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 →

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 →

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 →

Usually, I like to dispense advice from the standpoint of having been in the media for 20 years, but this week’s advice is more in the land of common sense.

When you go to the store and you can’t find the exact product you’re looking for, what do you do? Do you just go home empty-handed? Or do you ask a manager? Most of the time, I ask a store or assistant manager if they carry the product, or if they can order it. And, most of the time retailers want to work with customers, so they’ll find a way to get what you want. After all, if they can service your needs, hopefully you’ll keep coming back. Read more →

One of the things I tell clients who want to get coverage in print and online press is that they have to read the news. If you want the print media to cover you, I think it simply helps if you know what it is they like to write about.

Part and parcel of my being a PR professional is to subsist on a vast daily diet of news digested the old fashioned way. I read newspapers and magazines, and at night and in the morning I watch a lot of television news programs, with a pretty even mix of straight-up news broadcasts and “talking head” panel shows.

My chief strategist calls that “old school.” He still reads the equivalent of two newspapers a day and he watches news broadcasts and talking head shows, as well – but he does it all online in smaller bites. He has a lot of hands-on PR work to do each day, so he can’t devote hours upon hours every day the way I do. Read more →

“What may be done at any time will be done at no time.”
– Scottish Proverb

Okay, don’t ask what the Jewish grandmother from New York is doing with a Scottish proverb. My chief strategist found it for me, and it fit the tone of my message today. Read more →

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 →

Back in 1962, Avis Rent A Car began using the advertising slogan that is still in use today – “We try harder.”

The slogan was a nod to the fact that Avis was the second largest rental car company behind Hertz, and that as a result, they would always make an extra effort in a desire to overcome the competition. It’s a reasonably universal sentiment, as small corporations around the world employ the same tactic to provide better service or more flexibility than the market leaders. And the same can be said of talk radio. Read more →

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 →

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 →