February 12, 2009

Using Twitter To Gain Publicity

Are you actively using http://www.twitter.com to build your business?

If you're not, you're probably making a huge mistake.

Twitter, in case you're not aware, is a service where people post up to 140 character updates on topics of interest to them. Those updates go out to the people who have chosen to "follow" them.

In essence, Twitter is a place where you build an audience of people who have similar interests to yours, then communicate quickly and efficiently with them.

It's taking the world by storm, growing at phenomenal rates, and more importantly, becoming a key communications element in the lives of many.

I have to admit, when I first looked at Twitter, I didn't get it. I saw a bunch of people there cheerfully announcing that they were going to eat lunch, that they were having a great day, and that they had just broken up with their boyfriends. There was no way I was going to join any service that helped me to more efficiently waste time, even if it didn't cost me anything.

But my attitude, and the world of Twitter has now totally changed.

I now see Twitter as a way to build a huge audience of people who know and trust me. Plus, it gives me the ability to watch what's being said about me and the products that I sell, and to quickly and easily build conversations with people who have questions or issues around those products.

Literally, it's a place to build a following and to proactively build and manage the conversations in which I'm involved.

And, it works with the media too. I've had a number of media contacts who have initially contacted me, started discussions, and even fact checked using Twitter.

Here are some tips to effectively use Twitter to build your business.

1. Decide what areas you want to be seen as an expert on in Twitter, then post primarily (solely?) about those topics

2. Regularly post thoughts, opinions, facts, and links to articles written by others on those topics.

Here are some sample posts that I've made in the last several days as an example of how this can be done.

43% of everyone online has a social media profile. 71% of those have 2+ http://budurl.com/rfq3

Idea: take laptop to lunch offsite. Buy lunch for a complete stranger if they will show you how they would buy something from your site.

Advertisers beware: judge rules "visitors" does NOT="unique visitors." Must specifically contract for uniques. http://budurl.com/lzbk

Traffic to free ad supported online games spiking. What can you give away for free to drive traffic in this economy? http://budurl.com/c9rs

Notice that 3 of those 4 posts link to articles NOT written by me. That's key. If you have to create all of the sage commentary that you offer up to your followers, you'll quickly become overwhelmed and will abandon your Twitter strategy. Besides, you're not the only expert/commentator out there, be a resource!

3. Don't fall into the trap of talking about stuff that people don't care about. Sharing details about your personal life and activities limits your audience.

4. Be interesting, scintillating is even better!

5. Search for and follow the top leaders in your areas of interest. You'll see what they're posting about, and it will start to build your audience.

6. Post regularly, at least daily. Hey, it's only 140 characters! You can do this! Start today, even if you only have 5 people following you.

7. Regularly invite people already associated with you to follow you on Twitter. Put it in your newsletter, on your website, on your blog, on your business cards, in your email footer, etc.

8. Fill out your Twitter profile to let people know who you are and what you do. They oftentimes will use the content of your profile to determine whether they should follow you or not.

Do this now:
Go to http://www.twitter.com and sign up for an account there.

The, go to http://twitter.com/don_crowther where you'll see my recent posts. You'll also see a button there (below my picture) to follow me. Click it. I'll follow you back, which will give you an audience of at least 1!

In future issues, I'll teach you secrets of using Twitter effectively to build an audience, get more publicity, and land more on your bottom line!

I look forward to seeing your sage comments me on Twitter!

Posted by Don Crowther at 10:12 AM | TrackBack

What is meant by the terms boilerplate language and Safe Harbor Statement in a media release?

Boilerplate language:

Boilerplate language is a media release refers to what is traditionally the final paragraph of the release, which provides generic information about the company. It usually tells whether the company is publicly or privately traded, its stock ticker, where it's based, the brands it owns, what it does, etc. Basically, it's a piece of copy that is designed to communicate the basics about the company that gets routinely pasted on the end of each media release.

Consequently, it's usually the first thing that gets cut if the release gets run, but that's a totally different discussion.

Here's a sample of boilerplate language from a recent AT&T release:
About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates, AT&T operating companies, are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. Among their offerings are the world's most advanced IP-based business communications services, the nation's fastest 3G network and the best wireless coverage worldwide, and the nation's leading high speed Internet access and voice services. In domestic markets, AT&T is known for the directory publishing and advertising sales leadership of its Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COM organizations, and the AT&T brand is licensed to innovators in such fields as communications equipment. As part of their three-screen integration strategy, AT&T operating companies are expanding their TV entertainment offerings. In 2008, AT&T again ranked No. 1 in the telecommunications industry on FORTUNE® magazine's lists of the World's Most Admired Companies and America's Most Admired Companies. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com.

Safe Harbor Statement:

Safe Harbor language basically provides legal protection for public companies, by indicating that the information in the release shouldn't affect stock price (which it may well do anyway.) It's one of those legal mandates, created for liability protection, that results in useless language that doesn't communicate anything. But that's another different discussion... (By the way, if you're in a publicly traded company, you should absolutely include safe harbor language in each of your releases.) Safe Harbor statements are also traditionally added at the end of media releases as part of the boilerplate language.

Here's a Safe Harbor statement from a recent XM Satellite Radio release:
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements in this press release include demand for XM Satellite Radio's service, the Company's dependence on technology and third party vendors, its potential need for additional financing, as well as other risks described in XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.'s Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on 3-3-06. Copies of the filing are available upon request from XM Radio's Investor Relations Department.

(See what I mean about useless language?)

Posted by Don Crowther at 10:07 AM | TrackBack

February 03, 2009

How To Profit From Obama’s Economic Stimulus Program

It seems you can’t turn anywhere today without bumping into talk of economic stimulus. Whether you’ll be entitled to some of that money or not, you can use it to build your business.

How? Through using it to get more PR!

Here are some story pitches that astute marketers like you can use the economic stimulus talk and Obama’s new Presidency to build your publicity:

• Right now, before it’s set in stone, pitch a story about how the plan will affect your business. That pitch could show how you would benefit from it, how you wouldn’t, how you should get it, or even how it will be a waste of money in your industry.
• Pitch your corporate environmental policies and improvements. Tell reporters about the changes you’ve made and how they will affect your bottom line. Show how they will increase employment, and how they will impact the environment, especially if those changes cut greenhouse emissions. Remember that those emission reductions don’t necessarily have to come from you, they can come from suppliers, customers, or even from the eventual disposal of the product. The extra work to calculate those numbers will be worthwhile, because they will likely be a lead element to your story.
• Pitch any new U.S. employment initiative you participate in, even if those initiatives just preserve a job that might otherwise be lost to foreign workers. Again, remember, those initiatives don’t have to be just within your company. If you order a new machine that replaces one on your shop floor, you may not add a job, but the manufacturer of that machine may, and there’s a story there! Clearly communicate the number of new jobs, or the number of jobs preserved in your pitch, don’t leave it up to the reporter to do the calculations. And don’t be afraid to make estimates and assume that the money you’re spending won’t trickle down to others in the economy - the government accounting offices are!

• Pitch the direct results from bailout funds and economic stimulus plans. Recognize that you don’t have to be the direct recipient of that check to have a pitchable story. For example, if you run a corporate cleaning service and one of your clients is able to keep you on because of receiving bailout funds, you’ve got a story of the job gains (or prevention of losses) that result.
• Pitch the human interest side of the housing crisis on your employees. Tell the story of your employee who was at risk of losing his home because he couldn’t to get his adjustable rate mortgage refinanced. There’s one story, especially if your company somehow helps him out. But if the bailouts or new policies enable him to actually renegotiate his loan, you’ll have another opportunity to pitch the story.
• Pitch the potential of troops coming home from Iraq. Show the advantages of having 3 of your employees return to your workforce after their stint in Iraq.
• Pitch your usage of technology. As the media focuses on this most technologically savvy presidency ever, story opportunities exist for those who use similar technologies to build their business, avoid laying off people, or maintain their customer base.
• Pitch your company’s volunteerism efforts. Let the media know about the employee that you loan to the United Way for 3 months each year, the employee who gets half a day off once every two weeks to serve as a big sister, or the Saturday when your entire workforce helped clean the local homeless shelter.
• Pitch your corporate giving. If your restaurant gives your leftover food each night to the homeless shelter, you donate x% of profits to charity, or you give your used cars to the Lung Association, there’s a story there. Some would say that in publicizing your giving you are defeating the purpose. So, instead of strutting your contributions, use them as a way to challenge other businesses and individuals in your area to do the same.
• Pitch your contributions to schools. Donate computers, teach reading skills, have your finance VP teach a high school class how to balance their checkbooks. Then tell the media about your story.
• Pitch how your latest book fits into and supports or disagrees with one of the Obama Presidency priorities.


• I could go on and on. The key is to look at the policies and focuses of the new administration and the economic stimulus plan with an eye towards how you could spin them into a story about you or your company.

One point - most of the examples listed above show how you fit into the actions of the new administration. But there is an opportunity to do the exact opposite - to show how you are opposed to or your actions are against those policies. But be aware, you’re more likely to get stories picked up that show how your company fits into those policies as opposed to fighting against them.

Remember also, the media wants to localize the national happenings by showing how local companies and individuals are affected by them.
Regularly brainstorm how your company can fit into a story on that subject. Then, when you’ve got a great, logical fit, pick up the phone and tell your local newspaper, television and radio station, and bloggers about the story. In your pitch, don’t focus on how the story is will be good for you, tell them how it will fit the interests of their readers, and you’ve likely got yourself a story on your hands!

Convinced that you need to pitch a story, but don’t know how to do it? Check out Secrets of Perfect Pitching.

Posted by Don Crowther at 03:10 PM | TrackBack

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 bag and a couple of sheets of tissue, not gift wrap - remember these are guys, most of whom don't wrap!), and a card with just enough room for them to say "I love you" or some other short message on it. In return, she gets to automatically hit their credit card for $47. The gifts are all very tame and sweet actually; from hand-poured chocolate, to silk scarves, from make-your-own mini rainforest kits to wishing stones.

"I spent a great deal of time studying guys, how they think, talk and act, so that I could write to them. I subscribed to several "how to get a girl" newsletters, read sites, and men's magazines." (Great insight here - if you want to sell, you've got to write in the language of your customer!)

In the end, she wrote a site that unquestionably has a personality and a voice, clearly not beating around the bush. You can see it here http://www.scorebrowniepoints.com "When I talk to my women friends, "Jodie continued, "they thought 'oh how nice, romantic flowers, sweet sayings.' But that's not the way guys look at this. So I wrote it for the guys." As a guy, I can tell you, she did well, I'm subscribing...

So how did she go from the setup to the WSJ and radio interviews?

"You've gotta schmooze and that's what I did. I've been schmoozing a publicist in an online chat now for a number of months. As it turns out, she had just finished a book for guys on what women want. The Wall Street Journal interviewed her, then asked if she knew anyone else who had other information on the subject (sound like something we've been telling you in this newsletter?). So she referred them to me."

"That was so exciting that I hired a publicist to get me some press. I didn't choose just anyone, I wanted one who knew the men's marketplace and how to talk with them. She proposed that I do an exclusive with Wireless Flash to announce the site. I wrote a press release, then she rewrote it to speak to the audience."

Since this is a case study, here's the actual email that was sent. (We've made alterations to a few of the words so that this message will actually get to you.)

SITE LAUNCH: September 25, 2002

NOTE: This announcement is EXCLUSIVE TO WIRELESS FLASH.

CONTACT: Lorilyn Bailey (Publicist) (919) 878-9108 Email: lorilyn@newsbuzz.com NewsBuzz, Inc. PO Box 40304 Raleigh, NC 27604

ScoreBrowniePoints.com Helps American Men Get More S**X

VICTORIA, B.C. (Sept. 18, 2002) Jodie Gastel, the founder of ScoreBrowniePoints.com, says one of the s**iest things a man can do for a woman is to buy her an occasional hand-wrapped gift and a card to show he's thinking of her.

Unfortunately, Jodie says, not many men are good at shopping for the women they love. Even the most thoughtful of men can be intimidated by the lingerie, perfume or jewelry aisle. He’s under pressure to get something she likes, that fits, and that she doesn’t already have.

Jodie says that her new service, ScoreBrowniePoints.com can help.

An online subscription service providing appropriate gifts for men to give women, ScoreBrowniePoints.com officially launches September 25, 2002.

For a modest subscription fee, ScoreBrowniePoints subscribers receive periodic packages at their workplaces. Each package contains a gift, easy-to-use gift wrapping, and a note card. After wrapping the gift and signing the card, the man takes it all home to delight his wife. He looks like a hero, and increases his chances of having a romantic evening. An example of a recent gift is a bouquet of chocolate roses.

"Most men either don’t know what a woman might want, or don’t know how to shop for the things she does want," Gastel says. "ScoreBrowniePoints takes the guesswork out of that process for men, because all of us have a hard time remembering to bring home a gift occasionally. We like to remind men how much the women they love appreciate their ‘thoughtfulness,’ which can lead to other, um, ‘rewards’ for him later. Women need to know that they are in their man’s thoughts regularly. This is a great ‘love reminder.’ She’ll eat it up."

The service is currently available only in the United States. For details, visit www.scorebrowniepoints. com , or call Jodie Gastel at 1-888-320-8207.

Within 45 minutes the phone rang and the next day she was published.

Now here's where the power of a great story angle comes in - one of Wireless Flash's subscribers is on a dj news feed. He liked the story angle so much that he slapped it on that feed. The result - 27 interviews in just a couple of days. Not bad for starters! Jodie's comment: "All it takes is one person to think it's newsworthy and to put it on a newsfeed and whoosh - you're out!"

Is she a millionaire yet? Not quite, but things are looking great for Jodie and her business.

Now let's debrief this from a PR perspective. Here's several key learnings that I took away from Jodie's work and some resources to help you do the same:

- The story angle is key. And it doesn't always have to be new, sometimes it just has to be a unique spin on an age-old (in this case literally) problem. (See How To Identify Story Ideas Within Your Company or Organizationand How to Snag Free Publicity For Your New Business )

- Networking works. Sometimes it takes monthns, sometimes years, but it works.

- Exclusives work. Just make sure you choose the right place to do an exclusive.

- Speak with a voice in your marketing. People, and the media appreciate a breath of fresh air. Check out her site, you'll see that coming through loud and clear.

- Be bold. Aggressively approach the media. (See How to Get Booked on Radio Talk Shows, Give a Great Interview and Get Invited Back and How to Make Your Story Pitch Stand Out in the Email Jungle )

- Be lucky. Yep, luck played a role in this. But it tends to reward the prepared.

- Don't be afraid to aggressively push your company or website. If you get the story angle correct, you'll get results. (See Powerful Ways to Promote Your Web Site to Draw Traffic and Boost Sales )

- Write press releases that invite interviews, rather than spilling all of the beans. (See Public Relations Disasters: A Dozen Press Releases From Hell and How to Fix Them )

Posted by Angie at 06:50 PM | TrackBack

What's It Costing You NOT To Do It?

As you may or may not be aware, we do a great deal of consulting and coaching to help people build their business. And, because we've seen the value of an outside observer, we also use coaches and consultants to help us build our business too.

Last week I was being coached and had one of those "duh" experiences that was so powerful that I decided to share with you an exercise that we often use in our coaching (trust me, there is a PR application here...)

I encourage you to set aside an hour to do this exercise sometime in the next 72 hours - it may just make a huge difference in your life.

Step 1: Pull out a piece of paper. On it, write the answer to this question "what are the three things in your business, that if you were to do them, would have more potential to build your business than anything else?" (By the way, this works for lots of other things too - spousal relationships, achieving personal goals, etc., but for now let's do business).

One may be finishing that book which will put you on the road to celebrity status.

One may be calling your top 25 best media contacts and pitching them a story.

One may be calling your top 25 raving fans, continuing to build relationships with them so they will refer you to others.

Or one may be getting on an airplane and sitting down face to face with your counterpart at your largest potential customer.

Whatever they are, write them down!

Step 2:

Now, beside each of the items on that list, I want you to write the number of hours you spent last week on each of those items.

Yes, really...

If you're like 98% of all of my clients and audiences, my bet is that you spent less than 3 hours in total on those three things in the last week. For most people it's less than 30 minutes.

Interesting realization, isn't it?

Step 3:

Now, I suggest that you take one of those issues and focus on it for these last two questions.

On a separate piece of paper, write that key thing that you're not spending much time on at the top.

Then below that, list your answers to the following question:

What are you afraid of?

Let's say that writing the book was on that list for you. Fears may include:

- It won't hit the bestseller list, in fact it may not sell at all, dashing my self-esteem

- It may not get accepted by a big publisher, again, hurting my self-esteem

- In writing it, I may find out that this great idea really isn't that great, or maybe I don't have enough stuff to support my points

(Side comment - notice how so many of these reflect back on your self-esteem? I'm convinced that's a major reason why most people don't develop the products they have running around in their head - they're afraid that their personal success vision won't be verified by the marketplace.)

Step 4:

Now, here's the whap up the side of the head question...

Now, draw a line, and answer this question:

"What is it costing you to not do this thing?" Or, stated another way "What's the opportunity cost of your not being able to get over these fears and just do what's got to be done?"

If this area really is important to building your business, the opportunity cost will be huge, and by doing this exercise, you'll realize how foolish it is NOT to be doing what you know you should be doing.

Step 5:

Repeat steps 3 and 4 on the other 2 key areas to build your business.

Can you see how this would apply to PR? I'm assuming that because you have signed up for this newsletter, that you recognize the potential power of PR in building your business, and recognize that a single positive article about you in a major media could do more for your bottom line than virtually anything else.

So why aren't you there yet?

Is there something holding you back?

What do you have to do to get over that fear and just get it done?

Think about it.

Posted by Angie at 06:39 PM | TrackBack

Recycling Your Publicity

Did you get mentioned in a newspaper or magazine article recently? Savvy public relations people are always looking for ways to turn one hit into multiple hits. Here's how:

- Make reprints of the article and include them in your media kit.

- Post articles by and about you at your web site.

- Send an e-mail to business associates with a link to the article posted at your site.

- Every time someone at your organization gives a speech, send a news release about the upcoming presentation to your local newspapers and invite the media.

- If you do public speaking, offer to write a short article summarizing the speech for the group's newsletter. Give them your photo, too.

- If you appear as a guest on a radio talk show, mention other publications where you have been featured.

- Climb the "media ladder." Send reprints of articles by and about you in weekly newspapers to editors of dailies. Send reprints from dailies to national publications. Send articles in trade publications to editors anywhere.

Want more information? Get this special report:
How to Recycle Your Publicity

Posted by Angie at 06:29 PM | TrackBack

Counteracting The Economy

After watching my IRA take another hit this week, and more big companies getting pounded because they weren't hitting their numbers in this tough time, I realized the obvious...

Most of you are getting your marketing budget slashed to the bone. Actually, that happened last quarter, now the slashing is reaching the marrow, and that's not a pretty sight.

It's in times like these that publicity can take on a much more powerful role. But at the same time, you probably don't have the money to go out and hire a firm to do it for you.

So that means that you're on your own...

And you probably don't feel comfortable that you know everything that you need to know.

What if you could pick up a single product that would tell you basically everything you need to know to find, pitch, and generate great publicity for your company?

Would that be of any interest at all?

What if it taught you: - How to find story ideas in your organization?

- How to pitch those ideas via email, letters, and on the phone?

- How to write a press release?

- What to expect during an interview?

- How to answer tough interview questions?

- How to write and get articles published, so that you're not at the mercy of a reporter's perception of you during an interview?

- How to create publicity at trade shows (one of the toughest challenges, yet most powerful tools out there!)

- How to be the local angle to national stories?

- And that's only a third of the powerful information you'll get!

Now, there's one more key thing we should discuss. In tough times, raises, promotions and bonuses are hard to come by...

But they sure are appreciated!

I distinctly remember the day my boss called me in, gave me a $10,000 bonus check and told me to keep it quiet or I'd be fired.

Because, I was the ONLY person in the company who got a bonus that year.

This training manual teaches exactly the skills that I used to pull it off, working as a senior brand manager in a Fortune 100 company, who simply added PR to his marketing bag of tricks...

And turning my product around from a loser to a hugely profitable entity,

Generating the profits for the entire company in that tough year

It's not the economy, it's what you do about it. This training manual gives you the skills you need to do something about it. This page tells you how to get it:
Media Relations Power

Posted by Angie at 06:20 PM | TrackBack

Profitable Publicity Tips to Jump-Start Your Consulting Business

Lots of the readers of this newsletter are consultants or plan to be consultants at some point in the future. Those who are, already know the challenge of keeping the client pool fully stocked, those who aren't, will understand it very clearly, very soon.

Here's some tips on how to use PR to jump-start your consulting business:

Strategic Alliances

Make an informal agreement with other non-competing consultants in your community or your industry to refer the media to each other when appropriate. Reporters often want multiple-source stories and will appreciate the referral. It will help position you as a source, and will mean more publicity for all of you.

Form Consortiums

Team with other non-competing consultants to form a consortium. Even though you all own your own businesses, you can market yourselves as a consulting group, thus offering a greater array of services than if you marketed on your own. Check out http://www.summitassociates.com for an example of a consulting consortium I belong to. Notice the free tips we offer from each consultant in the group.

Find out more, including:

- How writing articles is one of the best ways to demonstrate how you can help clients

- How to be a source the media LOVES

- How to leverage free publicity into paying clients

- Tips for finding clients in the audience if you do public speaking

in our special report "Profitable Publicity Tips to Jump-
Start Your Consulting Business"

Posted by Angie at 06:14 PM | TrackBack

Screening Publicists and PR Agencies

As you recall, last week we asked what you'd like us to include in future issues. We received some excellent questions. One came from Michelle Present, author of "Do it! or DIET". She asked, "How do you check out a publicist?" Actually, she gave us a name of a specific one she wanted checked out, but we won't be going that far in this newsletter...

I wish I could say that it was easy to call up a publicist rating service, type in the name, and there you would have a rating for them. As far as I know, that doesn't exist. So, finding the right publicist generally involves a bunch of footwork, but in our experience, the more you put in before you sign a contract, the happier you will end up being happier in the end.

First of all, you need to know what a publicist is and isn't. A publicist is someone who does what we talk about in this newsletter for a living. Because of that, they, like most other consultant-types, conceivably have a bank of knowledge and what's more important in this industry, established relationships with the reporters in your industry.

That last phrase is key. Ideally, you will be hiring a publicist who already has existing relationships with reporters in your industry. If they don't, you're hiring (presumably) a very well trained set of arms and legs, but in essence, they're a very high-priced set of arms and legs. So, if the publicist you're considering hiring can't spout off the names of 10 of the key reporters (names, not media, mind you) you probably ought to consider whether you should be hiring someone different.

What happens if you can't find anyone who has pre-existing relationships? That's when it gets tough. If I were you I would consider one of two things:

1) (The publicists are going to hate me for this) Do you have the interest in and ability to go out and develop those contacts within your organization. The tradeoff is that you pay less, but you lose the knowledge base of how to do things. (For a complete guide on how to do it yourself, visit
Media Relations Power )

2) (The publicists are going to hate me for this one too) I'd do some pretty hard negotiating, saying that you're unwilling to pay for them to develop the relationships, and negotiating yourself a lower fee for the first part of the contract until those relationships are in place.

It's also important for you to figure out how this publicist really works. If they're simply slapping together a press release and faxing, mailing or emailing it out to a list, you can do that yourself. But if they're doing something that adds value, they'd better be able to clearly indicate what that something is.

Many publicists claim the most valuable thing they supply as their proprietary in-house list. But remember our original point, if they don't have pre-existing relationships with reporters and editors *in your industry*, their in-house list can easily be reproduced with a list you buy yourself. (For a complete review of the different companies that provide press release distribution services, check out Secrets of Effective Press Release Distribution So be careful with that claim.

Of course, another screen is checking out their references - since you probably want fast results, I'd ask for a client that's been with them 3 months, another that's been with them for 6 months, and another at a year, plus their usual laundry list of long-time contacts. Then specifically ask those people (you do call references supplied, right?) how much media coverage this publicist has generated for them during that x months versus how much they received before.

Finally, I recommend that you not sign a long-term contract with a publicist right up front. Most can be talked into working with you on a short project basis. You'll pay more, but I suggest that you take a single project and hire the publicist just to promote that, like an event, a new product announcement, or to find a story idea within your company and promote it to the media (a ground-up project, which is a good way to determine whether you'll get proactive results from this publicist in the future..., but which is probably harder to get them to agree to do on a project basis.)

Posted by Angie at 06:06 PM | TrackBack

Preventing PR Humiliation

I remember one day in my early teen years, I was in a reading class. Part of each day was spent in open reading time. During one of those open reading times, I somehow managed to fall asleep while, of course, sitting in the front row. To make matters worse, I had one of those dreams that makes you kick awake suddenly. You know, the kind that always seems to happen when your in an important meeting, or in church...

I woke up VERY quickly. And in the process, I kicked the leg of the desk creating huge crashing noise accompanied by my uttering the word "WHOA!". (Actually uttering isn't the right word, and shouting isn't either, but it was clearly somewhere in between.) And, if that wasn't bad enough, the instructor (who was also a good friend of my mother) was standing just a few feet away from my desk.

As you can imagine, I became the source of scorn a ridicule for weeks afterwards.

Ever been there? Then you can probably understand how it might feel to look really dumb in the media.

Don't think it could happen to you? Well, let's make sure that it doesn't.

--There is nothing wrong with asking a reporter to be able to fact check his/her story. In fact, we encourage it. This will to find any errors, before they go to print. They may not always say yes, but it helps avoid problems.

--Sometimes, a reporter may not completely understand what you are saying. If you start to detect this, don't be afraid to ask the reporter to read back the information you just gave. This could save you a lot of pain later.

--Always have a clear black and white photo of yourself handy. It may get your photo published when it may not otherwise be and it will help avoid them taking your picture on a day when you might not be looking your best.

--Make sure the reporter spells your name correctly. Nothing is more frustrating than have your name spelled wrong (plus it sure hurts the publicity factor when nobody can find you afterwards).

These are some great suggestions, and the list is not complete. The scenarios are many, and the answers just as plentiful. But what if they've already printed that story that has a picture of you with your finger up your nose or if they misquoted so badly that people want you fired?

--Don't be afraid to call the reporter and demand a correction. The risk is decent that you'll make the reporter angry. But, if you don't correct it, that same misinformation may go out through other publications, thus making your humiliation complete.

--If they've really botched the job, and you believe they may be guilty of slander or libel, contact your attorney. They will be able to advise you on proper procedure before you decide to do something you'll probably regret (like punching out the reporter while on the air).

Let's face it. We all hate embarrassment. It can be avoided if we just keep a watchful eye and be diligent in controlling the flow of information.

Need more ideas on how to avoid getting embarrassed in the media? Read our special report Damage Control: How to Keep The Media From Making A Mess Of Your Story. You can have a copy on your screen in just 120 seconds through our buy it now, read it now function.

Posted by Angie at 05:40 PM | TrackBack

June 29, 2004

Back to School Time

If you've got kids of school age, you are probably well aware what time of the year it is right now...time for school to start. In fact, many students are already back in school. Don't you just miss those days of over-priced textbooks, papers due tomorrow, group projects that you end up doing yourself, and tests written to be mastered only by someone with an IQ of 300?

The start of school is a great time to gain publicity for your company. Here's a few ideas...

- Is your CEO a product of the local schools? Pitch a story on a local public-school-boy who made it big.

- Write a letter to the editor about how your company supports the local schools, pointing out the percentage of your employees who were local school grads.

- Invite the schools to send kids through your facilities on a field-trip. This can be even more valuable if you get targeted kids to visit (marketing classes, tech-ed classes) and pitch the story as real-life learning opportunities.

- Is one of your employees on the school board, serving as a crossing guard or mentor? Pitch a story on the work/service-to-education balance these employees experience (hopefully it reflects positively on you!) and how your company supports education.

- Lend an employee part time to your local commission on improving the quality of education (many communities have one, if not, write a letter to the editor or an op/ed piece suggesting that you have one and offering to provide an employee part-time at your expense to the group and challenge the other key employers in town to do the same.)

- Sponsor a product-development contest in the schools -for example, if you sell food products, have a recipie contest for the school's home economics programs. You donate a prize to the winning team, and a prize to the school. Get press as you start the program, when you teach the students how production-level recipies are created, and as you award the prizes. Who knows, you may even generate a great new product (make sure your legal department writes the entry form so that you own all the results of the contest!)

- Start a scholarship for local students paid out by your organization/business. This is sure to get you some great publicity, and you're helping a student pay for an education.

- Host a booth at a career fair. Many students are unaware of many companies in existence. This gives you an opportunity to get yourself in front of people, and you get the chance to see the fresh minds that will be in the workforce soon.

- Hold an essay contest and work with the media to have the winning essay(s) printed in the newspaper.

- Make a donation to the school if they achieve a great milestone.

- Make a matching grant offer (you match whatever they can collect) on top of their fund-raiser.

- Provide a list of your experts to the staff at a university so they know who they can use for guest speakers. Many professors enjoy this because it provides real-world insight for the students (not to mention saving them some work!)

- Offer your services to the school at a discount price.

- Sponsor a back-to-school day for the students.

As you can see, there are many options available to you. This list is by no means comprehensive. Be creative, but remember that you need to coordinate everything very carefully through the school, including the publicity, and both of you will be more likely to get press for your efforts.

This is just one example of how to piggyback your story on to an event or holiday. Would you like more ideas like these? Take a look at our special report How to Piggyback Your Story Ideas onto Holidays and Anniversaries

Also, our special report How to Identify Story Ideas Within Your Company or Organization gives tons of ideas upon which you can use to build story pitches.

If you're a school or are involved with a school, we've prepared a special report just to help you generate free publicity: Publicity Tips for Schools, Colleges and Universities.

Posted by Angie at 08:02 PM | TrackBack

How To Get Started In Public Relations

As you're well aware, most famous people didn't start out famous. Harrison Ford was a carpenter before he was discovered. Bill Gates was a college dropout. We all start at the beginning just like everyone else.

Public relations is no exception to this rule.

In fact, the most frequent call we get here at 101PublicRelations goes something like this...

Caller: I'm new to public relations. Oh great knowledgeable public relations gurus, what should I do to make myself rich and famous?

Ok. So maybe it's a little exaggerated, but you get the idea...

So, to avoid getting put in the category of short bearded men who squat on the tops of mountains, and to avoid getting more phone calls like this, we've decided to answer this question for everyone. (Get the hint? Please don't call with that question!)

First, let's start with some things you should not do:

1. Unless you've got a ton of money to spend on PR alone, you probably shouldn't start by handing a wad of cash over to a PR agency to get publicity. Most agencies will want $10,000+ to put together a publicity program big enough to generate real results on a local level and much more than that on a national level. That doesn't mean that PR agencies don't have their place, they just may not be where you want to start, especially if you're just getting started in PR or trying to do it on the cheap.

2. DON'T throw together a news release and send it out to every single media outlet that you can think of, then sit and wait for the fame and fortune pour in. If you do, get an extra cushion or two...it's going to be a long wait. Frankly, traditional press releases rarely work unless you're already rich and famous or you've got something particularly newsworthy to announce.

3. DON'T pester the media if they don't get back to you right away. They don't like it any more than you like people who keep calling you and asking you to do something for them.

4. DON'T announce a press conference and assume that the room will be full. In fact, there's really a very few instances where press conferences work at all unless 1) you're already rich and famous (shound familiar?) or 2) you're announcing something the media will consider to be truly stupendous, like the end of humanity. Contrary to popular opinion, the press hates press conferences because everyone gets the same information. Therefore, the stories all look the same.

Now that pessimism is flowing through your veins (I can almost hear you mumbling under your breath), let's move on to happier thoughts. Here is what you definitely should do:

1. DO scour through your business in search of genuine news-worthy stories. Everyone has a story to tell. Find yours and tell it! How is your business unique? What do you do differently than everyone else that brings in tremendous results?

2. DO get to know your local media representatives. Be helpful. Help them find sources. Give them leads on stories that have nothing to do with your company. Volunteer your own time to give them the information they need. Trust is the keyword here. The more they trust you, the more likely they are to be cooperative when you pitch them a story idea.

3. DO put together a nice but inexpensive media kit, both online and off. Make sure it has all of the pertinent information right up front and easy to find. The media will love you for it. Also, don't get fancy or overly creative. They see through this quicker than you can say "Fluff!"

4. DO work hard to find a powerful story idea that you can provide the media right out of the chute. If you go in with weak ideas, they'll ignore you and brand you as one who has no idea of what they need. So aim for a triple your first time at bat.

Now that you have a general idea of where to start, it should not be that difficult to get your bearings and jump into the exciting world of public relations.

We have a guidebook that will help you on your way to being a powerhouse of publicity. It's called "Media Relations Power". This book tells you exactly what you need to do to carry your public relations efforts to a whole new level, whether you're starting from ground up, or already have an active publicity program in place. Click above to buy one now or to find out more information on this powerful tool! You'll be glad you did.

Posted by Angie at 07:19 PM | TrackBack

The Publicity Hound Print Newsletter

Packed with valuable articles for everyone. Here is an example of one short article from the January/February 2001 issue:

Magic Phrases the Media Love

"How can I help you?"

Those are the five magic words you should ask any media person you come in contact with. As a former newspaper editor, I can assure you that almost NO ONE asks that question. Instead, many people who want stories written about them mistakenly beg, plead, grovel, cajole and make pests of themselves.

To get in the media's good graces, here are magic phrases you can use if you have a reporter on the phone, or your writing a pitch letter to an editor.

"I can provide other sources for your story."

Reporters love this because they don't have to work hard tracking down other people for multiple-source stories. Sometimes this is the only way you will be mentioned in a story.

"When is your deadline?"
This shows you are respectful of their time. It also gives you a good idea of how quickly you might have to provide information if they call you unexpectedly for information.

"What other information are you looking for?"
If you can lead the reporter in the right direction, you'll earn valuable points.

"I have written material which I can provide."
Reporters often appreciate having information in writing so they can refer to it later. It also helps improve accuracy.

"I can provide graphic illustrations you might want to consider to accompany your story."
Print media like things such as maps, pie charts, illustrations, and other graphics. You will save them valuable time if you can provide these, or at the very least, the information that be used for an illustration.

"Would you like me to send a media kit so you can review it before the interview?"
This is a thoughtful gesture. It helps reporters prepare.

"Would you like me to provide a list of questions you can ask me?"
Ask this question only of broadcast media such as radio talk show hosts. Never ask print media if they need questions, or they will be insulted.

"Please call on me for other story ideas on this topic."
Reporters and editors will welcome this, and they will probably take you up on your offer.

"Do you need a photo to accompany this story?"
Busy reporters sometimes treat photos as an afterthought and will appreciate this reminder.

"Who else do you write for?"
Ask this question of freelance writers. If they write on other topics that you can help them with, they'll want to make note of that in their files.

A good rule of thumb to remember is to be as helpful as you possibly can. Position yourself as someone who makes it easy for the media to do their jobs, and they wont forget you.

Would you like to get over 175 more pages of articles like this?

- Let the Media Know How to Contact Your Experts

- Best, Worst of PR

- 12 Tips for Writing Articles Editors Will Love

- How to Get on the Airwaves

- 10 Commandments of Phone Pitching

- Creative Publicity for Creative People

- Help for Hounds

- Advice from Alex Carroll, Radio Talk Show Expert

- Seasonal Story Ideas

...and that's just one issue!

These newsletters are an excellent deal. The information contained in the newsletters could be worth thousands of dollars. Start receiving your subscription today. Click below for more information.
Publicity Hound Print Newsletter

Posted by Angie at 07:13 PM | TrackBack

Using In-Flight Magazines to Tap into an Easily Overlooked Market

I just returned from a long vacation. In fact, it was a two week long vacation. How often does that opportunity come along? It was one of those vacations that takes you all over. Most of the time was spent along the west coast exploring the beautiful areas of Puget Sound in Washington, and the bay area of California. But, along with the good, comes the bad...within this particular vacation were seven different flights. It was amazing how tedious that much flying can be, especially considering some of these flights were somewhat long and the food was a the standard small-portion/tastes-like-sawdust fare.

On an airplane, there is very little to do so the airlines provide in-flight magazines for people to read.

I was amazed at the variety of articles in these magazines! Most of the people on the plane read the magazine at least once. Do you realize the potential of this magazine from a PR point of view?! Just imagine what the impact could be on your business to have an article praising some aspect of your company/cause in an airline magazine.

So, let's figure out what it takes to get your stuff in those magazines.

First, think about the unique nature of these magazines. Unlike most magazines that have a defined demographic and psychographic targeted reader, readers of inflight magazines essentially are anyone who flies on that airline. So the editors are looking for a range of different articles. Some will be travel destination related, some will be People Magazine fare, but others will be good solid content pieces, so you've got a variety of possible articles you could write. Research is key, as the editors of these magazines have a list of categories for every issue. You need to contact them, get that list and their editorial calendar, and write to their needs.

Next, pay attention to the region that the airline serves. If they are regional, then write articles that affect that region. For the international airlines, you have more freedom. A word of caution: Editors don't really want fiction stories or poetry. Some people are die-hard fans of this stuff. Others avoid it like they would avoid a wet water buffalo. That may sound extreme, but I'm serious.

Next, realize that because the majority of these magazines are on airlines that are international, you should avoid words such as "foreign". The readership is truly international and should be treated with great care. Offend anyone, and you're article will never be run.

Start by following these guidelines, and you will find that in-flight magazines can be a valuable asset to your PR efforts.

Still want more info to get your own stuff into this valuable medium? Click below.
Special Report #29: Fly High with Publicity in the In-Flight Magazines

Posted by Angie at 07:04 PM | TrackBack

PR Mayhem

According to Murphy's Law, anything that can possibly go wrong, will. In press releases, anything that can possibly get your release thrown away, will. Editors and reporters receive more than the average amount of email per day. They don't have time to sift through it all. Usually it's only a glance, sometimes a speed-read. But, for the most part, those emails hit the trash for various reasons like not enough information, not important, doesn't have the right angle, not applicable to what we write about, etc.

For the writer, this is a problem. How do you stand out so that your writing looks and sounds professional enough to be taken seriously? Furthermore, how can one build a reputation with the press if you can't get a story in edgewise?

Introducing, Public Relations Disasters. This book will show you the most typical press release problems and how to fix them. Through the use of examples and clear cut explanations, you can pin point the problems in your own releases and fix them before they even leave your computer.

This product is valuable! Not only will help to elevate you above the crowd, but the long-term returns from a professional relationship with reporters and editors could be worth a fortune! Don't pass this up. Such a product will pay for itself for many years to come. More information can be found below.
Public Relations Disasters

Posted by Angie at 06:50 PM | TrackBack

Copyrights That Save and Sink

Lately on the news, copyright has been a very hot topic. For several years now, mp3's have been downloaded from the internet, resulting in a financial loss for the artist. Lawsuits have followed, and the problem is still there.

Copyrights also affect writers, public relations people, and companies. Everything you write, draw, or otherwise produce is covered by an implied copyright. Unfortunately, this won't always help you. Sometimes it is imperative that you register your copyright with the US Copyright Office. Do you know what the difference is between a non-registered and a registered copyright? Don't find out the hard way! An incorrect copyright method will only protect you in certain situations.

Learn more about copyright law and how it pertains to you in the newest best selling audio cd from Joan Stewart. You can get it here.
Legal Issues You Must Know

Posted by Angie at 06:42 PM | TrackBack

Nerdy Websites (Adapted from Joan Stewart's Newsletter)

Here's how reporters know when they've reached a nerdy website.

--They enter on a page that says "welcome to my website," then they have to click again to get to the homepage. Even nerdier is a message that says "website under construction--please return later."

--The home page is plastered with an annoying "wallpaper" background that usually consists of the company's logo repeated over and over again, with text slapped on top of it. Or a big, clunky graphic covered with text.

--They can't find contact information--including an address, phone number or email address--on the homepage.

--They can't find a button that says Media Room, or Press Room or About Us and have to go searching to find what they're looking for.

--They try to search quickly but can't because the website doesn't have a search function.

--They see things that rotate, spin, move, jump, dart, flash or crawl across the screen.

--Without warning, they hear music and a voice that welcomes them to the site.

--They see a little box on the homepage that shows the number of people who have visited the site. Retail stores don't have a flashing sign that tells how many customers have come through the door. So unless you're McDonald's, you shouldn't either.

--They find a site built in frames, which many older browsers don't support. Many search engines don't index them properly either. Frame scrolling bars waste precious space.

If you're guilty of any of the above, solve the problem, pronto. Then work on making your website a media magnet.

She tells you 15 ways to do just that in the July/August issue of The Publicity Hound, the formerly print newsletter which debuts this month as an electronic document delivered instantly in PDF format at the request of many readers. If you like these free weekly tips, you'll love the 8-page newsletter which has articles that go into much more depth. You can read it on the computer screen or print it and tuck it into your briefcase to read later. Here's what else you'll find in the current issue:

--16 questions to ask yourself before your news release goes out the door.

--Tips for buying radio ads.

--What to do if your boss needs media training and doesn't want it.

--A new Internet radio show for women.

--A website where you can get valuable feedback on headlines for your news releases and articles.

--How to be a trend-spotter the media love.

--8 ideas for creating a "Hall of Fame" or "Shame"...a fun feature that newspapers and magazines will love.

--Where to find a great Internet discussion list for PR people.

--How to get into the new Female Entrepreneur magazine.

--July and August story ideas you can start using today.

You'll learn all of this and more from Joan Stewart's Publicity Hound newsletter. Order and download your copy today!

Posted by Angie at 06:39 PM | TrackBack

Product Placement Opportunities

I stumbled across a great article that speaks of the best movie car chases. Some of them sound rather exciting, but it seems to me that the article was focusing more on the cars involved rather than the actual scenes.

http://autos.msn.com/advice/standardart.aspx?contentid= 4021949&src=MSN

This article speaks of product placement, which in some situations, can be a great tool for public relations. In the Movie, "The Italian Job", the Mini makes a great showing of how versatile and maneuverable it is. In short it really looks like a hot little car. In "The Matrix Reloaded", they use cars from Cadillac that are actually next year's models! Talk about great advertising!

Because of these placements, which probably cost these companies a fair amount of money, they will probably see some huge returns! Who wouldn't want a Mini after seeing the crazy little car in an action movie?!

Are product placements in movies or on TV right for you?

If you have a high-ticket, trend-setting, high-visibility product, like a car, a plane, a new Dick Tracy watch, or something really cool, I'd say yes.

The problem is that most of us don't.

Is it worth $20,000 - $1 million to have a 5 second shot of your cereal box on the table, your AMEX card being slapped on the counter, or your product in the medicine cabinet when it gets opened?

I've tested it, and I've never once seen it pay off.

So, when the "placement specialists" call and pitch you, be wise.

"Just say no!"

Posted by Angie at 06:30 PM | TrackBack

Flagrant Non Sequitur From Our Newspaper of Record. Alternative Title: Keep Your Mouth Shut!

Definition: Non Sequitur: 1. A conclusion or inference which does not follow from the premises. 2. A remark having no bearing on what has just been said.

An article ran this week in the New York Times that really ticked me off. What made me mad was not what was said, but the blatant non sequitur used to "prove" that the word of the speaker couldn't be trusted.

Here's how the email pitch for the article read:

"Next Up, the Gay Divorcée By MAUREEN DOWD Senate majority leader Bill Frist thinks gay marriage is unholy. He also used to trap and dissect stray kittens."

What? What in the world does killing cats (admittedly a weird a stupid thing to do) have to do with gay marriage?

I encourage you to go to this article and read it. As you do so, don't read it with the mind set of whether you approve or disapprove of gay marriage or Bill Frist. Read it to watch a classic case of character assassination taking place.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/02/opinion/02DOWD.html?th

Note that this article ran in The New York Times. Yes, The New York Times.

It's yet another evidence that our newspaper of record has totally lost any level of editorial control.

True, this article was an editorial, where opinions are expressed. But how could any editor allow such an flagrant non sequitur to run in their publication?

And how can any "journalist" justify such an abuse of the public trust? Her professors must have choked.

This was supposed to be an article about politicians opposing gay marriage. Instead, it's a blatant character smear on Bill Frist. In this article, it starts by referring to a "serial cat killer" that's "on the loose" (there isn't a serial cat killer on the loose). The it goes on to state that because he admits obtaining stray cats and dissecting them during his surgery training, that any feeling that he has towards gay marriage is by definition, wrong.

Also, notice how his admission that he used to adopt stray cats at shelters for dissection became slicing and dicing cute little kittens.

It's writing like this that gives the media and public relations a bad reputation. If you wish to respond to this abysmal piece of work, you can write a letter to the editor here:

letters@nytimes.com

Letters must be 150 words or less, no pictures or attachments, and must refer to a specific article.

Are there public relations learnings from this?

Absolutely!

First, if you or your client have skeletons in your closet, never mention them to anyone, especially if you're going to be involved in any political or sensitive topics. That even includes mentioning it to your wife, your advisor, etc. Just don't say it!

If you do, you can count on it coming up at some key time, years from now, sort of like killing cats when you're trying to deal with a political issue.

Or the future Mayor of Cincinnati hiring a hooker and paying with a check. Thank you, Mr. Jerry Springer, for providing that fine example.

Second, when you see examples like this, they need to be pointed out, so the editors know that people are actually watching.

I had an interesting conversation with my County Executive's office yesterday. They had no plans to do anything about this key issue until I mentioned that I was working on a letter to the editor. Suddenly, cooperation increased substantially.

Third, if you do have things in your past that are public, develop an action plan to deal with the situation when it does get re-addressed. Hopefully, it never will, but you need to have the plan in place.

If you haven't told anyone, develop this plan yourself. If you have, work with your most trusted advisors to put a plan together.

How do you personally prepare for public relations disasters? Visit our Forum and let us know!

Posted by Angie at 06:26 PM | TrackBack

Legal Issues of Writing

Several years ago, during my naive days, I was asked by a major publication to write an article, for which I would get attribution, but no money.

In looking at it, it appeared to profitable, even without receiving the checks. I would get exposure to tens of thousands in my target market, they would read the article, and eagerly pick up the phone to call the number in my attribution section.

So I wrote a great article, (at least I thought it was), and sent it to them.

It ran, and the phone did ring.

I got great feedback about how valuable the article was.

So I decided to send it out as a mailing to a bunch of potential clients.

I picked up the phone and asked the publication for permission to make copies of the article and distribute it.

"Nope", couldn't be done. I would have to have them create reprints for me.

"OK, send me a stack."

"We'd be happy to, the cost will be $1,000."

"What? You want to charge me $1,000 for me to get copies of an article that I wrote for free?"

Long story short - I was never able to use that article in any way. They owned rights and wouldn't allow me any ability to do anything with it.

Another story. Even earlier than the last story, when I was even "naiever" I wrote a computer book.

I submitted it, it was printed, and for 2 weeks I was on the computer bestseller lists. In two weeks the sales of the book generated over $5000 in royalties. I had just gotten married and was very excited about how I could spend the money that was going to be rolling in...

Then the publisher stopped answering his phone.

A week later I saw an article that said they'd taken out bankruptcy.

"Aha", said I, "man am I glad that I put a clause in my contract that in case of bankruptcy, all rights for the book and the physical copies of the book reverted to me." I picked up the phone and called a couple of other publishers, who were thrilled to get the book in their stable.

Then I got a call from the bankruptcy lawyer - yes, my contract was valid, but the court considered that the clauses contained in it did not apply until after the company was liquidated.

In other words, until after all the copies of my book were sold off at cents on the dollar to others.

And, by the way, it will take 3 years before litigation ends so the copyright gets freed up for you to use.

Remember that this was a computer book. Three years is the entire life of this time sensitive book.

In the end, I received no money and a copyright that was useless.

I learned lots of lessons from these experiences.

Most importantly, to specifically discuss rights and reprint issues before ever making any kind of deal, and to thoroughly understand my options.

I also learned that I never ever give my rights away. If you want rights, you pay me. Period. And it may not happen then either.

And, to take this rights stuff seriously.

Everyone in the writing and public relations industry knows of horror stories like these.

Now, there is a way to protect yourself. Knowledge will save you, and it only takes a little bit of your time.

Introducing our newest CD: "Legal Issues You Must Know When Writing Articles for Fee or Free"

This is a new teleseminar on audio CD recorded by Joan Stewart.

You need to know the information on this CD! Here's what you'll learn from this product:

--How to copyright your work so no one can steal it

--The advantages and disadvantages of copyrighting your material yourself versus registering it with the Copyright Office

--What you must know about reprints...so you stay out of big legal trouble

--What you must know about posting your articles at your website

--What to do if a publication wants to sell you expensive reprint rights you can't afford...but the boss says you still must get multiple copies

--What to get in writing when you're selling an article...it will show editors you know how the game is played

--The one thing you MUST do if you're offering articles for free...so you can keep offering the same ones over and over again to different publications

--The difference between first rights, exclusive rights, first North American rights, etc.

--What to do if a publication wants to buy exclusive rights to your work and you've already offered it to 5 other publications.

--What to do if you want to use someone else's material in your article

Don't wait until after you make the mistakes that cost your work. Order now and protect yourself from those who would take advantage of you.

Posted by Angie at 06:22 PM | TrackBack

What Will They Think of Next?

Yesterday, I was sifting through our discussion board for some interesting newsletter fodder. I found a message posted by micromuon asking about "extreme public relations". It was an interesting post, but I figured it was a topic that I would pass on for the newsletter...until I found this: http://slate.msn.com/id/2084647/

Streaking has now somehow found its place in the PR circuit. How? It is following the rule of "any exposure is good exposure"...pun intended. I would think that running around naked with an ad painted on somebody would be cold, embarrassing, and probably get the person arrested. But isn't that what the sponsoring company wants?! If the person gets on TV, the company will get instant name recognition. Plus, the story will possibly make the news with the story probably saying who the person was working for, and then everyone goes to the site to check it out. The company then bails out their willing PR guinea pig, and Vila! A boost to business and they do it again.

Does anyone besides me find something wrong with this? Isn't this a low point for public relations. Are we really so out of ideas that good publicity can only be found through flaunting of one's bad taste?

And more's happening: tower jumping in the nude, tattooing of commercials to a person for a real lifetime customer effect, public burning of corporate effigies while chanting the company name.

Let's face it. There are a lot better ways to get good publicity that don't require a tattoo artist, a pyrotechnics expert, celebrity fanfare, or even a good lawyer. In fact, the more successful PR efforts are those that cost virtually nothing, that won't make you ashamed of yourself when your mother calls to ask why you pulled such a stunt.

Start by making a list of things that you know you can do for cheap and hold fairly good chances of getting some press. Move your way down by adding those things that are progressively more expensive or harder to secure good coverage. Then, present the ideas to others, including your boss. That way everyone is aware of the public relations plan and can help contribute in some way.

What do you think? Is extreme publicity good or bad? What have you done, or seen done, and how did you feel about it? Give us your comments:
Extreme PR Link

We have a lot of products that deal with how to generate solid PR. The best part is, to do them, you don't need to hire a publicist, you don't have to strip naked, and you certainly don't have to have a lot of money. Here's some of the best:

How to Snag Free Publicity For Your New Business This great report will give you the information on where to go for free publicity, how to get free publicity, and how to continue to get free publicity.

How to Identify Story Ideas Within Your Company or Organization Stories that get published in the media is the backbone of your public relations plan. Fortunately for you, you can read this report and know exactly what stories will catch the attention of the editors, and which stories will end up hitting the bottom of the recycle bin.

Media Relations Power This book is a compilation of 21 special reports (including those listed above) that concentrate specifically on building your publicity with the media. This book is a best seller for a reason. It is one of the best tools you can have when working on public relations.

CD: The Fastest, Cheapest, Easiest Ways To Publicize Your Small Business--Even If You're A Solo Entrepreneur Don't have lots of time to read? Try working on your public relations success while driving, eating, or even laying down. This CD contains the best ideas for building your publicity as a small business.

Posted by Angie at 06:01 PM | TrackBack

Dance With "Them Who Brought You" Lessons Learned From Jelly Beans

The recent passing of former US President Ronald Reagan has created a large number of media reminicences.

Not the least of which came from the Jelly Belly company.

Jelly Belly makes high-quality, flavorfull jelly beans. I, for one, always foisted off the jelly beans in my easter basket to my unsuspecting little brothers and sisters in exchange for their chocolate until Jelly Bellies arrived, then the deals were reversed!

The Jelly Belly company is mourning the death of Reagan because, in a way, he put their company on the map.

In 1967 Reagan, then governor of California, was trying to stop his pipe-smoking habit and decided to munch on jelly beans when cravings arose.

The story is told that Jelly Belly sent him some samples, and he discoved that these really were incredible beans.

Now, here's where Jelly Belly got really smart. Instead of viewing him as just another customer, they took advantage of the public relations and marketing opportunities that this presented.

For example,

- When Reagan was running for President, they realized that they had no blue bean that could be used in a red, white and blue collection of beans in a bowl.

So, blueberry beans were born.

- They worked with Reagan to provide small sample packs that he could give away to visitors to the Oval Office.

- They provided a bunch (one report says 6 tons, another 7000 pounds) of jellies for his innauguration.

- They created jelly bean portraits of Reagan.

- And of course, they publicized every one of these activities to the press, supporting the press with background, samples, and stories.

So, they've got a Governor, then President, playfully touting their product (Reagan wrote to the company chairman in 1973, "we can hardly start a meeting or make a decision without passing around the jar of jelly beans.") backed up by the company vigorously supporting that influencer's word of mouth by publicizing it all with the press.

Did it work?

Absolutely!

You've all seen the popularity of Jelly Belly today. At one point, the demand had so stretched their abilities that they were 77 weeks behind in filling orders.

And now, with Reagan's passing Jelly Belly is tastefully working to get one more round of publicity from their relationship by holding tributes and pitching the story to the press, which is grabbing it up as an positive, fun addition to the somewhat macabre process of reporting on the death of a public figure.

What lessons should we get from this?

- Don't be afraid to capitalize on the celebrity factor If a celebrity uses your products / services, tell people about it! That's why you oftentimes see pictures of famous guests on the walls of restaurants, etc.

- Actively work with key influencers who like your products / services Key influencers (those with a public persona) can have a huge impact on your sales if properly handled. Work with them to make sure that they stay happy and publically promote your company. Send them stuff, (including branded apparel), get them publicity tieins with your product, ask them what their concerns are with your product and resolve them (remember blueberry beans!), massage their egos with company tours and meetings with management, etc.

This may be tough if you don't like contributing to the perks of public figures, but it can have a major impact on your business.

- Make sure that you get publicity for your work with key influencers It's a balancing act, but you've got to figure out a way to get the key influencer's attraction to your products into the public eye. Drop their name during interviews, arrange for photo ops, provide your product at their publicity events, etc.

(Great chance for someone here - Oprah just pointed out today on her show that "I've never been to Home Depot" -what would you do if you were in the Home Depot marketing department? Imagine the show you could partner with Oprah to produce?)

- Always focus your efforts on ensuring that your company / product is branded in the interaction Branding is key to these interactions. If Reagan's visitors got the message that he liked jelly beans but didn't catch the Jelly Belly brand name, the publicity would have basically have been useless.

Key to branding is to ensure that your name and differentiation point are tied together. In Jelly Belly's case, their name tied to "great tasting jelly beans" with Reagan eating them because he liked them.

You can find out more about branding in our audio CD
"Brand Your Business and Make Your Profits Explode".

Want to know more about how to do what Jelly Belly is doing to build your publicity? Check out "Kick Up a Media Storm: How to Get Free (or Really Cheap) Publicity" at

Posted by Angie at 04:35 PM | TrackBack

June 28, 2004

Part 3, Building A PR Plan From Start to Finish: Implementation

This is it! You've come a long way! Let's really get down to business now.

Consider the analogy of building a home. You've created a foundation with your differentiating statement. You've assessed and identified ways to created relationships with those who will be actually doing the construction work (think of it this way - you may do all of the background, but in reality, it's your media partners who actually do the work of building your public relations home for you -so you'd better have good, solid relationships with those doing your building!)

Now, it's time to put the frame together...and the key to doing that is a blueprint.

The foundation of that blueprint is the plan for your rooms. (Uh oh, we're starting to stretch this analogy too thin, so it's officially exiting stage left...)

Let's assume that you're planning a new product or service launch for your company.

The key is for you to identify at least 30 different public relations "hooks" on which you can build stories. Some will be better than others.

If you need a little help with this, we have a report with information to help you generate ideas. this report is at:
Media Kits on a Shoestring: How to Create Them Without Spending a Bundle

Now, you need to narrow this list down into to five to ten of the best ideas. The temptation is to select the one that's most glaringly obvious, but avoid that, because you'll need several good ones for the next step.

When you have come up with those topics, write them down! Again, keep those topics close at hand, meaning, typing them on the computer and saving them will make more difficult to haul around with you. If you type them, print them out. Have them handy. You will want to stay with your topic, and you will be able to better do that if you have them right in front of you while working on your PR plan.

Next you need to plan your story plan.

In other words, which story hook you are going to use with whom.

You need to have:
1. A story hook that you send out as a general press release to those who are on your listed of targeted media, but who aren't key media contacts.

2. Separate story hooks for each key media contacts you are targeting.

Let's imagine that your key contacts include your local newspaper, your business journal, the Wall Street Journal and two trade magazines in the two marketplaces where this product sells.

Your local reporter wants a story about how this will affect the local economy, how many jobs you'll be adding, or a human interest story about how you developed the product idea.

The business journal wants to see an economic story, a how this business is succeeding story, or a profile showing how the manager is growing the company story.

The Wall Street Journal wants to know how this will affect your stock price, or how it will affect the stock prices of others. They want a results and forecasts-focused story.

The two trade journals want stories about how it will affect the companies in their industry.

Can you see why sending a templated press release out to each of these 5 outlets is a bad idea?

None of them get what they want, so all of them are likely to reject your story!

That's where you need 5 different hooks, one for each.

Nobody ever said this was easy, but it is worth it! PR takes some tedious effort.

And of course, you need to have the basics on hand before you start with anyone. You'll need to have a Media Kit. Need help with that? Click the link to our report that will give you the basics.

If you want help in greater detail, we have an audio CD that talks much more about constructing the media kit of your dreams, and also an Electronic Media Kit

Now that you have the information, write your general Press Release. You can find good information and templates on our site.

And, you'll need to know how to actually Pitch the Story to your other key contacts (this may happen with a press release, but it's a better idea to do it via the phone or email.)

So, three issues to explain the beginnings of a Public Relations plan. Of course, there's lots of other elements that would be part of a normal plan, like event planning, press involvement, interview setup, doing the circuit, talk show appearances, joint announcements, investor relations, etc. We're working on a special report to outline the entire process.

I hope that you found some value in this material and that it has given you a marching plan to get started. Like I have said before, PR is work. It almost never comes easily. We have only really scratched the surface of this topic. Our book, Media Relations Power, would probably be of far more help to you.

This book includes 21 of our reports concerning public relations and media plans. Don't pass it up. It really is the cream of the information.

Posted by Angie at 08:04 PM | TrackBack

Part 2, Building A PR Plan From Start to Finish: Relationships With Media

Last week, we talked about getting a PR plan organized and started. We discussed the questions and reasons why someone should write down and document as much information as possible before setting up any part of the plan. The reason is that you might miss something important if you move too quickly.

Now, let's move on to the next segment.

Remember your goal...public relations. We aren't doing advertising.

Step 3: From this point, we need to determine which people in the media we are trying to reach. Hitting a target is difficult, if not impossible if you don't know what your target is. It's easy to remember the television and radio, and even local newspapers. But don't forget about newsletters, business journals, your trade magazines, trade journals for supply chain levels above and below yours, local small media, online news services and even key industry blogs? These can be just as effective if not more effective since the smaller newsletters and trade journals are typically very target oriented. You can find just the right customer for your business by sending public relations interest their way.

Whatever you choose, make sure that you follow the right steps in contacting them. It seems as though every media outlet has their own way of doing things. You may do whatever you wish at your own peril. Most reporters/editors/writers are stressed out 24/7 and need to move information FAST. If you can't keep up with their speed, they'll run you over, leaving your story uncovered.

For scenario one, let's think about what media outlets would be most likely to respond. First of all, television would be perfect since ether Wazzle Widget is for use with televisions. Makes sense, doesn't it? How about radio? Maybe. Local small media, and business magazines show some good promise. NEVER fully reject any of the possibilities. This is public relations, and any contact you can have with the public is more exposure than before. Consider the possibilities. But if your funds and time are limited, concentrate the majority of your efforts where you think they will be the best received.

For scenario two, pens are a little more difficult to classify since pens are used in every business. Let's say that in scenario two, they chose to concentrate on the print media.

Step 4: Now that you know where you'd like to concentrate, you will need to assess your current relationship with the key individuals in each of your targeted media outlets. This is vital.

Unfortunately, there are far too many people who believe that Public Relations is really a press release milling process - vainly hoping that the more they send out, the more publicity they will receive. This is entirely opposite of the real world. Public Relations is a business of relationships - between you and the key people in the media outlets with whom you work.

Think about it this way. Let's say that you get two emails, both announcing a new product that they want you to buy. One comes from a long-time supplier and friend with whom you have developed a relationship. Her email gets opened. The other comes from someone else who you've either never heard of, or who keeps sending you stuff, but who never has bothered to try to take the relationship to the next level. It's more than likely that the second person's email goes right to the trash folder, likely without ever even being read.

On that note...

What have you done for each of these key contacts lately? Media publicity is a give-and-take game. They're more likely to stay on your side and continue to provide publicity for you if you become valuable to them. How can you do that? Provide sources, stories, ideas, and other excellent content that will make them grateful that you are around. Tell them about your competitors, steer them to great stories, be a resource and most importantly, be proactive in letting them know that you care about them and what they do.

You also need to be sure that you have the most recent contact information for them. You can get this information from them just by calling. Don't overlook this. Sending the information to the wrong people, or to someone who is no longer there will only serve to cause you problems.

Step 5: Develop a plan to start creating positive relationships with each of the key people on your list. We recommend putting together a chart showing each contact with an action plan of at least 3 things you will be doing within the next 30-60 days to build a relationship with them.

So here's your homework for this week. Identify the key media, assess your relationship with the key person/people at each outlet, and develop a 30-60 action plan to help improve and make personal your relationship.

We have a number of resources to help you to develop relationships with key people:

Our audio CD How To Become An Expert Spokesperson That The Media Love discusses the concept of working with the media to position yourself as an expert who can contribute commentary for their stories.

Our Special Report #42: Public Relations: Tips for Letting Reporters Experience Your Story, Not Just Write About It can play a role in your relationship building by helping reporters get to know your company and product lines at a deeper, hands-on level.

#43: Public Relations: The Do’s and Don'ts of Offering Food to the Media - lots of people think that buying lunch is the only way to develop a relationship. That's not always true - here's the info you need if you're considering this angle.

#4: How to Write Crisp, Compelling Letters to the Editor that Promote Your Product, Service or Favorite Cause is a great way to start creating a reputation as a thoughtful contributor to their publication:

#6: How to Write How-to Articles that Position You as an Expert takes that process a step further by helping you to actually play a major role in providing copy for their publication

#34: Secrets to Becoming a Columnist in Newspapers and Magazines takes it even to a higher level

#33: How to Win the Support and Respect of Newspaper Editorial Boards teaches about the power of and how to reach editorial boards - because if the editorial board loves you, you're in a powerful position!

Have you purchased your copy of Media Relations Power? Perhaps you should, because others are. It really is a fantastic resource that gives you the information you need to properly handle the media. It contains information that you would expect to pay thousands of dollars for. We're not kidding. Don't believe us? Then check it out for yourself. If you're not satisfied, you get your money back.

Posted by Angie at 07:49 PM | TrackBack

Part 1, Build a PR Plan From Start To Finish: Getting Started

What is a public relations plan? Why is it important? What can it do for you? These are all important questions. If you can't answer them, then you need to work on your public relations.

A public relations plan is a layout of how you intend to inform the public, both consumers and non-consumers, about your company, your products, and the important events pertaining thereto. Many small companies and even large companies ignore the work of public relations, or don't bother to do it right because they don't realize the incredible potential of working with the media and with the general public.

First of all, you need to know what public relations can do for you. In the last issue, we spot-lighted a restaurant in New York City that had a very unique way of getting people to their location, without spending very much money at all. To find out what that was if this is your first issue, go to 101publicrelations.com, and view the blog.

Public relations is what the words say: Relations with the public. Without any relations with the public, you may as well close your doors. You need people to know about you in order to buy your stuff.

Where do I get started? That's a great question. If you are just starting a business, you need to build your plan right along with your standard business plan and your marketing plan. That's how important it is.

Here is what were going to do...We are going to construct two scenarios. The first will be a new business being built, and the other will be an already established business with no public relations plan.

Scenario 1: You are the inventor of the Wazzle Widget, a nifty device that is a telephone and a multi-function universal remote control for all your electronic devices so you can stop looking for the phone while still controlling the television at the same time. You have invented the product, gotten your patents and found a manufacturer, but now you need to get the word out.

Scenario 2: For several years now, you have been running a pen making company. Your pens are the same as many other premium pens, but your service for your pens is phenomenal. Unfortunately, not many know about your great service department.

Step 1: Figure out what differentiates you from everyone else.

This is the step that, unfortunately, most companies ignore. But it's absolutely vital. If you don't do it, you're destined to fail, not only as a PR seeker, but as a business altogether. Get out a sheet of paper and a pencil. Don't use the computer. It's too easy to get distracted, and for some reason, writing it out by hand gets the blood flowing to your brain better. If you need to block out other distractions, close the door and LOCK IT.

On the top of that paper write "What makes my company or product different?" Then, write out what makes your product or your company different from the rest. When you run out of those thoughts, try answering the question -"why should my customers choose to buy from me instead of anyone else?" Write down details! Write down everything! Draw graphs and charts if you have to. When you work with more information, you are assisting yourself with the steps further down the line.

For scenario one, the obvious answers are there. The Wazzle Widget combines all of the key tools you need to run your life from the comfort of your easy chair into a single handy instrument. It is probably the first and only one of it's kind. It is completely unique and does not have any competition...yet. Perhaps highlighting the quality of the craftsmanship and the materials it is made out of would be a good measure. Don't forget the importance of how long the batteries last before needing to be replaced. There is a lot more if you just think deeper. Don't be afraid if the thought sounds stupid. Some stupid ideas have created some of the most successful ad campaigns in history.

For scenario two, since the premium pens are essentially the same as all of the others, then it would be better to try and be competitive on the service aspect. Your leverage will be the fact that maybe you offer a lifetime warranty. Perhaps your pen refills are sold in more areas than anywhere else. How about how well the pen writes? If it ever loses writing quality, you will replace it for free. Advantages count, regardless of how small or seemingly insignificant! Remember, when products are essentially the same as the competitions', customers will buy based upon the smallest of differences, even if the difference is only price.

Step 2: Get out another sheet of paper. On this sheet, I want you to write down all of the things you are doing currently to get the word out about your business or your product. If you're stapling flyers to telephone poles, write it down!

Why is this step important? I will show you through another example. How many of you watch movies? Probably all of you. When a new movie is being made, do they wait until it is finished to advertise it? NO! Why? Because when they build the hype behind it, people decide right away that they want to see it. First impressions are important. Making people wait in anticipation builds their excitement for seeing the movie. Never underestimate manipulation of the human element.

In both scenarios, you have considered advertising on television. You have already purchased radio segments for ads, but the ads have been somewhat disappointing in results.

Take some time to go through these steps. This is important. If you don't, you may potentially miss the one opportunity that could earn you millions of dollars of publicity.

Now, we need to analyze the information we have written down. Your advantages are your opportunities. The advertising is going to be the vehicle to the bank. You need to convert those advantages into money, and get it transported to the bank by your advertising vehicle.

Scenario one: We have noted that the Wazzle Widget is the only one of its kind. Besides figuring out our target market, we need to find out what makes our target market want to use our product. They don't have to get up and search for the misplaced portable phone. They just pick up the remote and answer, while turning down the television volume at the same time. Maybe we can appeal to those people who have difficulty moving quickly, or have difficulty walking. Perhaps targeting the young who are more apt to be couch potatoes than the more mature audience.

Scenario two: Your pens are comparable to many of the others out there. As such, you are going to direct your efforts more in other directions rather than in direct competition. For one, advertising about pens on the radio will get very little response because it is not a complimentary medium for the product. Trade journals or magazines would be better since a customer may get to see pictures of the product. Less conventional means of advertising and public relations would be in order, perhaps using contests, or sponsorships to get the word out.

Ok. We have finished part one. Obviously, we could go further in depth. Perhaps we will at a later time. For now, these basics should give you a good start. If you really are serious about getting a good public relations plan, then I suggest Media Relations Power. Yes, this is the sales pitch, but if you're serious about this topic, you'll listen to me.

Media Relations Power is a compilation of our special reports that deal directly with public relations and the media. You could buy all of these special reports separately, or you could save yourself about $50 and buy this compilation. Inside, you will find that the reports go into greater detail about all of the issues we discuss here. There's no fluff or filler. You get straight answers to the information you're looking for.

Don't waste your time hacking through books of material that doesn't apply to your situation. Instead, buy Media Relations Power and start getting good publicity. Just so that you know, we have a 100% satisfaction guarantee on Media Relations Power. If you're not satisfied, you get your money back, plain and simple. So, take the time to check it out. You won't be sorry.

Posted by Angie at 07:39 PM | TrackBack

June 25, 2004

Advantages and Disadvantages Of Having A Publicist

Remember the days when you could setup a box or two, fill a pitcher with water and lemonade powder, and have an instant business? Five cents would buy a person a glass of overpowering lemonade. You would sit outside for hours and wait for passing motorists to pull up and buy a refreshing beverage. Life was good. Your product cost was zero, because Mom paid for it. You could drink your inventory without repercussions. You were business owner, sales staff, supplier, and janitorial all in one.

Publicity came easy back then. After all, you were local, and just needed a couple of cardboard signs with arrows that said: Lemonade 5 Cents.---> And if business was slow, you could go door to door, and let your customer base know you were actively in business.

Unfortunately, we grew up (at least some of us did - my wife's still wondering about me...)

Now, we have a much larger business to deal with, and it takes a little more than a cardboard sign that says: Integrated electronic components, $2,594.95 each. --->

Advertising and classic marketing principles are key to succeeding in business. Of course, public relations plays a role in that process. How much of a role depends on many things, especially your time, commitment level, and past experience.

As you're aware, GreatPR and 101PublicRelations.com are dedicated to giving you the tools you need to perform many public relations activities on your own. But there clearly is a time, place, and need for professional publicists.

Let's look at the advantages and disadvantages of hiring a publicist:

Advantages -

-- Publicists generally have a long list of contacts with news agencies, advertising firms, and others that you don't. This means better access to publicity channels. There are clearly advantages of working with someone who has a relationship with and who talks with the key reporter for your business several times a month, rather than having you try to cold call that person to pitch your story.

-- A publicist does this sort of stuff all day long. Good ones know what works, what doesn't, and can probably find new and creative ideas that you never thought of.

-- They have time to construct a publicity plan, and implement it. Presumably, you don't. They leave you the time to do the things you do best: run a business, market a business, or lay around on the beach...

-- Chances are that the publicist you hire will have multiple clients. They will probably be able to cross-pollinate to get mass publicity for all. This can help you if your name is even remotely associated with other large, well-known, good companies.

-- The good ones have mounds of examples and/or experience they can draw upon to generate new ideas to help your company get out of its PR comfort zone, to get you attention.

But, unfortunately, there are some disadvantages...

Disadvantages -

-- The first and most obvious disadvantage is the cost. Publicists can be very expensive.

-- By having a publicist do the work, you don't develop the expertise that could have you doing the work yourself.

-- A publicist has little to no inside knowledge of your company. That can present difficulties when your publicity run involves complex information. Making them an expert in your company will cost you, either directly through a billable hour charge or that cost will be embedded in a project's cost so that you won't see it, but it will cost you.

-- The publicist gains all the benefits of the personal relationships with the media instead of you. This can be a problem if you decide to leave the publicist and work with the media directly at some future point.

-- When the media has questions, who do you want them to call, you or the publicist? You can bet they will call the publicist.

-- The quality range of publicists is amazingly diverse. It can be hard to determine how good of a publicist you have hired. A bad publicist is like a dead fish. They stink, badly!

-- Some publicists really love to hold huge publicity events, which can cost tons of money and generate either huge amounts of publicity, or possibly, none at all. Just be careful that any agency you hire focuses on the basics first, turning to major splashy events only once the basics are in place.

-- Lastly, the bigger the agency, the more likely it will be that you are assigned a low ranking publicist. That doesn't mean they are bad. It just means that they have not had the chances to prove themselves. You need to realize that even though you're paying for a big publicist name, you're actually working with a newbie who's ink on their diploma isn't even dry yet.

So, is it a good idea to hire a publicist or not?

The key questions you should consider are:

- What kind of relationships do you currently have with the media? If they're weak, that's a point in the publicist's favor.

- Are you spending as much time as you would like in the area of publicity? As you consider the way you actually use your time, is PR getting prioritized or not? If no, perhaps you need a professional working on it for you.

- How much PR success are you having right now? If little, there's another point in their favor.

Keep in mind also, that it's possible to hire a publicist for a specific project. That work will cost more then the exact same work done as part of a retainer, because they will have to put all of the overhead onto that single project instead of amortizing it over the year, but it's a good way to test the water.

The real key to your success in hiring a publicist is which one you choose. If you choose the right one, and work with them well, you're likely to have success. Choose the wrong one, or work with them poorly, and you're destined to (my daughter's word) "miserability."

Need more help in determining whether a publicist is right for you and advice on how to make the key choice of which one to hire? Our new training manual "How to Hire the Perfect Publicist" gives you great information, checklists, and the tips you need to make the choice.

Posted by Angie at 02:25 PM | TrackBack

House to House Fighting

Military strategy has changed a great deal.

In the revolutionary war the British troops would line up in two lines. The first line fired. Once the front line finished shooting, they knelt and reloaded while the line behind stood and fired. This process would repeat until they all ran out of ammo and had to retreat, the enemy was decimated from a plethora of poorly placed musket balls, or they all died.

The US revolutionaries tried something different. Hopelessly outgunned, outmanned, and with heavy odds against them, they fought by sniping from behind trees, along roads and fences.

Today's wars, such as in Iraq, have moved from open battlefields, and even from fields in general to the city streets. While we hope that the war won't turn into a prolonged house-to-house conflict, there is a lesson to be learned here for our businesses.

How could you turn your business into a house-to-house battle?

Most small businesses, and indeed, many huge ones find difficulty competing in the open. But that does not mean that you can't win the battle. "Street fighting" is what makes your competition cringe.

So I ask, what's your house-to-house opportunity?

- What niche can you own that the other guys aren't even targeting?

- What is different about your product or service that you can play off of?

- What is great about your company that your competition can't replicate?

- How good is your customer service?

- What is your level of expertise?

- How can you target an individual reporter, editor, or customer with a pitch that will make your story or offer irresitable to them, personally?

We could ask many more questions. What needs to be done is some brainstorming and make a list. Then, you will begin to realize that you can take on the big guys and survive the encounter.

These and many other topics are discussed in our audio CD:
The Fastest, Cheapest, Easiest Ways To Publicize Your Small Business - Even If You’re A Solo Entrepenuer

What house-to-house tactics can you start using this week?

Posted by Angie at 02:16 PM | TrackBack

How To Hire The Perfect Publicist

One of the most frequent questions that we receive is "how do I choose a good publicist?"

Our hot new training manual, How To Hire The Perfect Publicist is 85 pages chock full of tips. In it, you'll find

- More than 35 links to sites on the Internet that will help you during your search,

- 18 situations when you should hire a publicist and two when you shouldn't

- Stories about Publicists from Hell and what you can learn from them,

- 4 ways publicists set fees and the advantages and disadvantages of each,

- 23 things to do before the interview,

- 59 questions to ask during the interview,

- The 15 traits of a perfect publicist,

- 12 questions to ask when you check references,

- A handy chart that will help you rank your top candidates,

- 15 things you should do to help your publicist,

- Special chapters for authors and musicians,

- And a glossary of 58 terms you should know before starting your publicity campaign.

All for only $47, a fraction of what you'd pay a publicist for only one hour's work.

This is the only book I know of that provides detailed, step-by-step directions on
How to Hire a Publicist.

Check it out and you'll be profiting from this ebook within minutes.

Posted by Angie at 02:10 PM | TrackBack

How to Win the Support and Respect of Newspaper Editorial Boards

We've seen it happen over and over again. A newspaper writes a scathing editorial about a politician, a non-profit organization or a company that did something stupid, prompted, in part, by the refusal of the news source to talk to reporters when the original story was written.

The news continues to break. A few days later, the newspaper prints a second editorial on the same topic. Then a third. Finally, the subject of the editorial is on the phone, begging to meet with the editorial writers and "set the record straight." But by then, the damage is already done.

Newspaper editorial boards can be one of your most valuable allies if you are promoting a cause, if you're in trouble with reporters, or if you want to muster valuable support for an event or an issue long before the first story is printed. Yet people seldom use editorial boards, either because they don't know about them or they're intimidated

The Make-up of the Editorial Board

Most newspapers have editorial boards. Generally, they are the top news executives who meet regularly to set the newspaper's editorial policies, decide which position a newspaper should take in editorials, and meet with readers who ask for their time to discuss important issues. At every newspaper, the make-up of the board is different. But usually they include any combination of the following: the publisher, editor, managing editor, editorial page editor, the editorial writers, and sometimes a reporter who rotates off the board every year and is replaced by another reporter the following year. Reporters often don't have voting privileges but sit on the board because they can bring a valuable perspective to the discussion. They're the ones in the trenches covering the story and have background information the editors don't have.

The board usually meets once a day at larger newspapers, once a week at smaller papers, or whenever a pertinent issue arises. Its most important task is to decide the position that the newspaper will take in its printed editorials. Often there's little debate and the issue is decided by a simple majority vote. But at newspapers where I have worked as an editor, I have sat on editorial boards that have debated sensitive issues for days.

During election season, editorial boards also interview political candidates before making endorsements. If you're running for office and don't like the newspaper, DO NOT refuse to meet with them. If you do, it's akin to handing your opponent the editorial endorsement.

How to Use the Editorial Board

You should contact the editorial board and ask for a meeting if:

--You want to muster the newspaper's support for a cause or issue.

--You are about to break a sensitive news story and you want to meet with the board before the story appears to provide background and try to win them over to your side early. Some sources ask for "off the record" editorial board meetings, and sometimes editors agree because they want to be in the loop and have all the information they need when the story breaks.

--The newspaper has been printing unfavorable editorials about you and you want to present your side. (But don't expect to change their minds.)

--You feel the newspaper has treated you unfairly.

--You feel that the reporter who has been assigned to your beat has a vendetta, an agenda, and is purposely out to get you. Meet with the board only after you have exhausted all other means. That includes contacting the reporter's immediate supervisor.

--You have a new chief executive officer who you want to introduce to the board simply for a "getting to know you" session. Few organizations bother to do this. Yet the bigger and more newsworthy your organization, the better the chances they will want to meet with you.

If you would like to know more about how to get in front of the board and how to best present your case while you are there purchase
Special Report #33 How to Win the Support and Respect of Editorial Boards

And check out our other Forty-Five Special Reports

Posted by Angie at 02:00 PM | TrackBack

June 24, 2004

Another Way To Get Publicity: Positioning Yourself As An Expert With The Media

It's frustrating sometimes to get your products into the news.

So solve the problem by positioning *yourself* (not your product) as a media expert.

So instead of trying to get publicity for your holiday gift site, position yourself as a holiday gift shopping expert.

That way you've now got an in with the media, and they know what they can call you on.

A good friend of mine, Steve Loyola of http://www.bestwebbuys.com/books/ and his publicist have done a great job of this, positioning him as an "online shopping expert." Based on this, she has communicated Steve's "expert" positioning in a number of different directories that reporters access to obtain contact information for experts.

Here's a note Steve sent me a couple of weeks ago to illustrate what I mean. Plus, this tends to generate more interest in your company, which can result in additional publicity for your company and it's product. Here's a note Steve sent us a couple of weeks ago about his recent PR successes:

Start Snippet:

Today has been a really good day for publicity. Not only that CBS Marketwatch article (for which I was just interviewed yesterday afternoon!), but Jean Chatzky mentioned us on the Today Show this morning. Here's a snippet of the transcript.

====
ROKER: Uh-huh. You can spend a lot on books. Any way to save some cash?

Ms. CHATZKY: Buy used.

ROKER: Uh-huh.

Ms. CHATZKY: There is a great Web site called Bestbookbuys.com. You can go on, you can search for the best prices in books. Textbooks are expensive, they can run $1,000 per semester. So if you can get them used from a site like half.com of even from eBay, you can save yourself a lot of money.
====

If you want to see it you can watch the video here:

http://www.msnbc.com/news/951923.asp

She mentions us at 2:45, so skipping ahead to 2:35 will get you the whole context.

Okay, the "how". Well, my publicity consultant is trying to groom me as an "online shopping expert". So, besides the various press releases we put out, I'm also listed places like PR Newswire's ProfNet. This is a place that journalists can go to find experts for a particular area they are writing about. In just a month or two, it has already got me quoted in CBS Marketwatch and a few smaller ones (like the Springfield (Ill.) State Journal-Register last Sunday).

We had no idea Jean Chatzky was going to mention us on the Today Show (thank goodness they have the video clip on their site). We've historically had good luck with Money magazine (where Jean works), with mentions there in 1999, 2000, and 2001. We were mentioned in their August 2003 issue (can't remember if I ever announced that here) and will supposedly be in the September issue also (probably in a piece very similar to the MSNBC piece above). A couple years ago, Jean was planning to mention us (we even sent her a prop book) but Ann Curry was running out of time and skipped over our little bit.

Finally, these are all good examples of "when it rains, it pours". Up until about a month ago, we were in a publicity drought (note how Money mag forgot about us in 2002). But, these things tend to feed off each other. We got mentioned in Money August issue, we put out a press release bragging about that, someone else notices, etc., etc. We'll see how long this wave lasts.

End Snippet.

Part of Steve's success here has been hiring a good publicist who has actively worked to get him out and in front of the media. In a separate note about his publicity consultant, Steve told me the following:

Start Snippet:

I've had the same publicity consultant for the last four years. When we first hired her, we knew nothing. We didn't interview anyone else. (Editor's note - not a recommended practice!) We've paid her a $2000 monthly retainer since the start. A couple times when money's been tight (and when we hadn't had any ink in a few months), we discussed dropping her, but always decide against it. We're always happy shortly afterwards because she lands us more ink.

Performance guarantees? We don't have any. I think some consultants might have these, but this is a tough area to guarantee. Plus, depending on the medium, there can be some serious time lags (especially with monthly magazines). Our only performance guarantee is that if it really looked like she was no longer providing value, we'd sever our relationship.

I really enjoy the fact that we've been working together so long. So, now she knows me well enough to write all my press release quotes before I say them. (Of course, I still approve them.) She's even been quoted a couple times as a spokesperson for our company (I think while I was on vacation or something).

Another advantage of having her on retainer is that it gives us an extra kick in the butt on development. Here's how it works: 1) She wants to keep getting us publicity so we continue to be happy with her. 2) We can't get publicity with the same old stuff; we need "news". 3) So, her assessment of the publicity value of particular site features is used to help us prioritize our long "To Do" list. (One of many factors, of course.) 4) The need to have some semblance of a stream of publicity means we must keep rolling out new features.

Finally, we used to pay a clipping service every month to find mentions in newspapers and magazines. But, since almost everything is online now, we stopped that and our consultant uses various services to track down any mentions. Once again, it's to her advantage to find as many mentions as possible. Sure, she'll already know of the ones where she personally pitched us. But, press releases will often stimulate a mention by someone we never had contact with.

End Snippet

Can you see some of the power of having a publicist (or at least a firm preset publicity plan) from his note? In addition to getting publicity, they can often push you to make changes that will make news that you may have prioritized lower on your list.

For more information visit How to Hire a Publicist

And no, we won't be giving out Steve's publicist's name, so don't bother to ask!

Another element we can learn from Steve's notes is that they have pushed his site around a certain set of dates. BestBookBuys.com focuses part of its business on the college textbook market, so back to school is a very logical time for them to push publicity on their site. And, since they can save students hundreds of dollars a year, they've got a story that has some natural human interest tie-ins.

What key dates can you tie into to generate publicity? What's your plan to hit those dates?

Note also how they have been working on a long-term basis with several media outlets (especially the magazines mentioned.) Always keep in mind the importance of consistently pushing your message out to the relevant media. Never assume that because you were featured in a story last year that they will feature you again this year. Always re-push your presentation every year to ensure that you get covered again.

We cover the subject of positioning yourself as an expert for the media in detail in our audio CD: How To Become An Expert Spokesperson That The Media Love.

Posted by Angie at 01:59 PM | TrackBack

The Clueless

It is rumored that there are clueless people in the world in all areas of life. For example, there were probably some very clueless people that were the reason these warning labels were created:

On a package in Japan: "Not to be used for anything else."

On an unknown vaccuum cleaner: "Do not use to pick up anything that is currently burning."

Nabisco Easy Cheese: "For best results, remove cap."

Unknown 500 piece puzzle: "Some assembly required."

Swedish Chainsaw: "Do not attempt to stop chain with your hands or genitals." I shudder when I think about this one...

We may laugh, but there are some sad individuals out there who might have had troublesome run-ins with these products.

In public relations, there are clueless people too.

There are some people who think that public relations is simply throwing press conferences and watching the press sell their prized possessions and donate the proceeds to the company to obtain permission to attend a conference about a colony of Asian red tailed hairless flying squirrels living in the break room refrigerator.

Public relations is about handling perceptions. A journalist needs to see the relevance and importance of your story if you want it to get printed or covered. Can you put a spin on a story to make it relevant? Sure. Just make sure you don't fabricate something. They'll find out, and you'll never recover.

Perceptions also control buying behavior. If you see a famous basketball player buy an old Ford Pinto because he thinks it's cool, you will likely see more old Pintos on the road than you would prefer to see in your lifetime. Why? Because people associate themselves with the famous basketball player when they drive their Pinto.

This lasts until the basketball player buys a Yugo, in which case, most people stop watching basketball and take up full-contact cross-stitching.

Is your company a major employer in the area? Did you reach astounding profits? Do you have a new product? Are you doing something great for the community, your employees, or both? These are good questions to ask. There are many more ways to find good story ideas and get that publicity you need.

Take the time to work on publicity the correct way. Don't just jump at the first idea you get and assume the press will love it. That would be foolish. Don't believe me? Try putting a plastic model together by following the instructions in reverse order. You'll probably end up with something resembling a Pinto.

Want to know how to get publicity? We have compiled 21 of our best reports covering many areas of getting cheap or free publicity. These 21 reports make up "Media Relations Power: 199 Ways to Get Free Publicity for Your Company, Cause, or Product." This is one of our finest products about publicity. Follow the link above for more information.

Posted by Angie at 11:52 AM | TrackBack

June 23, 2004

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

Briefs, fillers and quizzes are some of the easiest ways to get into a major magazine or newspaper. Editors love them because they are short and fill odd-size holes on a page. They engage the reader. They require little if any editing. And they are wonderfully sneaky ways to promote your product or service without making it sound like a blatant promotion.

Here are five ideas on how to use quizzes:

- If you're sponsoring an event, create a quiz that ties into it. A cherry festival, for example, would be the perfect chance to create a true-or-false quiz about cherries.

- Want to get into a trade publication? Identify a problem its readers are facing. Then create a quiz that ties into your product or service.

- If your organization or company is celebrating a major anniversary, create a multiple-choice quiz of interesting historical trivia about your product.

- If you're an author, think of an idea for a quiz that ties into your book.

- Professional speakers and trainers can offer a quiz that dovetails with the topic of their keynote or workshop.

Be sure you also supply a list of answers, and give readers an easy way to grade themselves.

For more tips on how to create quizzes and briefs, check out the audio CD/tape of a recent one-hour tele-seminar titled
"Briefs, Fillers and Quizzes: How to Create Them and Why Editors LOVE Them."
Here's a complete list of everything we discuss on the CD/tape.

- Why you should offer your briefs for free to whoever will print them

- Why editors love briefs

- 3 ways to submit your briefs

- What you must give away in your briefs to attract the media's attention

- My best success story that resulted from a brief

- 3 things to include in a brief that will help promote your products and services

- How a 5-line mention in Bottom Line Personal helped a "mystery shopper" sell thousands of dollars in booklets.

- How to recycle information you already have into smaller briefs

- Tips on how to sell information in different forms

- Why editors love tip sheets

- Examples of quizzes that got fabulous publicity

- How your briefs can be resources to accompany other stories

- How to use briefs to draw traffic to your web site

- How to write a "round-up" brief that's packed with helpful advice

- Why magazines love briefs that explain explain various definitions

- The one section of a magazine that LOVES information on new products

- Easy ways to take polls and surveys

- How to get your brief onto TV

- What kinds of "rights" to offer editors so you're free to submit your briefs to other publications

- What to do when editors want exclusive rights

- What to do when reporters ask for more information

- The right and wrong ways to follow up with reporters

- What you should NEVER ask a publication after it prints your item

- 4 ways to use reprints of your briefs to generate more publicity

- How to use briefs with your pitch letters

- The 6 items that go into a cover letter if you choose to write one

- Tips for enticing headlines

- How to encourage readers to contact you after they read your brief

- Where to get free editorial calendars and how to use them

- The overlooked writers at newspapers and magazines who want your briefs

- How a brief can get more publicity for something that already has been covered extensively

- How tips sheets can help you sell your new book

- How public speakers can use tip sheets during their presentations

- Who to send your tips sheets to at various publications

- The preferred form of delivery for your briefs

- 3 big money-wasters you should avoid

- Tips for e-zine publishers

Posted by Angie at 05:22 PM | TrackBack

How To Create "Word of Mouth" In Print

All of us know that "word of mouth" can be the most powerful motivating tool in marketing. But how do you get the advantages of word of mouth in print or on the web?

Scenario: You sit down in front of the computer to see what you can dredge up in the lonely back roads of the Internet superhighway. As you surf, you get neck deep in sites, ads and popups offering everything from herbal supplements, to used space-time flux inhibitors from a stranded time traveler from the future nation of Wicki-Wicki.

Who writes this junk? And, since you're seeing these ads all over the place, it seems they may actually be selling stuff. How are they doing that? The answer to the first question may never be known. But the answer to the second lies in something many great ads (and articles for that matter) have in common: customer testimonials.

Testimonials are a great way to create a word of mouth effect in print. They can also be the one thing that makes or breaks the results from your ad/promotion. So the next time you get a stack of junk mail or see a popup on your screen, don't just throw it out, spend some time looking at how they use testimonials to make you want to buy.

Testimonials are effective because they give people a sense of security regarding your product - after all, if none of your friends know anything about a product, you sometimes have to turn to other sources of verification. If 15 people are willing to give effusive comments, there's at least some evidence that this may actually work. That's where your testimonials come in.

Don't have a bank of testimonials in your files? You need them. Getting them is much easier than one might imagine. For more information on how to get and how to use testimonials, plus some really cool ideas on how to get more business by giving testimonials to others, click
Special Report #31: Sell More Products and Services by Getting and Giving Powerful Testimonials

Posted by Angie at 04:10 PM | TrackBack

How to Publish a Profitable Electronic Newsletter

If you haven’t heard by now that electronic newsletters are one of the most profitable ways to sell your products and services, you’re probably still banging away on an old Underwood typewriter.

More commonly known as ezines (pronounced e-zeens), they let you offer helpful advice, position yourself as an expert, market to a global audience, communicate easily with thousands of people as often as you wish, and promote what you’re selling. All that without expensive postage or printing costs, an advertising budget, keeping track of subscription renewals, or other tasks associated with print newsletters.

The reason ezines can be so profitable is relatively simple to understand. You supply compelling, helpful content on a particular topic to anyone who wants to subscribe for free. In return, you have the right to "pitch" your products and services, or things you can sell for other people on commission. If your readers love your ezine, some of them will buy your products and eventually turn into lifetime customers. The bigger your subscription list, the more you sell. You can build your subscriber base far quicker than you can with a paid-subscription print newsletter simply because you have no or little distribution costs, no printing costs, and you can market to the entire world using the Internet.

Here’s a handy guide on how to incorporate ezines into your own PR campaign, or those of your clients. Special Report #38: How to Publish a Profitable Electronic Newsletter

Posted by Angie at 03:58 PM | TrackBack

How To Instantly Increase Your PR Success Rate By 75% Or More: Write Killer Headlines!

Have you ever seen headlines like these?

Psychics Predict World Didn't End Yesterday. Soap and Water Still Cleans Well. Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says. Astronaut Takes Blame For Gas in Spacecraft. New Housing For Elderly Not Yet Dead. Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half. Kids Make Nutritious Snacks. Two Sisters Reunited After 18 Years in Checkout Counter. Squad Helps Dog Bite Victim. If Strike Isn't settled quickly, it may last a while.

These actual headlines from newspapers around the United States prove that headlines really do make a difference (and can make you look like a fool if you're not careful...) Here's why . . .

As one of my favorite marketers, Dan Kennedy, frequently says, "the objective of a healine is to get people to read the first sentence. The objective of the first sentence is to get them to read the second sentence..." And you can imagine how he progresses from there.

Good headlines interrupt the train of thought for a moment to draw readers into the story. Good headlines can also:

- Promise answers, or solutions

- Be laden with benefits for the reader

- Have an emotional appeal

- Reveal secret information.

Think back to the O.J. Simpson case. Every newspaper fought for the best information. Some sensationalized their headlines to show they had newly exposed information that others didn't. For those caught up in the drama of the case, these made all the difference.

Spend some time with two of the master headline writers in the world - the front page editors of Cosmopolitan and National Enquirer. Nobody can argue that they don't do a good job of pulling people into their editorial just through the words they run on the front cover.

One last word of advice . . . Have someone read your release before you actually release it, or you might find your headline saying something stupid like this:

Lack of Brains Hinders Research --The Columbus Dispatch

For dozens of more tips on how to create killer headlines for your press releases and articles, check out our
Special Report #39: Tips for Writing Eye Catching Headlines for Your News Releases and Articles

Posted by Angie at 03:52 PM | TrackBack

Media Relations Power

Want to know how to get more success from your public relations efforts?

You need to understand the lingo, walk the walk, talk the talk, and schmooze with the reporters and newsmakers. How easy is that?! It's about to get a whole lot easier.

Our new publication, Media Relations Power is a media seekers dream. This product comes packed with 168 pages worth of powerful information written in such a way that anyone can understand and act upon it. Using this information can boost your business image, gain more clients, and build your credibility with the public.

Here's what you'll get inside

- Questions You can Expect Reporters to Ask During an Interview (Including Nasty Hostile Ones)

- How to Identify Story Ideas Within Your Company or Organization

- 52 Tips for Kick-Butt News Releases (and Bonehead Mistakes to Avoid)

- How to Write Crisp, Compelling Letters to the Editor to Promote Your Product, Service or Favorite Issue.

- How to Write "How to" Articles That Position You as an EXPERT

- How to Write the Perfect Pitch Letter That Convinces an Editor to Write About You

- How to Pitch Reporters Over the Phone and Make Every Second Count

- How to Make Your Story Pitch Stand Out in the E-mail Jungle

- How to Create Media Publicity at Trade Shows and Conferences

- Profitable Publicity Tips to Jump-Start Your Consulting Business

- How to Piggyback Story Ideas onto Holidays and Anniversaries

- How to Write Tip Sheets That Catch the Media's Attention

- Damage Control: How to Keep the Media from Making a Mess of Your Story

- Clever Contests That Will Tempt Reporters to Call

- How to Use Polls, Surveys and White Papers That Brand you as an Expert

- How to Create an Online Media Room and Keep the Media Coming Back

- How to Get Booked on Radio Talk Shows, Give a Great Interview and Get Invited Back

- On the Air: How to Create Valuable TV Coverage

- Briefs, Fillers & Quizzes: The Shortest, Easiest Articles You’ll Ever Write

- How to be the Local Angle to National Stories

- How to Recycle Your Publicity (for Serious Publicity Hounds Only)

This information is priceless for any business that needs exposure to the media. Follow the information in here, and you will be on your way to becoming a media magnet. Check it out here: Media Relations Power

Posted by Angie at 03:46 PM | TrackBack

Utilizing "How-to" Articles to Your Advantage

People love free how-to information - and the media loves to give it to them. Watch your newspaper, favorite magazines and the evening news and you'll see how-to information on everything from losing weight to contacting UFO's using only your toaster, a cucumber, and duct tape.

The truth is, the media loves how-to articles for lots of reasons. They make the media source appear to have the public's best interest at heart. They're great space fillers. They have good information that is short and to the point. And almost anyone will eventually find an article that will meet their needs (though why anyone would use a cucumber to contact aliens is beyond me!) But the point is, many people look to how-to articles as a quick and easy source for basic information.

So why not use them to your advantage? Start writing some how-to articles today!

A good how-to article will attract the attention of many people and businesses. The advantages are obvious. Most important - the press is more likely to run a how-to article from you than to carry your standard press release. Plus, it makes you an expert, so the press will come to you for more information on this topic.

And this works for readers too, who will see you as an expert, creating a powerful positioning for you in the future.

We have one engineering client who instructs each of their three engineers that they are to each get an article into one of the industry's trade journals once a month. This instruction wasn't taken seriously until it showed up in their performance reviews - now every single month sees three separate how-to articles from this company in the trade journals. This has not only set them apart as experts in their industry, but it's also a tremendous addition to their web site, with over 150 powerful articles online. They credit these articles with generating over 20% of their business annually.

Want to learn more about how to build your business through writing great how-to articles? Special Report #6 will tell you more: How to write How-to articles that Position You as an Expert

Posted by Angie at 03:35 PM | TrackBack

How to Snag Free Publicity for Your New Business

So you've decided to take the plunge and work 80 hours a week for yourself to avoid working 8 hours a day for someone else. Or perhaps you've been in business several years and you're tired of seeing your competitors get all the publicity.

Small businesses that generate a lot of media attention are often better off than those that don't. That’s because media coverage establishes you as an expert and gives you credibility that can be far more valuable than paid advertising. Even if you can't afford paid ads and many small businesses can't-you can claim thousands of dollars in print space and air time.

Send Press Releases

If you're just starting your business, send a news release to local newspapers, magazines and trade publications that serve your industry. If you join your local chamber of commerce, ask if they can write a short item about you in their newsletter. A simple news release of one or two pages will probably result in no more than a few paragraphs in your local weekly newspaper, or just a brief item in your weekly business journal. But it’s a start, and it will let people know that you're open for business. If your business is very unusual for example, if you offer pet-sitting services the media might call you for a feature story.

Continue to send press releases when you offer new product lines or additional services, speak in your community, conduct classes or workshops, receive media attention in major publications, acquire a patent, get a new contract, sponsor a contest or survey, make a significant charitable contribution, get an industry award or move into a new market.

But, you must be far more aggressive and proactive than just mailing press releases.

Need more information? Check out:
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/adtrack.asp?adID=12666

Want more media time, but don't know how to get it?
http://www.101publicrelations.com/businesspromotion.html

Posted by Angie at 03:29 PM | TrackBack

Give Something Away For Free

We all know the value of giving away free stuff in creating consumer demand, but how often do you utilize that tool to power up your publicity?

There's many ways to do this - some giveaways, like a free trip to the international space station (you do have an extra $20 million laying around, don't you?) are news in and of themselves. Most others are simply another point in your pitch.

A great tool is to offer a free information-based product as part of the byline in your articles, or at the end of your radio interview. Some have taken this step to a totally new level by including the reference in the article itself (sending a copy of the totally-non-sales-oriented giveaway along with the article so the editor can see it and won't edit the reference out), generates a significantly higher level of response.

And if the free information product is strong enough, you can build whole publicity campaigns just around the giveaway itself (think Butterball's Turkey Talk-Line, offering free answers on how to cook your turkey via an 800# call which gets tons of publicity every year in November and December.)

The cheapest way to deliver free stuff? Offer the product iself as an ebook sent through email. You can even automate this process through using a tool called an autoresponder (robots that automatically reply to email with a preprogrammed message containing your free information.) We use a powerful tool that integrates the autoresponder with an online shopping cart, advertising tracking, and automatic delivery of eBooks and other information products. For more information on this system, visit http://www.marketerschoice.com/app/default.asp?PR=6&ID=17537

Posted by Angie at 03:13 PM | TrackBack

You Could Have Your Own Column

I spoke to my parents on the phone last night. They were surprised to hear that I was writing this online newsletter, especially since I spent so much time getting a degree from a business school. I explained how I managed to get into this position. I didn't apply for it. I certainly didn't submit samples of my writing. The newsletter was not going out due to a great deal of other things to do, so I took over one day and wrote it. Suddenly, I had a new position...writer! My parents were so pleased to hear this news, that they are now part of the readership of the newsletter, even though they really don't care much for public relations. Did I just boost my own publicity through writing? Yes! Maybe one day, I'll write for a big newspaper.

How would I go about getting into the newspapers with my writing? That's a great question. Being a columnist for a newspaper could be a very prestigious position to be in. This position could add instant fame to you. Let's look into this further.

- Find your personality. Everyone has a writing style all their own. If you try to imitate someone else, chances are you will fail because it just isn't you. Practice writing. Look for consistent uses of phrases, sentence structure, etc. Perfect your own style and use it to its full potential.

- Find a need for your writing. Who do you think could use the information you have to offer? If you think it would be great to write about a subject, but you are not an expert, the chances of landing a writing position are slim.

- Don't try to start out huge. It takes time to get proper recognition of your writing. Local papers typically are the best place to start. It's ok to be at the bottom at first.

- Competition with existing columnists is a very bad thing. They are established and will probably have more clout than you do. Want to see your column shut down quickly? Just bad mouth a few of the other writers, then go find your pink slip.

There is a lot to learn about writing for publications. They have stringent rules in place for many reasons. I could go on with a lot more information, but this is a tip section, not an instruction manual. However, I can direct you to where to find more info...we have a special report written about being a columnist. It contains a great deal of information that should propel you in the right direction if you wish to start writing for the local media. You'll find it at
Special Report #34: Secrets to Becoming a Columnist in Newspapers and Magazines

Posted by Angie at 02:33 PM | TrackBack

When The Reporter Calls

I received two very interesting calls from the media this past week.

The first was a failure, the second an absolute success. I think there's value in sharing these stories with you, as there are lessons to be learned from each.

First the failure.

The phone rang, on the other end was the BBC. I got excited, I don't hear from international media very often.

It seems that Britain had just passed it's version of an anti junk em%ail bill. But, like America's new Can-Sp%am bill (I put the extra characters in so that this will pass the filters and get to you), it only has penalties for unwanted em%ail sent from within the country.

So what would a bright lowlife sp%ammer do? Go offshore of course!

She wanted me to say that (go offshore), which I would be glad to do.

The problem was that she thought I was someone else. She thought that I was a sp%ammer myself, someone by the name of Sullivan. Apparently we both have websites with somewhat similar names, so she thought she was reaching him.

In other words, she wanted a quote from a sp%ammer, saying that he'd just send it from someone else.

So, whenever I tried to give her the quote from a different angle, she'd listen for a moment, then drag the conversation back, trying to get me to admit that I was this Sullivan guy and was really a crook.

I tried 4 times, giving her pretty good fodder each time, but she was determined. So finally I gave up and told her that I guess I wouldn't be able to give her what she wanted. I did express my willingness to help her out in any way I could, but I just wasn't who she thought I was (thank goodness).

She asked for referrals. Unfortunately, (fortunately!) I don't hang out with lowlifes, and don't know any, so couldn't give her any. So I told her so.

Then I pitched another story to her, and the conversation ended.

Lesson 1: If a reporter calls, and you're not able to give them exactly what they want, give them (if possible) some compelling alternative looks at the information they're seeking. Sometimes, they'll see value in what you are giving them, and will put you in their story.

Lesson 2: Sometimes that doesn't work. In those cases, after several times, walk away from the situation nicely and don't waste any more of the reporter's time.

Lesson 3: Notice that I still tried to create a feeling that I would love to work more with her in the future. Even bad calls can turn into good future calls because you've been helpful in the first call.

Now the success.

This time it was the Kansas City Star on the other end of the line. This feature writer was looking for a PR-type person to give her an inside scoop (ah-ha, closer this time!) Apparently, the wife of the President of the University of Missouri college system got caught saying some very stupid things this week. The reporter wanted to do a story about what to do when spouses do stupid stuff.

This reporter was quite good at telling me what she wanted from me. She basically outlined the quotes she wanted, then she turned the conversation over to me to say them.

So, I spent some time taking her through the process of crisis communications and how a PR professional would deal with a situation like this.

(You have picked up your copy of Crisis Communications Planning: Organizing and Completing a Plan That Works, right? If you haven't this is another assignment for the holidays - get it, read it, get one done while everyone else is lounging on a beach in Aruba.

Even though she had told me exactly what she wanted, I made sure that I gave her more - more insights, and a different twist in a couple of different spots. Basically, I listened to her voice to gauge when she was interested and wanted more, at which point I expanded further. But when she was giving no verbal cues, I took the hint and moved on (except in one case where I switched tracks, and threw in something else that added value to the conversation.)

I also made sure that she got the quotes that she had originally asked for from me.

At the end of the conversation, we talked about my contact information. That's when I did a stupid thing - I gave her my company name (Breakthrough Consulting), then my URL (101PublicRelations.com) I should have only given her my URL, because nobody in Kansas City is going to go to the trouble of finding the phone number for Breakthrough Consulting in Racine, Wisconsin.

(As it turned out, she didn't put in either, the article quoted "Don Crowther of Racine, Wisconsin". This is an ongoing challenge for all of us! Because of that, I probably will never get any business from it, but every little bit helps in the media world...)

If any of you want to see the article, it's here: http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/living/7498912.htm (It requires registration)

At the end of the conversation, I pitched another story, which hopefully will come to fruition. I did it like this:

"I know you're in the midst of this, but I've got another story idea that I think would be a of great deal of interest to your readers." I then went on to describe the story and told her that not only could I provide some insights, but I could help her construct the basic outline of the story, and could refer a number of other experts who could fill in other quotes and aspects of the story. I could also point her to several people who had first-hand consumer experience in the area to be the human-interest side. In other words, I was communicating to her that I could give her an 80% completed feature story. All she had to do was fill in the blanks.

Lesson 4: Always be sure to give the reporter what they're looking for, even if you have to ask them what it is. This makes sure you don't waste their time.

Lesson 5: In spite of what the reporter wants, you're still the expert, so assumably have something else to add. Make sure that you add it, but be careful in the process that you don't blow the story entirely.

Lesson 6: Work on communicating your URL (if that's appropriate!)

Lesson 7: Did you notice that at the end of each of the two calls, I pitched another story? I have no assumptions that the story that I pitched will ever come to fruition. What I was doing was communicating two things: that I'm interested in being a continual, helpful resource for them in the future and that I am an expert in several different areas. I always do this, hoping that these types of notations will get placed into their database for future reference.

Lesson 8: I didn't mention this, but both of these calls came because they found me on the web. If you're not there, and very prominently, you're losing opportunities for media contacts. And not just media contacts - contacts where they call you, rather than you calling them.

One of the major ways that I am doing this is through pay per click advertising.

Want to learn more about interviews and pitching stories? Try these resources:

How To Become An Expert Spokesperson That The Media Will Love

Secrets Of Perfect Pitching To Reporters

How To Pitch Reporters Over The Telephone and Make Every Second Count

Questions You Can Expect Reporters To Ask During An Interview

Posted by Angie at 01:53 PM | TrackBack

Newsletters and the Art of Writing

There is a fine art to writing a newsletter and we can tell you that it's not always easy. But as we come into our 1 year anniversary of publications our subscriber base has grown from literally 0 (the first issue went out to each of our employees and about 3 friends) to over 6000 subscribers! Do you have any idea what this has done for business?! Traffic to our website is way up, and profits are too. I'd give numbers, but confidentiality reigns.

Want to increase your sales and profits too? One great way is to get your information in front of thousands of wired readers by starting an online newsletter. But not just any newsletter. Start a newsletter that keeps people glued to their screens and that helps to build your business. Let's get down to brass tacks here with some of the things that we've learned over the past year:

1. You need to be able to write consistently about a series of topics. For example: writing about the same computer game week after week will be interesting for about 3 weeks, after which you'll probably be looking for a new job. But writing about a new game each week will make money. Find a way to use new material every newsletter, and it'll go much smoother.

2. Someone has to write it. It can be you if you like, but if you're not comfortable (or if you're one of those people who consistently procrastinate writing jobs,) you may want to hire someone. English majors work, or someone in your line of work (as long as they can write).

This raises the perennial question - which is more important - writing talent or product knowledge? In our experience, hire a writer first and teach them about your product area. We've found that it's usually pretty difficult to teach someone to write who isn't comfortable doing it. It's better that they spend their time learning to write about your products than to learn how to write.

3. You need an audience. What do you call a comedian without an audience? Unemployed. I'm not kidding. You need to build a subscriber base. Spending money and time on a newsletter that goes out to 0 people will get a return of the same amount. But DON'T buy one of those CD's that promises millions of email addresses or else you will be accused of sp^amming! I gave fair warning. People are very intolerant of this.

4. Make sure it is written with personality. A newsletter without personality is like reading the professional scientific journal of lawn-growth watchers. If your readers' eyeballs dry out, crack, and shatter from having to drag their carcass through your writing, you need a change.

5. Remember to take your time. Don't quit if you don't get a million subscribers right away. Word travels as fast as people talk (sometimes that's fast). More and more will sign up as time goes on. One thing is for sure, you need a newsletter if you want the Internet segment of your business to really succeed.

Still want more details? We've prepared a special report about this topic that can be purchased for nine dollars. It gives a lot more attention to this subject.

Don't just take my word for it. Give it a try, and I think you'll enjoy sending out a newsletter.

Find out more here:
Special Report #38: How to Publish a Profitable Electronic Newsletter

Posted by Angie at 01:25 PM | TrackBack

June 22, 2004

The Magic Of Differentiation

Driving across Wyoming isn't my favorite thing to do...

First off, I always hit it either at the end of a long drive, or at the beginning of one.

Second, it's always windy, often snowy, and the road curves around quite a bit which when one hits it bored and tired at 85 mph, sometimes makes for some interesting manuevers.

So I traditionally treat Wyoming as a place to be crossed in as little time as possible.

But there is one place in Wyoming that is a must-stop location on our every trip.

It's not the type of place that one would normally put on their list of must-see places.

To quote my 14-year-old daugher Marci - "it's about as far away from anyplace you can get" - maybe an exaggeration, but she's pretty close.

There's nothing cultural about it, nothing historical happened there. There's not even a giant ball of string, or the world's largest set of wooden dentures there to be viewed. (Those of you who have driven the length of fly-over country recently know what I'm talking about.)

In fact, it's a truck stop.

Yep, a truck stop.

It's called Little America and it's about halfway between Evanston and Rock Springs Wyoming, off of I-80. And it's actually on the Rand McNally atlas's map. There's nothing there but a truck stop, and a hotel...

So why in the world is a truckstop a must-stop location (or on the map, for that matter!)

I could say that's it's a pretty amazing truck stop. For example, it's open, light, and clean inside. The floors are marble (really) and they're actually clean, the store's stocked with everything from Remington sculptures to sweatshirts (though the prices clearly aren't Wal*Mart). And my favorite thing - this truck stop's bathrooms are spotlessly clean marble with Kohler fixtures and expensive faucets.

But that's not why we stop.

And it's not why thousands of others stop every day, each contributing to Little America's revenue stream by buying their overpriced gasoline and products.

We stop because of the billboards.

Little America is probably one of the top ad spenders for billboard space in the State of Wyoming. Coming from the east you see the first one 250 miles out. Then as you get closer you see them more frequently, until within 75 miles you see a sign what seems like every couple of miles.

By the time you're within 35 miles you definitely know that there's a place coming up called Little America, and you believe that it must be quite a place for them to be doing this much advertising.

Not everyone is a fan of billboard advertising, as they clutter up the beauties of nature. But in Wyoming, there's only so much scrub oak and sagebrush you can see before a well crafted billboard draws your eye like a magnet.

But then at about 50 miles out the signs take a masterful twist - suddenly you see a giant picture of an ice cream cone. The copy says 35 Cent Ice Cream Cones Little America 50 miles

This message gets repeated over and over again, until when you have reached 20 miles from Little America your mind has moved from "hey, an ice cream cone might be nice" to "aren't we there yet!?!" (There's not much to think about in that part of Wyoming, so obsessing over a lump of frigid chemicals put into a tacky flour-based cone is easy.)

Plus, somewhere in there the kid factor kicks in, they start asking for a cone, and suddenly this truck stop in the middle of nowhere has become a must-stop attraction!

It clearly works. During peak summer months I've had times where I've literally waited in line at Little America to buy overpriced gas then went inside and spent another 5 minutes in line just to get our ice cream cones.

Let's put on our marketing hat for a moment and look at this as a case study.

You own a truck stop. It's waaaayyy out there. You sell a commodity (gas is gas!). How do you get people to stop at your place when they know that 35 miles down the road they could get that exact same commodity at a lower price? Your goal is to get thousands of visitors per day.

You could do the traditional and cut your profit to the bone and feature your low price for diesel and regular unleaded.

But you're not going to get thousands of daily visitors and it won't be very profitable if you do. (The foolishness of competing based on price is the subject of a whole additional article.)

You could advertise that you have the best gas around. But that would be a lie.

You could advertise your marble restrooms. But there are lots of places that say they have the cleanest restrooms in town, and frankly, I simply don't believe their claims.

So the owners of this Little America (by the way - note that there are a number of Little America's around, but none that I know of are destinations like this one is) chose to differentiate themselves with 35 cent ice cream cones.

Differentiation is the process of making yourself different than your competitors in your target consumer's mind.

Differentiation is best when it is something exclusive, something that only you can claim: your product has a whatzamaggick that prevents leaks, it's patented formula is proven to improve performance, we're the only one who offers this in the state, or we only offer this product to alumni of x University.

Lacking exclusive differentiation, you can also differentiate your business based on non-exclusive claims: it makes your lashes appear 25% longer, it's specially engineered to work with the Hampco 687 (when your competitors offer a generic version only), or... you offer 35 cent ice cream cones.

What differentiates you from your competitors? What could you add that would make you do so?

The next thing Little America did correctly was to tell literally everyone who can read who passes by their truck stop that they have this differentiated feature available. Come to think of it, years ago, when my youngest was 2 years old and couldn't read, he was begging for an ice cream cone because he saw the picture.

If you don't tell anyone about your differentiation, it's useless. Shout it, scream it, feature it everywhere, and focus every communication about your product/service on your differentiating point. You can list the other features you offer as sub-points, but your differentiation needs to clearly be first and foremost.

How are you communicating your differenting point?

Third, they supported their differentiating point with excellence. I can guarantee you that 35 cent ice cream (by the way, up 'til this trip, it was 25 cents!) might draw us once, but not a second time if their facility was dirty, bathrooms filthy, and it felt like a truck stop. The marble floors, extra long handles on the windshield washing squeegees, even the Remington sculpture in the store all make us feel comfortable with the purchase, and more likely to buy more (this trip, they got revenue for extra food purchases, some lemon drops and a Mission Impossible 2 DVD from us in addition to the ice cream).

In other words, once you've differentiated yourself to get them there, it's still vital to exceed expectations if you want to close the sale, generate additional sales, and most importantly, generate repeat sales into the future.

What are you doing to go beyond your differentiating point, to exceed expectations?

I can't think of anything more important for a business to do than to figure out what differentiates their products/services from their competition and to better communicate that differentiation to their target consumers.

This really works, for businesses, service providers, even in personal relationships.

Try it out, I'm sure you'll be pleased.

Posted by Angie at 02:36 PM | TrackBack

The Holidays Are Coming!

Yes, it is that time of year again. The holidays will be quickly upon us. Personally, I think it is the best time of year. I enjoy snow (when I don't have to drive in it), lots of food (lots of antacids), and the general kind demeanor of most everyone. But this isn't just a great time for individuals. Businesses get it really good too.

Every year, the day after Thanksgiving, the phone rings. It's a reporter from who knows where, calling to find out what the status of online retailing is for the holidays. What a great question! What an even better opportunity!

The holidays are a great time to build publicity. This is the time of year when people thank you by opening their wallets. Sounds rather commercialized, doesn't it? Don't get me wrong...I love the holidays for their traditions, family, friends and everything else. But if it can build your business in huge ways, why not let it make your holidays even better than they already are?!

First of all, let's concentrate on how to make use of the media in promoting your news stories, articles, etc.

During the holiday season, many media companies are struggling to find relevant holiday stories. This is when you should step in. Make it known that you have a great story (for more information on tying into the holiday season with your stories, check into our audio report on the subject).

Here are 21 ideas that should get the creative juices flowing for you.

1. How sales will be this holiday

2. Best selling items for the holiday

3. How your business is contributing to the community this holiday season

4. Top 10 cool things your employees did to serve the community this past year

5. Sponsor pictures with Santa for a day at the mall

6. Create a product for the top 21 ways to build business next year. (invite to teleseminar)

7. How your company is celebrating the other holidays this season (Hannaukah, Kwannza)

8. How your company is dealing with holiday bonuses, holiday parties, time off and gifts for employees this year

9. Create a quiz that ties your product into the holidays

10. Create a top 10 list that ties your product into the holidays

11. Develop a forecast about your industry for the next year, and submit it to online publications that focus on your industry

12. Say thank you to your customers/clients in a spectacular way

13. Tie your product to the weather

14. Sponsor a holiday contest with a cool prize at the end.

15. Give a major gift to your community

16. Profile your employees that work overtime to handle the holiday rush, and how they fit it all in.

17. Commit to sponsor next year's holiday parade (Johnson Controls got great publicity in Milwaukee for stepping up to sponsor this year's in the face of threats of it's not being held.)

18. Unite with several other local businesses or businesses in your industry to get the cash to do something of note for your community/industry

19. Give something free to every customer who shops/calls/visits on a certain day

20. Sponsor a holiday meal for the homeless or meals on wheels program

21. Sponsor a performance of The Nutcracker or some other holiday program for your community.

Need more information or help? Take a look at our report, to find it.

Special Report #14: How to Piggyback Your Story Ideas onto Holidays and Anniversaries

Find all of our special reports and audio reports at 101publicrelations.com, your source for public relations information!

Posted by Angie at 01:55 PM | TrackBack

Lions and Tigers and Romans Oh My!

Did you ever wonder how famous people in history achieved their fame without the use of television or radio? I sometimes do too. In fact, I was watching the Discovery channel last night, and I saw an advertisement that was touting the great achievements of a man who was a thorn in the side of the Romans for quite some time . . . Spartacus! Who was this man who ticked off the Romans so much, that he inspired a movie, and documentary?

It is speculated that Spartacus was a soldier for the Romans. But, he deserted, fled, was captured, sold as a slave, and was trained as a gladiator. He was quite successful at spilling blood all over the coliseum floor.

After getting fed up with the entertainment industry, he turned to a job where he could kick some butt and make a difference - a vigilante! He gathered together a bunch of other guys, piled into a four-hoof drive chariot and headed for the hills. Every now and then, when they were restless or angry with the Romans for having slaves, they pillaged, sacked and destroyed both for fun and profit. The Romans were not amused. In that state of non-amusement, the Romans sent a mass of armies to stop Spartacus and his rag-tag band of revolutionaries. Apparently, the battle was so big, ESPN called for the movie rights, and the ACLU threatened to sue the Romans for free speech violations. It is thought that Spartacus died in the battle, but his body was never found. Perhaps he's with Elvis in Peoria.

Thankfully, one must no longer topple oppressive regimes, free slaves, and die in battle against overwhelming odds to achieve a relative degree of fame. One must merely know how to appear in the media without messing up.

- The first thing you need to be sure of, is how your image is going to look. Make sure your goal is detailed! The more you decide on now, the easier it will be for you to make decisions.

- Next, you will need a good photo of yourself that you wont mind being given to reporters, etc. This was much harder for Spartacus. But then again, even if he had a photo, it probably would have been on a wanted poster.

- The key to getting fame, is getting your name in front of people as often as possible (I'm not telling you to go around with a felt pen and write your name on things. Shame on you!). Write! Write some more! Write for the local paper. Write articles, and other such items of interest. Don't forget letters to the editor. Make people notice your name.

- Overcome your fear of public speaking. Now! The best way to do it is simply to speak. If you're scared of large audience, start with small ones like your cat. Graduate to your spouse, then add your kids. Throw in a friendly neighbor or two. Now you're ready for the big time. But the only way to do it is to just do it! Public speaking draws attention to you and people will want to listen to you.

These are only a few suggestions. There are many others that you will surely find useful in your quest to make your name known. Still want more ideas? Check out our
Special Report #11, Secrets for Building Your Celebrity Image

Posted by Angie at 01:29 PM | TrackBack

Tying Your PR Into the Holidays

It's that time of year again. You remember from last year: You went to the mall to buy one item. After driving in circles around the mall for over two hours, you found a parking space - except it's for a compact car, and you drive an SUV. No matter . . . you took it anyway.

You got inside the mall, and attempted to part the mass of traffic there. Two map stops, 15 different stores (all of which were out of stock on your item), a Santa picture, a lost child, and Mrs. Fields Cookie later, you finally found a store that had one in the back room... but they were holding it for someone who never came back to pick it up.

So, frustrated, restless, confused, and fuming, you searched across the frozen tundra of the parking lot trying to figure out where you parked. When you finally got there, you found that you had been given a parking ticket, some careless teenager had dented your door, and your right rear tire is flat.

Happy holidays!

So what does this have to do with public relations? Everything! Keep in mind that most of those people who were clogging up the aisles in the mall have money in their pockets, which they are ready and excited to spend.

And even if your product or service isn't a consumer-oriented product, there's a number of other factors, like the end of the tax year, new year's resolutions, and family time off for the holidays that create a potential spurt in sales in many different areas.

Of course, you should keep in mind that almost every big-hit product every year is driven more by the press than through advertising.

So here's the question, how can you tie your product into the holidays?

Here's some hints:

- Be ready for the holidays with several story ideas that you feel the media would find interesting.

- Pitch your stories in two waves - one well before the holiday (for magazines and special interest sections -it's already too late for this holiday season, but remember this for next year) and the other about 2-4 weeks before the holiday. There is also something to be said for pitching one last time at the last minute. Oftentimes, it is difficult for reporters to come up with stories at the last minute that fill those last few inches of space.

- What about contests? Some of the best contests come out during the holidays, not to mention the fact that a contest provides great exposure.

- What about a poll? Last year we got great exposure for one of our holiday web sites with a poll on the hottest holiday gifts for the year, which then sent people to our web site.

-If you can't come up with a good story, find out how you can sponsor something that would have a great story. Then suggest that to the editor.

Have you had success in getting holiday-related publicity in the past? We'd like to hear about it and share it with the rest of the group. Not only will we all get some great ideas from this, but you'll get some publicity with our 6000+ readers. Drop me a note at info@101PublicRelations.com and tell me about what you did, how you did it, and what the results were. Be sure that you include your contact information!

And for more on how to use the media to your advantage during the holidays check out
Special Report #14, How to Piggyback Your Story Ideas Onto Holidays and Anniversaries.

Posted by Angie at 01:14 PM | TrackBack

Today's Magnetic Storm and PR

1. Get ready, it's coming, this afternoon!

Yes, there's a sunspot bigger than the size of Jupiter, that's hurtling electromagnetic rays at the earth, which are probably hitting you as you read this.

There was talk this morning of everything from power grids shutting down, to cell phone calls being dropped, to the need to wear tin-foil hats on your head. Probably won't happen, but you can bet there are some fanatics having a great time today!

The best part? They're saying that there should be some pretty cool northern lights out tonight. Unfortunately, we're cloud locked here in Wisconsin, so I'll be missing them. If you've never seen them before, or even if you have, go outside and check them out - they're really cool!

2. Wisconsin's legislature is debating a concealed carry law this afternoon, trying to decide whether they should allow individuals to carry guns in public.

3. Oprah's running an interview with Elizabeth Smart on Monday (the Salt Lake City girl who was kidnapped from her bedroom, then found months later) including taking the cameras into her very bedroom. (I bet she cleaned her room willingly on the day of the shooting!) Plus I've heard that one of the network's will run their Elizabeth Smart story in the upcoming sweeps period.

4. The Democratic party has put together a TV ad campaign talking about the health insurance crisis while Bush is spending $87 billion in Iraq.

5. Actor Robert De Niro just was diagnosed with prostate cancer discovered during a routine exam.

What in the world do these things have in common, and what do they have to do with PR?

Very simply, every one of these things is a huge PR opportunity, but only for those who aggressively make them happen.

Some bright Doctors are going to be on the phone pitching the importance of regular complete medical checkups with more than just blood work, and tying into the De Niro story.

Those who have products and services to protect children have a great opportunity to have stories run on the news right after the Elizabeth Smart story, and in the newspapers and magazines and talk shows throughout the month.

Etiquette consultants have an opportunity to turn sunspots into a "what to do to be polite with new technologies" discussion.

I won't belabor the point with more examples.

What are you doing to tie your product, service or cause into the media at least once each quarter?

I say that, because I have yet to find a company that couldn't do some tie-in at least once every three months.

But to do that, you need to think opportunistically!

You need to read the paper and watch the news with your main thought being "how could I tie-in to that" instead of "look what our society's come to."

You need to watch movie previews thinking the same thought, rather than "that looks like a good flick."

You need to constantly track upcoming events like sports, elections, TV shows, trade conferences, new product announcements from major publicity-generating organizations, etc. with the same thoughts.

This reminds me of a story.

There was once a young man who was on an African photo safari. At night, the jeeps all drove into a fenced-in compound. The young man, being restless, went for a walk, but finding the compound cramped, started to climb the fence to go outside the compound.

One of the hands grabbed him and pulled him down off the fence.

"What could hurt me?" the young man asked. "It's just a flat bunch of weeds out there."

So the hand took some time to teach...

"See those weeds, there's a pride of lions that lives out there in those weeds and you'll hear them roar outside the fence later tonight."

"See that puddle 50' away from the fence? There's a crocodile that lives in it."

"No way," the young man replied, "that puddle couldn't be more than a few feet in size and it only 6" deep!"

"But there is, and he killed a tribesman just last week."

Just then they saw a bird land next to the puddle to get a drink. Suddenly the puddle became a boiling cauldron of muddy water. A few seconds later the bird was dinner, the croc was happy, and the young man was a surprised believer.

I normally use this story to remind my teenagers of the importance of staying away from situations that on the surface look safe, but in reality are dangerous.

But the other day I reversed the story, and realized that if you look at the world from the viewpoint of the croc instead of the bird, there's another lesson to be learned:

"When you're constantly looking for opportunities to come your way, you tend to eat better."

So, when it comes to PR, are you a crocodile, or a bird?

One great resource to help you learn not only how to search for those opportunities, but will teach you exactly what to when they come up is one of our best sellers:
Media Relations Power: 199 Ways To Get Free Publicity For Your Company, Cause or Product.
Click to find out more.

Posted by Angie at 12:18 PM | TrackBack

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 by clicking the link above.

Posted by Angie at 12:02 PM | TrackBack

Media Munchies

Do you own a cat? I did. I owned two when I was a kid. They were great pets, but they had a really gross habit. At night, they would head off to the back fields and hunt for whatever munchies might be available (kind of like humans rummaging through the fridge at night, trying to find something good to eat in there without waking their spouse). In the morning they would leave me a gift to let me know that they loved me: a half-eaten carcass of a bird, gopher, snake, scorpion, mouse, rat, or some undiscovered species would be left on the back porch. I guess this was my cat's way of showing how much they care. For a cat, nothing communicates love quite like your share of a dead field animal. Just watch your step. Ewwwwww....

Think about Valentines Day and what you're going to give that special someone (For all of you hunters, a half eaten deer or elk carcass on your loved one's front porch isn't a good idea...) However, chocolates sound like a great idea. Once again, food is a great gift.

Once again we ask the question, how does this apply to the media?

Since gift-giving is a natural part of life, one of the thoughts that crosses our mind when we're trying to get additional media coverage (or to thank them for covering you in the past) is to send a gift. While this may be a good idea with some clients, many in the media have ethics policies that they must follow. Many of those policies include clauses about gift receiving, some going so far as ruling gifts out altogether.

So, gifts may not be such a great idea.

How about taking your media contact out to lunch? Perhaps. But once again, policy may restrict the media.

Here's some tips just to keep you out of trouble:

-- First and foremost, before sending food or meeting for lunch, check the ethics policies of the media outlet you plan on treating. Typically, newspapers and magazines are more strict.

-- If you do meet your media contact at a restaurant or a bar, don't drink. As your health teacher in High School told you over and over - alcohol affects your ability to think through the consequences of your actions, which is the most important skill that you have to have when dealing with the media. Remember that it's their job to get news out of you, and if your defenses are low and you say something without considering the consequences, you can get slaughtered in the media.

-- Consider sending a simple card to the newsroom as a thank you for running your story. This is always in good taste and doesn't compromise policy. Besides that, it's a great idea that far too few people do, so it helps you to stand out in their minds.

-- Perhaps a donation to a charity in the media outlets name is a good idea as a thank you.

-- DON'T send gifts, whatever they may be, on election nights, and other such events when they have given you a favorable exposure. This looks really bad and could even come back to haunt you, even with the best of intentions.

These are just a few tips among many in Special Report #43: The Do's and Don'ts of Offering Food to the Media. This report will tell you everything you need to know about food and the media. Get it now.

Posted by Angie at 10:32 AM | TrackBack

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