Career Advice: Eyeball EtiquetteWritten by Richard Lowe
The other night I was watching World Wrestling Federation, which is something that I like to do every Thursday night. I know, I know, but I find show entertaining and relaxing in a strange way ... it's so ridiculous that there is no way to take it seriously.Anyway, Stone Cold Steve Austin (one of famous wrestlers with a notoriously bad temper) was chewing someone out. Suddenly Steve stopped in mid-sentence and said "Look at me when I'm talking to you". The person looked at him, then after another minute looked away. Steve repeated his words again, "Look at me when I'm talking to you!". This happened several times. This little drama got me to thinking, what is it about eyes? When you are talking to someone where should you be looking? Does where you put your eyes have anything to do with advancement in your career? It has been said that "eyes are mirror to soul", and in my experience this has proven to be true time and time again. I have gotten into habit of looking people directly in their eyes when I speak to them and as I am listening to what they have to say. Why? Because I can tell more about a person from they way he handles his eyeballs than you can imagine. Someone who can look me in eye as I speak to them is very sure of himself (note we are not talking about a hostile stare - just someone who can look at me as I speak to them). Combine this with a strong handshake and a favorable demeanor and you have a person who will be very good for any team. These people tend to be leaders and very capable people. They take direction well because, since they are paying attention to you, they understand what's needed to get job done. Don't get me wrong here. We are not talking about a staring contest. What I am saying is someone who can look me in eye while I speak is almost certainly listening to what I have to say. He is not afraid of me or my position, which is excellent in a team member. I am kind of manager who does not like nor want "yes men" (or women) - I have found them to be useless parasites which should be ejected at earliest opportunity. Thus, when I meet someone, I am most impressed when they have a firm handshake and can look at me directly. This implies strength of character and a strong will. These kinds of people are rare and they are to be treasured and nurtured when they are found. The worst thing someone can do when they are talking to someone is totally avoid eye contact. I know you've run into this, and if you are anything like me it's very annoying. When I get someone in front of my desk with this habit I start wishing I was Stone Cold Steve Austin and could say, "Look at me when I'm talking to you!"
| | Publicity Campaigns: How Many Hours.How Many Months?Written by Todd Brabender
When it comes to generating publicity for a product, business or website, one of hardest decisions entrepreneurs have to make is whether to launch campaign themselves. What makes it tough is trying to determine amount of time it might take to launch and maintain a successful publicity campaign. This article will help address a couple of those critical elements: length of your publicity efforts and; respective number of hours it may take to get job done effectively.In my PR career, I have launched campaigns that needed blast of just a few weeks of publicity and I have also maintained lengthy campaigns that generated media exposure for years. From my professional experience, I can tell you that a single distribution of a media release is rarely effective. Most times, editors and reporters are working on multiple stories at once and need some time to consider your pitch. Although your release may indeed be interesting and newsworthy, editor may simply not have space to use your pitch at that point in media outlet's editorial calendar. So make sure he/she sees it again when that editorial calendar opens up a few weeks down line. Keep in mind also that because media outlets receive so many media releases and story pitches these days, it can sometimes take them weeks before they actually get to something you may have sent their way. That's why it's important to conduct extensive media follow-ups over course of several months to ensure media reception, proper media digestion and hopefully media acceptance of your release or pitch. I tell my clients, "No PR agency or publicist in world can FORCE media to use their releases, but they CAN make sure that by end of campaign, media has seen or heard about your message in one form or another - which will lead to solid media coverage." One of keys to determining length of a successful campaign is knowing when you have fired all your publicity bullets; when it's time to re-pack chambers with new ammo; or when you should move onto other marketing targets. Over past several years, here's how campaign lengths have broken down for my clients: 1-2 month campaigns : 9% 3-6 month campaigns: 46% 6-9 month campaigns: 29% 9+ month campaigns: 16% · 1 - 2 month campaigns are most often timely, date-sensitive campaigns -- a release or message tied to a current event that may be outdated in 6 - 8 weeks. A while back, one client of mine quickly produced a website aimed at stopping Napster's file sharing services. We launched a campaign a few weeks before Supreme Court ruling and generated some great spot coverage in newspapers and TV news shows nationwide -- site and campaign were finished in 6 weeks. · Most new product publicity campaigns are best suited for 3 - 6 month time frame -- allowing for often drawn out lead-times of some media outlets. Having said that though, some product campaigns can be extended for several more months based on media reaction and subsequent consumer interest. For instance, "scooter" product publicity campaign likely started out as a six-month program, but that was stretched out over a year because of sales fervor and popularity of product. · The longest campaigns are for those clients whose businesses or expertise are "evergreen and regenerative" - meaning they are not tied to shelf life of a new product launch; aren't linked to a specific date; and can be re-stoked for a new round of media interest every few months. One of my longtime clients is a "tradeshow specialist". Her expert advice is newsworthy anytime of year and can be covered editorially year after year - especially in business and trade magazines. That lends itself to multiple articles and features month after month in a wide array of media outlets. Remember -- creativity and media pitching ingenuity can help add months of success to your publicity campaign.
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