Think Like a Publicist To Achieve Like a Star

Written by Anne Marie Baugh


Have you picked out your Oscar's night outfit? I have. You should. Have you thought about what you will say when you accept your award? I have. You should. At least in your mind, that wonderful playground for imagination -repparttar very place we are going to venture today for great publicity ideas.

Razzle, dazzle, sparkle, and shine. Isn't this how we think all those stars get torepparttar 101237 Oscars inrepparttar 101238 first place? However, it's less glitter, and more planning that createsrepparttar 101239 reality. First comesrepparttar 101240 dream, thenrepparttar 101241 work, then usually a host of disappointments to testrepparttar 101242 resolve, then a series of small successes, and then....publicity. It is a fairly predictable road, but often as business people we forget to plan our own personal Oscar's night.

We also missrepparttar 101243 key ingredient - publicity. Marketing is what gets you in front of your target market to makerepparttar 101244 sale. Publicity isrepparttar 101245 spotlight that shines on you and solidifies you with mass appeal asrepparttar 101246 popular expert in your field. You drive marketing to your buyers. Publicity drivesrepparttar 101247 masses of buyers to you.

When your focus has been marketing it's a little tricky to change your paradigm to publicity. However,repparttar 101248 important difference between marketing and publicity is your target audience. You are no longer pitching to buyers of your product or service, now your audience isrepparttar 101249 media. This means editors and producers. These important people are looking for one thing,repparttar 101250 story. A unique story. Something inspirational, motivational, newsworthy, or educational. Period. Nothing else will do.

In order to be successful inrepparttar 101251 media you have to think like a publicist and find your unique story. If you don't have a story, it's time to create one. What is unique about you or your business? Sometimes it's an attitude. Likerepparttar 101252 employer that regularly asked her employees what they didn't like about their jobs and then proceeded to shift responsibilities. It may be an event, like a charitable event that raises money for starving children but serves beans and rice at repparttar 101253 gala event to demonstrate how it feels to be poor. It may be your wit, your way of thinking, what you care most about, or how you integrate your values into your business. Only, you can find it, but trust me, it's there.

WANT PRESS COVERAGE FOR YOUR COMPANY?

Written by B.L. Ochman


Want to get your company news intorepparttar media? It'll never happen unless you start by understanding what editors and reporters want. To find out what works, I spoke to editors and reporters at top media organizations acrossrepparttar 101236 country.

The editors quoted here work atrepparttar 101237 top 100 papers and some ofrepparttar 101238 highest visibility media inrepparttar 101239 United States. Their answers prove that there is no magic formula: getting press coverage for a company is not an easy feat.

Just The Facts M'am One overwhelming rule emerged. Be brief when you pitch a story. Stick torepparttar 101240 facts, get them into who, what, where, when and "why should I care" format. "If it's more than ½ a page it won't even get skimmed," says Charlie Crumpley, Business Editor of The Daily Oklahoman, Oklahoma City, OK. "I don't mind going to a web site forrepparttar 101241 full information, if I'm interested."

"Justrepparttar 101242 bare bones," said Jerry Underwood, Business Editor of The Birmingham Times, Birmingham, AL. "And I prefer to be contacted before a general press release goes out to everyone." Jennifer Couzin, reporter for The Industry Standard says to keep initial information to "two or three paragraphs in a quick email."

Says Leslie Eaton, Economics Reporter, The New York Times, "Send a quick email first. If it involves a serious study I want to seerepparttar 101243 whole thing."

TIP: Keep your initial contact or release to 200 words or less. Make sure you cover who, what, when, where and why and give at least two names as contacts. If an editor wants to dorepparttar 101244 story, they will ask for more information.

Be Reachable! Don't use superlatives. The more you userepparttar 101245 least likely you are to be trusted. Journalists are trained to check when you say your mother's name is Susan Jones. If you say you arerepparttar 101246 first orrepparttar 101247 only, you'd better have a patent or some other proof to back up your claim.

One often-cited annoyance was that contact people were not available to reporters and editors on deadline. "At least give me one alternative person to contact," says Danny Sandy, Business reporter for The Fresno Bee, Fresno, CA. "Many times we get a release with a name and number and then find out that person is out of town forrepparttar 101248 week and can't be reached."

Don't Send Email Attachments If you send your pitch or release by email, make it plain text with no attachments. David Joachim, Senior Managing Editor at Internet Week says "We have a policy against opening attachments. I would never risk it." As Crumpley notes, "Email can be lethal." A virus could put a writer out of commission.

An editor may be onrepparttar 101249 road, accessing email long-distance on a laptop with limited batteries. Most journalists simple delete attachments under those circumstances. One email rule agreed upon by every editor: never send a group email that shows your entire press list.

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