5 New Year’s Resolutions to Get More PR in 2011

Another year has rolled in, and I hope one of your business goals is to get more PR for your business.

PR doesn’t have to cost you thousands of dollars or hundreds of hours to achieve. In fact, with a few well-ingrained, PR-attracting habits, you can easily become a virtual PR magnet.

Below are five resolutions that will help you get more PR in 2011:

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How to Get Story Pitch Ideas From Watching the News

If you want you or your product to have exposure in the news, then you need to be an avid consumer of the news. Both your local and national news are excellent sources of story ideas to pitch to journalists on your media list.

By using what’s already in the news as your inspiration for media stories, you have a better chance of coming up with topics that are already relevant and interesting — in other words, newsworthy.

Here are three examples of how you can get story ideas from the news:

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In Today’s Changing Media Landscape, Reporters Have Never Been More Accessible to Tell Your Story

Today, we have another guest post, this time from Emmy award winning journalist, Mark Joyella. Mark talks about how the changes in media mean more opportunities for us business owners to connect with journalists. He also gives us tips on how to approach journalists online. Enjoy!

Not that long ago, there were two general classifications of reporters; those who worked in print (newspapers and magazines), and those who worked in broadcast (TV and radio). Once a reporter picked a path, they largely stayed on it through the end of their career.

Today, the categories have blurred beyond recognition—you’re likely to meet a newspaper reporter carrying a video camera today, and a television reporter who just wants to talk over the phone for a story he’s writing for the TV station’s website.

In a sense, today’s reporters do it all—they tell stories on traditional newscasts like the 6:00 news, and increasingly, they pump out information in small bites all day long on Facebook and Twitter.

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Advanced Media Interview Tactics From Football

At some point in your PR adventure, you’re going to encounter a “difficult” question.

Perhaps it’s a question that’s potentially contentious, for instance, one that pits you against a competitor.

It could be a question to which you don’t know the answer.

Or it could be a question whose answer is confidential.

How do you respond to those challenging questions from journalists? The hackneyed response, “No comment,” is overused and essentially useless. It raises more questions than it answers and makes the reporter (and his audience) suspicious of you.

As an alternative, I’d like to share with you a media interview tactic inspired from… football.

It’s called block-tackle-recover.

It’s a strategy that will buy yourself some time so you can collect your thoughts, redirect the interview to your key points, and help you deliver your key messages without totally ignoring or avoiding the reporter’s question.

Below, I describe each step and give concrete examples of what you could say to a reporter. The assumption here is that you’ve prepared for your interview by having your key main messages prior to the interview.

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PR and Social Media Training for British Columbia Businesses

If you’re a business based in British Columbia, I’ve got exciting news for you!

Starting the end of November, I’m going to be giving a PR and Social Media Intensive training program for BC-based small businesses.

The goal of the training is to turn employees into “company evangelists” who create buzz-worthy stories about their companies and make them viral through social media.

Why Should You Be Interested?

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Publicity That Lures In Reporters Like Insects To A Venus Fly Trap

Today, I have a guest blogger, Patrick Garmoe. Patrick was a former staff reporter for Duluth News Tribune, suburban city staff reporter at Daily Herald, regional reporter at Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, and editor-in-chief of The Creightonian.

This is the first of what I hope to be a number of guest posts from journalists or former journalists, to give you the other perspective of how media works and how it feels to be on the other side of the PR process. I’m certain this knowledge will help you, the business owner, to get publicity more effectively and build mutually beneficial relationships with journalists and editors.

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About this time a year ago, I swapped banging on doors as a reporter for a Minnesota newspaper, to pounding the pavement for a new job.

One thing I didn’t miss about journalism were pesky public relations types, or local business owners trying to bend my ear in a largely fruitless attempt to lure me into writing about their latest service or gadget.

Looking back on it, I have more empathy for those hunting for headlines. As great as social media is, those megaphones traditional newspapers and television stations provide can still pump out the kind of exposure that could take months or years to garner, no matter how many Twitter followers you’ve got.

So here are some insider tips on successfully pitching reporters, that all reporters assume you intuitively know. I explain further down exactly, how to word your pitch.

If You Must Cold Call, Do It Before the Late Afternoon.

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42 Years, One Lesson

I’m 42 today and I wanted to share with you one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned.

Sometimes I can’t believe it. I still remember when I thought 30 was… old. But here I am and since my father died suddenly at 50, I’ve been determined to live my life to the fullest for a while now.

So…

• I’ve traveled to more than 40 countries and met many amazing people.

• I’ve had the adrenalin rush of riding in a race car and finishing a triathlon.

• I’ve nurtured creativity and learned to paint and take ballet as an adult.

• I’ve danced in a music video, dated a movie star, met with royalty.

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My Birthday Bash Starts Today!

I’m turning 42 years old tomorrow… and YOU’RE getting the treats.

Until tomorrow, midnight Eastern time, you get 42% off any of the PR in Your Pajamas products and selected services. Use the coupon code BDAY2010 at check out to get your discount.

Click here to get your 42% discount on all my products

Click here to save 42% on an Email Pitch and Press Release and Customized Media Lists.

Don’t forget to use coupon code BDAY2010.

This is my way of saying “Thank You!” for being part of my world. You have helped me become who I am today.

I hope I can enrich your life as well.

PR in Your Pajamas Now Reaches More Small Biz Owners

Cool news!

Visa Business Network recently added PR in Your Pajamas in its official library of blogs dedicated to helping entrepreneurs efficiently manage and grow their businesses.

In case you’re not yet familiar with it, The Visa Business Network is an online community where small business owners can interact with each other and get personalized help on goals that range from growing their customer base to managing their business. Visa provides over 100,000 active members with tools such as a small business mentor program, business goal toolkits, question and answer forum and content ranking features.

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Sample Media Pitch Letter: Highlighting Your Product

One thing I always tell my PR students is: You don’t have to write a press release to get media exposure.

A media pitch is much easier to prepare than a press release and, done right, it can get you that media interview or feature.

A media pitch is simply a brief letter you send to a reporter to get them interested to do a story on you. In this blog post, I’ll show you how to write one of the simplest media pitches, the product-oriented media pitch.

This type of media pitch can be three to five paragraphs long. I’ll break down each part of the media pitch to you and end with a sample media pitch letter that follows this template.

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