Publicity Queen Joan Stewart

The tagline for publicity expert Joan Stewart's website, The Publicity Hound is Tips, Tricks & Tools for Free Publicity. Personally I would use the tagline, The Science of Free Publicity because much of the promotional research and knowledge that Joan garners and shares is time tested and always pushing the envelope of possibility.http://publicityhound.com/Joan is a master at online visibility and print and broadcast publicity.She has written more than 1,000 blog posts and articles, offers hundreds of learning tools, and lots of free advice on how to tell your story to the world. Her popular ezine, "The Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week," is a treasure trove of tips for free publicity. I highly recommend signing up for this free advice at the end of the article.Joan was gracious enough in her busy schedule to answer some questions about publicity for the artist entrepreneur. Greg: What is the best social media for artists right now?Joan: Google+ is the best social site for ANYONE. That's because it is now part of Google's algorithm that determines where Google ranks your website when someone types keyword phrases into the search engines. As soon as I started using Google+, I started ranking high on Google for my keyword phrases. It can be confusing, but stick with it. The payoff is huge!

Get onto Google+ today and start sharing information that includes the keywords and keyword phrases you want to rank high for.

Pinterest is second best, because it is visual. Also, I see so many artists who are paranoid about having their works appear online for fear that another artist will steal the idea. This is nonsense. I'm betting that most of your competitors are online, displaying their works and linking back to their websites.G: Google + will energize your search engine rankings but artists must get their work online for that to happen. I'm always stressing the importance of of getting the artwork in the public eye. What makes a great personal website and blog?J: Explaining who you are, what you do and why visitors should stay---all within about 10 seconds. If your site doesn't communicate that, visitors will leave. I see so few artists capturing email addresses at their websites. This is a mistake. There's gold in those email lists! To get an email addresses, promise something of value to the visitor.Easy navigation.Calls to action on every page so people do exactly what you want them to do.Also, artists, do NOT use white type on a black background. This is too hard on the eyes.G: Getting people to talk about you is the best promotion ever. Any thoughts?J: Say something that's either helpful or interesting. If you have a contrarian viewpoint on a controversial topic, say so. Offer tips advice and helpful information---yours and others---that will help visitors.G: What would be some online and offline strategies to finding a target audience?

First, identify the target market.

Too few people bother to do this. Once you have defined the target market, look for them in LinkedIn Groups, in Google+ circles, on Twitter lists, in Facebook Groups, and on Pinterest.G: You are the queen when it comes to the art of the press release. Is promoting through traditional median outlets like newspapers and magazines still a vital form of marketing?Yes, of course, if your target market reads those newspapers and magazines. Since the question deals with press releases, it important to add that you don't get major publicity through press releases. You get them through a customized pitch to each media outlet on your targeted list. I have an entire category at my blog on the topic of pitching at http://publicityhound.com/blog/keyword/pitching. I also offer a free email course on how to write and distribute press releases. More than 6,000 people have taken it. Find it at http://publicityhound.com/prwriting

Most people use press releases incorrectly.

That is, they use them to get major media publicity. Truth is, the media hate press releases. You need a customized pitch so that each blogger or reporter who you pitch think, "This is PERFECT for my audience!" You can't do that with a one-size-fits-all press release.You can, however, reach consumers directly via online press releases. That's the real value. Make sure they include keywords in the headline, first paragraph and throughout the release. Also make sure you use a few links and a call to action, telling readers exactly what you want them to do. My press release writing course explains all this.G: Plus you have great suggestions on how to follow up on those pitches. I was so impressed with the work you are doing  I decided to become one of your affiliates. Tell us a little bit about affiliate programs and how it may benefit artists.J: Affiliate programs pay an artist for promoting someone else's products and services. For example, let's say the artist paints animal portraits. The artist should look for affiliate programs for companies that sell thinks like dog beds and dog strollers. You join their affiliate program and they will give you a link that your unique ID code within it. The best way to promote their products and services is through enthusiastic first-person endorsements. Or even reviews. When someone clicks on that link and buys, you earn a commission. When sharing an affiliate link, let your readers know that you are a compensated affiliate.G: What about creating an affiliate program around our own products?J: If you have a lot of products, to do it right, you need a program that has an affiliate module and automatically calculates sales, commissions and payouts. I have a lot of products and I use-1Shoppingart.com which has an affiliate module. I am their affiliate, by the way, and if you want to take a free test drive and watch their tutorials, you can use this affiliate link: Marketers Choice. If you buy, I get a commission.That's a high-quality shopping cart but most artists probably don't need that.There are many other option. E-Junkie performs very well. By the way, I am also an affiliate for them. Click on this link to take a look: e-junkie.comG: That was great! An affiliate model is one that artists could really benefit from. Any last pearls of wisdom?J: Yes. If you like these tips, you can get more of them, for free, every Tuesday and Saturday by subscribing to my ezine, "The Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week." It focuses on free for very inexpensive tools you can use to self-promote. Subscribe in the box at The Publicity HoundConnect with me on Google+ HEREFollow me on Twitter at TwitterRead my weekly tips on my Facebook page HEREExcellent! Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with us, Joan! You are an inspiration.