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…)

Ever wonder why some people get instant press and others languish? Despite all the reasons you hear (bad publicist, bad timing, dumb media, war, famine, smallpox outbreak..) it’s because their pitch is not nearly as interesting as they think.  If you think you don’t have to read this post because you KNOW this doesn’t apply to you…you probably need to read this post. So bear with me… here are the top five reasons why pitches get ignored:

1. Unless you’re Einstein, you have not thought of this first. YOU may think it’s unique but if you went to the bookstore (yes, the actual bookstore not Google or Amazon) you will likely find at least three books on your topic. If you do a product competitive search you will find tons of people with the exact same idea/product/service. It’s inevitable.
2. Your pitch is a sales pitch. Nobody wants to hear the features and benefits of your stuff. They want a news story. I don’t care if your widget is the fastest/best/easiest/prettiest/etc. It’s the story BEHIND the widget that may or may not be interesting.
3. Nobody has heard of you – even if  you’re a big shot. Sorry, but there are thousands of people trying to get on Ellen/Oprah/Today show…etc. Even if you’ve started a multi-million dollar company or rock out on your local TV station every Friday – national media has never heard of you. Keep your ego in check and realize you are probably one of many.
4. You think if you keep calling/emailing/texting/twittering/faxing they’ll finally say yes. A NO means NO. The more you ignore the NO the more you will be ignored yourself. And get a reputation as a whiner/bully/stalker/insane person.
5.  You can’t tell your story well. If the person doesn’t “get it” in one sentence you’re out of there. Go back and revise your story and tell this “elevator pitch” to a million people until you’re sure they get it right away.

If you’re frustrated with your PR efforts, take a minute and be honest with yourself. Do you think you’re more unique than you are? Have you done your competitive analysis? Are you trying to sell your product/service/book instead of finding the real hook behind it? Are you taking 15 minutes to get someone to understand what you’re talking about? Really assess where you’re at, go back and get creative. There’s a unique aspect to EVERY client I work with…and there is in your business too. You just have to take the time and exercise the humility to find it!

Food writers and bloggers are a persnickety lot. On the newspaper side, many food writers are being blended into the lifestyle sections. Or if they have survived, at times they can be prickly due to the circumstances.

On the blogger side, the fact that there really isn’t any need for impartiality in most cases lands you with a group that can have some very strong personal biases. (Of course this is true of many bloggers, not just foodies.) Even though chef TV shows are some of the most popular reality series on air, print cuisine magazines are still struggling both nationally and locally. Even Rachael Ray’s magazine lost circulation this year! That means editorial guidelines are tighter than ever and cross-promotions with advertising take precedence.

Add to that in most markets there is a very clear pecking order in terms of who to pitch first, and you’ve got a complicated pitching situation. That’s why so many PR agencies like Sauce Communications focus strictly on food and drink. It’s hard! (more…)

Recently I got one of my clients an interview on one of Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s stories on CNN. My client (check out the drumming circle in the video below) told me I had paid for myself for a year with this clip. (more…)

I started to write a post about pitching bloggers, but then I found an excellent piece by Darren Rowse at ProBlogger.net. Why reinvent the wheel? Although this was written in 2007, the advice is still 100% sound. I’ve included the first paragraph and a link to the rest of the article. Read the comments too – they’re a treasure trove of information as well!

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How to Pitch to Bloggers – 21 Tips

One of the challenges that many bloggers face once they become established and grow a profile in their niche is that they become the target of ‘pitches’ – or people emailing to ask them to do ’stuff’.

These ‘pitches’ can be on any number of fronts including:

• announcing new products/services in the hope of being linked to or reviewed
• link exchanges
• asking for permission to use content
• exploring potential partnerships
• suggesting links to posts on other blogs
• story ideas
• asking for guest posts
• asking questions
• request for an interview

The list goes on. Some bloggers get ‘pitched to’ hundreds of times each week (some get hundreds per day!) and so if you’re looking to approach a blogger with some kind of pitch it is worth thinking carefully about how you do it.

Read the full article at Problogger.net

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(MICHAEL ROZMAN/WARNER BROS.)

After the success of my last blog post on pitching freelance writers I decided to start a weekly feature called “How to Pitch”. I’d like to encourage readers to comment with their own tips and ideas. Also, please let me know if there is a specific show you’d like to pitch. I’ll try to interview one of the producers to get the inside scoop! ( If you’re curious about being a good TV guest, here’s a post on that I did a while ago.)

First let’s start with basic stuff. Although social media is the craze (and it’s cheap) it’s still building fans one to one. Although TV numbers continue to decline the medium provides  a huge opportunity to deliver your message one to many.  But for most people regular press releases and pitches probably won’t get you in the door unless there is a show already planned -  that your message or back story fits perfectly. That can happen, but then you’re depending on luck.

It’s better to create your own pitch, which means thinking like a producer and coming up with a compelling segment all your own. (At the end of this post I’ve included an actual pitch that got my client on Montel, just to show you a successful sample.)  Here are the steps for creating your own pitch – whether it’s local or national, this is really how it works on most talk shows. Authors, it works the same for you. Unless you’re already well-known, you need to come up with a unique idea to help sell your book. (more…)