The Wax Blog

Whenever I meet with new clients they want to know how we’re going to use PR to reach their clients. Imagine their expression when I tell them we’re not going to message your clients. I tell these shocked folk in most cases, public relations does not translate to direct sales.  If they want to sell directly to their clients, go buy ads.

If they haven’t kicked me out at this point, a client will usually ask (in a sarcastic tone that increases in direct proportion  to the size of his or her company/wallet) “So why should we pay you all this money?”

First of all let’s deal with the fact that most of us only see the really big public relations bonanzas. For someone who hasn’t worked with PR a lot, or who has had a bad experience with PR, that’s your point of familiarity. The first thing that needs to happen is that expectations need to be reset. Sure, there is the occasional huge hit that turns a lesser-known product into an overnight seller. Oprah’s book club was a great example. But those are very few and far between. If you get them, and then the more important caveat if they work, you win the public relations lottery. We always try but it very rarely happens.

So what’s the answer to my clients’ question? (more…)

I was in a meeting a couple weeks ago with a bigger agency for whom I occasionally do work as a subcontractor. As I sat there, listening to them talk to their client it occurred to me that public relations and advertising agencies make the same mistake salespeople do. They don’t understand that the most powerful meeting in the world is one in which they really listen to their clients.

Then, another potential client asked me if I minded being called a publicist. I asked why, and apparently they had just met with a PR agency that told them they were no longer publicists…they were storytellers. (more…)

On Monday I wrote that too much ego is often the main reason people don’t make it to the next level in terms of media. Now that you’ve swallowed the bitter pill that all your hard-earned hubris needs to be discarded, here are some ideas on reaching the next level, which for most of us means national media. It doesn’t matter if you live in San Diego or Dayton, Ohio.  You can do it, it just takes time and patience.

You’ll see these items are a mixture of promoting yourself, and trying to help media find you. It works both ways for big media, and often at the same time. Here are some of the tactics I usually start with: (more…)

On Thursday, I”ll start a small series on taking your message to a national level – what it takes and how to get there. But first, let’s look at the three biggest obstacles to gaining national recognition.

I work with a lot of business owners, authors, entrepreneurs and others who are quite well-known in their local markets. Virtually all of them dream of creating a national platform at some point. And some of them do make it, like my friend Michael Schneider who is well on his way as a travel expert.

Others do not. And I have to say that I can spot them almost immediately. There are three reasons why people do not (and cannot) move to the next level. Here they are:

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I hear those who commented on last week’s post on reasons NOT to do your own PR – it CAN be really expensive to hire a PR person.   If you’re not living in NYC or LA (or even if you are) you’ll find there are some really affordable agencies and freelancers that could make all the difference for your business. Before you pooh pooh the idea of hiring a PR professional, let’s look at what your costs might be. (more…)

Sometimes what a publicist or PR agency does looks SO easy, especially to an entrepreneur with a naturally outgoing nature. After all, how hard can it be to write and send press releases, or schedule interviews?

In many cases, it’s not that hard. I’ve known several business owners and managers who are very good at maintaining relationships with smaller market journalists, and who know when and how to write a press release.  If you believe PR is just sending out press releases and coordinating interviews go for it. BUT – and this is a very big BUT – if you really want to use public relations for the right reasons, I believe you have to hire a professional publicist.  And by professional, I mean GOOD. I wrote about ways to find a good PR firm in February. I’m going to write next on how to create room in your marketing budget to hire one.

But first, here are six reasons it might be smart to hire a public relations professional: (more…)