Archive for PR

Record, Review and Improve

August 10, 2007 at 4:03 pm · Filed under PR, Presentation, Public Relations, Public Speaking

Here are two ways to improve the quality of your speeches –

  1. Get feedback from people in your audience that you know and trust – and act on it.
  2. Record your speeches and review them later.

The first method is easy to implement (provided you can find people in your audience who you can trust to be straightforward and honest). If you rely on people coming up to you after the event and saying “great speech”, then you’ll never get better. You need to work a bit harder than that. Anyway, I’m sure you can figure out what you have to do. The second method – recording your speeches – is s bit more tricky. If you speak at an event where recordings are made, there’s no problem, though it’s worth checking in advance that you can get a copy of your speech. If you need to record it yourself, you need a good-quality recorder and lapel mike (or lavalier as it is known in the trade). I use a Roland R-09 digital recorder and an AudioTechnica ATR35s lavalier, which I find brilliant, but whatever you choose, make sure you test it thoroughly first. Incidentally, if you want advice on sound equipment, have a word with my good friend Fergus McClelland. He’s a sound and voice expert, and a great speaker too. When you have your recording, sit down somewhere quiet and listen to it a few times, stopping the recording to make notes. Try to find at least two things to improve from every speech. If you stick to this discipline, you’ll keep getting better – and your reputation will grow. DON‘T BE SHY If you want to appear on radio or TV (or appear more often, if you already do), then you need to be proactive. You may be the acknowledged expert in your field, but if reporters have never heard of you, they will never call. Some people employ publicists to help them raise their profile in the media. This can work well, but there is a lot you can do yourself. If you see or hear news about something that you are an expert in, contact the TV or radio station immediately, explaining why they should interview you. Quote books, articles, websites, speeches or whatever evidence you can provide that singles you out as the person to speak to. The important thing is to move quickly. In the immediate aftermath of a news event, reporters are desperate to file a story, and will talk to whoever they can find who is either a “witness” (even if they live a mile away from the event, and only heard a noise), or an expert. There will almost always be other experts who know more than you, but that doesn’t matter – you need to be first. So don’t be shy. When the time comes, make that call. By Alan Stevens, Media Coach www.mediacoach.co.uk

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Watch The Clock

July 31, 2007 at 8:52 am · Filed under Media Coaching, Online PR, PR, Public Relations, Public Speaking

You need to have a good idea of time when you are speaking. Going on for too long will upset your audience, and may not allow sufficient time for questions. Finishing too early could be equally embarrassing, particularly if the next speaker is not ready (or worse yet, has not arrived). Always rehearse so that you know how much time you will take. Remember that when you are nervous, you may speak more quickly, so make a conscious effort to slow down and stay on schedule. Most important of all, make sure that you can see a clock or a watch while you are speaking – but don’t keep looking at your wrist! MEDIA MYTHS There are lots of misconceptions about the media. Here are a couple. I need to ring journalists to make sure they have received my press release, and see if they are going to use it<br>
Er…No. This is the first job given to a press office trainee to make them realise that it is not a good idea. Never pester a journalist about press releases. They’ll contact you if they want more information. I should ignore freelance journalists – they move around too much.No again. Freelance journalists should be cultivated, because they move around. They work for more journals and broadcasters, are more experienced, and likely to be career professionals. Aim at developing a long-term relationship with them. By Alan Stevens, Media Coach www.mediacoach.co.uk

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Presentation and Media Tips of the Week

July 24, 2007 at 1:45 pm · Filed under PR, Presentation, Press Releases, Public Speaking

Presentation Tip of the Week

 PERFECT PITCHING (part 2) Here’s the second batch of tips to help your business presentations –

  1. Ask Qualifier Questions: To ensure that you’re targeting the right person with the right message, ask a couple of questions about their decision-making powers
  2. Tailor Your Pitch to Your Audience: To investors, the pitch focuses on your team and how you plan to make money. To customers, your focus should be on the problem you can solve for them. Potential partners want to know what you’re building, why it’s important, and why you’re going to be a success.
  3. Show Your Passion: A good pitch makes your heart race. Show the fire in the belly and your passion to succeed.
  4. Conclude With a Call to Action: Always end your pitch with a call to action, but recognize that different audiences prompt different requests.
  5. Tell a Consistent Story: Make sure that your managers and other key individuals, such as investors and board members, can also give your company’s elevator pitch fluently. Nothing sounds worse than fumbling, inaccurate or contradictory company descriptions.

Now – go and win that contract!

Media Tip of the Week

 HOW TO RUIN A PRESS RELEASE (part 2) Here are five more ways to get it wrong –

  1. Use jargon and unexplained abbreviations. Your audience probably won’t have the same level of understanding as your clients.
  2. Don’t bother with quotes. In order to give real interest to a story, quotes are vital.
  3. Avoid any controversy. Don’t be boring – would you read a boring article?
  4. Let someone else write and check the release. Who is the expert?
  5. Give only email contact details. Better make sure you take your computer to bed if you do this.

So – you won’t do any of those ever again, will you?

By Alan Stevens, Media Coach www.mediacoach.co.uk

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Get Noticed – 17th April 2007

April 27, 2007 at 10:21 am · Filed under Media Coaching, PR

This month our PR spotlight is on Julie Woodard of www.maroque.co.uk who has been a PR coaching client for approximately 5 months. The Moroccan food, beauty products and homewares from www.maroque.co.uk have been featured in BBC Homes, BBC Antiques, Period Ideas, She, House and Garden, Instyle, The Sunday Times, Saturday Telegraph, and The Evening Standard. 

Read on to find out what works for Julie…Julie, how much time do you spend on PR?
—————————————-
I aim to spend about 6 hours a week on all PR/Marketing activities. I would like to spend more, but spending 6 would be nice on a more regular basis.

What PR activities have you found that work for you?
—————————————————-
Articles work really well, even if they don’t use the article straight away, they come back. Product emails are useful, as it keeps the awareness there (and once the list is done, it’s fairly straightforward to do).Competitions are a fairly cheap way of getting yourself known and even better if you get the contact list of all entrants 


Where are you now with your relationships with the press?
————————————————— 
Fine if I can get hold of them. I need to work on building relationships, so they think of coming to me for anything Moroccan, foreign, exotic.
What do you enjoy least?
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The time taken in getting hold of people. And sometimes they can be plain rude.Also getting started. Faced with a big PR list, I can turn procrastination into an art form. 


What’s been your highest point so far PR-wise?
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Having House and Garden phone up and say they would be using a part of my article I sent to them about 4 months earlier. And could they have the products to photograph. I was definitely on a major PR high that day, I could do anything.And your lowest?
——————
First time phoning beauty editors, I had no idea people could be so rude.I have since watched the film Devil wears Prada, and I’m sure I spoke to several of them. It took a while and Paula’s talking to Journalists course to regain the confidence to pick up the phone to them again. 

What have you learnt?
——————– 
To me, help and guidance are essential. I floundered around like a fish out of water not quite knowing where to start, until I joined Paula’s coaching sessions. The results are amazing and from a small business point, where you can find time (not easily) but cash is tight the results are amazing. PR certainly made a big different to my sales, where as advertising didn’t.

What advice do you have to give?
——————————–
It is most definitely worth putting the time into PR. But get the right support; it makes your time more productive. 

What did you find helpful about your PR course and coaching with Do Your Own PR?
————————————————————————————– 
The monthly coaching sessions are invaluable to as it gives me the structure I need, support and someone to brainstorm ideas with. The writing newsletter course was brilliant as it gave me a formula to work from, which made the task of writing them less daunting.

And finally, can you link a rise in turn over with PR?
——————————————————
I strongly believe PR had had a very positive effect on increasing by turnover. I set myself a target turnover to achieve in a set period, spending the time and money on PR and I far exceeded my target and even my expectations.

By Paula Gardner, Founder of www.doyourownpr.com

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PR: Take It In Your Own Hands Or Hand It Over?

March 30, 2007 at 8:30 pm · Filed under PR, Press Releases, Public Relations

Facing facts

PR and marketing will help your business become more successful. But the obvious downside of a successful business is that you personally will no longer have as much time to devote to PR and marketing.

But handing it over to someone else is a risk – how can you be sure that they’ll communicate the passion that fired you up to start the business in the first place?

Your choices
———–

As you grow and find yourself in this position you really ultimately have four choices.

1. To grow but still retain control, personally, of all your PR and marketing. It may sound great but this is very stressful and if you’re planning on doing your PR full time, then why aren’t you running a PR company? It’s not impossible, but to carry out this option successfully you’ll need to be extremely disciplined.

2. To hand over PR and marketing responsibilities to another member or members of staff, and train them up to be responsible for this area.

3. To bring in a PR professional in-house.

4. To employ outside help from a PR company or practitioner.

Let’s take a look at what doing your own PR long-term actually involves. Whether you are planning to outsource your PR or not, this will give you a breakdown of the different tasks involved. You may find that you feel you and your business will be able to handle them no problem, or it may send you into a cold panic where you realise that you’d better start looking around for a PR company pretty damn quick!

Research
——–
 
This involves keeping up to date with newspapers, websites, trade and professional publications, magazines, radio shows and TV.

Planning your PR strategy
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This includes market research into what image you need to project to your potential customers and devising a plan with a suitable timescale. To be honest, even if you have a PR company you’ll need to be on top and driving this one.

Building relationships with journalists and editors
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This could involve lunches, networking, and going to trade events where you know they will be covering stories. The beauty of doing your own PR is that these contacts are yours and won’t be with-held by The PR company or leave with them when an account executive goes onto their next job.

Writing PR material
——————-

This could include web pages, press releases, articles for inclusion on your own and other websites (in exchange for links), articles for the press, newsletters and regular tips and hints for editors. Sometimes the clients still end up doing this even if they have a PR company.

Day to day PR
————-

Chasing up press releases and phoning journalist with a story; giving interviews; following up past “bites” or interviews to see when article are being published; arranging for photos, links, photographs etc; placing competitions; buying publications and organising cuttings to most effectively impress potential clients.

And, of course, co-ordinating all the above so that they run smoothly!

Pros and Cons
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Learning How to Do Your Own PR (either individually, or as a team)
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Pros

* You retain control of the way things go.
* The contacts you make are your own and you can build relationships with the press.
* You can portray the passion behind the business much more effectively than someone who is being paid to do so.
* You and your team will learn skills and unleash abilities along the way that will benefit other parts of your business.
* This is often the cheapest option.

Cons

* Time consuming!
* If you suddenly thrust PR responsibilities on a member of staff who didn’t sign up for this when they started it can cause bad feeling.

Bringing a PR Person In-house
————————–

Pros

* You’ll get all their abilities, contacts and skills – just for you.
* They can immerse themselves in company culture and product much more easily and hopefully be able to communicate that better than someone on the outside.

Cons

* Cost plus all the other risks associated with taking on staff.

Hiring a PR Person or Agency
————————–

Pros

* You have access to their contacts
* It frees up your time.

Cons

* This can be a very expensive option and fees can run away unless you watch them carefully.
*You could competing for their time with higher paying clients.

My own opinion?
—————-

I firmly believe that small businesses, while they are small, are the best people to do their PR. It’s easier for them to inspire the press with excitement and the skills you pick up can be phenomenal. And once a relationship with the press has been built it’s more effective to bring in more people into the business to carry that on, and keep it yours, than hand it over to an outside party.

OUR 30 DAY ECOURSE
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This has just been revamped to take account of the evolving methods of doing PR that the internet and technology are bringing. The course is delivered over email for 30 days. It covers the basic foundations of a PR campaign such as finding your market, writing a press release, how to send it out to journalists and follow up, as well as how to get on the radio, organise a press launch and put together a tip sheet.

It also includes personal feedback from me with suggestions of things you can de doing right now to kick-start your PR.

You can read more about the course here:

http://www.doyourownpr.com/EMZ%20-3900/products/ecourses.asp

And of course, even if you are considering having an agency at some point in the future, doing this course will mean that you understand the mechanics of PR, know what to expect from them and can tell if they are giving you your money’s worth!

And Finally..
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When the Chocolate Ecstasy Tour founder (http://www.chocolateecstasytours.com/) Jennifer Ehrle came on one of my PR workshops a couple of years ago I knew that one day I was going to have to try them out. So, two weeks ago I spent one of the most delightful days of my life on a chocolate ecstasy tour of London! It took us around 6 of the top chocolateries – with lots of tasting and goodies in each of them. I really can’t recommend it enough, especially if you love really good chocolate or know someone who does. I was amazed to find that chocolate can be just as esoteric as wine, with premier cru plantations!

Anyway, you can find out more here: (http://www.chocolateecstasytours.com/)

Until next time,
Paula Gardner
www.doyourownpr.com

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Evaluate your PR Effectiveness

March 18, 2007 at 8:16 pm · Filed under Media Coaching, PR, PR in Fashion, Press Releases, Public Relations

PR is a very effective method of gaining exposure, managing reputation, increasing sales and achieving long term recognition and customer loyalty. 

PR can make the difference between a brand being known or unknown, add positive spins to negative news and overall manage the perception people have of your company or brand.

But other than seeing the long term results for yourself, how do you evaluate your PR effectiveness?

Media evaluation should be an ingredient in assessing how your PR is working. With media evaluation you are evaluating how your company’s reputation or its
products or services are re
presented in the media and comparing this to the competition.There are a number of measurements and judgements to make when evaluating your media coverage:

  • Where and when the article and/or broadcast appeared.
  • The degree to which messages were picked up i.e. were your website or contact details
    printed?  Did the article address your key messages and summarise your brand accurately? 
  • Was the item generated by you / your PR agent?
  • The weight of the media – i.e.: circulation and audience and the relevance to the target audience.
  • The balance and tone of the publicity and the degree of favourability i.e. how positive was it?  Was it an accurate re
    presentation of your brand?
  • Impact of visual material – Did the article include an image to sell your brand visually?
  • Comment or opinion – how accurate and positive was it?
  • Size or length of article or broadcast – the space of the article can be quantified, half a page in a top magazine such as Grazia is worth thousands of pounds yet also the content is important as it needs to address all of your key information where possible.

If all of the above is accounted for,
press coverage can result in increased sales, often stock being sold out if it
proves popular and long term recognition which results in a loyal customer base for you.

The more your brand is seen and heard in the right places, the more recognition you will receive and your customers will soon think of you first the next time they look for your area of
product.

By Bethanie Lunn, Founder of Huge Promotions www.hugepromotions.co.uk

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Perfect Timing

March 18, 2007 at 1:47 pm · Filed under Media Coaching, PR, Press Releases, Public Relations

You can have the best story, but if the timing is wrong, the media won’t be interested. You need to find out media deadlines if you are to have the best chance of getting coverage. Here are some things to think about

  • Don’t give a story to a weekly if it has appeared in other weeklies
  • Check feature deadlines for monthlies – they are many weeks before publication
  • Give reporters time to write the story
  • Be available for comment around deadline time
  • If you miss a feature deadline, try a “letter to the editor”. Deadlines are much shorter.

In every case, find out as much as you can about deadlines – they can make or break your story.

By Alan Stevens, Media Coach www.mediacoach.co.uk 

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PR Success Story

March 6, 2007 at 10:07 pm · Filed under Media Coaching, PR, PR in Fashion, Press Releases, Public Relations

Sue Donnelly of www.accentuate.me.uk initially came on a workshop that I did with media coach Joanne Mallon in 2004. She then went on to complete a Do Your Own PR 30 day ecourse and has regularly been in touch with updates on her PR successes which include:

Style writer for Health Plus with regular paid features and a monthly Gorgeous Clinic column (alongside Bharti Vyas, Jo Fairley and Daniel Galvin); regular contributor for Peterborough Evening Telegraph, Stamford Mercury, Norwich Evening News, ESP and Embrace magazines and articles in Psychologies, Essentials, My Weekly and Prima. I also was invited onto the Trisha show and have been quoted on BBC Radio Leeds and the Daily Mail.

Sue, how much time do you spend on PR?
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I’d like to say that I have a regular weekly slot to do PR but, in reality, I tend to have splurges when something captures my imagination or if I feel I have to something to contribute. This usually tends to occur every quarter rather than every week. I have 3 books published and they have provided me with great article ideas relevant to their subject matter and whatever might be happening in the media at the time. I am aware that I need to work in advance so I will plan Christmas and summer holiday articles at least 2 months before they actually occur.

What PR activities have you found that work for you?
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My first PR successes did not centre about what I do – Image Coaching – but what drove my decision to become one. I wrote articles about my change of career in my mid – 40’s and the why, what and how this had come about. Magazines at the time were interested as ‘40 is the new 20′ was in vogue and I was featured in 2 or 3 national women’s magazines.

 As a result, I was offered the column with Health Plus. I’ve kept this in mind when contacting the media. It’s not what you do but how you can inspire their readers that counts. You need to think outside the box. I always look at different magazines and try to gauge their typical reader and the type of articles they would like to read. I also keep my eye on the news and make sure my article is relevant and topical. My knowledge as an image expert gives me credibility but it’s not always the main focus of the story.

My exposure in the press gave me recognition within my own industry and I was invited to become an Executive Director for The Federation of Image Consultants. In turn, this has also lead to further PR opportunities as one of their spokespeople.

Where are you now with your relationships with the press?
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I have really good relationships with the local press and they often come to my home to interview me and take photographs. I’m also used for quotes on a frequent basis. Embrace magazine used my face as their cover (a nice surprise!) and as a result, I was recognised in the street on more than one occasion. It’s strange when you’re having a coffee in a local cafe or at your local gym and your face is staring back at you from the magazine rack!

What do you enjoy least?
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Making that initial call. I’ve always had a real dislike of any kind of cold calling and believe the recipient will think I’m a nuisance or unnecessary distraction. I’ve got over this a little but I still chicken out on occasion and send a letter or an email instead.

You can check out Sue’s company at www.accentuate.me.uk.

THIS WEEK’S ECOURSE
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If like Sue you tend to put off cold calling journalists then this week’s featured ecourse will help you get over this and build strong relationships with members of the press. The cold calling ecourse features 5 days of course work followed by a telephone one to one session with me where we work on your pitch so that you feel calm and comfortable when talking to the press. For more details see here:
http://www.doyourownpr.com/products/the_cold_calling_crash_course.asp

By Paula Gardner, Founder of  www.doyourownpr.com

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Become a Guru

March 3, 2007 at 12:36 pm · Filed under Media Coaching, PR, Personal Branding, Public Relations, Public Speaking

If you ever watch business programmes on TV, you will have seen a chap called Justin Urquhart Stewart, co-founder of Seven Investment Management. He wears red braces, is bespectacled, and always explains complex financial issues in simple terms. For this reason, he is beloved by producers and presenters alike. So frequent are his appearances, he used to be known as Justin Ubiquitous Stockbroker. You can become the same type of figure for your industry. Instead of you trying to get on the media, the media will come to you. How to achieve it? Well, it’s not difficult, but it will take a little time. If you don’t already do so, start off with local radio appearances and articles for trade journals and websites. Make sure that you have an entry on Expertsources. Gradually build up your profile, and you will find that, like the person who builds a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door. How to get on local radio, and to get your articles accepted? Ah – you need to come and hear me speak, or buy my new DVD, available next month (crude attempt to build marketing momentum).

By Alan Stevens, Media Coach www.mediacoach.co.uk

 

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Making Industry Connections to Foster Campaigns

March 3, 2007 at 12:26 pm · Filed under Networking, PR

Connecting people working within the same industry is always an interesting one… I am currently working on a market sector initiative for the North West Development Agency, and also seeing market sector groups develop within Striding Out, so at the moment I am exploring approaches to mobilising these market connections in the most effective and productive way!

At first some entrepreneurs can be adverse to it, as they feel a threat of sharing knowledge and ideas with competitors, but at the same time it also opens a forum for sharing experience and collaboration, to help improve the quality of business performance. Networking with others within the marketplace can mobilise partnerships for bulk-buying or tendering for procurement contracts, it may stimulate mergers to generate new commercial strands or investment raising, and it also encourages innovation and raises benchmarks for the industry.

For example two entrepreneurs working in the same industry could share alot about their experience of marketing channels! It’s one of the best routes for wasting money when you run a business so sharing knowledge of the most effective marketing routes is always a good idea….at the end of the day it’s not going to be the marketing channel that win’s you the business, it’s going to be your brand and the quality of the business behind it.

I think it’s important to remember that the sea is big enough for everyone and there are plenty of fish to catch, the emphasis has to be on creating your own individual brand and quality of service that makes your business appeal to the audience you want to attract. The best will come out on top….healthy competition can help to raise the quality of your service.

One of the other strands emerging from this work, is the importance of campaigning tools to raise a profile of a market sector with a focus on Strategic PR. This is particularly relevent to the social/ethical enterprise sector as they set out to make a positive difference. Campaigning is a tool that Anita Roddick used to launch the Body Shop from an high street cosmetics shop to an international cosmetics brand.

Within Striding Out I am really excited to see the emergence of one particular market sector focussed on Responsible Tourism. Within the community, we have entrepreneurs directly running or selling responsible travel holidays including Amy from www.bespokeexperience.com , Ben from www.tribewanted.com , and Tom from www.travelroots.com . We have campaign and awareness raising entrepreneurs including Helen from www.globalsense.org.uk and Stephen from www.maketravelfair.com and we also have entepreneurs who have previously worked for Tourism Concern and Responsible Travel. Together they are sharing experience, expertise and connections, and it’s the start of a pool of passionate influential individuals who are collaborating to campaign on responsible travel practices.  

At Striding Out we see it as our role to connect people who are working in similar industries to mobilise this pool of expertise and passion and to encourage shared working and campaigning, to make a greater impact than working alone.

Best Wishes

Heather Wilkinson, Director of www.stridingout.co.uk

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