You Finally Landed a Print Interview
5 Tips for Making the Most of It
Getting media exposure means putting yourself out there. It might be chatting live on the air with a radio talk show host, taping an appearance for TV, coming up with posts for social media, or being interviewed by a print journalist.
The first couple times can make you apprehensive, but trust me, that disappears quickly. You realize the interviewers tend to ask the same questions, so there are few surprises. You figure out your best sound bites and the responses that get a nice chuckle, and you polish those up.
Changing Newspapers Demand Changing PR
Story at a glance:
- Massive layoffs have changed the way newspapers do business; they’re now even more short-handed and time-crunched than ever.
- Newspapers need quick-turnaround content to help fill pages.
- How to position and pitch yourself to editors, so you can be featured in the news.
Back in October, I was a beneficiary of the sadness sweeping newspapers across the country — more than 20,000 layoffs since 2008 (and that’s a conservative estimate).
Here in Tampa-St. Petersburg, one of our two major dailies, The Tampa Tribune, laid off about 30 veteran reporters and editors in June, in a desperate effort to balance its books. It didn’t work. The paper laid off 165 more employees just last week.
Decking the Halls Doesn’t Mean Slowing Down
While Your Competitors Guzzle the Eggnog, You Can Be Getting the Media
And now, the season begins.
In the office, everyone is hanging around the coffee machine longer and enjoying holiday deserts. Outside the office, people are caught up in the holiday parties, shopping, food, family gatherings, and enough reruns of holiday programs that they are replaying the Grinch song in their head. They spend a little more time online surfing eBay for gifts and writing emails to associates hoping to put any real work off until January 2.
How Small is Too Small?
Why Small Radio Station Interviews Can Be Just as Good – If Not Better – Than the Big Ones
There is no question that the activity of public relations is primarily a numbers game.
The predominant viewpoint is that a campaign that reaches a large audience is typically a successful campaign. But when you delve beyond the surface, you may be surprised to discover that there are still instances in which smaller can actually be better.
In radio, that is very much the case these days.
So much has changed in the world of talk radio, where the power of the station isn’t as relevant as it used to be, primarily because of three key elements: ratings, formats and the Internet.
What Should Your “Promotional Tagline” Be?
Best To Let the Media Determine That
In my role as the head of a PR firm, one of the most common misconceptions I see has to do with the superlatives people choose to describe themselves. Now, I’m not referring to how the media positions someone, but rather how someone seeking PR wants to refer to him or herself.
I once overheard my senior strategist, Tony Panaccio, having a conversation with a client about what their tagline should be. It went something like this: Read more
What Can We Learn From the “Occupy Wall Street” Media Coverage?
If You’re Not Getting Your News from the Internet, You May Not be Getting All the News
For the last month or so, what began as a small group of protestors on Wall Street has become a national phenomenon. Satellite protests have popped up all over the country and the media is abuzz with coverage and opinions about the movement.
Whether or not you agree with the protesters, the thing that’s interesting to me as a PR person is how the story has grown and where its initial push began. The way it has grown is just another proving ground for why the Internet has become such an important source of news and why people executing PR campaigns should sit up and take notice.
Are Press Release Services Worth It?
Why Free or Low-Cost Press Release Services Might Not Deliver What You Really Want
Since the early days of consumerism, there is one catchphrase that is still difficult to deny: you get what you pay for.
In the PR business, I’ve had experience – as have some of my clients – with the free or low-cost press release services that seem to have proliferated all over the Internet. In fact, if you Google press release services, you’ll find a wide variety of them. Moreover, a reasonable number of them can deliver on the promise of getting your press release picked up by a good number of Web sites with hits that will show up on your Google and search engine profile. And, once in a while, a release on these services may indeed garner the interest of one or two sizable news outlets. Read more
So, How Many People Am I Going to Reach?
It’s a More Complex Question Than You Think
Irony has a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it.
One of our clients was at a convention this week, and among his activities, he was hosting a panel on the digital revolution in the entertainment industry. While his credentials in the entertainment business are solid, he has yet to figure out how to operate his new Droid smartphone.
So one of my staff emailed him, pointing out the irony and the client emailed back, “I thought ‘digital’ meant they were going to talk about fingers!”
Going Away for the Holidays? The Media Won’t
Having just gotten through Labor Day, I’m reminded that we’ll soon be closing in on the BIG holiday season. It’s a time when many businesses are closed for several days and business slows to a crawl in most of the country from Thanksgiving right on through New Year’s Day.
However, there is one industry that doesn’t close down. It’s the media and here are some statistics to back that up:
What Can I Expect From My Online Exposure?
It used to be that people went to a neighborhood coffee shop in the morning, with their morning paper under their arm, ordered a large coffee and sat down to read the news of the day. Nowadays, the paradigm has shifted just a bit. Today, they go to a Starbucks with an iPad or smartphone in their pocket, order a large coffee (just to have the barista tell them it’s not called large anymore – it’s called Vente) and sit down to check the headlines on their phone.
Years ago, if PR firms got a news placement for their client online, it was like a little bonus — a cherry to put on top of the sundae. Today, it is the very life-blood of PR, with online news coverage making up the majority of how people get informed today. Read more
New York Times Bestselling Author, Michael Levin, Shares His Insight On Business, Books and Ghostwriters
I had the privilege to interview Michael Levin, New York Times bestselling author and CEO of Business Ghost (www.BusinessGhost.com) about why corporate executives and professionals should write a book. Having written novels, business books and co-written with or ghost written for many high profiled professionals, such as Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield, football broadcasting legend Pat Summerall, FBI undercover agent Joaquin Garcia and E-Myth creator Michael Gerber, he offers a unique insight that is a wealth of information.
Michael has also written for the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CBS News, the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times and many other top outlets. Plus he is an eight-time national best-selling author and his books have received outstanding reviews in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the New Yorker, People Magazine, the Washington Post, the San Francisco Examiner, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, the Boston Globe, Esquire, Booklist and other leading publications. Read more on New York Times bestselling author, Michael Levin →
Harry Potter Just Made $476 Million – And How is YOUR Business Doing?
Three Reasons Why Summer is NOT the Time to Slow Down Promotion
Call it what you will – the summer doldrums, the dog days of summer, the summertime blues. It really doesn’t matter what you call it, but most all of the statistics show that businesses slow down during the summertime.
Now, if you’re content to follow the crowd, by all means, feel free to follow suit. But, I certainly can’t run my business based on seasons of the year – and as a marketer and CEO, I can’t understand why other businesses would, unless they’re seasonal in nature. So, if you’re able to disagree with the crowd logic (or as I see it, “illogic”), then while everyone else is following the trend, you could be spending your time and energy transcending it. Read more on how your business is doing →
Getting Results: How Timing and Creativity Can Get You Booked
Just last week, I showed you an interview I did with Lisa Hess, our TV campaign manager, about a typical day in her life here at EMSI. In it, we learned a lot of the different things she does in order to get our clients booked. Although I can always count on Lisa to arrange good TV bookings each week, last week she outdid herself with 4 national TV appearances and 5 local TV appearances on network affiliate stations. So I thought it might be helpful as a follow-up to share with you how she got these bookings.
In her world, there are two kinds of pitches that she uses to garner the interest of national TV producers. While national news programs and talk shows tend to follow the news cycle and seasons, they also sometimes respond to a pitch that is more evergreen, a message that’s not tied to the news but is one that’s timeless. However, in order to generate interest on the evergreen pitch, it has to be creative and really offer the viewers some serious added value. Read more on getting results →
A Day in the Life of a PR Pro
Every week I write about the things I think can help people do a better job of marketing themselves by using PR. From a purely media standpoint, it makes sense for me to do that. After all, I’m the CEO. I wrote the book. I’m the expert.
But, I am profoundly proud to say that I am not the only expert. At EMSI we have a team of experts and quite frankly, this team is one of the best I have had in my 21 years of running this business. The work they do on a daily basis is phenomenal.
I thought I would introduce you to them, one by one, over the summer months, and allow them to tell you about what they do every day to book interviews on radio and TV and obtain print coverage. I believe it can be truly enlightening and helpful for you to learn how they overcome obstacles and meet challenges in order to consistently arrange media day in, day out, week in and week out. Read more on a day in the life of a PR pro →
Why You Need To Use Social Networking?
Did you know that Sarah Palin hasn’t given a media interview in months?
It’s true. She doesn’t talk to reporters at all. Outside of her commentary stints on Fox News, she has no direct contact with any journalists in print, on radio or on TV. So how is it she constantly stays in the headlines? One word: Twitter.
Palin lets the world know what she thinks through Twitter feeds and then comments on them through other social networks, like her Facebook page. She is still mentioned as a potential presidential candidate and her name appears in the news almost every week.
Is there any better evidence that social networking is not a fad? Read more on why you need to use social networking →
If You Don’t Trust Them, Why Did You Hire Them?
In every business, there is always a need to hire an outside vendor. Whether you need a carpenter to build an office partition, an accountant for tax advice or a public relations firm for raising awareness, executives will need to seek outside expertise from time to time.
The success or failure of those engagements relies a great deal on a company’s ability to manage those vendors. Being in the client service business myself, I live in both worlds. My agency is hired to consult with other businesses, and as a business owner I sometimes have to bring in professionals to service my company. While most of my experiences on both sides of the fence have been mutually beneficial, I find myself learning from those few that have not. That’s why I thought it might be helpful to offer a few tips on how to make your vendor engagements successful ones. Read more on trusting the vendors you hire →
Who Do They Trust? New Study Reveals Bloggers Drive Consumers More Than Celebrities
One of the key paradigms that is shifting in today’s PR world is the influence of bloggers.
Keeping in mind there are hundreds of thousands of bloggers on the Internet today, there are some who drive opinions far better than even celebrity endorsements. According to the 2011 Social Media Matters study by BlogHer.com, women who read blogs routinely trust implicitly the advice and recommendations they receive, especially if it is from a blogger they follow on a regular basis. Read more on bloggers driving consumers more than celebrities →
The Joy of Teamwork: A Peek Inside Some Solid PR Campaigns
I love building teams. Witnessing good teamwork is not only one of the joys of my job, but it’s also the clearest way to success in doing just about anything. One of the best parts of my job is watching my team work together and get results for our clients.
It’s so satisfying, because I have seen the downside. I had that job that tied my stomach in knots, where every morning I regretted having to go to work. So, one of my goals in building my company was to ensure that no one who was on my team would ever feel that way. That’s why, when I see them succeed, and the excitement and joy they get from doing so, it not only makes me proud – it also makes me happy.
The way our team works is actually quite simple, with very few moving parts. When our clients sign on, they complete a questionnaire that sheds light on the issues they care most about, and then we gather the team with the client on a conference call so we can walk them through how we operate. Read more on the joy of teamwork →
Why Can’t I Just Talk About My Book On The Air? Why Using the Media to Sell Books is a Finesse Play
Unless you’re Oprah, a former president or a major celebrity, there is one question you will likely never be asked by the media when promoting a book.
“So why did you write your book?”
They won’t ask it, not because they don’t know you’re an author nor because they’re being rude. They won’t ask because the media doesn’t exist to help authors sell books. The media exists to create content that informs and entertains its audience, so that their audience stays tuned in. The more audience they have, the more advertising dollars they can charge for their print space and air time. Audiences are what make them money.
This is one of the most common disconnects we usually see with those who are new to the game of PR. Authors expect they can use the media as a venue to talk about their books, while the media is only interested in them for their expertise and the information or entertainment they can offer their audiences. Read more on why you can't just talk about your book on the air →
So, Where Are Your Sales?
One of the most common dilemmas I encounter with many clients is the preconceived notions of what it takes to make sales. The problem with these preconceived notions is that they often misdirect people into thinking there is empirical evidence that lays out the sales cycle in absolutes. But, that just doesn’t exist.
So, what IS real? Exposure is a real tangible element in a marketing and sales cycle, because without it, you can’t sell a thing. Just as a candle under a bucket yields no light, a product or service that no one knows about will yield no sales. People have to know about you to do business with you.
Whether you are selling a book, a product or a service – exposure is the first and primary goal of marketing. While exposure doesn’t guarantee sales, any hope of generating sales can only result from getting in front of your potential consumer. But, when your product receives that coveted exposure to the masses, the X-factors in play become whether or not consumers will like what they see. Your product will either be exactly what the consumer is looking for, or it won’t. Read more on where are your sales →
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