The Power Publicist

Archive for February, 2010

After sharing my ideas on surveys and getting publicity over the past week, I thought I share some more ideas to help you use surveys and polls effectively.

According to the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook (the leading writer’s guide for journalists), stories based on public opinion polls must include the basic
information for an intelligent evaluation of the results.

If you craft your news release to answer the AP’s suggested questions, you’re on your way to getting some great media coverage.

1. Who did the poll and who paid for it?
2. How many people were interviewed? How were they selected?
3. Who was interviewed? (The demographics of the people interviewed.)
4. How was the poll conducted — by telephone or some other way?
5. When was the poll taken?
6. What are the sampling error margins for the poll and for subgroups mentioned in the story?
7. What questions were asked and in what order?

And what happens when your survey is done? Recycle it!

Create a white paper, based on your research, to offer to current and potential customers and clients.

Then send a news release to industry reporters that you have a white paper available on a specific topic.

Need more help with creating a survey or poll for publicity? Grab a 30-minute publicity breakthrough now. You’ll get a one-on-one session with Shannon, and have all your publicity and marketing questions answered

Best laid plans.

Yesterday I was busy packing for Bob The Teacher’s Simple Event in Wilmington. My flight was leaving this morning, so I had plenty of time to relax before the event started on Friday.

Notice I said ‘was leaving.’ The fact of the matter is  it didn’t. My flight was canceled last night due to the first major snow storm of the season. (Some are actually calling it a ‘snow hurricane’!)

Here I was stuck at home… snowed under. I woke up early still because somehow my body told me I was suppose to be catching a plane even though my mind knew it was canceled.

While I was thinking of what I could do with my spare time, I realized it: we all get snowed under once in a while -whether it’s the weather or just something that overwhelms us.

So why not embrace it with a sale?

So I decided to create a 24-hour ‘Snowed Under Sale’ to help you get you out of your blizzard and understand some great marketing techniques and tactics. 

For $17, you’ll get 14 reports on topics including Twitter, StumbleUpon, YouTube, Web Copy, Upsells, Product Creation and more.

So join me in my cabin fever. Find out more about my Snowed Under Sale by visiting to http://www.beheardsolutions.com/snow.htm

Recently, we discussed why surveys and polls are a great way to get publicity.

Now here’s how to create a survey that the media will love.

1. Have plans for the results. In order to benefit from conducting a survey or poll, you have to plan in advance what you want to do with the results. Realize that while some responses may support what you intend to, they won’t always go your way. The best thing to do is to select a survey topic that can be interpreted as a newsworthy fresh angle no matter the outcome.
2. Cover controversy. You should always tie your area of expertise in with current headlines, particularly with a topic of controversy. Take a poll concerning how Americans feel about a heated topic and offer your own interpretation and explanation of the results. For example, relationship expert can capitalize on the recent Tiger Woods scandal and create a survey on what people think he should be doing to help his relationship.
3. Prove them wrong. When faced with survey or polling results opposite of what you had expected, chances are they are the opposite of what most people expected as well. When you prove a known fact or popular belief wrong, it generates curiosity and interest, therefore readers are more likely to be intrigued to read on. I helped a client conduct a survey of area brides. It turned out that most of the brides surveyed were ditching the traditional June wedding for fall dates. The results weren’t expected, but it made for great headlines in the media.
4. Start things off. Surveys and polls help to make your writing much more appealing. Even if you don’t want your release to revolve around statistics, you can add a little zest by starting it off with a face or two. For example, if you’re writing about the benefits of a hypo-allergenic pillow, you can start things off by offering statistics of Americans with allergies or Americans who sleep restlessly. This way, you clearly and strongly demonstrate the commonality of this problem in America and that will likely intrigue Americans to read on.
5. Create visual appeal. One thing that editors love is the visual that poll and survey results can offer. Depending on the type of survey or poll, use either a graph or chart if possible to enhance the presentation of the article. This will entice both editors and readers.

Looking to create a theme for your survey as part of a publicity campaign? Let Shannon help with a 30-minute Publicity Breakthrough session. Most people walk away with at least 6 months worth of PR ideas. Book yours today at http://www.publicitybreakthrough.com

I’ll be sharing more survey tips next time! So stay tuned.

In this week’s Monday Media Marketing Minute, I share how easy it can be to craft a lede (many call it a lead) for your press release.

And if you are looking for more help in crafting quality press releases that get media coverage, check out Penny Pinching Publicity.

Pick up almost any newspaper and you’re likely to see a story based on the results of a poll or survey. Sometimes, these stories may be no more than a few paragraphs, but the publicity garnered from such a story is immeasurable.

Surveys and polls are popular because they are easy to write, from the
reporter’s point of view – and for the audience – there’s a ‘gee whiz’ factor
and a way that they can compare themselves to others.

For the small business owner, it’s easy to create a survey that can help your
business. It can:

• Create awareness of the company
• Promote a product
• Piggyback on a holiday or event for a bigger story
• Promote the owner as an expert
• Draw traffic to a website

Conducting a poll or a survey is actually quite a simple process. You need at least 100 people to participate; all you have to do is have colleagues or clients check a few boxes on a photocopied form in order to generate an outcome.

Or you can use more high tech ways and create an online survey. Many online companies, including Survey Gizmo (the one I use) and Survey Monkey, can make the job easy.

Next time, I’ll share some pointers on how to develop a survey that the media will love.

Looking help to develop a great survey or poll to enhance your credibility and visibility? You can now pick Shannon’s brain for 30-minutes to get a complete, easy-to-do publicity campaign. Go to http://www.publicitybreakthrough.com