“Operating like outlaws in the old west gold rush days, has been the order of the day for most residential mortgage loan originators the last several years as everybody now finally sees, and can no longer avoid acknowledging. An epidemic of greed and fraud prevailed nationwide for several years, with our industry got flooded by unethical and unbelievably poorly educated, trained and supervised personnel who were the industry’s front-line, exploiting the public – a virtually frenzied wild-west gold-rush mentality.

Those heady days of this last cycle have at last ended. From an industry high of over 500 thousand employed, which grew since the last correction in 1998; recently we have lost only 100,000 people so far. 200+ thousand of the half million people, rushed into our business during that period, incorrectly thinking they were going to be in a “sales industry.” When both you and I know, the customers believed they were speaking with a professional mortgage expert who would look out for their best interest and treat them with the utmost good faith, and not compromise their rights or interests in favor of another’s, including a right or interest of the loan officer/mortgage broker.

But instead borrowers more often were talking with a ‘used car sales Big Commissioned closer type’ individual – that fact of life cannot be seriously denied at this point, by any industry observer. There’s a major conflict as between big commissions/greed on the one hand, and ethical behavior on the other, an issue I have written about several times in the past. Because, for example, certain foul-hearty loan products ‘could’ be originated doesn’t mean they ‘should’ be.

I think everybody who survives this correction crisis, and particularly the various industry discussion boards, need to STOP enabling substandard, mediocre, and ethically challenged originators, they need to be given the boot so they don’t infect the business for everybody else this next go around, wherever they are found. You know what I mean, those with weak values, little integrity, and poor or on-existent ethical standards – the ones where the commission check and how much money the make, is their focus. On these boards we all can see a post that says “”which wholesalers are easy to get approved with, or which ones don’t pull broker’s credit or how about ‘what subprime lenders are left that do high LTV’s with 580 FICO stated wage earners?’ or lenders who don’t do appraisal reviews? or who disregards co borrower’s scores? Or who doesowest score for stated income on foreclosure bailout? There are literally thousands of examples I have seen, and if you frequent these boards so have you.

They basically say ‘what is the path of least resistance so I can make a big score (commission) and what can I do to ensure I do the least amount of work possible ….’ And, not just those questions, but all the ones that reveal they don’t belong in the biz. I see questions like those on all the boards I read. ENABLERS then jump up and say “”Hey I can help!”" and then direct those brain-dead clowns to the answer … and the cycle continues … we all need to stop Enabling those that do not belong in our industry! People that ask these sort of questions are the ones that stuff loans into wholesalers, which then move upstream, become part of securitizations, which then become downgraded, and at a final point hurt all of us! People’s retirement funds, and many money fund investments buy MBS’s (many recently loaded up with crap loans).

These people are easy to spot and it’s up to YOU to protect the industry from them. Just look what they did to us this last cycle! I’ve written about this before, you ARE your brother’s keeper in this industry! They’ve been a major contributing factor in tanking 150+ lenders, closing down countless brokerages, and putting homeowners in situations where their families must face possibly living in a tent!

I think another terrible example, are some in the industry training sector as well. Especially the podium pitch-man types, who mostly work to pump up your ego – you know the ones that say they will ‘reveal the secrets of how to predictably, reliably, and repeatedly get $10,000, $20,000, and even $25,000 checks on every mortgage – month in and month out, while only working part-time!’ Or how about this one ‘Discover How You Can Quickly And Easily Make An ADDITIONAL $100,000/Yr. Even in this Down Market – GUARANTEED!’ Or even those that promote (RESPA violation) paying kickbacks to friends, for referrals etc. When recommending that other originators access these types, or you even speaking positively about them, tends to help contaminate the industry with more problematical originators dealing with the public. If you’re one of them and you say “the wholesalers did it with their reckless programs!”

In small measure you are right, many of them were indeed tempting – but the bottom line there, is that the guidelines didn’t read “”ignore USC 1001 and section IX of the 1003 ….”" Fraud is fraud and bad loans are bad loans … if you ever put income on an application that was not your borrower´s (solely) and/or if you wrote an option arm for someone who was on salary or fixed income then indeed YOU were the problem and I hope you change your ways and join with me and be an ethical partner in our industry. Let me say it a bit bluntly. More than 100,000 front-line originators made a killing (income wise) the last 7+ years. Now because of their ethical short-comings, most are gone or are on their way out. Without strong moral values and high ethical standards you cannot last in this industry for four decades like I have.

Article by Peter Samuel Cugno, Chairman & CEO of Secret! University, the educational division of Americas Money Center, Inc. with 40+ years experience in the subprime industry niche. Questions or comments may be directed online here.

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Tags: ethics, management, strategic, planning, thinking

We have all had good days and bad in business. The small business person, lives daily on the hopes that he has a good sales or service day. In the case of employees who work independently at home for a living, it can be a different ballgame.

A friend of mine sent me an email, frustrated and upset because she had 3 client invoices outstanding, and her clients had not so much as even “suggested” the money due, was on its way. My friend was in desperate need for the money, she had worked hard for her income, and her own bills were now overdue.

“I have sent two invoices to each client, and have not heard back from them yet,” she complained. “I go through this every month with at least one client and it is so frustrating,”.

Business is business and one of the most important aspects of considering your business a success, is of course, the revenue generated. But there is also a certain ethic about getting paid, that parlays the success factor as well. Everyone hates to pay bills. Everyone also knows they have a responsibility to do so. In a harsh economy, or when times grow tight, the bottom line is that employers and employees must still get paid. Even if it is a small amount due, say, $125.00, that may be just what the employee needs to pay that electric bill, and the utility companies do not wait for THEIR money anymore. So the electric or water is turned off. Then there is a turn-on fee, and late fee adding insult to injury, and the rest of the budget goes haywire, all because that one check did not come in the mail on time.

I personally have never understand a system that punishes you for NOT having enough money. Another friend of mine, lost her husband in the war. She had to move out of the army housing with her 2 children, and find a p. She had no “extra” funds, but a little bit to get started until her husbands probate was cleared.

When my friend went to get the utilities turned on, she found that each utility company, the water, the gas, the electric and the trash company, all required deposits. Now she and her husband had fallen on hard times, just before he left for another country, and they had been behind in their bills with the collectors demanding payment. They worked out an agreement with the creditors, like responsible people do, however, the companies had a policy that the deposit amount you pay, is based on your credit score.

This poor woman, had to pay $300.00 just to have her gas and electric on, and $150.00 to have the water turned on. The policy did not care WHAT anyone’s circumstances were, they just knew your score was not up there where THEY thought it should be, so they made lots of money off of people who were already barely able to live. I had heard the same complaint from a disabled senior, who became sick suddenly, and had to move. Her deposits were sky high and it didn’t matter that she was disabled.

Business people have to realize that bills have to be paid. When one bill falls short, a whole chain reaction of events take place that your not aware of. Remember, the small business person or contractor, do not have the option of collection agencies, and rarely, deposits…so let’s remember to pay the small guy first. Their lights may depend on it.

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Tags: business, strategy, planning, ideas, start

Media kits are an essential part of any public relations program and it is essential that certain items are included in your media kit. The PR Doctor has developed a prescription for a healthy and effective media kit. The top ten (10) prescribed items for a healthy and effective media kit include:

Prescribed Item #1: Letter of introduction

This is sometimes referred to as the pitch letter and it is used to grab the reader’s attention. It will tell them upfront why they should care about what you are telling them. It is important to let them know you are available for follow-up interviews and questions.

Prescribed Item #2: A company backgrounder

This includes your company’s history, a company profile, and possibly the mission and core values of the company.

Prescribed Item #3: Company fact sheets

This should include product or service fact sheets, sell sheets or company brochures that are specific to your product or service.

Prescribed Item #4: Industry backgrounder

This should be a brief overview of significant statistics that are specific to your industry, and the demographics of your target markets.

Prescribed Item #5: A list of frequently asked questions

This can be very helpful to the editor and reporter in determining what questions to ask in an interview or what to include in an article.

Prescribed Item #6: Bios and photos of the company owners, executives.

This is very important to provide personal background information on the leaders of the company.

Prescribed Item # 7: Audio and video files of radio or TV interviews, speeches and any other media-covered event.

These are effective and can have a great impact when they are put on company Web pages.

Prescribed Item #8: Copies of the recent news articles

The inclusion of copies of recent news articles is very appropriate in a media kit. What other media have done will be of interest to current media targets. This could include article reprints and printouts of online press that your company has received.

Prescribed Item #9: Recent awards and recognition

You will help enhance the image of your business by listing awards and recognition that your company has received,

Prescribed Item #10: Business cards

Your business card will help facilitate the media contacting you for the current media opportunity and will also provide a convenient source for future reference for the media.

Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach encourages you to develop a plan to ensure you get paid on time for the services you provide and the products you deliver. If you would like to learn more about how a strategic thinking business coach can facilitate and guide you in that endeavor, please contact Glenn Ebersole today through his website at www.businesscoach4u.com or by email at jgecoach@aol.com

Glenn Ebersole, Jr. is a multi-faceted professional, who is recognized as a visionary, guide and facilitator in the fields of business coaching, marketing, public relations, management, strategic planning and engineering. Glenn is the Founder and Chief Executive of two Lancaster, PA based consulting practices: The Renaissance Group, a creative marketing, public relations, strategic planning and business development consulting firm and J. G. Ebersole Associates, an independent professional engineering, marketing, and management consulting firm. He is a Certified Facilitator and serves as a business coach and a strategic planning facilitator and consultant to a diverse list of clients. Glenn is also the author of a monthly newsletter, “Glenn’s Guiding Lines – Thoughts From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach” and has published more than 325 articles on business.

To find out more about the benefits & rewards of effectively working with a strategic thinking business coach, please contact Glenn Ebersole through his website

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Tags: effective, public, relations, program, planning

Do you have a crisis management or crisis communications plan for your business or organization? Do you believe your business or organization is too small to need a crisis communications plan? Or do you believe that crises only happen to others?

If you are like the majority of businesses and organizations today, especially small to medium sized ones, you answered NO to the first question and probably YES to the second question. And I hope you answered NO to the third question.

Well, I cannot emphasize too strongly that no matter how big or small you are, every organization should have a crisis management and crisis communications plan.

If you read the newspapers or watch the news on TV or hear the news on the radio, you know that crises happen every day. No person or organization is immune from crises. Think about such recent crises as fires, bank robberies, corporate scandals, sexual harassment, product recalls, death of top executives, closing a facility, etc.

So what should you do? The answer: develop a crisis management plan in 2 parts. The first part is the crisis management plan (how your company or organization will deal with the crisis at hand to minimize negative impacts). The second part is the crisis communications plan (how you will communicate with the media and the public about the crisis).

Too many companies prepare one without the other. Both are critically important. Your goal needs to be that most crises will never get reported in the media because you handled the situation skillfully enough that it never became visible to the media. And the development and implementation of a good crisis communications plan will help make sure of that.

Some great tips and techniques for your crisis management program can be found on the Public Relations Society of America website. General principles that can positively affect your actions and communication in a crisis situation.

Crisis communication planning can help you deal effectively with those unexpected disasters, emergencies or other unusual events that may cause unfavorable publicity for your organization.

Before the crisis, successful communication will depend, in large part, on the preparations you make long before the emergency occurs.

During the crisis, your focus is to deal with the situation, gather accurate information and communicate quickly.

Reporters provide few surprises in a crisis situation.

Your spokesperson should be forthright in dealing with media questions. There are, however, some questions he or she simply cannot and should not answer.

Your spokesperson should not respond to media questions with “no comment” because this answer can imply a lack of cooperation, an attempt to hide something or a lack of concern. There are more appropriate responses when he or she either doesn’t have one or is not at liberty to give certain information after the crisis.

My goal with this article is to cause you to think about taking some initial steps to prepare yourself and your organization to start the development of a crisis management and communications plan. Don’t wait until “it hits the fan” to start your planning.

Crisis Communications Planning or What To Do Before, During Or After It Hits The Fan By: J. Glenn Ebersole, Jr., Chief Executive of J. G. Ebersole Associates and The Renaissance Group

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Tags: crisis communication, planning, public relations, strategies, communications

Are public relations and crisis management planning important to your business? The answer is simple and direct. Public relations and crisis management planning are not only important to your business, they are both CRUCIAL to your business, regardless of your type of business. In today’s fast-paced and ever-changing world, business is news. Plant closings, mergers and acquisitions, unemployment, strikes, labor negotiations, company expansions, building projects, construction-related accidents and catastrophes are often the lead story on the front page or the six o’clock news. Yet many organizations are totally unprepared or at least ill-prepared to handle the public relations and crisis management aspects of these events. This unpreparedness can lead to many negative and undesirable results for you, your employees, your clients and customers, your company and your business and industry sector.

Many businesses always have been and always will be in a highly visible position to the general public and the media. For example, the building and construction industry is important to the economy, as well as the overall health, safety & welfare of the public. The media are very interested in the building and construction industry because of the potential “high interest” stories it can generate, both positive and negative. To succeed in today’s business world, all businesses must learn to manage rapid change and crises and work diligently to develop strong public relations and crisis management plans.

A general public relations program is important to your business to: complement advertising; provide research capabilities for marketing efforts; provide capabilities for special events to increase company & industry visibility; monitor governmental organizations; to communicate the state-of-the-industry to the public, including views on legislation, regulations, economic conditions, and other factors and events impacting your business; and to communicate with past and existing clients. A crisis management plan, including public relations aspects, is absolutely essential to maintain a company’s credibility and positive image in the face of adversity. The company’s customers, employees, management, financial supporters, industry associates, the general public and the media need to feel that you are well organized and have the ability to handle a crisis in a very professional manner. Crises do not afford the luxury of time to pause and think thoroughly through the specific problem. Therefore, there is a need to be prepared for every type of emergency most likely to happen.I believe that many crises in business, just as in our daily lives, are often foreseeable. These crises can be managed and can provide unprecedented opportunities for positive public relations. A majority of businesses are reluctant to prepare for adversity because they do not want to admit that their business organization could ever be guilty of poor performance or mistakes.

A company which does not prepare for the possibility that some plan may not work or that conditions of business may change quickly – including changes beyond their control – will soon find itself unable to deal with a crisis and therefore will suffer severe negative effects on the business and its image to the public and its clients.

The most critical time for your business, when it comes to public relations, is when a catastrophe, scandal, or some other negative event occurs which involves your business or industry sector at large. Things can and do go wrong in the best managed companies and organizations. Therefore, by accepting this fact and anticipating certain crises, the potential damage from the crises may be minimized. Contingency planning for crises is not only a good management practice in any organization but, in my view, it is a mandatory practice for any business.

Many businesses today have high risk, high visibility, high impact on the public and our everyday lives, and high exposure to potential crises. Because of these characteristics, the potential damage from a crisis can be greatly multiplied. An unprepared, misinformed, or ill-at-ease company spokesperson; a disgruntled employee; and a victim of a tragedy at a building site have the potential of doing inestimable damage to your business or industry by their remarks to the media. Yet there are countless times when a company representative is thrust into the spotlight as an official “spokesperson” with little or no training in dealing with the media, especially in a crisis situation. In fact, when it comes to dealing with the media, most people would rather “be excused” from the task, because they are ill-prepared psychologically and professionally to deal with the media. In today’s world, you must become prepared psychologically and professionally.

Conducting public relations activities without a plan would be the same as someone trying to build a quality building project without plans and specifications or a business trying to manage the growth of their business without any plans. Conducting crisis communications and public relations during emergencies without a plan and training could be about the same as committing suicide or at least “shooting yourself in the foot,” because of the potential damage that could result to your company’s image, business, employees, management, etc. and to the image and impact on your industry.

If you don’t believe the potential damage that can result from what I have written above, think about the effect of poor public relations efforts during the TMI accident, NASA’s Challenger tragedy, the EXXON Valdez oil spill event, or during the last major building site accident and the impact of the negative image on the companies and their industries. Or think about the effect of good public relations efforts during the Tylenol incident; during the odometer rollback incident at Chrysler; or during the last successful rescue at a construction site accident and the impact of the positive image on these companies and their industries.

It is time to truly recognize the importance of public relations and crisis management and their potential impact on your business. It is also time to do something about it! There is no better place to start than within your own organization and industry and professional associations by developing public relations plans, that include crisis management plans, and by training key employees on how to deal with the media. With the risks as high as they are in your business, don’t leave public relations and crisis management to chance or to a “seat of the pants” approach. Make a commitment and start planning for your future public relations and crisis management efforts today. The futures of your company and to your industry are at risk. With a strong commitment to good public relations and crisis management planning, the results can be tremendous. Without a strong commitment, the results can be disastrous.

Glenn Ebersole, Jr. is a multi-faceted professional, who is recognized as a visionary, guide and facilitator in the fields of business coaching, marketing, public relations, management, strategic planning and engineering. Glenn is the Founder and Chief Executive of two Lancaster, PA based consulting practices: The Renaissance Group, a creative marketing, public relations, strategic planning and business development consulting firm and J. G. Ebersole Associates, an independent professional engineering, marketing, and management consulting firm. He is a Certified Facilitator and serves as a business coach and a strategic planning facilitator and consultant to a diverse list of clients. Glenn is also the author of a monthly newsletter, “Glenn’s Guiding Lines – Thoughts From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach” and has published more than 225 articles on business.

If you would like to find out more about effectively working with the media and delivering effective interviews on TV and radio, please contact Glenn Ebersole through his website

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Tags: public relations, pr, crisis management, business, planning

Here’s a quick description of such a passport: a high-impact, public relations action plan which does something meaningful about the behaviors of those important audiences that most affect your business,non-profit, government agency or association.

It does so by creating the kind of external stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving your managerial objectives; then persuades those key outside folks to your way of thinking by helping move them to take actions that allow your department, group, division or subsidiary to succeed.

When you need to move a message from here to there, communications tactics can do the job. But that’s pretty much all they can do. Caution: a preoccupation with tactics will certainly deny managers the best that public relations has to offer by diverting their primary attention from the very PR end-products discussed above.

The PR passport relies heavily on this underlying premise: people act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action the very people whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the public
relations mission is usually accomplished.

Actually, the premise promises that good public relations planning really CAN alter individual
perception and result in changed behaviors among key outside audiences. But the fact is, you’ll only get there when your PR demands more than news releases, special events and broadcast plugs. Only then will you receive the quality public relations results you deserve.

Let’s take a closer look at the sort of PR end-products you can expect. Capital givers or pecifying sources begin to look your way; new prospects actually start to do business with you; politicians and legislators begin looking at you as a key member of the business, non-profit, government or association communities; welcome bounces in show room visits occur; community leaders begin to seek you out; new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures start showing up; customers begin to make repeat purchases; and membership applications start to rise.

A good first step is to work closely with your public relations professionals on your new opinion monitoring project since they’re already in the perception and behavior business. However, insure that the PR staff actually accepts why it’s SO important to know how your most important outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. Essentially, be certain they believe that perceptions almost always result in behaviors that can help or hurt your operation.

Reserve the time you need to review plans for monitoring and gathering perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. Try out questions like these: how much do you know about our organization? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the interchange? Are you familiar with our services or products and employees? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures?

Be advised that the use of professional survey firms for the opinion gathering chore, probably will be more expensive than using your PR people in that monitoring capacity. But whether it’s your folks or a survey firm asking the questions, the objective remains the same: identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, misconceptions and any other negative perception that might translate into hurtful behaviors.

Your number one responsibility now is to establish a clearcut and realistic PR goal that calls for action on the most serious problem areas you uncovered during your key audience perception monitoring. You may decide to stop that potentially painful rumor cold. Or straighten out that dangerous misconception? Or correct that gross inaccuracy?

Goal-setting, obviously, requires an equally action-oriented strategy that shows you the path
to your new goal. Here, you have just three strategic options available to you when it comes to doing something about perception and opinion. Change existing perception, create perception
where there may be none, or reinforce it. Needless to say, the wrong strategy pick will taste like peach Jello in your lentil soup. So be sure your new strategy fits well with your new public relations goal. You certainly don’t want to select “change” when the facts dictate a strategy of reinforcement.

Good writing, always at the core of any public relations activity, requires that the best writer on
your team prepare a persuasive message that will help move your key audience to your way of
thinking. It has to be a carefully-written message targeted directly at your key external audience. Your writer must develop really corrective language that is not merely compelling, persuasive and believable, but clear and factual if it is to shift perception/opinion towards your point of view and lead to the behaviors you have in mind.

Now you must identify the communications tactics most likely to carry your message to the attention of your target audience. There are many available. From speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others. But be sure the tactics you select are known to reach folks just likeyour audience members.

Because the WAY in which you communicate makes the credibility of your message suspect, you may wish to unveil your corrective language through smaller meeting presentations rather than using higher-profile news releases.

To demonstrate results, you may elect to use periodic progress reports. Which will alert you to begin a second perception monitoring session with members of your external audience. You can use many of the same questions used in the benchmark session. But now, you will be on strict alert for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction.

Because in any human activity, things can always slow down, you can always increase momentum by adding more communications tactics and/or increasing their frequencies.

Thus, any passport to public relations success will require that you move beyond tactics, and be free to use the right PR to alter the perceptions of your most important outside audiences, leading directly to achieving your managerial objectives.

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net.
Word count is 1145 including guidelines and resource box.
Robert A. Kelly © 2006.

Bob Kelly counsels and writes for business, non-profit and association managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has published over 200 articles on the subject which are listed at EzineArticles.com, click Expert Author, click Robert A. Kelly. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communications, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Columbia University, major in public relations. Visit this website

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Tags: public, relations, success, training, planning

In competing for a piece of business not too long ago, my PR firm was asked to supply three samples each of recent clips, bylined articles we’d authored for clients, and press releases.

For two of the three requirements, the issue was our embarrassment of riches. But for press releases, we were hard-pressed. These days, we write fewer and fewer press releases – most being the obligatory personnel announcements sprinkled with the periodic feature release. We just don’t see them as being as important a tool for PR practitioners as they once were.

Yes, there are exceptions. For disclosure purposes, news releases on occurrences or developments that could materially impact a publicly held company are mandatory. And some businesses have real “news” to report, even if they’re not publicly held, that may lend itself to distribution via news release.

But despite the popular image of PR firms as press release factories and their account personnel as pitching machines, and the regrettable fact that many still churn them out and indiscriminately blanket the media with releases that have little or no relevance, the reality is that they’re pretty much dead as a piece of the strategic communications arsenal.

Think about it. As a society, we’ve gone from the era of mass production, mass merchandising, and mass marketing to one where customization is king. In this environment, press releases are to PR professionals what the 30-second television commercial is becoming to the advertising industry. As far as most reporters and editors are concerned, they are overproduced; they lack differentiation; they generally aren’t relevant; and the vast majority just aren’t coverage-worthy.

As a profession, we must be falling down on the job of providing education and counsel. Why else would prospects, clients and their bosses still insist on “expertise” in developing press releases, when the pertinent question should be: “For our business and our purposes, what are the most effective ways to get media coverage?”

Understanding the client and the thinking/strategy behind its offerings is a first step leading to the best possible storyline hooks. It takes getting to know the company and its positioning – intimately. What differentiates it from the competition. The thinking by senior level people in the organization that makes it great.

This takes an investment of time and requires the PR professional to think and act like a reporter in order to gather the intelligence that leads to more than just message points, but solid story ideas that will position the company in the best possible light. Researching trends, issues and concerns in the industry generally and the company specifically will provide the fodder for probing questions to form the basis of useful interviews with appropriate executives.

The exercise adds to your knowledge base and gives you an idea of problematic areas that may have to be countered publicly at some point. While giving the executives a taste of the interview process for future reference, it also allows you position yourself as someone who is thinking more strategically and has advanced beyond the PR 101 rote.

The second step is to target your media markets and customize your message accordingly. Even products with mass consumer appeal will get more buzz with journalists if you narrow your focus and customize your positioning to reflect the individual journalist’s beat, orientation, likes, dislikes, and recent coverage topics, as well as the publication’s positioning with readers. Much of this intelligence can be gathered through services like MediaMap, or the old fashioned way – by doing a byline search and skimming through the journalist’s past articles (or segments in the case of the electronic media).

A short, personalized e-mail – three paragraphs at most – to the targeted journalists with a to-the-point lead-in should not only outline the storyline, but also emphasize its relevance to the outlet’s audiences. This personal approach is going to have a far greater chance of grabbing the reporter’s attention than a news release that’s written for the masses.

The third step is to ensure the people who are actually doing the phone call or email follow-up in pitching the story are brought up to speed on the context of the angle and overall client positioning. In short, they have to be prepared to answer at least some of the reporter’s basic questions. A pet peeve of mine when I was a journalist, was receiving a mass-produced press release that was followed up by a telephone pitch by “sweet young things” whose responses to the simplest questions was inevitably, “Ummmm, I don’t know. Is it important?” Their unpreparedness reflects poorly on them and the organization they’re representing.

For years, the PR profession has indulged in considerable hand wringing over the perceived lack of respect accorded the discipline, particularly vis a vis other communications disciplines like marketing and advertising. It would help were more practitioners to go beyond the numbers game to ensure broader trends were reflected in performance of even the most basic functions.

Sally Saville Hodge is president of Hodge Communications, Inc., a strategic Chicago-based public relations and marketing communications firm.

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Tags: media, relations, public, planning, marketing

It’s a great concept, – and it has a ‘cool factor’ of 300%.

Many people will pop these into their drive just because of image appeal alone. What’s really neat is when one is so well done, so informative, so interactive, that everybody wants one.

This type of viral marketing can be very effective and create residual traffic to your business. The point I would like to make here is, don’t undertake these projects without specific goals in mind. Yes, they are cool, yes, they (themselves) are not that expensive, but without a well done message, or purpose, they lose the ‘cool’ effect very quickly. The point is to keep interest, no matter what your selling, or announcing, or rolling-out.

Anyone can get online and find a dozen CD replicating firms pretty quickly. What you really want to find is a pro- fessional consultant that can assist you in putting it all together, making it all work, and keeping it interesting.

This presentation is what will make the CD card become a success (sizzle!). Hyperformance Media is available for consultation on your project, contact us at your convenience. The CD cards are not your real expense (under $1), it’s the chosen platform and presentation you care to deliver and how.

Let’s look at some ideas…

One of the first things you should consider is that the presentation have live links to it’s major content. In this way, we can constantly keep our site pages updated and the CD remains usable (not outdated). When loading, you can choose to have a permission based icon burned onto the user’s Desktop that links directly to your website (and even ask permission).

You can make special offers that can be retrieved at your website. You can use them for your next huge Tradeshow, Product Announcement and Roll-out. How about your Corporate Year End Results?

These cards can hold different capacities (MB’s), and come in many shapes. You can create a custom shape, but that adds heavily to the investment (there are plenty of shapes available).

You can fit audio, video, and most content within this form factor. The popular interface is currently Flash™ or other Macromedia™ applications. They are fast, allow complete creativity, and interface well on both PC and MAC platforms. If you have a Flash™ specialist in-house, then you can save money in the creation process.

Now you should take the major goals of the CD and layout a Storyboard that accomplishes those goals. We have a lot of flexibility here, we have audio, sounds, voices, music, and we have animation, video, and links to more information.

This should be your interactive TV commercial. Besides, the CD ROM’s, we keep a copy of the commercial on our website for the benefit of the people who didn’t receive a CD card. They can view our webmercial from online too! Use your logo prominently through-out your presentation (branding). Keep your messages and information focused, always restating the benefits. Know your audience! especially if this CD Project is directed at a specific market segment. Create the environment with that audience in mind, not what desk executives like.

The image on the cover of the CD is completely flexible as well. You can use a photograph, a screenshot, or a combination. The image resolution has improved dramatically in the past 3 years. Use or create some of your “best stuff” for these CD projects, it is worth it.

You also pay for plastic sleeves that each CD has been inserted in-to (you want these). It makes them very easy to mail.

Consider that image, you receive one in the mail with your Christmas card from the company. Maybe you ship one out with every order for a month..? It really depends on what you want to accomplish. We will spend the time with you to come up with the concepts necessary in having a successful campaign.

About The Author

Scott is the Founder and Sr. Project Manager for Hyperformance Media.com, a Technology Marketing Company serving online businesses since 1996. His 23+ years of experience in the computer industry will help you succeed. Their website offers free education & resources that will assist any business in successfully marketing their company online.

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In previous articles for marketing-minded financial planners, I’ve discussed what to say to a reporter over the telephone.

However, if you are phone-shy or time-challenged, it’s better to send an email than to do nothing.

Many reporters favor e-mail anyway, so use it. Call the media outlet or check its staff listing to get the reporter’s email address. Sometimes reporters email addresses are at the bottom of their article in the newspaper—or linked to in the online version of the outlet. It’s rarely a secret.

Again, offer practical story ideas – one or two max per e-mail. Summarize your best story idea in the ‘subject’ line of the email.

Be specific. In fact, spend as much time composing that subject line as you do the entire body of your message. It’s that important.

Reporters get dozens of emails per day, and struggle with spam just like the rest of us, so make sure that your email doesn’t look like spam. Avoid any words (you know what they are) that would be likely to set off a spam blocker.

And never, ever send a reporter an attachment of any kind. Many news organizations, fearful that their technically unsavvy staff will introduce a virus, prevent staff from receiving attachments. Usually they accomplish this by deleting the whole email.

If you want your email to be read, include a compelling subject line, and no attachment.

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: public, relations, strategies, consultants, planning