Press Pass:

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)

I’m just about to head over to “The Stevie’s” where Lauren Berger, a.k.a. “Intern Queen” and fellow Entrepreneur.com blogger, and I are going to meet up. We are both up for the “Best Young Entrepreneur Award,” so this should be fun! TodaysMama is also a finalist for “Best Website of the Year.” All of the awards fun aside, Vegas is fabulous and I’m doing some good entrepreneurial multitasking…I’ve worked in 3 other meetings today and have 2 more set for tomorrow. The best part about multitasking in Vegas (no, it’s not the nickel slots) is the great restaurants! Looking forward to more Cheesecake Factory tomorrow…

To end on a PR note, whenever you’re up for award, you should have a short (30-second) acceptance speach prepared. Usually they will let you know in advance to have something ready. Let me re-emphasize–short! I’m sure I’ll see lots of great examples tonight. I’ll be back with more good Stevie Mojo shortly!

disclaimer: forgive spelling and grammatical errors, I’m blogging from my phone . . .

My last post was about the value of awards - and I kicked out a question to my “board of advisors” for the blog. Krista Parry responded with some great advice:

“My feedback is that awards are a great way for companies to create buzz! It allows you to write a newsworthy press release. All media outlets like to report on awards, especially for local companies. I would recommend that each entrepreneur look for awards in their specific industry first. This may be the best place to start. If you are a female, the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) is a great organization and they give awards to female entrepreneurs each year. You can find their site at nawbo.org.

Once you win the award send a press release to your local and industry media lists. watch your sales grow!”

Krista Parry is the Marketing and Communications Director for Park City Mountain Resort, a top-ten resort in North America.

Some of you may not have considered local and national awards as a form of PR but it is a great one! In the past I thought that awards were strictly flattery, an excuse for executives to get together and talk about themselves. I couldn’t have been farther from the truth.

It is in reality another great excuse to talk about yourself, but it stretches beyond the “pat yourself on the back� type of stuff into your business circles and best of all into the community. In the end it strengthens your reputation across the board.

I had been hesitant in the past to get involved with entering awards because I didn’t see it as a good use of my time. I had a million other things on my to-do list, and putting together award applications was not one of the tasks that I reveled in.

In the Spring I entered our local Best of State competition – and we ended up winning the Innovation in Small Business Award – which not only came with honors, but free office space, utilities, legal and accounting counsel, 100 hours of intern work, and more for ONE YEAR. Totally worth my time!

It also gave me another excuse to talk about my business with the media and we got 2 or 3 quick and easy media mentions in business sections and publications in the community. It was also a swanky night out (I hadn’t had to buy a formal dress since Senior Prom) and great networking with members of the business community.

I just recently entered TodaysMama in the Stevie Awards for Women and was just notified that we have been chosen as finalists for the Website of the Year and Best Young Entrepreneur awards. I’ll keep you posted on what happens in Vegas!

With most awards, they give you a standard press release that you can customize and blast to your media lists in addition to logos and honors that you can post on your press page of your website. This not only saves you time putting them together yourself, but gives you another excuse to stay in touch with the media that you wouldn’t have had if you had not gotten involved.

Now of course – I’m giving you my two-cents on the handful of awards we have entered to win, but we plan to continue and find that it has been more than worth our time. The best place to start? In your own backyard – keep an eye out in your community for local business and community awards. Be sure to subscribe to local business email blasts and magazines as you will most frequently get updates, details and deadlines through them. As with most other things, start small, prove it locally, and then branch out nationally.

P.S. As I logged into post – I noticed that this little blog won the Totally Fabulous Award from another blogger – Thanks! ☺

Public Relations as defined on Dictionary.com:
1. the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc.
2. the art, technique, or profession of promoting such goodwill.

Seems simple enough right? It seems like PR really crosses into every action taken in most companies.

In my mind, absolutely everything ties back to a central message(s) that you want to portray to your customers and community at large. Every act should echo what you want people to think and feel about your company and brand. As businesses we want to be consistent, recognizable and branded.

Our marketing plans and PR strategies should be intertwined with each other. If we want to be consistent and united in our messages, why then do we compartmentalize the two departments who should be playing together so nicely and whose mission is so similar. I’ve actually sat in meetings with other companies before where the line in the sand is drawn neatly between the Marketing Department and the Public Relations Department. I’m actually going to take that a step further and say that it was more than a line in the sand — they were in totally different sand boxes.

As an entrepreneur, I want to be effective. I like it when people are on the same page and moving the same direction. I like to think of my business as a really big sandbox where we all play together. (only a mother would throw down that business analogy)

I want my marketing efforts and strategies to echo our PR messaging and agendas. If I’m planning an event, an ad campaign, or some other type of marketing outreach – I think it’s essential for those addressing PR to ask:

• Is there a press release/media pitch/story to tell here?
• Are there media partnerships and opportunities at any level?
• Is our messaging consistent – are we communicating our message effectively?

If I’m mapping out my core messages and strategy for communicating it effectively to the public in the “Public Relations Department�, of course I want the marketing minds asking:

• Is there an opportunity to do an event in the community?
• Is this something we can work into our advertising effectively?
• Are we echoing these messages in our marketing efforts?

For many of you – coordinating these two departments is pretty easy . . . you ARE these two departments. Some of you may actually have these two departments up and running in your business. Either way, if there is an opportunity to unite these two groups of people or these two mindsets what you end up with is a more focused marketing and communications strategy and one big happy sandbox!