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A spin could mean two different things. The first thing a spin could be is a biased portrayal of events in a person's own favor. They may be deceptive and manipulative to get what they want from the world and such.
There are people called spin-doctors that are hired to go about and try to shape peoples perceptions of political parties and such. They try to twist people's thinking to their way of thinking by using different tactics.
Continue reading "Spin" »
In business, developing relationships with reporters is very important. You have to be able to get good publicity or else your business will not do very well. If you do not have good publicity then you will not have people interested in buying your products.
Without people to buy your products you will not be able to run. You would just go into a hole of debt that you could not get out of. That would stink pretty badly. That would be worse than just having a small business; your business would completely collapse.
In order to develop relationships with reporters you have to begin pitching stories to them and doing it in mature, experienced ways. You have to be able to impress them and not annoy them.
Continue reading "Rolodex" »
A position paper is a paper that is written by a person or a business.anyone that wants to take a position on a subject. If there are any controversial issues or anything, you can write a position paper to let the public know where you stand.
People like position papers because they like to know exactly where you stand. If there is a business that they trust, they want to know if the business will stand for good values when good values come into question.
Writing position papers can earn you expert status. This is very important in businesses that want people to trust them. If you have expert status then people may start to look at you as sort of an opinion leader. They would see you as someone whose opinion they could trust and respect.
If you had expert status then people would trust you because they would know that you are someone who knows what they are talking about. It is not as if a professional golfer is trying to write a paper on trimming trees. That you could not trust. But it is as if a professional golfer were writing a paper on golfing. People would read it.
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In order for a business to do well they need great publicity. If they do not have good publicity they will not be able to do well as a business. Their success depends on the public's opinion of them mainly.
If the public does not think well of them then there will not be anyone who wants to buy their products. If there is not anyone who wants to buy their products then the business will not stay a business.
The business runs because it manufactures something and that something is bought by the public. The money that they earn off of it can then go towards making other products and selling those.
So it is apparent how important publicity is to a business. There are many ways for a business to get publicity. One major way is for them to pitch stories to editors and reporters and also to develop relationships with them.
Continue reading "Opinion Leader" »
An op ed is an "op-inion ed-itorial" or sometimes it is called an "op-posite ed-itorial." It would be called an opposite editorial because it is usually located on the page opposite the editorial page in a newspaper.
People who are expressing personal viewpoints and opinions on different subjects write these editorials. They are usually written by guest authors or staff members of the paper and have a greater length than normal editorials.
There is not a lot of editing that goes into them because of their personal and opinionated nature. The people writing these articles could be considered experts in their fields. They are people who might be looked at as opinion leaders. People that the public look up to and value for their opinions on different subjects.
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Businesses need good publicity in order to run. They need the public to know who they are and be interested in what they have to sell or else they will not have customers and their business will not be able to run.
There are many mediums that they can get publicity in. They can be in the newspaper, in magazines, on drive-time radio, morning shows, talk shows, international radio and more. There are so many places where they can turn to for publicity.
They get things published about them mainly by seeking for it. They have to pitch stories to the media and develop relationships with reporters. They have to do this with many different publications in order to get the most publicity possible.
The more good publicity they have the more people it will be that will be familiar with their name and be interested in what they do. The more people they have that are familiar with their name and interested in what they do the more people they will have that will buy their products.
Continue reading "Multiplier Effect" »
In order for a business to run they need publicity so that people will come to them and buy their products. If they do not have good publicity then it will be very hard for them to be successful and they may not stay open very long.
One way that many businesses get publicity is through pitching stories and press releases. They send their information into a reporter or editor and the reporter or editor decides whether or not he or she wants to use it.
If they do, you are in luck because then your business will appear in the paper and you will get some good publicity. If they do not then you have to try to find other ways of getting good publicity or you may have to just keep trying until your story gets accepted.
Continue reading "Following up After Sending a Press Release" »
Businesses and people that are trying to sell something and keep selling something have to have good publicity and they work hard to get publicity. Without good publicity and customers they would not be able to exist.
Publicity allows people to know who they are and then those people want to come buy what they have. But if businesses do not have good publicity or people to buy their stuff they might as well just shut down.
One way that these people try to get good publicity is by pitching their stories to editors and reporters and developing relationships with these reporters. If reporters will accept their articles then that is a good way to get publicity.
Continue reading "Fillers" »
When businesses strive for good publicity they are trying to sell themselves to the public. They want the public to be so interested that they want to buy the company's products. They are trying to get the public to build confidence in them as a business.
The main way that businesses get good publicity is by advertising. People see ads and they tend to want what they see. Especially if the business does a good job at portraying their products.
Probably everyone has heard or seen a little girl who is watching TV and sees the newest and greatest Barbie dream doll tell her parents that the Barbie is what she wants for Christmas. Even if it is a year in advance.
They see it on TV and they see all of the neat things it does and they want it so bad. It is like it is the only thing that matters in the world. Advertisements do not quite have this effect on adults but they do still affect them.
Continue reading "Features" »
When it comes to public relations and getting good publicity, many businesses will go on publicity campaigns. It just means that they are going to start doing a lot of advertising and such so that people will hear their name and get familiar with them.
Many businesses will hire a media coach or a publicist to run their campaign. It is a lot easier if you have someone that is trained in publicity help you to get publicity. A media coach or publicist could help you know what would be best to do and how would be best to advertise so that you can get the best publicity possible.
For some businesses it may be best to advertise one way one for others it may be best to advertise a different way. A media coach would be a great person to help you with that and tell you what you should do.
They would be able to guide the campaign and watch it to see how well it was doing. It just might be a good idea if you are going to campaign, to get a publicist or a media coach. If you think you can do it yourself that is fine, but it is just something you may want to ponder.
Continue reading "Campaigns" »
For businesses to run they need publicity. They need to contact reporters and editors and they need to try and get articles published about them. They need to pitch their stories in such a way that editors will want to make them a part of their publications.
For businesses publicity is like gasoline is for a car. Without gasoline even the nicest car cannot run. It may have all the best features and be top of the line quality, but with out fuel all of that is quite useless except to be looked at.
With businesses, they may be the greatest and produce the best stuff, but with out publicity there is no point. If people do not know who they are they will not buy their stuff and the business will not be able to run. People have to buy their stuff or else they will just go into deep dept. They will have no money to support themselves.
Continue reading "Bacon's" »
Public service announcements could be a way to get publicity for your business or non-profit organization. It would be a lot easier for a non-profit organization to get publicity off of a public service announcement because you are not really supposed to use them as an add, but there are ways the people have found to get publicity for their business.
You may wonder why businesses would not just advertise on radio or TV without going on public service announcements. After all, if it is so tricky to advertise on a public service announcement, what is the point?
A public service announcement is a spot that airs for free on public radio while for other ads and such you would have to pay. For smaller companies this would be great because they may not have the money to pay for a spot to advertise themselves.
Continue reading "Public Service Announcements" »
For businesses to run they need great publicity. They need the public to know them and like them. The public has to want what they have and be willing to buy what they have or else the business will not be successful. That is just how it goes.
Businesses will do different things in their quest for great publicity. Some will advertise on drive-time radio, some will pitch stories to different media, some will try to be part of public service announcements and some will become experts in their fields so that people will trust them.
There are so many different things to do and each is important in order to create a market. Some people will advertise through words and others will advertise through pictures. If businesses are going to use pictures of people they have to have model release forms.
Continue reading "Model Release Form" »
So what exactly is your corporate image? It's a term that you hear thrown around a lot. "Bad step on Microsoft's part. It's really going to hurt their corporate image." Things like that. Hopefully, reading stories in the news about corporations or businesses and how their actions affect their corporate image will start you thinking about your own corporate image.
Your corporate image is how people outside of your corporation (or inside your corporation) see your company or corporation. Corporate image can thus mean a lot of things, and it doesn't just apply to corporations. Any sort of organization, like hospitals, the government, religions, non-profit organizations, charities, and universities have to know what their corporate image is, what they'd like their corporate image to be, and how to change their corporate image.
Generally speaking, your corporate image is how people see what your business stands for. It's your business' or your corporation's identity. For example, most people see oil companies as being money-grubbing, air-polluting, unfriendly companies that only want to make money. Similarly, the public usually sees tobacco companies as being family-unfriendly, kid-using, air-polluting, human-killing companies that are just out to sell their product no matter what it takes. Recently, several major tobacco companies, like Philip Morris, have made an effort to change their corporate image through carefully planned publicity and public relations campaigns.
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When you read about or research advertising and marketing, the word "branding" will often come up. What is branding? How is it used? How do people use branding effectively? Can branding positively or negative change the way people see things? How can I best apply branding to my own business? Below are some simple tips and points about branding.
Continue reading "Branding" »
So you have written a book and you want to publish it. In order to do well you are going to need very good publicity. The question is how to get this publicity. You need to work very hard in order to get the publicity you need. Otherwise you could miss out on making a lot of money from all your hard work that you put into your book.
You thing you will want to think about is your audience. You probably are not going to try and reach the public at large because it would be too hard to get to everyone; especially since not everyone will be interested in the topic of your book.
If your book is on science you do not need to worry about getting good publicity amongst dairymen. If it is on dairy you do not need to worry about getting good publicity amongst scientist. You need to decide who your audience is and then direct your publicity campaign towards your intended audience.
Continue reading "Book Publicity" »
The blacklist is a death sentence for your publicity campaign. Here's the scenario: You need publicity. We all need publicity. Movie stars, TV stars, radio personalities, and fashion designers need publicity or nobody would watch their movies, watch their TV shows, or buy their clothes. Ultimately, nobody would hire them, and their career would be over, without good publicity, and lots of it. Athletes need publicity so that they can continue to get marketing contracts and so that teams will be interested in them. Businesses need publicity so that people will come to their store and buy their products. Suppliers need publicity so that businesses will buy their products and then sell them. Even people who have professions that don't deal in the actual selling of physical objects need publicity. If you're an accountant, and nobody knows who you are, how are you going to get clients? This isn't just a problem around April 15th, but publicity is an issue throughout the entire year.
Because publicity and public relations are so important, a huge industry has grown up around publicity. You can hire a public relations specialist, or publicist, and design, with their help, an enormous and expensive publicity program. This would entail the use of TV ads, newspaper ads, billboards, and tons of other stuff. The problem is that most of us just don't have the money that you need to run such an enormous publicity campaign. It takes a lot of money and a lot of people to do something on that big of a scale. The good news is that you can save your money to fix your fax machine. There are tons of ways to get free publicity.
Continue reading "Blacklist" »
Advertising, in public relations, is the process of bringing a particular product or service to the attention of the public through television, print media, brochures, signs, direct-mailings, emails, commercials, and other means. Advertising is an expensive corporate necessity which requires strategy and complete planning in order to be effective.
Publicity, in public relations, is media mentioning of a company, organization, or entity. Unlike advertising, publicity is free and is generated by members of the media through articles, event coverage, interviews, stories, and other media. Companies and organizations have very little control over the type of publicity they receive, as journalists and reporters ultimately decide what is said. Publicity can be either positive or negative, and can have strong effects on a company or organization.
Continue reading "Advertising publicity" »
A newspaper is an excellent source of publicity for an event, business, or promotion. Newspapers are read by millions each day, either online or via that actual paper delivered to the doorstep. The good part about it is that using the newspaper for publicity is free.
Publicity differs from advertising in that publicity contains some newsworthy piece of information in it, rather that just an announcement that a sale is going on. For example, a newspaper would be more likely to feature a story about a group of Girl Scouts who raised money for a homeless shelter instead of just an ad asking people to donate to the Girl Scouts - the first example is newsworthy and would make for a good article; the second is merely an announcement that would cost money to advertise.
Continue reading "Newspaper Publicity" »
So you are a business and you are trying to get good publicity. All businesses are. Publicity is a major key to success in the business world. There are many ways the people go about getting good publicity.
Businesses pitch their stories to publications and stuff they want to be seen on and they develop relationships with reporters so that reporters will report them in a good light. They release great products and try to earn the trust of the public. There are many different things businesses will do.
One tactic that businesses will use is exclusives. This means that they will release information to one publication and not another. They will exclude a lot of reporters and such from receiver their information.
Continue reading "Exclusives" »
For any business or person that is trying to get good publicity, it would really help them if they would achieve expert status. Receiving expert status would help the spokesperson of a company as well as someone trying to publish a book or an article or anything of the sort.
If you are trying to achieve expert status that means that you not only claim to know what you are talking about, but you are actually an expert in that area. For someone writing a book about animals, they have to be able to prove that they actually know about the animals, they have to prove that they are an expert in their field.
If people know that you are an expert they will trust what you have to say. If Michael Jordan were to write a book about basketball, he would probably sell many, many copies because he is an expert in his field.
Continue reading "Expert Status" »
Whether you are a big business or a small business, well known or not so well known, when it comes to launching a new product, you basically need to do the same thing: get the public's attention so that they will be interested in your product enough to buy it.
If you fail to do this, not only will people be unaware of your product, but you may lose a lot of money in producing something that nobody is going to buy.
Probably one of the most important things for you to do is to advertise like crazy. One company that's new product was a huge success had ads in all the major newspapers and on the major news channels.
Continue reading "Publicity Tips for a New Product Launch" »
One of the best sources of publicity for a builder or a remodeling company that is being widely overlooked by the industry is to have a website on the internet. There are lots of surveys out there that prove this statement to be true. There is a heavy consumer demand for web-based information on new homes and remodeling information but most builders have not taken advantage of this opportunity. Here are a few statistics that may be of interest to you.
42% of consumers nationwide who purchased a home and that had access to the internet used the net as a source of information
29% of the nation's home builders have web sites.
26% of home owners who had home improvements done researched the job on the net.
28% of the nation's contractors have web sites
17% of the nations sub contractors have web sites
77 percent of builders, remodelers, and subcontractors don't have web sites and they do not have plans to launch a web site.
Continue reading "Publicity Tips of Builders and Remodelers" »
If you are a writer and want to make it big, publicity is important, but you must first decide if you are willing to put forth the effort to make your writing dream come true. Are you willing to sacrifice in order to get what you want in your career? If you are willing to do this, even though your career goal might take years to come true, it will happen. Writing could be the right career path for you, but you will need patience, and perseverance, and some luck.
Tips:
Write as though you have already achieved fame and that people know you are out there. As you do that others will feel that you do have fame.
Continue reading "Publicity tips for writers" »
No matter what kind of publicity that you are interested in there are two important points to keep in mind. The first is your message. Decide what it is that you are trying to get across to the public. Everything else that you decide to do with your publicity plan will revolve around this idea. The second important point to keep in mind is your target group. Decide who your audience is and promote directly to their interests. There may be completely different types of people that are interested in what you have to offer, so be creative and speak each audience type.
After you have decided on your message and have your target audience in mind, design your website to suit their interests. All the points about communicating a message apply to websites as much as other written material.
Continue reading "Publicity Tips for Websites" »
Here are some publicity tips for technology companies. Technological development is moving faster and faster these days, and it's your job not only to keep up with technological innovations, but also to attract and inform potential customers by setting yourself apart from the thousands and thousands of other technology companies. What makes you special? What makes your products better? Why should customers choose you? How do customers find you out of the crowd of companies? This is where publicity comes in. It's vital that you develop a great publicity plan, beginning with the basics of advertising. Following are some publicity tips to help technology companies.
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It's hard enough being a small business, but a start-up is even more difficult. How do you break into an already concrete market? How do you convince people to shift their loyalties to your own business? How do you make yourself known, make yourself memorable, and convince customers that your products are worth returning for? The following are some good publicity tips for start-ups.
--Announce your arrival. It's important for a start-up to get great publicity right away. Have a grand opening. Introduce yourself to the community. Deliver flyers door-to-door so that everyone knows about you. Offer special discounts to celebrate your opening. If you can create a bang right away, you'll be remembered and people will come back. Make sure that you have a mailing list sign-up at your grand opening, so that you can keep reminding people about your services. Let your grand opening last a while; it takes people a long time to notice.
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So you've finally opened up your own business, but now you need some customers! Fortunately, there are tons of ways to get people talking about your business; it just takes some hard work, dedication, and lots of creativity. Here are some great publicity tips for small retail stores:
--Use your customers. Have an email list available by the cash register so that they can sign up for a monthly newsletter. Encourage them to forward emails to their friends. Also provide your business card. If it's in their wallet, they'll constantly be reminded of you.
--Use the Internet. A website is a great publicity tool for a small retail store. Ask your suppliers and other small business owners to include a link to your site on their own. Remember to make it simple and easy to navigate. Email is another excellent publicity tool for a small retail store. Send out a weekly or monthly newsletter to all of your customers. Ask them to forward it. Include upcoming marketing events, product highlights, community events, even fun trivia! Another good idea is to send thank you cards out to loyal customers once a year. This personal touch will really impress them.
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The failure rate among restaurants is extremely high so it is vital that you do everything that you can to promote your restaurant and there are many free sources of publicity that you can take advantage of. The following is a list of tips that when you utilize will make you grow and become known to those in your community.
Writing a story for the newspaper about your restaurant, food, or a community event that you are involved in is a good way to get free publicity. By calling the advertising departments of newspapers and magazine to ask for a free listing of special topics that are coming up in the calendar year you will be able to see where your story would be a good fit. Finding this information out for the year will give you time to speak with the editor weeks and months in advance.
Inviting the food editor or reporter from the local newspaper to your restaurant then offer yourself as a source for tips, story ideas, and to keep the reporter in the "know" of the restaurant industry. Eventually this relationship may be one where the reporter calls you instead of you calling them.
Continue reading "Publicity Tips for Restaurants" »
If you have tried you hand at getting publicity through the media but really haven't gotten anywhere then maybe you are not taking the right approach. There are ways to get free media publicity, you just need to know how to do it. The trick is to let the media know what you can do for them instead of trying to get them to help you. Be helpful, offer yourself as a resource that reporters can come to if they need background information, commentary, or story ideas about the real estate business.
One of the first things that you must do is to create a relationship with reporters. Call reporters and invite them to lunch. Let them know your areas of expertise and encourage them to call you. Once you have established a working relationship with reporters keep them informed about the real estate industry by supplying them with industry reports, articles, tips and trends that you are seeing, this will keep your name in their minds so that they will call you when they have a need.
Continue reading "Publicity Tips for Real Estate Agents" »
It is important for politicians to use the publicity that they get from the media wisely. Politicians tend to get a lot of publicity from the media without asking for it. Some publicity that politicians get is not so positive while at other times the public actually gets to see them in a more positive light. The following are tips for politicians to assist them in using their publicity that they get from the media wisely.
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It seems that these days the police are always getting a bad rap. Rarely do you hear a story about the police where they are mentioned as the heroes that they really are. Police probably don't need to be mentioned as a hero, to them they are just regular people doing a job. Well I think that the police really are heroes and they just get bad publicity. So if you are a police or you work for a police force how can you change the image that is being portrayed by the media?
That is a hard question to answer but there are ways to increase the positive publicity and decrease the negative publicity that surrounds police forces. Some of the tips for positive publicity for police forces include highlighting the positive programs that your police force is involved in. If you have a program that goes into schools and teaches children the dangers of drugs and alcohol, find a way to get that story out to the media and the community.
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Let's face it: lawyers have get a terrible rap. We've all heard the lawyer jokes, listened to our friends blame all the problems of the world on greedy lawyers. On top of a bad reputation, your law firm has to compete with tons of other law firms, and the regular public doesn't know heads or tails about the difference between you and everyone else. Lawyers and law firms need to come up with a good publicity plan that will bring in new customers and keep old ones.
1. The first step is to decide what kind of image you want to portray. When designing the publicity for your law firm, think about your ideal customer. Do you handle auto accidents? Patent law? Small cases or large? Medical malpractice? Copyright violation? Your customer will determine your image and where you decide to advertise. Once you've decided who you want to attract, it's time to think of the image that will most attract that customer. Your advertising campaign will be based upon these decisions.
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Large retail stores have several problems that they have to tackle when considering their publicity tactics. Most people in the area have heard of your store; however, they might not be fully aware of the full range of merchandise you offer or how much better your prices are. There are so many other large retail stores out there that the competition can be brutal and your store might get lost in the battle if you don't come up with a great way to make yourself stand out. Also, while most people end up shopping at large retail stores, they often have a bad reputation for bad products, poor customer service, and are the object of the typical consumerism-is-destroying-the-earth attack. So what are some ways that a large retail store can overcome its reputation, soar above its competitors, and make money in the process? Check out the following ideas.
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If you own your own jewelry store, the best way to publicize is to have your own website.
Another way is to sell on Ebay. This will often earn you more money due to more publicity.
eBay.com is by far the most popular online sales method for many jewelry designers, although selling jewelry this way could be very risky. The eBay market is saturated, and unless your product is unique it won't even be noticed.
Have a party and display your jewelry in an attractive layout. Advertise on an Internet auction. Display posters advertisements on bulletin boards, yard sales, community sales, flea markets etc. If you have a lot of jewelry to sell, it would be profitable to pay someone to make and advertise a website for selling jewelry You might also consider bartering or trading with other retailers.
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If you are the owner of a hotel or a bed and breakfast there are ways for you to get free publicity for your business. You may have been spending your hard earned dollars advertising in the newspapers but there is a better way. Using the media outlets for free publicity isn't always easy but it will be worth it if you follow a few tips.
Continue reading "Publicity Tips for Hotels and Bed and Breakfasts" »
For any new business the grand opening is very important. You can't start a business without letting people know.
To try would be like entering a party from the back door and only speaking to a few people the entire night. You would never really be noticed.
The grand opening puts your business name out in the open. It lets other businesses know that you're here and you plan on staying.
It also lets customers know that you are an available option for them to buy products from. If you are starting a lumber company, it will make people who are looking for lumber aware that you are there, and if you have good products, they can become your permanent customers.
Besides entering the front door of the party though, there are a few other things you need to do to get noticed.
Even if you are having a grand opening, it won't be very grand and nobody will know you're there if you don't first: advertise the grand opening.
Continue reading "Publicity Tips for a Grand Opening" »
The most common form of fitness publicity is based on the press release. This seems to be the method that is used exclusively by many companies. How do you do a press release?
A good press release is not very difficult to do. It should contain words that would be simple enough for a Junior High School student to understand. Your press release should not exceed one page and it should be double spaced. This will make it easier for the editor to read. You will also want to keep the layout easy to read. Make them real attention getters. Grab on to his interest from the very first sentence.
On each press release, you will want to include the following information:
Date - the editor wants to see that it is not an outdated document. Include a contact person where additional information can be obtained. It will be important to note that this is for immediate release.
Continue reading " Publicity tips for fitness companies" »
There is a way to create free publicity to sell your product. It is important to create an image of your expertise. One of the first things to do would be to send out news releases about your industry. Let them know about awards you have won, contests you are holding and speaking engagements you have coming up in the near future.
Go into the speaking circuit. Look for community groups and trade associations to speak about your fashion company. Take into account the age groups you are trying to attract. Consider their likes and dislikes. Make sure your information contains important information about the industry. Be creative! Sometimes the best publicity is word of mouth. As people talk about your fashion, interest will spread.
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Choosing a doctor and treatment center are among the most important decisions people make.
Finding the best doctor or health center that meets their specific needs may sometimes be difficult. Patients will want to know about your experience as a surgeon or the hospital you are affiliated with when they choose a medical team.
Getting your information by way of the newspaper is a great place to profile your work. In order to get your story into the newspaper it needs to be newsworthy. Explain how the hospital structure operates with its doctors, nurses, and other key hospital personnel. One of the main tasks is to help promote the hospital or doctors reputation. By doing this funding could be increased as well. The best way to inform the newspaper is by email, and when you do this, give with as much notice as possible.
People choose a hospital for many reasons. It may be because of location and reputation, or because their doctor suggested it. Patients often choose a physician by asking friends and relatives. Some choose doctors by consulting their health plan's list. Unfortunately few people know which doctor or hospital offers the best care.
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If you are putting on an event that is associated with a college function there are many facets that need to be paid attention to before you begin the event. There may be certain policies and procedures that may be unique to the college. Checking what guidelines that need to be followed is one of the first steps that you must take. Some examples of policies that may be enforced for a college campus may include.
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In today's environment of dropping church attendance, especially among teens and twenty-somethings, it's becoming more and more difficult for churches to reach people. At the same time, publicity for churches is becoming more and more important as people become more dependent on the media. Churches need to learn how to use the media, combined with good old-fashioned publicity tricks, in order to reach the greatest number of people, and to keep them coming back!
Here are some good publicity tips for churches.
1. Communicate well! Make sure that your announcements, posters, news releases, and any other communication is easy to understand. Make people feel comfortable. Speak to your audience using the same language that they use.
2. Be visually interesting! There are some very simple ways that you can make your publicity eye-catching. This is a good publicity tip for churches. Use bold colors. Make your words stand out. Use images. You don't have to be cheesy or tacky, but images communicate even better than words do a lot of the time, and the two work particularly well together. Don't clutter your posters: pick a main message, and say it loud and clear.
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There are many different ideas out there about chiropractors. Much of the publicity about chiropractors is negative, but in recent years the publicity about chiropractors has been steadily improving. The negative ideas concerning chiropractic stemmed from negative publicity from the AMA's national boycott of this type of healing. Beginning in 1963 and going until 1987 the AMA managed a smear campaign that may affect people's ideas about chiropractic to some degree for years to come. The smear campaign ended due to the five Illinois chiropractors that filed a lawsuit against the AMA and affiliated groups for restriction of trade and won. Unfortunately, the damage has already been done and there are still people that could be helped by the services of a chiropractor but will not even consider seeing a chiropractor due to their tainted ideas that have been with them for years.
Recently, however, chiropractic has gained acceptance among medical professionals. More medical doctors have been referring patients to chiropractors for back pain, and there are medical doctors and chiropractors that are now teaming up in partnerships so that patients can have the benefits of both types of doctors. Another advance in the chiropractic community is that chiropractors can now be licensed in all 50 states and most insurance policies will cover some chiropractic care.
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Are you tired of working in a beauty salon and are considering opening your own? If so, you must enjoy helping people to look and feel better about themselves. Owning your own salon can be very profitable and rewarding. Some ways for starting your own business and getting enough publicity to sustain it are:
Look for a salon with a franchise option. When you do this you pay your money upfront but the salon name stays the same. This could be a benefit if it is a popular salon. You also benefit from the advertising done by the corporate office. Sometimes this can be very expensive. You will probably have to take out a business loan to get started.
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Here are some good publicity tips for bands and musicians.
So you belong to a band, you've just written a bunch of great songs, cut a cd, and have a ton of shows scheduled, but nobody is buying your music and nobody comes to hear you play. Making it in the music business, whether your goal is national, international, or even just local, is a result of a lot of work, a lot of creativity, and dedication. There are thousands of bands out there; you have to make yours stand out, and you have to make sure that people hear your music. The following are some publicity tips for bands and musicians that will help you get noticed, and will help you keep and gain fans and exposure.
1. Wait until you are ready.
If you're not ready to perform live, then don't. If your songs aren't ready for that cd, don't record it. No matter how well you advertise yourself, if people buy your cd and it's terrible, they aren't going to buy your next one. If people come to your show and you're an unrehearsed mess, they aren't going to give you another chance. With so many bands out there, why should they wait around until you figure things out? Wait until you are ready.
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If you're an athlete, it's simply not enough for you to be great at your game. You have to market yourself, too. There's a universe of sponsorships, merchandise deals, and spokesperson deals out there, but you have to make yourself available. Publicity is important for athletes! In today's culture, athletes are celebrities, which means that any news about athletes can be turned into marketable news. You as an athlete need to learn how to control your image, and then how to market it effectively so that you don't lose any earning potential in the eyes of potential employers and in the eyes of the public.
- If you have the means, hire a representative.
Reps are great because they can handle any unpleasant situation for you, spin any story, and can manage your publicity. PR reps are masters at dealing with the press, and thus are able to shape your image (as long as you don't do anything too awful) in the way that is most beneficial to your career.
- Take care of your reputation, on and off the playing field!
As an athlete, it is important to remember that you control your image, and that you are being watched! You win contracts in large part based on the image that you portray, so choose that image carefully, and then live up to it, responsibly! Not only is it important to compete well, but it is also important to live in a way that will present whatever image you prefer, whether it is aggressive, modern, down-to-earth, hard-working, rebel, etc. Just remember that if you go too far, you become a liability to the brands you market, so behave accordingly! Behavior matters when it comes to publicity for athletes.
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You have finally admitted that you have a dream of wanting to work in TV and film more than any other job. With lots of luck and hard work you can be the next star actor or actress.
How do you go about marketing yourself in the field of entertainment? There are several ways to accomplish this. The main one would be to contact your local newspaper to see if you could speak to the event planner about putting a news release into the entertainment section..
How about giving a free performances at local hospitals and also for non-profits organizations? Sometimes you can perform at parties. Ask your host for permission to send a news release about the party to your local media.
Give free classes to children who would like to learn to act. Be sure to make your local TV station know about this. Ask if they would like to highlight this on their morning news.
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When people think publicity, they usually don't think of accountants, which is precisely the accountant's problem. How do you effectively advertise something that nobody thinks much about except for once a year? Fortunately, there are lots of publicity tips for accountants. It just takes hard work, dedication, and creativity.
First, design a good ad. For a print ad, this doesn't necessarily have to have a list of your achievements. Instead, people are going to remember catchy phrasing and great design. Hire someone to put something exciting and striking together for you.
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If your company is doing a charitable giving project and you need money donations, clothes donations, hygiene items, etc., there are certain things to do so that the public knows what you are doing.
1. Advertise: You should advertise in the local newspaper, or on the news or radio...you need to get it out so that people are aware of your goals. If you first get it in their heads, so they are used to hearing your name and what you are doing, they are more likely to respond.
If you knocked on someone's door and asked them for money, they would probably tell you something like, "I don't have the money right now." "I need to talk to my husband about the budget before I do anything." "I do other charity work."
But if they know who you are and are well aware of what you are trying to accomplish, chances are that they will be a lot more willing to donate to your cause.
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There is a story about one company who surprised all their employees with an all expense paid trip to Disney World one year. The media were immediately on it, covering the reaction of these employees. This company made it to the first page of the newspaper plus made it on the news that night. Pretty soon people all around wanted to come work for this company.
If you are looking for ways to get new employees, it's not really necessary to do something huge like pay for all your employees to take a vacation, but you can do things to get people interested in your business.
People wanted to come work for this company because their surprise, all expense-paid trip, was a reflection of how they treat their employees. It put the message out that they care about their employees and treat them well.
No one wants to go work where they are bossed around all day and never treated well. It doesn't even have to be that. No one likes to work where their efforts go unnoticed and unappreciated.
The employees need to feel worthwhile and they need a work environment where they are not on edge all day. Where even though they are working, they feel like the can relax because they work in a pleasant environment with pleasant people.
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A publicity stunt is a staged situation used to catch the attention of the general public, usually through media coverage. The most widely covered publicity stunts are staged by those in the entertainment industry. They can be used as free publicity to promote new films, television shows, music, and talent.
Publicity stunts can be organized professionally or by amateurs. The majority of publicity stunts is created by amateurs and includes trivial situations such as students staging a protest or politicians releasing details or leaking information that will boost their popularity or decrease the popularity of a rival.
More serious amateur publicity stunts include terrorist threats, strikes organized by workers in key industries across the nation, kidnappings, hijackings, murders, or suicides. Many people might contest that events of this serious nature should not be considered "stunts," but to the extent that they are used to raise public awareness or make demands that gain the attention of the general public, they fall under the category of "publicity stunts."
The entertainment industry has professional public relations people who help create scenarios that they believe will gain the public's interest in key people (usually directors, actors, or singers) involved in upcoming productions or releases. Many celebrity relationships are considered publicity stunts whether they are genuine or not.
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What Are Publicity Stills?
A publicity still is a professional photo (usually, although some publicity stills are taken by amateurs) of a person, place or thing and used to advertise a company and its staff or to show an example of what that company produces or provides.
Publicity stills are also widely entertainment industry, publicity stills are photographs that are taken on the set of a movie or TV program while the program is in production. These photogrpahs are later used for promotional purposes, such as the release of a film, the opening of a film, or for interviews. In most cases, a still photographer is present on the set and shoots photographs to be used later along side of the production crew.
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So you have a school and you need to have more publicity or all your hard work and efforts that you have put in to the school will be wasted.
Maybe you need more students or maybe you need donations so you can get better equipment.
Or maybe you're a school who has a lot of students, great teachers, great equipment, and you really just need to let people know who you are.
Well, you are not going to get anywhere by just sitting there wishing that you had a lot of publicity. You have to get up and DO something about it. But what can you do, you ask? A lot of things.
The easiest thing to do would be to start talking. Tell your friends, your family, your acquaintances, tell everyone you know about how much you love your school. How great it is. How awesome your students are. Your top quality teachers.
Tell them how much for your students have playing your different sports. How high they score on tests. Talk your school up and people will want to be part of it. They will want to support it.
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ROI stands for "Return On Investment." In other words, how much are you getting back in relation to how much you've invested? Publicity ROI, then, is: What am I getting in return for my attempts to publicize such and such?
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They say a picture is worth 1,000 words, and the saying applies to publicity as well. A strong photo attracts not only a reader's attention, but an editor's as well. In some cases, a good photo or two can move an otherwise average article to the front of a publication.
Having a reputation of providing editors with compelling, quality photographs can also make the editor remember the submitter and be more apt to take on articles and press releases that are submitted.
What Are Publicity Photos Used For?
Publicity photos are used for a number of reasons in journalism. These can include:
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Good publicity is, in essence, free advertising for your business. And let's face it, what business owner is going to turn down free advertising? Yet too often publicity is overlooked as a primary marketing tool. A smart businessman can use publicity to gain the public's interest in his product, company, or service.
There are numerous ways to generate publicity for a small business; this article will touch on a few of those ways. Keep in mind that the business owner will make the best spokesperson for the company or service since he or she knows the business best.
The average person gets most of his information from the print and broadcast media venues. Sources such as newsletters, newspapers, magazines, and local television and radio stations are always looking for news-worthy items to report on. Getting a story into the media lets others publicize a company or product for free.
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Publicity for any organization or business is essential. What keeps you running is the involvement people have with you, the support people lend to you, basically you can't run on your own. You're made up of lots of people.
Publicity is what brings those people in. The more people involved, the more successful you will become.
If people see your name in the newspaper, hear your name on the radio, see you at work on the news they will become familiar with you.
They could also become familiar with you through small things like receiving a flyer, hearing a friend tell about you, seeing advertisements posted. If they are familiar with you, they are a lot more likely to want to be a part of what you do.
So it can be seen that publicity is a major part of helping any organization or business to run.
Non-profits are one of those organizations. They want to do good, but in order to do good, they need people to help them. They need volunteers, they need funds, they need to be able to run their program.
There are several things that you can do as a nonprofit organization to get your name out and make people aware of you. One is through press releases. You can inform the public of things you are doing. You can inform them when you are looking for volunteers.
If the public sees your name often, they will feel like you are a part of what they do and they will join in to help you and support you.
The radio is also an important tool. Some people receive the newspaper but are too lazy or to busy to pick it up and read through it.
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Are you interested in starting your own consulting business? How would you go about doing it and publicizing yourself?
Sometimes the best thing to do is make an agreement with other consultants to refer each other to the media. News people and reporters want various opinions and ideas and would be willing to work with each of you. Everyone wins because the publicity will benefit each of you.
Each of you will probably own your own business but can work together as a group. Each of you will have your own product to sell or your own services to offer. We once owned a disposal service where several businesses were picking up trash on the same street. A corporation was formed - customers were traded and sold and this way everyone had their own neighborhood without stepping on each other's business, saving time and money. Teamwork was the answer.
It worked in the disposal business, and it can work in the consulting business as well.
The Summit Group is a good web site to look at: http://www.summitassociates.com. They offer information on Strategic Planning, Financial Planning and Accounting, Management Development and Human Resources, Marketing/Communication, Information Technology and Manufacturing Systems.
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All associations, even non-profits, need great publicity. How else will you get your message across, convince people of your cause, recruit new members, and help get the community involved? Just like companies, associations need good publicity tips so that they can achieve their goals. The following are some good publicity tips for associations.
- Design an image.
It's important to have an eye-catching and memorable image. How many of us can think of the Red Cross' logo in a split second? Come up with something simple and basic that people can associate with your association. A catchy phrase isn't a bad idea, either. Make sure that your design fits your goals as an association, but also make sure that it's a modern and exciting enough image that people will be attracted to your association.
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Trade shows, sometimes also referred to as trade fairs, are exhibitions organized for persons, groups, or companies of a particular industries to showcase and/or demonstrate their products and/or services. Trade shows offer businesses or professionals the opportunity to promote themselves and make valuable contacts with others interested in their products or services. Trade shows occasionally allow the public admission, but the majority of trade shows are for industry professionals.
An important aspect for every professional participating in a trade show is publicity. For many professionals or businesses, a trade show is a debut of their products and/or services. Therefore, it is important that trade show participants take steps to ensure themselves the opportunity for individual publicity.
For professionals and companies, publicity is an important public relations tool. Publicity affords a professional, company, or business with valuable promotion, advertising, and exposure, which can help put their products and/or services in the eyes of those who will benefit from them. In the case of trade shows, publicity exposes professionals and companies to others who will use and pay for their products and/or services, or who will circulate and enhance the professional's or company's name.
Planning for Publicity
Professionals, companies, and businesses attending a trade show will need to prepare a publicity plan for public relations success. The following points are valuable considerations for trade show publicity planning:
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Public relations are an increasingly vital aspect of a corporation, organization, or prominent person's identity. The need for public relations specialists has grown at an exponential rate over the years, and there are always newly trained public relations specialists there to meet the demand.
A public relations specialist, also referred to as a publicist, is essentially a manager, who handles and strategizes his or her client's public relations. A corporation, organization, prominent person, or other entity uses the services of a public relations specialist to build relationships with the media and public. A public relations specialist works to promote and build publicity for his or her client, and make them appear positive in the eyes of the media and public.
A public relations specialist's tasks that allow him or her to meet the needs of their client vary somewhat, but two consistencies are preparing press releases and press kits. Press releases are usually a single piece of paper sent to the media that coincide with a client for possible inclusion into an article or story. A press kit is a packet sent to the media containing detailed information on the client. Both of a press release and kit are ways of promoting a company, organization, prominent person, or other entity. Many times, a press kit will contain photographs of a client, or photographs that relate to the client.
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Becoming a professional speaker, or using professional speakers can bring value and money to your business. But, the speaking business is very competitive and speakers must be experts in their field. If you were a Speaker, how would you go about promoting your products and programs? You could send your credentials to magazines, business journals, newsletters, online publications, contests, etc. You can also post your information on your own web site under a button called Media Room. If you are sending press releases to national magazines, you must send them at least six months in advance. You should also send a photo of yourself so people will recognize you when you come for your presentation. And be sure to let people know how to get in touch with you.
What are some tips for publicizing yourself?
Advertising departments of newspaper and magazines are invaluable. They will give you a copy of their editorial calendar. It will give you listings of topics and sections for the calendar year. This will let you know where your topic would best fit into their schedule. You must do this well in advance, possibly as much as six months or more.
Newspaper reporters are always interested in new stories. Call and ask how you can be of help. Become a valuable source to them. If you keep them informed, they will keep coming back to you for more information.
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Anyone who depends on the public in any way needs publicity. Obviously this means celebrities, athletes, and politicians. But the life of a business or a firm depends on publicity. It's easy to see how electronics companies, sporting goods companies, or any other company that releases products need publicity. But everyone who depends on customers needs publicity. This includes medical firms, accountants, hospitals, universities, you name it, they need publicity.
Publicity is a tricky game to play. You're in control, to some extent, of your own publicity. You can play the public relations and news media game by sending out press releases in order to get attention for a particular product or development, even a new member joining your law firm. You can hold a news conference in order to even more publicly make an announcement, refute any allegations, or correct any misinformation. Doing things like sending out press releases and holding news conferences will go far in helping you get good publicity, as long as you do them correctly.
When sending out a press release, make sure that it's written well and contains all of the elements of a press release: headline, dateline, introduction, body, boilerplate, and contact information. Make sure also when writing your press release that you don't reveal all of your information. Play your hand wisely. You want to tantalize the news media, but you don't want to give away all of your information or else they won't call you for an interview, for clarification, or for more information. A press release can lead to an article, even a feature article. Just make sure that the journalists and news media to whom you send your press release need more than the information contained in the press release.
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This article will define a video news release (VNR) and what it can do for you. A video news release (VNR) is a way for you to provide information to the news media and to the public. A video news release (VNR) is simply a movie clip that provides information in the form of a newscast or a news report. Many TV stations and networks will air videos news releases (VNRs) without editing them, and will put them in the middle of their news shows or TV news magazines.
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With 98% of households in the United States having at least one television set, it's no wonder utilizing the television is a smart idea for garnering publicity for a business or issue. Local news stations are an excellent way to publicize a company or event, and television interviews are an ideal setting to set an issue straight or promote a product or service.
Getting the Interview
In order to get an interview on a local news station, you must contact the right people at the right time. Start by sending a fax to the assignment editor with their name on it so it gets sent to the right person.
You can also call the assignment editor. However, keep in mind that certain etiquette should be followed in regards to phone calls. Getting on an editor's bad side or harassing him or her with constant phone calls could ruin your chances now and in the future of ever landing an interview.
Make sure to never call the assignment editor during a newscast or at least one hour prior to the show. This period of time is especially hectic, and a station will expect anyone to know that. The best time to call an assignment editor is in the morning, before the reporter's daily morning meeting takes place. This is a good idea because they are able to go into their meeting with a compelling new story idea (yours.)
If you are unable to reach them on the phone, you can leave a message. However, never leave more than one. Annoying the reporter or assignment editor with messages about story ideas will make it so they will never take any of your pitches. Remember, not every reporter is going to like or accept your ideas.
During the Interview
If a reporter or assignment editor ends up taking your story, an interview will be scheduled with a spokesperson, or an executive. During an interview during a talk show or broadcast, there are also many things to keep in mind. These can be intimidating because there are cameras, lights, and other things you may or may not be used to.
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This article is about recycling publicity. Everybody needs publicity, from the highest-paid Hollywood actor to the most famous NFL star to the greatest TV chef. You need publicity too, whether you are a member of a top national law firm, you run a medical research company, or if you own a small business, run your own small, local accounting firm, or if you're starting up a business. Publicity is what gets you customers and helps you keep customers once they come to you. Publicity is necessary for people who don't have glamorous jobs, like computer salespeople and engineers, and for people who work high-energy, high-profile jobs.
There are lots of different ways that you can get publicity and work on having good public relations. Of course, you could always hire an expensive public relations specialist, or publicist. Then you can sit down and come up with a pricey publicity campaign. This publicity campaign could make use of billboards, high-priced ads in the local paper, glossy ads in widely circulating magazines, and well-produced TV ads that air at the top hours during Lost and 24. But unless you're a large, national or international company, chances are that you just don't have the spare change necessary to launch a definitely pricey publicity campaign. You'd rather fix your copier first, instead.
Fortunately, there are lots of free ways for you to get that publicity that you want and need. A lot of these free publicity methods involve the local news media. When it comes to free publicity, the local news media is your best friend. Local newspapers are always looking for articles. Why shouldn't those articles be about you? Local radio news shows need people to air shows about and they need people to interview. Those interviews don't just pop out of thin air. They should be interviewing you. Local TV news shows need to run shows about people in the community. Those shows should be about you. All of these news media outlets also need experts to comment on local, national, and international events and stories. That expert should be you. There are tips listed at the bottom of this article for how to get on those radio and TV shows and how to have articles run about you. But this article is about what you can and need to do after you get all of that free publicity.
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The radio is an excellent source of publicity for an organization, event, issue or business. Millions of people drive to and from work and school each day, spending long amounts of time in their cars. And during that time, many of them are listening to the radio.
Being a guest on a radio program or radio talk show can help an organization in a number of ways. It can promote an event or charity fundraiser, help a company to gain name recognition, and promote products or services.
In order to be featured as a guest on a radio program, there are a number of things to keep in mind:
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What is a public relations specialist, and do you need one? Well, one question that's easy to answer is if you need publicity. Of course you do! Everyone needs publicity! Celebrities need publicity so that people will keep hiring them to do movies. Once a celebrity is ignored by the public, their career is over. Athletes need publicity so that they can get marketing contracts. They also need to manage their publicity carefully so that they don't lose their jobs over those scandals that they all seem to run into. Big time lawyers need good publicity, and politicians need publicity not just for reelection, but also so that they can get their bills passed and money to their states. But even small-time businessmen and corporations like you and me need publicity. If you're an accountant, and nobody knows who you are, how are you going to get clients? Publicity is always an issue, and it's not something that you can ignore.
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The blacklist is a death sentence for your publicity campaign. Here's the scenario: You need publicity. We all need publicity. Movie stars, TV stars, radio personalities, and fashion designers need publicity or nobody would watch their movies, watch their TV shows, or buy their clothes. Ultimately, nobody would hire them, and their career would be over, without good publicity, and lots of it. Athletes need publicity so that they can continue to get marketing contracts and so that teams will be interested in them. Businesses need publicity so that people will come to their store and buy their products. Suppliers need publicity so that businesses will buy their products and then sell them. Even people who have professions that don't deal in the actual selling of physical objects need publicity. If you're an accountant, and nobody knows who you are, how are you going to get clients? This isn't just a problem around April 15th, but publicity is an issue throughout the entire year.
Because publicity and public relations are so important, a huge industry has grown up around publicity. You can hire a public relations specialist, or publicist, and design, with their help, an enormous and expensive publicity program. This would entail the use of TV ads, newspaper ads, billboards, and tons of other stuff. The problem is that most of us just don't have the money that you need to run such an enormous publicity campaign. It takes a lot of money and a lot of people to do something on that big of a scale. The good news is that you can save your money to fix your fax machine. There are tons of ways to get free publicity.
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When it comes to running a business on thing that every good business owner needs to think about is being successful at publicizing their business. The reason for this is that if business owners fail at publicizing their business then there is a strong chance that their business will fail. So in order to keep their business up and running they need to have a sound business plan that covers publicizing the business, which means they need to get their company's name out in the public eye. Basically in order to publicize your business you are going to want to make sure that anybody and everybody knows about your business. And one of the best ways to go about getting publicity for your company is to hire a PR person. The reason for this is they are trained to handle the media and they also know the best way to get your name out to the public and also how to create the best image.
Being involved in the public relations field you need to be aware of how important profiling is and you will need to convey this to your clients. In marketing and press releases profiling is very important because it allows you to target your message to a certain group, which makes the press release that much easier to write because you are directing it towards certain people. Because of the way profiling is used it is actual a very important tool when it comes to marketing because it is used to reach certain target groups. Basically what this means is that through the use of profiling your company can reach their target group of people that they want to sell. How this works is that through profiling you can help your clients because you can find out where people shop, what they shop for, the ages of people who shop in a certain location, and any other kind of information that they can gather.
Video casting is a great way to help promote a new business or a new product because of how many different things you can do with video casting. You can have a talking head on your video and use numerous special effects in the background to help emphasize your points. The special effects are something that is needed to catch a customer's eye and get them drawn into the website, kind of like that personal touch; they feel that you are talking directly to them. Video casting also helps boost your business because it will draw more people to your website. The more people that visit your website the higher your website will be ranked in search engines and the more potential you have to make sales. The great thing about the video casting is that news of good videos travels fast and continues to travel, so the better your videos are the more people are going to come to your website.
Advertising, in public relations, is the process of bringing a particular product or service to the attention of the public through television, print media, brochures, signs, direct-mailings, emails, commercials, and other means. Advertising is an expensive corporate necessity which requires strategy and complete planning in order to be effective.
Publicity, in public relations, is media mentioning of a company, organization, or entity. Unlike advertising, publicity is free and is generated by members of the media through articles, event coverage, interviews, stories, and other media. Companies and organizations have very little control over the type of publicity they receive, as journalists and reporters ultimately decide what is said. Publicity can be either positive or negative, and can have strong effects on a company or organization.
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When you shoot a photo at a ceremony, make it matter. "Instead of shooting an award ceremony," suggests Phil Douglis, director of the Douglis Visual Workshops, publicists should "ask themselves who will benefit from the award or check or medal. Then go shoot the benefits. Instead of taking a picture of a man who set up a therapy center for mentally ill people getting a medal for his efforts, good public relations people will go to the therapy center, shoot real people involved in real benefits, and sell the idea to the press. This is the ultimate value of publicity pictures-to sell news, features, benefits-instead of superficial awards and ceremonies."
If you must take pictures of a ceremony, try to have your photos capture the feelings of the people taking part. Aim to show why the ceremony is important: what it means. Ask yourself why this ceremony is different from every other ceremony and how you can show that difference on film. Another question to ask yourself is why you want these pictures. What message are you trying to convey to your audience? How will these pictures carry that message?
For more great ceremony photos (or lack thereof) advice, and for more tips on how to make those ceremony photos really matter see David R. Yale's "How To Get Publicity Photos In Newspapers, Magazines, And On TV"
How should you pitch a satellite tour to local stations? Then I wouldn't actually spend that much time pitching the local media, unless they're actually going to be there, because I think it's a lot of time and energy on your part that's not well spent, truthfully. I would focus in on where that person lives, and get him or her there. Or you can go in on a local level and say, "OK, listen. On this one day, we're going to have the feed. Will you pick it up? And here's why you should pick it up, and here's what's great about it." That would be the call I'd make.
I just really would stay focused on why would a local television station.if he's not going to be a live studio guest, my guess is they'll only pick it up as a broader interest story, and that that's really the storyline you have to stay with. For more publicity and follow-up tips, read ""Failproof Ways to Follow Up After Sending a News Release or Pitch Letter."
http://101publicrelations.com/failprooffollowup.html?utm_source=prideas&utm_content=fail-proof_follow-up
If you want your product photo to be published you have to find out a few things, like whether they will take the picture, or if you will. One way to get a photo published is to shoot it yourself. Smaller publications will frequently depend on you for photographs, but there may be occasions when even a sophisticated large daily with a big staff will use your publicity shot. "In some cases, publicity photos are useful because there's no way we can get a picture quickly ourselves," says one newspaper's photo editor. But, he goes on to say, "I think the rules for pictures we accept from publicists should be the same as the rules we impose on our own staff photographers." In other words, your publicity picture has to be as good as the shots taken by the publication's regular photographers.
To learn more about publicity photos, and how you can get your publicity photos published whether you shoot the photo, they shoot the photo, or you loan them a product and someone else shoots the photo, read David R. Yale's "How To Get Publicity Photos In Newspapers, Magazines, And On TV"
Journalists call news pictures art. Not art in the sense of museum pieces, but communication art. Good news photographers think through their pictures before they shoot, and they take their work very seriously. Publicists, unfortunately, usually give pictures short shrift.
As Larry Kramer of the Trenton Times points out, "art from businesses is notoriously bad. So a good business item with an interesting handout picture stands a better chance of making it. And there are stories that make page one because there was art with them."
The same is true for art from nonprofit organizations, trade associations, and government agencies. The photo editor quoted above amplifies on this: "Publicity photos we get are staid and unimaginative. That's why they seldom get in the paper. Ninety-nine percent of the photographers who take publicity photos have not had newspaper experience and don't know what we want. We want good action photos. Since publicity photos are often advance shots of things happening in the future, there's nothing going on in them. They're posed pictures of people doing nothing."
To learn what publicity photos not to send, as well as which ones will get you published see David R. Yale's "How To Get Publicity Photos In Newspapers, Magazines, And On TV"
A picture is worth 1000 words, especially when it comes to newspaper and TV publicity. This step-by-step guide to getting pictures about your business or organization in the newspapers and on TV is designed to help you improve your odds by learning what journalists want and expect.
Some publications use publicity photos more often than others. Large dailies, general interest magazines, and business and trade publications that can afford their own photography staffs generally prefer to cover an event themselves, but many smaller publications and Web sites do accept publicity photos. You have to find out the policies of the publications you'll be working with.
PC Magazine, for example, "... almost invariably takes its own photographs, with the exception of three of our 200 editorial pages each issue. We want to have a consistent look," explains editor Bill Howard, "especially since we primarily do comparative [product] reviews. It would be almost impossible to get 12 publicity photos that would look the same."
To learn more about publicity photos, and how you can get your publicity photos published read David R. Yale's "How To Get Publicity Photos In Newspapers, Magazines, And On TV"
What kinds of things should you remember when doing interviews and contacting the media? One other thing I did want to mention are time frames here. I made a little note to myself to talk about time frames. What kind of time frames do these media have? With radio, their time frame is minutes. You can fax a press release out right now and literally be on the air in five minutes.
With TV, you can also be on the air in five minutes. They won't see you, but they'll do an audio. They'll just have your voice on there. With TV, their time frame can be hours and you're actually "live" on TV. For newspapers, their time frame can be one day. For magazines, their time frame is usually measured in months. They do want the local angle, and they want your opinion on it, and especially if you're an expert in an area. And if you are watching TV, or listening to the radio, by all means, if you hear something that you can respond to, you can follow the formula, whip out a press release literally in ten minutes and say, "This is a response from someone in Denver on this national story. Why don't we do a story on the Denver slant here?" They will love you. For more fantastic tips on how to write great press releases, read How to Write a Killer Press Release That Stops Reporters in Their Tracks
http://101publicrelations.com/killer.html?utm_source=prideas&utm_content=killer_press_releases
Great care should be taken with media conferences that involve alcohol.
Back in the 1970s, the press and booze went hand-in-hand. No one blinked at the three-martini lunch between a reporter and a news source. Reporters sometimes even met their sources at the local bar after work and drank well into the night. Today, such practices have gone the way of the Nehru jacket. And for good reason.
Don't ever feel obligated to serve alcohol at media functions such as news conferences. And if you are being interviewed by a reporter, NEVER EVER drink alcohol, even if the reporter does and offers to pay for your drink. As the old saying goes, "loose lips sink ships." You don't want to let your guard down for one second, particularly in front of a bulldog reporter who can down three double-Scotches, still appear coherent, and fire fast-ball questions at you. You need to stay clear-headed, sober and focused on the interview. You need to remember your key message and deliver it succinctly. You need to be braced for a trick question, and not let yourself get tripped up.
For more rules on appropriate conduct at news conferences, see Special Report #43, "The Do's and Don'ts of Offering Food to the Media"
Should you keep a media database of your top media contacts? Absolutely! . I have two databases. I use the 20,000 database that I told you about. But every time I have an interview, I move that person. They stay in the 20,000 database, but they go into my separate corral of reporters that I've already done interviews with. And in my comments box in the database, I'll write myself a little note. This woman was a great interviewer. She really asked me good questions. This guy was a total jerk. Don't do an interview with him again. This person was wonderful. They followed up. They did this.
Do not, however, ever feel obligated to do an interview. 99.9% of the reporters that you deal with are going to be wonderful people but .1 percent are going to be jerks. Don't do another interview with a jerk. There's no reason for it. You'll gain nothing. I have never, in 25 years, ever called a reporter, unless they were a friend of mine, or wanted a follow-up call, or something else. I do not call because to me, if I call the editor, and I flag them that I'm sending a news release, that flags them to immediately trash it, because I shouldn't have called them. For more fantastic tips on how to write great press releases, read How to Write a Killer Press Release That Stops Reporters in Their Tracks
There are things you should and shouldn't do when trying to get your photos published in print media:
When you approach an editor with a story idea, be ready to suggest photo possibilities!
If you make or sell luxury products, like boats, houses or cars, offer to lend them to photo editors at magazines!
Send your art by first-class mail, messenger, or overnight courier and pack it in sturdy envelopes with stiff cardboard to protect it!
Make sure you have a clear understanding with editors about exclusivity for photos!
Use a professional 35mm (or larger format) camera rather than an instant or Polaroidr camera.
To learn more about submitting photos the right way, and tips for getting photos published see David R. Yale's "How To Get Publicity Photos In Newspapers, Magazines, And On TV"
When working with editorial boards you need to act in such a way that they will respect you and not dislike you.
I think the best thing to do when you're dealing with editorial boards is to be as open and honest with them as you possibly can. Even though they might not agree with you, tell them that you understand that and that you also understand that they have a job to do and you're going to continue to make it as easy as possible for them to work with you. I can promise you, if you tell an editorial board that, they are going to have a great deal of respect for you, even though they might not necessarily agree with your position.
You can find more information like this in How to Use Newspaper and Magazine Editorial Pages.
Your photographs should be sent with sturdy cardboard stiffeners inside the envelope so the art can't be bent in the mail. If you bend a photograph, the surface may crack, and then it can't be reproduced well. Don't skimp on cardboard or postage. After all, you've put a lot of time and money into those shots, and you want them to arrive safely. They should, of course, be sent only by first-class mail, messenger, or overnight courier.
If you are sending digital photographs, use a plastic jewel case inside a diskette mailer to protect the CD-ROM from bending or breaking. Don't be tempted by media mail. The rate is a bargain, but delivery may be slow. Spend the extra money for first class delivery.
If you are submitting photographs to a publication unfamiliar with your organization, be prepared for questions. "Of course we don't accept photos from new organizations until after we have checked them out," says one photo editor. "Otherwise it can get very sticky."
Some small newspapers charge an "engraving" fee when you submit a publicity photo. You should call and ask them about their policies for publicity art. Don't mention the possibility of a fee; wait to see if they bring it up. If the fee is minimal, it will be worth paying because it's probably a great deal less than the cost for the same amount of advertising space.
To learn more about submitting photos the right way see David R. Yale's "How To Get Publicity Photos In Newspapers, Magazines, And On TV"
Do you want more free publicity? Give free classes and demonstrations through adult ed programs, at schools and colleges, or at your own business. Participate in online discussion groups and offer lots of helpful advice. Use a signature file in your e-mail that explains what you do and how you can help solve people's problems. Link to your web site.
Send news releases regularly about new products and services, events, contests, awards, open houses, new employees, promotions, and speaking engagements. Write "how-to" articles for newspapers, magazines, trade publications and newsletters, and offer lots of free advice. It helps establish you as an expert. Get onto the speaking circuit. Speaking to community groups and trade associations is a wonderful way to "create the buzz" about your business or non-profit. For more ideas on how to get free publicity, read Briefs, Fillers and Quizzes: How To Write Them and Why Editors LOVE Them
http://101publicrelations.com/briefs-fillers-quizzes.html?utm_source=prideas&utm_content=briefs_fillers_and_quizzes
What's the difference between pitching to the print and the radio/TV media? Here's the thing about print. I actually think they're almost a little easier, because you can keep going with them. They have constant, ongoing deadlines. The nice thing about radio producers is there are 10,000 radio shows looking for 4,000 guests. Well, I think that's great news. They always need people who are good with topics and certain things to talk about.
So again, you can keep pitching them. It just has to be at a certain level, even faster, like talking more in sound bytes. The thing I really caution people about in pitching radio and television producers is that from the moment you are speaking to them, it's an audition. For more great ideas on how to get publicity, how to follow up, and how to promote your story, read "Failproof Ways to Follow Up After Sending a News Release or Pitch Letter."
http://101publicrelations.com/failprooffollowup.html?utm_source=prideas&utm_content=fail-proof_follow-up
Although many publications will accept photos in electronic format, even in this electronic era, you can't rely completely on electronic photos, for two reasons.
"Posting an image to the Web does not mean that you never have to produce a print again," says C. J. Martin, Aerospace Communications Director at NASA. "What looks good on your desktop monitor may not have enough resolution for a publication to use. Really high quality images mean really huge digital image files. Be prepared to offer a transparency or 8 x 10 glossy" so the publication can get the quality it needs. Otherwise they may not be willing to use your photo, even if it's great art."
Martin also explains the second reason why you'll still need old-fashioned, printed photos. "Many editors still use hard copy prints to screen for what they want to use, and then go to a digital product afterwards." If you don't include photos with your pitch, some editors won't be interested -- even if your publicity material lists links to photos on your web site. They're used to looking at something they can hold in their hands, and they're not comfortable with viewing art on a screen.
Photos are cheap. Publicity is valuable. Send the photos!
For more great tips and advice from the expert on how to get your publicity photos published see David R. Yale's "How To Get Publicity Photos In Newspapers, Magazines, And On TV"
Who cares if in grade school you got made fun of for kissing up, it is a great way to get some free publicity. You have to schmooze the media, but do it right:
Target your "Top 25" media list. These are the publications, radio and TV shows, print and electronic newsletters and other media where you can get the biggest bang. Identifying them will help you target your efforts rather than taking an all-encompassing and time-consuming approach. Follow up with your "Top 25" contacts once a month, either by e-mail, phone, fax or snail-mail, depending on how they want to be contacted.
Create a "Media Group" in your contact manager program. Make note of deadlines, how the reporter wishes to be contacted, types of articles printed, web site URL, etc.
Give reporters news tips about emerging trends in your industry, or the industry in which you are an expert.
For more great publicity tips, and tips on how to get articles written about you and by you in print through schmoozing, see Special Report #21 "67 Clever Publicity Tips for Professional Speakers and Trainers."
There are a number of things to remember when hosting lunches, particularly where payment is concerned.
If you're taking a print reporter to lunch, even if it's at your invitation, always ask how the reporter would like to handle the check. It's usually best if you ask for separate checks and pay your own way. Most reporters hate the media lunch, which combines lunch with a news conference. That's because in addition to ho-hum food, they're usually fed the same story that everyone else gets. Not only that, but many organizations waste the media's time with lunches to announce news that isn't very newsworthy.
Here's another alternative. If you want to meet with reporters and invite them to lunch to pitch a story idea, provide background information or get to know them, ask if they would rather meet in a setting that doesn't involve eating. Some reporters don't like the hassle of having to take notes and flip through items in your media kit at the same time they are trying to juggle a double-decker sandwich with the works.
For more information on paying for lunches and dinners, see see Special Report #43, "The Do's and Don'ts of Offering Food to the Media"
Newspaper photos are going to be different from magazine photos, so before you try and get your photos published, know what the media is looking for.
Your publicity art for newspapers should have strong contrast, since a lot of its sharpness will be lost when it is transferred to newsprint. And since newspaper columns are narrow, your pictures should be shot in a vertical format so they can be reduced to fit one column, if necessary. You can include some horizontal shots as well, in case the editor really likes your art and decides to run a shot across several columns, but the vertical shot is the basic one.
If you're submitting photos to magazines, ask the editors you work with whether they prefer vertical or horizontal shots.
Whether you're submitting them to newspapers or magazines, your photos must have a glossy surface. Photos with matte (textured or rough) surfaces won't reproduce well.
Don't write on the back of a photo. The pressure of your pencil or pen can cause indentations in the surface of the shot that will show up in reproduction. Write or type any necessary information on a label, and then attach it to the back of the art. Never use paper clips on photos because they, too, can cause indentations.
For great ideas and tips on how to take and make your photos exactly what the newspaper or magazine of choice is looking for, and thus more likely to be published, see David R. Yale's "How To Get Publicity Photos In Newspapers, Magazines, And On TV"
A great way to get publicity for yourself as a professional speaker or trainer is to make strategic media allies. The following are some ways to do so:
Syndicated columnists can be found in "Editor & Publisher's Directory of Syndicated Services" which can be purchased for $8.50 by calling 888-612-7095 or by visiting http://www.editorandpublisher.com/store/syndicat.htm
Call local radio and TV talk show hosts and invite them to call on you when other guests cancel. They will be thankful you offered.
Contact your trade association and ask them to refer reporters to you. Many reporters who don't know where to find sources start by calling trade associations.
For more tips on how to make strategic allies, and better publicize yourself as a professional speaker see Special Report #21 "67 Clever Publicity Tips for Professional Speakers and Trainers."
How can you make sure that a reporter uses your name? Is it even important? I will often ask them, "Listen, are you going to put a sidebar in?" The sidebar is where they actually put your product name and how to contact you. I'll ask those things. It is fair to ask, "Will you be mentioning the product? Will you be giving contact information?" That should give you some kind of clue as to what they actually intend to do.
If they don't intend to do it or they say, "No, we can't really mention your product," well then, it's still publicity and you still use it in your package, because they have used your brand. For more information and tips on follow ups and free publicity, read "Failproof Ways to Follow Up After Sending a News Release or Pitch Letter."
http://101publicrelations.com/failprooffollowup.html?utm_source=prideas&utm_content=fail-proof_follow-up
One of the first things to remember is that you can treat print and broadcast reporters very differently. That's because print media outlets often have ethics policies that dictate what reporters can and cannot accept. Broadcast reporters seldom have such policies. If you're hosting a news conference, you don't need to worry about ethics policies. The media aren't concerned either, because everyone is being treated the same. So serving snacks and soft drinks is perfectly acceptable, particularly if reporters will be driving long distances to attend. In fact, a friend of mine who works in TV says TV reporters and many radio folks routinely EXPECT free lunches, gifts of food and other freebies-and are delighted when they get them. Clever PR folks can think of creative ways to tie story pitches to a good gift, and send it to the news department at TV and radio stations, in hopes of being interviewed.
For more do's and don'ts of feeding the media, see Special Report #43, "The Do's and Don'ts of Offering Food to the Media"
As it can be difficult to get booked to speak as a public speaker, when you do, there are some things you can do to make a lasting impression, and get asked back. For one, offer to help publicize your programs every time you book a speaking engagement. That includes mailing news releases to local media, being available for radio interviews and letting local reporters know about your program, in case they want to attend. Meeting planners will appreciate this thoughtful gesture.
Every time you speak before a group, offer to submit a short summary of your presentation for the group's newsletter. Don't forget to send your photo. It gets you in front of those you just spoke to as well as those who missed you the first time around. Many groups also send their newsletters to the media. Be sure the last paragraph tells people what you do and how to get in touch with you. Include your URL.
For other great ideas on promoting yourself and your product as a public speaker see Special Report #21 “67 Clever Publicity Tips for Professional Speakers and Trainers.”
Whether you’re taking a reporter to lunch at the local coffee shop, or inviting the media to an elaborate press conference complete with tables of gourmet delicacies, feeding the media can be fraught with problems.
• Who picks up the check if you’re taking them to lunch?
• Are gifts of food OK during the holidays, and should they be sent to individual reporters or the entire news department?
• What if you’re hosting a media tour for travel writers at your new resort? Do you automatically assume that if they accept your invitation, you will pay for everything?
• What about alcohol? Can you and a reporter have a beer or mixed drink if you’re being interviewed over lunch at a restaurant?
Be extra careful when dealing with reporters who work for newspapers and magazines, however, particularly those at bigger publications where the ethics policies are more stringent.
Here’s a common-sense guide that will help you put your best foot forward and make everyone feel comfortable: Special Report #43, “The Do’s and Don’ts of Offering Food to the Media”
After your article is printed, call the editor you worked with and, as a courtesy, ask permission to make reprints. They will almost always agree. Most media don't require written permission to do this because they're too busy. Take the article to a copy center and ask them to make photocopies. Ask your graphics designer to reconfigure the article so it fits onto one side of a sheet of paper. Be sure the nameplate of the publication is at the top of the reprint. Use reprints in your marketing efforts. Tuck them into proposals you submit to clients. If you do public speaking, hand them out to audience members. If you work in a retail business, keep copies on the counter for people to pick up. Frame reprints and hang them on the wall in your lobby. (Note: If you are reprinting articles at Kinko's, first ask Kinko's for a written permission form. Have the publication complete the form and fax it back to you, then take the form with your original copy of the article to Kinko's to be reproduced. They are sticklers about this.)
To learn more on how to keep getting free publicity and how to reuse an recycle the free publicity you already got see Special Report #6 "How to Write "How To" Articles That Position You as an EXPERT"
When you write an article you should start with a lead. The lead is the beginning of the article. It must pull `em in, but after that it is your job to land them. After the lead, answer the reader's question "Why should I care?" Explain in one or two paragraphs why solving the problem is important. What's in it for them? How much money can they save? What kind of aggravation can they be spared if they do what you say? Always write directly to the reader using the second-person "you" instead of the third-person "he" and "she." It's more personal.
This is also an opportune time to work in a sentence that explains exactly what you do and a little about your expertise. For example: "In my 10 years as a psychotherapist, I have found that many of my clients are as frustrated by the little aggravations of day-to-life as they are by life's bigger problems."
For more tips and advice on how to get the readers attention, and get free publicity, see Special Report #6 "How to Write "How To" Articles That Position You as an EXPERT"
http://101publicrelations.com/sr6.html?utm_source=prideas&utm_content=sr6
Publicity Photos are more likely to get published if they are good, simply said. However, keep in mind that photos need editing, too! Sometimes, by cropping, you can save a piece of art. Ask your camera shop to print 4x5 proofs for you. Then use pieces of plain white paper to blank out parts of the photo that are dull, not relevant, or compete with the photo's focal point. As you move these "cropping sheets," around on a photo, you may suddenly see an ordinary shot take on focus and impact. Once you've decided which parts of the photo you want to crop out, you can use a waterproof marker or a grease pencil to make marks right on the proofs so the film laboratory knows exactly how to print the enlargements. If you're not familiar with the process, ask your camera store for advice.
For great ideas and tips on how to take and make your photos better, more visually appealing, and thus more likely to be published, see David R. Yale's "How To Get Publicity Photos In Newspapers, Magazines, And On TV"
How often should you follow up? The truth is, once it's in their hands as a story, you can't really control it. The only thing you control is what message you're putting out there. I will often ask them, "Listen, are you going to put a sidebar in?" The sidebar is where they actually put your product name and how to contact you. I'll ask those things. I'll tell you, the PR agencies spend a fortune with their clients convincing them that, "Oh yes, we'll get something out every month." They call it a rhythm method or a drum beat.
Truthfully, I've had reporters say to me, "I can't stand it. We hate when people do that." Reporters won't run your story immediately unless you have a real story that ties into something, or you have a comment on a local happening that's trendy and timely, terrific. Other than that, give them a pitch.
I'd say every three to four months is plenty. It's enough to keep you foremost in their mind without bugging them. For more tips on follow ups and publicity, read "Failproof Ways to Follow Up After Sending a News Release or Pitch Letter."
http://101publicrelations.com/failprooffollowup.html?utm_source=prideas&utm_content=fail-proof_follow-up
A great way to make more money as a professional speaker, is to not just publicize yourself, but also your products. This will mean higher attendance, as well as higher sales. So how do you do it?
Submit books and products to the new product review section of newspapers, magazines and trade publications.
Rather than trying to get a feature story on your new product, try instead for publicity about the topic. If you can offer advice, background or commentary on a particular topic, the media will be more inclined to cover you and perhaps mention the product.
Consider writing a tips booklet about your area of expertise. Then send the booklet to editors and invite them to excerpt tips. Include ordering information. Visit http://www.tipsbooklets.com.
For more ideas on how to publicize your products and make more money see Special Report #21 "67 Clever Publicity Tips for Professional Speakers and Trainers."
Should you pick up the check when eating with the media?
Tags: paying ethical lunch media invitation hosting
There are a number of things to remember when hosting lunches, particularly where payment is concerned.
If you're taking a print reporter to lunch, even if it's at your invitation, always ask how the reporter would like to handle the check. It's usually best if you ask for separate checks and pay your own way. Most reporters hate the media lunch, which combines lunch with a news conference. That's because in addition to ho-hum food, they're usually fed the same story that everyone else gets. Not only that, but many organizations waste the media's time with lunches to announce news that isn't very newsworthy.
Here's another alternative. If you want to meet with reporters and invite them to lunch to pitch a story idea, provide background information or get to know them, ask if they would rather meet in a setting that doesn't involve eating. Some reporters don't like the hassle of having to take notes and flip through items in your media kit at the same time they are trying to juggle a double-decker sandwich with the works.
For more information on paying for lunches and dinners, see see Special Report #43, "The Do's and Don'ts of Offering Food to the Media"
Don't wait for the media to come to you
Tags: howtoarticles press reporter editors publicity freepublicity publicitytips articles publicityarticles expertwriting
There she is again. Your biggest competitor. Smiling back at you from the inside of a local business magazine. She's doling out free advice on how to do something you wish people would hire YOU to do. It's the third time you've seen an article by her in the last six months. You wish that, just once, the editors would have asked you-instead of her-to write it.
Guess what? The editors probably didn't ask her. Most likely, she was smart enough to write the article herself and offer it to them-for free.
Editors of newspapers, magazines, trade journals, newsletters and even the free weekly "shoppers" are hungry for articles that will inspire, educate, calm, enlighten, humor, and entertain their readers. They want advice that will help people find more time, save money, feel healthier, look thinner, be safer and have better sex lives. And they rely on people like you and your competitor to provide them.
For more expert advice on how to get your articles published, and in turn get free publicity see Special Report #6 "How to Write "How To" Articles That Position You as an EXPERT"
There she is again. Your biggest competitor. Smiling back at you from the inside of a local business magazine. She's doling out free advice on how to do something you wish people would hire YOU to do. It's the third time you've seen an article by her in the last six months. You wish that, just once, the editors would have asked you-instead of her-to write it.
Guess what? The editors probably didn't ask her. Most likely, she was smart enough to write the article herself and offer it to them-for free.
Editors of newspapers, magazines, trade journals, newsletters and even the free weekly "shoppers" are hungry for articles that will inspire, educate, calm, enlighten, humor, and entertain their readers. They want advice that will help people find more time, save money, feel healthier, look thinner, be safer and have better sex lives. And they rely on people like you and your competitor to provide them.
For more expert advice on how to get your articles published, and in turn get free publicity see Special Report #6 "How to Write "How To" Articles That Position You as an EXPERT"
Many publications have rules of thumb that encourage pictures with fewer than five people in them. "The more people there are in a shot, the more difficult it is to compose a good photo," says photographer Andrew Yale. So unless you or your photographer understand how to photograph large groups, avoid them in your publicity shots.
In general, the people in your art must not have their backs to the camera, and they must be identifiable. But if you're taking pictures of people in a confidential situation, such as a clinic or a hospital, it is OK if you can't see their faces.
Choosing an interesting angle can help make your art more compelling. "To the beginning photographer . all 'news' takes place at a distance of six to ten feet from the camera, and is always viewed from shoulder height. Because such photographers always assume the same position in relationship to their subject matter, all their pictures look the same.... To fight such redundancy," Douglis advises, "photographers must seek variety in vantage points.... The key to winning the battle against visual redundancy is to forcefully and emphatically shift camera position."
For specific tips on how to add interest to your photos through photo composition see David R. Yale's "How To Get Publicity Photos In Newspapers, Magazines, And On TV"
If you want to get good publicity out of letters to the editor you need to be aware of how frequently to send the something.
If you're throwing out something every month where it looks like you're almost desperately trying to find something to connect with, editors aren't going to like that, because they're going to tell that this woman's just trying to sell her book, and you don't want that. I think it's very much in terms of the feel of the letter and I think Joan is very much on target about not even mentioning the book. The letter has got to come off as looking like you were struck so much by a particular issue that you wrote a letter. If you want to pull from the book some of the messages and ideas that you have, and as she said, writing "as I've written." or "as I wrote." or something, and then follow that up later on, that's a much better tack because as soon as it gets that sort of scent that "I'm selling something," you're out the door.
You can find more great information like this in How to Use Newspaper and Magazine Editorial Pages.
While a great fashion tip is to never wear white after labor day, a few great white-paper tips are as follows:
Be objective, not promotional.
Use a nice cover with a heavier stock.
Keep your interviews brief. People don't want you to waste their time.
Send a news release about the white paper to newspapers, magazines, newsletters, trade publications and online publications.
Consider posting the white paper at your web site to draw traffic.
Send copies of the report to people who you interviewed.
Follow up afterward to make sure they received the report.
Don't feel it is necessary to name your company in the report. Identify yourself as the author, but don't promote what you are selling.
Send an e-mail to your existing customers and ask them if they want copies of the report.
To learn more tips for white papers so that they can best be used to your advantage, see Special Report 19, "How to Use Polls, Surveys and White Papers That Brand You as an Expert"
Don't dismiss the chance to be on television because you think your business isn't "important enough." If you can offer an interesting visual-the Number One most important criteria for TV-you just might be what the TV cameras are looking for. Here are tips on how small businesses can get onto television.
Piggyback off holidays. A company that cooks and delivers dinners for busy families can pitch a story about their business the week of Thanksgiving, when many people hate to think about cooking anything other than the annual Thanksgiving feast. Invite the TV cameras along. A business that makes fancy, custom-made candies should call TV stations a few days before Valentine's Day. Ask to speak to the assignment editor.
Offer yourself as the local angle to national stories. If national news outlets, for example, are reporting a sharp increase in the number of home-based businesses-and you're representative of the trend-call the TV station and invite them to your home to shoot film of you at work, as long as it's something more exciting than you sitting at your desk.
For more tips on how to get on TV see Special Report #9, "How to Generate Free Publicity for Your New Business"
There are some clever ways to get free publicity for your company, if you know how to do it.
For example you can use polls and surveys: Are you taking a poll or survey, either among your customers or among the public? Homewood Suites, a Texas hotel chain, got great publicity from results of a survey that asked guests what they do in hotel rooms. Almost one in five respondents said they jump on the bed.
Have you thought about sponsoring a clever contest? To celebrate its 100th anniversary, OshKosh B'Gosh launched a six-month nationwide search for the oldest pair of bib overalls. Thrifty Rent-a-Car sponsors an annual Honeymoon Disasters Contest. Entries result in amusing feature stories printed in major newspapers and magazines throughout the country. For additional publicity mileage, the company announces results near Valentine's Day, giving the media a perfect story that piggybacks on a holiday.
For more ideas on how to creatively and effectively find stories for the media within your company or organization see Special Report 5 "How to Identify Story Ideas Within Your Company or Organization"
If your book is reviewed in a major publication that refuses to grant reprint rights but, rather, insists that they SELL you the rights for several hundred or several thousand dollars, consider paying for the rights. A story about your book in a national magazine is more powerful than an ad that costs you several thousand dollars. Reprints can be used in dozens of ways: inside your media kit, at trade shows, to keep in touch with clients, to court potential readers, and to send to other non-competing media along with your pitch letter. National publicity provides credibility--almost as if the publication is giving you its stamp of approval.
Getting your book reviewed in Booklist, the flagship review journal of the American Library Association, is a long shot. But definitely worth a try. E-mail editor Bill Ott at bott@ala.org and he will send you information on how to submit books and which editor to submit them to.
For more ideas on getting reviews, see Special Report #40.
You can use polls and surveys to subtly promote your product. It is an excellent way to grab a reader without even saying much.
The company that makes Just for Men Haircolor surveyed 505 executives from Fortune 1000 companies and learned that coloring their hair is one of the subtle tricks men use to land a job or work their way up through management ranks in America's top companies. The survey showed that 33% of them believed that men who colored his hair was, "secure enough with himself to enhance his appearance in subtle ways."
The Iams Co., which makes pet food, surveyed its owners and learned that an overwhelming 91 percent of pet owners have said the words "I love you" to their pets. In addition, 63% of respondents sleep with their pets at their sides. The Iams "Good Life" Survey was conducted among 400 callers to the pet care company's customer-service center.
Playing off the love theme, news releases announcing the results were sent to the media just before Valentine's Day. The Iams news release also quoted a company veterinarian as saying "we hear from people who tell us about the important bond they feel with their dog or cat." It also referred people to its toll-free hotline and web site for more information on pet care and nutrition, thus helping create customer loyalty.
To learn more about how you can use polls and surveys to promote your product and to brand yourself as an expert, see Special Report 19, "How to Use Polls, Surveys and White Papers That Brand You as an Expert"
Fear of public speaking is greater than the fear of dying in a house fire or a plane crash. Yet public speaking is one of the most powerful ways to establish yourself as an expert, get free publicity and sell more of your products and services. Even first-time business owners can get onto the speaking circuit. Choose a compelling topic and give your presentation a catchy title.
Start small. Call program chairs at local groups such as Rotary, the Chamber of Commerce, social clubs, or any audiences that want to hear what you have to say. Check your local newspaper for listings of groups that have speakers. Then call the contact number and ask if they are interested in your topic.
To learn more about how public speaking can benefit you, and get you free publicity, see Special Report #9, "How to Generate Free Publicity for Your New Business"
A great way to get free publicity and media attention is not to be perfect, rather to be imperfect, so go ahead.
TALK ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS
What are the three biggest business problems you are facing? Find out the name of the reporters who covers your industry. Then share the information with them. Who knows? Someone might read your story and call you with a solution you might not otherwise have known about.
TALK ABOUT YOUR MISTAKES
What are the biggest you have made, and how would you advise other people from not making the same ones? Don't be embarrassed. Everyone has made them. And if you're willing to discuss yours, there's a good chance the media will be willing to write about you. The media love to give their audiences lots of free advice-particularly about how not to make mistakes.
To find out more on how to make the most of a bad situation, or turn your bad into publicity good, as well as other ways to find ideas or stories within your company see Special Report 5 "How to Identify Story Ideas Within Your Company or Organization"
Harley-Davidson celebrated its 95th anniversary with the world's largest motorcycle ride that attracted more than 10,000 bikers. When the classic Ore-Ida Tater Tot Turned 40, it invited fans to call 1-800-9-TATERS to share their stories, poems, jingles, jokes and testimonials for a chance to win the grand prize - a 40-month supply of Ore-Ida Tater Tots.
Hostess Twinkies marked its 65th with a contest for students at film schools across the nation who were challenged to submit short screenplays featuring Twinkies. The winning students, dressed in tuxedoes, arrived at a gala Hollywood awards ceremony in limousines.
There's more to celebrating an anniversary than simply writing a few news releases and giving away free products bearing your company's name. For great ideas on how to make your anniversary news worthy see Special Report #14 "How to Piggyback Story Ideas onto Holidays and Anniversaries"
Products require publicity too, so do it right with these:
If yours is a commodity product, identify product benefits your competitors have ignored.
Shoot your product both with and without people.
Make sure you get to see the models for your photo shoot in person before you make your choice.
Always ask your photographer how long a photo shoot will take.
Use simple, neutral backgrounds like grey and off-white for your product shots.
If you make or sell luxury products, like boats, houses or cars, offer to lend them to photo editors at magazines.
Send your photos by first-class mail, messenger, or overnight courier and pack them in sturdy envelopes with stiff cardboard to protect it.
Make sure you have a clear understanding with editors about exclusivity for photos.
For even more great product publicity tips and advice see David R. Yale's report "How To Get Free Publicity For Your Products"
Besides using briefs for getting some free publicity, and having your name, or company printed in a magazine, newspaper, etc. you can use briefs elsewhere.
Other Uses for Your Briefs
Make reprints and tuck them into your media kit.
Make reprints and use them in your handouts if you do public speaking.
Post them at your web site.
Include them with a pitch letter to editors at other publications if you're trying to get a larger article placed. This shows that you have been published and establishes credibility.
Here's an example of a brief submitted to a small-business magazine:
Joan Stewart
Simultaneous Submission, Non-Competing Market
3930 Highway O S.S. # 123-45-6789
Saukville, WI 53080 298 words
262-284-7451
For more ideas on where to use your briefs see Special Report 30 "Briefs, Fillers & Quizzes: The Shortest, Easiest Articles You'll Ever Write"
Once you and your partner agree on a product, define specific duties right up front so there is no misunderstanding about who is going to do what. If you have absolutely no interest in a certain task, such as doing radio talk show interviews as part of your publicity campaign, say so.
Work off each other's strengths. Divide responsibilities according to who has the time and talent to do the best job. Assign dates that tasks are to be completed. One of the beauties of partnering with someone on a project is that you can prod each other when things seem to get bogged down. Even so, projects I've been involved in have tended to move so slowly it's like watching grass grow.
Assign dates that tasks are to be completed. One of the beauties of partnering with someone on a project is that you can prod each other when things seem to get bogged down. Even so, projects I've been involved in have tended to move so slowly it's like watching grass grow.
There are many ways to make a partnership run smoothly; see Special Report #41 for more tips.
When trying to publicize a story, it's a good idea to involve reporters in them.
Any time you can provide a memorable experience for reporters by involving them in your story, you increase the chances of a better story. That's because reporters aren't just bystanders recording what they see and hear. They are actual participants who are also recording what they feel, how they are reacting and what they think of the experience. Their stories will more likely be filled with emotion and present a more accurate portrayal of the event. But perhaps the best reason is that it forces reporters to get excited about your story. Excited reporters seldom write dull stories.
One local service club sponsored a Cardboard Boat Regatta every Fourth of July. Local companies made boats out of cardboard, then competed for prizes by paddling them down a river. I never covered the event. But if I had, I would have asked to be part of one of the teams so I could experience what it was like to paddle for my life as I felt the cardboard beneath me getting soggier by the minute and, possibly, collapsing.
For more tips on how to involve reporters in your event, see Special Report #42.
When you are actually onsite at a trade show, there are some important tips for things you can do to increase your chances for publicity:
Take plenty of news releases with you.
Make sure your booth is media-friendly. That means setting aside a spot in the booth where you can meet with editors and reporters. It's a good idea to also reserve a place away from the booth where reporters can interview company representatives in a more peaceful setting.
If you want to demonstrate a product, be sure you know who is responsible for the demonstration.
Let the people in your booth know how they can reach you if a media person stops by unannounced and needs information. They should have your cell phone or beeper number.
Make sure everyone in the booth knows where coats, purses and other belongings can be stored during the show. Be aware of local fire codes. Give the media what they need. You might be tempted to give reporters everything you think they want to know. Instead, ask them to tell you what they need. You will save them and you a lot of time.
For more great tips for great trade show publicity see Special Report #24 "How to Create Media Publicity at Trade Shows and Conferences"
A white paper is a report that provides new information on some aspect of your business or industry, or the business or industry of potential customers. It is generally from 10 to 15 pages with a few graphs or charts.
White papers are valuable because they create awareness of your company in a particular industry. They establish you as an expert. And, they give you a chance to speak with decision-makers about a topic they care about, without giving them a sales pitch to buy or products or services.
A white paper is not a blatant promotional tool that talks about what you are selling. Rather, it shares new information about a problem, solution or trend. It can be about industry growth trends, new product innovations or pending legislation that affects a particular industry.
To learn more about how you can use white paper to your advantage, see Special Report 19, "How to Use Polls, Surveys and White Papers That Brand You as an Expert"
Many people overlook letters to the editor as a valuable publicity tool. Yet editors always welcome timely, compelling, controversial letters. Be on the lookout for every opportunity to write one.
Think of clever ways to weave into the letter what you do, how you can help people and your areas of expertise. As you read letters in publications you would like to get into, notice how the letter-writers publicize their own businesses without making it sound like a heavy-handed sales pitch. They might do it by starting the letter with the phrases, "As the owner of.." Example: "As the owner of one of the few vegetarian restaurants in Elmwood, I loved your recent story on.." Then sign the letter with your name and the name of your business.
To learn more about how to write a great letter, and what should be included in order to get free publicity for your business, see Special Report #9, "How to Generate Free Publicity for Your New Business"
There are ways you can get tons of free publicity just by giving a little something away.
OFFER FREE ADVICE
What advice can you offer that will help someone else solve their problems? Tell reporters they can call on you for advice when writing stories about your area of expertise. Give them specific examples of how you help people save time and money.
WRITE HOW-TO ARTICLES
Editors of many newspapers, magazines and trade publications want articles that tell their readers how to do something such as get out of debt, discipline their children, have a safer work environment, set up a home office, or acquire a business loan. Think of the number one problem your customers face, then write a how-to article about it.
To find more ideas on how you can give a little, and get a lot of free publicity out of it, see Special Report 5 "How to Identify Story Ideas Within Your Company or Organization"
If you make a product or provide a service that will help people save time or money, make them healthier, make them more comfortable or help them in any other way around a holiday or anniversary, let the media know. Health clinics, for example, can produce simple charts that show the difference in calorie counts for
a traditional Thanksgiving feast, compared with the "lighter" version made without cream, butter or other fattening ingredients. Offer them to newspaper food editors. A massage therapist can offer to appear on a radio talk show and share tips for giving that special someone a relaxing massage for Valentine's Day. A caterer who makes home-cooked meals for families can pitch a story about how more and more customers are buying certificates for meals and giving them to their moms for Mother's Day.
For more ideas on how to piggyback holidays with what you have to offer see Special Report #14 "How to Piggyback Story Ideas onto Holidays and Anniversaries"
Create a great marketing and publicity strategy for yourself with these tips:
Use a Signature File
Put an automatic signature at the end of every e-mail message you send. Call yourself a consultant, or an expert, or any other word that lets people know how you can help them. Here's the signature file I use, which lets people know I consult, am an expert, and am willing to give away free advice.
Joan Stewart
a.k.a. "The Publicity Hound"
3930 Highway O Saukville, WI 53080
Phone: 262-284-7451 Fax: 262-284-1737
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Speaker, trainer, consultant, and expert in
media relations and employee recruitment/retention
"89 Reasons to Send a News Release" is yours free
at http://www.PublicityHound.com
Be Listed as an Expert
List yourself in every directory and expert database you can find that deals with your industry. Two excellent resources are "The Yearbook of Experts, Authorities and Spokespersons" at http://www.yearbook.com and Profnet's experts database, managed by PR Newswire, at http://www.mediaInsider.com. These two sources are often the first places reporters go when looking for expert sources.
For more great publicity and marketing tips see Special Report #23 "Profitable Publicity Tips to Jump-Start Your Consulting Business"
Print and TV reporters aren't the only ones who can have fun participating in your stories. Remember the radio folks, too. A recent promotion for a story done by a local radio station. One of the deejays who had a snoring problem was invited to the Sleep Wellness Center to see if he could be cured of snoring. I'm not sure if he was ever cured, but I remember hearing the promos for that particular story several dozen times over a two-week period.
If you're seeking publicity for a food product, a clever strategy is to hand-deliver the food to sports announcers at pro sports games. I'm a Green Bay Packers fan. And several Sundays during football season, local businesses deliver pizza, doughnuts and other food to the announcer's booth. Guess what they get? A free plug on the air that's probably much more effective than a paid commercial.
For more tips on how to involve radio personnel, see Special Report #42.
There are ways to get the publicity balls rolling before the show even begins. For example, target publications that would be interested in the show. An engineering magazine, for example, would be a prime target for a large engineering show. Call the publication and ask for a copy of their editorial calendar, which lists all special sections and topics in the coming year. You might not be able to tell from the calendar whether or not the trade show or convention gets its own stand-alone publication, a section within the magazine, a single story beforehand, or one story after the show. If you're not sure, call the publication and ask. Editorial calendars, by the way, are free from the publication's advertising department.
If you are responsible for media coverage, but you have no say whatsoever in what will be included in your company's booth, contact the person in charge a few months before the show begins. Arriving on the day of show and learning the booth manager made no provisions for the media would be a nightmare.
For more great tips and to learn what you can do before a trade show starts to increase publicity see Special Report #24 "How to Create Media Publicity at Trade Shows and Conferences"
While the technical requirements for product shots are similar to photos of events and people, the visual approach is quite different.
Freelance photographer Jerry Pozniak explains, "It's important to hire the right photographer for product shots. A newspaper or publicity photographer will probably not have the right skills or equipment. A photographer who specializes in product shots, on the other hand, will know how to make your product look its best."
The quality of your product shots is less important in newspapers, more important in magazines, and most important when the photograph will be enlarged. Especially if you send the same shot to many publications, you should shoot in both color and black and white. Some publications want product shots with people in them, others do not. So, shoot your product photos both ways and either find out the editorial preferences - or send both types of shots.
For great tips and advice on how to make the portraits of your products really stand out in a good way, see David R. Yale's report "How To Get Free Publicity For Your Products"
You can use polls, surveys, and white-paper to bring attention to yourself and your industry. It is a great way to raise community awareness that you exist without overdoing it. For example, if you are in the supermarket industry you might use something like this:
Supermarkets are having trouble with shoppers smuggling raw meat out of stores in their pants and hiding detergent between their legs. Those were some of the findings in a survey of 200 supermarket general managers across the U.S. by The 100 Percent Recycled Paperboard Alliance. The survey results included lots of other interesting findings. For example, it found that some supermarkets have a problem with customers who fist-fight cashiers, propose on bended knee to grocery checkers and drive motorcycles through the stores. The survey had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with recycled paperboard. But the story was picked up by the Scripps Howard News Service and printed in newspapers throughout the country, thus drawing attention to the trade group.
To learn the many valuable ways to use polls and surveys as a form of free publicity see Special Report 19, "How to Use Polls, Surveys and White Papers That Brand You as an Expert"
Some people take planes, others the bus, you can piggyback your way to fame (or at least free publicity).
PIGGYBACK ON A NEWS EVENT
After severe rains in Milwaukee a few years ago, a Minnesota company got several minutes of free advertising on a Milwaukee radio station by talking to the drive-time radio host about their special pump that removes standing water and moisture in the air. The host interviewed a company representative and gave out the company's toll-free number.
PIGGYBACK ON TRENDS
Do you sell a product or service that ties into a national trend? A credit counseling agency might offer themselves as a source for stories about the whopping credit card debt wracked up by college students, many of whom have their own credit cards. A non-profit agency that advocates safety for women can promote its community classes by offering the media tips on how businesswomen can be less susceptible to theft of laptop computers in crowded places like airports.
PIGGYBACK ON A HOLIDAY
Is your company doing something different on a particular holiday? Are you a management consultant who can suggest ways that companies can keep their employees productive during the holidays? Have you determined that it's more efficient for your business to simply close down during the week between Christmas and New Year's? Whatever it is, use it as your angle.
To find more ideas for how to use what is going on to your advantage, and get free publicity out of it, see Special Report 5 "How to Identify Story Ideas Within Your Company or Organization"
Letters to the Editor and Opinion Columns: Use these two vehicles as a way to spread the word about a particular cause or issue. If you oppose the U.S. space program, for example, write a letter to the editor or an opinion piece to coincide with the anniversary of the Challenger explosion on January 28, 1986.
Keep your eyes open for a story on your topic that already has been printed. If your letter can comment on the story, and still tie into a holiday or anniversary, you have given an editor even more reason to publish it. For example, let's say you feel strongly that the minimum wage should be increased, and you see a story about the minimum wage printed in late summer in a national magazine. Write a letter to the editor responding to the story and stating your opinion. Include the fact that the minimum wage controversy will have particular significance on the upcoming Labor Day. It makes the letter more timely.
For more great ideas on using Letters to the Editor and Opinion Columns that piggyback events see Special Report #14 "How to Piggyback Story Ideas onto Holidays and Anniversaries"
Paul Gourvitz of Gourvitz Communications, a New York video production house, recently solved a tough publicity challenge with a very clever approach. Matchbox wanted to do a video news release about its new toys, R.C. Ripskate and R.C. Radskate. "They were clever toys," Gourvitz says, "but we needed to make the product newsworthy."
Gourvitz and his colleagues interviewed a national skateboard champion, who used the toys to demonstrate safety tips for young skateboarders. With safety as a peg, this became an interesting news story, and, with action footage of an actual skateboard competition, "... the video news release was well-accepted by news producers across the country," according to Gourvitz' account in Playthings.
A good news peg is only the start of effective product publicity. You have to provide solid information about your product. If you say that your product's performance is superior, you have to be able to back it up with solid facts. And, if you can provide data to support your claims from an independent source, so much the better.
Keep in mind that whenever you deal with product claims, you have to conform to Federal Trade Commission regulations, as well as a plethora of state and local laws. It's a good idea to have your lawyer review the copy for all publicity material with product claims. For great tips and advice on how to ensure your work is newsworthy and you can back up your claims see David R. Yale's report "How To Get Free Publicity For Your Products"
Even after a tradeshow you can get great publicity.
Do a debriefing of the show and file your notes to review before next year's show. Make a list of things that need to be improved, or overlooked opportunities. Make special note of clever things that other companies did at their booths, or ways they attracted media attention.
After the debriefing, ask yourself if you can pitch an idea to the media next year about your trade show strategy. Perhaps you've come up with an innovative way to display a new product, or even handle media inquiries. Other companies might want to know your secrets. If you are willing to share them, the media will view you as helpful.
Enter into your media database the names of media people you met at the show, the circulation of their publication, what they cover, types of sources they need, stories they are interested in, hobbies, etc.
Plan to launch new products just before next year's major trade show, then adjust your timeline accordingly.
For more great tips for after the trade show publicity see Special Report #24 "How to Create Media Publicity at Trade Shows and Conferences"
You do not have to be super creative to write a brief, especially because there are so many ways to do so:
Round-up articles. Call six or seven experts in a particular industry and ask them all the same question. Then provide their answers in a brief. If I were writing a round-up brief, for example, I might call several publicity experts and ask this question: "What's the best piece of advice you can offer Publicity Hounds who want to develop and maintain strong relationships with the media?" Most people will be happy to participate because this is extra publicity for them, too.
Definitions. Explain the meaning of words within a certain industry, particularly new words and phrases.
New Products. Many magazines have new product sections. Explain how your product can help readers. Provide free tips.
Q&A. Some publications print mini bios of people in Q&A format. If you have a new CEO, for example, you can feature him or her answering a series of short questions. Provide a photo.
For more examples of what you can use for briefs, and how to best write them see Special Report 30 "Briefs, Fillers & Quizzes: The Shortest, Easiest Articles You'll Ever Write"
Use the following great tips in order to custom build your publicity and marketing strategy:
Paulette Ensign's excellent site at Create a Tips Booklet
An informational tips booklet, which you can sell as a product or give away, can be a wonderful revenue stream and really establish you as an expert. Everything you need to know about tips booklets can be found at http://www.tipsbooklets.com.
Record an Audio Tape
Audio tapes which feature the same types of topics you deal with in your consulting business can be used as giveaways or sold.
Publicize It
Work with business groups in publicizing your speaking engagements. Offer to write your own copy for the brochure.
Teach Classes
Teaching a class at the local college, or through the adult education program, can bring you fabulous publicity. Local newspapers are often looking for unusual angles to report. Create one, and you might get a story.
For more great publicity and marketing tips see Special Report #23 "Profitable Publicity Tips to Jump-Start Your Consulting Business"
Imagine if you could get Time magazine, CBS News, and USA Today to run stories about your product (or service) - including your Web address and phone number - all without paying one thin dime for advertising space.
Imagine no more! Every day of the year, publicists from Portland to Pensacola are getting newspapers, magazines, radio and TV stations, cablecasters and Web sites to feature their products.
The key seems simple: provide journalists with newsworthy information about your product, and they'll be eager to give you coverage. And that can mean thousands of dollars worth of page space or airtime.
The key to Free product publicity is that one word: "newsworthy." This means your information has to be of interest to the journalists readers, listeners, or viewers. For great tips and advice on how to ensure your work is newsworthy see David R. Yale's report "How To Get Free Publicity For Your Products"
Don't view trade shows only as a chance to schmooze with potential customers, collect boxes of business cards and impress everybody with a glitzy booth. If you do your publicity homework as carefully as you plan your displays, you can be well on your way to creating thousands of dollars in free print space and air time at the next show.
Too many businesses exhibiting at trade shows wait patiently until they spot a reporter coming down the aisle. Then, if the reporter stops at their booth, the person inside the booth moves in with the same tired sales pitch used on everybody else who walks by. Unfortunately, by the time the show begins, it may already be too late to capture the media's attention. That's because the smart companies work weeks and sometimes even months ahead, establishing strong media relationships that can pay off big long before the show is under way. To learn what you can do before a trade show starts to increase publicity see Special Report #24 "How to Create Media Publicity at Trade Shows and Conferences"
Product testing is another way to involve a reporter in a story. If you're seeking publicity for a new product, send the product to a reporter along with an invitation to do a comparison test with other similar products, then report on it. The media don't cover as many consumer stories as they once did, but if you can tie your product to a trend, or to a holiday or an upcoming event, or to the weather-then urge the media to compare your product to the competition-you must might get some free publicity.
Organizations that are hosting events in which people from the community participate can invite reporters to also take part. When I worked as an editor, the local school district invited me and other community members to go inside schools on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and read about black history to students. Being part of the story and answering students' questions was so much better than just taking a seat in the back of the room and watching another volunteer read out loud.
There are many ways to involve reporters in events. For more tips, see Special Report #42.
Most weekdays, pick up the Wall Street Journal and right there on the front page, in the fifth column, you're likely to see a short item about results of a poll or survey. It's likely to warrant no more than a few paragraphs. Yet the publicity can be immeasurable, particularly if the topic is so compelling that it drives readers to the web site of the company that took the poll so they can read more.
Polls, surveys and white papers are valuable publicity tools because they tip off reporters to emerging trends. Sometimes they provide valuable research that a reporter doesn't have time to do. Often, they provide nuggets of information that don't take up a lot of space in print publications. They can result in longer news or feature stories, as long as they don't sound like blatant self-promotions.
To learn the many valuable reasons to take polls and surveys, and best use them to brand yourself as an expert, see Special Report 19, "How to Use Polls, Surveys and White Papers That Brand You as an Expert"
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 news 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.
To learn more about how to get free publicity for your business, see Special Report #9, "How to Generate Free Publicity for Your New Business"
Does this sound like you?
You can't understand why the business reporter at your local newspaper has quoted your competitor in five separate stories but hasn't called you once.
Your company sends out more than two dozen news releases every year about new employees and promotions, but they result in little more than a few lines of type.
The 12-page speech your boss wrote when he spoke at the local Rotary Club luncheon would have made an excellent column for the local business magazine. But after you mailed it to the editor, you never heard a word.
If your attempts at media coverage have fallen flat, quit grumbling and start taking a proactive approach to free publicity by identifying interesting, compelling story ideas the media need. Yes, NEED. Newspapers, magazines and trade publications have hundreds of thousands of column inches to fill. TV and radio stations have hundreds of hours of news and community interest programs they must broadcast. The number of media outlets is greater than ever, and competition is fierce for advertising dollars, viewers and subscribers. The secret to savvy media relations is knowing exactly what they want, then giving it to them.
To figure out what the media wants, and what you can give them, see Special Report 5 "How to Identify Story Ideas Within Your Company or Organization"
How would you like a piggyback ride? Well, you can be a kid again by piggybacking your publicity on the Holidays.
The Fourth of July. National Garden Week.. Hanukkah. Veterans Day. Public Service Recognition Week. Thomas Edison's Birthday. New Year's Eve. Get Organized Week. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday.
Tie a story idea into one of the above-and hundreds more holidays and anniversaries-and chances are good that you will catch the attention of a reporter, editor or news director. That's because the media are obliged to print and air stories on major holidays and anniversaries. Another reason is because on major holidays, and sometimes the days before and after, are "slow news days." Offices, schools and government
agencies are closed. People in a position to give official comments are difficult to find. So the media are looking for anybody who can give them a compelling story that ties into a holiday they must cover.
Year after year, editors are looking for more than just the cliché stories, such as sending reporters to the local shopping mall to report on the day-after-Thanksgiving crowds. They're looking for something more unusual-something their readers aren't expecting. There are ways to tie your story idea into well-known and lesser-known holidays and anniversaries and increase your chances for coverage, so to find these tips see Special Report #14 "How to Piggyback Story Ideas onto Holidays and Anniversaries"
Models don't always have to be tall and thin, they can be modeled after your product and made of plastic, foam, etc. There are some important techniques that photographers use to make products look their best in photos. Sometimes it's to your advantage to have a model made of your product, rather than shooting the actual item. "Mass produced merchandise often has small flaws that you don't want reproduced and magnified," explains Pozniak. "For example, many items are not quite square, especially cardboard product containers. It's often cheaper to make a model than to retouch the photo."
If you have a shiny product, like a cardboard box printed on glossy stock, be especially careful about glare. You might want to make a non-shiny model or spray your product with a matte lacquer to cut the glare. But your photographer must be an expert in this case.
When you photograph food, use a food stylist who knows how to prepare and arrange each dish so it looks appealing on camera. Since the photographer's lights generate heat, the stylist will have to continually replace food as it wilts or dries out.
For great tips and advice on how to make the portraits of your products the best they possibly can be, see David R. Yale's report "How To Get Free Publicity For Your Products"
There are many ways to involve a reporter in a story. One newspaper in Ohio where I worked printed a special section one year called "Trading Places." It was a compilation of stories written by reporters who worked at someone else's job for a day. A sports writer sold beer at a baseball game at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The food writer worked as a chef in a hotel kitchen. A woman reporter worked as a matchmaker at a dating service. Another male reporter ended up with sore shoulders after heaving hundreds of garbage bags on his route as a municipal sanitation worker.
It was one of the most fun projects ever and resulted in some of the most creative writing I've ever seen from a reporting staff. If you want reporters to write about your company or organization, what better way to entice them than by letting them actually work at one of the more interesting jobs, then write about it.
For more entertaining ways to involve reporters in stories, see Special Report #42.
Submit books and products to the new product review section of newspapers, magazines and trade publications.
Rather than trying to get a feature story on your new book, try instead for publicity about the topic. If you can offer advice, background or commentary on a particular topic, the media will be more inclined to cover you and perhaps mention the book.
Consider writing a tips booklet about your area of expertise, which will help you sell your book. Then send the booklet to editors and invite them to excerpt tips. Include ordering information. Visit http://www.tipsbooklets.com for everything you need to know to write and market informational tips booklets.
Offer copies of your books and products to radio station drive-time DJs to give away as prizes for contests they are sponsoring. Either come up with a fun idea for a contest, or just give away the books and let the DJs do the rest.
There are an assortment of ways authors and publishers can publicize books. See Special Report 40 for more ideas.
1. Get to know reporters. Offer yourself as someone they can call on for background, commentary and story ideas. Call and ask, "How can I help you?"
2. Start your own TV show on your local cable TV company's public access channel. Air time is free. You pay a minimal amount to rent the camera equipment.
3. Look for photo opportunities. Call the media with ideas, or submit your own good-quality photos and slides, and make them available electronically.
4. Give free classes and demonstrations through adult ed programs, at schools and colleges, or at your own business.
5. Participate in online discussion groups and offer lots of helpful advice. Use a signature file in your e-mail that explains what you do and how you can help solve people's problems. Link to your web site.
For more great free publicity tips see Special Report 30 "Briefs, Fillers & Quizzes: The Shortest, Easiest Articles You'll Ever Write"
Write, post, and do, these are some great ways to market yourself and your business and get the publicity you need and want. So start out right.
Post E-zines at Your Web Site
If you publish an e-zine, post it at your web site. If you can afford it, add a function that allows visitors to search your e-zines by topic.
Pro Bono Work
Do pro bono work in your community. Choosing the right high-profile groups can put you in touch with high-level decision-makers who might hire you to do consulting projects for them.
White Papers
Write a White Paper that focuses on a topic related to your consulting work. Include new insights. Load it with statistics. Make it comprehensive or perhaps controversial. Be objective. Interview industry leaders about the topic and include them in the report.
Write a Book
A book can help your credibility skyrocket, even if it is self-published. Three excellent web sites for self-publishers are the Small Publishers Association of North America at http://www.span.org, book marketing guru John Kremer's site at http://www.bookmarket.com and Dan Poynter's site at http://parapublishing.com. All three have excellent free e-zines you should subscribe to if you are considering writing a book.
For more great publicity and marketing tips see Special Report #23 "Profitable Publicity Tips to Jump-Start Your Consulting Business"
Tip sheets are a great way to get publicity, and give the general public a little something too, the following are some tip sheet suggestions:
- If you write articles for your web site, you can create a tip sheet using tips from a particular article. Then at the end of the tips sheet, reference the article and give your URL. This draws traffic to your site.
- Include contact information prominently on the tip sheet.
- At the bottom of the tip sheet, you might include a short note to editors offering yourself as a source for stories about topics on which you are an expert.
- If your tip sheet is printed in a major publication, you can make reprints. Lift the title of the magazine from the top of the cover and put that at the top of your reprint. Call the publication first and ask for permission.
For more great tip sheet suggestions see Special Report # 16 "How to Write Tip Sheets That Catch the Media's Attention"
You can turn negative things to positive with contests, you just have to be creative. For example, you can use a clever contest as a great way to correct an error.
An author even used a contest to get herself out of a sticky situation. Mystery author Cecelia Tishy discovered that a full line of text from her new novel had been omitted from her printed books. She and her publisher didn't want to tuck a correction sheet into the book. Instead, they reasoned, since the book is a mystery, they invited readers to solve the mystery of the missing line. Dowling Press offered a $500 prize to the reader who found and provided the best missing line.
For more great ideas on how you can use contests creatively see Special Report #18, "Clever Contests That Will Tempt Reporters to Call"
For instant credibility, get published everywhere you can. That means writing letters to the editor of your weekly newspaper. How-to articles for trade publications read by your customers. Advice articles for national magazines. Commentary pieces for the Wall Street Journal. White Papers (see below) that you mail to decision-makers who can hire you. One of the advantages of being published is the long shelf life of printed material. Another is that with a little editing here and there, you can recycle your articles over and over again for even more publicity.
So what if you can't write? Hire freelancers. A good freelancer can interview you over the telephone or in person. Then using your ideas and terminology, the writer can produce interesting, compelling articles under your name. If you can afford the time, learn to write these articles yourself. The more you write, the easier it gets.
For more tips and ways to build your celebrity image see Special Report #11 "Secrets for Building Your Celebrity Image
Strutting your stuff is not a bad thing, it attracts the right people, and helps you retain employees. Here are a few tips on what you can do to promote the good your company has to offer:
Publicize alluring perks, such as telecommuting, the casual work environment and "cafeteria" benefit plans.
Promote innovative employee training programs.
Discuss ways the company helps employees meet family needs.
Explain how the company takes care of employees. SAS Institute, a software company in Cary, North Carolina, staffs a health center.
Publicize non-traditional corporate practices. Badger Electronics in Racine, Wis., literally opens its books and shares profitability figures-and profits-with employees.
Let the media know about offbeat recruiting strategies, like advertising on the back of grocery store cash register receipts and sending corporate recruiters to Florida during spring break.
Post all that great publicity at your web site so it can be seen by job-hunters.
Have stories written about you professionally framed. Hang them in your lobby and in the room where job applicants are interviewed.
Reprint favorable articles, and be sure all job applicants who you interview are given copies.
For more tips on what you can do to promote the good your company has to offer see Special Report #3 "How to Use Free Publicity to Attract and Keep Valuable Employees"
The tip sheet's most valuable use is when working with the media because editors are always on the lookout for free advice they can offer to their readers. Often, you can get much more space for free than you could afford to buy. And if the media use your tips, it's as though the media outlet is giving you its stamp of approval. That makes you credible.
When I worked as a newspaper editor, we sometimes used tips boxes to accompany stories if we had more space on the page than the reporter's story would fill. But reporters who were racing to complete a story on deadline seldom had time to do additional research to find tips. It's like that at many other media outlets.
You can also use tip sheets to catch an editor's attention. For example, if someone is starting a new business that matches people with disabilities with companies that need employees, the business owner might include with the pitch letter a tip sheet called "8 Ways to Make Your Workplace Comfortable for Employees with Disabilities."
For more great tip sheets advice and great ideas for using the tips you have to offer, see Special Report # 16 "How to Write Tip Sheets That Catch the Media's Attention"
Turn Articles into Tip Sheets
A tip sheet is nothing more than a list of 8 to 15 helpful tips that explain how to help people solve a problem, save money, live healthier, be safer, or have more fun.
The headline can be much the same headline used in a how-to article. After the headline, you can write a one- or two-sentence introduction, or you can simply list the tips. This is not a blatant self-promotion but, rather, a helpful list that helps establish you as an expert in a particular topic.
How to Use Tip Sheets
Include them in your media kit.
Post them at your web site.
When you appear on a radio talk show, offer them free to listeners who fax you their letterhead with the words "Tip Sheet."
For more great ideas on how to use tip sheets, and recycle your publicity see Special Report # 13 "How to Recycle Your Publicity (for Serious Publicity Hounds Only)"
When you give the press a story, or get interviewed, you may be asked for a photograph, and you want to make sure you have a great one on hand.
Here are things to keep in mind before you are photographed.
Hair:
Wear your usual hairstyle. Don't try anything new.
Make sure your hair is styled the way you want it before you arrive at the studio.
Have hair cut one to two weeks before your photo session.
Examine hair carefully after each clothing change.
Avoid "five o'clock shadow." If you have a dark or heavy beard, schedule an early morning portrait appointment or make time to shave just prior to your session. Even several hours' growth can be evident in a photograph and cannot be removed by retouching.
Glasses:
If you wear glasses, borrow a set of blank frames without the lenses from your eye doctor. This will eliminate reflection and distortion problems.
Clothing:
Select colors for your clothing that look best on you. Colors must complement your skin tone.
Avoid high-neck clothing that obscures your neck.
Avoid sleeveless clothing.
It's risky to wear prints that draw attention away from your face. When in doubt, be safe with solids.
Makeup:
Pay special attention to your eyes. That's what people see first.
Eye shadow adds depth. Avoid iridescent colors. Stick to neutral.
A dark tan will make your face look oily.
Blush will give your face more contour and adds color to your skin.
Powder reduces sheen and helps eliminate shiny foreheads and noses.
To learn more about media kits, photos, and getting awesome free publicity see Special Report #8, "Media Kits on a Shoestring: How to Create Them Without Spending a Bundle"
If the vast majority of letters on a particular topic seem to all take the same position, your letter will stand out and have a greater chance of being printed if it takes the opposing viewpoint.
Don't ask editors to print your letter anonymously. Most newspapers won't, so you'll be wasting your time. And it defeats the purpose of free publicity.
Don't write a letter for the sole purpose of publicly humiliating a company you do not like. These are seldom printed. If you have a consumer gripe about a particular company, call a reporter and suggest it as a story idea.
Don't write a letter that exceeds the length limit or you will make editors spend valuable time cutting it. The "Letters to the Editor" page will usually include guidelines for writers. Follow them.
To learn more on how to and how not to get noticed when writing letters to the editor see Special Report #4 "How to Write Crisp, Compelling Letters to the Editor to Promote Your Product, Service or Favorite Issue"
Buying paid ads to find employees is expensive, particularly if you advertise regularly in the "Help Wanted" sections of daily newspapers and trade publications.
A story about the merits of working at your company, written by a reporter at a reputable publication, is more credible than the checklist of great reasons that you usually include in your classified ads. Besides, after awhile, those checklists all sound alike. In today's tight labor market, "pleasant working conditions" just doesn't cut it anymore.
Many graduating college seniors looking for jobs regularly read trade publications for leads on places to work. Pitch a story idea that puts you in a great light in one of the trades.
Publicity is contagious. Once someone writes a story about you, it's amazing how many other media pick up on it. That's because the media monitor each other's stories. A trade publication that comes across a story written about you in a metropolitan newspaper might be tempted to do its own story. Likewise, a local TV reporter who reads about you in a local business magazine might want to call you for an interview. Once your publicity campaign starts rolling, it builds and builds, sort of like a snowball rolling downhill.
It makes you look good to current employees who may be more likely to stay. It's one thing to tell the troops about why you're such a great employer. It's another thing for them to read about it the local newspaper or their trade magazines.
For more information on how to get free publicity and make it contagious see Special Report #3 "How to Use Free Publicity to Attract and Keep Valuable Employees"
To get a quality image you want to be sure to know what the technical requirements are for your electronic photos.
Technical Requirements for Electronic Photos
Some publications will accept publicity photos in electronic form, but you must make sure your shots are in a format they can use. Determine that by asking these questions:
Will the standard format of 300 dots per inch (dpi), 11 inches (either length or width), in a jpeg file saved at quality level 9 meet your needs?
Do you need color or black and white?
What density, in dots per inch, do you need?
What size do you need, in inches?
Do you have any other format requirements?
Is it OK to email the photo to you in a compressed file? Files containing digital photos are large. Don't email them to journalists unless you have their permission. Large files can jam email systems, and some media outlets automatically refuse to accept them. Let the journalist know how large the file is when you're asking permission.
"A 300 dpi, 11 inch photo saved at quality level 9 will be about 50k in file size, and thus can be emailed. The same photo saved at 12 is about 1.5M - too big to be emailed," says Andrew J. Carothers, President of The Carothers Group in San Rafael, CA. "In addition to emailing them, you can send photos to journalists on CD-ROMS."
Another delivery channel is to post photos on your Web site - and let journalists know about them in press releases and media kits.
For great tips and advice on how to make the your electronic images and photos meet requirements and look their best, see David R. Yale's report "How To Get Free Publicity For Your Products"
There are all kinds of great ideas for capturing the media's attention, even if your company won't be exhibiting at a trade show, or if you're simply attending your industry convention.
Visit the Media Room at the trade show or convention and introduce yourself to reporters, but don't take up a lot of their time. Be able to explain in 15 seconds or less who you are, what you do and how you can help them.
If access to the Media Room is limited only to working media displaying credentials, there's nothing wrong with lurking outside the Media Room and stopping a reporter or editor who you want to get to know better. The same good manners apply in person as over the telephone. That is, the first words out of your mouth should be, "Hi Jack. Is this a good time to introduce myself?" If it isn't, the reporter will tell you.
Another alternative is to simply e-mail reporters and editors who you know are at the show. Chances are good they are checking their e-mail several times daily anyway. And if they prefer to communicate by e-mail, you just might catch their attention.
For more great tips for great trade show publicity see Special Report #24 "How to Create Media Publicity at Trade Shows and Conferences"
When you create a media kit you have a lot of options for things to put in it. The following are some examples of great options for your personal media kit:
Fact sheet. This differs from the narrative history of your organization because it a simple list of facts such as the number of employees, service provided, products sold, etc. Companies with unusual products or services might even include a list of "fun facts" or an explanation of unusual ways customers have used them.
Product sample. If you have an inexpensive product sample that's small enough to fit inside the folder, include it. If the product is too big for the folder, and it's something the media might like to test or compare with similar products, invite them to contact your company for a sample.
Product brochures. You can mix and match these, depending on who is receiving your media kit. There's no need to cram all 13 brochures into one folder.
Frequently asked questions. Compile a list of the most frequent questions people ask about you or your organization, and answer them in Q & A format.
A product catalog and price list. Be sure the price list is updated. Prices are one area in which you don't want errors.
To learn more great tips and options for your media kit see Special Report #8, "Media Kits on a Shoestring: How to Create Them Without Spending a Bundle"
Get free publicity by getting others to talk on your behalf. Don't try to rally support for your cause by encouraging your friends and neighbors to write letters on the same topic you have chosen. Editors despise organized letter-writing campaigns. The only thing they hate even more is when someone writes a letter to the editor, makes 20 photocopies, and gives them to 20 people to sign and mail to the newspaper.
A much better alternative is to circulate a list of "talking points" and facts that people can discuss if they choose to write a letter about a particular topic. If you're working on a committee to pass a bond issue for a new school addition, for example, consider distributing a list of facts and figures on how the addition would benefit the school district. Encourage supporters to use those statistics in their letters but to state their opinions in their own words.
To learn more on how to get other talking on your behalf and writing letters to the editor see Special Report #4 "How to Write Crisp, Compelling Letters to the Editor to Promote Your Product, Service or Favorite Issue"
You can get publicity with honey, better than you can with vinegar.
It was the week before Christmas in 1996, when the media were hungry for stories. When the local NBC News affiliate in Milwaukee heard that a local ad agency had surprised all 55 employees just days before at the annual Christmas party with an all-expenses-paid trip to Disney World, the assignment editor jumped at the chance to cover the story. Within hours, camera crews were filming happy employees who explained how excited they were to be going to the Magic Kingdom.
The story was several minutes long on the 6 o'clock news that evening. It also made the front page of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Christmas Day.
The result? "We were swamped with job applications from people who saw and read the news stories," said the company president, who found himself in an enviable position because of the tight labor market in Milwaukee and most of the rest of the nation.
Your company doesn't have to give away 55 free trips to Disney World to get that kind of coverage. You can, however, start a proactive campaign to strut your organization's best stuff such as working conditions, job opportunities, perks, the fun environment and even interesting co-workers-reasons why people would want to work there or why employees stay. Then develop a publicity campaign around it.
For more information on how to use free publicity to attract great employees see Special Report #3 "How to Use Free Publicity to Attract and Keep Valuable Employees"
Making reprints is a great way to keep the publicity ball rolling when you get an article published. How to Use Reprints
Use them to train and educate your employees, or your clients.
Include them in your handouts if you are presenting at conferences and seminars.
Place them at your booth at trade shows.
Include them with proposals you are submitting to potential clients and customers.
Make them available in your lobby or store.
Use them in direct mail campaigns.
Mail them to clients in case they missed the original article.
Have it framed and hang it in your lobby, or where there's a lot of traffic.
Post reprints on a bulletin board in your company cafeteria.
For more useful reprint information see Special Report # 13 "How to Recycle Your Publicity (for Serious Publicity Hounds Only)"
Martha Stewart has everything from books to bedsheets.
One of the best ways to start creating your own brand and celebrity status, regardless of your industry, is with information products. These include books, audio tapes, video tapes, newsletters, workbooks and booklets—all excellent ways for you to spread your name throughout an industry, generate revenue, establish credibility and garner publicity. After being turned down by dozens of publishers, all it took was one “Chicken Soup” book for Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen to be well on their way to producing a wildly successful series of books on the same theme.
If you don’t want to start with a book, start on a much smaller. How about a booklet, which can be produced in only a few weeks?
Products open doors for you that you might never have imagined. And open doors can lead to media publicity and recognition.
To learn more about getting media publicity, and building your name and image see Special Report #11 “Secrets for Building Your Celebrity Image”
Publicity is how you promote yourself and your company. So what if you can't afford to buy a display ad, or even a tiny classified ad? If you're clever, you can use letters to the editor to promote your product or service-for FREE.
1. Weave information about whatever you are selling into a letter that states a strong opinion on a related issue, or comments on an article that was recently printed, without making the letter sound like a blatant attempt at a free ad. Here are two examples:
Example #1: The November 1998 issue of Entrepreneur magazine included a letter from Eric Lofgren, CEO of Panzer Studios, commenting on an article on low-cost PCs.
Thanks to you and your delightfully unaware reporter, I now have a largely successful business. And what is it, you might ask? I make a living upgrading old computers.
Recently, thanks to articles like yours, I've been spending a great deal of time trying to help users who bought an inexpensive "power" PC. These computers were aimed at the consumer market and, unfortunately, are woefully unsuitable for any business...Before you print another article of this quality, could you please test these things for yourselves?
Example #2: The June 1999 issue of Inc. magazine included a letter by Kurt Huffman, president of Universal Premium cover story on "How to Finance Anything" which included 20 tips "for finding money now."
Your 20 tips did not include this convenient source of working capital for small businesses: financing annual insurance premiums. Rather than pay $2,500 to $100,000 up front for a commercial insurance policy, companies can ask their insurance agents to arrange financing that allows monthly installments. This easy-to-arrange source of funds can be part
of the financing mix for every business, from restaurants to contractors to high-tech companies."
To learn more on how to get free publicity by writing a letter to the editor in a way that gives you credibility, and is subtle enough to be published see Special Report #4 "How to Write Crisp, Compelling Letters to the Editor to Promote Your Product, Service or Favorite Issue"
There have been some really clever contests in the past that have resulted in some wonderful publicity for the companies that offered them. For example, To celebrate its 100th anniversary three years ago, OshKosh B'Gosh launched a six-month nationwide search for the oldest pair of bib overalls. The contest, conceived by Laughlin Constable Public Relations, received publicity not only when it was announced, but right through to the end.
It touched a sentimental chord and resulted in hundreds of responses, including endearing letters from owners of bib overalls. Midway through the contest, the company sent excerpts from the letters to media nationwide.
The company received additional publicity when it announced the winner, Clyde Mehder of Sarasota, Fla., who had a pair of child-size bibs that were designed in 1901 by his uncle who was a tailor for the clothing company.
You too could use a sentimental contest as a creative way to create publicity for your company. For more great creative contest ideas see Special Report #18, "Clever Contests That Will Tempt Reporters to Call"
People love contests. So do the media. They're fun. They provide an aura of suspense. And they're one of the best ways to get publicity for your company without having to spend money on a paid ad. Choosing a clever contest that becomes an annual event can be part of your company's branding campaign. Pillsbury, for example, gets tons of free publicity from its annual Bake-Off. Winners are profiled in their local newspapers and national magazines, along with the winning recipes.
One of the reasons that contests are so valuable as publicity tools is that you can create publicity before, during and after the contest. Beforehand, you can send a news release announcing the contest and perhaps even pitch a clever angle that warrants a feature story. During the contest, you can keep the media updated on entries. Then you can announce the winner with great fanfare. During the months after you announce the winner, take the most interesting story angles from the contest, particularly clever entries that didn't win, and pitch those as ideas to the media. Then resurrect the contest the following year and do it all again.
For great ideas on when and how to do contests that will grab the media's attention and get you free publicity see Special Report #18, "Clever Contests That Will Tempt Reporters to Call"
The following are some ideas for getting media attention:
List company experts at your site and invite the media to call on them for commentary, background and story ideas.
Include a "Media Room" at your site. For an example of an excellent media room, visit the Society for Human Resource Management at http://www.shrm.org/press/
List story ideas about your company.
Offer an electronic version of your photo.
Ask your media contacts if you can e-mail them when you have new content at your site that might interest them.
Ask for links on industry sites, such as trade associations.
For more great tips to get media attention see Special Report #17, "63 Powerful Ways to Promote Your Web Site to Draw Traffic and Boost Sales"
If You're Doing Broadcast Interviews you can reward yourself with tons of free publicity by recycling and reusing the interview.
When you do a radio or TV interview, ask the host or producer off the air, "Who else do you know who might be interested in having me as a guest?" Media people often have valuable contacts in other markets.
Several days before you appear on a radio show, send a postcard to bookstores, clients, newspaper or magazine reporters, or anyone else who you want to listen to the show. Tell them the time, date and where to find the show on the dial.
Tape the talk show. Give copies of the tape to print reporters who you want to write about you, and slip a copy of the cassette inside your media kit.
For more tips for getting the most out of your broadcast interviews, see Special Report # 13 "How to Recycle Your Publicity (for Serious Publicity Hounds Only)"
Never be satisfied with just one publicity "hit." Always try to turn one hit into several by recycling.
When you do a radio or TV interview, ask the host or producer off the air, "Who else do you know who might be interested in having me as a guest?" Media people often have valuable contacts in other markets.
If a national publication prints a story by or about you, write a short news release about it for your daily and weekly newspapers, trade publications, chamber of commerce newsletter and alumni magazine.
There are many other ways to recycle publicity, see Special Report #11 "Secrets for Building Your Celebrity Image" for more tips and ideas, as well as other ways to build your name fame.
Here are tips to help you sponsor a great contest with maximum publicity potential.
Make your contest easy to enter. Let people enter at your web site.
If you have a retail store, print ballots and post them near your cash register.
Do a direct mailing to your regular customers, or announce a contest via e-mail and provide a link to your web site where people can enter.
Write a news release announcing the contest and send it to your local newspapers.
Get your morning drive-time disc jockey involved in a quick, one-shot contest. Donate prizes and suggest an idea for a contest that the DJ can conduct in one morning, or let the DJs come up with their own contest ideas. For example, callers might be invited to call in and describe the worst job they ever had. Be sure the DJ gives you credit for the prizes.
Local businesses can include local celebrities to serve as judges. When you announce the winner, have the celebrity judges present the awards.
For more great tips to maximize contest publicity see Special Report #18, "Clever Contests That Will Tempt Reporters to Call"
A media kit is a folder of information that will help reporters write an accurate story. It should include whatever facts you want them to know about. Contents can include-among other things-a history of your company, professional profiles of key executives or officers, black and white or color photos, a fact sheet about your organization, a business card, recent news releases and a small product sample.
Media kits help reporters save time and improve accuracy because everything is there in black and white. When I worked as a newspaper reporter, I sometimes copied entire paragraphs of information found in media kits, particularly when I was on deadline. It was convenient. And I didn't have to spend time calling the source to ask for more information, or double-check numerous facts. If you don't have a media kit and you're on a tight budget or have little time to create one, relax. You can start out small, then add to it as time goes on. I advise many of my clients to eventually build an entire wardrobe of contents, then decide what goes inside the media kit depending on how they are going to use it.
Media kits also show that you're media-savvy and understand how the news game is played. They can be used for far more than just the media. Use them as marketing materials to share with potential clients. Take them to trade shows. Give them to your sales people to use on sales calls.
To learn more about media kits see Special Report #8, "Media Kits on a Shoestring: How to Create Them Without Spending a Bundle"
Letters to the editor are one of the fastest, easiest and least time-consuming ways to catch the media's attention and spread your message to the greatest number of people possible. Unlike news stories that are written by reporters, letters allow you to state an opinion, offer an alternative viewpoint, heap praise, or move someone to action-in your own words. That means there's a much smaller chance that the facts will be wrong or that your message will be twisted or diluted as it might be in a regular news story.
Why You Should Write Letters
To keep your name in front of the public. Even if you're already receiving great publicity, use letters to the editor to supplement the stories that are written about you.
To build or maintain a high profile. Because well-written letters are so easy to get printed, you can use them as part of your campaign to build your celebrity image, increase your profile in the community or simply to become better known, and to be seen as an expert.
To learn of the many other reasons to write letters to the editor, as well as great tips on writing them right see Special Report #4 "How to Write Crisp, Compelling Letters to the Editor to Promote Your Product, Service or Favorite Issue"
If you’ve written a book, you probably have spent many months toiling over the book proposal, negotiating with the publisher, writing the book, rewriting it, preparing your marketing materials and determining how to sell it. If you’re self-published, you’ve probably done even more.
The choice of who to hire to do your publicity—or help with a portion of it—will be one of the most important decisions you will make. Don’t blow it by hiring the first publicist you hear about. You can turn over the entire job of promoting your book to a publicist. But the more actively involved you are, the better
For more information on how to hire a publicist that’s right for you, check out How to Hire the Perfect Publicist.
When you ask your top publicist candidate or candidates for references, also ask for the contact information for any client that fired them before a project was completed. You want to know if it was because the client was unhappy with the results of the project, such as too few media placements, which will reflect poorly on the publicist. Or whether it was because the publicist had what the client called “outlandish” ideas that the client didn’t agree with. If it’s the latter, ask for specifics. It could be that the publicist has a creativity streak that wasn’t a good match with a conservative client—but might be a good match with you.
Also listen closely for “disagreements” between the client and the publicist over the way certain things should have been done. Some clients think they know more about publicity than the publicist. These know-it-alls should save everyone a lot of grief and just do the job themselves.
After you have checked references, it’s time to choose your Number 1 candidate. Use the handy chart in How to Hire the Perfect Publicist to assign points to the categories in which your top candidates will be judged.
Disciplined follow-up. If your interview process is slower than you had hoped, and they don’t hear from you for a week or two, do they follow up with you to see where the project stands—and do so without being a pest? When working with the media, follow-up is critical.
Outgoing, energetic and determined. These should be given more points than “a big name.” Even well-known public relations people can look tired and listless, as though they wish they were working in any job other than P.R. Maybe they had a bad day. Or maybe they’re always like this.
So, regardless of whether you’re a budding publicist or looking to hire, check out a more in depth list of what to look for in How to Hire the Perfect Publicist.
If you like what you hear after the initial phone call, and you ask the candidate publicist to submit a written proposal, be ready to respond to this question which every smart publicist should ask:
“Who, other than you, will be responsible for deciding which publicist to hire?”
If your boss must make the final decision based on your recommendation, be honest and say so. The candidate might want to meet with the boss before spending time writing a proposal.
Why? To make sure that the boss’s goals are your goals. To make sure that the boss’s measures of success are your measures of success. To give the publicist a chance to impress the person who holds the ultimate power to hire them. Besides, you shouldn’t be responsible for selling the publicist to your boss. That’s the publicist’s job. So put your ego aside and give the candidate a chance.
If you lie and say the final decision is up to you, you’ll look foolish later if your boss vetoes your decision. For more tips on how to not look foolish while hiring a publicist, check out How to Hire the Perfect Publicist.
Ask them to send you their standard marketing materials and any price sheets on retainer or contract relationships. Publicists who charge strictly by the project won’t have price sheets, however. Find out if they have experience with placements in media you want to get into, or if they have worked with clients in your industry. Authors should hire book publicists. High-tech companies should hire publicists familiar with high-tech publications and online media. Bankers should hire publicists familiar with the financial services and business media, and so on.
Ask for background on their company. Ask if the publicist has a website. Ask if there’s a fee for the initial meeting. If so, can the fee be applied against the cost of an eventual contract? Ask what they need from you to prepare for the meeting.
Now see how long it takes for the materials to arrive. Perfect publicists mail materials the same day. If it takes a long time to receive them, this is a bad sign. If they’re this slow working with you—a potential new client—imagine how slow they’ll be if a reporter requests your media kit.
For more tips on how to pick out a perfect publicist, check out How to Hire the Perfect Publicist.
http://101publicrelations.com/hireapublicist.html?s=prideas&c=perfect_publicist
Share with publicists you talk to—right up front and as soon as you meet them—what you expect to achieve from publicity. Also give them a range of how much you can afford. This will save a lot of time. Good publicists who think your expectations or price range are unrealistic will say so, and they probably won’t want to work with you.
Don’t “test the waters” by meeting with several different publicists without discussing fees, only to learn later—after they have submitted written proposals—that their fees are way out of your range. This wastes your time and theirs. Instead, be open about your budget.
Give them a range of what you can afford. Then, if they’re a top candidate, ask for a written proposal with a variety of options within your price range. Don’t use the excuse “I don’t have a budget.” If you don’t have a budget, you shouldn’t be looking for a publicist. You wouldn’t walk into a car dealer’s showroom if you didn’t have money for a new car. And please, don’t call the publicist and say, “I don’t have any money, but I’d love to talk to you about my project and pick your brain.” It’s the same as saying, “I want your advice but I’m not willing to pay for it.”
For more budget advice and hiring a quality publicist who also fits within your budget, check out How to Hire the Perfect Publicist.
If the very thought of talking to reporters and editors or appearing on a radio show frightens you, hire a good media coach. A media coach will give you all the training you need to feel comfortable during print and broadcast interviews and can prepare you for what to expert during your publicity campaign.
Many publicists know who the best coaches are, so you could actually hire a publicist first. After all, there’s time to get training while a strategic plan is being created and while the media kit is being written. Plus, the publicist may have some ideas and angles that should be covered in training.
Don’t use a publicist as a crutch or as someone who can shield you from the bulldog reporters you’ve heard so much about. The closer you are to your own publicity campaign and the more you understand it, the less susceptible you are to getting stuck with the Publicist from Hell.
For more on hiring publicists, check out How to Hire the Perfect Publicist.
While planning your news conference, write down the goals you need to accomplish. For example, are you calling a news conference to refute criticism by one of your competitors? Are you trying to rally public support for an unpopular project your organization is spearheading? Are you calling it to set the record straight after someone besmirched the reputation of one of your key people?
Keep your goals in sight, and plan accordingly. You might not have a lot of time to stage a well-orchestrated news conference, and you want to make sure the precious time you do have is spent wisely. The ideal length of time for a news conference is anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes.
For even more things to contemplate and consider before holding a press conference, check out The News Conference: When to Hold It and How to Do It Right.
Certain situations lend themselves, even to the point of requiring, to hiring a publicist. Some of these situations are:
You are familiar with the basics of how to get local publicity, but you want to take
your campaign to the national level and don’t know how.
You want publicity in a certain part of the country and would prefer to work with someone who has strong media contacts within their own region or state.
Even though you feel comfortable interviewing, you don’t like the thought of calling reporters and editors on the phone and asking them to cover your story.
You’re doing most of your own publicity yourself, but there’s one aspect of it that you don’t know how to do or don’t want to do, such as setting up an online media room. The perfect publicist can help smooth the rough spots in your publicity campaign by doing small-project work.
Publicists are trained and experienced in doing all that and more for you and your publicity campaign. For more information on publicists and how to hire the perfect one for you, check out How to Hire the Perfect Publicist.
The news conference can serve you, the news-maker, very well if it is used sparingly and staged correctly. When you’re at the center of a bad news story.
Your product gets recalled. Your competitor files a multi-million dollar lawsuit against you for copyright infringement. A major explosion in your factory leaves 10 employees dead and 15 others injured. A member of your senior management team has just been arrested for operating a massive cocaine distribution operation out of your company’s warehouse. Your organization did something stupid and you must publicly apologize, then get on with business. If the media all get the same story, they might not give it as much emphasis because it isn’t their story exclusively.
For even more ways the news conference can help your public relations people put out fires, check out The News Conference: When to Hold It and How to Do It Right.
Did you know certain times of year, you are almost guaranteed to get your story on the air? You just need to understand the schedule of television and sweeps periods.
Sweeps periods are crucial months for TV stations. Stations beef up their coverage to draw in as many viewers as possible. February, July, October and November are sweeps months.
These are very, very busy times, but as soon as these sweeps periods end, freedom opens up in newsrooms. The non-sweep months are easier to get the attention you desire from the media.
December is the month when everybody is going on vacation. In addition, there are fewer people around providing pitches. Lean newsrooms are even leaner, and reporters are desperately looking for stories. The week between Christmas and New Years in an ideal time to pitch your story.
Find out more at How to Get on Local TV News Tomorrow.
The best way to contact them is to send a fax to the assignment editor with their name on it so it’ll get set on their desk, because that’s literally what they do. So as they rush in and rush out, they grab whatever’s on their desk and take it with them out on their stories.
Calling them is a really good thing to do, but there are some do’s and don’ts about calling.
Never call during a newscast or at least one hour prior to the show because it’s really chaotic. If you call during that time, you are put in the “clueless” category.
The best time to call is in the morning, before the reporter’s morning meeting. They’ve got to go in to that meeting and have something dazzling to pitch to their crew. Catching them live is great.
If you can’t catch them live, never leave more than one message. If they have people like you who keep leaving story ideas, they’re going to get annoyed. You lose your credibility and they don’t want anything to do with you.
How to Get on Local TV News Tomorrow contains more helpful hints to getting great publicity on TV.
1. Use themes. You see them all the time. Tax time is a theme. Heat waves are a theme. Christmas shopping is a theme. School starting, getting ready for school, outdoor safety are all themes.
Piggyback off themes, because that’s what people are talking about. And that’s what makes reporter’s bosses happy—if you’re talking about what people are talking.
2. Use food. Print people are journalists, but people in TV newsrooms are TV stars and you’re dealing with people who have big egos. They’re big players. They’re gregarious. They’re loud. They love everything big. And food is big to them.
There are different ways to use food. Many PR people use it publicize events. Just remember, the bigger the better.
Don’t forget to thank people at the TV station. As soon as you send a thank-you gift to them, next time they find out about another event from you, they think, “Hmm, if I go to this one, I might get sent something from these people because they sent me something last time.”
For more essential tips to getting on TV, look at How to Get on Local TV News Tomorrow.
Whatever you do, don’t call and tell reporters you want publicity for your start-up company.
Instead, explain how your company helps people solve a particular problem. How does your product or service fill a need?
Talk about the problems you are facing as a small business person. Don’t be shy about talking to the media about problems. Every business has problems. And if you're willing to talk about them, and to suggest how you have found the solution to a particular problem, reporters are going to want to hear from you.
Another thing you can do with a start-up company is talk about how you are using technology in your business. That's a great way to do it because with technology, there's so much new stuff coming down the pike every day. Explain trends in the marketplace that led to you starting the business.
Find more information on publicity for your start-up company at Secrets of Perfect Pitching to Reporters.
A great tip for pitching is to offer reporters other sources and contact information like names of other people who they can call or email and use as sources for the story you are pitching.
Why? Reporters are under increasing pressure to produce multi-source stories. An editor does not want to publish a story that gives background or commentary from one source. They want sources who can speak on both sides of a particular issue, and who can bring to the story a wide variety of expertise and different viewpoints.
When you provide multiple sources, you’ve suddenly made the reporter’s job easier and positioned yourself as a golden source.
Any time you can help the media do their jobs better, or do their jobs easier, they’re going to view you as a valuable source, and they’re going to come back to you again and again.
Remember to give out sources that are friends or colleagues – not people who are in a position to take away from your story and add to their own marketing ability.
Find out more helpful information at Secrets of Perfect Pitching to Reporters.
Ensure your pitch won’t fall on deaf ears - try these tips when you are pitching your story to a reporter:
- Create the pitch before you pick up the telephone. In other words, sit down in front of your computer and write out the pitch. Then rehearse it until you’re able to do it convincingly within 30 seconds.
- Let the person on the other end of the phone know who you are and where you’re from. The next words out of your mouth need should be, “Is this a good time to talk?”
- Explain your idea in one or two sentences. Then follow it up with a very short explanation—one sentence, if possible—as to why readers or listeners would care.
-The next question to ask is, “Does this sound like something you'd be interested in?”
- Use the word “trend” in your pitch and reporters will immediately perk up.
- Never use the word publicity. It will kill your chances.
To learn more about what a perfect telephone pitch consists of, check out Secrets of Perfect Pitching to Reporters.
If you’re clever, you can use letters to the editor to promote your product or service - for FREE.
One way to do this is to weave information about whatever you are selling into a letter that states a strong opinion on a related issue, or comments on an article that was recently printed, without making the letter sound like a blatant attempt at a free ad.
Here's an example:
Entrepreneur magazine ran this letter from Eric Lofgren, CEO of Panzer Studios, commenting on an article on low-cost PCs.
"Thanks to you and your delightfully unaware reporter, I now have a largely successful business. And what is it, you might ask? I make a living upgrading old computers.
Recently, thanks to articles like yours, I’ve been spending a great deal of time trying to help users who bought an inexpensive "power" PC. These computers were aimed at the consumer market and, unfortunately, are woefully unsuitable for any business...Before you print another article of this quality, could you please test these things for yourselves?"
See how he worked his company's services into the comment? How can you do the same?
For more information on how to use letters to the editor (by the way, these also work as comments on blogs and forums too) check out How to Write Crisp, Compelling Letters to the Editor to Promote Your Product, Service or Favorite Issue
A quick look at the statistics that describe those who read in-flight magazines should convince you that these publications, often with high circulations, can be vital to your publicity campaigns:
· Many are Frequent Flyers, among the most educated and affluent consumers
· 60 percent are men; 40 percent women
· 74 percent are in the 25-54 age bracket
· 86 percent are college-educated
· 56 percent hold management positions
· 57 percent have incomes of more than $75,000 a year
There’s more. Almost three-quarters of the Frequent Flyers read an in-flight magazine during every flight. And the average pass-along rate for in-flight magazines is 5.5. This often overlooked medium can be a goldmine to your publicity campaign if you can match your needs with what their editors want.
Because the airlines serve very different geographic markets, those "wants" will differ from publication to publication if you’re pitching stories about travel and tourism. The good news, however, is that many of the in-flight publications concentrate on a wide variety of general-interest topics such as technology, business, entertainment, beauty and fashion.
Get contacts for tons of major airlines, plus more information on why and how to get publicity in in-flight magazines in Fly High with Publicity in the In-Flight Magazines
For a small business in a local community, the opinion page of your newspaper is an incredible opportunity. It’s easy to get publicity by commenting on a feature or article. However, understand that you don’t want to give yourself a bad name either, so choose your words wisely, and stay away from halting criticism and harsh judgments. It’s possible to make a point without giving offense.
Also, there are options if the newspaper covers your competitor but not you. Write a letter that comments on an aspect of the story that the reporter didn’t touch, but that you can contribute to. If it’s relevant and interesting, you’ve turned a potentially unhelpful situation into a good chance for publicity.
Read more tips like this The Fastest, Cheapest, Easiest Ways to Publicize Your Small Business—Even if You’re a Solo Entrepreneur.
Bet you didn’t know that there’s a method to journalism madness. Many, if not all, reporters read a directory called Chase's Calendar of Events
This isn’t a book about Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa: it’s a collection of those Hallmark holidays that are created to acknowledge people and what they do. This organization supplies the brainstorm book for reporters, because journalists use the holidays to justify their features. Basically, if you’re in the book, people will find you!
And luckily, it’s free to register your event. Choose a day, decide its significance, write up a quick description, and submit it to Chase’s. The fact that you’re in the directory can be instant publicity and credibility for your business.
This is just one of the many tips found in The Fastest, Cheapest, Easiest Ways to Publicize Your Small Business—Even if You’re a Solo Entrepreneur.
For a small business, the local media is one of your biggest chances for publicity. It's important that you build relationships with the reporters there, because so much of this career is about connections and who you know.
You are not there to get your one hit story and then move on. You want to be an ally to that reporter, so make sure you're choosing the right person to pitch to. Open whatever newspaper or magazine or publication you're considering, and find out who writes about your kind of business. It may be a general sort of interest writer, but make sure you're targeting someone who can actually write about you.
Since you need help from the reporters, it's crucial that you play their game. There are unspoken rules that you need to follow to build a lasting relationship with them. Many of these rules apply to how and when you contact them. When you're calling a reporter, the first thing you say should be "Are you on deadline?" No matter how good your pitch is, the reporter is not going to listen to you if they're pushing to finish something. Asking this question proves that you know what you're doing in the business world.
This is just one of the many tips found in The Fastest, Cheapest, Easiest Ways to Publicize Your Small Business--Even if You're a Solo Entrepreneur.
When a journalist comes calling, you should not be coy and or evasive about the truth. If you're embarrassed or unwilling to talk about your business' problem, you're closing off a wonderful opportunity to get free publicity for yourself.
Of course you won't want to reveal specific financial statistics, but the more information you can give a reporter, the better chance they'll use you as a key part of their story. Answer the reporter's questions truthfully and you gain credibility because you're not hiding anything.
Spend the 20-30 minutes to really give a reporter what they want. Of course, don't overload them with useless information, but give them the golden nuggets they're looking for, and they'll use you as a centerpiece in their story. The best way to lose potential publicity is by refusing to comment!
Read more tips like this in The Fastest, Cheapest, Easiest Ways to Publicize Your Small Busines--Even if You're a Solo Entrepreneur.
When planning an event, it is critical to determine the purpose of your event.
What do you want to accomplish? Is it a fundraiser? Are you looking for new customers? Are you trying to build your image?
Determining the purpose of your event is the best first step to your planning process. Once you have a goal, you can cater each aspect of the event to it, which will make you more successful overall because you know what outcome you're seeking.
Of course, each purpose will be unique to the business and the event, but as long as everyone is aware of your goal, you can accomplish almost anything.
This is just one of the many tips found in How to Plan and Promote Sizzling Special Events!
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