The PR Rainmaker knows: The best news stories are earned one by one.

The assembly-line approach rarely works well in media relations. Reporters do not like to buy “off rack.” Each wants a story of his own. Each demands a custom fit.

So it becomes PR Rainmaker’s job to take stock of a reporter’s needs and wants. We must tailor story to fit that reporter. Then we must take that product and sell it to reporter. We must convince reporter that our story solves reporter’s problems.

We must keep in mind during every step of developing campaign: The reporter is consumer and story is product.

Third, reporters buy for their reasons, not ours

It is not unusual to spend hours designing a story for a specific reporter, only to have reporter reject idea. This can become incredibly frustrating.

This is one reason why so many flacks resort to assembly-line, blast-fax methods. “Why should I bother?” they say. “Why not just send out a thousand press releases and hope someone somewhere picks up story?”

But PR Rainmakers understand and accept challenge of executing an effective campaign. They know that, when it comes to convincing a reporter to buy any particular story, failure is far more likely than success.

As with any sales prospect, a reporter is more apt to say no than yes, even when you have tailored story especially for that reporter.

Why? Who knows?

Maybe reporter is working on a seven-part investigative series and doesn’t have time. Maybe reporter is being moved to another news beat. Maybe reporter is coming down with flu. Maybe reporter is going on vacation. Maybe reporter is just a jerk.

Who knows? Who cares?

When reporter says no, move on.

Don’t argue. Don’t rage. Don’t resort to spray and pray.

Advance to next proposal with next reporter.

Reporters will buy for their reasons, not ours. Keep telling yourself this and you will have a much better chance of holding your temper, maintaining your sanity and placing more stories in news media.

Copyright © 2003 by W.O. Cawley Jr.

Most PPC Search Engines let you set your own limits for cost of each click-thru, as well as a monthly maximum. Start with a small list of targeted keywords and a few different ads. Then build on those that work best. Of course you can’t control what your competitors are willing to bid so choosing right keywords for your specific audience is essential.

Just because you can bid high enough for a top position doesn't mean you should. A #1 spot may be less cost- effective than lower positions due to "compulsive clickers" who start at top of links and click their way down.

Some PPC engines share top 3 listings with their partners so you’ll gain more exposure by bidding high enough for 3rd position or better. But don’t get in a bidding war for your keywords. If they’re too competitive, do some research and modify them so you don’t pay more than necessary.

EXPERIMENT-- AND MONITOR YOUR RESULTS

Try different messages and keywords to see what works best. One advantage of PPC programs is that they track Click through rate for each ad so you can identify and remove ads that aren’t working.

You can also use unique tracking URLs for each ad to identify how many of your customers clicked through to your site from your ad. Then you can calculate which ads and keywords converted most clicks to sales.

CONCLUSION

Pay-per-Click marketing is an effective method of driving traffic to your site, but that’s really just first step. Once visitors arrive, you need persuasive copy, clear navigation and good design to lead them to take action you want.

Barry Harrison is the author of "REDiTIPS" eMarketing Newsletter and a partner in Resolve Digital, Web Strategies for the Real World.

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