September 25, 2007

Using online video to promote a launch

Using outrageous online video to promote your business

When Andy Jenkins wanted to promote the product improvements in his online traffic and conversion training system called StomperNet, he decided to use a powerful new online tool - online video.

As a marketing professional, you're probably already aware that:

- Video is huge - YouTube is one of the top 3 sites in the world!

- Tons of people are accessing it - over 63% of those with broadband in the US are watching online videos, which has increased 18% over the past year

So how do you get your story seen in online video? One way is to add entertainment to your message, which is precisely what Andy chose to do.

I recommend you watch this video on SEO and online traffic building to see what I mean. It's clearly a spoof, but it's generating a ton of buzz online. Plus, he's also added another interactive tool on the page, to further involve the viewers.

Not badly done!

Posted by K at 02:47 PM | TrackBack

June 30, 2006

Tips For Using People Photos That Get Results

Want to use a picture of a person in your marketing? Here's how to make your choice.

Psychological and marketing studies tend to reveal similar results, which state that when you choose a picture for an advertising or publicity campaign look for: (Please don't consider this sexist or get offended, it's what the data says)

- A picture of a woman (men prefer pictures of women, women don't care, pictures of women win)

- Mid to late 20's (something about the age your mother was when you first saw her - things get real Freudian here...)

- Attractive, though not necessarily sexy. Sexy turns women off, attractive appeals to both men and women.

- Dressed nicely, but not sexy. Same rationale.

- Smiling lightly, though not toothy grin. The best pictures are the ones where the model looks approving, like they're happy with you, not hitting on you, more motherly "I'm so glad to see that you're home!" looks that make you feel loved

- Ideally her body should be turned to a bit of an angle to the camera

- Most important - her eyes should be looking directly into the camera. The eyes are important. There's something, particularly in men (eye-tracking research) that shows that our eyes are drawn to eyes that are looking at us. So a model looking into the camera (especially if her body is turned slightly so it appears that she is having to work a bit to look at the camera, tying back to the previous point) draws your eye to hers. Side point here - really focus on the eyes in your pictures. It's possible to look at the camera without looking into the camera lens. You want them focused right on you. My friend describes it as "looking deep into your soul."

In short, study your possible pictures carefully. You should feel your heart do a slight leap when you see the right one. If it does, you've got a winner.

The biggest problem comes if your idea of attractive is different than the norm. Then you're in trouble, and you need to ask someone else.

Our tests show that you should lean heavily towards blondes and redheads. Brown's are generally too mousy and I rarely use black unless the hair is long and shiny. (Really detailed, and somewhat prejuidiced here, but this is important stuff - it's money in your pocket to get it right.) But be very careful that you don't get a platinum, or greenish, or bluish blonde. You're looking for the combination valedectorian and girl next door blonde look (but don't do those fashionable nerdy glasses, it destroys the eye thing and it denies believability.) Redheads must be natural red, not bottled. Even a freckle or two is good. No blown-back hair (much more common than you think, fans are a staple in most photo studios) because that look doesn't look natural.

What are the psychological drivers behind this? My personal theory is that it has something to do with young childhood experience of wanting mom's approval and later life experiences of getting checked out from across the room (hence the eye thing).

For examples look at the covers of the women's magazines (the masters of people photography) and you'll see these tricks over and over and over again, with the exception of the sexy rule. That's because sex is what women's magazines are selling - "buy this magazine so you can be as sexy as our cover model". So it works in women's magazines, and on clothing ads (look carefully at the ads in your Sunday paper, most of the high-end department stores really get this one and most of the low-end stores don't) but it doesn't work on other products.

I can't tell you how much what you just read is worth...

Want to know more about how to structure publicity photos? Check out How To Get Publicity Photos In Newspapers & Magazines, And On TV. It's chalk-full of tips to help you create killer publicity photos.

Posted by Don Crowther at 08:50 PM | TrackBack

June 29, 2006

Removing Fear Through Effective Public Relations

I like my neighbor, with one small exception - he raises pit bulls. He's got 8 of them, with 3-4 rotating in to live right next door all the time.

Justified or not, the entire neighborhood is scared of them, with parents being unwilling to let their kids play outside unsupervised (a first in my small subdivision.) My wife's terrified of them, and if she's outside when he lets them out to do their business she goes inside until they're done.

It's even gotten to the point where calls have been made to the police several times by various neighborhood members for various infractions.

So I admired the way he pulled off a public relations coup this week.

Most of the neighbors were out enjoying a summer evening (hey, when it's too cold to go outside for much of the year, we Northerners take advantage of every nice evening we can get!), watching the kids play and enjoying parental conversation, when the neighbor walked out of his house carrying a laundry basket onto his driveway.

That attracted a few eyeballs. But when he reached inside and pulled out a 10" long, 4-week old puppy, it took just a few minutes before the entire neighborhood was gathered around, and each of the 8 puppies had someone cuddling it.

They were awfully cute puppies and they did what puppies do naturally - they captured the hearts of everyone.

As I was holding the puppy, I mentioned to him that I should get my wife to try to remove some of her fear of the pit bulls. He not only thought that was a good idea, but told me to take a puppy to her. A few seconds later, my wife was right in the midst of the cuddle session.

It's been interesting to watch my neighborhood ever since. Each night, the puppies come out, and everyone gathers around. Barriers are being broken, fear is being reduced, comfort is increasing.

I'm not saying that the neighborhood has lost their fear of his adult dogs, but the edge has definitely been taken off, conversations have changed from fear and accusation to intelligent communications, and he has made progress in gaining acceptance in our small community.

There's a PR lesson to be learned here. When you're trying to remove fear, one of the best ways is to educate through experiential interactions.

There are lots of ways to do this.

We've all heard that you're 29 times more likely to get killed driving in a car than in an airplane, but those facts aren't enough to change the minds of many of those who have a fear of flying. What does seem to work is fear of flying lessons, putting people into classrooms, then airplanes sitting on the ground, and eventually an actual short flight.

Another example: there's an upscale neighborhood in the Milwaukee area that suddenly had a huge printing plant built right beside it. The printing plant put up a 40' berm between them and the houses, but it wasn't until they held openhouses for all of the neighborhood, fed them, and most importantly took them on tours of the facility, showing them that the chemicals in the plant were relatively harmless solvents, and that they were properly stored and carefully disposed of that talk of mass selling dissipated.

But my favorite fear removal story comes from my days as a salesman for a paper company. We had just launched thin disposable diapers (remember the old thick ones that took up half your shopping cart for a week's supply?) and were trying to sell them into all of the retailers. One major chain refused to buy them, not saying why.

Salesperson after salesperson, even up to corporate VP's and marketing people had come in to present to the buyer, with no luck.

I was the youngest, most junior salesperson in the district. But when I heard that the district manager had given up after 7 unsuccessful calls, I asked permission to try one last time.

As I arrived with my district manager at the appointment, the buyer gave a wisecrack about how all of the old guys had failed, so now he was turning to a teenager (I looked really young in my 20's). I sat down and said, "I hear that you've said no to this product 7 times now. I'm not going to give you all the reasons why you should buy them, you've probably got the presentation memorized. I'd like to make a deal with you. If you'll tell me the real reason why you're not buying, I'll make sure that nobody else will waste your time trying to sell you them anymore."

He looked at me and scowled... and thought... Finally he said, "OK, I'll tell you. I'm sick of you guys wasting my time anyway. So, [turning to the district manager] you'll back his guarantee?"

My district manager had already given up anyway and he quickly agreed.

"OK," the buyer said, "I'll tell you. But you've got to keep your promise. I'm terrified that we're going to get dragged into a class action suit for killing some baby by exposing them to dangerous chemicals next to their skin."

My reaction? I laughed. Not only had we just made a breakthrough, but it was an overcomable objection. I reached into my bag and pulled out a little bag of the magic stuff that makes thin diapers work, a white powder called superabsorbent.

(By the way, you wouldn't believe the number of times that I got pulled aside in airports, and even strip-searched one time, for carrying little bags of white superabsorbent powder in my carry-on...)

I carefully explained that the superabsorbent used to make the thin diapers had gone through literally years of testing that proved it harmless. In fact, it is an ingredient in many different food products, including beer. I ended by saying "You could eat this bagful, if you wanted, and it wouldn't do anything to you, besides giving you a very dry mouth and throat."

"Really?" the buyer said.

"Really."

"Prove it!"

Now, I'd heard in the sales meeting that eating it was perfectly harmless, but I'd never actually sampled any. But I decided that the risk was worthwhile. So I asked "Another deal? If I eat it and don't die on you, will you place an order?"

Big grin "Sure, but you won't do it."

"OK," I said, and gulped down a full 2 tablespoons.

Now I have to admit, my mouth, throat and stomach got really dry instantly, and I felt like I was turning into a prune. But once I got a quick couple of glasses of water, everything was fine.

I offered him a bag to try for himself. He declined...

But I walked out of his office with a 1.5 million dollar order.

Not bad for a junior salesman!

What are the lessons to be learned here?

1. If your product, company, or service scares people, the best way to resolve it is through experiential training

2. The best education occurs when they actually can get directly involved in the process (if I could have gotten him to eat the superabsorbent) and see that it won't kill them

3. If you can't get them involved, actually seeing someone else experience it first hand is the next best thing

4. Sometimes logistics or regulations make it so you're unable to actually get the public directly involved in the training. This can be an excellent opportunity to bring in a reporter and camera crew or a documentary crew and let them record the experience for their audiences.

5. It is generally much better to reach out and proactively remove fears than to shut down communications. Privacy breeds imagination, which will almost always create fears that are worse than the actual risk involved.

Just remember that justifiable fear never really goes away...

And keep in mind that if your company has something that people are afraid of, you have a special need of a crisis communications plan to deal with situations that could destroy you. We recommend checking out Crisis Communications Planning: Organizing and Completing a Plan That Works

Have fun educating!

Posted by Don Crowther at 09:12 AM | TrackBack

June 23, 2006

Two Messages For Each Issue? What's Going On

About a year ago we tried an experiment. After sending out our regular full-text message, we have been sending out a short message titled "GreatPR Latest Issue Is Now Online" containing a URL link to an online archive of the newsletter.

We sometimes get asked why we do that.

It's simple. Our test showed that a large number of people actually read our issues through that link rather than the full-text message.

We have two theories. First, that, because of our long-winded nature, some people's filters stop delivery of the full newsletter, so it's never received.
Second, some people prefer to read it in a web browser instead of their email program.

Whatever the reason, that's why we do it.

So, if you, as many people tell us, are one who drops everything and reads each issue as it arrives, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. To you we say, "go ahead and delete the GreatPR Latest Issue Is Now Online posts as they come in. You don't need to read them.

Thanks for your loyalty and interest! We love our subscribers!

If you're not a subscriber yet, we'd love to have you.

Posted by Don Crowther at 03:49 PM | TrackBack

June 19, 2006

What's Your Backstory?

One commonly overlooked tool in the publicity-seeker's toolbox is the backstory.

Backstories are the "story behind the headline", the history, the background, or even the anecdotes that give life to an otherwise dry story.

They're a staple of prime time news shows and they're what you see in almost any sporting event, when the camera cuts from the game into the story of the life and history of one of the players.

And they can be a powerful tool for getting publicity for your company!

The key is to recognize that every company, product or situation has a backstory. Your challenge is to convey your backstory in an interesting way.

And backstories can be multi-level, each the source of another article.

For a doctor, a backstory could be created around:
- The experience that made her want to enter medicine
- Experiences from her medical school training and residencies (filled with Grey's Anatomy-type experiences)
- The story of the most difficult case she's ever faced
- Interviews with patients who's life she has changed
- Humorous situations she's encountered in her practice
- The story of a resident or intern she's mentored
- Stories of her staff, lab, and other co-workers
- How this busy doctor is also a gourmet cook (how about a Thanksgiving story about how the skills she uses in surgery can be used by the average homemaker to prepare the world's most succulent turkey?)
- Her daily life description, written diary style (4:36 am: Pager goes off)

Can you see how these types of stories could add to the public persona of a doctor much better than another press release about how she's added yet another doctor to her team?

For a manufacturer, it could be:
- How their business got started
- Tracing a product the consumer commonly knows, and how their firm plays a part in making it, making a machine that makes it, or makes a part that is used in it
- Profiling one of the key people working in the business both professionally and personally (this can be repeated over and over again using different people)
- The unique stores behind the machines they use in their plant (where they come from, why they're perfect for this company)
- The economic impact this company has on the community
- How they are working to preserve/improve the environment
- Humorous incidents they've faced in the workplace
- How they are caring for their people (childcare, education, healthcare)
- How insurance rates or gas prices are affecting their business

Again, these types of stories can nicely flesh out a publicity program normally focused on regular news release type announcements.

How do you get backstories published?

Usually it's not through sending out a standard press release.

In our experience it comes from calling a reporter and pitching a specific backstory to them. Be very prepared as you make the call - you're now in quick story-telling mode, and you're trying to show how your story will be of interest to their audience.

Recognize that the normal reporter who reports on your "beat" may not be the right one in this particular story. Your story on childcare in the workplace may need to go to the lifestyles beat rather than the business beat. But if it doesn't get picked up there, pitch it to the business reporter too!

Another way to get backstories run is to write them up and send the finished article to the reporter. That way they see the full story and can judge whether it will be of worth. They may run it as is, or they may get involved and research their own story.

But the best way we've found to get backstories run is to pitch the reporter while they are in the middle of working with you on a main story. Imagine that you're in an interview with a reporter. A logical line may be "you know, I was just thinking about some really fascinating stories from my residency days. With the popularity of Grey's Anatomy, they may be a great backstory you could do in a month or so. Should we put a date on the calendar to interview again?"

One key tip, never let a reporter, (especially one who initiated the contact), out of your office, or off the phone, without pitching another angle they may want to purse at some point in the future.

And finally - keep in mind that backstories are even less promotional than normal stories (which can only be minimally so.) These are opportunities for you to build your recognition level with the community. But, even though they may not be promotional, they can often be even more valuable to you, because they will usually get better placement, longer story length, better photo coverage, and better readership. They're worth pursuing and are definitely should be added to your PR strategy this month!

And, for more information on pitching stories to reporters, check out Secrets of Perfect Pitching to Reporters

Posted by Don Crowther at 04:30 PM | TrackBack

June 16, 2006

Getting Publicity For Alternative Product Uses

I'll never forget the day that someone taught me the exploding balloon trick.

Now this can be dangerous because it involves a caustic substance and fire. Consider yourself warned.

Basically, you put a couple of inches of water in a glass pop bottle (note the word "glass"), add a quarter cup or so of lye, crumple up a piece of aluminum foil and drop it in. Then take a large balloon and carefully fit it over the mouth of the pop bottle.

Over the next 20 minutes or so, the balloon should fill up with the gas generated by the mix. When full nigh to bursting, take the balloon off, and close it off with a clothespin. It should not only float in the air but rise. If it doesn't, stick another piece of tinfoil in the bottle and put it back onto the bottle to fill some more.

If it does rise, tie it closed, and add a 3 foot long fuse made of toilet paper by taping one end to the balloon.

You now have the makings of a very effective prank. Our favorite trick was to go upwind from a campfire surrounded by young impressionable girls (teenagers are so stupid sometimes, I was definitely one of them!), light the fuse, and set it aloft (making sure there was nothing between us and the campfire that would catch fire from the burning fuse). If the fuse was measured correctly, the balloon would erupt into a ball of flames over the campfire, just after you were able to sneak back into the group.

It was always good for a 20 minutes of laughter.

Then there was the time that I did the demonstration (with his permission by the way), over my science teacher's desk; the resulting burst setting his grade book on fire. I went home that night with a very sore rear end, him having broken his paddle on my posterior. (My community was late in prohibiting corporal punishment - my bony rear end actually was the cause of splitting two separate science teacher's paddles, and I was a *good* kid!)

There are many products out there that have an alternative use, one for which it is probably not designed.

Don't think your product has any? Talk to the folks in the factory, you may be very surprised.

Why am I talking about these pranks in a publicity newsletter?

Because the popularity of funny videos on the Internet has turned simple teenage pranks into a great opportunity to actually increase your publicity and sales.

Consider the favorite Mentos and Diet Coke trick. Stick several Mentos into a 2 liter bottle of Diet Coke, (I suggest you do this outside...) and you'll get a 3-5 second geyser of Diet Coke erupting into the air.

This experiment has suddenly taken on a whole new life with a very entertaining video done by EepyBird.com, which you can see at http://eepybird.com/dcm1.html or here:

They took 101 bottles of Diet Coke, combined them with 523 Mentos, and created a short video. Seriously, if have broadband, and you're at all interested in publicity and the power of viral marketing, I recommend you check it out.

You'll probably show it to your kids too, just like I did.

So what's the net publicity effect of something like this?

To Diet Coke, not much at all. In fact, they have such a huge business that Coke probably doesn't even care.

But to Mentos, this may be a totally different story. This publicity is just the kind of thing that will cause tens of thousands of teens, college students and crazy fathers like me to pick up a few packages (cases) and create our own little Bellagio-like displays in backyards worldwide.

An entertaining online video can create a few extra points of market share and a few hundred thousand in sales.

Trust me, these things get attention. A quick search on Technorati shows that 1621 people have linked into this site, 20 in the last 3 hours; 120 people have tagged it in del.icio.us, and there are a bunch of tags on Digg.com. Yes, people notice, write about it, and send traffic to sites with entertaining videos?

Is there something you could do to create a crazy video using your product?

What other viral techniques can you use to create underground publicity for your product

Posted by Don Crowther at 01:23 PM | TrackBack

January 27, 2006

PR Lessons Learned From My Suicidal Fish

One of the most thought-provoking gifts that I received for Christmas was a male Beta Fish that I've named Alpha.

Alpha has a beautiful blue and red tail and long, gorgeous fins. He lives a tranquil life in an "office aquarium" literally a small aquarium with a plastic desk, chair, computer, and file cabinet built in. There's even a family portrait of several fish on the filing cabinet.

There's only one problem with Alpha - he's suicidal!

He refuses to eat... even though he sits there by the surface, oftentimes less than a 16th of an inch away from a piece of food, he refuses to take a bite!

I doubt it's the food - I've now tried 5 different varieties.

I doubt it's the water - we're on well water, so there's no chlorine to be found.

Alpha just seems to be so busy going about his fishy life, staring at his reflection in the corner, hanging out under the desk, even emitting his own fishy burps (they smell like salmon) that he doesn't have time to do the single most important thing to guarantee his future - eating!

As I've contemplated Alpha's plight, my mind looks my business and the businesses of many of my clients and friends...

And I realize that most of us are doing the same thing as Alpha, my suicidal fish!

We're so busy doing the things on our to-do list and cleaning out our in boxes, that we don't do the most important things that guarantee our futures!

Oftentimes when I am consulting or coaching, I ask my clients a very simple question. "What are the three most important things you could be doing to build your business?" I have them make a list.

Then I ask them a follow-up question: "How much time did you spend doing those things in the last 7 days? How about the last month?"

The answer is always revealing, and most of the time shocking.

The vast majority of people spend almost no time doing the things that will build their business.

And that's as suicidal as my beta fish refusing to eat!

What are you not doing that you really should be?

Let me just throw out a couple of things that maybe should be on your list of "as important to your survival as eating" list that deserve daily, or at least weekly attention.

- Talking directly with your customers - when's the last time you personally spoke to each of your top 10 customers? Your top 100?

- Working on differentiating yourself through excellence in your product. Of marketing's four P's (product, place, promotion, and pricing), product is the best one at creating lasting, real differentiation. (Remember that product is a generic term for whatever you sell, be it a product or a service.) You can have the best promotion in the world, the cheapest pricing, and the best distribution, but if your product doesn't stand up as being a better value, you're dead after the first purchase. What have you done this week to improve your product?

- Promoting your business - getting your differentiating message in front of more members of your target market is essential to growth. What new thing have you done to expand your reach or to improve your messaging this week?

Remember that part of promotion is generating more publicity for your company. One great tool which I recommend is Media Relations Power: 199 Ways To Get Free Publicity For Your Company,Cause, or Product
http://www.marketerschoice.com/app/adtrack.asp?adid=64056

- New products - this is where your future is created. Remember to focus on creating new products that are superior to the viable alternatives available to that target market. Again, you don't win on pricing or promotion, you win on product superiority. Kill all new product development that isn't looking like it will be superior to the competition.

I beg you - don't join my fish Alpha in his quest for early, permanent retirement. Remember that if you're not working on those 4 areas constantly, you're slowly starving your business to death!

Posted by Don Crowther at 12:13 PM | TrackBack

December 19, 2005

What To Do When The Only Media Attention You Get Is Bad

There have been 116 homicides in Milwaukee, Wisconsin so far this year. I bet you didn't know that.

But I bet you would know it if every day's newscast brought not only the story about the latest murder, but a reinforcement of the number. And it wouldn't be long until you came to the opinion that hanging out in Milwaukee could be hazardous to your health.

And, what's more important, you could eventually deduce that nothing good ever happens in Milwaukee because people are so busy killing other people. Which, of course, is absolutely incorrect, as there are some incredibly good things happening in Milwaukee and southeast Wisconsin.

While we're betting - I bet you didn't know that there's a country where:

- Virtually every child in the country now has a whole set of textbooks supplied by the U.S. government (even more significant because textbooks were almost nonexistent in this country 2 years ago)

- The U.S. has trained more than 36,000 teachers, and more than 1000 schools are running today because of U.S. assistance

- U.S. aid projects currently supply more than half the people in the country with electricity and more than 2.3 million people in that country get their water from U.S.-supplied projects

- Not a single case of measles has been reported in the last year (formerly one of the leading causes of childhood death in that country)

But I bet you DO know that over 2000 Americans have died in the war in that country, Iraq. (2152 at last count.)

How do you know this? Because other than the current elections, that's almost all you ever see reported about Iraq in the news, complete with websites detailing the numbers and individuals killed, graphics on the nightly news showing the latest count, and regular editorial comments.

We are becoming increasingly convinced that all our people are doing is driving around acting as targets for insurgent attacks.

But the truth is that there is much good that is being done by Americans, coalition countries, and others in rebuilding Iraq, not just from the damage of war, but from the decades of problems prior to both wars.

I'm not trying to get political here, I want our troops home as soon as possible, tomorrow would be great, just like we all do. I'm using this as a current example to introduce a point...

What do you do when the media refuses to say anything good about you, focusing instead, only on the bad?

That's clearly what's going on in Iraq. All we seem to hear about is the latest attacks.

I can't say that I have the definitive solution, as this is a problem which PR seekers have faced for years. If you, however, are facing this situation, here are a few suggestions that will help:

1. Face the facts - recognize that the good things that happen are rarely "news".
Unfortunately, in today's ratings-based and sensationalism-based world, bad news generates more viewers than good.

Simply stated - bad stuff makes news, good calls for paid advertising.

Once you recognize this, and actually budget some money to pay for advertising to communicate your good news, you'll not only relieve some stress in your life, but will get more attention for the good things you're producing.

That said, never stop trying to get publicity for good happenings, simply don't get stressed if it doesn't happen.

2. Make sure that everything you do is always on message, and that message focuses on the good things you're doing.

"Message" refers to the key thing you want to have said about you, no matter what the actual story is addressing. Your job in every media contact, be it a press release, a news interview, or a submitted article, is to make sure that your message gets smoothly integrated into the conversation, so that it gets included in the final reporting.

That's why you see politicians answer questions by saying "What you're really asking is ___________, which I plan to solve by ___________."

For more information on how to identify and communicate your messaging, check out
Creating Powerful Press Releases

3. Use your website and blog to trumpet the good news you want to have conveyed.

Your own websites and blogs are some of the best means you have to communicate a balanced picture of your company. They give you a forum to provide information, influence readers, reply to criticism, and proactively build your position in the marketplace.

A frequently-updated corporate blog is essential to build this credibility so that it's there when you need it. (Check out Blogging For Business for more information)

Another great way to do this is through fact sheets.

One hint - if you want to get coverage on your good news, publish fact sheets on your site frequently, and keep them up to date. I found a great example of a poor job in doing that in my preparation for this story. It's a worthwhile exercise to go to http://usinfo.state.gov/mena/middle_east_north_africa/iraq/iraq_fact.html which contains fact sheets on the good work being done by the U.S. in Iraq. Note the list of fact sheets shown there, and more importantly, the release dates on those sheets. You'll find that these fact sheets are infrequently issued, are weak in content, and do nothing to truly convey the message.

That's no way to fight a propaganda war!

4. Create your own news.
One of the best ways to get coverage for your good news is to do something that makes it newsworthy. Think events, celebrities, tie-ins to local and national news stories, tie-ins to anniversaries, even responses to bad news from other companies ("x company's employees are on strike for the third time in 5 years, while our employees haven't been on strike in over 40 years" - then go on to explain the differences between employee policies at both companies.)

5. Hire a professional.
Sometimes you try and try and simply can't do it yourself. If the return is high enough, that's when you hire a professional. They oftentimes have the contacts, the ideas, and the experience that you simply don't have.

Then, once you hire them, give them the freedom they need to make it happen. Remember, you brought them in because they way you've always done it didn't work. Don't hire them then insist that they do it your way.

For more on how to choose, hire, and work with a professional publicist, check out our report How To Hire A Publicist

Whatever happens, don't give up. Keep pushing, being creative, and looking for new ways to communicate your good news. This is one area where persistence and creativity truly pays off!

Tags: Publicity, Public Relations, Media, Iraq War, U.S. Troops

Posted by Don Crowther at 11:34 PM | TrackBack

November 23, 2005

In Public Relations, Like Life, Looking Good Is Half The Battle

My college daughter has fallen in love with ballroom dancing.

Just this last week she competed in two events, Cha-Cha and my all-time favorite dance, the Quickstep.

These competitions are unique - they put a bunch of couples on the floor at a time (maybe 20-25 in the initial rounds), let them dance for 2 minutes, then cull the group down through subsequent rounds.

A judge in these initial rounds doesn't have much time, maybe just a second or two, to analyze each couple and make a decision. If he catches you at a bad moment, you're out, even if you're a terrific dancer.

My daughter's teacher wisely taught them a key to making it through those initial cattle-call rounds. "Smile and look like you love what you're doing - if your smile's big enough, they won't even notice your feet."

(By the way, my daughter did very well, making it almost to finals in both events, even though she's just a new freshman - either she smiles nicely, or is a good dancer. I hope both!)

This advice works in publicity seeking too.

First impressions count. If that impression's bad, you're out, even if your pitch is exactly what they need.

Here's a few ways I have found to create a solid first impression in your publicity efforts.

1. When you get a reporter on the phone, resist the urge to start spewing out your pitch. First, ask the question "are you on deadline?" This immediately tells the reporter that you understand and respect them, creating a positive first impression.

2. Once you've asked that key question, don't be like many publicity-seekers seem and start rambling away with no specific direction. Have a carefully-planned script that states exactly what your story angle is, why they should write about it, and how you can help. Your initial pitch should take no more than 30 seconds, and it should be conveyed with enthusiasm and verve.

Want to learn how to shape your story idea into a 30-second pitch? Check out our Audio CD and transcript How to Create the Perfect 30-Second Phone Pitch For Your Story. In it you'll see how poor most pitches are and how to trim them up into a rock-solid pitch that really works.

3. Create a website that looks nice and truly tells your story / sells your products and services.
The Internet has become the default research tool for the media. They oftentimes make the decision as to whether they will include you in a story or not just by spending 2 minutes looking at your website. If what they see there positions you as professional, an expert in your subject, and conversant, you've got a good chance of success.

If, on the other hand, your site looks like it was designed by a high school kid (trust me, most sites do, even those that cost thousands), they're gone and you're off their list of potential story materials.

If you're interested, here's my favorite resource for learning about online marketing and how to increase the results from your website.

4. Have an informative, easy-to-find, up-to-date media room on your website. A powerful online media room can work wonders to build your publicity, giving the media a single-source location to gather the information they need to write a story that features you or your company.

Unfortunately, many of us don't take the time to put one up.

At a minimum, an online media room should contain- Fact sheets on your company and key products
- Recent media releases
- Contact information
- Links to recent stories referencing you
- Key images

Plus there's a number of other key elements that can help to set a great first impression and build your media coverage. Visit here for more information on media kits and online media rooms.

5. When you actually land the talk show / media interview you've been seeking, make sure that you set a great first impression there too, including

- Rehearse in advance with a tape recorder/camcorder, and a friend asking you realistic and tough questions. Then listen to those responses, edit them carefully, then practice them until you can give them flawlessly every time, without sounding like you're giving prepared materials

- Be visual. Have something that you can do/show that looks great on film. This will not only get you more attention, but is likely to land you more time/print for your story

- Be natural. Real people in real conversations don't pitch, they don't get nervous, and they don't parrot off memorized responses. If you do any of those things, you're liable to get cut, and your chance to shine is gone.

- Look good. Study up on what doesn't look good on camera, and don't wear it even if it's your favorite outfit. Smile (unless your topic is inappropriate for smiling), and look like you're having a natural conversation.

For more on these topics and more tips on how to do well in a media interview, check out How To Be A TV Show Host’s Dream Date

These are just a few of the things that create first impressions. Be mindful of them, think through them before, and plan them out so that you control the first impressions you cast. It could make all the difference in your end result!

Tags:
public relations
publicity
talk shows
pitching stories

Posted by Don Crowther at 03:40 PM | TrackBack

October 21, 2005

How To Get Publicity For Your Charitable Activities

Hurricane Katrina opened the hearts and pocketbooks of many Americans. And many of them sought to generate free publicity for their generosity.

The problem was that the media quickly became overloaded with press releases announcing that yet another company was giving money to hurricane relief.

So they stopped running the stories. Contributions that may have been news in a normal situation quickly became non-news simply because everybody was doing it.

This is a key factor that everyone should recognize - if everyone's doing something, no matter what it is, it's no longer news.

Plus, the reporters quickly develop a hardening of the attitudes, causing them to say "if you want to give, then give, but don't expect me to make you look like a hero because of your generosity."

Frankly, they're probably right...

But if you want to get publicity for your charitable actions, you've got to do something to stand out.

So when someone asks "will I get press if I give all of my profits for the next month to Katrina victims?" I answer "it depends." Of course, that could be news if you're P&G, but probably less if you're the corner barber. And maybe yes if you're trying to get attention in your small town newspaper, but not in the national or larger city papers.

One side note here - contributions that are tied to sales like giving a percentage of profits have a slimy feel to them - "we only donate if you buy" doesn't sit right with people...

But what about "I've just chartered a plane and am sending 400 members of my staff to New Orleans to dig people out for two weeks." I'd say that's news. In fact, if you positioned it correctly, you may be able to get one of your local news reporting teams to go along, scoring you a major hit!

One contribution that stood out came courtesy of Oprah Winfrey. At the end of her season premiere, Oprah did a 5 minute segment in which she announced:

1. She is personally giving ten million dollars to Katrina Relief. That's a big enough number that the Red Cross probably paid attention...

2. She has established a unique vehicle to help her viewers to contribute. She set up a registry on her website which enabled viewers to buy the kinds of things that people will need to put their houses back together once they arrive back home - couches, dishes, washers, dryers, even whole houses! Plus, she is providing a pass-through for individuals and corporations to give money directly to the relief efforts.

Oprah knows how to make an impact, both on others as well as her audience. This is sure to help her with her "relations" with her "public" and that's part of what public relations is all about!

The thing that amazes me is that none of the big office supply stores have jumped on this one. There are thousands of small businesses that lost the materials they needed to conduct business. I'd love to see an Office Max program where they donated a large sum to small businesses in the hurricane-affected areas, plus allowing their shoppers to donate supplies through a registry-type service to those who need them most right now.

Lesson to be learned? You've got to stand out if you want media coverage. This applies not only in day-to-day situations, but in disaster situations too. Frankly, if you can't find a way to stand out, you may want to consider not even asking the press to take notice, so that you don't waste time and your reputation for always feeding them great stories over a non-news story.

Want more ideas on how to stand out and get local news coverage? Check out How To Get On Your Local TV News Tomorrow or get information on how to get on The Oprah Show.

Posted by Don Crowther at 11:15 AM | TrackBack

July 11, 2005

How To Create A Bang With Your Next Publicity Project: Lessons Learned From Fireworks

I love fireworks. Always have. And I'm not alone. There's something about the combination of the bright explosions and the heart-pounding booms that thrills many of us to the core.

In the past, I've always been the cautious parental unit, sitting with my kids up on the hill to be away from any potential falling sparks.

But this year, I decided to be adventurous, so my son and I went right down onto the beach where they were shooting them off. Things are a lot more exciting down there!

I also discovered something that I hadn't experienced before. Up on the hill, there are only two key sounds - the sound of the firework going off, and the sound of the audience's reaction if it was a really good explosion. But when we were down on the beach we got an additional noise - multiple echoes coming back from the initial concussion. So we'd hear the boom, then 1/4th a second later, we'd hear echoes back from what seemed to be 4-5 different hard surfaces behind us.

As I sat and watched, I realized that there's several PR metaphors here (I'm so strange that I can't even watch fireworks without thinking about this stuff!)

First was the fact that my sitting on the beach changed the sound of the explosions from a nice loud boom to a physical "feel-the-sound" experience. That move changed me from a casual observer to feeling like I was an active participant in the experience.

Unfortunately, there are few times when we can rely on our audience to move themselves to heighten their perception of our campaign. So, we sometimes have to bring the campaign to them in some way so that they feel like they're actually part of the experience.

What changes do you have to do to your next campaign to truly involve your target market in the process?

Let me make a side point here. Terrorism has been a fact of life in many countries for years. But it took two towers falling, and explosions in Spain and several mass transit vehicles in England to get the attention of billions more people. Those actions have truly involved and raised the awareness of many of us from something occurring in foreign lands to something much more personal. How? By changing the relevance of the campaign.

Most campaigns are far from relevant to the lives of their target market. Oh, they may be interesting, but though I may look twice when I see people chanting on the courthouse steps, that does nothing to make it relevant to me.

There's the key failure of many publicity campaigns. Somehow we've become so enamored by emulating those who've gotten lots of attention that we in this industry have forgotten that the key isn't attention, it's relevance. Attention generates a moment of focus, but relevance is what causes people to change behavior.

Second, when we do something designed to generate publicity, we actually create three different types of noise.

First, there's the noise of our event itself. Louder noise is usually better.

Then, there's the noise of the target audience reacting to that event. Again, louder is usually better.

Finally, there's the echo that comes from the delayed reaction to the event.

Sometimes this echo takes the form of industry commentary on the event.

Sometimes it's competitive reaction and copycats.

The best it's when the consumer does something later on in reaction to the event - for example, actually buying your stuff. That's when you know you've had a successful event!

Now, I'm really going to stretch this metaphor beyond the breaking point to make a point.

I personally believe that 99% of all publicity-seeking activities barely make an initial noise. Only a few of those that actually make a noise get an audience reaction, and almost none get an echo effect.

How are you doing in this area? Have you heard any echoes from your promotions lately? What do you need to do differently to make that happen next time? Trust me, it's more than sending out yet another press release!

Third, as I sat down right in the midst of the action, I started watching the audience. At the beginning of the show the audience was highly impressed with even the slightest difference in firework size, shape or sound.

But as the show progressed, they became accustomed, and it took a great deal to actually get attention.

It got to the point where, at 10 minutes into the show, with rocket's red glare still happening, I saw groups start to stand up, start talking with their friends, even breaking out the Frisbee.

Then the finale came, and everyone paid attention.

This is what's happening in your industry right now. In its infancy, anything out of the ordinary got everyone's attention.

But as time went on, it's become harder and harder to get the attention of your audience in the noise and clamor of everyone's marketing and publicity campaigns.

Let's say that you go to a convention and you're the only company that offers a party for attendants. You'll get attention.

The next year, there are 10 parties. The bar has been set at a new level. Hopefully, this time you've got something else up your sleeve, because if you don't, you've lost your impact.

Unfortunately, it's a bit like a drug - it takes ever increasing doses to make an impact.

This brings up two questions for consideration. 1. What level of noise is necessary to stand out in your industry right now? and 2. Did your last campaign achieve that level or was it a complete waste of resources?

Some interesting questions - perhaps you should hit a fireworks show soon and ponder them yourself!

Want more information on how to break through and create the big bang promotion that everyone pays attention to? Check out our ebook Media Relations Power: 199 Ways to Get Free Publicity for Your Company, Cause, or Product

Posted by Don Crowther at 08:47 PM | TrackBack

March 30, 2005

How To Get Publicity For Your Products

Have you ever noticed that a large amount of the publicity you see is for events?

But what about products? Can you get publicity for products?

Of course you can! It just involves using the same skill set a little differently.

One of the first major keys to a successful PR program around a product is differentiation - what is it that makes your product different than everyone else's? Without some sort of differentiation, not only will your sales suffer, but it's going to be tough to find a newsworthy peg upon which to hook your story.

Another key is to pre-condition the market before your actual product launch. As David Yale notes in our new Training Manual How To Get Publicity for Your Products, preconditioning consists of clearly communicating and actually amplifying the need that your product fulfills before your product (which will then be a white knight that resolves that pressing problem) is even announced to the marketplace.

As public relations executive Bob Seltzer explains, "If you're going to come out with a new contact lens cleaner in six months, you would be very smart to get articles about the problems of cleaning contact lenses in the media - now. These stories don't even require that your product is mentioned. You're educating the marketplace about a problem, so when your product launches, you've made your audience more receptive. Publicity does not work as effectively if you wait until the product comes out to build awareness."

You can also publicize a product before it’s available to create a dramatic awareness that gets the media and the public looking forward to its introduction. A great example of this occurred several years ago when Seltzer’s public relations firm, Porter Novelli, "... launched the Gillette Sensor Razor with an announcement in October - even though it would not come out until January. The object was to build anticipation and expectation. Every year Fortune magazine does an article on the 10 best products of the year. The Gillette Sensor was actually named one of the 10 best products for 1989, even though it wasn't even introduced until 1990," according to Seltzer.

That's an interesting way to look at the world, isn't it? Publicize your product, possibly without even naming it, before your launch, so that your potential customers are very aware of their unmet need and foaming at the mouth to get it solved when your product gets launched.

Want more information on how to generate publicity for your products? Check out our brand new training manual, just released today, How To Get Publicity For Your Products

Posted by Don Crowther at 03:27 PM | TrackBack

December 23, 2004

Five Things To Do This Holiday To Build Your Business For The Next Year

I love the week between Christmas and New Years. It's a great time to relax, spend some serious time with the kids, and to be incredibly productive in the few hours you spend working.

Here's five work-related things I recommend that you do this holiday to build your business for the new year.

1. Write and distribute at least one tip sheet on your area of expertise. Because this is such a slow news week, you've got a much higher probability of editors running it!

Here's some resources to help you in preparing your tip sheets:
Special Report: How to Write Tip Sheets That Catch the Media's Attention

Audio CD: Briefs, Fillers and Quizzes: How to Write Them and Why Editors LOVE Them

2. Write at least one article to teach people how to do something related to your business. Submit it to one of the many different article exchange sites on the web.

Our audio CD How To Submit Online Articles That Pull Traffic To Your Website teaches how to write, submit and get credit for them, plus you get a handout listing 27 different places that will welcome your article submission.

3. Update your media kit and your online media kit with the latest information about your company, focusing on the improvements you've made in the last few months. Send a fresh copy out to your key media contacts.

Our special report Media Kits on a Shoestring: How to Create Them Without Spending a Bundle and our audio CD Electronic Media Kits: How to Create Them, Deliver Them and See INSTANT Results give you the details you need to accomplish these tasks

4. Spend time working on, refining and communicating your positioning as an expert in your subject area. That expertise will bring unsolicited calls from the media, and could create far more media mentions than all the press releases you could send out next year.

More information on why, how and how not to do this can be found in our audio CD How To Become An Expert Spokesperson That The Media Loves

5. Spend time planning your marketing, public relations, and differentiating activities for the coming year. I know, sometimes it feels like it would be so much simpler being able to do whatever seemed to be the most fun at the moment, but having a clearly prioritized and budgeted plan can make all of the difference in the world!

Posted by Don Crowther at 10:42 PM | TrackBack

November 01, 2004

Borrowing Publicity - How To Use The Fame Of Others To Build Your Publicity

Have you ever noticed how famous people can get publicity almost without lifting a finger while you feel like every bit of media attention costs you endless work and struggle?

There's a way to fix that...

Find a way to use the celebrity power of others in your behalf!

As a result you not only both get publicity, but you get the benefit of the attention their presence brings and possibly their implied endorsement!

Here's some ways you can do this:

1. Use celebrities as examples

I just watched an interesting little news clip. It was promoting the latest issue of one of the women's magazines. It had one of their writers talking about how different facial structures need different styles of eyebrows. (I didn't know how important it is for Madonna and Susan Sarandon to purposely perfectly pluck differently from each other.) (By the way, I just read this to my middle daughter who stated "they do" with that tone of voice that implied "Dad, you just don't know anything!")

Instead of just talking about it, the spokesperson used pictures of different celebrities to illustrate good examples of eyebrow styles.

I usually don't pay attention to these types of stories, but noticed this one because I glanced at the TV and saw a picture of one of my favorite stars, so started paying attention. I'm sure that many others did too - and heard the mention that this was all covered in the latest issue of the magazine, while seeing a picture of that issue on-screen.

Other examples may include anything clothing or makeup related, how to handle a stressful situation at work (using scenes from movies), or hot vacation spots (using celebrities who've vacationed there as support).

2. Comment on the celebrities

This is very related to #1, but with a twist. Here instead of using the celebrity as an example (where you could conceivably have used any woman's face to show proper plucking principles) the celebrities are the core of your story. In this case, your subject is the celebrities themselves and some aspect of their lives.

An example is the annual best and worst dressed women at the Oscars.

But there's many other ways you could do it, including homes of the stars, comments made by politicians, even favorite dishes eaten by local radio stars at your restaurant. In this case, your qualifications will be briefly stated, so it usually doesn't result in as powerful of a publicity punch as other items on this page, though you can twist it well in certain circumstances (a presentation expert commenting on the political debates or the thank you speeches at the awards builds your credibility.)

3. Rebut a celebrity

When you see a celebrity doing something that you strongly disagree with, you can oftentimes use that as a tool to get your cause on air.

For example, if a politician says something stupid, a celebrity's child could have been prevented from their wayward ways if only the parent had followed your techniques, a celebrity does the exactly opposite of your cause, etc., you've got a story in the making.

4. Give a celebrity an award

We see this especially around New Years - Best or Worst ____ Celebrity (insert dressed, environmentally astute, foot-in-mouth, etc. in the blank.)

But you can also use this in other ways. If you know that a particular celebrity is supportive of your general cause, you may want to give them an award, especially if they are going to be in your community for a concert, etc. Or, if your cause is important enough, you may be able to get them to come especially to accept your award or to have their publicist contact the press for you to come to them. You can always give the award without their being present, but you lose publicity value if you do so.

5. If you find a celebrity using your product / service

Restaurants do this all the time - grab a picture with the celebrity dining there, but others can do it too. They may like to order your hand-made soap. Ask for a testimonial. Or, offer them a free year's supply if they will do so. This starts getting to the line of paid sponsorships, so you are less likely to get success here, but it can never hurt to ask and sometimes it pays to pay, as long as the celebrity can actually bring attention and support to your message.

6. Recognize your own celebrity

Many people have a personal celebrity status built within their niche that they may not even recognize. If you write, consult, are on a commercial, are a professor, or are any good at a sport, you may be a rock and roll star in your own little world. If not, you probably should be, as this can literally change your ability to get publicity. If so, make sure that you use your celebrity appropriately and sparingly, so that you carefully preserve and build your celebrity presence and income potential. Recognize that as a celebrity, there are people who will do what you tell them to simply because you tell them to do so - that can mean sponsorship and other dollars in your pocket.

Make good choices and you can significantly add to your bottom line!

If you're interested in more information on how to build your personal celebrity status with the media and within your personal niche, check out our audio CD How to Create A Celebrity Image

Keep the power of using celebrities always on your mind. It can make all the difference in the success of your publicity efforts!

Posted by Don Crowther at 08:22 PM | TrackBack

Researching Media: How To Find New Markets For Your Publicity

I just got off a plane, and discovered something that I should have recognized, but not being in that business, have never figured out.

What would you say if I asked you to name the top categories of advertisers in in-flight magazines?

If you're like me, you'd probably respond with restaurants, resorts, LCD projectors, cell phones, etc.

And you'd be right.

But in reading this month's issue of United Airlines' Hemispheres magazine, I discovered that there's another category that makes all kinds of sense, but wasn't on my radar screen before...

Professional dating services.

Not just the normal "we'll put you in our database and let people send you emails" service.

Nope, this is partnership brokerages.

They pitch "you're too busy to handle your partner search, so outsource it to us." Literally!

And it's a great idea - not only to provide the service, but to advertise in these in-flight publications, which reach busy, but upscale professionals.

There were 4 of these ads in this month's issue, but no articles on the subject.

Given that these ads are running, do you think that there would be any interest on the editorial side to run an article on the subject?

I thought you might think so.

So now let's generalize for a minute - how many media sources are there out there that run ads for companies like yours?

And to how many of them have you pitched a story within the last month? 6 months? Year?

Fix that!

And one other suggestion - I suggest that you make a habit of browsing magazines that don't directly apply to your area of expertise. Not only will you broaden your entertainment and learning, but every once in awhile, you may just find out that your competitor is advertising there because they've discovered that your customers are reading that particular magazine!

Finally, one other point - I strongly recommend using a portion of your advertising budget to test new media. You may be amazed at what you discover!

Want more information on getting your story in the inflight magazines? We've recently updated our special report Fly High with Publicity in In-Flight Magazines, teaching you not only the types of articles the inflight magazines generally want, but also providing specific contact information (where available) for the in-flight magazines at each of the following airlines: United Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Delta Airlines, Delta Shuttle, Southwest Airlines, US Airways, British Airways, Virgin Express, Continental Airlines, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, American Airlines Latin American Routes, Frontier Airlines, Air Canada, Hawaiian Airlines, Latin American Airlines, Skywest’s Delta Connection, Horizon Airlines, ATA Airlines, Aloha Airlines, Island Air, American Eagle, Midway Airlines, Midwest Airlines, First Air, easyJet Airlines, West Jet Airlines, British Mediterranean Airlines (Operating As British Airways), MyTravel Airlines, MyTravel Lite Airlines, Stratos Magazine (Targets those who fly in private jets), and VLM Airlines.

I can tell you that at least 3 of the articles in this month's Hemisphere magazine were PR pieces. You can join their ranks! May I suggest that you check this one out now!

Posted by Don Crowther at 01:51 PM | TrackBack

October 08, 2004

Niche Stuff from 101PublicRelations.com

We have a number of products that don't get talked about much because they are focused on specific niches. But these are some of the best tools to gaining publicity in their respective fields. If you work in any of these fields, there's much you can learn from these audios!

Here's just a few:

PR Firms: Create New Business NOW!
A guide to using gaining more clients to build your PR practice (and any other service business, for that matter!)

Fail-Proof Publicity Tips For Your Non-Profit
We get lots of people asking us how all of this applies to non-profits - here's a CD that pulls it all together. Powerful stuff!

How Residential Real Estate Agents Can Profit From Free Publicity
The 6 biggest advantages of real estate agents using free publicity, 11 media outlets you should be targeting and how to do it.

To Make Hospital P.R. An Easy Pill To Swallow
Yes, hospitals can use public relations very effectively. How to identify and capitalize on the hot-button health topics that push the media’s buttons.

Are you aware that we now have over 100 different products to help you build your publicity, including over 60 different audio CD's? You can find all of our audio CD's here.

Posted by Don Crowther at 02:24 PM | TrackBack

October 01, 2004

Readers Are Raving

I know that you're busy, and that I tend to wax prolific. But, if you didn't get the chance to read last week's issue all the way through, you're missing out on two things.

1. Our article "The Most Powerful Word in the Marketer's Toolbox" was a huge hit, with many of you writing to say how valuable you found its message.

There's one other thing that I failed to mention in that article. The key to having a great "because" is to have a viable differentiating point for your product / service. If you don't have that, your marketing and sales will always be weak. I strongly encourage you to focus your energy on developing that differentiation as it will be key to your short and long-term success.

2. Our new Crash Course In PR - a new email-delivered course that teaches you the foundations of public relations. And best of all, it doesn't cost you a penny! Here are some comments that we've gotten about this course in the last several days (since I don't have time to get permission from each one of the senders, I'm just including their comments without their names. Sorry...)

"I'm sending you a short note to say what I think of your email series I'm receiving. In a word ... excellence ..."

"I've been a big fan of your Great PR newsletter for quite a while, and I've been enjoying your mini-course. It's nice to see someone relaxed enough to be able to let a sense of humor show through."

"Just wanted to let you know I love this newsletter..."

"I'm interested in learning all about the field and all your articles have been helpful. I often save up several of them, and when I take a trip print out a bunch and go through them on the plane with a highlighter. I find your information useful, interesting, and thought provoking. I've recommended your site to others. Thank you very much for your information and gracious style!"

Well, enough of patting myself on the back (arm's starting to hurt). I gave you those testimonials to let you know that your compatriots are finding this new course to be valuable.

One more indication - of all of those who have registered, only 0.51% (that's half of a percent) have removed themselves. All those others must see some value in sticking around...

Haven't signed up yet? You can fix that right now!

Posted by Don Crowther at 09:04 PM | TrackBack

How To Profit From Political Debates

America's presidential debates, which started last night, are a super chance for you to find your way into print or on the air.

Joan Stewart provides these tips on how you can piggyback onto the historic debates:

- On the day after the debate poll employees at your company and ask who they think won the first debate, and why. Then let local newspapers and the TV stations know. The results will probably fall along party lines, but that's OK. Or, better yet, round up a dozen or so undecideds and let them choose the winner of each debate. Be sure to let the media know which employees would agree to be interviewed.

- If you're a speech coach or a professional speaker offer to critique the candidates. Were they convincing? Any embarrassing flubs? What effect did the stricter rules have on the debates?

- If you're a humor writer or speaker offer to critique the candidates. Which of the two used humor most effectively? Was any of the humor inappropriate? What comments were most effective? What would you have said differently?

- If you live in a household that's split down the middle politically, let the media know. A TV reporter might want to take film footage of the family watching the debates--snide comments and all--while the candidates are speaking. Local TV stations will be looking for "the local angle" to this national story.

- Invite the media into your classroom the next day if you'll be discussing the debates with students.

- If you're interviewing with the media, offer specific suggestions on how the candidates can improve during the remainder of the debates. What do you think they did wrong?

- Don't forget letters to the editor and op-ed columns.

Need more help pitching this story to your local TV stations? TV reporter Shawne Duperon shows you how to track down the "Queen Bee," at your local TV station--the one who decides what stories the station will cover. She also gives valuable tips on when to call, what to say and how to give the news staff everything it needs for a great story. Read more about what you'll learn on "How to Get on the Local TV News Tomorrow"

Posted by Don Crowther at 04:50 PM | TrackBack

PR Basics: Taking Reporters To Lunch

Is it ethical and/or acceptable to take a reporter to lunch?

More and more media outlets today have rules that state that lunches are a conflict of interest. But not all...

A great way to find out is to call the media outlet and ask, before you extend the invitation to the reporter. That helps to reduce discomfort on both of your parts. The same thing applies to any gift, tickets to the game, etc.

Food, however, can be a powerful tool in raising your visibility with the media, (Krispy Kreme knows that!) so much so that we've even created a whole special report just on this subject. The Do’s and Don'ts of Offering Food to the Media, discusses this in much greater detail.

Posted by Don Crowther at 02:05 PM | TrackBack

September 24, 2004

Crash Course In Publicity

There's been something that I've wanted to do for over 3 years now that I finally sat down and created.

And you get the benefit, without paying a cent.

It's a 7-day Crash Course In Publicity.

And, I must say, it's pretty good... at least that's what those who've seen it so far have been telling me.

Here's what it contains:

Lesson 1 - What Is PR?
Lesson 2 - Creating Your PR Plan
Lesson 3 - Building Your Public Relations Infrastructure
Lesson 4 - How To Write a Press Release
Lesson 5 - How To Communicate With The Media
Lesson 6 - Pitching Stories
Lesson 7 - How to Tell the World About Your Product

It's a great way to hone your PR skills and to get some solid PR practice at the same time.

To sign up for your copy, visit Crash Course In Publicity

Posted by Don Crowther at 04:50 PM | TrackBack

July 16, 2004

Tomorrow's PR Today - Where PR is Going and How to Make Sure You Get There First

To predict the future of PR it's first important to assess the forces that are shaping the media today:

1. The Internet is becoming the default news source for millions

People are turning not only to direct sources like CNN, The Drudge Report, and targeted niche operations like BusinessKnowledgeSource.com; but to indirect news sources like Google News Yahoo! News, and Topix.net which aggregate news from other sources. Increasingly, people are choosing to view the stories (and frankly to get the entertainment) they choose to receive on their schedule, rather than reading a paper or watching / listening to news.

2. This trend has already and will increasingly cut into media revenues and profits

3. Media sources will make cuts in the news gathering and reporting process

4. Editors and reporters will be even more time-crunched and stressed than they are today (hard to imagine)

5. It will be harder for those seeking free publicity to get the attention they need and to generate the results they desire

6. Editors and reporters will increasingly turn to
a. sources that save them time
b. trusted sources that consistently generate powerful information, stories and leads

7. Media sources, with declining audiences and news resources will focus on
a. Preserving local audiences by localizing and personalizing national stories
b. Taking quality information provided by trusted sources and delivering it almost as is
c. Generating fresh stories that will draw the attention of local and possibly national audiences (local scandals, local business becoming big, local disasters, etc.)
d. Providing entertainment as part of the news process

Doesn't this list sound familiar? Isn't this exactly what's happening today? What's key to realize is that the Internet has increased the media's pain, accelerating this process to an even higher rate.

Given these changes, bright PR seekers will carefully consider their public relations tactics and change them to fit the trends.

Implications for PR practitioners:

1. Relationships are key

Gone are the days of achieving success by appearing on a reporter's radar screen twice a year when you've got some news. Now you need to be carefully creating and cultivating relationships with key media sources who have the interest and the power to run your stories.

This means that you need to constantly give what they really need - real news, stories, leads, impactful quotes, even if these don't build your business in any way. Think of it this way - who will a reporter turn to in question - the source that exclusively pitches their company, or the one who gives them a consistent set of great leads that turn into powerful stories, only occasionally pitching a story that involves his company?

2. You NEED an active, powerful, online presence

Reporters, producers and editors increasingly turn to the Internet for research, rather than the telephone or the directories of the past. You need an online media room; a powerful, frequently updated blog; and most importantly, a search engine presence so that media people will repeatedly encounter your name in their research.

He who has the best search engine presence and the most links, wins.

Isn't it interesting how the net has changed our world?

By the way, you can get those links both through natural search engine positioning and through buying pay per click advertising, (which can place you on the first page of the search engine listings.) At least 50% of the media calls I receive come from my pay per click advertising. For more information on how pay per click works, check out The Pay Per Click Money Machine

3. You should regularly produce excellent articles of journalistic quality

If a reporter with 5 stories on his docket stumbles upon your story that's just as good as he would write himself, he's likely to save his time and simply run your story. plus bookmarking your story archive for future story needs.

Create a schedule and system to create a never-ending series of articles.

A great way to do this is with tip sheets, quizzes and surveys - which not only make interesting reading, but great filler material for that last remaining 6 column inches of space.

4. You need to have your name and stories showing up consistently in GoogleNews and Yahoo! News

These tools have become powerful story archives and story generating sources for the media. You need to be included.

Unfortunately, doing so is tough, because both of these outlets carefully screen the news outlets they include. However, if you deliver great articles that carry bylines and get run by major and even local media, you too can have your stories showing up in these sources.

Google and Yahoo news can also be a source to identify journalists who cover your topic area, to generate news story ideas and to increase your targeted media relationships. Two articles that cover this in more detail are How To Use Google News To Get More PR and Competitive Drafting: Getting Effortless PR By Letting Your Competitors Do The Work!

5. Recognize the power of video and audio in helping media sources to choose to call you rather than your competition

Besides your writing, video and audio can be great tools to help expand your impact with the media. Journalists and producers want to know whether you'll be a good interview - let them see or hear you do it. Add video and audio clips to your site, add presentations that illustrate your story, and create video news releases where appropriate. Give them the tools to recognize you as the great information source that you truly are.

6. Learn to wisely use email to pitch stories

Email's both a powerful tool and a curse for the media. Most hate the huge amount of unwanted email (note - if you send a press release or even a story pitch to someone who doesn't want it, you've just spammed them - think about it, and make sure that you carefully target your emails) but most love the ease of obtaining and developing story pitches through email.

Email (and RSS, by the way) will be powerful tools in the future of PR. Learn to use it well by writing powerful subject lines, great lead sentences, pithy pitches, and leaving them wanting more. Hang something out there that sparks curiosity and forces them to contact you for closure. By learning these skills, you can turn email into one of your most powerful PR tools.

7. Learn to stand out

Journalists see hundreds, often thousands of pitches a day. What are you doing to stand out? How are you different than everyone else?

Different doesn't mean a box of pink feathers carefully cradling your latest media release, it means providing great leads and stories that are better than everyone else's.

Once again, content rules. Standing out does no good if your content (the quality, news or entertainment value of the story that you are pitching) is weak. When in doubt, create great content, that will always win.

One other factor to consider is the entertainment value of your pitches. How can you make your stories fun, funny, or thought-provoking. These won't always win, but definitely have a place in tomorrow's media world.

All of this involves work, and it certainly steps beyond the traditional press release blasts, phone pitching stories, and backslapping journalists. It takes recognition of change, ability to quickly learn and adopt new technologies, and a willingness to take risk.

But as you do so, you'll become that trusted source who not only makes the media's job easier, but who helps them to build their careers by giving them great news and entertaining pieces that gather them praise, awards and promotions.

So it's all up to you. Are you going to continue the old ways which are rapidly becoming dinosaurs, or are you going to make the mind- and skill-set changes that will make you a powerful public relations practitioner for the next decade?

Let me know your results!

Posted by Don Crowther at 01:36 PM | TrackBack

July 14, 2004

The five stupidest PR tactics almost every company tries - don't waste your PR budget on these money pits!

Want to make sure that the resources you spend on public relations (both time and money) are spent effectively?

Then avoid, or at least very carefully weigh the downsides, as you consider the following commonly-used PR tactics.

(Note: some of these are going to strike a nerve. There are many publicists and PR professionals who have created job security for themselves by constantly executing these very tactics. And there will be many who will point to one specific time that they've used this tactic with unquestionable success. But this raises the question - what about all of the other times?)

I invite us all to consider the ultimate aim of any marketing-related resource expenditure. Isn't it to increase sales? Therefore, I believe the true measure of any resource expenditure, including PR, is whether or not it increased sales, and more importantly, whether that same amount of resources, if spent on some other tactic, (perhaps even outside of the PR arena) would have increased sales to an even higher level, both short and long term.

Based on this, I present my list of

The Five Stupidest PR Tactics:

1. Big Events

Publicists love big events. Events are a great way for them to charge off a ton of hours coordinating, arranging and staffing an event. And, unlike other PR activities, events have a clear feeling of success - the CEO can walk around, see the milling crowds all happily nibbling on $10 per serving jumbo shrimp, get slapped on the back by all of the other corporate execs as they congratulate themselves on a successful turnout, and feel "now here's a PR expenditure that finally delivered."

But did it?

The key isn't in the attendance, it's in the press coverage afterwards, and more importantly, in the sales that did or didn't result from the activity.

Frankly, it's very rare to see increased sales from a big event.

For example, the Six Flags theme parks, are running a commercial where an old guy does some amazing dancing to upbeat music. It's a pretty good ad that's probably creating increased park attendance. But in Chicago they recently held an event where they did an old guy look / dance-alike contest.

And they actually got picked up on at least one Chicago station's 10:00 news.

But here's the key question, will they get additional park traffic because of the event? (And be sure to separate the event effects from the advertising effects.) I believe the answer will be no, or at least not enough to pay for the several tens of thousands of dollars in resources that went into that event.

The one possible exception to this argument is events surrounding new product launches. But this raises the question - if the product was really that good, wouldn't it have gotten close to the same level of press without the event?

2. Sponsorships

Sponsorships strike to the heart of many managers - it's a great way to give back to the community, to get your name out there, and to (sometimes) get a tax write off for the company.

But again, does it result in increased sales?

Remember, simple exposure of your brand name does nothing unless it's connected with powerful positioning that sets you apart from your competition.

Your name alone, plastered among 42 others on the sign nobody looks at as they walk into an event does nothing to tell people why your widget is better than the other guys.

If you want to sponsor local events because they're a way to build support for your company in your community, go ahead and do so.

But call it a charitable activity and charge it to that budget. Don't kid yourself that any increased sales are going to result.

3. Sending out undifferentiated media releases

In watching the press release wires, I am constantly amazed at the drivel that most companies send out disguised as media releases.

The media wants news. Who cares that so and so just got promoted, that you have new graphics on your website, or that your widget that's been out there for 12 years is now available in shocking pink.

Give them news!

Then your releases will get printed!

Don't waste your time or money with the other stuff.

4. Sending media releases to the world

For some reason there's an attitude out there that if you can send a media release to 30 outlets, that sending it to 3,000 is a better idea.

It might be

If - it's really truly news

If - it's news on a national / international level

If - it adds value to the world rather than just struts your stuff.

If not, save your money, send it out to your pre-qualified, highly-targeted list, and use that money for something that will actually sell product!

5. Creating expensive media kits then distributing them to the world

Here's the way mail is read in the newsroom - open, glance, dump in trash.

So why send a $40 media kit? And why send it to anyone that isn't looking for news on your story right now?

Give them what they need, which can usually be done for maybe a dollar or two, and you'll get the same impact as with the big, fancy media kit that's going right into the trash.

So that it - the five stupidest things most companies do to waste their PR budget.

How many have you done?

How many will you do in the future?

Posted by Don Crowther at 12:33 PM | TrackBack

July 01, 2004

Generating Powerful Publicity For Small Business

Looking at the paper, it seems that only the big, multi-million dollar companies with huge PR firms and budgets have any hope of getting their businesses publicized online.

Can small companies really get any meaningful publicity?

Absolutely, says Jeff Zbar, The Small Business Administration's 2001 Journalist of the Year.

In our brand new audio CD (it's so new that we're editing the recording as we write this!) "The Fastest, Easiest, Cheapest Ways To Publicize Your Small Business -- Even If You're a Solo Entrepreneur," Jeff shares a series of tips and techniques that apply both to small businesses and large, including:

- Don't be afraid to be honest, even brutally honest, about your own failings and how you overcame them. Most people tend to want to sweep their problems under the rug, feeling that the reporter won't see them as a credible source unless they are a soaring success in their business.

In fact, journalists see it exactly the opposite.

First, they can usually tell when you're hiding something from them.

Second, a story of a mistake or a hard time and how you recovered (or are recovering) from it makes much better news than "oh, everything's going great."

Third, when you admit your failures, you immediately deepen your trust level with the reporter (and the readers, by the way) - they feel that if you'll be honest with something that's potentially embarrassing, that you're being honest in other statements you're making.

Fourth, recovery stories give great information that helps readers, making you, and the reporter, a hero in the reader's eyes.

In fact, Jeff contends, the more complete and direct you are in answering the reporter's questions, the more likely it is that you and your company will be the featured element in the eventual article. This is especially true in today's popular "these are tough times" articles.

Of special note, one of the favorite question of many business reporters is "what was your biggest mistake, and what did you learn from it."

So be prepared, going into any media interview, to be able to easily and honestly answer the most embarrassing question you can think of about your business.

- Go after national publicity even if you sell only locally. A story in USA Today or the Wall Street Journal has immense credibility. And these national media are not as hardened against local business stories as you might think - they want news, and if you're newsworthy, you've got a good chance of making it even in the big leagues.

- Create your own holiday and submit it to Chase's Calendar of Events, a resource directory used by many media people.

- Sponsor fun contests.

- Offer reporters names and phone numbers of other small-business people who can be interviewed for the same story where your quotes will appear. This positions you as a valuable source and might get you good placement in the story.

Are you concerned that this CD may not be appropriate for you because you're not small enough? Jeff's answer: "this tele-seminar is for you if your business is small enough that you know the names of all your employees, and you have the entrepreneurial spirit."

Get your copy of this brand new CD here:
How to Publicize your Small Business

Posted by Angie at 07:04 PM | TrackBack

Case Study - http://www.scorebrowniepoints.com How To Develop and Promote A New Idea

I just got off the phone with a bright new friend of mine, Jodie Gastel, who's recently done a great job of identifying a market need, creating a product that fulfills it, promoting it in a very clever way, networking well, and scoring 27 radio interviews and a Wall Street Journal writeup in just the last few days.

Here's her story...

Jodie's been running http://www.virtualattache.com for awhile now, becoming more and more frustrated with the concept of selling her time for money.

So she was looking for an idea. And sure enough, as happens so often when one has seeded their mind with the need for an idea, her subconsious worked on it until it put a bunch of little pieces together.

Then, as the subconcious mind oftentimes does, it presented her with that idea in a most inopportune moment (great ideas rarely come when you're sitting there with a pencil in hand - they come in the shower, the car, anytime your mind is unoccupied, so the subconcious can get a word in edgewise.)

"This idea hit me at 1:00 am and I sat bolt upright in bed." So, to Jodie's credit, she got out of bed, sat down at the kitchen table and wrote until 6:00 am. In the end, she had a well-fleshed out idea and some copy to get it started.

The idea was simple - (I hope this doesn't offend anyone) one of the reasons men don't get enough of what they want is because they don't give women enough of what they want. (I'm hoping that you get my drift.)

So her idea is to supply great "girly gifts" to the guys to give to their women. In short, guys sign up for a service that every other month sends a plain package to them containing something they probably would never think of (and would hesitate to shop for even if they did think of it), wrapping materials (think a gift