How To Stand Out With No Marketing Budget

Quick question…what’s the best way to stand out in your market with no marketing budget?

Answer…get free publicity.

Once you figure out the system (and there is a system) to what YOUR unique stories are, and how to get those stories in the hands of media, bloggers and other key influencers who hold the key to your clients – you’ll realize there’s a TON of publicity opportunities you’ve been stepping over all these years.

What’s that costing your business? Read more

Procrastination Can Be Costly

I was in a panic this morning as I realized I had been putting off registering my son for summer camps.  Luckily there were spots still available.  (Not getting in would have cost this working mom her sanity.)

Later on, I was talking to one of my mastermind buddies when it suddenly hit me.  I’ve been talking and talking the last two weeks about all these programs I’m creating, and want to create…that I actually haven’t done anything at all.

I’ve been procrastinating on getting anything started.

Procrastination is a common human behavior, but it can be also be very costly.  Read more

5 Things You Should Know About The Media

I once interviewed a reporter and asked her how many emails and voicemails she gets on a daily basis.  The answer is…a lot.  Traditional media – reporters, TV and radio producers – are deluged with inquiries, press releases and story pitches. Many of them thrive on being busy, work on more than one story at a time, and are often on deadline.

That’s not to say they don’t want to hear from you.  Here are 5 things you should know:

1. Journalists need a reason to do a story NOW (not tomorrow) – if you can answer the questions, “why you?” and “why now?” you’ll get their attention.  Do you have a good story or product for Father’s Day? That was one of our big holiday pitches when we had our socks by subscription company.   Are you a coach who can offer tips on How to Survive Valentine’s day without having a partner in your life?    Read more

Your Money or Your Life

We all know what to do when a robber asks us “your money or your life,” right?  But if you look at how you spend your life on a daily basis, what are you really choosing?

Especially in tough times like the recession we’ve had over the last couple of years, money is a hot topic.  This article won’t tell you how to save money, or how to invest your money.  Rather, I want to tackle some of the internal issues we all hold about money.

Over the years, I’ve worked with clients that have had money issues in one way or another.  Some examples include:

1. Turning down money because it felt wrong – a client struggling to pay her bills already had a profitable business, but didn’t feel entitled to pay herself a small salary until the business “really takes off.”

Read more

How to Use Holidays to Get Publicity

Year after year, the same holidays come up that the media are obligated to cover.

New Year’s, Valentines, Mother’s Day, Back to School and Christmas are just a few examples we are all familiar with that reporters and bloggers are looking for stories.

By tying your story, service or product into these times, you may have a better chance of getting some coverage.  Don’t forget about deadlines though, many magazines really are working on their Christmas issue in July!

And don’t limit yourself to the major holidays.  As an example, besides Father’s Day, coming up in June are observances such as:

• National Safety Month
• National Rose Month
• National Dairy Month
• National Business Etiquette Week (June 7 – 13)
• Men’s Health Week (June 14 – 20)

Read more

50 Things Getting Publicity Can Do For You

If you’re on the fence or wondering “why bother?” getting publicity, I’ve put together a list of 50 wonderful things publicity can do for you.

Enjoy!

1. Publicity establishes you as an expert in your field
2. You create a strong brand – the first person people think of in your industry
3. Potential clients are “pre-sold” when they call you
4. Those on the fence about working with you, now buy
5. Clients pay for your consulting –at higher prices than before  
6. Clients work with you for longer periods because of your credibility Read more

Becoming An Expert From The Inside Out

One of the key things that will help you get publicity is your expertise.

And I’m sure, it’s also what holds you back.

Why? Because most people don’t consider themselves as experts. You’ve probably said to yourself “other people are experts, but not ME!”

The truth is, if you’re running a business, you’re a knowledgeable expert. You know more about your business than most people and you have a lot of valuable and useful information you can share.

But no one is ever going to come up to you and dub you an expert. Read more

2 Approaches In Reaching Out to Media

A question I often get asked about approaching the media is, “do I send the same pitch to everyone?”

The answer is, it depends.  I think there are two different ways to approach the media to get publicity:

1.  One Size Fits All – in this approach you write one document or media pitch, and send it out to everyone on your media list whether you have hundreds or even thousands on your list.

An example of when to use this approach is if you have a story tied to a particular timing, like “Earth Day”, or want to be a journalist source on a breaking news story (an estate planning expert commenting about Michael Jackson’s death and what it means to his family).     Read more

It’s Hard Being Perfect

I’m a perfectionist. I have to have things “just so”. Everything has its place, there is only one way to do things – my way – and my standards of excellence are extremely high.

It’s been a strength that has served me well in business, as I push relentlessly for both quantity and quality with my clients. However, perfectionism can also be a weakness that can easily throw off work-life balance if left unchecked.

I have wasted so much time agonizing over perfecting a sentence in a proposal or tidying around the house that I have missed out on having fun with family and friends, which if I examine my values, are more important to me than new business or a clean house.              Read more

I’m Spilling My Secrets

The other day, a Twitter friend asked me if social networking was just a time suck. I replied, “Only if you’re doing it without a strategy.”

Have you?

My recent articles about using social media as a marketing tool show that by using social media strategically for online PR, you can see a measurable impact on your business. In fact, I attribute a five-figure increase to my 2009 bottom line to social media alone.

I’ve also given away a free report and video, which are enough for social media marketing newbies to start getting positive results without spending hours in social networks.

However, these are just the tip of the iceberg. Read more

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