May 19, 2013

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Leads from LinkedIn: add your email opt in

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Welcome to Famous in Your Field! Here’s your free weekly tip to boost your fame factor. (Be sure to sign up in the box on the right to get on the VIP list for free tips and training, delivered straight to your inbox.)

Fame tip: add your opt in to your LinkedIn profile

New to The VIP List? Then you might not know that I loooove LinkedIn.

Honestly, I think that it’s the most effective social network for building your business as a leader and expert.

Today I’m rolling out a stealth play that you can use to grow your list of email or blog subscribers using LinkedIn.

Add your email opt in to your LinkedIn profile.

LinkedIn gives you the ability to add and edit different sections on your profile, including a section called Projects. Few LinkedIn users feature projects on their profiles at all, let alone use it gain fans for their business.

Here’s how to make it happen:

1. Go to your LinkedIn profile. At the menu, click on Profile > Edit Profile.

2. If you don’t already have the section titled Projects on your profile, you’ll see a menu of new sections to add to your profile, displayed on the right part of the screen.

(Hint: Look for the big “Recommended for You” headline with arrow.)

If you already have the Projects section on your profile, you’ll go directly to that section and click on the Add+ button.

3. Follow the prompts.

Answer the series of questions that LinkedIn asks to create a clickable headline for your “project.” This might be your newsletter title, or your irresistible free offer.

Because it’s not obvious that the title is a link, give people an extra call to action to click, like I did:

Voila! Super easy, right?

Now you’re using more of your web “real estate” to gain subscribers to your valuable and fantastic content. Well done, you!

Filed Under: Digital PR, Marketing strategy, Professional services marketing Tagged With: , ,

Ready for your close up? 8 keys to media interviews

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Welcome to Famous in Your Field! Here’s your free weekly tip to boost your fame factor. (Be sure to sign up in the box on the right to get on the VIP list for free tips and training, delivered straight to your inbox.)

Famous in Your Field: 8 tips for great TV interviews

Last month I scored a fantastic interview with a former producer. Roshanda Pratt spent 10 years as a television news producer in a top 20 market in the fast-paced world of 24-hour news channels.

She crammed our conversation with the inside scoop on who does what in the newsroom, how stories make it onto news programs, and the must-have factors that make a story air-time worthy. (Get it here if you missed it.)

Now, we’ll dig into her best advice to give great television interviews.

You did it! You scored an interview on the television news. Once you’ve texted your mom, your BFF and that frenemy you love to one-up, panic sets in…

“What will I say?”

“What if I goof it up?”

Keep cool, my soon-to-be-famous in your field friend. With a few pointers and a bit of prep, you’ll make a fan of the interviewer and have a spectacular clip to share with all your clients and prospects.

1. Preparation is paramount

You’ll up your chances of delivering a killer performance if you prepare. (I know that there are a few people who say that they perform better without rehearsals, but because I’ve never seen the prepared versions, I’m just not buying it.)

Roshanda advises, “Before the interview, figure out who within your organization can communicate the story? Are they prepared for the camera?”

Whether that’s you or someone else in your organization, make sure that person is well coached. You can expect to spend several hours preparing for your few minutes in front of the camera. (Don’t worry, once you’ve got a few interviews under your belt, it gets easier and takes less prep time.)

2. Know the format

First, it helps to understand the framework of the television news programs. The producer – the person who researched and writes the news stories that anchors read on the air – spends eight hours vetting news, culling sources and distilling stories into a 30 minute show.

The average story on the news is only 2 minutes long. You’ll likely only appear on the air for 20 seconds or less.

Here’s Roshanda’s advice: “Do your research!” Go to the show’s website and watch a few stories. See how they’re structured, listen to the “experts” who are featured. How do they communicate? What kind of language do they use?

3. Know your goal

Before your big moment in the spotlight, think about your goal for this interview and how you can make your goal fit into the objective of the news program, which is to educate, engage or entertain its viewers.

Next, get clear on the one to three big ideas that you want to convey. What is essential that the viewer understand about your topic?

Invest time and energy in planning what you want to say and most importantly how you’ll say it.

Frame your remarks like headlines. Give the conclusion first, briefly and directly, and back it with facts or “proof point.”

Bonus points if you can give advice that’s surprising or counter intuitive. It holds the viewer’s attention and makes them want to know more.

4. Face the reporter

Being interviewed for television can be nerve-wracking. Show that you’re a pro by looking at the reporter, not the camera, while you’re talking.

5. Speak in sound bites

Because your entire story may only be two minutes long, you’ve got to pack a punch with your words. You must be concise. Passion for your topic is essential to create great energy on camera, but if you let your passion possess you and ramble, you won’t be invited back.

Reporters are looking for “experts” who can speak in sound bites. Sound bites are those short audio or video clips used to promote or tease an upcoming story or show.

Creating stellar sound bites is all about choosing a few words that convey the strongest possible meanings in nine seconds or less. (Yep, nine seconds.)

Roshanda called these “Twitter updates for TV.”

Derek Halpern, founder of the popular online marketing psychology website SocialTriggers.com is a master at delivering his advice in catchy phrases.

Derek on making money with an online business: “You don’t need new ingredients, you just need a new recipe.”

Derek on whether he believes “the customer is always right”:

“I take pleasure in banning people from my site. Every second you waste fretting over a hater is a second you could spend making a loyal customer happy.” (Notice how his advice is counter to the “do whatever it takes to make the customer happy” conventional wisdom?)

6. Finish strong

Make sure your sound bites end with your vocal tone in a downstroke. Think of it as making a statement, not asking a question.

7. Wait your turn

During the interview you’ll probably be excited to share your message or advice. Whatever you do, don’t talk over the interviewer’s question. Wait until the reporter is finished, then begin your answer.

8. Give ‘em what they want

Sometimes during an interview, the reporter will ask the same question in a different way.

Unless you’re on to represent a controversial issue, you can relax – the reporter isn’t trying to trip you up. What the interviewer really wants is a great sound bite and your previous answer didn’t deliver. Smile and say it another way.

Your fame boosting assignment:

Start preparing for your media interviews this week. No worries if you haven’t scored any yet. Being able to use compelling sound bites is a skill that will make you stand out in a presentation situation, a networking event or while leading a meeting.

Craft three sound bites about your area of expertise, your industry or the topic you represent. Here’s one of mine that I often use in presentations, “Being an expert is more about PR than PhD.”

Smile, superstar! You’re ready for the spotlight.

Filed Under: Digital PR, Marketing strategy, Professional services marketing, Thought leadership Tagged With: , ,

How to make a name on the national scene

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Welcome to Famous in Your Field! Here’s your free weekly tip to boost your fame factor. (Be sure to sign up in the box on the right to get on the VIP list for free tips and training, delivered straight to your inbox.)

Famous in Your Field tip: speak at industry conferences to raise your expert profile

Speak at industry conferences

Want to boost your profile?

Grab the attention of your target audience, in non-salesy way that
showcases you as the expert they need to make their businesses or lives better?

Jump onto the stage.

 

Speaking is one of the pillars of becoming Famous in Your Field.  As a marketing tool, you can’t beat it.

Speaking to an audience of ideal prospects lets you shorten your selling cycle – the length of time it takes for a prospect to become aware of you, know what you offer, believe that you’re credible and to hire you.

And speaking at industry conferences can catapult you from unknown wanna-be to must-have business partner in only 90 minutes! It’s so effective because speaking accelerates the “getting to know you” stage, so that you can establish expertise, trust and likeability in one interaction.

Here’s the catch: most professional conferences have a long lead time for speaker selection, so if you want to see your name in the program, you’ve got to start now.

1. Find industry, professional and trade conferences.

  • Subscribe to a conference database. These will allow you to search for events based on industry, location, size and date.
  • Visit sites that list conferences. Here are several:
  • Google search terms that cover your industry AND “conference.”
  • Scan industry trade magazines and their websites. Many will have an Events page in the publication and section on their websites.

2. Keep track with a spreadsheet.

Each conference will have it’s own date, theme, topics covered,  deadlines and process for speaker submissions. To seize these opportunities, you’ll need a tracking system.

In your spreadsheet, include the name of the conference, when it’s taking place, when the speaker submission deadline is, guidelines and protocols for speaking submissions, contact information, conference URL and a bit of background information about each conference.

3. Review and update biweekly or weekly.

Most conferences publish a “Call for Speakers” or “Call for Presentations” six months to one year before the event. These windows to accept speaking proposals may be open for as long as six weeks or as little as two weeks, so check the websites of your coveted events frequently or you’ll miss out!

4. Customize your speaker proposal.

Industry conferences are not events that welcome a canned “talk.” Organizers are looking for topics that fit the theme of the conference and offer new insight.

Most conferences have a strict speaker submission process, although each one is different. Some conferences require a very detailed speaker submission. Others may want a brief abstract with learning objectives.

Creating a top-tier speaking proposal takes work! Be sure to allow yourself enough time to review the event, it’s focus, the speaking requirements and then to craft your masterpiece to meet the guidelines.

Your fame boosting assignment:

If you’re ready to elevate your game, start speaking at industry conferences. This week, make a spreadsheet of ten conferences in your field. Find the websites and record the dates, then keep watch for the Calls for Speakers to open. We’re waiting for you, guru!

Filed Under: Marketing strategy, Professional services marketing, Thought leadership Tagged With: , ,

Confessions of a TV News Producer (part one)

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Welcome to Famous in Your Field! Here’s your free weekly tip to boost your fame factor. (Be sure to sign up in the box on the right to get on the VIP list for free tips and training, delivered straight to your inbox.)

Admit it. You’ve watched a news story

on a business or seen someone

offering advice as an expert and

thought to yourself,

“how did she get to be featured on TV?

That should be me!”

Calm down, tiger. It can be you.

You’ve just need to know what kinds of stories make the media pant with anticipation and deliver them.

And I’ve got the scoop for you.

Through the magic of social media, I hooked up with a media expert and then convinced her to spill her secrets on what the media loves in a news story.

First, a little about our news insider, Roshanda.

Roshanda Pratt is President and Lead Consultant at R.E.P. Communications Network, LLC. R.E.P. is a media relations and consulting firm based in the Southeast, consisting of a team of professionals who creatively partner with businesses to build their REPutation in media, marketing, branding, professional development and training.

Here’s why you should tune in…

Roshanda Pratt, former TV producer

Roshanda spent 10 years as a television news producer in a top 20 market in the fast-paced world of 24-hour news channels. This girl’s got the lowdown on what it takes to grab the media’s attention and get your message on the air.

In this post, I’m going to share Roshanda’s tips on getting media coverage.

Q: We’re all familiar with the anchors who sit in the studio, announcing news stories to the camera. Then there are the reporters in the field, reporting on stories. Tell us about your role – what does a producer do?

A: In the TV news world, the producer helps gather the news and writes the news stories that the anchors read on air. It’s an intense job – the producer spends eight hours a day to create a 30-minute newscast.

The assignment editor is the hub of the newsroom. He or she fields the incoming phone calls, evaluates story pitches, reviews press releases, listens to police scanners and communicates with personal sources.

Knowing the right person to contact about your story idea is the first step to being covered. Target the assignment editor, the producer and sometimes reporters.

Q. A daily show needs an endless supply of stories to feed the hungry news cycle. How did you come up with story ideas? What were your usual “go to” sources?

A: Every news station has a morning meeting to brainstorm and evaluate potential stories. Here are the most common sources:

  • Press releases – yep, press releases. (Unless they’re too long. Two pages or more? Forget it. Your news has just become some editor’s scratch pad.)
  • Newspapers – what stories are in the paper and how can they be adapted to television?
  • Sources – pitches called into the news room, police scanners, insiders with juicy information.
  • Competition – what are the other news stations covering? Can we improve on a story? Give it a different angle?
  • National stories – what’s happening in the national news and how can we localize it?

Q. Here are Famous in Your Field, we want to share our life-changing ideas and information with the world. If a business professional thinks he or she has a great idea for a story, what should they do to get it on the news?

A. Think about the benefit. How would your story impact your community? First, remember that television is a mass media. Your story has to have broad, not narrow appeal.

Second, television is a visual medium. What’s the visual value of your story? Do you have a product that we can show on camera? A video? Great images? Can you do a demonstration? To attract the interest of an assignment editor or producer, think about how you can make your story visual.

And finally, if you can’t make your story visual, consider that television might not be where you belong. Perhaps your place is in print!

Your fame boosting assignment:

This week, develop one story idea or pitch. Give it the TV news test: does it have broad appeal? Can you make it visual?

Now, get ready for your close-up, superstar.

Filed Under: Marketing strategy, Professional services marketing Tagged With: , , ,

How to become an icon (4 business secrets from The Boss)

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Welcome to Famous in Your Field! Here’s your free weekly tip to boost your fame factor. (Be sure to sign up in the box on the right to get on the VIP list for free tips and training, delivered straight to your inbox.)

When you’re an icon, you have fans in high places.

Not your boss. The Boss.

Bruuuuuuuce Springsteen.

Icon of the music world.

What can you learn about business from a music legend?

How about how to outsell, outlast, add heat to the seats and love every frickin’ minute of it.

Read on, friends.

1. Get to the woodshed

We all have a secret fantasy that we’ll burst onto the scene, be immediately asked to keynote a major conference or have clients seek us out, saying the magic words, “I’ll pay any fee.”

Reality check:

The road to conference keynotes and six-figure clients is paved with sweat.

And even what seems like a big opportunity is sometimes wasted, when you don’t have the ability to capitalize on it.

Bruce knew this.

Early in his career, back in 1972, he opened for the then platinum selling group, Chicago, at the artist’s pinnacle, Madison Square Garden. Dream come true, right?

Wrong.

It was a disaster. The crowd was indifferent. Nothing he could do onstage broke through their passivity. He swore off playing at big venues.

“It was time to woodshed, time to build an audience through constant, intense performance in clubs, small theatres, and university gyms.”

Constant, intense performance. That’s how you build an audience.

Put it into action:

Speak, anytime you get the chance, anywhere that’ll have you.

Write. Articles, blog posts, ebooks.

Offer your insights to media outlets. Over and over again.

2. Always be creating

According to a knockout profile of Bruce Springsteen (Bruce Springsteen at sixty-two) in the New Yorker, at an age where compatriots like the Rolling Stones go on tour, drag out their string of hits and cash the checks, Bruce is writing songs, crafting new albums after 47 years in the business.

“He continues to evolve as an artist, filling one spiral notebook after another with ideas, quotations, questions, clippings, and, ultimately, new songs.”

Put it into action:

Make jotting down ideas and inspiration a daily habit. Go old school with a spiral notebook, record audio notes on your iPhone, or track in Evernote.

3. Get your inspiration from a wide variety of sources

Too, too many companies and service providers have relegated themselves to the echo chamber of their industry. Coaches speak coaching language in their marketing, and universally offer their services as “programs and packages.”

Professional service firms (attorneys, CPAs, consultants, engineers, architects and the like) are myopic in most of their business practices. They market the same way, offer services the same way and charge the same way.

These echo chamber dwellers could take a page from Bruce’s brand book. He doesn’t look to his fellow rock and roll singer-songwriters for his inspiration.

“…Springsteen quotes from Irish rebel songs, Dust Bowl ballads, Civil War tunes, and chain-gang chants.”

Put it into action:

Seeking innovation in a vacuum isn’t easy. Pick two industries outside your own and scour them regularly for ideas that you can steal.

4. Do You

All around us there are blueprints and systems that promise to be plug and play. There are also people who, when you see and hear, you recognize

“I saw rock and roll future and its name is Bruce Springsteen.” ~Jon Landau, 1974.

that they are only parroting others.

For long-time guitarist “Little Steven” Van Zandt, Bruce’s intensity was a lure. He recognized in Springsteen a drive to create original work.

In the band’s early days, Van Zandt said, you were judged by how well you could copy songs off the radio and play them, chord for chord, note for note:

“Bruce was never good at it. He had a weird ear. He would hear different chords, but he could never hear the right chords. When you have that ability or inability, you immediately become more original. Well, in the long run, guess what: in the long run, original wins.”

Put it into action:

Look at one aspect of your business where you’re doing something because “that’s how it’s done in my industry.”

It might be offering prospects a free consultation, meeting for get-to-know-you lunches, offering three packages or submitting proposals.

Take just one of those and invent a way to do it differently (and not doing it counts!)

Your fame boosting assignment:

Pick one of these four business secrets and put it into action this week. ‘Cause you’re an icon in the making.

Filed Under: Marketing strategy, Professional services marketing, Thought leadership

Turn your signature into an autograph with expert articles

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Welcome to Famous in Your Field! Here’s your free weekly tip to boost your fame factor. (Be sure to sign up in the box on the right to get on the VIP list for free tips and training, delivered straight to your inbox.)

Turn your signature into an autograph with expert articles

 

Want a credibility boost with an ages-long shelf life?

Contribute an expert article to a magazine or trade journal.

Magazine and trade journal editors around the world are HOWLING for articles to fill their pages every month. (Or week. Or quarter. You get the idea.)

They continually seek out content from experts to help improve the lives, businesses and industries of their readers.

Have that “But I don’t know enough to be published!” thought looping through your brain?

Send it packing.

Your information and perspective is valuable. If you rated your own expertise in your field at a 6 of 10, remember that there are thousands of people at a level 2 who would love to learn what you know.

Think about things you know that you wish you’d known earlier. How can you help someone else shorten their learning curve?

Leap out of the echo chamber!

Do not limit yourself to only YOUR industry’s trade journals and magazines.

If you’re a marketer at an engineering firm, don’t target only engineering magazines. Who are the people who buy your services? Brainstorm the types of publications they would read.

An interior designer? Sure, there are magazines devoted to design, but think of all the readers of lifestyle magazines, business magazines and industry specific publications who could use a few tips to improve aesthetics or functionality in their workplace.

In fact, with a little tweaking, you can repackage the same basic tips into articles in magazines across several industries. For example, your time-saving social media marketing tips can help attorneys, real estate agents, and massage therapists.

Want a fantastic resource to get you started?

Check out the Yahoo News and Media Directory.

You can search for publications by format:

  • Magazines
  • Newspapers
  • Journals
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Columns and columnists

Or you can search by industry or topic, like:

  • Business to Business
  • College and University
  • Health
  • Real Estate
  • Technology

When you find one that fits, drill down to the individual publication’s website. Check out the editorial calendar – the annual calendar of topics the magazine will cover, by month. Many websites also display the editor’s contact information and submission guidelines.

Your fame boosting assignment:

This week, scan the directory and make a list of 7-10 magazines or journals that you’ll target to publish an expert article. Send a pitch (a short description of the article you’d like to write.) Then, grab your sunnies and bask in the glow of expertdom coming your way.

Filed Under: Digital PR, Marketing strategy, Professional services marketing Tagged With: ,

Stumped for ideas? 4 places to find article and blog post topics

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Welcome to Famous in Your Field! Here’s your free weekly tip to boost your fame factor. (Be sure to sign up in the box on the right to get on the VIP list for free tips and training, delivered straight to your inbox.)

You’ve been blogging for a while now.

4 places to find new blog and article topics

And you’re fresh out of ideas.

You feel like it’s all been said.

Or, you want to start blogging or writing articles or making videos to catch your ideal client’s attention and position you as the leader and expert in your field.

Either way, you need a blast of new ideas to spark your content creating fire.

And I’ve got ‘em.

Here are four quick and easy ways to find topics to write about:

1. Ask people.

Potential Famous in Your Fielders suffer from “authority-itis” You know, when you spend so much time deep, deep in the weeds of your topic. You talk about it, learn even more about it, and practice it, 24×7.

You start taking what you know for granted. You get caught up in the echo chamber. (You’re in real danger if you spend a lot of time reading blogs and articles from your heroes, mentors and colleagues. )

If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “everybody already knows that…”, you might be suffering from authority-itis.

Hold on, tiger! There’s a super easy cure. Step away from your computer. Get back in touch with your ideal clients and what he or she really wants and needs.

Go, interact with clients. Rub shoulders. Ask questions.

If you need a boost, I’ve got three simple questions to use to get to know your clients on a deep, emotional level.

2. Ask Google.

No surprise here! Google, the font of so much internet goodness is also an endless source of ideas for your blogs, articles and videos.

First, type your industry, profession or niche into the search bar. Pay special attention to Google’s suggestions. The phrases that pop up in that box are the most popular searches that match the words you typed.(Hint: they’re what people are looking for most.)

 

 

 

 

 

 
Bada-boom! Now, you’ve got half a dozen questions to answer on your topic.

For bonus points, click on one of the topics from the search bar, then check out any additional results at the bottom of the webpage, too. (They don’t show up for every search, though.)

3. Ask YouTube

YouTube is the 3rd largest search engine. People – including your ideal client – are typing questions into YouTube to find answers. Just like Google, pay attention to suggested searches.

4. Ask Quora

Wondering what people want to know about your area of expertise? Check out Quora.com!

Quora is a question and answer site created by two guys from Facebook. All the Qs and As are provided by its community of users and are organized by topic.

 

 

 

 

Browse Quora by topic and get an idea of the kinds of questions people are asking. (Warning! Quora can be highly addictive. With real-life answers to questions like, “what it’s really like to work at Facebook? and “who’s the most badass computer programmer ever?” and “what’s it like to meet Steve Jobs?” provided by people with firsthand experience, you could lose months of your life on the site. )

Your fame boosting assignment

This week, try one of these sources for content ideas. Make a list of topics and then create some amazing stuff! We all need that magic locked up inside your brain.

 

Filed Under: Marketing strategy, Professional services marketing, Thought leadership Tagged With: ,

How to attract more fans, followers and customers online, guaranteed

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Welcome to Famous in Your Field! Here’s your free weekly tip to boost your fame factor. (Be sure to sign up in the box on the right to get on the VIP list for free tips and training, delivered straight to your inbox.)

Have you jumped on the hottest online trend going? Or are you still stuck in 2010?

Use visuals to grab attention on the web

It’s all about the visual. Here are the facts:

  • Blog posts with images generate more traffic.
  • The most shared and clicked-on links on Twitter are images.
  • Images on Facebook generate more reach, views, and interactions.
  • The exploding popularity of Tumblr, Instagram and Pinterest (all image-centric online platforms)
  • Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter have all increased the size and number of images they feature.

Looking at the trends across web content and social networks, one thing is clear – visual content can break through our overloaded attention spans more easily than written material.

So, what does this mean to you? As a professional who wants to be famous in your field, one of your goals is to grab your audience’s attention and hold it, so that you can demonstrate your know, like and trust factor.

You know what you need to do.

Go visual.

Yes, visual images get people’s attention quickly. But it’s not just about combating short attention span syndrome.

It’s about getting your message heard.

They also help us learn faster and make the ideas stick better.

Images help us tell stories.

I’ve got five ways that any fame-seeking professional can put the power of visuals to work for them.

1. Quotes and soundbites. 

Inspirational, motivational or humorous, we love to share quotes, especially on social media. And if you’re a professional creating a celebrity platform around your personal brand and your business, you probably have some of your own soundbites. Grab more eyeballs, get more mileage (and even a few shares) by making them visual.

Make your quotes & soundbites visual

You don’t have to be a graphic artist to whip up these high impact messages. Free online tools like PicMonkey make it dead simple to create these.

2. Facts, Stats or Lists.

Spice up your dry facts and spark sharing for your stats by converting them into an image.

Do this on your basic webpages, too. Number of employees? Locations? Make ‘em visual!

21 Suggestions for Success

3. Blog post images.

Blog posts with images get more views. And more views mean that more people are being exposed to your message and your expertise.

It’s a Good Thing.

Images boost views on blog posts and articles

Snap your own images with Instagram, use stock images (I like Stockfresh) or find free images online, offered under Creative Commons licensing on sites like Flickr.

4. Book, white paper or article.

Online marketing expert, Jeff Bullas said in a post that “articles with images get 94% more total views.”

94% more.

Instead of just linking to the text-based title of your fame building piece of content, grab attention (and online real estate) by using an image of the cover and linking it to your Amazon page, white paper download or pdf article.

Use a cover image as the link to your article, report or white paper.

Want to get really fancy-pants on a shoestring budget? Use a free online tool like 3 D Pack to make your content image 3 dimensional.

5. Press releases

Including a photo and a video in a press release increases views by over 45%, says Bullas.

What are you waiting for? You know what you need to do!

Your fame boosting assignment:

This week, review your website. If you’re not taking advantage of the visual revolution, add one new image to each page. And if you’re posting press releases, articles or talking about numbers, add some visuals to the mix. Presto – you’ll be the name in everybody’s news feed!

Filed Under: Marketing strategy, Professional services marketing, Thought leadership Tagged With: , ,

3 ways to amp up your press releases, so they get picked up

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Welcome to Famous in Your Field! Here’s your free weekly tip to boost your fame factor. (Be sure to sign up in the box on the right to get on the VIP list for free tips and training, delivered straight to your inbox.)

“I don’t get it. I sent out this press release on PRWeb a week ago. It says that my release got over 600 impressions, but the only place I can find it online is on EarthNews.com.

Why don’t my press releases get any play?”

If pick up is a problem, let’s take a hard look at your releases.

Be honest. Are they dull?

Do they focus only on your company and talk about your services in a hype-filled way?

Will I find a line like, “XYZ Company, the leading provider of widgets, is pleased to announce…” as the lead sentence?

Don’t worry, friends! You can stifle the snores and get editors panting for your press releases with a few tweaks.

Here are three quick and easy ways to spark up your releases (so that they’ll get the attention your superstar business is craving!)

1. Put a face on it. Instead of making an announcement about winning an award, opening a new location or a technical upgrade, “hook” the news to a personal story. Journalists call this an ‘anecdotal lede.’ It’s a way to introduce your news topic in a story-like fashion. The Wall Street Journal does this spectacularly.

2. Give ‘em numbers. Studies show that headlines with numbers generate more reads. (We’re especially drawn to odd numbers.) Both journalists and readers love data, facts and figures – they view the news as more credible than a generic claim about your company. One of the best ways to use surveys and data is to grab a copy of USA Today and find the latest study.

3. Offer tips and best practices. Feature stories offering useful information are extremely popular and they create a positive association with the organization giving the advice. (Plus, it’s a smart way to generate “news” about yourself and your company beyond the usual fodder.)

Here’s an example of a press release that combines #2 and #3. The story starts with a study, and then positions women’s business coach, Ginny Victory, as an expert by sharing her best practices for women to break through the $250,000 revenue plateau.

Women-Owned Businesses Gaining Ground, New Study Shows

Northville, MI – Date - Women are starting businesses at a rate 1.5 times the national average, equivalent to just under 550 new women-owned firms per day, according to a study released last month. The study, the American Express OPEN State of Women-Owned Businesses Report A Summary of Important Trends, 1997–2011 found that between 1997 and 2012, when the number of businesses in the United States increased by 37%, the number of women-owned firms increased by 54%, a rate 1.5 times the national average.

Another finding from the report shows that despite the fact that the number of women-owned firms continue to grow, and account for 29% of all enterprises, women-owned firms only employ 6%of the country’s workforce and contribute just under 4% of business revenues. Further, the employment and sales growth of women-owned enterprises between 1997 and 2011 (8% and 53%, respectively) lags the national average (17% and 71%).

Ginny Victory, a CPA and women’s business coach who calls herself a “money mentor” says she isn’t surprised by the report’s findings. She says that in coaching more than 500 women entrepreneurs, she’s often seen similar issues among women business owners.

Victory says she sees three recurring themes that keep women-owned businesses from growing beyond the $250,000 in annual revenue, the stage where many women-owned businesses plateau. “Women focus on managing expenses, instead of investing in their business. Second, they tend to do everything themselves. And third, women typically don’t think big enough.”

To combat the “focus on frugalism” that keeps businesses from growing, Victory urges women business owners to take three steps:

  • Think like a CEO. “Take it seriously,” she says. “You are running a business, not playing at a hobby. Get a business checking account, a business credit card. Hire a bookkeeper, an accountant, an assistant. You can hire a these people for a just a few hours a month in the beginning, but you must carve out time to do what you do best, not run around putting out fires.”
  • Pay yourself first. “Too many women just wait to see what’s left over at the end of the month and take that as their distribution. Instead, set the amount that you’re going to pay yourself, just like a salary at a job. Add in all your expenses, taxes and other business obligations and that number is your revenue target.”
  • Focus on big revenue goals and a solid plan. “First, women need to stretch their minds to think bigger, and reach for larger goals. And second, they need to create a concrete plan to achieve those goals. Wishing isn’t enough.”

Victory, co-author of the upcoming book, Smart Women Embrace Transitions, is hosting a series of workshops for women business owners titled, Money Happens: Is it Happening for You, on April 17, 1pm to 4pm at the Northville Public Library and again at ZF Group North American Operations from 6pm to 9pm. Victory says the workshop is designed to shift women business owners’ thinking from focusing on expenses to focusing on revenue and sustainable profits. For more information, visit Victory’s website at http://ginnyvictory.com/moneyhappens/.

Your fame boosting assignment:

This week, pen a press release about you or your business using one of these three ideas to spark interest. Send it out to your media list and your network. Then, wait for the fan mail to pour in!

Filed Under: Digital PR, Marketing strategy, Professional services marketing Tagged With: ,

Grab eyeballs with an infographic

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Welcome to Famous in Your Field! Here’s your free weekly tip to boost your fame factor. (Be sure to sign up in the box on the right to get on the VIP list for free tips and training, delivered straight to your inbox.)

Makin’ data sexy

Famous in Your Field tip - use an infographic to grab eyeballs

Grab eyeballs with infographics

Chances are, you’ve seen an infographic, even if you didn’t know what it was called. They’re all the rage for taking a complex idea and transforming it into an eye-pleasing visual.

Why you should jump on board the infographic train

Our online world is more and more visual everyday. The rise of Instagram, the Pinterest explosion and the number of images in your Facebook feed are proof that we want our content delivered in a pretty package.

Below, I’m sharing three ways that you can use infographics to cut through the clutter and seduce your prospects (or the media.)

1. Make a resource for your clients.

Give your clients and prospects a handy, all-in-one reference and you’ll have a fan for life. Best of all, it’ll get shared among your target market without you having to lift a pinky.

Here’s one by LunaMetrics that has been shared all over the interwebs. (Keep on scrolling…it’s long.)

The Ultimate Complete Final Social Media Sizing Cheat Sheet LunaMetrics

Designed by LunaMetrics.

2. Jazz up a presentation.

Give a plain-jane Powerpoint or Keynote presentation a little sizzle with an infographic.

If you’ve got numbers to share, an infographic can deliver the impact with a punch. Here’s one that consulting giant Deloitte used to show how it’s on the cutting edge of user engagement:

Famous in Your Field tip - Use infographics in your presentations

A heck of a lot more exciting than dry stats in bullet points, right?

3. Put it in your press release.

The media loves visuals, especially visuals that tell a story. If you can create an infographic that makes an impact or makes it easier to understand the story of your company, your product or your service, you’ve just boosted your chances of being picked up. By a lot.

Got a “tips” article to pitch? Responding to a query on HARO, Reporter Connection or other journalist/source matching service? Make an infographic of your best advice and you’ve got a piece of marketing collateral that you can keep using, over and over again.

Here’s one on best practices for trade shows:

Show Your Stuff: How to Make Trade Shows Work for You

Show Your Stuff: How to Make Trade Shows Work for You infographic

Yep, there’s an easy button.

I can hear it now: “Those are great, but I’m not a graphic designer. I don’t own Adobe InDesign. I can’t make those.”

This is where I shake my head and marvel at the sheer awesomeness of the internet. You could hire a specialized design firm to create a fantastic infographic for you. BUT, you can also go DIY with a number of online services that allow you to create your own infographics – no design experience needed! With customizable templates, drag and drop shapes and text fields, you’ll build a beautiful infographic in no time.

Here are four tools to create your own infographics:

Infogr.am

Visual.ly

iCharts

Easel.ly

Your fame boosting assignment:

Check out one of these DIY infographic services and whip up a little eye candy about your industry, a trend or a bit of how-to advice. Then, share, share, share your gorgeous info with the world.

Filed Under: Digital PR, Marketing strategy, Professional services marketing, Thought leadership Tagged With: ,
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