Spotlight on Marketing

So You Want to Write a Media Release and Influence a Journalist? Part 16

kay — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:24:57 +0000

This is Part 16 in a series of blog posts I’ve compiled about how to write effective media releases and pitches, and how to influence journalists and bloggers (with integrity, of course) so you get the publicity you want.

Each part in the series lists 10 (or sometimes more) articles, videos etc. by various people. For a list of links to Parts 1-15, see the Media Relations category on this blog.

Here are the latest 10 resources:

“The Essential Word List for Lazy PR Writers” by Tom Gable (@authenticpr on twitter)
“The Worst Blogger Pitch Ever” by Jay Dolan (@JayDolan)
“Press release fail” from “The Media Blog” (@themediatweets)
“Pitching to bloggers - the do’s and don’ts of blogger pitching” by Kirsty Shaw (@kirstyashaw)
“How to PR Like a Pro: A Guide to Getting Media Attention” by Mark Hayes (@allsop8184)
“Video: How to pitch to the media” (2m 30s) featuring Bill Walker, GM of Fleishman-Hillard (@billwalkerpr)
“Journalist shares 7 common PR sins to avoid” by Amanda Marsh (twitter handle unknown)
“What’d You Say? How To Write Killer Quotes For Your Online Press Release” by Tara Geissinger (@TaraGeissinger)
“Hey PR, bloggers are not tools to be used” by David Spark (@dspark)
“How to Newsjack Your Way to Tons of Media Exposure” by Robert Bruce – 24m 41s audio recording of an interview with David Meerman Scott (@dmscott)

Would you like to recommend any other good resources on this topic? Please post a comment or send me an email. I won’t list EVERY article I see; I’ll only recommend articles that I think are well written and that add something useful to the debate.

Kay Ross
http://twitter.com/kayross

In Your Marketing, To Thine Own Self Be True

kay — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:39:09 +0000

A subscriber to my enewsletter, Mirek Plowiek from Katowice in Poland, had this burning question about marketing: “Which is more important when communicating with your audience: say things you really want to say, or say things that people want to hear?”

With thanks to Mr Shakespeare, my reply to Mirek is: “In your marketing, to thine own self be true.”

I believe you need to say the things you really want to say and that you believe people need to hear (with the genuine intention of helping them to be more successful). That might mean some people choose not to do business with you, and that’s OK. After all, would you really want to do business with them?!

Robert Kiyosaki, author of the “Rich Dad Poor Dad” series of books, says: “Be true to yourself. Make no apologies for who you are and what you stand for.”

Someone else I admire, Isabel Parlett, “The Soundbite Shaman”, advises: “Write for yourself first… before we can respond eloquently to someone else’s wants and needs, we first have to own what we have to offer, without apology, whitewashing, or sugar-coating.”

And check out this article: “Great Marketing is Not About You … Hogwash!” by Mark Aaron Murnahan. He writes: “…talk about yourself enough so we can know who you are and what you stand for. If you don’t, all that your would-be customers have to base their buying decisions on is facts and figures.”

Now don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying you should ignore your audience and talk all about you you you. You absolutely must understand and consider their wants, needs, interests, pain points and psychological triggers; you need to communicate in ways that work for them, and you need to show them how your product or service will give them what they want. But the content and personality of your message must be an authentic expression of you and your values.

Why? Because people prefer to do business with people they like, trust and respect, and they want to connect with the youness of you.

I believe it is possible to find the middle ground between what you want to say and what your prospective clients want to hear. Instead of either/or, look for both/and: find the overlap between what you want to talk about (your expertise) and what your prospective clients want to hear about (the solutions to their problems). Then, challenge them gently to discover what they didn’t even know they wanted, and inspire them about the possible results that they don’t yet even believe are possible for them.

So are you courageous enough to be YOU, even if some people don’t like that?

The Lesson: The people who like your message will be magnetically drawn to you (and then of course you have to have a system for turning their interest into sales).

Action Steps: Get clear about the essence of your message, then be fearless in expressing it.

What do YOU think?

Which is more important when communicating with your audience: say things you really want to say, or say things that people want to hear? Please leave a comment below.

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If you’d like to subscribe to my enewsletter about marketing (no cost), please go to the Home page of my website and fill in the opt-in box near the top right-hand corner.

Mirek’s company is Outsmarter (an Internet start-up). He explained: “Outsmarter is a computer app that helps you limit the amount of time you waste online. If you feel you’re spending too much of your life on Facebook, Gmail, Twitter etc., you can use Outsmarter to set time limits for chosen websites or completely block them.”

Image: iCLIPART

Twitter Tips and Resources - Part 64

kay — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 09:01:30 +0000

This is Part 64 of an ever-growing blog series, with each post featuring links to 10 useful, funny and/or provocative articles/lists/blog posts/videos/sites I’ve come across about how to use twitter more effectively (and how NOT to use it).

Here are the latest 10:

“CEO’s Repeat After Me: “We are Not Afraid to Tweet” + 21 Success Tips” from the ZoomFactor blog (@ZoomFactor_ on twitter)
“What Can Twitter Do For Your Small Business?” by Melinda Emerson (@SmallBizLady)
“23 Twitter Tools To Help You Tweet Like A Pro” by Bianca Bosker (@bbosker)
“13 Reasons Why You Didn’t Get Followed Back” by Lauren Dugan (@lauren_dugan)
“The 8 R’s of Twitter for Newbies” by Elena Verlee (@ElenaVerlee)
“10 Tips on Using Twitter Wisely” by Joe Brockmeier (@jzb)
“How to Use Twitter the Right Way” by Craighton Miller (@Craighton)
“A Starter’s Guide to Increasing Brand Visibility on Twitter” by Leo Widrich (@leowid)
“5 Twitter Changes and How to Make the Most of Them” by Leo Widrich (@leowid)
“When NOT to Outsource Your Twitter Account” by Hollis Thomases (@hollisthomases)

For a list of links to Parts 1-63 in this series (which was born on May 19, 2009), see the Twitter category on this blog.

Would you like to recommend any other good twitter resources? I certainly don’t list EVERY article about twitter that I see – I might recommend an article that I disagree with, if I think it contributes something useful to the debate, but I won’t recommend an article that I think is badly written.

Happy tweeting!

Kay Ross
http://twitter.com/kayross

So You Want to Write a Media Release and Influence a Journalist? Part 15

kay — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:03:05 +0000

This is Part 15 in a series of blog posts I’ve compiled about how to write effective media releases and pitches, and how to influence journalists and bloggers (with integrity, of course) so you get the publicity you want.

Each part in the series lists 10 (or sometimes more) articles, videos etc. by various people. For a list of links to Parts 1-14, see the Media Relations category on this blog.

Here are the latest 10 resources:

“5 bad PR practices that will frustrate journalists” by Gil Rudawsky (@GilComMedia on twitter)
“How not to treat bloggers and how not to pitch blogs” by Chris Abraham (@chrisabraham)
“8 tips for writing press releases that journalists (and bloggers) read” by Jeremy Porter (@jeremyporter)
“How to write a press release that works” by Sarah Shaw (@entreprenette)
“Attention PR People: Here’s How To Pitch A Writer” by Mitch Joel (@mitchjoel)
“One Strike and You’re Out: In Relationship Era, Bad PR Pitches Will not Be Tolerated” by Bob Garfield in Ad Age (@AdAge)
“Detailed analysis of the perfect blogger pitch” by Chris Abraham (@chrisabraham)
“33 things the media wish PR people knew” by Jackson Wightman (@jacksonwightman)
“The anatomy of a pitch email” by Laurie Moon (@LaurieMoonPR)
“20 things PR clients should know” by Elizabeth Friedland (@Efriedland)

Kay Ross
http://twitter.com/kayross

Twitter Tips and Resources - Part 63

kay — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 10:37:55 +0000

This is Part 63 of an ever-growing blog series, with each post featuring links to 10 useful, funny and/or provocative articles/lists/blog posts/videos/sites I’ve come across about how to use twitter more effectively (and how NOT to use it).

Here are the latest 10:

“The Ultimate List of Twitter Tools” by Matthew Tommasi (@socialguide on twitter)
“The Big List of 77 Twitter Mistakes: Which Do You Make?” by Leo Widrich (@LeoWid)
“15 ways to attract Twitter followers” by Heidi Cohen (@heidicohen)
“9 Strange Things About Tweets, Retweets And DMs Every Twitter User Must Know” by Dave Larson (@TweetSmarter)
“How To Change From A Social Media User Into A Social Media Leader” by Dave Larson (@TweetSmarter)
“Has Force-feeding Your Twitter Account Made You Irrelevant?” by Susan Cooper (@BuzzEdition)
“The Beginner’s Guide to Twitter” by Michael Hyatt (@michaelhyatt)
“HOW TO: Change Your Twitter Handle” by Lauren Indvik (@laureni)
“Avoid these 10 time-wasting tweets” by Lisa Barone (@LisaBarone)
“Brand Equity - Top Ten mistakes brands make on twitter” (video, 7m 13s) from Brand Equity (@brandequitylive)

For a list of links to Parts 1-62 in this series (which was born on May 19, 2009), see the Twitter category on this blog.

Happy tweeting!

Kay Ross
http://twitter.com/kayross

Twitter Tips and Resources - Part 62

kay — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 08:06:21 +0000

This is Part 62 of an ever-growing blog series, with each post featuring links to 10 useful, funny and/or provocative articles/lists/blog posts/videos/sites I’ve come across about how to use twitter more effectively (and how NOT to use it).

Here are the latest 10:

“70% of Companies Ignore Customer Complaints on Twitter” by Jay Baer (@jaybaer on twitter)
“When It Comes To Twitter, Marketers And Companies Still Don’t Get It” by Steve Olenski (@steveolenski)
“6 Ways to Boost Return on Twitter” by Heidi Cohen (@heidicohen)
“I love Twitter lists.” by Kirsten Wright (@kirstenwright)
“Laughable Social Media: The Great Twitter Purge” by Daniel Newman (@DanielNewmanUV)
“5 Reasons Why Your Twitter Efforts Aren’t Working” by Leo Widrich (@LeoWid)
“How Misunderstanding Retweets Can Get You Suspended From Twitter” by Dave Larson (@TweetSmarter)
“50 Kloutless Ways To Get Value From Twitter” by Lisa Barone (@lisabarone)
“Trick or Tweet: Top 8 Twitter Pet Peeves” by Megan Leap (@MeganLeap)
“3 Reasons Why You Should Not Auto-Synchronize Social Media” by Arthur Catalanello (@acatalanello)

For a list of links to Parts 1-61 in this series (which was born on May 19, 2009), see the Twitter category on this blog.

Happy tweeting!

Kay Ross
http://twitter.com/kayross

Twitter Tips and Resources - Part 61

kay — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 18:10:20 +0000

This is Part 61 of an ever-growing blog series, with each post featuring links to 10 useful, funny and/or provocative articles/lists/blog posts/videos/sites I’ve come across about how to use twitter more effectively (and how NOT to use it).

Here are the latest 10:

“Business 101: Social Media Etiquette – Good Intentions or Not, Spam IS Spam” by Grandma Mary (@grandmamaryshow on twitter)
“A to Z of Twitter Etiquette” by Nicky [surname not given on her blog or on twitter] (@rocksstar10)
“How I Tweet in a Nutshell (55 Behaviors from a Twitter Nut!)” by Pam Moore (@PamMktgNut)
“A Twitter Band-Aid Can’t Save Your Business” by Charlene Kingston (@SocialMediaDIY)
“Twitter’s Mad Men Moment” by Brian Solis (@briansolis)
“How To Get Twitter Followers (ethically)” by an un-named author on the twiends website (@twiends)
“20 of the world’s most clever Twitter bios” by Mark Schaefer (@markwschaefer)
“Bad Twitiquette: 10 Ways To Lose Your Twitter Followers, Fast!” by Niall Devitt (@nialldevitt)
“Twitter is dying—and it’s all your fault” by Neicole Crepeau (@neicolec)
“9 Ways to Get the Most from Twitter” by Jamie Turner (@60SecondTweets)

For a list of links to Parts 1-60 in this series (which was born on May 19, 2009), see the Twitter category on this blog.

Happy tweeting!

Kay Ross
http://twitter.com/kayross

So You Want to Write a Media Release and Influence a Journalist? Part 14

kay — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 05:37:10 +0000

This is Part 14 in a series of blog posts I’ve compiled about how to write effective media releases and pitches, and how to influence journalists and bloggers (with integrity, of course) so you get the publicity you want.

Each part in the series lists 10 (or sometimes more) articles, videos etc. by various people. For a list of links to Parts 1-13, see the Media Relations category on this blog.

Here are the latest 10 resources:

“The 10 commandments of media outreach” by Gordon Platt of Gotham Media (@gothammedia on twitter)
“4 ways to improve quotes in press releases” by Laura Hale Brockway (@lhbrockway)
“Journalist explains when and how to follow up a pitch” by Amy McCarthy (@aemccarthy)
“An Open Letter to (Bad) Publicists and (Uninformed) Authors” by Jessica Lawlor (@jesslaw)
“5 Reasons Why Nobody Cares About Your News Release” by Laura Finlayson (@lauramfin)
“8 tips for writing press releases that journalists read” by Jeremy Porter (@jeremyporter)
“How to get quoted in a trend article” by Ian Pierce (I don’t know his twitter handle)
“How To Pitch Anything To Anyone” by Maureen Henderson (@GenerationMeh)
“Top Online Press Release Blunders: Are You Guilty?” by Tara Geissinger (@TaraGeissinger)
“5 examples of offbeat press releases” by Michael Sebastian (@msebastian)

Kay Ross
http://twitter.com/kayross

Why Are You In Business?

kay — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 17:21:02 +0000

I watched a video blog post by Marie Forleo about how to deal with refund requests and unhappy customers.

A viewer/reader commented on Marie’s blog: “It’s always better to give your customers what they want. Even if it means NOT getting their money. We’re in business to serve…”

Hmmm, I’m not so sure about that. I’d say that we’re in business to make money, and the way we do that is by being of service. If we consistently do NOT “get their money”, that means we’re not in business - we have an expensive hobby or we’re running a charitable foundation that gives away money to worthy causes. And it seems to me that always giving customers what they want even if it means not getting their money is a sure-fire recipe for going broke.

Here’s a definition of “business” that I found online:
“An economic system in which goods and services are exchanged for one another or money, on the basis of their perceived worth. Every business requires some form of investment and a sufficient number of customers to whom its output can be sold at profit on a consistent basis.”

What do you think? Where do you draw the line between “always giving customers what they want” and “getting their money”? It’s a tricky balance, and I can’t claim that I always get it right.

Twitter Tips and Resources - Part 60

kay — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 03:47:40 +0000

This is Part 60 of an ever-growing blog series, with each post featuring links to 10 useful, funny and/or provocative articles/lists/blog posts/videos/sites I’ve come across about how to use twitter more effectively (and how NOT to use it).

Here are the latest 10:

“150+ Ultimate Round-Up of Helpful Twitter Articles” compiled by Diana Adams (@adamsconsulting on twitter)
“Twitter Dictionary | 35 Twitter Abbreviations” by Diana Adams (@adamsconsulting)
“Eleven Things NOT To Do on Social Media” by John Lusher (@JohnLusher)
“How Do You Manage Problem Followers On Twitter?” by Shea Bennett (@sheamus)
“Using social media at live events: best practice tips” by Tamara Littleton (@tlittleton)
“Twitter Stats That Will Get You (and convince your Boss) to Tweet Your Brand” by Marsha Collier (@MarshaCollier)
“The Myth Of Reciprocity And The Social Life Of Brands” by Mitch Joel (@mitchjoel)
“12 Most Likely Reasons I Am NOT Following You on Social Media” by Mark Babbitt (@YouTernMark)
“The do’s and don’ts of Twitter hashtags” by Sherilynn Macale (@heycheri)
“Twitter 101: 55 Tips to Get Retweeted on Twitter” by Pam Moore (@PamMktgNut)

For a list of links to Parts 1-59 in this series (which was born on May 19, 2009), see the Twitter category on this blog.

Happy tweeting!

Kay Ross
http://twitter.com/kayross