Press Pass:

I was on a panel the other night. Generally you get invited to be on a panel to represent a certain area of expertise or a unique demographic. Participating in panels is a great way to get exposure and position yourself as an expert in your field,  as well as a great way to expand your network and gain some credibility in your community.

Here is my problem with being an “expert”–no one knows everything. So it can be intimidating to pitch yourself as an expert. The intro text for the event was a little intimidating: “We have lined up a terrific panel of some of the valley’s social media elite.” I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a social media “elite,” but for a night I could look like one, right? I may not be as seasoned in social media as some of my counterparts on the panel (@comcastcares for heavens sake!), but at the end of it all I still have a unique perspective from a unique demographic that is worth sharing.

We all have something worth sharing. So if you’ve been hesitant to get out there and pitch yourself as an expert in your field–you don’t need to know everything. But know enough to share something genuine and unique from your perspective. And don’t think you need to bluff your way through things. If you don’t know something, admit it. No one will ever fault you for that.

I hesitated to put up this post because I thought it was common knowledge, and many of you will probably scratch your heads and say, “That is so 2008.” However, I went to a conference recently and more than half the people in the room didn’t know about HARO a.k.a. “Help A Reporter Out”–a fabulous free resource for media outlets and for those looking to be covered by the media.

Peter Shankman runs HARO (he can be followed as well on twitter: @skydiver) and sends out up to three e-mails a day with all of the latest inquiries. Another note for Twitter users: You can ask questions directly using #HARO.

TodaysMama.com has gotten coverage from some of these inquiries, and we also are starting to use the service to source content. It’s easy–just subscribe to Shankman’s newsletter and watch for queries that fit your business.

Be aware that there are loads of people who respond to the queries. I think the key to getting noticed is being genuine and to the point. If you’re not a PR pro, don’t pretend to be one. Be real.

A good source for quick tips from the perspective of someone who’s being “pitched” all the time: ProPRTips.com by Rafe Needleman.

Tip: Don’t call him Raffi

A few of my favorites:

• The flag on your email says, “Urgent.” My brain says, “Meh.”

• 90 percent of the phone calls I get are people asking if I got the press release they e-mailed. Yes, I got it. Did I read it? Maybe. Do I care? You’d know already.

Oh, wait. Here’s something new and even more annoying: A phone call from a PR person telling me she will be e-mailing me a press release later. Argh! Just send it!

• If your demo tells the story in 10 minutes, don’t drag it out to 30. If your new feature can be described in a one-paragraph e-mail, don’t send two pages of fluff.

• More conference etiquette: Don’t pitch me in the press room. I’m there to write. And you’re not press.

• I really could not care less if you advertise in my publication. Or if, after I write up your company, you stop advertising.

Enjoy!

If not–you should have. With PR, it’s always important to be timely. How does your business leverage the timely events that are happening in your world right now?

Before and through the elections many organizations benefited by participating in some way in their community or nation by targeting some promotion or some part of their messaging and business to the elections.

What did your business do?

If the answer is nothing–all I ask is that you brainstorm a bit and ask yourself how your organization could have participated. The cool thing about the elections this year is that is provided several opportunities.

Promotions are a great way to get involved. Whether you give away free stuff for voting or give out amazing discounts on Black Friday or the day your taxes are due, there are hundreds of opportunities to be timely. The key is to do something worth talking about.

Examples:
Ben and Jerry’s gave out free scoops for voting
Starbucks gave away coffee
Krispy Kreme gave donuts
and
TodaysMama.com teamed up with SitterCity.com to offer free and discounted babysitting to help moms make it to the polls all over the country through our MamaVote Project.

Organizations could have been a sounding board for what people in their demographic thought or felt about the elections (think surveys, demographic studies, etc.). Just think–the Plumbers Association of America (is there one?) could have done a survey of its members to see how they felt about the economy and Obama’s tax policies, and they would have had a screamin’ press release. If your business targets a certain demographic you can identify, you have the room to be the expert on your demographic both in your local community and nationally.

TodaysMama.com does surveys all of the time regarding the different issues affecting mothers and families . . . and then we send a press release about it.

From major magazines and websites down to grassroots community organizations, businesses found a way to get involved. Whether they were targeting content, partnering with other organizations to sponsor events or helping to promote voter registration with a simple button on their site, there were endless ways to get involved.

The Results
Check out a bit of the press we drummed up promoting The MamaVote Project and our Free Sitting Promotion with SitterCity.com:

Over the past year or so and especially close to election day, we got hits from CNN, NewsDay, Parenting Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, the Huffington Post and lots of local media outlets. Check out our press page for more links and details. We also got lots of great local coverage in the various cities we are in across the country.

In addition to great coverage through traditional media outlets, we also talked to bloggers and had some amazing coverage from them (Thank you) :

BettyConfidential.com

MomLogic

Jillian C. York

Startup Princess: Need Someone to Watch Your Kids So You Can Vote?

Bargain Hunting Moms: Free Babysitting on Election Day!

Strollerderby (Babble): Free Babysitting on Election Day!

Working Mother

Hip Mamas Place

Shoplifting with Permission

Daily Cents

5 Minutes for Mom

The Clutter Diet Blog

Cool Mom Picks

Parenting Our Children

Squeaky Stroller

The Integrated Mother

Common Sense with Money

Mama Lounge

Learning Moments of Moms

What are some of the ways you can get involved with other current issues? Think about the economy, Christmas, change–and especially think about what’s going on in your own backyard. I always think the best place to start is in your local community. Is there something going on that has everybody talking? If so–you know what direction you should be headed.

OK, who doesn’t want to be on Oprah? I’m still trying to figure out how to get on the show myself.
I came across a great little piece from Marketing Sherpa this week with tips on “How to Get on ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ “.

Most of these tips should be followed to get booked with any media outlet. They are the nuts and bolts of your PR arsenal, but they’re still worth a review.

• Know what they are looking for

• Watch the show

• Have a press kit

• Write a compelling headline and pitch

Check out the full article here.

A few basic tools that every entrepreneur should utilize: Google Alerts and Technorati.

I sign up for Google Alerts to keep up on any time we are talked about on the World Wide Web, and I use Technorati to keep my eye on the blogosphere.

Google Alerts
It’s easy. For Google, just set up an account. Click on My Account, and this will bring you to My Services. Click on Alerts, and enter the search terms you’d like to track. I have alerts sent to me once a day. In addition to tracking my own info, I track competitors and industry keywords to keep up on any interesting trends.

For more on Google Alerts, click here.

Technorati
If you want to see what blogs are saying about you or you want to track your own blogs’ impact, simply type your name, business name, website and blog address in the search field on Technorati and check out your results. You can subscribe to other services, and setting up an account is free.

For more about Technorati, click here.

Looking for where to start with your PR strategy? The best place to start is in your own backyard. The big goal is an appearance on Oprah,  right? However, you’ve got to show her (and the rest of the media world) that you’ve got something worth talking about way before you make it to Oprah’s studio in Chicago. This applies to every other major national outlet, as well. Too often businesses want the whole enchilada and ignore the low-hanging fruit that builds credibility in their own market.

Check out the press we received in the market we started in. We’ve stayed persistent. We’ve become a source for local media, and we’ve built many ongoing relationships. In a market like San Francisco or New York, this type of leverage is harder to get. But we do not all live in San Francisco or New York. There are so many small to mid-size markets that make getting covered easy and approachable.

It takes time, but there are some huge benefits. Local PR has built my local brand, given me credibility on a larger scale, improved my SEO and produced great relationships. But it has also been the perfect training ground for moving to the next level. I’ve learned that I need to clasp my hands around my knees when I’m on TV (I have to keep them busy). I’ve learned how to push the cough button on the radio and how to pace phone interviews for different writers. But most of all,  I’ve just gotten comfortable talking about my business, routine about my messaging and ready to do more.

So I’m ready for some national coverage this year. Oprah, where are you?

I’m often surprised at how intimidating PR is for small businesses. I think the mere fact that the premise is so simple, yet can produce such big results, makes everyone assume that there has to be more to it than there is.

A few definitions for “Public Relations�:

Dictionary.com -
1. The actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting good will between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc.
2. The art, technique or profession of promoting such good will.

If I were to break it down to its simplest terms, public relations is all about making friends. Anytime you are working with the general public and have the opportunity to build a relationship, leave an impression or impart
information, you are participating in public relations activities. At every level, public relations is far more personal than advertising and, when done correctly, is the most effective tool you can incorporate into your business to aid you in the quest of making your potential customers your friends and members of your community.

So if you’ve been a bit hesitant about public relations in the past–strip it down to its most basic terms, and get out there and make some friends this year. I know it’s kind of a “give the world a hug” approach, but it’s an easy starting point, and the best place to try it out is in your own backyard. Grow your skills locally and let that pave your way to national targets. Go make some friends.

Good luck in 2008!

So you want to avoid Chris Anderson’s naughty list, and you want to figure out how to get on the media “nice” lists.

There was a great article recently on Marketing Sherpa, submitted by Benjamin Lewis (with open access to the link until December 7).

There are 10 tips in the article, but here are my favorites:

1. Be persistent, not a pest.
My take: I like to call this friendly stalking. I give it my best to catch reporters on the phone, but I only leave a handful of messages. Know how to walk away with class if they turn you down–they won’t want to talk to you ever again if you pout.

2. Know the publication’s audience.
My take: You may think you have the perfect story for the publication–but it may have a different audience than you ever expected. Look at the key demographics it is trying to reach. Who is the readership? What kind of stories are being published to reach the right audience? If you really want to get the nitty gritty on who the publication is reaching out to, be a ninja and request an advertising media kit. Such kits are generally packed with details on readership.

3. Just say no to attachments!
My take: This is creating one more step for the reader, and reporters are in a hurry. I still like to include an attachment in case a reporter wants to print off what I have sent him or her in a beautiful format, but I always copy and paste the text into the body of the email (and make that text concise).

Recently Chris Anderson (author of The Long Tail and editor at Wired Magazine) posted a list of PR people’s e-mail addresses on his blog as a small feast for spammers. Why? Because they were looking for a hit from the magazine but were too lazy to verify their contact’s information.

It’s a long list. You might want to make sure you’re not on it! But he drives a good point.

Straight from the “editor-in-chief’s” mouth: “Lazy flacks send press releases to the Editor in Chief of Wired because they can’t be bothered to find out who on my staff, if anyone, might actually be interested in what they’re pitching. Fact: I am an actual person, not a team assigned to read press releases and distribute them to the right editors and writers (that’s editor@wired.com).”

One of the best pieces of advice a magazine editor gave me in doing phone follow-up was to verify I had the right person in the right department and that he or she covered what I was pitching them. If it’s not the right person, most of the time they will direct you to whomever that is. When you are launching straight into your pitch without doing that, there is a good chance you are wasting everyone’s time. It’s the same concept when choosing to hit someone’s personal inbox with your announcements. If you want better results (and better general mojo toward you personally), take the time and make sure you’re hitting the right person.

So don’t be lazy! Do your homework! Build a clean list by digging through company websites and examining their contact page or making a few phone calls to build a relationship and hopefully snag some tips from an insider on the line.

But whatever you do . . . don’t e-mail Chris! (unless you have a clever note to catch his attention)