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 →
Michael Uslan – Executive Producer of Batman Films
In the mid 1970s, Michael Uslan bought the film rights to a comic book character no movie studio cared about – Batman. For more than a decade he labored with writers and producers, pitching his darkly elegant vision of this movie. Finally, in the late 1980s, Michael was able to assemble a team that included director Tim Burton and stars Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson to create the landmark movie Batman. After its premiere in 1989, it became the highest grossing movie of all time at that point in movie history.
Since then, Michael has been the co-executive producer (along with partner Benjamin Melnicker) of the Batman franchise of films, including the recent blockbusters Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. He has also been involved in other films, such as Constantine, National Treasure and upcoming film versions of The Shadow and Shazam. Read more on Michael Uslan, producer of Batman franchise →
PR is the Antidote for Product Invisibility
Learn the PR Way to Get Your Product Some Badly Needed Attention!
A shocking realization occurs to many businesses not long after their product hits the market: they realize their products are invisible. It quickly becomes apparent that consumers simply can’t see their products. That comes as no surprise with hundreds of thousands of new products hitting the market every year!
With this much competition in the marketplace combined with no media coverage, the result is no connection to the buying public. The product hasn’t been discussed on successive talk radio shows or seen on TV. Neither has there been any newspaper coverage nor conspicuous product reviews in popular publications. Read more on why PR is the antidote for Product Invisibility →
How to Market Your Product or Service on Radio & TV – Without Buying Advertising Time!
Here’s the situation. You have a great product or service and YOU know it. But just like the “better mousetrap,” it doesn’t mean a thing unless your market knows it too. TV and radio are great avenues for promoting to the masses. They are dynamic media allowing consumers to visualize and hear you enlighten them (the way only you can) to the great value of your offering. Read more on how to market your book on radio & TV →
How Do You Know Which Medium Is Right For Your Message?
Five hundred press releases is the average number delivered to the New York Times every day. When you get to major metropolitan daily newspapers, the number drops to about 250, and 100 for community weeklies. Most local TV stations are in the 200 range and radio is around 100.
Per day. Read more on knowing which medium is right for your message →
What’s a Tiger to Do? What Tiger Woods Should Do with the Media to Rehabilitate His Image
It’s not easy being Tiger Woods today. His personal life is a shambles, his family is shattered and his public image is DOA. While it’s easy to feel absolutely no sympathy for the golden boy whose sins cost him dearly, we need to remember something important. Read more on how Tiger Woods should deal with the media →
How to Reach Your Niche Target Market through the Mass Media
Are Consumer News Publications Better Than Trade Publications For Reaching Your Target Market?
I’ll admit that sometimes they make me feel guilty.
They sit in the corner of my desk, ignored, orphaned and gathering dust. They arrive on time, every month, and I push them aside in favor of more mission-critical tasks. I really don’t throw them away until they start piling too high for me to see over them, but I feel guilty when I discard them without looking at them. Read more on how to reach your niche target market →
Fox Business, Happy Hour, November 25, 2009, Mary Kay Hoal, Founder of Yoursphere
Watch Mary Kay Hoal, Founder of Yoursphere, interviewed on Fox Business.
Fox News Network, Fox & Friends, November 24, 2009, Mary Kay Hoal, Founder of Yoursphere
Watch Mary Kay Hoal, Founder of Yoursphere, on Fox & Friends.
CNN, CNN Newsroom, November 23, 2009, Mary Kay Hoal, Founder of Yoursphere
Watch Mary Kay Hoal, Founder of Yoursphere, on CNN.
Does Your Message Tie Into Resolutions for the New Year?
If So, Don’t Miss This Window of Opportunity for Media Coverage
I know, I know…the holidays are upon us. And we are all scrambling to get everything done at this busy time of year – professionally and personally. Read more on to tie your message into New Year's resolutions →
Six Ways to Tell if Public Relations is For You
One of the universal truths of PR is that it can help anyone, any company, any business in any industry. There is not a single commercial enterprise that cannot benefit from the power of public relations, and the scope of PR is limited only by the scope of the media.
Advertising is constantly changing, and what works today will likely not work tomorrow. Advertising resides in the realm of paid space, and so its only purpose is to serve the needs of the advertiser. Read more on how to tell if PR is for you →
CNBC, Squawk Box, November 18, 2009, Howard Ruff of The Ruff Times
Howard Ruff, of The Ruff Times, was interviewed by CNBC on November 18, 2009. Watch the video of the interview below.
Celebritize Yourself: How to Build Your Brand as the Leader in Your Field
It’s one thing to talk about becoming a celebrity in your field. It’s quite another to actually begin the process. To make celebrity an authentic goal, we must first desensitize ourselves to the very word “celebrity.”
The best place to start is to refocus away from Hollywood or the Big Apple and turn it inward, toward yourself, your company, product, service, or expertise, and your industry. Celebritizing yourself from the ground up brings to mind two of my favorite domestic goddesses turned celebrities: Julia Child and Erma Bombeck. I point to these two iconoclastic women because we’re talking about specific industries, and these two virtually created their own. Read more on how to build your brand as the leader in your field →

A short while ago I interviewed 
