Tag Archives: publicity

How To Get free Publicity

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Ask for help

If you have a unique product or a gimmick that needs to get publicity, think about asking for help. The kind of help in this case is not asking your publicity agency, or pr staff to do a lot, just have them send a press release to post that asks for publicity ideas to market the product.

Sounds like free ideas and publicity? It is. Just look at what a couple of attorneys did to market a new watch. The short article which was on Publicity Hound’s Blog this week had a posting of a watch that has the dials divided into six-minute-increments, that is how attorney’s bill you!

The frightening thing is a lot of people posted ideas telling them it was a great way to sell these to other industries.

Granted, it doesn’t take a lot of creativity to see the potential of the market.

What was interesting to me, that people were willing to offer suggestions. Plus, these people and many others reading the blogs  were probably telling their friends about this legal type of watch. That my friends is FREE publicity.

True, this will not work for all products or in most markets. But it shows you that with a little creative thought you can get publicity for most anything, even something as NOT unique as a watch.

Think about it, when was the last time a publication ran a press release on a common item as a watch? Remember, this watch isn’t a unique design, or runs on solar, or has special rings…it’s just an ordinary watch with the dials (the face) broken into six-minute segments. Incredible, but that’s publicity.

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Social Networking and Publicity

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PR people need to watch closely this meida

It isn’t any surprise that a bunch of new words "Social Networking", "Active Worlds" and a host of others are becoming part of the Internet vocabulary. PR people and all publicity companies need to keep in touch with this explosion of how networking is gaining a lot of attention.

Several articles about how social sites, like MySpace, Facebook, Friendster and YouTube are now attracting advertisers to tap into this market. If you are a pr client, or have a Public Relations Service handling all your public relations activities, then you need to stay tuned with the markets as they grow. But don’t wait for the market to get saturated before becoming active in it. If you do, you will become one of hundreds of thousands trying to get visible in a crowded market.

iMedia Connection mentions these briefly in a couple of short articles on Promoting Your Brand In new Ways. They are doing a good service to keep us informed about social networking. Another writer, Cory Treffiletti, wrote an article about advertisers looking to cash in on this new media. I don’t fully agree that all of the social networks need to be hammered by advertisers. Such as Facebook, which is mainly a college "invitation" only network. If what Cory says comes true that it will soon allow political advertisers, then it won’t be long before all advertisers will have access to this media.

Notice how much attention this network is getting. Even I am addressing the issue. That’s more publicity for that market. As I have said many times before, Publicity is everywhere, you just need to identify how you can benefit from all the hype.

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Is Your PR Plan Current?

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It is time to review the publicity program

Pr clients and publicity agencies are guilty of developing Publicity Plans for the year and forget to review the activity and analyze the results at least every quarter.

We live in a fast paced world surrounded by constant changes in economy, products, businesses and jobs. Keeping this thought, it is a good idea that you review every quarter the publicity activities that your PR Plan had outlined. Make a checklist to see if the goals and results are in line with the objectives you specified.

If you are working with a publicity agency, then call a meeting with them. Don’t call a surprise meeting; tell them in advance what the meeting is about. Let them know that you want to review the overall publicity program and compare the results. This is also true if you are doing publicity in-house. Give your pr staff time to document and collect what you need to make a clear evaluation.

A mistake companies make when implementing a pr campaign is the lack of patience. Because things are moving fast, we tend to feel that publicity runs at slow pace. Publicity is not something that happens overnight. Nor are the results. Unlike running an ad, which can be monitored and scheduled for print, a publicity campaign requires patience and planning. Working with the media and all the different editors, publishers and Internet pr services can be rewarding when the plan is given its due time to get the results.

After reviewing the results of the pr plan, discuss with the staff what needs to be changed in the PR Plan. Keep in mind to not make a 180-degree change, unless drastic changes occur in your industry or economy. Make changes that will best achieve the results you want. By keeping your focus on the original objectives will allow your plan to go in a positive direction to gain positive pr.

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Build a Brand

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Branding is now more important than ever

Before you say anything, like "Oh no, not another branding article"…let me explain.

The term Branding is getting more recognition than ever. No matter whom you speak to (in business), or what publications you read, the term BRANDING pops up. That isn’t the reason why I am again talking about branding, it’s because today this is definitely something you need to do to stay competitive.

BUILDING A BRAND is not just slapping your logo on a bunch of envelopes, or on brochures. A real branding program starts within a company.

From the CEO, to the company president to the person answering the phone. It includes your tag line, or slogan; it is how customers, clients and consumers perceive you. When conducting internal business meetings to sending internal messages, they all should reflect the branding image.

All industries are getting more competitive and to stand out you need to build a solid brand image. This is not something that will happen overnight. That’s another good reason to start now, if you haven’t already implemented a program. Be sure your pr agency or pr client understands how to create a branding program.

Branding should be part of all your publicity activities and in all your advertising materials and ad print campaign. Press kits to the media should quickly identify the brand you are developing, as well as any correspondence with the media, such as editors, writers and publishers. You should immediately implement a signature for your emails using your company’s branded image. It is time to make this be an on-going part of your daily business activity. In the long run, it will give your company the competitive edge.

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More on Multi-Tasking

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Publicity is Everywhere Series

I’ve mentioned Multi-Tasking earlier, but now I am going to tell you that unless pr clients and their public relations agencies are aware of the craze, you might fall behind in your market.

Let’s review the latest area of multi-tasking. Ever watch a teen at a computer? If not, this is a typical teen. They are very much into the "Social Networking" scene. Just like we refer to the peer-to-peer, which is the technology that you receive an email from a business colleague or friend asking to join a "network", teens are into social networking. For example, many business people are probably involved in networks such as Plaxo, Soflow, or Linkin.

Teens have the ability to multitask while at the computer. They can be answering and speaking to someone in a "chat", while downloading music, and talking on their cell phone. This is nothing unusual to them.

Now that you know this, as a pr client, or as a marketing publicity company, you should focus on this networking of teens. Make sure that social networking is part of your business-marketing plan. Obliviously, your company, or product needs to be something that would appeal to teens. This still works with adults, when you discover their networking patterns.

Since 1995, social networks have grown from the original site of Classmates.com to a wide array of sites that add up to over 200 social networks today. Even Google launched one in 2004 called orkut. And recently in March, Yahoo made the move of its own network called Yahoo 360. So don’t think this is going to fade out next year. Just like blogging was thought to be a short-lived fad, it has grown into a major marketing tool for businesses.

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Choosing a Web Browser

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Can a web browser be safe?

We are always wondering who out in the Internet world is the villain. Almost every week we hear about a hacker breaking into a database, or some virus, or now the unsafe browsers that hackers are stealing your valuable information.

Just today, I read this article titled "New Flaw Hits Internet Explorer and Firefox". Boy, this headline got a lot of attention. I was even curious to see what this was all about. No one wants to feel that surfing with a browser is going to create a problem. And we don’t expect this to be a way hackers can hit us, unlike email.

Especially companies like publicity firms, marketing agencies, or research companies who rely on using the Internet. Even PR Clients are questioning the safeness of this industry, from the use of spamming through email marketing to downloading research documents to registering for a company newsletter, we are all becoming very concerned about our security.

So after reading this "Flaw" article, it basically isn’t as scary as it intended to be. As a matter of fact, it was probably a press release before being a short article. And guess who was the advisory to this…right Symantec. No further comment.

This just shows you the power of publicity and how a press release, or an article can motivate people. Using a professional public relations agency can make things happen for your company. Both positive or negatively. It isn’t necessary to try and have a scary article published like this to get attention. It is always best to find something of positive value to potential clients. This is the best form of pr you can do for your company.

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Get Your Site Noticed

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Use the SEO’s to get listed

There are thousands of new pages being indexed everyday. Your web site is just one of the millions being asked to get listed and hopefully on the top 10.

So how does a company find the right source to get the site listed on search engines like Google, or Yahoo, or MSN and the other majors? It can be done, but patience is a must. Unless you pay for a position on the "sponsored" page, or bid on key words, or do the pay-per-click method, you need to use smart submissions and marketing.

Just like good publicity, it takes time to get a high ranking and top 10 listings.

Most of the major search engines will allow you to directly submit your web site. Google offers free listings, but then again, you and a million others are listing there.

If you are ambitious and willing to go through a list of seo’s to find other free and paid listings, this is a good place to start…try this link. For those pr clients and advertisers wanting quick response, go to Yahoo’s paid inclusion.

Once listed, you need to make sure you stay there. Oh, one more thing. Be sure your site is correctly optimized. That means more than key words and key phrases. If you want more information on this part just contact me.

After you are listed, put a schedule in your publicity plan to update the site every four months. Keeping it fresh is another good business strategy. Search engine marketing is serious business, and that means you need to treat your site as a business using smart web marketing strategies.

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How To Get More Exposure Without Increasing The Budget

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Publicity and Media Buying

We all know that publicity can generate good sales, and most of all establish a positive image/branding.

So why do so many advertisers, primarily the big companies, spend thousands on wasted media. Wasted media? Let me explain my definition of wasted media money.

We all know the publication industry makes money from its advertising. And the most costly ad placements within publications are the back cover, inside covers and specified placement.

Take this test. Pick one of your favorite magazines. It doesn’t matter what industry, the example will apply. Turn the first page. See the inside cover? It is probably facing another full-page ad, right? Or the ad is a spread. Now turn the page again. Another full-page ad, with another facing ad!

This can go on for 5 to 6 pages, or more until you get to the contents page. Now imagine, these advertisers all paid a premium to be in the front, especially the company that bought the inside cover.

Most consumers open the magazine to find the table of contents to see what interesting articles to read. So as you open the magazine, you skip all those colorful ads, and spreads. The winner is the advertiser who bought the placement next to or across the contents page.

The other smart media buyers are those who bought space next to articles, or within an article.

Imagine, if the company that paid a premium would have bought the space next to an article and put the savings into the publicity campaign, the results would be greater all around!

I’m probably going to get hate mail from publishers, but the reality is that the inside covers no longer get viewer ship or create leads as they did 20 years ago. In my book, it is money wasted. Spend more with the publicity and see the positive results.

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Why RSS Is A Great PR Tool

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Twelve reasons to use RSS


RSS is here and you need to make this tool part of your business plan. Why?

If you need to ask, then maybe your company or pr agency is not ready to become a leader in your industry.

But if you are considering the advantages, I’ll give you about twelve reasons how RSS, Blogging, or a Blog site can improve your image, and gain favorable pr AND increase sales. Now remember, that publicity or an ad campaign cannot close a sale, but it can bring traffic to your site, or to your office.

Reasons to get a blog started:

  • Because blogs are short articles, they are best read when you have a strong headline.  Create news type headlines and make the article a story…but short, about 300 words and not more than 750 words.
  • Tell pr clients, or customers about upcoming events through your blog
  • Choose a specific day that you just have your thoughts expressed. It can be about a competitors product, or about the industry in general. All from your point of view
  • It’s a great way to announce new products, or the addition of staff
  • Tell potential and current clients about unique sites that they can benefit from, show the links to these sites
  • Newsletters. You probably do one now, or have a lot of saved information that can be written easily in short articles. Share that information and become recognized as a company helping customers, or pr clients with problems that usually arise in your industry

Well, I only have time to give you six of the twelve. Need to know the rest. Contact me and I’ll share that and more with you.

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EMail Marketing

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Improve your image with better emails


The old saying that "Timing is Everything" is true in advertising, publicity and now email marketing.

How do you get better responses to your emails? This is a question we are asked many times by our pr clients and advertising clients. The answer is to make sure your emails are timely. This sounds like common sense, and it is. But think about how many emails you receive daily from customers, clients, and friends, and which ones you open first to read. Even junk emails campaigns use this technique to get you to respond.

An article by Robert Bly gives illustrative examples about this same topic. He mentions that some financial companies use this technique wisely. Another interesting point is to use news embedded into the copy. Make your email or publicity release (the one that goes to clients and potential customers) be somewhat newsworthy by including a current item that relates to your email.

An example was when a financial publisher used a photo of Martha Stewart and the "subject" was "Stay one step ahead of the stock market, just like Martha Stewart…but without her legal liability."

This is clever thinking and good use of publicity in email marketing.

Another good tip by Mr. Bly is to give something away in your email. Not necessarily a product, but information. Provide a tip, or something useful in the market you are in.

Why? Because people expect to receive free stuff on the internet. Knowing this, offer them something of value, and the potential client may read further and contact you for more information about your service or product.

Try these simple tips and then read Mr. Bly’s article for a third tip.

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