The Wax Blog

A decade ago I sat in meeting after meeting in Silicon Valley hearing about the new economy and how the ‘old school’ IT companies were dead. It’s so funny to me now, listening to all the social media experts and Web 2.0 pundits say that ‘traditional PR is dead.’ I venture to say that lazy people hope by saying traditional PR is dead, maybe they can make it so. After all it’s a whole lot easier to sit in your jammies and tweet and facebook the night away than it is to call Patty Neger at Good Morning America to find out if she likes the latest book you’ve sent her. Believe me, I would much rather be trading snarky barbs with folks like @CLE84 than getting rejected for yet another story idea by a crusty print reporter.

Social media, bloggers, news sites….these media types are gaining influence by the minute it’s true. But until they start to generate millions of impressions within four minutes there’s no way they will ever replace traditional media. I would argue that new media is just as important and in many cases can lead to mainstream media…but don’t believe anybody that tells you they’re sustaining national media attention without a traditional PR strategy. I’ll never forget the hotshot social media expert at last fall’s Inbound Marketing Summit who  told the audiencethat PR agencies were obsolete and a worthless waste of money.  At the same time he had one of the biggest NY public relations firms on a huge retainer. (Thanks John Cass for the tip!)

Just like like in the heyday of the dot com bubble, people tend to think that great technology can alleviate the need to do the basics…and it never will. No matter how many Twitter followers you have, or Facebook fans, or how many places that Foursquare has made you the mayor of…you’re still going to have to pick up the phone and make a pitch to seal the deal.  Sorry folks, there’s no way around it.

Since I recently listed several of my favorite PR sites – I thought it would be a good idea to post some of my favorite sites on the marketing side here too. I love RSS feeds – not only is it easy to stay up to date it shows me how prolific and smart many of my colleagues are in this business. Here are some of the blogs I’m following right now – and why. If you don’t mind, take a minute and list your own favorites in the comments section.

If I was only allowed one blog to read, for sure it would be Marketing Profs Daily Although many of us on Twitter are quite familiar with the brilliant Beth Harte, there are TONS of great posts on any marketing topic from sales to social media. The archive is huge and easy to search. I don’t pay for the “premium” option but I’ve been told it’s well worth it if you have the time. I try to read anything by Stephanie Miller and Kim Stearns but the site also links good posts from other blogs as well. It’s  a great collection of articles on just about any topic I need from a broad range of experts.

Although most people bow down to the OTHER Chris, I really like Chris Garrett’s site. He’s taught me a ton about new media, and blogging in particular. I wouldn’t say his posts are for blog neophytes or those just dabbling in it, but for someone who’s really trying to become adept at blogging and using the new media toolset, ChrisG is an excellent resource. I haven’t shelled out the $397 for his Authority Blogger course – anyone out there tried it?

Everybody knows that Seth Godin is brilliant – although I think his books are MUCH better than his blogging, I still love to read his blog. (Everyone should read Tribes, by the way)  The guy can say more in a few sentences than anybody else I know.  One thing that drives me nuts is his insistence on just continuing to put several posts on one page, so you end up scrolling around alot. But that’s just a nit. Seth’s a god of marketing.

John Jantsch’s Duct Tape Marketing is not a blog that I read daily, but it is required reading for my small business clients. This blog manages to take the mystery out of marketing and really boils it down to its simplest (but most effective) elements for small business. Case in point – his post on marketing strategy points out the critical questions every small business should ask themselves when planning a marketing campaign. Really good, back to the basics blog with some fun personal musings. Again, if you own a small business this should be a daily read.

Finally, maybe it’s because I’m the daughter of a pathologist but I love Brand Autopsy. The dramatic readings are hysterical and it’s a bit pop but it’s a fast read. The author, John Moore, is a former Starbucks/Whole Foods marketer who seems to know his stuff as far as word of mouth marketing goes. And it’s fun – I particularly like his “brands I would miss” series. Again, a fun, fast read.

AdAge’s has a great list of 150 marketing and PR sites if you’re looking for a specific topic.

More proof the media is totally changing. Last week I pitched a story to an online pub that’s really popular in its niche. I guess my hook was pretty good since the editor called me in about five minutes. (Another thing I love about online media – you usually hear back fast if you’re gonna hear back at all)

The editor did like my pitch. In fact he liked it so much he asked me to write the article. For free. I’m used to providing custom content from my clients as industry experts. But this is the first time an editor has asked me, the publicist, to actually write the article. To be fair the guy knew I had written for Gannett in the past but when I asked if it was okay to use my clients as sources he said “sure!” So not only do I get a fabulous hit for two clients I also get to craft the entire placement in their favor. This bothers me a little. At the same time I wondered if I should be offering to write free articles every time I pitch. There have been white papers and article writing services around for years. But this is different.

Maybe I’m making too much of it – maybe it’s a one time thing.  I’ve been writing segment outlines for TV talent for a couple years now as they’ve lost their producers in the field to budget cuts.  This is just the next step I guess, and after all it’s not the Wall Street Journal.

One print reporter said he was headed straight for the painkillers after I told him this. Like I said – the media is changing.

Okay, this is also a thinly-veiled – well I guess it’s not veiled at all now – attempt to get more followers on twitter. I’m waxgirl333, in case you didn’t know. 

But the 5 million people on twitter are learning a valuable lesson – how to communicate your message in 140 characters or less. People still write pitches the old fashioned way. We used to call the reporter, get them interested, and then send a long backgrounder with all the detail. And today many of the old school publicists still send out horrifically long emails as their first contact. Guess what? If you can’t get them hooked in the first sentence these days, you’re done. They won’t read the rest unless they know you very well or they are incredibly bored.

You’ve got to have a good hook. That hook may not have much to do with the rest of your message. Or it may be a tiny detail that just happens to grab attention.  For example, I got a ton of hits about a successful restaurant chain by telling the reporters that the owner had to sell her car to come up with the money to buy her first cafe. That certainly wasn’t the core message but it got their attention. Then I could reel them in.

Use twitter and see if you can create meaningful messages in 140 characters. Then take your email pitches and read the first 1 or 2 sentence to someone else. If they’re boring, write it again. It’s all about the hook. THEN you can thrill them with your dynamic and compelling message.

I write a blog for the Twin Cities Examiner  on the side.  I think if every publicist worked on the ‘other side’ just once or twice it would be incredibly enlightening.  Not just to see how other people pitch but to understand how to make it super easy for a writer or blogger to get a good story in quickly.
My last post was on this cool gadget called the Superbumper  Probably would have sat in my story file for a while except the guy who owns the company made it a snap  to write the blog that day.  Here’s what he did – this should remind you just because it’s simple doesn’t make it easy.
1. Wrote a great pitch. Didn’t make me go to a link for the info, but didn’t write a novel either.  All the 5W’s were there and a nice photo too.
2. Answered my questions lightning fast. Again, even though all the info was on the site he kindly cut and pasted it into an email for me. (You don’t know how much time this saves.)
3. Told me he appreciated the exposure.  It kills me how FEW people do that!

You wouldn’t believe how many people pitch me without even telling me the name of the company in the email.  “Visit this link for an exciting story” is not going to cut it. 

Therefore superbumper man is getting another plug here for being quick, friendly and efficient.  And actually the thing is kind of cool and I might put one on my hitch if Greg ever comes home from skiing this season.

Last thing – I’m debating doing a post of worst pitches but I think it might be overdone. What do you think?