More than half of America skips the Super Bowl, the nation’s most-watched TV event. So it stands to reason that not all your prospects will see your publicity, even if you’re on 60 Minutes and Oprah. Create a strategy to use your publicity proactively to reach and impress everyone with it. Here’s how…

You’ve worked hard, gotten your story in. You’re a media star. Wait… Job’s not done!

You want everyone in your mailing list – not just those who read today’s paper – to see it. Create a nice-looking reprint and mail, e-mail or fax it to everyone you know. You heard me right, everyone. Customers and prospects aren’t enough.

Everyone else on your list – that should include friends, neighbors, and vendors. These folks may not be prospects, but they surely know people who are. They are a potentially rich source of referrals for you. (Note: Check with the publication to see if permission is needed to reprint. Sometimes they will create the reprint for you—for a fee.)

Article reprints should look appealing and be easy to read. Take time and care to get them looking good. Ask a print shop or local designer to help out if need be. Or just have someone computer-savvy and design-minded give it a once-over. It’s worth the small investment.

Ned Steele works with people in professional services who want to build their practice and accelerate their growth. The president of Ned Steele’s MediaImpact, he is the author of 102 Publicity Tips To Grow a Business or Practice To learn more visit this site .

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Tags: strategies, plan, marketing, campaign, product

Once considered the stepchild of the publishing industry, custom publishing now claims a legitimate slice of the B-to-B MarCom pie.

Custom magazines, newsletters and sponsored supplements are becoming an increasingly integral part of the overall marketing program. Recent studies by the Custom Publishing Council and Publications Management show leading U.S. companies spending about 25% of their marketing budgets on custom publishing endeavors, compared with 13% just three years ago.

Smart companies employ custom publishing tactics in their B-to-B marketing programs to enable them to reach highly targeted buying audiences. A major software developer, for example, developed a sponsored supplement (or “advertorial”) featuring articles about data management challenges faced by hospitals as a means of raising its profile with an important marketplace. The 32-page advertorial, which also contained house ads for the company’s new data processing software, was inserted into a magazine read by major hospital data managers nationwide. In this case, it was more cost-effective than buying a series of ads in the publication because the developer’s exact message was delivered exactly where the company wanted it delivered.

But strategic custom publishing efforts are not limited to magazines. One leading foodservice equipment and supplies distributor has a staff of 12 dedicated to producing internal newsletters for suppliers and employees. These publications let suppliers know what’s going on with the company’s business and make employees aware of changes in human resources policies. They also serve as an internal promotional tool.

Other successful B-to-B custom publishing initiatives include: Priority, a bi-monthly magazine from Pitney Bowes that targets 750,000 small business owners; Cano Energy Pipeline magazine, which targets investors in domestic oil and gas limited partnerships; and Tellabs Emerge, Tellabs Inc.’s quarterly magazine reaching15,000 telecom engineers in North America who make purchasing decisions for their companies.

Another trend noted by the CPC is that a majority of companies still handle production chores for their custom publishing efforts in-house, spending the bulk of the $29 billion that goes toward such efforts on internal staff. But that may be changing, given bottom-line pressures. According to Publications Management, a trade newsletter, 40% of U.S. companies that pursue custom publishing strategies currently avoid the hassle and expense of adding staff by outsourcing production of their publications. It may also change as varying types of electronic B-to-B marketing efforts, such as websites, e-postcards and e-newsletters, are further integrated into marketing strategies.

Whatever the goal, launching a custom publication as part of a B-to-B marketing campaign needs to be handled within the context of a medium and long-term strategy in support of overall business objectives. And placing a company’s message and brand before the target audience should always be the goal of any custom publication as questions about the concept’s legitimacy continue to wane.

Chris Scott heads Hodge Media Group, the custom publishing arm of Hodge Communications, Inc. Hodge specializes in strategic public relations and marketing communications for businesses, entrepreneurs and professional associations. Formerly an award-winning journalist, he brings over 20 years of experience to client engagements. Subscribe today to Communic@te! our free bimonthly e- newsletter and get a free special report: “Using Buzz To Create a Groundswell For Your Business.”

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Tags: marketing, plan, strategies, internet, online

About a year ago I read a feature story in the Wall Street Journal. It was about a new trend — baby showers that were being thrown for grandmothers.

The article was terrific — newsy, entertaining and informative. It was subsequently featured as a reprint in my local newspaper, and I’m sure in many other newspapers.

I remember thinking (of course, being in the publicity business, this is the kind of stuff I think about) that this was a prime example of the quality of stories in the Wall Street Journal, and a major reason for the popularity of this newspaper.

As a long-time reader of the Wall Street Journal (I was required to subscribe to it in college as a Finance Major), I am very familiar with the publication. And it allows me to pitch stories better, because I know the types of stories that are covered.

When clients tell me they want to be on Oprah, I ask them, “Have you watched Oprah lately?” Nine out of 10 say no.

My point is this: If you really want to have a great chance at getting coverage in a specific media outlet, you should be really familiar with that outlet. As the reader, or listener, or viewer, you are in a unique position to understand what you like and don’t like. And the media people will respect the fact that you are pitching them a story that their audience will be interested in.

Copyright 2008 Margie Fisher All Rights Reserved

Margie Fisher, President of Zable Fisher Public Relations, is the author of the Do-It-Yourself Public Relations Kit. For more information on the Kit, the Pay for Results Publicity Program, and to sign up for the complimentary PRactical P.R. newsletter, visit http://www.zfpr.com

Copyright 2008 Margie Fisher All Rights Reserved

Margie Fisher, President of Zable Fisher Public Relations, is the author of the Do-It-Yourself Public Relations Kit. For more information on the Kit, the Pay for Results Publicity Program, and to sign up for the complimentary PRactical P.R. newsletter, visit this site

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Tags: media, relations, strategy, plan, jobs

When do you use the newspaper for publishing announcements for promotions or new partnerships?

Adding an announcement to a newspaper will only bring further recognition to your business. You should always send items such as the hiring of a new employee, the announcement of a new contract, the change of location or any other item that you would like the world to know. Announcements are a way for you to communicate to the rest of the business community that you are a company on the move. You must find the right locations to place your announcements and you should have a list of the local, regional and national media that has a calendar, or section that places these announcements.

You do not have to put your ego into the announcement; simply stick to the facts so that your potential and existing customers are aware of what you are doing. If they see you making regular announcements, they will perceive you as a company that is on the go. Announcements do not cost anything but time to put together, and time is also what you will need to make sure these announcements get to the right location. There is no point in doing a media blast to places that would not normally print such items. They will likely (if they recognize your company name) not regard anything else you send if you are spending too much time annoying them with things they are not interested in. The point here is that you need to make announcements “all the time”, and you do need to target where these announcements go. Calendars, business sections, special sections are some of the places you can have announcements.

Announcements will get your face in the paper or other media. It is a good first step but there are many other ways that you can take advantage of the press. They are always looking for other items of interest. Turn you announcements into a real interest story and make it unique to you and your business.

Bette Daoust, Ph.D. has been networking with others since leaving high school years ago. Realizing that no one really cared about what she did in life unless she had someone to tell and excite. She decided to find the best ways to get people’s attention, be creative in how she presented herself and products, getting people to know who she was, and being visible all the time. Her friends and colleagues have often dubbed her the “Networking Queen”. Blueprint for Networking Success: 150 ways to promote yourself is the first in this series. Blueprint for Branding Yourself: Another 150 ways to promote yourself is planned for release in 2005. For more information visit this Website.

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Tags: relation, pr, plan, announcement

Sometimes a phone call isn’t intimate or long enough to convey all the information you have for a reporter.

Two examples would be: if you have a dozen or so story ideas, or if you’d like to explain an extremely complex financial concept or strategy to a reporter.

If this is the case, you should consider offering to meet the reporter over coffee or for a quick lunch, for a “backgrounder” on your topic.

It’s a relatively common event in the media world. Many reporters jump at the chance to pick a knowledgeable expert’s brain. You may be able to get information from them about what types of stories they are interested in, and what other reporters at their outlet might want to use you as a source.

And, as I’m sure you’ve recognized from your years of client service, meeting a client in person jumpstarts a personal relationship that can cement a professional one.

One caveat: Whereas you might take a client to an expensive restaurant to emphasize your financial planning success, don’t do this with a reporter. No lavish, expense-account spots. It looks like you’re trying to buy favor.

Most publications have pretty strong ethics codes—the reporter will probably be obligated to pay for their own meal, and they won’t like shelling out for filet mignon. Suggest too fancy an establishment and they probably will turn you down.

Ned Steele works with people in professional services who want to build their practice and accelerate their growth. The president of Ned Steele’s MediaImpact, he is the author of 102 Publicity Tips To Grow a Business or Practice To learn more visit this site

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Tags: media, relations, plan, strategic, marketing

So you’ve decided that getting your name out there is going to be one of your major goals for the New Year. But how do you do that on a limited budget?

That’s where publicity comes in. And you can do it. It just takes time – and a plan. Here are the seven basic steps to creating a plan:

1) Decide who your target market(s) is. There may be more than one, but your target market is not everyone. A good way to find out is look at who currently buys your product or service and create a profile of them.

2)Write down three strategies you will use for each market. They can include:

Speaking/workshops

Press releases

Articles

Ezines or print newsletter

Letters to the editor

Postcards

Networking events

Blogging

Podcasting

3) Set a measurable goal for each strategy. How many speaking engagements do you want each quarter? How many releases will you send out each month?

4)Write down several topics or themes. Create at least one for every goal you set.

5) Learn how to do each of the strategies by researching. There are hundreds of articles and tips on each PR strategy on the web. All will help you implement your plan better.

6) Schedule time each week to work on your goals and strategies. Research shows that a small business needs to spend about 20% of its time marketing. And if you’re a new business it’s more like 50%.

7) Evaluate every 3 months to see how you’re doing. You may find that some strategies aren’t working well, and others are really paying off. This way you can discard what ineffective and change your focus, if you need to.

Businesses that want a leg up on their competition need to focus on boosting their public relations efforts. This keeps them from going under when the economy is weak, and gets them ahead of their competitors when sales start picking up. With a New Year approaching, now is the perfect time to get a fresh start on your PR planning.

Shannon Cherry, APR, MA helps businesses, entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations to be heard. Subscribe today for Be Heard! a FREE biweekly ezine and get a FREE special report. Go to this Site

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Tags: relation, pr, plan, announcement