homer Simpson eat your heart out! I was not alone. Malaysia is a fusion of cultures and ideologies and yet it was donuts that brought us from ...

Share It’s so easy to get caught up with the micro that we forget the macro. In this case, did our work payoff? What results did we get? Can we track those results and connect the dots to the bottom line? One way to answer those questions is to step back , gain perspective and then take a look and ask yourself one more question… What were my “wins” for the week? Now let’s define what I mean by a “win.” Here are a few examples: Successful completion of a project New client Launch a new product/service/website New speaking engagement Enthusiastic feedback on a presentation you gave recently Reaching your revenue targets Exceeding your revenue targets Blowing ...

Share As I write this on New Year’s Eve, I’ve seen any number of articles and blog posts on resolutions, both positive and negative. So I make the following promise: keep reading and you’ll learn a new way to plan and focus the coming year—and it’s not work, it’s really fun! You see, rather than focus on the micro (resolutions) I focus on the macro (theme for the year.) In my thinking, big picture = strategy. And to me, nothing says big picture than my “theme” for the year. What do I mean by a theme? Well, you’ve heard of the Chinese calendar, right? 2010 is the year of the Tiger. 2009 was the year of ...

Share Celebrity and negative publicity often go together like hand in glove. Case in point, I recently spent two weeks in London and the newspapers there are a lot more “tabloid” in their approach to news than their USA counterparts. And of course, I’m sure you’ve been following the David Letterman extortion plot saga. He had affairs with female staff members and when faced with extortion went public and admitted his failings with transparency and humor. Letterman has received good grades in his response to the negative publicity. And his ratings are up 38% since the disclosure.And while Letterman’s ethics and response have been debated at length, in this article I focus on a lesser known celebrity’...

Share PR has evolved. Even to the point it is now more relevant and more public than ever. New PR offers far more publicity opportunities than old PR ever did, especially for those who are not marketing experts. In “The New Rules of Marketing and PR” author David Meerman Scott explains, “The Internet has made public relations public again, after years of almost exclusive focus on media. Blogs, online news releases and other forms of Web content let organizations communicate directly with buyers.” In the past, the media, as gatekeepers, deemed who received exposure and who didn’t. New PR offers many viable and immediate ways to reach prospects, buyers and key influencers directly. And yet with so many choices ...

Share Yes, free press release sites can and do cost the uninformed and even the experienced marketer. Some of the costs are screamingly obvious others are more hidden. And it’s my role as your advocate to review and reveal them all. Let’s roll! OK, so you’ve written your press release. Next action: online press release distribution. Now If you’re stuck in terms of a press release distribution strategy, here’s an earlier article about choosing between horizontal and vertical distribution. (Editor’s Note: feedback please! Take the press release distribution poll at the bottom of this article to help us better gauge topics for future articles.) Now the purpose of this article is to examine free ...

Share What’s your BQ? That’s Buzz Quotient… as in are you generating online buzz with your marketing and publicity efforts? Are you tracking and monitoring said buzz? If you’re not, you risk undermining your performance while giving your competition a decided leg up. So what’s the best solution?  Well you can sign up for Google Alerts. Google Alerts delivers right to my email inbox a handy digest of what was being said about me, my company or my products—all tracked by keyword phrase. (Disclosure: my PR Traffic course provides a full step by step on Google Alerts and how it can help your online PR efforts.) And while helpful, informative and providing some extra viral ...

Share What’s a more likely scenario for media coverage: pitch a reporter out of the blue or a reporter who seeks an expert that matches your background precisely? It’s the difference between “push” and “pull” PR. When you pitch a story, you are pushing your story to the media. Conversely, with “pull” PR, the reporter goes out and pulls down information, either via online research (where optimized press releases can appear) or via posting an actual request for an expert on a certain topic. In short: the reporter has a need, so who best to fill it and grab the media coverage? The answer can be you! So where are these PR leads? And what kind of PR ...

Share Over 12,000 people search Google every month for the keyword search phrase “How to write a press release?” That’s a lot of folks in need of serious press release education and training. And yet how many people behind those 144,000 annual Google searches actually write a press release, rather than just learn about it? Hmmm…what if they had a digital press release template on their computer screens. Now we’re talking! A template shortens the learning curve, helps us transition from learning to doing to implementing, and helps everyone from beginners to more experienced press release writers benefit from inherent press release best practices. In theory, that’s how it’s supposed to work. But in reality? Not so ...

Share Welcome to 30MinutePR.com. Here, we talk Online PR, Publicity and Press Release tips on a time budget. In short, we share actionable tips and techniques that can be consumed and implemented very quickly. All because your time is valuable, the clock is ticking and our feet are firmly planted in a place called reality. I chose 30 minutes because—big surprise—it’s doable. 30 minutes gives the brain time to engage, ideas to percolate and the “finisher” in you to emerge complete with a “forward-ho” mindset. Of course, it’s no coincidence when it comes to scheduling and taking action, that 30-minute segments are the increment of choice with calendars, daily planners and project management systems online and off. ...

Share Here’s a different look at Online PR than you might expect. You see, I wanted to combine two of my favorite things: Online PR and Kayaking. At first glance, they couldn’t be further apart. Yet, upon closer inspection, the parallels were many. (Disclaimer: I am primarily referring to sea kayaking rather than white water kayaking.) 1. Have a destination in mind When I kayak, I don’t just plop the boat in the water and paddle aimlessly. I have a destination, even if I’m only out on the water for a couple hours. I like setting a goal: “I can get to the lighthouse and back in a couple of hours.” Sure, I want to have fun, ...