Sell them when they're buying

People in the press don’t just work “on the fly”.

Whereas news reporting organizations have to work around breaking
and emerging news stories, most topic specific reporters, whether
newspapers, trade publications, magazines or trade Publications
(Money, Technology, Gardening, Consumer issues, etc)
And radio and TV, (Talk radio, Morning TV Shows) work
with more intention. In other words they plan their stories and topics
they intend to cover

And most publish what is called an “Editorial Calendar”. These
calendars serve as a public reporting of what the media intends to
cover and at what time of the year. (IE June is Pool Safety Month,
February will be tax preparedness month etc).

Although TV and Radio producers do much the same thing, they rarely
Produce an actual calendar. So what to do with this information?

In case of print media, identify the publications you wish to court and
Call or write and ask for a copy of their calendar. With electronic media
NOW is the time to make your contacts and send your pitch letters.

Hosts and producers are NOW actively discussing what subjects
They are hoping to cover in the coming year. Contact them NOW!

Both types of media in these examples prefer the original contact be
made by email. The point is to present your story ideas prior to when
the press will be covering them. This DO NOT mean you cannot pitch
other ideas. This information will however give you a leg up of your
publicity seeking competition – when you know what the media is
“buying” and when.

Last point…If June is pool safety month, Late April, early May is when
you should approach the press. Do not wait until the calendar month!

Get your very own copy of Michaels eZine The Art of Publicity Prospecting
Its chock full of great ideas to help you grow your business and its absolutely free

CLICK HERE http://www.MichaelHartSpeaks.com

Insights from the Inside

If you’re already in the habit of contacting the press, great! Keep it up. But here’s a little tough love. If you contact a reporter or worse respond to a reporter’s query through a service like HARO (Help A Repoter) or Profnet, and send them an unsolicited link to your web site you are wasting your time.

We The Media)WILL NOT follow our links. The primary reason is time. My weekly radio program has to field between 600 and 800 queries a month. Can you imagine what Fox News deals with?

I cannot tell you how many times I get something like

“Hey Michael check out my web site”

AND THAT’S IT! It’s insulting, amateurish, makes you appear lazy and implies you do not respect the reporters time. There are thousands of people that pay PRNewswire thousands and get little or no response and wonder why. This is why.

The link is okay at the conclusion of your query response, but should be preceded with the line:

“For more information go to”

Reporters are looking for answers. As the expert that’s your job. Don’t make reporters do even more research they don’t have time for in the first place

A government that controls the press – controls the people

In a recent survey up to 90% of Americans that regularly read the news get at least some of their news online. This trend has been growing and has placed a serious financial burden, and even forced bankruptcy on major US news papers as circulation of print media plummets.

But according to Democrat congressman Henry Waxman of California since the newspaper industry is suffering "market failure" the US government will need to step in to help preserve serious journalism essential to democracy.

In a statement during a meeting on journalism in the Internet age hosted by the Federal Trade Commission, Waxman said "The newspapers my generation has taken for granted are facing a structural threat to the business model that has sustained them".

"The loss of revenue has spurred a vicious cycle with thousands of journalists losing their jobs”.

Waxman, who chairs the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which has jurisdiction over the FTC, went on to say "depression in the media sector is not cyclical, it is structural."

"While this has implications for the media it also has implications for democracy," he added. "A vigorous free press and vigorous democracy have been inextricably linked.

"We cannot risk the loss of an informed public and all that means because of this market failure”.

Waxman noted various possible remedies, including new tax structures for publishers, providing non-profit status, changing anti-trust regulations or eliminating a law that bars owning a newspaper and a television station in the same city.
But "as we look at these various solutions, government is going to have to be involved in one way or the other," he warned.

"Eventually, government is going to have to be responsible to help resolve these issues and our whole society depends very much on reaching some resolution of the problem."

When you consider that the first move of any government that is seeking to restrict the rights of its citizens is to seize control of its media,
the idea that the US government should take any stake, let alone a financial one in the media should not only be a major concern to all American’s but one that should be stopped dead in its tracks, before this insane notion has any chance of being taken seriously.

The Death of Public Relations?

Lately there has been a flurry of queries from reporters that use both PR Newswire and Help a Reporter (HARO) regarding information on the future of the Public Relations industry.

Businesses are not only cutting training budgets but slashing advertising and all but emliminating PR and communications departments. These reporters are seeking DIY (Do it yourself) Public Relations strategy information for a wide range of articles. I have also learned of a couple of websites that seek to place displaced PR people willing to freelance, with firms that have dumped their agencies over budget cuts.

The trend seems to be towards helping firms do their own press work. This on top of this companies are seeking out low and no cost marketing ideas to offset the loss of advertising budgets.

To really "stir the puddin", the press is in a panic because the loss of these PR firms and agents means a severe reduction in their sources and fresh story pitches and quotes.

While a dilemma for both the media and public relations agencies this situation provides some incredible opportunities for entrepreneurs, business owners and sales professionals to get some very serious exposure.

The media needs new sources now more than ever and the most prolific contributer, the Public Relations industry is shrinking. Never before have DIY publicity practioners had so much opportunity to exploit the media's appetite for information and gain priceless exposure.

So get those phones and emails buzzing. To learn more about generating your own Publicity go to http://www.michaelhartspeaks.com/ and make sure to check out our marketing web channel at http://www.brighttalk.com/channels/538/view

Establishing Yourself as an Industry Expert

Join me today at 6pm CENTRAL STANDARD TIME when I present

"Establish Yourself as an Industry Expert"

The webinar is free of charge and will be broadcast on my web channel
BMN- Business Marketing Network. BMN is hosted by Brightalk and in addition to my
programs Brightalk hosts hundreds of others to help you grow your business.

Being a member is free so make sure to sign up today

You can find BMN at http://www.brighttalk.com/channels/538/view

Sarah Palin Results

I recently sent a query to media and marketing experts on why it seems we're seeing soooooo many advertisments featuring women that bear a resemblance to Sarah Palin. And whether I was insane for thinking its a conspiracy

Here are some of the better responses on this marketing phenomenon:
From Deb Robison:
This is an observation two different friends made:"More women seem to be wearing glasses because of her." They both really bought into that idea. Anway, wanted to share that.
Deb Robison http://www.icantkeepup.blogspot.com/

From Teajai Kimsey
Michael -No, you're not insane. I had my reading glasses on and took a look in the mirror and I even resemble Sara Palin... and I really thought my new hairstyle was trendsetting and different! And friends at college even have similar "palinesque" qualities.Have a great day!
Teajai 'T J' Kimsey--
Internet Marketing Consultant &Web Strategist http://www.ideasthatwork.net/

From Bonnie Russell
Dear Michael,
It's very easy to look like Sarah because she is good looking in a non-descript sort of way.
She has a good complexion and no real standout features.

However, the ease of looking like Palin was brought home by the View's Sherri Shepherd, a rather heavy set black woman who appeared in glasses and an upswept 'do'.

Son of a gun, (no pun) there was a resemblance.
Unfortunately, Sherri made the mistake of saying she put on the glasses to look smarter and Joy had a field day with that comment.

However, it's easy to look like Sarah in another way. I noticed her hair was a little stringy, a little dirty during her spot with Katie Couric yesterday and what woman hasn't had that happen?

Meow.
Most sincerely,
Bonnie Russell http://www.1st-pick.com/
We only work with the best. It's simpler that way.

From Matt Scherer
Michael,
It's not the infatuation with Sarah Palin, but the fact that everyone loves Tina Fey. Don't you know they were twin sisters of different mothers who were separated at birth?--
Matt Scherer, President, Scherer Communications
Email: mattscherer@gmail.com
Blog: http://mattscherer.blogspot.com/

Keep em coming gang - I find this fascinating
MH

Wacky ways to get yourself known

I've always been fascinated by strange, creative and off the wall publicity strategies. From time to time I like to post ideas from the field - especially publicity stunts that go beyond what many people believe to be "traditional media"

The following story was submitted by Shana Mahaffey
Publicist – San Francisco

When Kemble Scott's debut novel SoMa was released, he figured he probably wouldn't be getting on Oprah. As a new author, the chances of getting any publicity were slim to none. He thought it would be especially tough for his book. Set in the underground of San Francisco, he knew that newspaper editors (especially book review editors) tend to ignore work they think is too edgy.
So Scott decided to take the pitch for his book directly to readers.

What could be more democratic than YouTube?

He created a series of companion videos that told the true stories that inspired the novel. Even though SoMa is a work of fiction, the places featured in the book are real. The videos revealed a side of the city few in mainstream society knew existed. Collectively, the videos have been viewed about 60,000 times. That was enough to create buzz for the book.

Scott went from being a relatively unknown writer to hitting the San Francisco Chronicle's bestsellers list the first week the book was for sale. That was before Scott had done a single public appearance, and without any coverage from mainstream media.Eventually SoMa would hit #4 on the bestsellers list. And the story of the YouTube videos became a marketing vehicle itself.

Scott was the first to use YouTube to promote a work of fiction this way, and that led to mentions in newspapers and on the notorious gawker.com blog ValleyWag. An estimated 300,000 different books are published each year in the United States, so it's a monumental task to get one to stand out from the crowd. It's also widely believed that books don't benefit very much from traditional advertising. That's why you don't use TV commercials for books. Instead, books tend to succeed by word of mouth, like one neighbor telling another over the backyard fence. Now, in the grassroots age of the Internet, YouTube can be just like a little neighborhood.

For more information on this Wacky Idea visit: www.youtube.com/kemblescott

*******************************
Thanks Shana

MEET THE PRESS

This article was written by me and originally published in Association Meetings Magazine last April. You can find Association Meetings Magazine online at www.Meetingsnet.com

On any given day, up to 70 percent of all the stories in newspapers across the United States were either released or pitched by public relations firms, publicists, and corporate communications firms. In the case of business news — often released by business owners or their industry associations — this number approaches 100 percent.

Publicity is such a powerful complement to traditional marketing that most major corporations staff entire departments with people whose only job is to get their company in the news.
Associations too can employ this marketing strategy. And when they do, they see their membership rosters swell, their political and civic agendas gather momentum, and their meetings and trade events grow.

Unfortunately, many organizations fail to get the coverage they desire. This failure comes from a misunderstanding as to how mainstream news agencies work. If you hope to exploit the media's insatiable appetite for information, you must first understand a few simple truths.

First, the media needs you

Most newsrooms are short-staffed and their reporters have little time and need a constant stream of new ideas. You should never allow your organization to implement a new service or product, promote a cause, adopt a new social position, or change leadership without notifying the media.

When your association has a meeting or trade event, alert the local media. If you have a speaker of national prominence on the agenda, alert the media. Will your speaker grant interviews to the press? What awards will be given, to whom, and why? Is the event open to the public? If so, how may someone attend? What industry trends or changes will be discussed? Have you hired a new director? Can you guess? That's right, alert the media.

Before a meeting, you might consider encouraging your members to send press releases announcing their plans to attend to the newspapers in their hometowns. This alone would get your organization coverage in newspapers across the country. And your members will learn a valuable marketing strategy they can use in their business lives over and over again.

Second, reporters are relationship-oriented.

If you want to get expanded coverage for your events, it's not enough to blast-fax a release or send it out on a news wire. While appropriate for simple announcements, such as awards, pitching a feature story idea requires personal contact. Fax or e-mail your release directly to the reporter, then follow up with a phone call. Introduce yourself and confirm the reporter received your release. Then — and this is critical — ask if you can continue. Never begin pitching a story idea without first getting permission to do so.

The media needs you. But they owe you nothing. Help them by providing them a steady stream of new ideas. Respect their time. Treat them as cherished partners. Understand when they decline a story. Become a valuable, trusted, and dependable resource and they will reward you with priceless exposure for years to come.

Michael Hart is a speaker and trainer on publicity. For more information on his programs, reach him at (205) 678-9661 or http://www.michaelhartspeaks.com/. To learn more about this subject, send a blank e-mail to report@MichaelHartSpeaks.com to receive Hart's report, MEDIA BLITZ, free of charge.

Paper or Plastic

By Michael Hart

You cannot pass through the checkout line at your local grocer without being asked the question; would you like paper or plastic? Of course they’re referring to grocery bags. But in today’s media climate the same question is being asked and much to the concern of print newspapers - plastic is winning.

With growing frequency news consumers are dumping newspapers for the more expedient, and graphically eye-pleasing news found in their plastic laptops. Web based news outlets are growing in popularity at an alarming rate and companies that print news are scrambling for answers. Not only has readership fallen off, so has advertising and can it be, news submissions. Even people looking to get some news coverage are going the way of the web.

On a recent trip to Florida with my family I was passing through Montgomery Alabama when I bought a paper from a roadside vendor. (The local paper, The Montgomery Advertiser, actually puts newspaper sales people on the corners of busy streets on Sunday’s. And they do a very brisk business. This is a great idea and will be a topic for another day.)

In several sections of the paper was a 2x4 ad (Quite large) with the headline:
“Get Published” The news was advertising for … er … NEWS! And it wasn’t just asking for wedding announcements, lost dogs, and anniversaries, they ad was asking for news, photos and events. And the Advertiser is hardly the only paper employing this strategy – it’s happening across the US.

Now before you write me off by saying – “Okay Michael that’s fine but you just said print newspapers are dying”. We’ll they are but they ain’t dead yet and BESIDES all regional papers do what with the news they print?

Right-on! They post it to their web sites too! So whether you have news of a local flavor or need national exposure for books, consulting or seminars, contacting your local newspaper works. You get both the local print story from your hometown, plus you get the much sought after link to your company site or blog.

And search engines give links from media sites higher rankings. (Link rankings are based in part on the number of people that visit the site the link originated from. It’s called a page rank)

Lastly, many papers are owned by “clusters”. (Companies that own numerous papers, TV stations, etc.) When they post to one paper’s website, all of their sister publications have access to it. (This is yet another topic for yet another day) The Birmingham News owns AL.com. Any news item posted here is also seen in Huntsville and Mobile Alabama. So if you want tons of free exposure for your business, want powerful links to your site, and want to build your list of media contacts, start in your own backyard.)

Note: This article was also featured this week in Michael's weekly newsletter "Monday Morning Marketing Minute" Whereas this Weblog focuses primarily on marketing by harnessing the power of the media, Monday Morning Marketing reveals a variety of powerful, proven free marketing techniques. This great small business resource is free. Sign up today at http://www.michaelhartspeaks.com/

Speak More Often, Make More Money!

By Lisa Braithwaite M.A.

Public speaking is a free and easy way to get the word out about your business. It’s not as flashy as advertising, but infinitely more personal and customizable to your audience.

If you’ve considered promoting your business through public speaking but don’t know where to begin, here are three painless tips to get you started. If you’re already speaking for your business but want to make a greater impact, read on!

Determine your objective

Speakers frequently create presentations based on facts, figures and features, but with no particular objective or purpose. Without an objective, how do you know what you’re trying to accomplish? Without a purpose, how do you remain focused?

First, figure out who’s going to be in the audience. The more you know about them, the easier it is to determine your objective. You might want to know their age, gender, income, experience level and interest in your topic, for example.

Ask yourself what you want the audience to do as a result of your presentation. Do you want to educate them? Do you want them to hire you? Do you want them to go out and tell others about your company? Those are all valid objectives. Now how do you get there?

Open with a bang

Grab your audience right from the beginning with a question, quiz, quote, story or statistic. You want the audience to be emotionally involved right up front, and a lengthy introduction about you, your company’s history, and your satisfied customers is not going to achieve that.

Is there a quote that will make them laugh before you transition to your main topic? Is there a story you can tell that will have them on the edge of their seats? Is there a statistic that will leave them with their mouths hanging open? This is the first step toward engaging your audience and keeping their attention.

Talk benefits, not features

The audience only cares about themselves. They only care about what they’re going to get from your presentation, and how they can use the information later. Ask yourself, “What’s in it for them?”

When talking about our businesses, we frequently talk about features: services, products, how fast our response times are, our great customer service, our many awards.

These are all vague concepts to your audience. They don’t say anything about what the audience gets from using the service or product. Will they look younger? Live longer? Make more money? Save time? There you go! That’s what they want to know. Those are the benefits of using your service or product, and that’s what you need to promote.

The key here is to offer value, practical information that they can apply to their own lives the minute they walk out the door. If you are not providing something of value to them, something relevant and useful, then you are wasting their time.

Know your objective and focus on the audience’s needs and wants, and your talks will be more engaging, you’ll better represent your business and yourself, and your audiences will come back for more.

For more information contact:
Lisa Braithwaite
http://www.coachlisab.com/
Visit Lisa's Blog at http://www.coachlisab.blogspot.com/

NOTE From Michael:
Whenever you speak you should notify the media. Even small mentions in local papers can go a long way towards establishing yourself as an expert. Send a short paragraph to all the media in your town prior to the event. Make sure you do so again after the presentation. You might want to invite your local business reporter(s) editors to hear your program. And definately remember to bring a camera. Newspapers love action pics. Send the picture with the post event release. Send it to the business section editor as a stand alone piece. Post it to your web site. Send it to the group that invited you to speak and suggest they post it to their website. There are tons of different ways to leverage seemingly small events like these into great exposure.

Thanks Lisa

Where's Michael Today

As I have preached for decades aggressively pursuing the media is a wonderful way to get priceless exposure for and product, service, company or cause.

I not only preach this strategy, I practice it. Here a few places where my ideas have been featured in the last 24 hours alone. (One is actually a quote I authored for an old ezine I published years ago - I Googled this 10 year old quote and not only did it appear in the publication but I found it used 16 other times so far)

FORBES Magazine
http://www.forbes.com/wineandfood/2008/06/30/breakfast-spots-business-forbeslife-cx_ls_0630food.html

ASSOCIATIONS CONVENTIONS And FACILITIES Magazine
http://acf.themeetingmagazines.com/acf/20080506Features/GrowingPains/tabid/109/Default.aspx

BLOG NOSH Magazine
http://www.blognosh.com/2008/07/50-timeless-blo.html