Parmalat, BCCI and Maxwell are examples of major corporate failures that shocked the world prior to the inception of corporate governance in the 1980s. However, since the corporate scandal of Enron, corporate governance has brought about increased attention amongst regulators and all stakeholders world over particularly shareholders, banks and governments. This concern has resulted in a focus on the relationship between a company’s shareholders and its Board of directors, as well as the executive and non-executive directors.

Regarded as leadership in the corporate sense, corporate governance is meant to assist companies to manage and control risk processes within an organisation.

Inferred from its definition, corporate governance need to be more pragmatic in its operations ensuring that the company conforms to the laws and regulations.

The corporate governance structure specifies the distribution of rights and responsibilities among different participants in the corporation, such as, the board, managers, shareholders and other stakeholders, and spells out the rules and procedures for making decisions on corporate affairs. This is usually not the norm. Enron’s demise as a result of its excessive risks, conflict of interest and poor accountability on the part of its directors, does not seem to have scared other organisations. Recent events in organisations are not anything to write home about. Corporate governance is meant to govern not to be used as a witch-hunting exercise. However, the way things happen in the board room, corporate governance needs to be tightened if it can bring about the change so much needed at this time.

By the directors confirming that the company accounts comply with requirements in the Company Act, they become accountable to the entire stakeholders and responsible for safeguarding their assets and other of the Group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention of fraud and other irregularities. Enron’s conduct indicated that its directors were not really complying. To date, there is increasing acceptance that in spite of legal duties remaining solely to shareholders, there is the view for companies to be more accountable to other stakeholders including workers. Even though this view is being challenged both in America and the U.K, shareholders still want to wield more powers to maintain their investment. This is evident in the recent demonstrations by shareholders describing directors as ‘fat cows’.

Considering the relevant principles missed by Enron in its operations in comparison with Next, it is gainsaying the fact that some of the mistakes Enron made are still going on in some organisations around the globe-unnecessary risk-taking; performance-related pay schemes including share options to Executives with the non-executive directors sitting aloof doing nothing. Enron’s Board’s compensation committee refused to ask any question about the award of salaries, perks, annuities, life insurance and rewards to the executive members at a critical point in the life of Enron. Sir Goodwin’s recent pension saga is a recent case in point. It leaves a sour taste in the mouth of all stakeholders to see that ‘simple’ things to be done to salvage ‘huge’ losses or scandals are clearly overlooked may be due to familiarity which breeds contempt, anyway.

The temptation to be ‘bought’ with money is so strong that the idea of independent executive directors serving on a board is not having the impact it was expected to have as they all easily get caught up in the scandal in the long run. All the so-called independent committees, directors, and auditors were there to bring checks and balances yet they failed shareholders.

People were just doing anything they want. Suffice to say that the onus of the matter is that the culture of the organisation should be linked with individual values and channelled to what the organisation is expected to do in its corporate rules and regulations. This could in no doubt go a long way to stamp out the bad nuts from the corporate board rooms.

Enron created partnerships with shell companies or subsidiaries known as special purpose entities (SPEs), enabling them to keep hundreds of millions of dollars in debt off its books, overstate and understate debt due to some very loose accounting rules. The Directors of Next plc on the other hand complied with Company law requiring them to prepare accounts for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and the Group and of the profit or loss of the Group for that period. Who controls the monitor? A lot might have been said and written about this but it is worth commenting that auditors who are meant to control the system (and for that matter the controllers) are human beings. They have conscience and thus someone or somebody could be said to also monitor them and the cycle goes on and on. What is actually needed in my opinion is little honesty, morals and fear of God.

The four-member Next’s audit committee reviews the risk management process and significant risk issues are referred to the Board for consideration; and considers financial reporting and reviews the Group’s accounting policies relating thereto.

It must be said here that in particular, major accounting issues of a subjective nature are discussed by the committee thus zeroing in to the issues relevant to Next not just the IASB’s requirement. This procedure might have helped the position of Next in the long run and could definitely help other companies if they follow those principles.

Furthermore, the first basic rule of investing which was diversification was also breached at Enron. Workers investing pension money in company shares had their savings tied up in Enron’s stock; and there was no plan for workers to diversify those savings and government regulators did virtually nothing. This is irresponsibility on the part of the directors. Workers’ anger was evident when in France, for example some company bosses were held hostage. The G20 demonstrations in London were also other cases in point.

In Next people are considered a key asset to the business. The Board has, therefore, adopted policies aimed at minimising risks in the Group’s activities to ensure that they do not harm employees, customers or the general public, all of whose interests are regarded as critical to business success. Shareholders have an opportunity to ask questions or represent their views at the Annual General Meeting. This is always the norm at Annual General Meetings. But half a loaf is better than none, it is said. Not all the mistakes and loopholes could be plugged overnight but communications should as usual be a two-way affair, continuous and all concerns by stakeholders should be followed and investigated by independent bodies.

Enron and its executives have contributed large sums of money to some politicians. Enron created a culture in which financial instruments was designed to turn profits into losses and taxes into tax shelters. Excessive risk was the word. It was different with Next. It conducts a weekly “Next Brand trading meeting” which considers the performance and development of the Next Brand through its different distribution channels. All business aspects of risk management in respect of the Next Brand including sales, property, product, systems, warehousing and personnel also considered here. Key performance indicators are monitored daily and weekly to help to keep in check all aspects of risk. To Next, risk management was part of their organisational culture.Next’s Board is responsible for the Group’s risk management process. It has delegated responsibility for implementation of the risk management process to the Chief Executive and senior management best qualified in each area of the business. The Board sets guidance on the general level of risk.

Next’s conduct or operations in the board room should be emulated. Corporate governance should be a continuous process and all stakeholders-focused. It should not discriminate and should be regularly reviewed by an external body appointed by shareholders in consultation with the board so that they do not take over the responsibilities of the board.

The Next’s Board takes care not to disseminate information of a share price sensitive nature which is not available to the market as a whole. On the other hand share performance-related pay contributed to Enron’s demise by pushing the executives to announce non-existent profits through the special purpose entities to deceive the market in order to keep its stock price high to enable them receive their fat pay. They paid themselves huge salaries as a result.

This practice is still continuing all over the globe; and was mainly part of the current recession. There is no doubt that Boards of companies should be made to live up to their responsibilities. With Next’s corporate governance, one could see that the main responsibilities lie with the Board. For example, the system of internal control and major policy decisions as well as the Group’s risk management are the responsibilities of the board; who in turn delegates these responsibilities to the CEO and senior management best qualified in each area of the business.

The Board at Next acknowledged that its primary role is to represent and promote the interests of shareholders; is accountable to shareholders for the performance and activities of the Group and communicates with its shareholders in respect of the Group’s business activities through its annual Report and accounts, yearly and half yearly announcements and regular trading updates to the stock exchange. Enron’s board of directors were ‘busy’ trying to mislead tax authorities in order to collect $87m from creating tax shelters. A little over the top maybe, but little drops of water make a mighty ocean. Enron could have avoided all those mess if it had listened, complied and enforced the rules to the letter instead of bending them to suit their whims And caprices. The Business Roundtable emphasised that in planning communications with shareholders and investors, companies should consider never misleading or misinforming shareholders about the corporation’s operations or financial condition. This was lack of business ethics.

Enron appears to be ‘an accident waiting to happen’. Enron’s internal controls had been very weak as a matter of fact. When an employee wrote a memo about the CEO, Ken Lay; he himself handled the matter internally by appointing a law firm which has a long association with Enron to investigate the matter. Auditors, lawyers and independent directors should be seen to be totally independent as outlined in the relevant regulations and laws. They should not be allowed to dabble in the company’s affairs where they have any interest. This must be seen to be enforced.

The main lesson to learn from Enron’s experience is there was no compliance whatsoever with Enron’s operations. Enforcement does not necessarily mean there would be compliance. Enforcement precedes compliance and could be linked together to the success of corporate governance. Enforcement means to compel people to comply with or do something by law or regulation. Unfortunately this had not been the case in most of the corporate scandal cases. No one seemed to enforce the laws and regulations; not the independent directors or the regulators themselves. The significance of this is that compliance to laws and regulations does not come easily without independent directors disciplining themselves to follow the regular review of risk management issues for the company concerned.

Nevertheless, corporate governance could be the hub to the reputation of company and its directors regardless of other equally important issues like corporate social responsibility (CSR) for the reason that it has widely been embraced for its apparent economic health of companies and society in general. Like Total Quality Management, corporate governance should be made company-wide, stakeholder-focused and rated given awards like the ISOs.The ratings should be published regularly. This could benefit all stake holders and bring back the trust shareholders in particular have lost in both executive and non-executive independent directors.

Reference:

1.’In search of Gates’; Fortune, October 4, 2004 pp76

2. Elkind, P; Bethany, M; ‘They’re getting close’, Fortune November 24, 2003 page21

3. Fortune Europe Edition No.24, December 22,2003pp 40

4. Gunther, M; ‘Boards Beware!’ Fortune November 10, 2003 page 80

5.’Inside The Head of BP’ by Nelson D.Schwartz, Fortune, July 2004, page 56

6.’LEADERS: The real Scandal’ the Economist January 19th, 2002 page9

7. Next Annual Report and accounts, January, 2002

8. Sellers, P. “INNOVATION SPECIAL; P&G: Teaching an old dog New Tricks”, Fortune; May 31, 2004 page36, 37, 60-63

9. Taylor III, A., THE AMERICANISATION OF TOYOTA, Fortune, December 8, 2003 pp56

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Tags: ethics, result, relation, country, governance

Whether you have an in-house PR department, hire a public relations freelancer part time to work your campaign, or are trying to launch and implement your campaign on your own, do yourself and your company a favor and do an outside PR assessment on your campaign, objectives, strategy, game plan and implementation. Public Relations is a very refined and subtle process. You can have the right stories, but be implementing them the wrong way, or presenting them to the wrong media contacts. You could have all the elements for a successful campaign in place, but not be utilizing them correctly. There are several aspects to consider and review, including:

1. Are your press releases written in a way that will garner media attention?

2. Are you making follow-up phone calls to the media and if so are those calls being handled correctly?

3. Are you only pitching the obvious media stories? (99% of the time will be the same stories your competitors are pitching)

4. Are you thinking like a journalist and coming up with new feature stories, news business stories, trend stories and timely pitches?

5. Are you presenting yourself as an expert in your field, who can address a number of topics?

6. Are you presenting your company in a way that establishes a strong brand?

7. Are you utilizing your press coverage in your advertising and marketing programs?

8. Are you utilizing your media coverage on your blog (do you have a blog?)

9. Are you combining your traditional media campaign with social media?

These are just some of the aspects you want to consider when reviewing your public relations campaign. You could have all of the right pieces in place, but be implementing them incorrectly, or, the reverse could be the case. Sometimes it just takes some minor tweaking to turn a stalled media relations campaign into a successful one. Without a systematic review, you might never know. You could end up with the most successful media campaign that never worked.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2009

Anthony Mora Communications, Inc. is a Los Angeles-based public relations company that has placed clients in: Time, Newsweek, 60 Minutes, CNN, USA Today, Oprah, The New York Times, Vogue, and other media. Anthony has been featured in: USA Today, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The BBC, CNN, Fox News, and other media outlets.

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Tags: media, relation, campaign, working

Your reputation is an important part of your business success. Companies and individuals want the public to notice and remember them for the positive aspects of their operations.

In an offline businesses setting you have a little bit of control over the opinion that is being expressed about you. A simple strategy such as leaving comment cards for your customers will help you to gauge what their impression of your products and services are. It is also easier to monitor customer satisfaction in a face to face meeting, where you can simply ask them if they were pleased with your product or service.

When you conduct business online, it becomes a little harder to monitor what customers are saying about your business. Given the shear vastness of the internet it becomes an overwhelming task to monitor customer response.

The internet also offers a veil of protection to many people, some people would never say in public the types of comments they express on their blog or web page. The internet can also be a place where individual members of your company may be scrutinized. It is hard to know if an individual with whom a customer has come into contact with will be subject to backlash on the web.

This too can paint your company in an unflattering light. With the increase in social media sites and the large number of people who can now easily create a website in mere minutes, comments or poor reviews could be located in any number of formats.

How then do you protect your business from these types of online activities? With reputation management and by working with a company who has a firm grip on how to protect you from the people on the net who want to paint your business in a negative light.

Careful monitoring through specialized systems will help to alert you of when these instances occur. It is also important to create positive information about your company through the same mediums that your customers frequent.

This is best achieved through a strategic, optimized plan to use social media, blogs, forums and community sites to publish company information that enhances your reputation. Being proactive is a very important part of this complex puzzle; by doing this alone your chances of being negatively impacted are far less.

Can your business benefit from social networking and social media marketing? To find out, visit us here.

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Tags: public, relation, internet, business

While many people only use press releases to get free publicity, learning how to write an effective pitch letter can dramatically increase the amount of publicity you get.

A media pitch letter is a brief proposal addressed to editors containing an idea or article that you would like them to use in order to help you get free publicity. It is important to write a good pitch letter in order to properly get your point across.

It is important to do some simple research before sending out your letter. Research the editor’s name and the publication’s name and be sure to include these in your introduction. This will keep your letter personalized, will show the sincerity in your intentions, and will keep the editor from assuming that this is a letter you sent to other publications as well.

It is also essential that you open your pitch letter with a statement that is attention-grabbing and will make your reader instantly interested in what you have to say. If your reader is instantly hooked on what you have to say, he or she will go on reading.

For example, if I were to write a pitch letter about my adventure selling the Brooklyn Bridge in 1983 (yes, I really did sell the Brooklyn Bridge), I’d start my letter by saying:

“In 1983 I caused an international media sensation by becoming the first person in history to REALLY sell the Brooklyn Bridge — one square inch at a time. Now, 25 years later, I’m doing it again, even bigger and better than before.”

Afterwards, get to the point. Explain to the editor what it is that you want to do-whether suggesting a new product or recommend a person to feature. Make sure that your story or idea is perfect for the publication’s target market, then tell the editor why this is so.

Now that you’ve got the editor’s attention, explain your concept in the most clear and concise way possible. It is important not to put out all your ideas in one media pitch letter for two reasons: first, your letter will not drone on and bore the reader, and second, you will pique your reader’s interest and keep them wondering and wanting more. Make sure that since this is the bulk of your letter, you’ve gotten your main points across-all while keeping your letter within one page. Ideally, the letter should have 200-400 words.

Make it clear to the editor that you are the best person to do the job. You can take this opportunity to cite a few of your past works or significant experiences that may be to your advantage in handling this subject matter. Don’t be too cocky, but confidently explain that you have quality information this person can use and pass on to his or her audience.

Lastly, make sure that you leave your correct contact information. Sounds simple, but you’d be amazed at how many people screw this up.

Include a phone number (cell phones are fine too. Just indicate that the number is your cell number) and an email address that you check frequently. State that you may be reached at those numbers or email addresses anytime should the editor be interested in your idea. You can also include additional press materials with your letter in order to avoid having the editor do some extra research on your topic.

Once you send out your media pitch letters, be sure to check your email and voice mail services often. The media people are happy to leave a message or send an email, but they won’t wait long for you to get back to them. If you don’t get back to them within hours, you risk losing your opportunity for an interview.

If you follow these steps and learn how to write a pitch letter, you’re on your way to getting free publicity that can drive new customers to your business at little to no cost to you.

Do you need more help getting free publicity for your business? Paul Hartunian has all the help you need here and also here where you’ll find free publicity tips, free articles, free coaching call replays that will make getting free publicity for your business a snap!

Plus you’ll find information about Paul’s Million Dollar Publicity System, the whole story of how he sold the Brooklyn Bridge and plenty more.

And, for just $7 you can get 3 issues of Paul’s publicity newsletter, 3 of his best strategy reports, personal coaching from Paul and your very own, authentic piece of the world famous Brooklyn Bridge.

No need to hunt for top quality information on how to get free publicity. Paul Hartunian has it all for you.

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Tags: media, relation, letter, publicity, tips

Great news! You’ve been invited to be on your local morning news show.

So, how do you prepare, especially for an in-studio TV interview?

The first four steps in preparing for an in-studio interview are the same as preparing for any TV interview:

1. Consider who watches the show. What they are interested in, especially in relation to your topic?
2. Decide on your desired result for the interview. What do you want the audience to do?
3. Create your message. Keep it simple and pertinent to the viewers.
4. Craft powerful sound bites so your listeners will remember what you say and act on it.

If you’ve never seen the show, watch it. If you have seen the show, watch it again. This time pay attention to the mechanics of the interview.

Hear are some specific things to observe:

1. Where will you, as the guest, be sitting?
2. What will you be sitting on?
3. Notice other guests. How do they sit? Do they appear engaged in the conversation? Decide how you will sit to look engaged. Tip: leaning in slightly toward the interviewer usually projects engagement. Sitting on the front edge of the chair helps.
4. What outfits and colors look good on guests? [This usually applies more to women than men, as women are a) more interested, and b) have more options than men.]
5. What is the interviewer’s style? Does the style change depending on the guest or topic?
6. If there is more than one host, how do they interact with each other and the guests?
7. Is there a live in-studio audience? If there is, what are the demographics of its members?
8. Does the host take questions from the audience?
9. Do viewers call in to ask questions?
10. How long do the interview segments last? (3 minutes is fairly typical.)

With this information, you will be prepared to enter the studio already feeling at home and confident on the set.

And now to keep you focused during your interview, I invite you to claim your Free Instant Access 400-year-old tool I’ve adapted to help you stay on message by visiting this site

From – Lou Hampton, The QuoteAbility(tm) Coach and Speak to Lead.com

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Tags: pr, interview, relation, studio, tv, step

Getting publicity for yourself and your online business is not as difficult as you may have previously thought. Since web 2.0 took a firm hold a couple of years ago, we are now able to control much of what information we give out and receive. This is the perfect time to promote what you are doing to others in the world you are interested in your topic and ideas.

There are many ways to be your own publicist. One way is to send a press release whenever you do something newsworthy. The important thing to remember is to make news, not make news or press releases. You must have a hook of some kind if you want others to have an interest. Once you find that hook, your information can go viral online.

Many magazine and newspapers have either folded or at least cut way down on the number of people who are reporting the news. My local paper uses stories from the Associated Press wire and other services to fill up their pages. People like you and I are in a fantastic position to be able to get our information out to others.

You can post your stories to your blog, and then use social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook to get the word out as well. I do this for myself, my business, and the non-profit groups I am associated with.

Make sure that anything you send out on the internet is exactly the way you would want to be quoted and represented. Once you press send, it is out there forever.

Download a free teleseminar on building your online business by visiting this Site to learn how to write articles, blog, become involved in social networking and learn the technology needed to build a profitable online business.
Connie Ragen Green has been online since 2005 and teaches people how to build their own online business in record time, offering free teleseminars weekly, as well as online courses in a workshop environment with webinars.

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Tags: public, relation, worldwide, publicity

Knowing how to write a press release gives you a boost ahead of other entrepreneurs. A successful press release generates enough interest in the media, whether offline or online, to write about your company. That means increased visibility with potential customers. While publicity may not lead directly to increased sales it does lead to the increased probability of sales. Here are 3 tips on how to write a press release.

1. Keep your approach newsworthy. How many times have you seen a headline that says “Big Company Announces the Release of New Product”? Probably many times, however that headline doesn’t snag the attention of anyone. It’s boring. The purpose of the headline is to entice the news media to actually read the release. If you can tie your release to current events so much the better, the odds will increase it will get read.

Stress the benefits of your product or company, rather than the attributes. If your new system runs 50% faster than competing systems a reader may not be interested, but if you tell them they can accomplish twice as much in half the time that may perk up their ears.

Look at the release from the point of view of the media and their readers, not from your point of view as to how publicity can benefit your company.

2. Pack all the important information in the first paragraph of the release. That may sound counter intuitive, but sometimes only the first paragraph is read before the decision is made whether there is media interest. Answer the questions of who, what, why, where and when. Expand on the answers more fully later on in the release.

3. Keep the release to one page which is about 350 words. The release isn’t supposed to tell the entire story for your company but to get the media to be interested enough to call and write a story. And don’t send the release as an attachment. These days most attachments are deleted unread, even if labeled “press release.” Don’t link to the release as a pdf file. Reporters have short attention spans. If they have to take the extra step of following a link, they may just go on to the next release in the pile.

Follow these three tips when learning how to write a press release and your releases will be more effective in generating media coverage for you, your company, and products.

Get Your FREE report How to Unleash the Write Press Releases Tips, tricks, and techniques to get your company the publicity it needs for success. Dee Power is the co-author of several nonfiction books including “The Publishing Primer: A Blueprint for an Author’s Success,” “58 Ways to Find Money for Your Business, “Inside Secrets to Venture Capital” and “Attracting Capital From Angels.” More Internet marketing tips.

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Tags: public, relation, press, release, strategy

Hiring a PR firm can bring attention to your company, its services, products and people. But public relations is not a hit-and-run venture; long-term strategies combine with short-term tactics to create a strong brand and positive reputation. Therefore, it is to everyone’s benefit that the relationship between the client company and the PR firm is a lasting one.

Occasionally, however, the relationship doesn’t work out, and while there are often various reasons cited, the problem usually boils down to a flawed vetting process when the firm was first hired.

Avoiding the following pitfalls can lead to a truly successful collaboration between client and firm.

1. Great Expectations

Public relations is not a magical enterprise. It involves creativity, hard work and dedication to the client’s interests. And it often takes some time before you see results. What can happen in the first meeting between the PR firm and a prospective client is an unconscious collaboration: the client wants to think the public relations person can make his company successful overnight, and the public relations person lets him think this because he wants him as a client. This can only lead to disappointment on both sides.
Most experienced public relations professionals will tell you what is – and is not – possible to achieve for your type of business and your budget. A long-term productive relationship is more satisfying for both the client and the PR firm than a short-term honeymoon.

2. Choosing the Wrong Size Firm

One frequent complaint that clients voice about their PR firm is that the top executives presented a wonderful proposal to them, but they rarely heard from those people again. Instead, their account was assigned to someone new to the firm, and they didn’t feel they got the attention – or the results – they deserved.
PR firms survive for the most part on the billable hours that make up the client’s fee. If your company is paying a fee at the low end of a firm’s fee schedule, you will probably get assigned to one of its less seasoned staff. Larger firms usually charge higher fees to cover their higher overhead costs. PR firm fees can range from $5,000 to $30,000 per month or more, so if a fee of $10,000 per month seems like a huge expenditure to you, it’s best to choose a smaller firm.

3. Not Knowing What You Want

From the point of view of the public relations professional, the most difficult clients to satisfy are the ones who really don’t know what they want. Meetings abound, ideas are put forward and shot down – as the public relations person tries fruitlessly to read the client’s mind. In the end, everyone is frustrated.
This outcome can be avoided with some advance planning. Before your first meeting with a firm, do some internal brainstorming and be ready to state your goals and the principal audiences you want to reach with your messages. If you are doing a small project, such as a brochure or website, show examples of the kinds of things you like, your current stationery or logos, and some of your competitors’ materials. You will save time and money by being prepared.

4. Being Cagey about your Budget

Some business owners think that if they talk about their budget upfront, the PR firm will “spend it all – and then some.” But the cost of public relations programs can vary greatly, depending on your goals and your budget. Be clear about both. If you outline goals that require extensive work with expensive outside services and act like money is no object, expect the PR firm to present a proposal for a big program that costs a lot – maybe more than you can afford. If you are honest about how much you have to spend, you have freed the firm to discuss what can be accomplished within your budget. Give the firm a chance to show you what they can do with a smaller budget. Then you will have a more accurate picture of the firm’s resources, creativity and capabilities.

5. Hiding Negative Information

When you are interviewing a PR firm, be open about the possibility of any negative publicity that may be on the horizon involving your company. Public relations people need to know these things – not just at the beginning, but throughout the relationship – in order to plan accordingly. Managing negative news is much more effective when done early on, before it festers and grows into a costly crisis.

Finding the right PR firm doesn’t have to be a shot in the dark. Check with your local chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. Ask other business people for their recommendations, and visit the firms’ websites. Interview several firms to see if they might be the right size and have the right background and experience level to do the job. Ask for a written proposal. Once you feel comfortable that a firm understands your business, your budget and what will be needed to achieve your goals, take the plunge. You will probably be pleasantly surprised.

Margot Dimond is an accredited public relations professional with more than 30 years of experience in the field. Currently a principal with DoubleDimond Public Relations in Houston, Texas, she has been on both sides of the public relations firm hiring process.

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Tags: public, relation, mistake, firm

Should you handle your own public relations campaign? No, not if you don’t know the process or truly understand the intricacies launching a PR campaign. Can you? Yes, at least to a point.

Effective media placement is a full-time job. It takes skill, know-how, persistence, and contacts. The art of effective PR entails more than writing releases and putting together press kits. If you do it haphazardly or incorrectly, you’re better off not doing it at all. The last thing you want to do is alienate the press, which is usually what happens when well-meaning but inexperienced individuals try their hands at running their own media campaigns.

Media placement is a skill that needs to be learned and understood. None of us would suddenly decide to give open-heart surgery a try, or to overhaul a car transmission – well, at least most of us wouldn’t, but every day people decide that they can handle their own PR without any prior knowledge or training whatsoever. An effective media placement campaign is well strategized and thought out. It is a cumulative process that builds day by day and month by month.

If you are thinking of launching a media campaign for your business or career, you basically have four options: hire a media relations firm, hire someone in-house to do your media relations for you, hire a media relations consultant, or launch your own media relations campaign. If you decide to handle your own media relations, you have a big learning curve ahead of you; you want to learn the hows and whys of putting together a successful campaign. If you are looking to hire a company or consultant to do it for you, you still have homework. You need to learn the right questions to ask in order to hire the right firm. PR is not a one-size-fits all service. But the greatest mistake businesses owners make is thinking PR is a luxury, not a necessity. Those are the businesses owners who generally wonder why their competitors keep being featured in the media.

Anthony Mora began his media career as a journalist and magazine editor. In 1990, Anthony formed Anthony Mora Communications, Inc., a Los Angeles-based public relations company that has placed clients in: Time, Newsweek, 60 Minutes, CNN, USA Today, Oprah, The New York Times, Vogue, and other media. Anthony, who is the author of “Spin to Win,” has been featured in: USA Today, Newsweek, The New York Times, , The Wall Street Journal, The BBC, CNN, Fox News, and other media outlets.

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Tags: public, relation, campaign, pr

There is no question that media coverage will boost business for you. It’s a proven way to put your business in the spotlight in a major way. A perfect example of marketing 1 to many, which if you know my teachings, you know is the ideal marketing model. Media coverage will also:

• Raise your public profile.
• Improve your credibility.
• Establish your authority.
• Generate new customers.
• Make it easier to convert prospects to customers.

Getting your product or service in the media has it’s process and that’s where many small business owners get stuck. They don’t know how and they don’t have the budget to hire a public relations firm which can get pretty expensive.

The good news is that doing your own publicity is very doable. In fact, it’s quite easy. You just have to know the steps, plug into it, and work it until you get the coverage you are looking for.

Here are the basic steps to getting free media coverage for your business:

1. Identify the media venues (print or broadcast) that your target audience is most likely to consume. For instance, if your product is for women you want to target programs and publications watched and read by women.

2. Contact the Producers and Editors of these identified venues. This is easier than ever. Every publication and program has a website with contact information. So look that up and ask for the key person you are looking for by department or segment and get that persons contact information so that you can start calling them and sending them information.

3. Send consistent press releases that are very catchy and even SEXY! I call press releases the necessary evil. Producers and editors get so many of these a day, that many get tossed. However, it’s also what needs to be sent out consistently to create a buzz about your product or service. The key is making it so catchy and sexy that it’s irresistible and provides valuable content to the producer. I use “sexy” because the media loves “sexy”. So find creative ways to hook them by pitching your story with a “sexy” tip.

4. Position Your Business Virally- The best way to hook the media is by being everywhere. Today, that is extremely easy with all the tools available with the internet. So position your business on the social networks, write articles and publish them online, put up videos on Youtube, and blog away. When you contact producers with your press releases, if they go on to research you and find you all over the net, you are more likely to be considered.

5. Have a Media Kit (online version works!) Websites have become the new media kits. If you have a page with a picture of you and your product, great content, articles and credentials, then you are set to go. Having a conventional media kit (a package you send out) is still great to have but if you don’t have a budget to get it done yet, your website can do the trick.

6. Be consistent. Like everything, getting on the media takes time. Working on your publicity everyday will get you the coverage eventually. And the best part is that once you get on, you have already established a relationship with key people who will continuously help you get more media coverage throughout your business.

If you want media coverage for your business do not fall into the trap of believing it can’t be done without a publicist or agency. Believe it or not the media needs you. So come up with the value in your product, spin it into a story and start working the system.

See you on TV!

© 2009 Synergy Communications, Inc.

Entrepreneur Julissa Fernandez a.k.a “The Sassy Media Guru” is a Business Communications Coach visit this Site. and Consultant, To learn more visit this Site.

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A TV-oriented public relations campaign has three primary components, you need to create a compelling visually-oriented story, be able to pitch it effectively and know who to pitch it too. Most people think they know which story or pitch will work for them, but they’re generally wrong. The story about why your product or service is so good usually misses the mark because it’s not a story that meets the media’s needs, or connects with your target audience. You need to think like your customer thinks, more importantly, you need to think like a TV producer. You have to think backwards. What does your local TV news program, the Today Show or Oprah need? Study them. Make notes. Now give them a visually-oriented pitch that fills that need. Think in terms of personal stories, anecdotal stories that others can relate to, and talk in a language that the journalist you’re pitching will understand. When pitching a TV show, think visually, what can you offer that has a visual component. What can you come up with that would give them a compelling TV segment?

For example, we represented an acupuncturist who specialized in acupuncture facelifts. TV producers loved this segment idea. It wasn’t a surgical procedure, so it wasn’t going to be too graphic, they could interview the acupuncturist, the patient, show a bit of the procedure in process and then show some after shots. It was visual, different, and had to do with health and beauty and offered them a good hook. We represented a fitness trainer who stared in a how-to fitness video; the pitch there was summer fitness tips. She could bring a client with her and show different at-home, quick, and easy exercises. This proposed segment reached a large target market, was easy to shoot and offered an interesting visual component.

So to launch an effective TV-oriented PR or media relations campaign, keep your message in mind, but think in terms of meeting the media’s needs. Be concise, be clear, keep it interesting and never ever forget that TV is a visual medium.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2009

Anthony Mora began his media career as a freelance journalist for such publications as Us, Rolling Stone and other local and national publications. He also served as editor-in-chief of two Los Angeles-based entertainment and lifestyle-oriented publications. In 1990, Anthony formed Anthony Mora Communications, Inc. a Los Angeles-based media relations company that specializes in media placement, image development, and media training. AMC Inc. has placed clients in: Time, Newsweek, 60 Minutes, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and other local, national, and international media outlets. Anthony has been featured in: USA Today, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, The BBC, CNN, Entrepreneur, Fox News, MSNBC, and other media. He has written three books. The most recent, “Spin to Win,” is a step-by-step guide on how to define goals and utilize the power of the media to achieve success in any field.

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Companies commit huge amounts of time, manpower and money to conduct effective public relations programs and maintain their positive reputations. However, many fail to engage, potentially, their most powerful public relations engines available — their own employees.

Too many companies fail to recognize their employees’ ability to provide support as their organization’s best ambassadors. Every public relations initiative — and especially every crisis communications plan — should include a sup-plan to inform employees and other internal audiences prior to going public with news and important information.

In-person briefings show your concern for employees more pointedly than a memo or newsletter. However, written communications are often the only option. Prepare your employees with key facts so they can step up as knowledgeable public relations advocates. Engage their collective voice in support of your organization’s strengths, objectives and mission.

It is beyond your control, but every employee becomes a company spokesperson — good or bad — when they talk to their families, friends and associates. What they say and the impressions they make regarding your organization are determined largely by the amount and quality of information you give them.

For example, if your company is planning to introduce a new product, your employees should know everything about the product’s features and benefits at the time of the introduction. Or if your company is advocating certain legislation, employees should know how it would benefit them and your organization.
Including your workforce in the information loop is important because it:

* Enables employees to describe knowledgeably your company’s products and services and its point of view on major issues.

* Spares employees the belittling experience of first hearing company news from outside sources. You don’t want your employees’ initial exposure to true or alleged facts to occur via the news media, an Internet blog or a relative.

* Enables you to explain to employees how your public relations department works with reporters to develop relationships, pitch ideas, contribute background information and facilitate the inclusion of your executives’ quotes in news stories. Employees and others may have no idea of the strategy, effort and professionalism required to deliver high visibility public relations.

The importance of keeping employees abreast of company developments applies to virtually every circumstance. But it is particularly important when you anticipate a major news story — positive or negative. Preparing employees for such a story gives them time to discuss it, ask questions and absorb the facts then knowledgeably present your company’s point of view when the piece goes public.

By keeping your employees in the information loop and arming them with accurate and current information, you enable them to reinforce your company’s mission, advocate its strengths and objectives and help to burnish the company’s positive reputation.

Brian R. Salisbury, a writer and a public relations and communications consultant, combines a wealth of communications know-how with an engaging writing style to help his clients shape the most effective messages and deliver them with the greatest impact where they count most. Visit Brian’s website and subscribe to his free public relations newsletter and receive his free report “Ten Key Components of a Successful Public Relations Program.”

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Tags: public, relation, employment, build

Press releases (you can also call them news releases) are a great tool for getting media coverage–my favorite kind of free publicity–and they should be part of every PR strategy. The majority of press releases go straight into the recycle bin–or simply get lost in the deluge of press materials. And some of the reason is that an amazing number of news releases break some of the basic rules.

So be a successful media contact and get the free publicity. Set your news releases apart from the crowd–do it right! That, along with proper follow up, will boost your odds significantly.

The crucial part is not so much in the structure of the release, but in the ingredients. Just as when you bake a cake, it needs flour, eggs, flavoring agents, and sweetener–but you can assemble them in thousands of different permutations within that basic “cake structure”

So here’s what you should have in your computer cupboard when sending a press release to try to get mentioned in newspaper and magazine articles, or to get free airtime on the radio:

- A news hook–something to pin the story on that makes people want to read past the first couple of lines. You are competing with a huge number of inputs so yours has to be memorable. Otherwise–you get skipped over and someone else gets the free publicity.

- An understanding of who’s reading the news release and what they’re looking for, i.e., one size definitely does *not* fit all. This is why I always ask my press release clients who will be reading it. Some audiences want something sexy or overdramatic, others want just the facts, others want a local or niche angle.

- The right list to send it to, preferably with individual editors’/reporters’ names, recently verified, who write the kinds of newspaper and magazine articles you’re aiming at in your free publicity campaign.

- Full contact info! The best release in the world is useless if the reporter doesn’t have the tools to follow up. Likewise, complete info about the product or event (including ordering information, if appropriate)

- A format that’s accessible to the news media. This means good writing. Ideally, you’ll see your exact words in print, in newspaper and magazine articles. It also means using only one side of the page, making it easy to read, and making sure it’s addressed to the right department (at the right fax number or e-mail address).

Other things are nice to have, but not essential: some sort of third-party validation, for example, or quotes from the principal person involved, or a summary.

Eventually, it becomes second nature. I can knock off an easy release (say, for a community happening) in about 20 minutes, and the papers will pick it up. For a project with a national audience and significantly more research involved, it still usually only takes me one to two hours.

Marketing consultant/copywriter Shel Horowitz is founder of the international Business Ethics Pledge campaign and author of seven books including the Apex Award winner Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First.

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Love it or hate it, speech writing is often one of a public relations practitioner’s most challenging responsibilities. Recently a friend of mine, a talented PR guy in his mid-twenties, was griping about the difficulties of speech writing: not enough access to the executives he writes for, flow-killing changes the lawyers want made, tight deadlines, lack of appreciation for his work.

Speech writing, he concluded, is hard work!

My colleagues used to voice the same complaints over 30 years ago when I started. Some would quote famed author, Edna Ferber, who described writing as a “combination of ditch-digging, mountain climbing, treadmill and childbirth.”

Others quoted Gene Fowler: “Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.”

What’s changed? It used to be worse!

So for those of you of the younger generations, I provide this brief description of the frustrations I had to endure when I began speech writing in the 1970s. Frustrations you no longer have to deal with. (And yes, I did have to walk 10 miles to school through 4 feet of snow up hill both ways.)

Cutting edge technology was the IBM Selectric typewriter with an ORATORS typeface ball.

Spell check was in your head, aided by an in-arms-reach dictionary.

Delete was a bottle of witeout.

Cut and paste really was cut and paste – or more often, cut and scotch tape – or completely retype.

Research consisted of phoning sources at their home or office, praying they would be there (no cell phones)…or going to the library, using the card catalog and Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature, then going to the stacks only to discover the magazine issue or book you most wanted was missing.

At least now with the aid of word processing, emails, cell phones, and online research, we can spend most of our time creating content, not laboring with production mechanics.

This is one area of life where the “good old days” clearly weren’t.

And for more thoughts on speech writing and executive communication, I invite you to visit this website

From – Lou Hampton, The QuoteAbility Coach and Reputation Czar

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Tags: speech, pr, writing, relation

Simply moving messages from one point to another using tactics like press releases, special events, brochures and broadcast plugs?

Good gosh, I hope not!

Not when many business, non-profit, government agency and association managers badly need to do something both positive and meaningful about the behaviors of those important outside audiences of theirs whose behaviors MOST affect the departmental, divisional or subsidiary unit they manage.

These are the same managers who need the kind of public relations effort that leads them directly to achieving their managerial objectives; in particular by persuading those key outside folks to the manager’s way of thinking by helping move audience members to take actions that help the manager’s department, group, division or subsidiary to succeed.

As long-ago news commentator Gabriel Heater used to say, “Ah, there’s good news tonight!” Here, that good news is the fact that the right public relations planning really CAN alter individual perception and result in changed behaviors among key outside audiences. Achievable, incidentally, only when you as a manager require more than news releases, special events and broadcast plugs. When that happens, you should receive the quality public relations results you deserve.

Here’s the way public relations’ underlying premise puts it: 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.

Sample some of the playback that can come about from this kind of public relations: community leaders begin to seek you out; capital givers or specifying sources start to look your way; welcome bounces in show room visits occur; 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 or association communities; new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures start showing up; customers begin to make repeat purchases; and membership applications start to rise.

Look first to your public relations professionals, who are already in the perception and behavior business, to handle your data gathering activity, an essential component of your new opinion monitoring project. But be certain that the PR staff really accepts why it’s SO important to know how your most important outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. Essentially, be sure they truly believe that perceptions almost always result in behaviors that can help or hurt your operation.

Together with your PR specialists, analyze your plans for monitoring and gathering perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. Suggest that the staff consider questions like these: how much do you know about our organization? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the exchange? Are you familiar with our services or products and employees? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures?

Retaining a professional survey firm to do the opinion gathering work, can strain your budget and end up more expensive than using your own staff people. But whether it’s your people 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.

This is where we establish a clearcut and realistic PR goal calling for action on the most serious problem areas you uncovered during your key audience perception monitoring. You may decide to straighten out that dangerous misconception, bring to an end that potentially painful rumor, or correct that gross inaccuracy.

Since goal and strategy go together like Oreo cookies and milk, you must connect your goal to an action-oriented strategy that shows how to get to where you’re going. Actually, 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 whipped cream on your pot roast. 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.

Now you must task your team’s best writer to 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. S/he must produce some really corrective language that is not merely compelling, persuasive and believable, but clear and factual if they are to shift perception/opinion towards your point of view and lead to the behaviors you have in mind.

Luckily for you, the right communications tactics will carry your message to the attention of your target audience? There are many tactics available from speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others. But be certain that the tactics you pick are known to reach folks just like your audience members.

Since the means by which you communicate your message is always a concern because its credibility is fragile and always suspect, you may wish initially to unveil your corrective message before smaller meetings through presentations rather than using higher-profile news releases.

Measuring how far you’ve come since the program’s inception, you’ll want to compare where you are now against the starting point to show the progress you’ve made. First, you’ll be demonstrating, in the form of periodic progress reports, how the monies spent on public relations can pay off. However, it’s also an alert to start a second perception monitoring session with members of your external audience. Here, you’ll use many of the same questions used in the benchmark interviews. But now, you will be on strict alert for signs that the bad news perception
is being altered in your direction.

Without doubt, you will face periodic slowdowns in the program. Generally, adding more communications tactics, and/or increasing their frequencies, usually solves that problem.

As asked up front: Is PR all about moving messages from one point to another using familiar tactics? I said Good Gosh, I hope not! And I still say, Good Gosh, I hope not!

Much preferred are managers who decide they no longer wish to be denied the best public relations has to offer, preferring instead to pursue the quality public relations results they believe they deserve.

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website.

Robert A. Kelly © 2005.

Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to business, non-profit and association managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communi- cations, 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 Site

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Tags: function, public, relation, definition

Public relations, commonly known as PR, is something every company needs to take into consideration. Whether you are the CEO of a large firm or own a small business you need public relations. In fact, more than likely you probably already use some form of public relations without even knowing what it is you’re doing. What exactly does public relations consist of and why is it so important to your company’s bottom line?

Put simply, public relations is how you communicate with consumers and even any employees. It’s how you want them to view your company. Have you heard the saying even bad publicity is good publicity? Most of us have and that’s true to a certain extent. The smaller your company is the more you can suffer from bad publicity. This is where a good public relations plan comes in handy. Controlling what is said and printed about your business can be critical to your company’s success. Knowing that bad publicity may not be such a great thing, how do you use your public relations skills to control what you want people to know about your company.

One of the most cost effective ways to handle public relations is to start a free blog related to your company. Linking your blog to your company’s website gives the consumer unlimited access to what’s happening within your company. A well written blog can actually serve several purposes. It can be a great form of free advertising, as well as a tool used to issue statements to the public. It’s an excellent place to share any awards your company has received as well.

Another popular form of handling public relations issues is by sending a monthly newsletter to your customers and even employees. This can be done in print, but also via email if you’d like a more cost effective approach. However, you decide to handle the public relations for your business, it should go hand in hand with your advertising to be as cost effective as possible. Becoming a PR expert will take some time, but once you master it your company will reap the benefits!

Dustin Heath recommends that you visit this web

to learn how you can start your own home-based business earning multiple streams of income with a Plug-In Profit Site – Complete Money Making Site Setup FREE!

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Tags: public, relation, company, online

Getting published offline or featured online isn’t as tough as you think; what can be the challenge is knowing what to do with that PR once you get it! PR by itself isn’t inherently useful, it is critical to have a plan for distributing your feature or article in a meaningful way both online and offline. Very rarely will your phone start ringing off the hook with a single feature, instead it is a valuable opportunity for you to let your prospects and clients know that you’ve been showcased. Here are 3 proven ways to turn PR into prospects, projects and profits!

PR Tip #1 To Reinforce Your Value and Talent with Clients and Prospects

ONLINE: Send a link of your featured work or article to your contact list with a short note sharing your excitement. Your list should include current clients, past clients, and prospects you haven’t yet gotten on board. (For more ideas on prospecting, see Melissa’s Favorite Resources.)

OFFLINE: Request a hi-res PDF of the feature that you can email to your contact list, at the same time get a printed piece (either your local printer or often there are specific services available through the publisher to provide a truly professional mailer) and mail it by postal service to reinforce your value. REMEMBER these days everyone’s email box is overflowing but our postal boxes are getting emptier so you have a better chance of standing out though it will cost you in printing and postage.

PR Tip #2 As a Prospecting Tool

ONLINE: Send a link of your feature or article to the groups you belong to as either a wall post, or better as part of a discussion you create. You’ll also want to share this in updates on your online profiles more than once.

OFFLINE: Armed with a list of new prospects, either from a list service, or that you have compiled from networking events, home shows, show houses, or other offline avenues, mail your feature with a note and a limited time special offer on your services.

PR Tip #3 Vendor Collaboration

ONLINE: Ask selected vendors you do business with who both retail and work with the trade if they would provide a link to your feature on their site. They act as a referral for your talents and you, of course, reinforce the value of the vendor as a recommended designer resource.

OFFLINE: Provide your favorite vendors with copies of your feature or article to be available to their customers and clients. This reinforces your value as a talent they do business with and recommend and reciprocally references that vendor as a quality designer resource.

Getting PR is only half of the marketing equation. Unless you create a plan using the tips here, it will just be pretty decoration on your wall or a warm fuzzy feeling. Make PR work for you by knowing how to spread the word of your talent and value to new and old clients, prospects, and vendors.

For more shortcuts and strategies on building your business and igniting your success, be sure to download your f.r.e.e copy of changeyourrewards.com. And if you are ready to take your business to the next level, then check out sixfigureprofessionals.com to get your f.r.e.e. strategy session. Marketing mastery will make you the maverick success you deserve to be!

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Tags: public, relation, firm, prospect

Company newsletters are a great way to convey timely information about your firm, its products and offerings. And because they offer both entertainment and information, newsletters tend to have a longer shelf life than other types of promotions.

Newsletters may either be “house organs” (internal newsletters distributed to the employees of your company) or external newsletters, sent to a specific mailing list of your clients, partners, or potential clients. Even internal newsletters can be used to improve public relations: send copies of them with notes to your vendors, suppliers, and strategic partners. They’ll appreciate this way of keeping in touch.

Newsletters are easily produced using desktop publishing software and can then be printed internally or offsite depending on your needs and budget.

If you don’t have the time or inclination to write your own newsletter, there are many “canned” (generic) newsletters available that you can send out under your company name. Some of them aren’t too bad. Another idea is to co-create a newsletter with a strategic partner and send it to both company’s mailing lists. Not only do you increase your mailing list, you add credibility to both companies by linking your names in print.

For all of their advantages, newsletters are seldom sent to the press. While they should contain newsworthy items, their format and publication lag time make them generally unsuitable as press materials.

Following are 11 tips for making your newsletters pull their PR weight. Although these tips apply primarily to printed newsletters, many also apply to electronic newsletters.

Newsletter Tips:

1) Write for your readers, not yourself. Always think about ways to benefit your readers with your newsletter.

2) Make your lead article interesting or they won’t read any further.

3) Make the design interesting (use a multi-column format and graphical elements). Use graphics and photos generously. Use the “dollar bill” test: you should not be able to lay a dollar bill down on your page without it touching a graphical element.

4) Avoid clip art on external newsletters unless it’s really excellent, in which case try hard to avoid it anyway. It cheapens your publication, though it’s fine for a homey internal newsletter. If you do choose to use clip art, make certain it’s all from the same “family” of style (don’t put cartoon characters in the same publication with high quality line art, for instance).

6) Use two colors (black plus one accent color is fine); this provides a much more professional look than a one-color publication.

7) Use no more than two or three typefaces. Generally text is in a serif typeface and headlines in sans-serif.

8) Be eco-friendly. Use recycled paper where possible and let your readership know you’re doing so.

9) Include an editorial box with contact information for the publisher, editor and staff so your readers know where to send their comments and suggestions.

10) Publish your newsletter on a regular basis (quarterly works out well for many businesses). Time publication dates to coincide with significant events when possible.

11) Ask for feedback regularly. You can do this by simply adding a “feedback please” line in your editorial box or by including a mail-back survey in the newsletter itself.

Newsletters provide an easy way to stay in touch with your target audience, and because they are generally well received, they are a communications tool that should be part of your public relations program.

Yvonne Meacham Buchanan is a public relations instructor for PR Essentials, an online public relations course available through Careers in Public Relations ( visit the website ).

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Tags: public, relation, toolkit, newsletter

This article will help you create publicity on a continual basis for any sports team. There are action item you can do today to get started. Let’s talk about why you would even want to bother with PR.

Every team needs PR or publicity. Children’s teams need PR so they can attract sponsors and visitors to the games. Even if the visitors do not have to pay, it’s more fun for everyone when there is a large involved crowd at the games. The PR can also be used to attract support before it’s needed. A team that is fully supported is less likely to be shut down when funds are tight in the schools, cities and counties.

Adult teams need publicity because it will bring in sponsors and paying customers who come to games. Paying customers tend to buy t-shirts and other things that support the team financially. Few teams can afford to survive with no money coming in.

Where do you start?

Start with your local media. When you send the local radio stations and newspapers the stats and updates on the teams wins, along with some interesting fact about the team or a particular player, you give them something to talk about. This needs to be done each week or at least every other week. Publicity is not something you do one time and that’s it. You have to keep sending information. When a media outlet sees they can depend on you to send timely updates, they are more likely to include you. A timely update is one that is well before the time they need to publish or be on the air. If the local sports radio show comes on at 8 am, then this information should be sent the day before, not at 7 am when they are prepping for the show. This means you will have to find out the publish dates of the newspapers and magazines you send this information to. And send the information well before that dates. When you approach sponsors, you can show them the visibility your team already has. Everyone wants to be with winners.

Getting your press releases or media releases as I like to call them, written up and sent out is not an easy thing. Some people can write professionally but not well. The bottom line is to stimulate the media to do a story on your team or at least mention your team. You must keep sending them out; you can’t send out one and say it did not work. Rarely do people get written up on the first media release unless they are professional PR people and have connections to make it happen.

These strategies work for Semi-professional teams as well as children’s community teams. They are strategies the professional teams use.

Action Items:

1. Look at the team schedule and create a schedule to send out media releases
2. Get some interesting facts about the player or team to send to the media
3. Make a list of local radio, TV, magazines, newspapers and blogs that cover your local area and find out about their deadlines
4. Use the contact information to just send media release and updates
5. Send pictures as often as you can about the topic in the media release
6. Delegate one person to handle this so that when the media contacts you, they don’t get the run around as to who to talk to.
7. Always leave your contact information with media every time you connect with them.

Dr. Letitia S. Wright, D.C. is the host of the Wright Place TV Show, now in it’s 10th year on the cable television. The show has strategies and tips for business owners and others on how to get sponsors here.

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Tags: publicity, relation, public, sport, team, secret

It seems that with the advent of reality TV, more and more people – of varying degrees of skill and ability – are seeking their 15 minutes of fame. The opportunity to be, if only for a short while, the most interesting person at the party.

So, how do you achieve this? What quality divides those that are constantly being looked over from those who are simply over looked? In other publications the issue here may be to tackle the question: what lies at the heart of celebrity status? What engine drives the media towards one-person and away from another? In some journals we may well be discussing the merits of 15 minutes of fame as opposed to a hard earned, hard won opportunity to be centre-stage.

That’s not the purpose of this diary entry. The truth is, most of us don’t care why some people are famous and others are not. You just want to know how you can grab a slice of the limelight and your position on that elusive centre stage.

During my career as a publicist and media consultant, I have had the privilege to advise clients ranging from corporate organisations to one-man businesses.

From stars of sports and stage to politicians and otherwise ‘ordinary’ people who suddenly find themselves in the media spotlight. During a career that has spanned nearly two decades (yes, I really am that old) I have been able to identify no less than eight essential factors that should be taken into account if you are to become a star.

1. As far as the media is concerned, there are two types of people in this world: those who, when walking into a room, say, “there you are.” And there are those who walk into a room and declare: “here I am!” To be a celebrity you have to be the latter. You don’t have to be extraordinarily talented, because the truth is talent is grossly overrated. You don’t have to be the most attractive person in the world because looks fade. Or even the smartest or funniest character on the planet. You just have to be able to perfect the ability to draw attention to yourself.

Take a look at your wardrobe. What are you wearing today? Are these the type of clothes that will get you noticed? It seems a superficial tissue but it’s an important one. Some may argue that it doesn’t matter what you look like as long as you have what it takes inside. Don’t be fooled by this argument. You only get one chance to make a first impression. Your outward appearance plays a crucial role in determining whether or not people will want to see you – or even remember having seen you at all.

2. Never ever copy someone else’s style. Unless you’re planning to make a living as a lookalike, it’s virtually the kiss of death to be described as ‘the new so and so.’ I should know. When I first started my career as a publicist I had to the dubious pleasure of being described as “the new Max Clifford.” I thought this was great as it got me noticed almost immediately. But for every interview I did Max was getting a free mention! Eventually I had to insist that, during every interview, the journalist or presenter was not to compare me to any other publicist. By all means pay special attention to celebrities who have achieved stardom despite what appeared to be insurmountable odds. Take inspiration from their success but don’t try to copy them. All imitations are worthless. To set yourself apart from everyone else you have to be different. I can’t stress this enough. If you copy someone else you will always be in their shadow. Do you remember a group called The Jackson Five? Now think about the British version who described themselves as Five Star and you’ll see my point.

Enough said.

3. Don’t try to hide what others might consider to be your shortcomings. Use them to your advantage. It’s not a perfect world and we’re not perfect people. Some of us are too short others are too tall. Some of us haven’t got the best vocal abilities in the world others have strong, strange accents that make others smile. Sometimes we speak with a lisp. Use these shortcomings to set yourself apart. Accept yourself for who you are – and who you will one day become. We all know famous people who are less than the average height. We all know famous people have speech defects, big noses or are going bald. If they can make it despite these so-called shortcomings you have to believe that you can too. Sometimes these minor imperfections are what will give us that valuable edge over everybody else.

4. Set yourself a realistic goal and a time frame to achieve it. Every single day – starting from today – do at least one thing towards achieving your goal. It may be you want to be a pop star. Send a demo tape out as often as possible. Write to record labels as often as possible. Network as much as possible. If you dream of one day becoming a best selling author, write at least one page of your block buster every single day. The universal truth here at is that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. The more you do the more you’ll get back.

5. Don’t bore family and friends with your constant declarations of determination and how you will one day achieve your dreams. You might think it shows how committed you are but often you will come across as desperate and desperate people never inspire confidence. Keep your goals to yourself and also what you’re doing to achieve them. That way, when you start getting the returns back from your hard labours, everyone will be amazed because they didn’t realize just how hard you have been working. An example from the animal world comes to mind here. Imagine if you can the vision of an elegant swan gently gliding along a clear lake. The swan’s progress appears to be almost effortless but beneath the surface its webbed feet are paddling like crazy.

6. Take an active interest in the field you want to break into. This may seem an obvious point but it’s remarkable how many people want to be a great writers yet claim they haven’t got time to read. If your interest is in a comedy, then visit as many shows as you can. Find out who’s making it in the industry and what sets them apart. Get yourself on the subscription list of industry newsletters and magazines as they can often provide you with valuable information as to openings and possible closings.

7. Cast a critical eye over yourself. Get a pen and paper and write down a list of both your great points and your shortcomings. Do everything you can to draw attention to your good points and work on those shortcomings so that they will work to your favour.

8.If all else fails – or you’re looking for a short cut to fame and fortune – hire a great publicist.

Looking for work in the world of media, whether being a journalist, PR Vacancies or new media. Setting up a website was enjoyable and fun, keep an eye on journalist vacancies that may suite you.

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Tags: public, relation, manager, publicity

If we consider the true purposes of public relations, the first thing that comes to our mind is it’s impact on the growth and development of a business. In order to achieve success in it’s objective, a PR exercises provide information to the people which occur to informative as well as entertaining for them. Public relations can be defined as sweaty palms; involving efforts in convincing a reporter about the range and expertise of your business, or compelling writers to pen down a press release about your organization, or spending countless hours in faxing the stories to hundreds of editors.

The right PR strategy is the right application in the right manners so as to bring rewarding results to your company without much involving in daunting efforts as discussed above. If you implement the right PR strategy with the help of a good public relations company, you can experience constant ringing of phones at your office, can see people showing interest by asking about your products or services, getting credibility and proving yourself a skilled company owner in the industry and hearing thousands of people learning about your services. And this all you accomplish on a very low budget without costing much to you. In order to make a proper business presence, every businessman should go for the right PR strategy.

With the implementation of the following PR strategy following invaluable marketing tactics suggested by a good PR firm, you can avail assured success in your business;

Creation of Creative Story Pitches: With the help of a great story pitch, your products can directly enter into the minds and heart of the people. Unnecessary promotion of your business may not do much for your succession. Instead make a different story which includes financial, professional, emotional and spiritual benefits and entertainment for a reader.

Go to the Target Audience with Right Media Message: It is very important to understand to whom you need to target as the audience of your products. If the customer bases of a product are women in 30s, you probably can not ask media to focus on girls in their teens. This step taken for your PR strategy with the right media Message will help you achieve your marketing objectives.

Let a PR firm or a spokesperson represents your company: Make sure that your company objectives should be expressed by a PR professional. Suppose an editor or a reporter is going to schedule a meeting or an interview with somebody at your workplace to get the information about the product, here a spokesperson is required to deliver the right message in a right manner.

In short, PR is a never-failing marketing strategy that helps your business yield tremendous outcome with the correct implementation. And you need to give serious attention to execute a long-term PR strategy for the benefits of your organization and is impossible to achieve without the help of good Public Relations Firm.

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Tags: pr, strategy, public, relation, firm

With the expansion of multi media and many other means to proliferation of messages through communication channels, it has become essential for a company to have PR as an important part of its business activities and strategies to meet out challenges posed by international competitive environment.

However, in order to align with contemporary competitive wave, if a company is going to select out a public relation agencies to meet out its communication needs, it should be clear about the objectives to be entertained by a PR Agency and future outcomes from the campaign.

While a company is going out to select a Public Relation Agencies, it should be clear about the concept of Public relation and should interview at least two three companies before making a final deal about public relation agencies to judge whether an in house PR practitioner fulfills a demand or company need to hire an outside public relation agency.

The chosen PR agency should have complete knowledge about what is expected from them to accomplish and have a full support of senior management in carrying out communication task, effectively. Budget constraints are another important point that is needed to be thoroughly entertained while making a commitment of business relationship with a Public relation agency. As public relation is a relation building exercise thus what is put into in the process is naturally emerges out as a result.

There are many does and dose not when selecting a PR agency, however, a company should pay attention on certain important points when selecting a public relation agency. The most important point while selecting a Public relation agency is, whether, it understands client business or not. Slightest failure to understand the nature of client business can reverse expected results. The next important point of consideration while selecting Public relation agencies is the information about your business you can provide to an agency or you can rely over them in terms of security of information provided to them.

The other million dollar question while selecting a pr agency is the experience and expertise of the person working within the company and whether experienced person are working on the desired account. Whether a PR agency can reach to target audience is the other important question a company should ask a PR agency before delivering over the project. You should also qualify that agency you are singing to the task is capable of judging communication needs according to business needs of the company. You should also enquire about their relations with local as well as national media ands should call for client testimonials, references, credentials and case studies.

Mansi Aggarwal recommends you to visit this website for more information on public relations.

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Tags: public, relation, agency, right

Public relations agency is now integral to corporate strategy of any company in t competitive environment of global business and no company can survive without public relations. According to a famous definition of public relations, “Public relations are the management function which evaluates public attitudes, identifies the policies and procedures of an individual or an organization with the public interest, and plans and executes a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance.”

A public relation agency works on two fold methods, on the public side, it disseminates message for a company in public affairs, community relations, investor relations, public press conferences, media events, internal events, internal communications and crisis management whereas on the other side of the picture a public relations company writes a press release, coordinate media contacts, secures credentials and lobby for an article and more.

Public relation has great power to influence public by the methods of community relations. As the community affair initiative taken within the company helps company to build a better image for itself and the major role in this exercise is paid by public relations.

As PR is like telling a good story for creating an image for a company as people prefer reading good stories. And a good PR for a product or services can weave stories around them and influence public opinion. As better is the narration of your story as better it would be accepted by the public. The story here is narrated to target audience and market.

Other important role played by PR in recent time is of a Brand Making along with opinion making. PR Company does all for you by communicating with target market through the process of target market relations. It does all for a company from launching a product, creating image for company and lobbying with government, etc.

PR accomplishes most difficult task for a company by creating contact with news agencies and newspapers that is known as media communication. There are a vast number of outlets that a PR agency contact for media communication like, local paid-for newspaper, local free paper, local council newspaper, free county magazine, local radio and television, trade, technical and professional magazines covering the same product or services operated by the company, national newspapers, consumer and lifestyle magazines, national radio and television, etc.

Next step after knowing your media is developing communication and relation with them. Newspaper is the most conventional and popular media appealing to a public relation agency and Editor is the right person in a newspaper to get in touch with who can decide upon the fate of news article or a press release. As newspapers woks on very tight deadlines, thus news item should be provided well in advance to a newspaper. Hence it can be clearly understood that public relation agency is a must for a modern day business strategies.

Mansi Aggarwal recommends you to visit this site for more information on public relations.

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Tags: public, relation, company, work, agency

The internet is a huge source of information. What makes you credible to search engines is the value of the information you put out.

Article PR is a tool that has become more common in just the last few years. It is a term that defines the ability to broadcast your knowledge and expertise to your p
rospective clients via the internet – namely article directories. These article directories or “banks”, as they are sometimes referred to, are depositories of online information that can then be distributed elsewhere… for free. Wouldn’t you like it if people found your articles and felt them useful enough to use them in their own newsletters, magazines, ezines, etc.? You are probably asking yourself why they would do that and what would be the value to them and then to you?

They do it because they are not experts on your subject and in the ongoing effort to provide quality content to their clients, they want experts that have already done the leg work for them. Using your content positions them as being a helpful source of information, which gives their customers more reasons to want to regularly stay in touch with them (and not just get blasted with promotions). The byproduct is that you get “unsolicited” coverage and possibly even clients.

The direct value to you is that your name, your company name and your website are all in tact in the article. Article PR works on the honor system. Anyone is allowed to use your articles as long as they keep the bio of the author and their website link intact. How cool is that?

The value of Article PR invaluable because it can create the perception that you have been around a long time, even if you have not, and that you are an expert in what you do. Article PR is basically a way to get useful content out about your topic of expertise. And as long as you write useful information that actually does help, then you are golden.

There is a right way to get your articles written, communicated and directed to the online directories that matter. What matters? The ones that will get you the best Return On Investment – higher page rankings, more unique visitors, more referring URLs and domains.

What else matters? Critical mass – you can create such an overwhelming amount of useful information on the internet from all sorts of sources, all linking back to your site organically that you become the expert in your industry. It is the foundation for other more targeted PR, like social media, print, radio and TV. Journalists will also start to be one of your fans – and that breeds reputation and credibility…which ties in perfectly with the next piece of the PR puzzle called Reputation Management.

After handling the PR for an Inc 500 company for several years Karla Jo Helms was ready to launch out on her own allowing her to bring her unique take on the world of PR to businesses both large and small. “Public Relations is a powerful tool that can garner wide acceptance and delve into arenas that marketing cannot touch,” says Karla Jo, PR Strategist and Published Author. Helms got her start creating and implementing PR Strategies for entrepreneurs, which helped her develop a keen eye for how to hone in on the best use of PR and technology to increase the Return On Investment of one’s marketing dollars. Her theory on how attaining critical mass by utilizing all areas of PR and Marketing in today’s world allows her to put together complete strategies for clients that attain measurable results. A background in sales, business management and media relations has given her the well-rounded understanding of how to harness the power of PR to communicate to diverse groups of people…the end result being a wider sphere of influence and the invaluable commodity of goodwill garnered on a broad basis for her clients.

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Tags: PR, communication, online, relation

If you’re a local business owner, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to win big with web marketing. You just need to know how to use local online public relations (PR) to boost business, that is, to generate free messaging or promotion. When local organizations produce their own educational, informative, valuable online news content, it increases search engine rankings, traffic, and business. Here are three easy ways to get started.

Add a News Section to your Website

Every local business needs a news section on its website. News pages are a web-savvy way to manage content about events, sponsorships, new products or services, and company news. When news content is written with keyword-rich titles that link to webpages with more great content, it boosts credibility, communication and — best of all — search engine rankings.

Write Your Own Press Releases

You may think you can’t have a news section because you don’t have any news articles written about your business. Wrong. Write your own news to generate buzz!

For example, I recently spoke at a local women’s conference in Southern California. I wrote my own press release and added it to my website to share with current clients and potential clients, and to boost my search engine exposure with keyword-rich content. I also wrote a short description of the event to clearly communicate what the event was for, how to attend, and why.

The press release was informative and increased my website’s local search visibility. I used a title with strong local key phrases to boost local search engine visibility:

female entrepreneurs + business owners + Ventura, CA (location)

The final title was: “Female Entrepreneurs and Business Owners get a Healthy Dose of Web Marketing Therapy at Women’s Expo in Ventura, CA, March 14th, 2009″.

Send Press Releases to Local Online News Sites and Event Calendars

If content is king with web marketing, then outreach is queen. You must submit your press releases to local newspapers and stations receive this free visibility. Remember, these local news sites need content. They want to hear from you! For example, my team sent the press release described above to a local newspaper. As a result we received free exposure on the Ventura County Star site, the largest newspaper in the area. They were happy for the content. We were happy for the free exposure.

Local online event calendars are another rich resource for you — usually free. Look for calendars in local newspaper, radio, TV, chamber of commerce, and community college websites. If you have local business events, get them on these sites and help local websites help you.
Communicating your own news, events, awards, and content online will win you free exposure and wider visibility.

Lorrie Thomas, M.A., is a marketing educator, writer, strategist, web marketing expert and speaker. She is the founder of Web Marketing Therapy, a smart, fun, full-service marketing agency and a recession-friendly self-help online marketing educational resource. Her “wild web woman” team serves small businesses, entrepreneurs and marketers. Their work ensures marketing treats the cause (vs band-aiding symptoms) so all marketing pieces click. She teaches Web Marketing Applications, Social Media Marketing and Search Engine Marketing Applications classes at UCSB Extension and UC Berkeley Extension. Ms. Thomas was on the founding team at ValueClick Media. She speaks nationally on a number of marketing-related topics and caters her presentations to the business, niche, skill sets and professional concerns of her attendees. She writes for several online publications including wilsonweb, She is has been interviewed by the eCommerce Times, DM News and Tech News World and quoted frequently as a nationally recognized marketing expert in this Site.

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Tags: PR, strategy, relation, business