All I want for Christmas is PR

A classic trick PR pros use for getting placements is tying pitches and press releases to seasonal events like Christmas or Valentine’s Day.  Shining the light of Holiday Cheer on your company or expertise helps you stand out from the crowd. By connecting your press releases and pitches to seasonal events like holidays or seasonal weather changes, you’re helping a reporter answer the important questions of “why should I care” and “why should I care now.”

The media is looking for content related to seasonal news daily. Even more important than weather, though, are breaking news headlines. This can be crime, celebrity hiccups, political matters, or other headlines of the day. Get into the habit of watching what’s breaking and be the first to reach out to your media contacts with content to help them cover the story around that breaking news. You might even tell your local media contacts how the national breaking news impacts the community locally. The trick here is to only comment on breaking news that furthers your brand. Otherwise, you’ll be diluting your brand and wasting your time and the media’s time. For example, if you’re a therapist, don’t offer commentary about winter tires on cars.

This may seem obvious, but some news headlines may not be that obvious. For example, you may be an author on the law of attraction. You think your commentary around unemployment is essential. To a Wall Street Journal reporter, though, your credentials have to back-up what you say. They cannot quote you on unemployment and the economy if your credentials are ‘law of attraction guru.’ If your book is about finding work in a tough economy using the law of attraction, then the reporter may be able to use you. However, just keep in mind, they can get the best experts in the world to comment for them. So, choose to find and work with media perfectly suited to your expertise and the breaking news commentary you can create.

When using the simple trick of connecting your expertise to breaking news, you must say immediately how you can help the journalist advance their story. One way to do this is to list topics that you can discuss that will shed new light on the news. Another is to give the journalist a sampling of key tips or advice that you can offer their audience. These should be short, concise, single sentences. Get to your point quickly or you risk losing the journalist‘s attention. Use this simple trick and you dramatically increase your chances of finding PR under your tree this season!

The right journalist for your brand. Are they harder to find than Hoffa?

Click here to watch Drew’s video on Connecting with the Media

How do you find the media? With the advent of the Internet there’s so many different ways for you to find the media and reach out and pitch them.

So let me just go over some of the ways that you can find the media that’s right for you.

First, there’s media lists. You can buy a list, you can do searches, and on the Web site http://wwwpublicityresults.com there’s some free media lists that we recommend, particularly if you’re looking for gift guide or radio lists. PublicityResults.com has some really great resource partners that you should check out.

To build your media list, you’ll need to do some homework. First, write down who you would like to communicate with.
•    What TV shows are they watching?
•    What magazines are they reading?
•    What newspapers are they reading?
•    What radio shows are they listening to?
Next, find out which hosts or reporters are doing stories for these shows and publications, and then contact them. All their information’s out there and many are on free media lists. They’re very easy to find on the Internet.

Now, one of the things I like to do (and if you’re going to do this type of research I recommend you do it too) is when you reach out to the media, really acknowledge them for work that they’ve done by mentioning something specific that you liked in one of their stories. Everybody responds well to compliments and it shows that you’ve done your homework, you know who they are, and you’re not just randomly trying to reach out to them.

Another great resource is query services. There’s Profnet, PR Leads, and of course, the company we created, PitchRate.com which offers free media lists. With all of these resources you can actually get free media leads sent to your in-box from journalists that are looking for experts and other sources. Pitchrate.com is absolutely free and offers free media lists as a resource. By taking advantage of these really great services you can connect to the media. So what are you waiting for?

Also, don’t forget your community! You know — six degrees of separation. I promise you, there’s people in your community that know journalists that you should be reaching out to. So let everyone in your network know what you’re up to. They’d love to help you succeed.

The last thing I’d like for you to remember is that when you’re reaching out to the media DON’T GIVE UP! As a PR professional, I’ve found that just like in advertising, sometimes it takes up to seven touches  — that’s right SEVEN TOUCHES! — for them to do a story on you. So don’t get discouraged. Keep at it.

Remember — it’s not just who you know, it’s who knows about you!

Publicity Results launches our Step-By-Step PR Training course

Well dear readers, you may have noticed that I haven’t been focusing much energy on my blog lately. That’s because I’ve been developing a step-by-step PR training program – and yesterday we did it! We launched our new training
program. Whew!

We learned a lot in this process. We may be the best publicist in the business but Internet Marketers we are not:).

So you  may know we launched three hours later than expected and were bumed that we had a lot of people concerned that they missed the opportunity for the fast acting bonus.

As you might be able to imagine, this launch process has been totally insane. It’s our first “foray” into internet marketing, and we’re learning a lot as we go…

…and, like with any first stab at a new skill, we’re also making mistakes.

But I don’t want you to confuse our late launch time with the
value of what you’re going to get.

Because the truth of the matter is, if you want to get media coverage from the top-tier outlets all the way down to  your local news…

…we are the best in the industry.

We get people on Oprah, Dr. Phil (in 8 hour no less), The Today Show, and countless other outlets.

I really would love you to join this amazing group of people. I promise this program is going to rock your world.

Its only open to the first 100 people who sign up so HURRY!

To find out what its all about and to sign up, CLICK HERE.

Drew

PS … So if you want to get on show like oprah we are your
people – if you want to launch a product on the internet you
might want to look elsewhere

Update from PublicityResults.com

As you all know, my new website PublicityResults.com went live last week and we’ve been really pleased with the response.

Last week I also had the pleasure of interviewing Tracy Adler of yum Yum dishes. Visit Publicity Results and discover how a single mom with two kids continues to land media placements that triple her sales every single time! Month after month….

How we landed Dr. Phil in eight hours!

What a crazy few weeks I’ve had. Reciently we landed one of our clients on DR. Phil in 8 hours! The pitch we created was so successful I thought I’d share it, as well as few tips on how we pitched it… So I created a website and posted it – for FREE – along with  PR secrets the pros would rather you didn’t know.

We went live with the site today. Have a look and see if you can beat our record!

PublicityResults.com

Piecing it all together

Hi everyone!  From time to time, I’ll be posting my thoughts on Drew’s Publicity Buzz blog.  I’m learning PR as I go, so I hope to capture my observations and lessons learned to share with others.  I’m also an avid do-it-yourselfer and I often notice parallels between what I’m doing in my personal life and the commitments I have in my professional life.

I’m currently roofing the gazebo my wife and I built in our backyard a little over a month ago.  We chose split cedar shingles for their beauty—but not for their ease of installation.  Each night after work, my wife and I dedicate about an hour and a half to installing the cedar shingles.  It’s just enough time to see the last sliver of the setting sun drop below the mountain that shadows our house.  And each night, we get just a little bit more done than the night before—one pie-shaped panel the first night, one and a third the next, one and a half last night… and soon we’ll have it done.  We’re getting faster… and better… each night as we continue to develop our system.

It’s that same systematic approach that works so well in getting media coverage.  And just like the starter course of shingles at the overhang of each panel of the gazebo roof, it’s the core messages of a PR campaign that set the tone for success or failure.  Everything in a PR campaign builds on your core message, your brand.  If you can communicate what you do and why you’re unique in a short sentence that others easily remember, you’re there.  So I ask, “What is your core media message?”

About the guest blogger:

Shannon Nicholson, VP of Sales, brings his expertise in sales and customer service from 15 years of working in the banking industry.  Once committed to making a difference for people as a loan officer and financial counselor, he took a half-year sabbatical to ride his motorcycle through North America and South America.  He has now nestled into a new career: making a difference for people in the world of PR.

Keeping the Love Alive

Once your “Love Potion” has taken effect—that is, once you have a journalist’s attention– here are a few tips on how to keep it:

• Get to the point. Keep it simple. When talking to the media it’s time to break out your “elevator pitch” – you remember, that one to two minute snappy description of what you do and why it’s newsworthy right now. Stay on message and keep it simple. K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Silly) will win the day!
• Make it easy for the media to contact you. If you’re hard to reach or you’re slow to respond, the media will just go to the next person on their list. Here’s a simple trick I swear by: Use a landline while talking to media. We all know how frustrating static and dropped calls can be. Being a clear voice on the phone can take you farther than you think.
• Give the media what they want when they want it. Journalists are under a lot of tight deadlines. Make their job easier and you’re sure to get repeat PR. If you’re difficult to work with, you won’t be contacted again.
• When the media contacts you – be amazing… so you’ll be sought out again and again. Two tricks to being amazing: 1- Do your homework! Have your pitch prepared and know the points you want to hit. And STAY ON MESSAGE! 2 – Listen to the journalist. What are they asking for? Not sure? Ask them directly what more you can do to help them with their story. The more positive the interaction, the more the journalist will be compelled to work with you again.

This leads to my last point:

• Build a relationship; be concerned about their needs– not yours. As budgets get cut and news outlets struggle, journalists’ jobs are becoming more and more stressful. Be a resource for them. Filter out relevant information and supply them with additional resources. Make their jobs easier and you will become their go-to contact in your field – and that’s priceless.

A Love Potion for the Media

I’ve worked at building relationships with the media for years and over that time I’ve come to realize that there’s no real short-cuts. What works with journalists are the same basic  rules we all learned in kindergarten. To open the media flood gates and become a sought-after expert, follow those same basic rules for building relationships and you’ll be a great media expert.

To get you started, here’s a few simple tips:

• Early bird gets the worm. When the media contacts you, get back to them ASAP! Make it a high priority and never take more than 24 hours. Even on weekends.

• Pitch requests that relate to your area of expertise. You’d think this was obvious, but it bears repeating. Stick close to home when pitching and your credibility will shine through.

• Give the media what they want not what you want. To be a great interview, you need to be a great listener. When talking to a journalist, listen closely to what they’re saying and what they’re asking – don’t force your agenda. Allow things to develop organically. As a lesson in what not to do, here’s a link to one of my favorite crash-and-burn interviews  – Terry Gross from Fresh Air interviewing Gene Simmons from the band KISS. I squirm in my chair every time I listen to it!

• Send journalists articles, stats and research to help them with their story. You’re the expert and you’ve done a lot of research in your field. Share relevant information and help your interviewer shine. Do that and you ensure that you’ll get call-backs!

Are you ready for the flood?

We’re a team of media professionals. We should have been better prepared. Instead, last week we were caught without a boat when the dam burst. We received a flood of response after publishing a survey asking about how PR fits into your marketing plan and what sort of training would be most helpful.

When I started PitchRate.com, a resource for free publicity, I had sent out a number of surveys to assess the marketplace. Lets just say that back then the number of responses was uninspiring. We were hoping for more as the team prepared last weeks survey to go live, but part of me was expecting a similar level of engagement. To my amazement, after sending the email blasts, posting it to my blog and informing my social network, we  were overwhelmed. Within 15 minutes we had such a large response that areas of our network were nearly over capacity. Luckily we were monitoring everything closely and the team responded quickly, expanding in order to handle the incoming flood.

It’s the same with PR – its possible to make lots of pitches with little response. In order to get results its necessary to keep refining the message and keep on pitching. It’s a numbers game and eventually the floodgates will open. When they do, will you be ready?

Does Your Business Need a Hearing Aide

In today’s world, to stay ahead of your competition you practically need a Ouija Board. Successfully navigating a business takes a delicate mix of reading signs, being sensitive to the cultural zeitgeist, and good intuition. It seems an impossible task until you realize there’s a single source that can act as your map, compass and oracle, all wrapped into one. That source? Your market.

As I type this, giants like General Motors and Blockbuster Video are stumbling because they were too slow to hear and respond to consumers. They seem to have lost their way. Nimble companies like Honda and NetFlix are on-track, looming large in the giants proverbial rear-view mirrors, where objects may be closer than they appear.

NetFlix in particular is a great example of responsive customer interaction. Through their website they draw us in with a very interactive experience, inviting us to be movie critics, suggesting titles and offering options for content delivery. All of this creates a community and fosters positive brand associations. On the corporate side, this community works to generate data on what customers are looking for, and what they’re not happy with (think “no late fees”). By acting on customer feedback, NetFlix earned $55 million through the first half of this year while Blockbuster lost $15 million and today announced its closing stores.

But those are the big guys. As a small business owner, how can you apply these same ideas to help steer your business to success?

Open the lines of communication: Use today’s social networking technology to interact with your customers. Blogs with comments enabled, Twitter and Facebook Fan Pages are all common avenues of conversation.

Get Found: Now your social network needs to get found and free PR is the way to get the word out. Free publicity sites like PitchRate.com connect news reporters and other media with experts and sources – meaning YOU! Journalists sign up for free and send out queries on stories they are covering. Sources with expertise in diverse areas (you), also sign up for free to receive the media queries. During the interview, you simply let people know how to find you – which should be easy now that you have your social network in place.

Tracy Adler, creator of www.YumYumDish.com, has seen Internet sales triple for her colorful, portion-controlled snack ware products for kids since using PitchRate.com.

“Thanks to PitchRate, I’ve landed several media interviews, including the Associated Press,” she says.

I’d like to take a little of my own advice and ask you: How is PR currently playing into your business model?

Click Here to take a short survey