3 Tips For Using A Media List Effectively
A while back I wrote about How to Build Your Own Media List. Whether you build your own or buy a list, here are three tips that will help you maximize your chances of getting PR and avoiding media pet peeves.
1. DO A BIT OF RESEARCH – even if a paid media list is customized to your product or service, it’s usually based on keywords only – the more generic your key words, the more possible contacts you will pull. Which is why an unqualified media list can have hundreds or a thousand names that you pay for, with only a handful of reporters actually appropriate to you. If a magazine or media outlet sounds interesting, check out their website to see if there is an appropriate section or column where your company could be covered.
As you scan the print or online publication, think about:
• Are they interested in product reviews, book reviews, fashion or trends?
• Is there a giveaway/contest, guest articles, a CEO profile, inclusion in their gift guide that you can contribute to?
• Are they a Print publication or Online website? Often there is a way to get included in their newsletter for subscribers. Read more
How To Use an Editorial Calendar to Get PR
If you’re new to the term, an editorial calendar is a listing of the major themes or features planned for upcoming issues of a magazine. An editorial calendar is often in the Media Kit created by magazines (and sometimes newspapers) to attract advertisers. In theory, an editorial calendar tells you in January, what the magazine will write about all the way till December.
How to Use Photos to Get PR (and save time and money)
Sometimes a good photo can illustrate a story more than words. I guess that’s why they say “a photo is worth a thousand words.”
When we had our men’s socks company (which due to a ton of media coverage, attracted a buyer less than a year after we started it), one of the things we struggled with was, “how on earth do we show photos of boring men’s socks?”
10 Questions To Help You Write a Media Pitch
I have friends whose big dream is to sequester themselves and write a book. Although I like to write, it’s not something I dream of doing day in and day out. I don’t like sitting in front of a blank page, but I do know that once I get an idea and get started, things usually flow.
Most entrepreneurs I know are not writers. You started your business because your passion and natural gifts are in a particular space.
Most entrepreneurs I know didn’t realize how much marketing they would need to do in order to succeed. And that effective writing- from websites to sales materials, direct mail to blog posts- will be a crucial part of you getting heard above the noise. Read more
How to Write a 3-Paragraph Media Pitch
If you can write an email, you can write a media pitch and get publicity for your small business.
When we talk about pitching the media, a pitch is simply a way to introduce a reporter or editor to you, your company, products or services.
It can be really easy, using the few sentences you already use everyday to describe your business, such as:
“We sell men’s socks by subscription, so it comes to your door like a magazine. You’ll never have to worry about the mundane task of shopping for socks again.”
How to Love Marketing
I very rarely come across entrepreneurs that love marketing. Most often, it’s a chore on your to-do list, or a nagging thought that accompanies you everywhere, everyday – you know you need to do it to gain clients or sell your product, but maybe it can be put off for just a little while longer.
What often stops small business owners from marketing, is the word marketing itself. For many of us, deep down the word “marketing” equates to “selling”. We don’t want to be perceived as pushy, in-your-face, annoying or needy. It feels stressful so we don’t do it. And when we do nothing, we get nothing.
One way to be more successful is to think of another word for marketing that reframes your current negative beliefs. When you market your business, what are some positive benefits you are hoping to achieve?
How to Get Testimonials for Your Business
As I was going through some blogs and websites for entrepreneurs and small businesses, the ones that had the most impact used testimonials on their site. Why? It gives me, who may be a new reader on their site, proof of how good their service or product is. It shows readers how much other people have tried and tested their product/service and how satisfied they were. So, to get a testimonial that will boost your business, here are some quick tips.
- Make it easy for them to say YES by guiding them on what you want highlighted in the testimonial. Most people don’t like to write so ask just 3 – 5 questions on how did your product work for them? How were you to work with? What did they like? What could you do better (this is also great research for you in terms of product development) – ask whatever question will serve your needs best. From the answers, craft a testimonial and ask them to approve it. Read more
How To Get Over The Comparison Trap
“How Does She Do It?” is a common question we wonder when success appears so effortless for others and we’re not getting the results we want. But, it’s when we look externally for validation and confirmation that our ideas have value that self-doubt can be triggered and we fall into the trap.
So…I’d like to invite you to participate in the FREE How Does She Do It? Tele-series happening October 16th and 17th by registering here http://www.how09.com
The simplest way to describe this series is this:
It’s like Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty but… for business.
Dove placed the spotlight on “the comparison trap” as it relates to body image and self-esteem issues that result from beauty stereotypes.
This thought-provoking interview series exposes the comparison trap as it relates to “success” stereotypes and draws attention to how our knee-jerk reaction to compare ourselves to others or to “model success” the wrong way sabotages authenticity and confidence.
The series also reveals the top five challenges that women in business online commonly face and directs the how does she do it question to these relevant topics with the intention of protecting your authenticity.
So, are you ready to join us in drawing a line in the sand?
Are you ready to break free from the cookie-cutter/copycat approach to modeling success so you can create success your way, authentically and with confidence?
I’m proud to be one of 16 successful women who are speaking up to reveal our own experiences with comparison. Our goal is to provide valuable insight, share lessons learned and inspire you to take YOUR next steps all from a caring and supportive approach that protects your authenticity.
The event is sponsored by IAWBO, the International Association of Women in Business Online and your free registration also includes a starter membership as well as contest prizes to be won!
Again, the tele-series starts October 16th at 9:00 am CST and you can listen to the interviews FREE when you register at http://www.how09.com
I’d love to get the conversation started – are you in a comparison trap? How do YOU handle it?
How to Get PR With InfoWorld
It was fun catching up with Sean McCown, contributing editor of InfoWorld Magazine, one of the most respected and oldest IT magazines around which focuses on enterprise technologies and large scale applications. Having worked in technology PR for many years, Sean is the type of editor that’s a pleasure to work with…if you know your stuff!
Even if your company isn’t in technology, you’ll benefit from listening to an experienced journalist like Sean tell it like it is: “If you can’t capture my interest in the subject of your email” then you don’t have much chance of getting good PR. Find out what makes Sean “throw away a press release almost instantly” and how he encourages entrepreneurs to be authentic and give a good passionate pitch themselves since “really good PR is expensive!”
Sean McCown’s blogs can be found at:
How To Get PR On The Rise To The Top TV Show
Listen to my interview with David Siteman Garland – writer, producer and award-winning host of the hit ABC-TV series The Rise to The Top, which has inspired over 500,000 entrepreneurs in its first season.
The Rise to The Top empowers learning and inspiration for young and young-at-heart entrepreneurs through the TV show, events and resources on the website. You can learn from entrepreneurs such as Maxine Clark of Build a Bear Workshop and social media superstar Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV.
If you’re an entrepreneur or mompreneur, you’ll want to hear David’s tips on getting PR coverage on his TV show and online PR such as “just introduce yourself, refer to something you may have seen on the show and include a buzz point or what’s exciting in your business.”
Hurry and listen now, David’s energy is contagious (his show will probably be national if not international soon) and at the moment he reads every email, yup, every email that comes his way so if you have an interesting story to tell, make sure he hears about YOU!
Simply click below to start the recording!
Hi, I'm Elena Verlee and I help entrepreneurs like you get the publicity that will skyrocket your business! I hope you enjoy my site, where you'll find easy, no- or low-cost ways to get buzz, as well as personal coaching tips to build both a business and a lifestyle you'll love.