I had a girls’ curry night last week and over mouthfuls of chicken korma, sag aloo and copious amounts of Muscadet, we all pooled together with bright ideas and not so bright ideas to help our friend Erika who was just about to take over the job of manager/promoter of a local riding stable. We came up with some fantastic strategies to help her increase her long term trade, plus become an integral part of the community and it was a great evening all-round.

That evening has inspired an idea that will help everyone and thats is …

TO ARRANGE A BRAINSTORMING SESSION

The point of this session is that it’s going to have a PR and marketing angle so you need to warn everyone in advance and ask them to bring along copies of magazines or publications that they think might be useful for you to target (and a list of TV and radio shows, websites etc). If you really want to get some wild and creative ideas to flow then you can practise some warm-up games like separating people in to teams and working out how many ways you can use a paperclip. Alternatively a glass of wine or a plate of cream cakes can often work just as well!

If you work alone then you can do this exercise with other business owners that you know (book a long lazy lunch somewhere – don’t feel guilty, this is work), or non-business owning friends who might be less constrained by accepted business practices and come up with something really unique. Just think about the stunts that have grabbed the headlines in the past (Batman visiting the queen and the storming of the Houses of Parliament). They were probably conceived in a meeting just like this. And, while I’m in no way telling you get your tights and underpants on and get out there, sometimes you just need to look at things from a new angle. Good luck!

Paula Gardner
Paula Gardner is the author of Get Noticed: Boost your small business profile in 30 days or less.

I got the latest issue of Internet Works in the post yesterday and was disappointed to find out that it’s going to be the last. As well as having the good taste to run a feature on me last year (!) Internet Works has been a great source of information and ideas for me for the last couple of years and is demise will leave a gap.

But it is also just another reminder that publications come and go, and their staff do too. But, with new publications emerging, and other titles closing, how do you keep up to date with all the PR opportunities out there?

Here are our Do Your Own PR tips to help you do just that.

1.It sounds basic but do set up a separate contact system for journalists – even if you’ve only got two names for your database at the moment.

2.If you’re really organised then you can divide this into warm contacts (journalists you’d be happy to call and chat to) and cold contacts – those you haven’t built a relationship with yet. You can then gauge your success as you watch names move from the cold to the warm list.
Keep in touch with your media list on a regular basis. That way if emails get bounced or you receive a reply saying “Bilbo Baggins no longer works with Hobbit Publications” you can update your list immediately.

3. If someone does move don’t cancel them off with one touch of the delete button. Give their old office a call and find out where they have moved to – chances are they’ve moved onto bigger and better things and you can keep in touch. Even if they’ve suddenly moved over to Pigeon Fanciers Weekly and you know they aren’t going to be able to do anything for you at the moment a nice “wish you well” email helps keep that door open for the future.

4. Ask your existing contacts if they can recommend any other journalists that might be good contacts (and that way you can sneakily drop in the referrers name to warm up your contact).

5. Pay particular attention if journalists contact you. If someone calls from The Express don’t assume that you’ll be able to get hold of them by calling the Express. Many writers are freelancers whose contact details are guarded fiercely. If you get hold of their contact info treat it with the respect it deserves.

6.I’ve come across many clients who dealt with press in a former job but now dismiss their past contacts as being “old” or “not in the same area”. How do you know until you ask? That freelancer you used to speak to about racing cars might also write about parenting issues – or, more probably, might know someone else who does. Don’t just write off old contacts as dead ones.

7. Finally, a client recently told me about http://www.worldwidefreelance.com . Although it’s aimed a freelancers looking for outlets to sell their work, it’s also a great resource and inspiration for publications that may be PR opportunities.

Paula Gardner is a PR coach and author. Read more about what PR coaching can do for you here

Holding Back

Do you feel as though you are visiting all the networking groups you possibly can, and yet not getting out at much as you put in? Or perhaps you spend a large amount of time on putting together press releases and sending them to an inordinate number of press people, only to feel disappointed in the results you obtain? Or maybe you’re one of those people who are always signed into some online networking group, responding to every online discussion post within 5 minutes of it being posted. But all you’re getting out of it is a nagging feeling that it’s sapping your concentration and focus on your work.

A conversation with a journalist from a top glossy most people would give their IPOD away to get into made me think about all the people who are out there, promoting their business in every way they possibly can, and yet coming perilously close to burnout and, perhaps even worse, helping promote the image of themselves as desperate and anxious about the future of their business.

This journalist was talking about all the effort she sees businesses putting into press release after press release, which must have added up to weeks of work over time, and yet sometimes, all it takes is a well thought out email or phone call to get the message through. Being deluged with untargeted releases made the company look (her words) “ as if it needs to drum up business, double quick.”

And the same applies in other areas of business promotion. That networker who attends every event going helps to promote the image that he really needs the business. The online networker who looks as though they sit, fingers posed over keys, ready to respond to an online discussion ..everyone asks themselves if these people have any work to do themselves?

So, what’s the answer? How do you get out there and promote your business without looking like the business world equivalent of some D list celebrity that’s on every reality TV show going? Here are some suggestions!

Be selective. By all means visit a large spread of networking events but do so discriminately analysing what you get out them (lucrative contract, good contacts or just a great evening out?) and whether they suit you personally.

Be creative. Press release after press release just turns you into a release factory. Try other methods of regular contact, such as tip sheets (covered in our PR ecourse) which also have the added kudos of helping build you up as a credible expert.

Don’t be afraid to say no. Just because someone asks you to speak at their meeting you don’t have to do it. Sure, it’s an hour and a half each way and they’re not even paying your expenses but it’s flattering and saying no goes against every promotional instinct you have. But sometimes it’s better to conserve your energy and spend it on the things that really matter.

Don’t just dig out a media list that someone else has passed onto you three months ago. Make your own targeted list and keep it up to date, with not only contact details but info on what they want to hear – does this publication prefer hard facts or think pieces? News orientated stories or predictions of future industry trends? Targeting a small but tended list will pay higher rewards than the spatter gun approach.

Finally, think about yourself and your team. Your time, energy and money are precious. Think about where you are going to spend them and what you will get out of that effort. Sure, it might be great to see yourself in FHM or The Financial Times, but if your potential customers read the Barnsley Echo or Buttons and Beads weekly then all you’re doing is wasting your valuable resources.

If you'd like to analyse your networking skills and find out how to get the most out of the time you spend networking, why not join our Double Your Clients Through Networking ecourse here.

Until next time,
Paula Gardner
www.doyourownpr.com

Don’t forget that many offline publications have websites and often these are edited by different people to the main publication.

So, if you’re having trouble getting picked up by a certain magazine (or have been in there already and can’t reasonably expect them to cover you again so quickly) do check out their website – it might just be another way in for you!

By the way, my new ebook Get Noticed has been published by Lean Marketing Press. Get Noticed - How To Boost Your Small Business Profile in 30 days or less (and for less than a tenner). You can find out more (and buy!) here

Until next time,

Paula

Happy New Year!

I must admit that I'm finding it hard to get into the bright and perky PR mode for this year. I'm just feeling a little..er..well, lazy to tell you the truth..and the problem with PR (especially if it's your own business) is that it's so easy to put it off. There's always a client call to chase up or an email to respond to, and people rarely chase you up on what you've been doing PR wise.so it really is down to your own brute self discipline to get on with it.

So, today's blog concentrates upon getting started, and building that momentum to help you get noticed.

And the answer is as simple as choosing to do something that you enjoy.

It's obvious but it really means that you are more likely to do it. And, once you're doing something that's more likely to lead to you doing something else.

So, what do you enjoy doing?

If you find planning and mapping out goals excites you then sit down and work out the top the top three publications you want to get into in 2005, and then a further 10, and then go online and order the Media Guardian Media Directory or The Writers and Artists' Yearbook from Amazon and build a mini media database of the contact details of those publications and the people you need to get into contact with.

If you find writing easy then set yourself a goal of writing an article. It's not a scary as it seems. Writing for the internet means that articles can be between 350 and 500 words with lots of bullet points and headings to break things up. Once written, you can use it in your newsletter, on your website, offer it to other people for their newsletters or offer it to other websites in return for a link back to your own.

If you like organising then get yourself down to a stationers like Staples and invest in the folders, files and stationery you'll need for a concerted PR campaign.

If you're still harbouring thoughts of returning to the sofa and curling up with the remote control in one hand and a box of chocolate liqueurs in the other, then swap the remote for a pile of the trade and consumer magazines that you want to get into this year and read them cover to cover, absorbing the language they use, making note of who writes what articles and think about ways that you could present your business to them to get them excited.

Note that I said you could hang on to the liqueurs - well, I would anyway.

For more PR ideas and suggestions visit http://www.doyourownpr.com/prtips.asp

Until next time,
Paula Gardner
www.doyourownpr.com