The Comma: Truly Exciting Stuff

You know, I really like punctuation. One of my favorite books is Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss. It's all about commas and exclamation points and apostrophes - and, yes, I read it for business and pleasure.

If you have an affinity for punctuation like I do, I highly recommend Eats, Shoots & Leaves. And if you can't quite see why any of the following examples are horrifying to someone like me, resolve to do better by checking out the punctuation game I link to below.

Have you ever written something like this?

• Buy all three fitness DVD's and receive a set of dumbbell's for free.
  
• This workout is known for its' fat burning drills.


• Our hard-core training sessions, and fun boot camps are sure-to-please!!!

Pretty bad. I just want to fix those examples above so bad (or is it badly?).

Hey, check out the COMMA I.Q. game. Who says you can't have fun with commas? (I got one of the 10 questions wrong. Guess which one.)

http://www.savethecomma.com/game/

More Direction for Using Twitter and HARO

I recently recommended joining Twitter and HARO to boost your fitness marketing opportunities. If you've already done that, or you're still figuring out how to make sense of it all, here's a little more guidance.

Tip 1: Please, please, please add a picture and thoughtful bio to your Twitter profile - it'll help you gain followers. Include a bit of professional info in your bio, but also a thing or two on a more personal level.

Even a well-thought-out series of words that describe you can be effective. Here's how I wrote my Twitter bio: www.twitter.com/amandavogel

Tip 2: If you haven't already, check out these two posts on this blog:

1) The Top 10 Reasons I Will Not Follow You on Twitter (it's by another writer and links to Mashable.com), and

2) Using Twitter for Marketing & Publicity (it's a video from Hubspot.com that you can watch right from my blog).

Tip 3: Try out a site or two that will help you manage Twitter and finetune your networking potential there.

Tweetlater.com lets you set up keyword alerts so you know when people are tweeting (chattering on Twitter) about you and/or stuff that matters to you (hint: it's a good way to choose pertinent people to follow).

Also, have a look at Tweetgrid.com to get a real-time overview of who's talking about subjects of interest to you.

For example, type "fitness" into a search bar and see what pops up. You can also make your searches more specific, such as who's talking about fitness where you live.

Tip 4: If you subscribed to the HARO e-newsletter (HARO stands for Help a Reporter Out) as way to score publicity, but you're unsure about how to respond to journalists, read this article by a writer from Mopwater PR.

Still in doubt? Ask me for more tips by posting a comment here or posting to the discussion board on the Active Voice Facebook Group.

Recycling Your Articles & Publicity (Plus a Tracey Mallett Fitness DVD Review)

Since I've been called the "queen of recycling media content," I decided to accept an invitation to enter a fitness blogging contest.

All I have to do is write a review of a fitness video from MyPypeline.com, then post my review here. I've written a few fitness DVD review articles recently, so I've got lots of content I can repurpose.

If I win the contest, I come away with an easy 100 bucks (wish me luck!) - and a new blog post that proves the value of recycling your articles and publicity.

Here's my video review for MyPypeline.com:

6-Minute Quick Blast Method - Total Body Calorie Blast with Tracey Mallett

The Workout: Snappy six-minute routines (seven in total, plus a warm-up and cool-down stretch), featuring either cardio and toning with dumbbells, or mind-body movements on a mat. Bonus: There’s also an ab-training segment.

Why I Like It: As a certified fitness instructor, I’m partial to the intervals of cardio and strength exercise that Tracey teaches in this video – it’s a fast, efficient way to exercise.

Most of all, though, I like the video’s down-to-earth vibe. The routines are straightforward and the backup exercisers aren’t lithe models or uber-toned fitness fanatics. They’re all real women — mostly moms with young kids — who’ve managed to shed pounds and shape up using Tracey’s high-energy routines.

If I Could Change One Thing (OK, Two Things): I like the idea of six-minute workouts – this clever packaging blows the “I’m too busy to exercise” excuse out of the water. However, those six minutes don’t include the warm-up. So to make the most of this video and to avoid injury, do the warm-up that’s part of the complete video before you jump into an intense cardio segment.

One other request: I didn’t feel great about leaving my dumbbells on the floor while doing choreographed cardio segments (as is shown in the video, which I’m sure they did for logistical reasons during filming). Viewers at home can avoid the stumble hazard by placing dumbbells totally out of the way when they’re not in use.

Why Online Video? Why not? Here’s how I benefit from online video for my at-home workouts: I can play a myriad of videos off my laptop in any room of my home, which is convenient.

And since my three-year-old gets into any book, magazine or DVD that’s lying around, online video is one less thing I have to clean up or keep out of my daughter’s reach. Oh, and I can use the space I’d otherwise use to shelve DVDs for other stuff – like my daughter’s growing toy collection.

Photo credit: Kevin Rosseel

How to Find Ideas for Blogging, Writing Articles and Publicity

Looking for something to blog about, write an article about, or use as a hook to get publicity in your local newspaper?

Cite this new study that suggests walking roughly 100 steps a minute - or pretty much to the beat of the Bee Gees song Stayin' Alive - keeps you moving at a moderate-intensity pace.

Apart from being an excellent news hook (I've already hammered out several queries that make use of the study), these findings are a simple way to demonstrate to your clients what moderate-intensity exercise feels like.

In fact, after strutting around my living room to Stayin' Alive, I bet a lot of fitness clients would be encouraged to know they can hoof it a lot faster than the song's beat! Move over, John Travolta.

Here's an audio summary of the study with lead researcher Simon J. Marshall, Ph.D. of San Diego State University. (Audio courtesy of medpagetoday.com.)



Source: Marshall SJ, et al "Translating physical activity recommendations into a pedometer-based step goal: 3000 steps in 30 minutes" Am J Prev Med 2009.

Sell More Fitness Articles/Get More Publicity

Simple Ideas for Building on the Media Promotion You're Already Getting


Suggest Another Story: When a journalist interviews you for a story, you have his or her full attention. Take advantage of this golden opportunity to receive more media exposure.


After you’ve addressed all the journalist’s questions, pitch an idea for another article that you could contribute to as an expert source. This works whether you’re doing a phone or email interview. Just be sure to make your pitch short and to the point.

Sell Your Articles More Than Once: Make your health and fitness articles work for you many times over. Sell them as reprints for extra revenue (often with a time investment of 10 minutes or less).

Use your previously published articles as lead-generating content for your client newsletters or website. Tweak the wording for new audiences. For example, an article on the benefits of boot camps can be easily adjusted for a skiing magazine, running magazine, parenting magazine, business magazine and more.

Keep the Love Alive: Stay in touch with the media people who contact you. This sounds so simple, but the vast majority of fitness pros don’t do it. The hardest part of scoring the kind of media exposure that brings you the recognition and credibility you want is breaking in.

This applies to both writing articles and getting publicity. Once you’ve made contact with members of the media, you’re on the “inside,” so to speak. This is your chance to turn one valuable media hit into ongoing exposure and marketing power for your fitness business.

I’m not suggesting that you add journalists to your newsletter list without their permission (this is a good way to get your email blocked from reaching them). I’m talking about pitching ideas, sending informative press releases, occasionally asking if they need help with a story, and so on.

More simple ways to recycle your media promotion.

Facebook, Twitter and Publicity for You

Use the Web to Get Media Attention

It's still winter in Vancouver, B.C. - it snowed here this week - but I'm already in summer mode, partly because I'm still unpacking my flip flops, tank tops and bikinis from a vacation to sunny Mexico earlier this month.

But it's also because magazine editors plan so far in advance; right now, they're asking me for fitness stories with a summertime twist.

Now's a good time for you to plan how you'll use the media to promote yourself and your health/fitness business during the upcoming year.

To help you get started, I offer these five tips for gaining success with the media using online resources. Everything I suggest below is totally free, and each tip takes just a few minutes at most to implement.

1. Subscribe to the HARO e-newsletter: HARO stands for Help A Reporter Out. These newsletters arrive to your inbox three times a day packed with media leads from journalists who are looking for experts to quote or feature in an article, on TV, on a blog or on the radio.

Each newsletter includes a specific section for health and fitness stories, but be sure to check the other categories, as well. Fitness-related queries sometimes appear in categories such as lifestyle or travel.

2. Join Twitter: Micro-blogging using sites like Twitter helps you expand your sphere of influence as you write short updates about what you're doing.

Being on Twitter pays off. A producer for a popular cooking show in Vancouver recently contacted me through Twitter, asking if I would consider being on the show.

However, she wanted me to talk about healthy eating AND cook at the same time. I'm a bad cook, so I declined and referred her to someone else. It was an important lesson about knowing your limits even when you want the publicity.

3. Follow the Media on Twitter: Once you're on Twitter, connect with media folks there. Follow writers, producers, magazines and media outlets that interest you.

Check out who I follow to find fitness writers. And also search for media folks on Twitter through associations for journalists, such as MediaBistro, skydiver (that's HARO), WoodenHorsePub and prnewswire.

4. Share Media Hits Online: Most online magazines and newspapers now allow you to quickly and easily share links across the web.

Recycle your media promotion in social networks like Facebook by sharing links to articles you've written or that quote you. In my experience, the more you market your media hits, the more media opportunities arise.

5. Join the Active Voice Facebook Group: Speaking of Facebook, stay on top of media opportunities and learn more about how to succeed with the media by joining the Active Voice Facebook Group (find it by searching “Active Voice Writing Service” under Groups).

Post a question (I'll answer it!) and read advice from a former Shape editor, a regular contributor to Men's Fitness magazine and other fitness pros who've achieved success with publicity and fitness writing.

If You Write Articles or Want to Start ...

Check out these two resources from Active Voice:
How to Write Winning Queries
Anatomy of an Article

FOLLOW FAIL: The Top 10 Reasons I Will Not Follow You in Return on Twitter

An article I just read on Mashable.com from Atherton Bartelby. Whew, he followed me back!

FOLLOW FAIL: The Top 10 Reasons I Will Not Follow You in Return on Twitter