Casual Articles - Business

How to Get More Visibility, Increase Your Influence, and Get More Referrals
Earlier today I was helping a client develop a better strategy to generate more referrals from local businesses. While that particular client owns an orthodontic practice, the ideas I gave him will work equally well in your business.Before I tell you the specifics, let’s first establish two premises:1. Other entrepreneurs don't care about helping you as much as they care about building their own business.2. In order to maximize the return on your time invested into networking with local professionals, you need to stop thinking one-to-one and start thinking one-to-many.Keeping those two things in mind let's explore for a moment how most professionals approach building a strategic referral partnership.The "let's have lunch" strategy.Frankly I hate wasting my precious time on chit-chatting with strangers over a so-so meal. There is just too much involved for too little in return. There is coordinating of the schedules, commute time, schmoozing and “learning” about each other’s business (most often it’s like probing for the best way to squeeze in one’s pitch for their service or product). Finally, after 45 or 60 minutes of this “conversation”, comes the drea

s have been a major news topic. The media reports gas prices at the pump along with the commodity futures prices almost every day. You can’t pick up a paper or turn on the TV without being bombarded with news about gas.

Does Your Website Organization Annoy Customers?
Just for the fun of it, pretend you're a customer, and want to know something about your product or service. Then go check out your own web site. Hopefully you'll find that it's fast and easy to get around and all the links make sense.Not everyone can say that, and my bet is that they're losing customers as a result.For instance, I just tried to find out about having a fishing reel repaired. The web address was right on the box, so that part was easy. But then I got to the page.First I just saw a picture of a man fishing and the name of the company. I waited a minute or two to see if something else would appear, but it didn't. A few years ago I would have left, but today I clicked around on the page until it went somewhere.Eventually I found a menu and an item called "Warranty and Repairs." OK, now I'm getting somewhere. So I clicked, and there was that man again! This time there was a small menu beneath his picture and I found "Warranty and Repairs" again. So I clicked.Lucky for me, they did have a phone number listed, but then there was advice to contact the nearest service center. So I clicked, and guess what! There's that man for a third time. This time I found a menu

If your company is the publicly-traded market leader in your industry you can stop reading this because even the most mundane press release about some boring event at your company will make the major media news outlets. For the rest of you, you will have to be more creative if you want to get the media to cover your news.

Publicity is just one aspect of an overall integrated marketing campaign and something that we at EMDCO.com take very seriously, and not so seriously, because it’s part art and part science. When we put together a publicity campaign for our clients, we strive to report on populace aspects of their news stories that will have a better chance of gaining media attention.

What do I mean by populace aspects? They are twists to your plain vanilla news story that will help to get media coverage – the story around the story that impacts the general public. Unless you incorporate one of the 5 twists that make a story compelling to a reporter, you’re sunk. Most companies aren’t big enough to command news coverage. What do I mean by big enough? Their news doesn’t affect the majority of the population. That’s why your press release about hiring a new Vice President of Sales will make the local paper at best, and that’s if it’s a slow news day and they have room to print it.

The fact of the matter is that the media just doesn’t care about your news. You have to have a story that will affect most if not all of the readers of the publication. Just think about how hard it is to get an appointment with your prospects. If they don’t care about your products or services, what makes you think the media is going to fall in love with your story?

We’ve uncovered 5 twists to look for in your news angle if you want to get media coverage. The reporter is interested in pleasing the editor and the editor is interested in printing stories that will sell their magazine or newspaper. That’s it. They don’t care about your company. And if you continue to create vanilla press releases and uneventful publicity campaigns you are guaranteed not to get any media coverage for your company.

You have to give the media something to write about. Today, the media’s idea of what is newsworthy is a little different than what you think is newsworthy about your company.

Year after year, here are the five most frequently written news stories:

• What’s already hot in the media.

• The controversy story.

• The unusual or outrageous story.

• The celebrity story.

• The under-dog or David-and-Goliath story.

If you can create a story with any of these story angles you’re going to capture the attention of the media. Create a story that packs two, three, or four of these angles all at the same time and you’ve hit a media grand slam.

Creating a Story That’s Already Hot in the Media.

For the last year and a half gas prices have been a major news topic. The media reports gas prices at the pump along with the commodity futures prices almost every day. You can’t pick up a paper or turn on the TV without being bombarded with news about gas.

Ten Preparations to Make before Interviewing
1. First of all, know who the company is and what they do. You’ll be asked, “Have you heard of us?” and it is better to be able to respond in the positive. You can use the Internet to find out something about them. You look unprepared if you haven’t even taken the time to look them up.2. Make sure that you can remember what you did on your last few jobs. It doesn’t look good if you are asked what the project was on a job you worked on recently and you can’t even remember what the project did, or the name of it (been there).3. Study up on the skills that you know that they are looking for. You may well be questioned or even tested on those skills. Sometimes it’s difficult to remember much about something you did two years ago, but you’re going to have to. You’ll have to brush up on it again if you hope to get the job.4. Make sure that you are dressed well but not too flash. A suit is good, but a Rolex watch and big gold rings aren’t. It goes without saying that an open-necked shirt with your chest hair hanging out will not look good. The same goes for women with open-necked shirts (except for the hair hanging out part).5. Don’t set out for your interview in a Porsche

ce aspects? They are twists to your plain vanilla news story that will help to get media coverage – the story around the story that impacts the general public. Unless you incorporate one of the 5 twists that make a story compelling to a reporter, you’re sunk. Most companies aren’t big enough to command news coverage. What do I mean by big enough? Their news doesn’t affect the majority of the population. That’s why your press release about hiring a new Vice President of Sales will make the local paper at best, and that’s if it’s a slow news day and they have room to print it.

You have to give the media something to write about. Today, the media’s idea of what is newsworthy is a little different than what you think is newsworthy about your company.

Year after year, here are the five most frequently written news stories:

• What’s already hot in the media.

• The controversy story.

• The unusual or outrageous story.

• The celebrity story.

• The under-dog or David-and-Goliath story.

Creating a Story That’s Already Hot in the Media.

Success Blind Spots: Get Out of Your Own Way
Why is it that some people appear to achieve exactly what they want in their careers and life almost effortlessly? While others are stuck?As an Executive Coach, I hear loads of "external" reasons from my clients about what blocks them from the success they seek--an unsupportive relationship with the boss, constant reorganizations, dried up career paths, lousy market conditions, discrimination and so on. Clearly, all of these justifications and more are valid. But, you've heard it before, and it's true: 99.9% of what keeps any one of us from being all that we can be is an inside job. In other words, each of us has the infinite capacity (and responsibility) to INTENTIONALLY, deliberately create how we want our world to be rather than managing life happenstance as it occurs. Here's the simple formula:1. What you THINK is what you get. 2. What you SAY is what you get. 3. What you FEEL is what you get.The reason many of us do not achieve all that we are meant to is that we unconsciously short-circuit, even sabotage, our potential through limiting beliefs, conflicting thoughts and feelings and just plain old bad habits.Here's an example of a limiting belief: One of my

he readers of the publication. Just think about how hard it is to get an appointment with your prospects. If they don’t care about your products or services, what makes you think the media is going to fall in love with your story?

You have to give the media something to write about. Today, the media’s idea of what is newsworthy is a little different than what you think is newsworthy about your company.

Year after year, here are the five most frequently written news stories:

• What’s already hot in the media.

• The controversy story.

• The unusual or outrageous story.

• The celebrity story.

• The under-dog or David-and-Goliath story.

Creating a Story That’s Already Hot in the Media.

Capitalism is Not a Dirty Word
Exxon recently reported that their annual profit for 2006 was in excess of $39 billion dollars. Notice I did not say earnings, I said PROFIT. When this was being announced on the evening news, the reporters interviewed several people who were pumping gas into their Luxury SUVs at their local Exxon station. They were all singing the same song, "It is immoral for Exxon to make that much money while we are spending over $2.00 a gallon for gasoline." Some were even suggesting that the government take action to keep Exxon from making that much money.Does it make you angry to hear that kind of news? Not me. I believe in capitalism. It is the American way. It is why this country has propelled itself to become the world leader in commerce. It is why we have the highest standard of living in the world. It is why Bill Gates can go from being broke to the richest man in the world. It is the "American Dream." To expect our government to put restrictions on corporate profits is an insult to our way of life. Besides, the report on Exxon did not explain the whole story. In order for Exxon to earn $39 Billion in profits, it had to spend $338 Billion, making its pr

out. Today, the media’s idea of what is newsworthy is a little different than what you think is newsworthy about your company.

Year after year, here are the five most frequently written news stories:

• What’s already hot in the media.

• The controversy story.

• The unusual or outrageous story.

• The celebrity story.

• The under-dog or David-and-Goliath story.

Creating a Story That’s Already Hot in the Media.

How to Finance a Franchise
Whether you write a personal check, use the equity in your home, use your 401K money or get a commercial loan, one way or the other, you're financing your franchise. Financing it the right way is critical to your long term success. It might not be as critical as finding the right locations, but it’s close.Generally speaking, in financing your franchise business, you have three basic options:Option I: Finance it out of your own pocket, either by writing a check from savings, cashing out retirement assets, or some other means,Option II: Take out a loan secured by your personal assets, such as an equity loan or an SBA loan, orOption III: Take out a commercial business loan for franchise financing.Each option has its pros and cons. The best option for you will be based on several different factors, including the goals you have for your new business. One option might be best if your goal is to open a single location, another if your goal is to open several in a given time frame. What follows is a discussion of the various options and how one might or might not be the best one for you. It is our goal to help you

EMDCO.com leveraged this hot topic for a client that generated national news. We capitalized on National Bicycle Week and the high price of gas by making the company executives buy a new fleet of cost-saving vehicles (yes bicycles). The headline: “In This Time of Gas Guzzlers, Executives Splurge on New Fleet of Vehicles.” We invited both TV and print media to cover the delivery of the new fleet and we won major coverage for this Midwestern company. The company makes gears for industrial equipment. We crafted a story about health benefits for the employees, cost savings for the company, plus a beneficial impact for the environment is a twist that is much better than a press release about how they are now making gears with 451 teeth instead of the old ones with 450 or that they have been in business for 17 years!

Creating the Controversy Story

People in the entertainment business use this all the time. Stories like mega female singer wants to help two up-and-coming female pop singers get more media so she kisses them on stage – bingo press coverage. Girl-next-door actress needs to change image so she dates hot bad boy – bingo press coverage. You see the real reason something is done is always there, it’s just not the part that makes the news. What’s so newsworthy about 3 women singing on stage?

One of our clients wanted to generate attention for its business. EMDCO.com put together a publicity strategy that focused on controversy. We decided on a bold move. They work in an industry that already has a tarnished image. We carefully crafted a campaign in which they exposed the dirty little secrets within their industry. Risky? Yes. Effective? Unbelievably. They are now know as the honest guys in their industry.

Here’s one that was just reported the other day. ‘Man Gets Arrested for Stealing Internet at Caf?.’ Okay what are the elements? Caf? offers free internet. So what, many others do these days. Not much has changed in coffee products so not much to report there. But what happens when a customer comes in to the caf?, uses the internet but doesn’t buy any coffee? Arrest him! Without the arrest there isn’t a story, but now you can have debates about freedom and what’s moral, etc. Was it a publicity stunt? You better believe it! Why would the story include a picture of the guy smiling while sitting in the very caf? that arrested him?

Creating the Unusual or Outrageous Story

Creating unusual or outrageous stories isn’t as hard as you think. Yes there are times when something so unusual happens in real life that it becomes news. Like the time I wrote a press release about a kid that found several thousand dollars outside of a well-known department store. Within 5 minutes of faxing out a one page press release, calls started coming in from all the different media outlets – TV, Radio and print. There was so much coverage that the story worked its way all the way up to the Jay Leno Show and the Ellen Degeneres Show where the boy went on national TV to tell his story. It also generated major coverage for the department store.

The minute any of your employees have something unusual happen to them and you can tie it into your company you should alert the press.

Here are some other publicity stunts that I’m sure you have heard about:

“Found in NY Taxi: Jewelry Salesman Forgets $275,000 Dollars in Jewel

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You can construct an almost infinite variety of calculators right within your MS EXCEL spreadsheet application.

The local family small business movie theatre is a dying breed due to insane growth of larger multi-plex movie theatres with huge budgets and huge theatres in giant malls. But There is no reason to give up the ship so easily, in fact it makes sense to alert all the locals as to your better ability to serve their needs. But how can you do that?

Being able to carry on a conversation is an art form. And being able to hold conversations at work about topics other than work is a gift. If you want to increase the functioning of your team at work, use conversations to help you discover the needs, wants, and desires of your internal and external clients. Showing an interest in them will help create a stronger work environment.

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Casual Articles - Publicity: How To Capture the Attention of the Media

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