The Wax Blog

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…)

It’s clear that today’s media environment has made placements in print magazines more and more challenging for the Average Josephine. Although the blood loss may have slowed, magazines have reduced editorial pages significantly over the past few years. Of the pages that remain, many are forced to promise coverage to advertisers in order to stay afloat. Add to that the fact that most editors are doing 3x the job they used to because of staff cuts, and it’s a tough challenge.

Yet print magazines still remain (in my opinion, certainly not everyone’s) an important part of many media campaigns. Getting an editor’s attention can be key to promoting your product, book or service. In the last couple of years, we’ve started doing things a little differently here at Wax…and I’d like to share some of the creative ways we get an editor’s attention. (more…)

Last week I was told once again that “the press release is dead.”  In fact, when I googled the term “press release is dead” I got more than 48 million results. Someone even suggested that HARO would replace the press release. (Still scratching my head at that one.) Thank goodness for local Minneapolis reporter @derushaj who clearly stamped the truth on twitter last week.

[blackbirdpie url="http://twitter.com/#!/DeRushaJ/status/29671885792874498"]

If the press release is dead, why am I continuing to use them as an important tool in my daily PR work?

Here’s why – the badly written press release and the press release used badly were never alive to begin with. What IS alive and well is the use of press releases for the following purposes. No tweet, Facebook post or email sent to HARO can do these, at least not well:

• Press releases provide the 5W’s that media use for background on a story. (who, what, where, when, why) THEY DO NOT REPLACE THE PITCH. First I pitch a journalist, then I often send the release as a follow up to provide more detail.
• Press releases  provide an important vehicle of information for breaking news or crisis communications. For example, this fall I helped manage media relations for a plane crash that involved a lengthy search and missing family members. The county sheriff’s daily press releases were the key tool to manage the information sent to the media. Without those releases, it would have been chaos.
• Media alerts, or shorter versions of press releases, communicate the basic facts about events to calendar editors and regional dailies and blogs. In fact, many online news sites just use these verbatim.
• Press releases provide good information for TV reporters who need quick sound bytes for their stories, as well as assignment editors looking for the best stories to cover. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve worked on a story and seen the reporter pulling out my press release as their backgrounder, to prepare for their on air commentary.
• For publicly held companies, the press release is the only way to distribute information that must reach the public first. In the case of mergers and news of this sort, the press release must be distributed over the wire before the news is broken in any other way.

I could go on and on regarding this topic – PitchEngine and other tools like it are GREAT  but frankly, we’re using them as a new method for sending out releases – they’re not replacing them. Neither is social media.

Do journalists and bloggers get tons of spammy releases on a daily basis? You bet they do. Do companies think a press release is all they need to do to generate stories? You bet they do. And it’s been the fault mainly of lousy (and lazy) public relations people  try to make a document do their job for them. I agree – let’s kill the bad press release and the press release used badly. But please stop saying that press releases are dead. It’s really annoying for those of us who use them every day.

Here’s a recent poll on AdAge that I think you’ll find interesting.

I was bashed by a gossip columnist in our local paper once and a kind client sent me an email that said “Remember, bad press is like bad breath. It’s better than no breath at all.” Though at first I was embarrassed (particularly after she called me out yet again  on live TV) the next day I began to get congratulatory emails from Twin Cities media and others in the community. Apparently, this woman is so loathed that by hating on me, she unwittingly gave me a stamp of approval.

It’s a common conversation with my clients, many of whom are new to the media and concerned about their reputations. Should they be overly concerned with a bad review or just be glad they made it into XXX magazine?

Now we have proof that bad press may actually be good, particularly if you’re not well-known. (more…)

Without a good site strategy, it could be curtains for your PR campaign!

I can’t tell you how many times we’ve busted our butts to get media, especially bloggers, to consider a client only for them to tell me one of the following:

1. “Website took too long to load” or 2. “Couldn’t figure out what they do from their website” 3. “It’s all flash” or my favorite 4. “The website is down”

In public relations class we learned about the importance of understanding your ‘key publics’ – the audiences that include not only your customers but those that will heavily influence the success of your business. And that includes the media. Next step? Make sure all of your messaging is directed at least in part to ALL of your important key publics.

If you want exposure, the main way you’re going to get it is through media. The first place media will go is your website, but if they can’t find the information  they’re looking for, they’ll simply move on. So here’s a simple review list for your site – make sure you do this BEFORE you start promoting. Also, I’m providing an example of a company that gets it – the Natural Curtain Company. (more…)

I had a conversation with a fairly well-known mystery writer a few weeks ago talking about using social media to promote his newest book. His question to me was “Is anybody REALLY reading all these blogs?”

So when the topic of this #letsblogoff came up I thought it was a timely one. The answer I believe is that all blogs serve a purpose – but not necessarily the SAME purpose. I think of news sites like the Huffington Post and it’s obvious they serve the purpose of media 2.0. Many blogs, like this one for example, help draw attention to a particular company or service provider.  Some blogs provide a source of income and employment along with valuable content. (Think of Copyblogger) Others give voice to a community of like-minded people who may not necessarily be heard normally, like the Fatosphere And many are simply public diaries, fulfilling the need to express emotions and communicate whatever it is that writer is experiencing. Matt Logelin is a poignant example of one man who poured his grief and heart out online, finding solace and comfort in the process.

Many bloggers start writing with one purpose, or because they simply were told they ‘should’…and later on find the real purpose behind their blog and find the true inspiration to continue. There are others that never find their purpose and those blogs die quickly.

So do blogs really matter? As long as they serve a purpose…to the writer or the readers…then of course they do. And I ask you…What’s the purpose of YOUR blog?

Read what the other participants in this #letsblogoff think!