Actively participating in social media since 1995, Shel Horowitz is the author of six books on frugal, ethical and green marketing and is a marketing consultant who advises clients on low-cost methods.
He advises clients to send out press releases that tell "the story behind the story" and are not a mere dry recitation of the obvious.
"Constantly reach out to influencers, mostly giving and connecting on their behalf. For example, make an introduction, retweet a (Twitter) post, comment on other blogs," he says.
As a result of his efforts, Horowitz says he has at least 50 media interviews in a typical year, 128,000 exact-match hits on Google for his name, and 549,000 (it's been as high as 1.07 million) exact-match hits for his most recent book title, "Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green." He's also been quoted frequently in major media, including repeat appearances in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Three of his four traditionally published books evolved out of self-published books and he has about 4,000 followers on Twitter.
"It's actually very easy to get media and social media attention, and to become a big fish in a small pond," says Horowitz. "If you have 30 to 60 minutes a day, you can do this."