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:
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→
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→
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.
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.
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:
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Moms, if you’ve wanted to get GREAT publicity for your company but don’t have the money to hire a publicist, join me as I teach you how to do PR in order to generate traffic to your website and thousands of dollars in sales!
“5 SIMPLE SECRETS TO GETTING FABULOUS PUBLICITY” is where you’ll learn juicy secrets to getting PR that only the PR pros know about! 
Register for this free call taking place on August 6th at 1:00pm PST here:
How to Do PR for Mom Entrepreneurs
This class is for you if you’re a mom entrepreneur who wants to save money by doing your own PR and just need a little help getting started. A little publicity can make a BIG difference in your business, so join me for this one hour information-packed seminar. Since I’ll be delivering it over the phone and the web, anyone, anywhere with a phone line OR internet connection can participate.
Even if you already have my ebook, you won’t want to miss this!
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!
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They say it’s always good to start from the beginning…
On Twitter today, @unmarketing asked the question, What’s a good definition of PR?
If I give you the textbook definition or what PR people say to each other, I’ll just confuse you. Which is probably why when I ask most entrepreneurs about startup PR, they give me a blank look. They know it’s important, but can’t really explain why. Many don’t use this secret weapon in building their business because there’s always been an aura of mystery around getting PR.
I think this is a simple definition of PR:
PR builds awareness and credibility for your company, product or service – which is critical for entrepreneurs and small businesses.
Awareness is built by sharing company news or information through your key influencers (let’s say reporters and bloggers), in order to reach customers, potential employees, joint venture partners, investors and anyone else who needs to know about you.
Credibility is built when the reporter or blogger writes about you in the paper, magazine or blog because they are an objective third-party reviewing and hopefully, singing your praises.
The resulting action is that people go to your website or store to evaluate the information for themselves, and perhaps join your company, pitch you on a potential partnership, invest as a stakeholder or buy your product or service. The resulting actions would depend on what your PR messages are, and how it’s delivered.
I hope that helps in lifting the PR mystery!
Anyone else care to share their thoughts on what PR is?
In celebration of National Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day (US) on April 16, we’re offering 25% off “how to do PR” products and services that help mom entrepreneurs and small businesses gain the publicity they need in order to attract credibility, customers and sales for their companies.
PR in Your Pajamas blog readers can enter the coupon code PAJAMAS on any purchase until April 20 and save 25% off an ebook, custom media lists, PR coaching and other services.
Here’s what a recent client had to say:
“After just one PR consultation with Elena, we landed multiple interviews and had our first story placed in the media in just 10 business days!” says Edwin Yeh, CEO of investment firm St. John’s Capital Group. “The story gave us immediate expert status and revitalized our PR. I would recommend PR in Your Pajamas not just for entrepreneurs starting out, but also for any business that hasn’t fully utilized the power of PR.”
Check out the PR in Your Pajamas Ebook and Getting PR services page and save 25% off today!
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"5
Things You Can Do Today
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 Elena
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The Passionate Publicist |
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