When the economy gives us a run for the money, it's time to get your do-it-yourself publicity skills in great shape so you can navigate the rocky roads and keep your business visible and inviting to those who need what you have to offer.
Whether you are inviting Oprah's attention or the attention of your hometown media, it's essential to lead with a provocative idea that is much bigger than selling more products and services. If your primary focus is selling more stuff, most editors would ask you to simply buy an ad.
If you want media coverage, you've got to make your story newsworthy and make clear why anyone should care about your news. And you've got to offer valuable lessons learned, tips, or other useful suggestions from which the readers, listeners, or viewers can benefit.
The folks at Zook Hooks want to sell more purse hangers. A story hook that led with "Is your purse making you sick?" captured media attention and invited stories from a wide range of local and online media.
The folks at Darwins Pet Products want to sell more natural pet food. During the pet food poisoning crisis earlier this year, the company invited to the media to share what is safe to feed pets right now. Taking a broader view resulted in front page news story coverage in the Seattle PI and several other prominent local placements.
And, when an abnormal mammogram led Jean Thompson, the CEO of Seattle Chocolate Company, to launch a cause-related initiative to raise money for breast cancer research, leading with a delicious and beautifully packaged Extreme Dark Chocolate Truffle Bar, that was reason enough for O The O Magazine to take note.
If you are in the financial services business, now is the time to share useful, practical, and time-tested tips to navigate a challenging economy.
If you are someone who owns a consignment shop that makes it easier than ever to look fashionable on a tight budget and do the right thing for the Earth at the same time, now is the time to share your story and serve those who need what you offer right now.
That is exactly the message that Sandra Alonzo of Queens Closet delivered to Dan Voelpel, business columnist for the Tacoma News Tribune. Sandra felt an immediate and decisive impact at the cash register as a result of Dan's glowing story on her company's behalf.
Always lead with something bigger than selling more stuff, and your stories will be well served. Lead with being of service and easing pain, and your DIY publicity campaign will have fuel to propel you to a higher level of media awareness and success -- now when you need more of both.
Learn more about the author, Nancy Juetten.
Thank you for helping others to realize their individual purpose of serving others with value and consistency. For these are the litmus test times in every business.
The big picture in this global economy is that we are all a sneeze away from effecting each other globally.
Stay the course of your brilliance, your intuition and your gifts. And as Nancy says "Lead the way with something bigger than selling more stuff and your tories will be well served."
Nancy rocks!
Nancy,
Thanks for this article. You are absolutely right that in these chaotic times we need to manage our reputation and lead the way with positive ideas about how our business can help.
And, we can use this positive message and work to promote our business very cost effectively too. In these times when every penny counts.
I'm working on some of those messages myself right now.
thanks nancy!
As usual, You always do such a good job with grounding your recommendations will real life examples that help connect the dots for us all.
Thanks Nancy.
Steve
What a terrific article. I couldn't agree more. I always suggest that the businesses I work with try to market and promote themselves in more genuine ways. When it comes to the media, as Nancy says, if you serve them delicious news instead of stuffing them with dry data and information, you create a new path for sales to happen in a more authentic way.
The challenge is that we aren’t always the best at knowing how to do this for our own businesses. It helps to have an objective and media-savvy perspective and that’s where someone like Nancy comes in. She’s a master at knowing how to do this and is always full of real-world examples and plenty of success stories to share.
Her advice works! -Whitney Keyes www.WhitneyKeyes.com
What a terrific post, it couldn't be any more true than in today's economy.
Thanks everyone for the encouraging words. Now, everyone, get into action to tell your stories. Now, we all need some good news right about now in the face of today's dreary headlines.
Great article...now I just need to think of how I can apply your idea to my own business.
nancy,
you're a true genius of giving short powerful examples of what works. if anyone is looking for a publicist they should hire you right now.
susan harrow prsecrets.com
Another terrific article Nancy! All too often people get stuck in thinking about their business from their own perspective. The problem is that then they're only thinking about their goals and what's important to them.
As you pointed out, this rarely makes for good news. I've found the key to getting noticed, whether with a press release or any other kind of marketing, is to put yourself in your client's (or the potential reader's) shoes and talk about something that's important to them.
If your business is a viable one, then surely you must have something of value to offer beyond your products and services. Find ways to help them solve a problem, then follow Nancy's advice, and you're sure to get noticed.
Stacy --- Stacy Karacostas success-stream.com
Great tips and tools Nancy!
While it may not feel natural to go to pain points, that is where most clients dwell in times like these. If you have a solution, present it. I have found that remembering I am in service to relieve anxiety or pain, takes care of feeling unsure about highlighting the paint points for others.
Thank you for being in service to us!
Great article!
But easier said than done sometimes. I have tried many different angles when submitting story ideas to newspapers and TV stations--even as recent as a week ago, tying in how my website can help during this difficult economy (we pay users to list their ads and auctions, instead of charging fees), and still no bites--YET.
But I do like your concept of leading with something bigger. It's a concept I've tried to utilize, just haven't seen results yet.
Hopefully one day in the future...
Thanks again for a great article!
Good article, thank you. I hear only really good things about you and the article shows why my colleagues think so highly of you. Now I am going directly to Melanie's website.
Nancy your article is very eye opening . Right now im involved in a lot of advertising and is paying of but, building stories from people's perspective is even better. We just have to come with a very good idea for my market, med spa services; and then put them to work. if you have any experience on this specific field, please let me know. thanks Nelly
Whatever you have to share, timing is everything. I'd recommend spending time between now and the election brewing on big ideas to share AFTER the election. Once that decision is made, people will get back to a more normal pattern and be receptive to other information.
One idea that comes to mind is holiday gifts to share that are experiences as opposed to things. We are coming upon that time of year, so the timeliness of that could play well to your favor.
Medical spa services are something that baby boomers in particular might enjoy. What are the trends? What are the most popular services and why? Do you have celebrity clients? What is especially interesting or provocative about what is happening in your industry, your practice, and your customers? Have you found that business is especially up right now, even in a down economy? Is there anything counter intuitive going on that would be surprising or remarkable for others to learn?
See if these ideas get you moving in a new direction to craft something that is timely, newsworthy, relevant, trend worthy, local, and -- most importantly -- interesting. That is the key.
Nancy, thanks for the great article....I found that positive news is hard to come by these days but there are resources that do report the positive in these negative times. Check out http://www.knownnewsgoodnews.blogspot.com/
The first step to your publicity efforts is attending a PubliciTEA. An excellent experience and great information.
Thanks April. I am so glad you got value from your experience, and I know you are going to put all the lessons you learned to excellent use to promote the ideas and causes that matter most to you. I can't wait to learn what YOU have brewing!
Nancy
Thanks for the great article, Nancy! I hear the event with Susan was a big hit, too. (from Cynthia Chomos).
Gotta go put press release on my to do list!
Thanks Kate. The Grande Sized Publici-Tea was well received, and many of the event guests are already in action to build the buzz about their products, ideas, causes, and expertise. That is hugely rewarding for both Susan Harrow and me.
I can't wait until the next one on Nov. 14. Check it out at www.publicitea.com.
Best of luck to you!
Nancy
Bookmark article
Follow article
Email to a friend
Share article
