Marketing-Minded Financial Planners Piggyback on "Topic A" to Get Free PublicityWritten by Ned Steele
That big story media pursue each day is what I call Topic A. And even if it doesn't seem to have anything to do with financial planning, it often lead to huge media visibility for you.Often, Topic A has a controversial element, such as when tax cuts or Social Security is being discussed. The last thing that you want to do is pick sides on a controversial issue--unless you want to cut your prospect base in half by offending 50% of audience. But as an independent expert providing objective, valuable, nonpartisan insight and analysis, you can stay above fray – and still win points. You could beat your head against a wall twelve months a year, trying to get a reporter to write about your retirement planning story. Or, by contacting a reporter when a prominent person is retiring, you could garner free publicity you seek in a few short minutes.
| | Publicity: The Right Way for Marketing-Minded Financial Planners to Follow Up with a ReporterWritten by Ned Steele
Let's say you've called a reporter with some ideas for stories about financial planning, and they seemed interested. Congratulations! First, pat yourself on back. It takes intelligence and gumption to come up with ideas that reporters like. Next, consider how you are going to follow up. Reporters are usually working on several stories at once, and unless they are coming to meet you today, there's still a considerable chance that it will fall through cracks. You need to try, without being annoying, to keep that story at front of their mind. If your call went great and reporter’s interested – tell her you’ll send something by fax or email to summarize what you discussed. Whether you send a fax or email, keep it brief and on point. Don’t use it to raise new topics – close one deal first!
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