The Power Publicist

Archive for February, 2009

It always surprises me how many potential clients come to me with one thing in mind: they want to be on Oprah.

And often they come to me because I’ve done it for clients, not once but three times!

What they don’t realize is that you need to be ready when the phone rings and the person on the other end of the line is an Oprah Winfrey Show producer.

But here’s a little secret. Most people aren’t ready. As a matter of fact, one of my former clients went out of business, because they hadn’t built their brand or their platform.

Hey, there’s only so much that I can do.

That’s why I turn my clients to Suzanne Falter-Barnes. She helps folks like you create a REAL brand… not just a logo or fancy website, but a real platform that makes you find your people and attract media attention.

The only reason so many Net-based businesses don’t make it is that they get lost in the shuffle. They disappear. They don’t stand out … all because they have no niche, and even less brand.

They’re missing the critical ingredient – an offering that’s just what their people crave - and that only THEY can offer.

Yet, when done right – the media really will call you, and help you develop a large, eager pack of customers, readers and fans.

Check out her video that explains even more about the program:

Find out how she can help you be visiting: http://tinyurl.com/getknownnow

Yes, they are finally over. And whether you agreed that Heath Ledger deserved the Oscar for his Joker role or not*, there is a lesson to be learned for all would- be publicity seekers.

Awards are a true winner for media coverage.

And there are two ways you can take advantage of this.

1) Create an award on behalf of your organization. You can then develop a complete PR plan to promote your award, including  taking nominations, announcing finalists, and announcing the award winner.

2) If you do win an award – or get some kind of honor, send a press release to your local news organizations. Many small newspapers love to write about such things.

*I truly believe that Ledger deserved to win for his role in Brokeback Mountain, but the now feeling guilty Academy needed to make up for it by giving him the Oscar for the Dark Knight role.

Image credit: Joeno, on Flickr

Sure, they sound exciting and even viral on the surface, but publicity stunts, unless strategically planned can really harm you and your business, rather than help it.

I know there are plenty of public relations folks out there who will tell you to create your stunt and the news – and media coverage – will come.  And even some will say there’s no such thing as bad publicity.

But you’d be wrong to think it.

Take, for example, the mom, who recently had octuplets. Everything thing about her situation smells like a PR stunt to me – and one that she didn’t think through.

She didn’t realize the backlash this would have on her – and her life. She didn’t see how it would affect her family (all 14 kids!), and it appears really thought she could get famous – and make some money in the process.

Well, she did get famous. But not in the way she expected. She isn’t celebrated. She pitied and scorned. And soon her 15 minutes will be up- and she’s left with 14 children to care for.

If she thought strategically about this – and got a PR firm involved before she went on this quest to have 8 babies all at once, perhaps she would have found a better way to create publicity for herself.  (I had two at once – and can tell you it’s no pleasure trip!)

Before you embark on any publicity stunt, find out what setbacks and threats may happen after you do your PR stunt.  You may end up realizing that it’s not worth the effort after all.

And if you still aren’t certain if you should do a public relations stunt, I have a little famous video to share with you. (It’s the best of the the worst publicity stunt EVER!)

Almost 95% of mompreneurs don’t market themselves consistently. Many people think getting a business phone line, buying business cards and setting up a website should get people knowing down the door to get their products or services.

It’s just not enough in today’s marketplace. The key is that you need to dedicate at least 20% of your time and resources to continued marketing efforts.

Even I – a professional marketer – made that mistake in my first year of business. Sure, I began marketing myself when I first started my business. But then the work started coming in and I pushed marketing off to the side.

When I finished all my client work, and the money was starting to dwindle, I ended up starting all over again with my marketing efforts.

What I learned was consistent marketing efforts will keep people in your pipeline.

As mompreneurs, we’re very busy people but dropping the ball on marketing can actually hurt you, rather than help you.

And there are a ton of issues that are unique to mompreneurs, and you can find out more about them – and how to solve them.

To be honest with you…moms have it tougher than your average person. Yes, we’re all time-challenged. But no matter how far we’ve come in gender equality, women are expected to juggle more.

We are still maternal. It’s in our DNA. No turning that off. We want our children to thrive and be successful at everything from infancy to adulthood. And of course we want to make enough money financially to afford the freedoms that brings.

And how can you speed up the learning curve? With the Savvy Mompreneurs Telesummit, that’s happening next week.  Check out all the details at http://www.tinyurl.com/savvymom

You’ll hear from mom entrepreneurs who are making a great living while enjoying family life, including:

• Lorrie Morgan Ferraro
• Alexis Martin Neely
• Carla Young
• and even yours truly!

Won’t you join me at Savvy Mompreneurs Telesummit?

Another issue of Be Heard!, the free weekly ezine is now available.

In it, I share a little of what my kids have taught me about marketing, contacts from Fitness magazine and much more.

Visit Be Heard! here to read it online, or better yet, click the ad on the top right and get it delivered to your inbox every Tuesday. (Plus you’ll get my free publicity power pack, just for signing up!)