| |
| |
|
PR Information |
|
|
|
Dont Expect to Bump Oprah From A Magazine Cover
"I want a pony, a tree house and the fastest bike in the world." "I want the G.I. Joe with the parachute and camouflage Jeep." Those wants from when we were children haven't changed much now that we have traded in our play clothes for suits and ties. When I sit down with clients, I always ask them what they want out of their publicity campaign so I can create a realistic list of expectations. But I usually hear: "Front page of the Wall Street Journal." "I want to sit next to Katie and Matt." "Do you think I could be on Oprah next week?" Before I sign a new client, I make sure I explain editorial calendars and lead times so they won't ask me "Why haven't I gotten placements with you yet? It's been six days already." I also explain the concept of "newsworthy" to them. But it seems that more often than not, all of that explaining goes out the door. Here's The Naked Truth. Sometimes reporters like big names. Sometimes they like unknowns. That lifestyle editor at InStyle may love the handmade candles that you created but if a major crisis happens in the news (e.g. celebrity breakup, A-list star caught with a call girl, paparazzi caught impromptu wedding) then you can bet your wick and scented oils the focus of their article won't be on your candles. Same goes for almost every magazine you want to target unless you are Oprah, Bill Gates or the president - of the U.S. not Trixie's Organic Dog Snacks. So don't blame your publicist if your story is axed or postponed. They will try another publication. There's a great big world out there. Newsweek reaches over 3 million homes each week. They receive enough trash worthy press releases and media kits to fill a broom closet. Sometimes what you think is news? isn't. And you just have to trust your publicist to alert the media when something of interest is happening with your company. Or you run the risk of an editor never taking your releases seriously when you do. Understand your target market. I know you think it would be the coolest thing since Nobu Next Door to be on the cover of Cosmo but you sell a high-end baby stroller. Cosmo readers don't have an interest in that. Trust me. They won't and the editors don't have time to wade through releases of no interest to their readers. Publicists know the publications' target audience and with the help of editorial calendars, they can figure out if you will fit in a certain issue they are preparing. So don't get upset when your publicist tells you they got you into a different publication because the one you wanted said "NO" to your story over 10 times. When they just aren't interested, publicists move on. Sometimes the more is not the merrier. Just because we have an editor contact database of thousands doesn't mean each of them should receive your press release or an invitation to your launch party. It might sound great to you to say "Our company press release just went out to over 10,000 editors" but if they aren't targeted to the right editors they will only end up in the recycling bin. I'm positive Janice Huff at Channel 4 doesn't care about your gelato shop. She only covers the weather. When it's time for your company to retain a public relations firm, remember to have realistic expectations. Your publicists know what publications are good targets and they know that providing you with the results you want is going to make you happy. And all publicists want to make their clients happy. About The Author Roman Pericon is the CEO of NakedPR (www.NakedPublicity.com), a public relations and event planning firm in New York. Subscribe to "The Naked Truth", his free monthly PR newsletter, by emailing Roman@NakedPublicity.com. NakedPR specializes in entertainment and lifestyle clients.
MORE RESOURCES:
PR - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
A Guide to Optimizing Public Relations Content This guide to "SEOing" your PR efforts can help you get high-ranking search results for your press releases, marketing white papers and ezine newsletter content. Whether you are managing PR efforts for several online companies or just one website, you've probably wondered how you can increase your sites (more importantly, your work) overall impact in the Web community. Whats Your Op-Ed? Everyone has an opinion on something, and you can leverage the opinion of top executives to heighten the visibility of your organization. How? By getting them to write so-called op/ed pieces for newspapers. Managers: A Key to Your Survival Most business, non-profit and association managers live to tell about it only IF they achieve their operating objectives. Very little wriggle room there. Publicity Wont Thrive on Press Releases Alone Press releases are a useful tool for announcing news and for keeping your name in the mind of the news media.But you can't build a successful publicity campaign on press releases alone, for the simple reason that very few press releases ever make it into the paper. Public Relations Strategies: Focus PR Campaigns with Media Coverage Analysis Prior to launching a new public relations campaign, evaluate the media coverage you've gained and dig deep into the coverage your competition has received.One of the first steps in defining a public relations strategy is to understand how you and your competition stack up in terms of media coverage. Managers, Start Your PR There'll never be a better time for a manager working for a business, non-profit or association to ask this question: "Am I getting the public relations results I'm paying for -- the really important external audience behaviors I need to achieve my department, division or subsidiary objectives?"If the answer is no, better get busy and rebuild that public relations engine.Best place to look for an answer to your question is the foundation on which your public relations effort is based. How To Write A Press Release: The Seven Deadly Sins And How To Avoid Them How to write a press release that generates free publicity is a great skill to have.This analysis, of the seven deadly sins of how to write a press release and how to avoid them, contains press release sample writing and a how to write a press release sample. How to Get Some of Paris Hilton's TV Time When your book is mentioned on television, sales go up. Immediately people start looking in book stores and on the internet to find out how to buy it. How to Write a Media Release That Wins You Coverage & Exposure The Today show? The New York Times? Vanity Fair? What's your dream hit? While nothing inspires more fear and trepidation in public relations professionals than media relations, it doesn't have to be complicated. There are 2 keys to a press release. Sure-Fire Recipe for a Successful Public Relations Career Without a solid, well-designed foundation, few buildings successfully withstand the ravages of time and weather. And so it is with public relations, ever-dependent upon how well its practitioners understand the discipline. All You Need to Know About Press Release Writing and Distribution Before you even think about writing a press release, there are a few things you need to know about the media. Here's the first - and most important - of them:1. 8 Ways to Use Local Publicity to Drive Your Business While scoring anice story in BusinessWeek or USA Today is something tocelebrate, there are times when you need to grab attention a bitcloser to home. If your business draws its clientele from a specific town, cityor region, focusing your energy on getting an elusive nationalpublicity hit may be overkill, especially when getting publicitywhere you need it -- in your home town -- is often so mucheasier. Rise of the Creative Class The fast changing dynamics of the world economy is forcing organizations to fundamentally rethink the manner in which they have been communicating with their constituent communities and decision-makers. It is constantly being proven that conventional communication approaches that are designed to raise public awareness may often have the opposite effects of those intended. Recessions Dont Last Forever! It could, but what if it doesn't?Will you be prepared?Will those key external audiences of yours, whose behaviors REALLY affect you, look favorably at you and your business?Because, once the economy emerges from recession, if they don't, you'll have one arm tied behind your back.Don't let that happen. Doubt PRs Clout? Dont! Done right, it helps modify the behaviors of your most important target audiences, and that can spell S-U-R-V-I-V-A-L.I don't believe that's an overstatement because a customer who thinks badly of you and your business will not soon be darkening your threshold. A Company That Doesnt Need Public Relations? Really? You mean there are NO perceptions and behaviors peculiar to that company's outside audiences that would help or hinder it in the pursuit of its objectives?Wow! I need to know more about a company that can ignore what its key external publics perceive about the company AND how they behave. I need to know how such a company can disregard serious negative behaviors by people who make up an influential external audience, and still reach its business objectives!In fact, it would have to be a miracle! I don't buy it because it defies logic!The business world doesn't believe that's possible either because it needs public relations big time, and they show it every day. 10 Ways to Get the Media to Love You So you've put yourself "out there" with a public relations campaign. Your dealings with the media now become critical. Put Yourself in the Reporters Shoes Imagine you're the technology reporter at a daily newspaper. You learn that a new computer virus is making the rounds on the Net and you find that it has shut down three local banks within the past few hours. Business - How to Build it Using the Media Have you ever noticed that when someone is interviewed on radio, television or in the newspapers about a particular subject, it tends to be the same people? You may even be saying - "Why don't they ever ask me?"Well the reason is - they don't know about you. If they did know that you were an expert on a particular subject, then there's a good chance you'll be asked from time to time. Dont Do This to Your News Release! Hundreds of thousands of News Releases are sent out all the time and many people will show you different ways to write a news release in a way that will result in publicity for you or for your company. However, many people over look the 17 Deadly Sins that you should never do or have in a news release.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
