1) When trying to estimate hours for a blogger outreach program, how do you handle?

2) Has anyone used CNN’s iReport.com or Allvoices.com on behalf of clients?  How?

3) How do you “find” long-term clients who value PR and are willing to pay for services?

4) There’s been talk about civility on Twitter/blogs this week.   How would you advise a client respond if called out by influencer?

Find out what the savvy chat participants had to say by downloading the  transcript in PDF. Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

The #solopr chat – held each Wednesday from 1-2 p.m. Eastern – is a weekly ritual for some of the most savvy Solo PR Pros on Twitter. Anyone with a Twitter account is welcome to participate – see Join Us for the #solopr Chat on Twitter to find out how!

1. Is there a “dead zone” around the US 4th of July holiday (meaning, is it difficult to communicate during this time? Slow time for news?)? How do you handle?

2. Where are most of your new clients/prospects coming from today?

3. The Gen McChrystal interview scandal fallout continues, and the PR person who set it up has “resigned.” Has your spokesperson ever gone off message? What do you do?

Be sure to check out the transcript in PDF for real-world insights on these topics that you can apply today. What are your experiences – let us know in the comments!

The #solopr chat – held each Wednesday from 1-2 p.m. Eastern – is a weekly ritual for some of the most savvy Solo PR Pros on Twitter. Anyone with a Twitter account is welcome to participate – see Join Us for the #solopr Chat on Twitter to find out how!

1. When in between projects and working to gain new business, what are the best practices?

2. I graduated in December and am thinking of doing solo PR offering social media and other PR services. Good idea in this economy?

3. What’s the best way to space out PR communications (like press release etc.) to have all year coverage?

4.  How often do you like to see posts on your favorite blogs? Is there such a thing as too much content?

Be sure to check out the transcript inPDF for tons more wisdom. What do you think — how would you weigh in on this discussion?

The #solopr chat – held each Wednesday from 1-2 p.m. Eastern – is a weekly ritual for some of the most savvy Solo PR Pros on Twitter. Anyone with a Twitter account is welcome to participate – see Join Us for the #solopr Chat on Twitter to find out how!

With social media continuing to turn ever more people and organizations into publishers, the question of how far to push the envelope is now a consideration for many of us. Many espouse being divisive and polarizing as a way to break through the clutter and succeed. The fact is, these tactics usually work to deliver a burst of attention and some resulting star power. Why do people love it, and does this approach hold up long-term?

While most of us would like some attention for our work, at what point do these activities negatively affect one’s credibility and reputation? With no Miss Manners for our ever-more interconnected world, let’s analyze some professional situations. What are your thoughts on the circumstances below?

1. As blogs compete for eyeballs, post titles like “PR is Dead” or “Quit Social Media” are de riguer. In the case of this blog, a post called “Sexy Secrets When Doing It Solo” would probably attract a lot of traffic from Google. More targeted traffic, and probably buckets of comments, would be generated from a post on “Why You Should Never Hire a PR Agency” (after all, the content could always include a caveat that yes, sometimes, agencies are the way to go).

Question: As a reader, do you feel cheated when a title doesn’t exactly match the post? Or is it interesting and energizing to see discussions ignited?

2. You’re close friends with someone via social media who, upon achieving some notoriety, becomes only interested in associating with those who are more name-drop worthy than you. Not unlike the high school prom queen candidate, old friends are given the big blow off.

Question: Do you continue to behave online as if you’re friends with this person (after all, their notoriety could benefit you)? Or do you stay cordial, but keep your distance and just speak when you’re spoken to?

3. Sometimes bloggers will dream up an award or create a contest that requires people to tweet a hashtag, post a comment, fan a Facebook page, etc. to enter, nominate, campaign…

Question: Are these transparent link bait, or just good fun? Does the amount of goodwill you feel toward the blogger/brand impact your tolerance?

4. Occasionally in a blog post, but more often on Facebook or Twitter, a popular person will say “why do you follow me?” or “what value do you get from me?”

Question: Do you assume this is a regular person in need of an occasional pep talk, a genuine feedback solicitation, or the work of a chronic complement-fisher?

As a final question, how often do you actually notice the behavior above? I’m curious if many of us have become so accustomed to it, we’re desensitized. What attention-grabbing tactics have you seen that you thought crossed the line? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments below.

This week’s questions were:

1. @mdbarber recently shared her reasons for going solo at http://bit.ly/cfyYkO – what is important to you?

2. Should surveys be performed in-house (polldaddy) or contracted? Experiences?

3.  Have you ever had to move (your home and/or your office)? How do you maintain uninterrupted service for your clients?

Be sure to check out the transcript in PDF for the excellent insights and advice shared by some of the top pros nationwide. And let us know what you think in the comments!

The #solopr chat – held each Wednesday from 1-2 p.m. Eastern – is a weekly ritual for some of the most savvy Solo PR Pros on Twitter. Anyone with a Twitter account is welcome to participate – see Join Us for the #solopr Chat on Twitter to find out how!