How Much PR Should You Have? Persistent and Consistent is Key to Success
I’m always asked the question about how long a good publicity campaign should last. Invariably in the media business, more publicity is always better. Still, the question is a good one, and it bears answering.
To do that, I want you to think of the consumers you’re trying to reach as a quiet pond in the wilderness. If you want to make the pond ripple, throw a pebble in it. Big rocks make more waves than small pebbles, but even so, the ripples eventually end if all you’re doing is throwing in one rock at a time. Read more on how much PR you should have →
How Familiar (and Unfamiliar) Holidays Can Drive Your PR Campaign
As the dog days of summer wind down, I think it’s only appropriate that I tell a dog story of my own.
It starts with a client of mine who is a dog crusader with a cause. She’s written seven books about it, and just released a new one. Her passion, as if you haven’t figured it out by now, is animal rescue – specifically dogs from animal shelters. It’s a reasonably narrow cause, but she has been getting a great deal of attention, and October is going to be even bigger for her. You see, October is national Adopt-a-Shelter-Dog Month, sponsored by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). For our client, it’s a month made in heaven for her message. Read more on how holidays can drive your PR campaign →
So I’m Launching a PR Campaign – How Many Sales Will I Make?
Understanding the Real ROI of PR
If I had a nickel every time a CEO or marketing executive asked me how many more sales they’d make by using PR, Bill Gates would be jealous of my island-sized yacht.
In order to answer that question, however, it’s important to understand the fallacy on which it’s based. So, let me ask you a few questions. Read more on the true ROI of PR →
Tips for Your Online Book Promotion: It’s Not About the Technology, It’s About the Customers
When I started working with authors on their publicity campaigns, the landscape was reasonably simple. Arranging phone interviews on talk radio shows, appearances on TV and getting reviews in major newspapers and magazines drove consumer interest. Everyone bought their books in bookstores and the only people interested in the Internet were some computer geeks.
Boy, have things changed. Today 44 percent of ALL books sold in North America are sold online at Amazon.com. What’s more, e-books now account for nearly 30 percent of all of Amazon’s sales. Read more on online book promotion →
Planning on Booking Your Own TV Publicity?
There’s More to It than Just Sending Out a Press Release
In the past few months, I’ve covered a lot of ground with regard to how to do your own public relations campaign. I’ve explained how to make yourself or your company appealing to the media, how to write pitches and why articles work better than press releases.
But I haven’t yet explained some crucial elements with regard to orchestrating a PR campaign and more specifically with regard to landing TV appearances. Radio and print publicity definitely require attention to details – but the number of logistical issues you have to deal with for TV exposure is far greater. Read more on how to book your own TV publicity →
6 Tips for Getting Booked as a Talk Radio Guest
You may have heard me say this over and over – but it’s a fact: Talk radio is a great avenue for getting your message in front of a wide audience. With such an abundance of shows airing on terrestrial stations, online stations and satellite radio, and covering such a wide range of topics, you’re sure to find many that will be a good match for your message.
So how do you get on the air? Here are six tips designed to get you talking: Read more on 6 tips for getting booked as a talk radio guest →
Want to Get on TV? Follow a Daily News Routine to Increase Your Chances
Over the years, I’ve always advised my clients that if you want to get in the news, you have to watch and read the news. I know it sounds a little like “bumper sticker” advice, but it’s really not meant as a sound bite. In fact, we use a practical application of that advice every single morning at our agency.
It’s actually a very simple list of easy steps that anyone can do, and it can get blockbuster results. Read more on a strategy to get on TV →
Marketers Should Not Ignore the She-Conomy
Women Make Key Buying Decisions at Home and at Work
I have never really been a card-carrying feminist, nor has my gender been a barrier to my success in the public relations industry. But I’ve not been blind to the fact that a lot has changed in the last few decades, and I think Gloria Steinem was spot-on when she wrote years ago that we’d never solve the feminization of power until we solve the masculinity of wealth.
Well, I’d say we’re just about there, because women are controlling the use of more money than at any point in U.S. history. Read more on why marketers should not ignore the she-conomy →
How to Get the Media Interested in You: You May Be Newsworthy Without Even Knowing It
Do you know what the media would consider newsworthy about you or your company?
Many new clients come to us with a strong opinion about what their “pitch” should be, but often miss the mark, in terms of knowing what will get the media to sit up and pay attention to their message. But it’s very understandable that this could occur, if you’re not working with the media the way we do, day in and day out, developing story angles intended to grab their interest. Read more on getting the media interested in you →
The True ROI of Public Relations: What Do You REALLY Get From a PR Campaign
Public relations is the hot potato of the marketing budget.
Chief Financial Officers hate it, while salespeople and business development executives love it. Every year, when the budget is drawn, this is typically how the conversation goes:
CFO: What’s the return on the PR budget?
Marketing Director: I don’t know. Read more on the true ROI of PR →
When Should an Author Start Thinking About Book Promotion?
Many new authors think the answer is either “when the book is done” or “doesn’t the publisher take care of that?”
But unless you are a Glenn Beck or Dan Brown, both of those responses are dead wrong. Read more on when an author should start to think about book promotion →
Do You Want to Be On the Big Talk Shows? Then You Need to Get the Media Talking About You
If I had a nickel for every client or potential client who asked me if I could get them on Larry King, Oprah, Ellen, Charlie Rose, Keith Olberman, Glenn Beck, Bill O’Reilly or Rachel Ray, I’d have retired long since. Read more on getting on the big talk shows →
5 Steps for Using Creative PR to Become an Expert Celebrity
One of the things I love about my job is solving problems.
Sure, it’s great to have a client walk in the door who has a unique product or service, solid credentials and a compelling angle. It makes the work easier, certainly, but it sometimes is more satisfying to solve what a client thinks is an unsolvable problem in a creative way. Read more on the 5 steps for using creative PR to become an expert celebrity →
5 Tips for Using Social Media to Build Your Opt-In List
The immense popularity of social networks, and the meteoric rise in the last few years of social media marketing, have been some of the most exciting new directions for PR and marketing that I have experienced.
That is why I jumped on board the social media marketing train over a year ago…it has been a huge boon to my performance-based PR business.
But in spite of the many extraordinary opportunities in social media marketing, one drawback I’ve found is the speed with which one can be forgotten. Even the social-media savvy may struggle to stay in front of and remain memorable in the minds of their friends, followers, connections and fellow group members. Read more on using social media to buildyour opt-in list →
Do-It-Yourself Public Relations: Secrets to Getting PR with a Little Know-How and Elbow Grease
The cycle of marketing was once summarized in the story of the circus coming to town.
If the circus is coming to town and you buy a billboard saying “Circus Coming to the Fairground Saturday,” that’s advertising. If you put the sign on the back of an elephant and walk it into town, that’s promotion. If the elephant walks through the mayor’s flower bed and the local paper picks it up, that’s publicity. And if you get the mayor to laugh about it, that’s public relations. If the town’s citizens go to the circus, you show them the many entertainment booths, explain how much fun they’ll have spending money at the booths, answer their questions and ultimately, they spend a lot at the circus, that’s sales. Read more on secrets to getting PR →
The PR Secret that Got Me Coverage in Forbes, Business Week and CNBC – All in One Day
A lot of PR consultants give advice, but how many actually live by it? In talking the talk for my clients, I also like to think I walk the walk.
In promoting my book, Celebritize Yourself, I have my team at EMSI treat me like a client. They help me write and distribute articles that are aimed to promote the book, following the exact process that we perform for our clients. Read more on the PR secret that got me great coverage →
The Road to Celebrity Can Have Many Twists and Turns
At the start of her career, Rosie O’Donnell probably never dreamed she’d have her own TV talk show, but she did. And with Oprah Winfrey’s landmark show ending next year, a new Rosie show is being positioned to take over from Oprah as the preeminent daytime talk show. Rosie’s success in the entertainment industry is a lesson to everyone with aspirations to become a celebrity themselves. Read more on the road to celebrity →
How to Effectively Manage Your PR Agency
Companies Need to Be Responsive to Maximize Returns on Their Marketing Investment
You’ve looked at your sales, your marketing, your budget and your revenues, and you decided it’s time to make an investment in public relations. You interview several PR firms, take bids and make your choice. Now, you have an “agency of record” and you’re ready to reap the benefits of placements in print, online media, radio and TV. Read more on how to effectively manage your PR agency →
Why Did You Even Write a Book?
I have always loved authors, which is why I’ve spent twenty years of my life devoted to helping them promote their books and ideas!
I admire authors for their passion, tenacity and, well…chutzpah. Writing a book – and getting it published – is truly for the spirited and dauntless. Read more on why did you even write a book →
How to Use PR to Overcome the 3 Biggest Challenges of the Natural Products Industry
It seems so simple and obvious.
Create healthy products that are really good for people, using natural ingredients or materials. Who wouldn’t prefer to buy foods and other products that are natural and healthy, over those that are…not? Read more on using PR to overcome the challenges of the natural products industry →
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You Can Enjoy Expert Celebrity Status
Are you ready for your own brand of celebrity? Public relations expert Marsha Friedman teaches you how to Celebritize Yourself! Learn the secret to becoming an expert celebrity. Her book is the manual for becoming well known as an expert in your field!
