I have always had a healthy respect for Marcia Yudkin. She is one of the best known advertising experts on the web today. I have purchased a couple of her PR books before and was pleased with the content they offered. But when I got the tip about her new course, Deep Publicity, I seriously wondered if this would be a repeat of everything else she’s already published.

Honestly, I wobbled for a while before giving in. I mean, you could buy the individual books included in the course for around $80. Could the information contained in the 10 CDs be *so* valuable? I decided that, like most other information products I buy, I would give it a try. If I could use what Marcia produced to get more response from my advertising efforts, I would call it a worthwhile product.

what you get

When my package arrived in the mail, I found a spiral-bound paperback edition of Marcia Makeovers: 24 Press Releases Transformed From Regular To Sizzlingthe third edition of his book 6 steps to free advertisinga case study booklet titled Advertising for profit: a practical and strategic casebook. Also in the package was a case containing 10 CDs with information on everything from basic PR techniques, sparking local coverage, tips for writing press releases, brainstorming sessions and more.

I immediately searched to see if I could learn something new that would increase my exposure.

6 steps to free advertising

I have to admit that at 287 pages this paperback was very comprehensive. I only got to page 26 before I started on the dog earring pages that offered information I was sure I’d want to refer to later. Logical and well-designed, this book walks through several steps, including getting started, writing for publicity, speaking for publicity, honing your PR skills, and more. Along the way, Marcia is careful to give plenty of ideas and examples. Because it’s written in Marcia’s classic conversational style, it’s easy to read and understand.

Deep Advertising CD

Now I know why so many people love CDs. Listening to Marcia go over every detail of how to specifically write a press release, exactly what to include, what not to include, the inside tricks she learned, and the things that really annoy reporters was a wealth of information. I have several pages of notes from the 10+ hours of audio training I received.

Marcia Makeovers: 24 Press Releases Transformed From Regular To Sizzling

What I liked about this spiral-bound book was that Marcia not only gave before and after photos of the press releases, but also discussed why the original needed to be changed and what prompted her to make the changes she did. For me, knowing why is sometimes just as important as knowing what to do. This was very helpful.

Advertising for profit: a practical and strategic casebook

This little booklet contains 17 mini-case studies of real world experiences to gain publicity. It was a pretty good resource, but it didn’t do much for me personally.

how i started

After listening to four of the CDs and reading 3/4 of 6 steps to free advertising, I had a brainstorm. On a CD, Marcia mentioned the use of statistics as an idea for press releases. I was reminded of an article I wrote a couple of years ago about the fact that key phrases are getting longer and how that seriously affects SEO copywriters. I found the source of the stats, pulled out the previous article, and started working on the transformation.

Using ideas from Marcia’s CDs, samples, and checklists of 6 steps to free advertising and examples from the press release makeover book, I was able to think of a powerful headline and turn the article into something I thought internet news and advertising people would find of value to their readers.

Distribution

I’ve always wondered where to distribute my press releases. Marcia makes it a little easier by including a link to her resource page. While it offers an extensive list of distribution options, it does not provide any sort of rating or recommendation for distribution points. I would have liked to see which ones she thought were the best and why. A list is great, but without any direction on which one to choose, I was left with the same distro questions I had before.

Deep Publicity is not strictly about writing press releases. Marcia also covers guest writing, speaking, and a world of other public relations opportunities. By listening to the CDs, she can learn precisely what to do/say and what not to do/say when creating certain press events, developing newsworthy ideas, promoting them in the press, and much more.

Overall, my release written after completing Marcia’s Deep Advertising course turned out better than those I had written before. I got about 24% more pickups than the releases I’ve previously sent. Nothing bad!

Would I recommend Deep Publicity? Yeah! Whether you’re a newbie or a copywriter with 20+ years of experience, like me, you’ll find a lot of useful information in this product.