Profit From Publicity | Promotional Consultant

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Profit From Publicity
By: Brittany Glenn
Issue: May 2009

Sure, you want to grow your business, but it’s not easy—especially now, in the “new economy.” Customers are reducing their budgets, clients are dropping like flies, credit is harder to come by and competition is stiff. No wonder you feel like you’re working harder for less money. You are.

Fortunately, there is a way to differentiate your company from the competition—and it doesn’t have to cost you a dime: public relations. By leveraging the power of publicity, you can give your business that extra edge. The only thing it will cost you is time—but not too much of it if you plan correctly.

Elevated To Expert Status
Pam Lontos, author of I See Your Name Everywhere and president/founder of Orlando, Florida-based public relations firm PR/PR, says being quoted in a publication adds expert credibility to your name.

“When your company is quoted in a magazine, it positions you as better than your competition,” Lontos says. “People automatically assume that you’re the top company because you’re being quoted in a magazine.”

Lisa Horn, CAS, a freelance media relations consultant for the promotional products industry and former editor of PPB magazine, agrees. “Through working with the media, you increase your visibility in an educational or informative context and position yourself as an expert in your field,” she says.

Publicity also levels the playing field: Small businesses have just as much power as large businesses because both have the potential to be quoted in a story.

Another benefit of being an expert source for an article is most publications will post the article online— giving you another Google hit and increasing your search engine optimization.

Lontos says one mistake people make is discounting small magazines as not worthy of their time. “One of my clients wrote a story for Escape, a tiny travel magazine,” she says. “However, a writer happened to see the story and interviewed my client for an article in Time magazine. Then the NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw sent a film crew to her office to interview her. This would’ve never happened if my client had said, ‘Escape magazine is too small.’”

Sometimes a small media placement can win you a big piece of business. “Once, I was interviewed on a local show called Frankly Female, which aired at 5 am,” Lontos says. “I got the biggest contract of my life because of that appearance.”

Marsha Londe, CEO of Atlanta, Georgia-based promotional products consulting firm Tango Partners (UPIC: TangoP), believes promotional consultants should approach the media from inside and outside the industry.

“Tango has kept every article in which we have been included,” Londe explains. “When we pursue an opportunity, we send copies of these articles with information about our company. Using media relations, you can create an arsenal by building your marketing ammunition.”

Londe says when you are interviewed for stories in promotional products industry publications, you can use it as a selling point with clients. “Add links to the articles on your website, or make an announcement that you were featured in an industry article via e-mail or direct mail,” Londe says. “Also, when replying to an RFP, you can incorporate the fact that you have been featured in industry articles.”

Roger Shapiro, author of Write Right and president of Ewing, New Jersey-based communications consulting company Mitchell Rose, says it’s important to target the industry publications that your clients read.

“The next time you’re on a sales call, look around your client’s office and see what publications are there,” Shapiro says. “Also, when you’re chatting with your client on the phone, ask ‘Hey, by the way, what do you read?’ This way, you’ll know what publications to target.”

Horn suggests studying the publications in which you are interested and then pursuing relationships with the editors and writers who cover your topic. “Once you have studied the media outlets you’re targeting and understand what gets published, then you can start sending press releases,” Horn says.

The Almighty Press Release
“The news release is the staple of the PR industry,” Lontos writes in I See Your Name Everywhere. “It is a brief form of communicating to journalists who you are, what you are about and why their readers and viewers should care.”

Lontos says one of the biggest reasons press releases fail is the headline isn’t interesting. “The headline has to be catchy, controversial or relate to something in the news,” she says. “It has to be something that makes people want to read it.”

The second biggest mistake you can make is overly promoting yourself or your company. “Watch that your press release is not an advertisement for your product,” Lontos says. “It should contain information that their readers can use. You will get publicity when the writer mentions your company name in the story.”

For instance, you can offer “five tips for marketing in a tight economy.” But only one of those tips should involve promotional products.

“If a publication gets a release that sounds like an ad, it probably won’t be used,” Shapiro says. “So you need to actually develop a journalistic approach to looking at your own business. Think from the readers’ perspective. Why is the reader going to care about what you do?”

Horn agrees. “The main reason press releases fail is they are written from the company’s perspective. They should be written from the point of view of what is in it for the reader, as this will attract a journalist’s attention.”

You must be able to tell—and sell—your story in your press release,” Horn continues. “For example, let’s say ABC Company has added a selection of green promotional products to its lineup. So what? A press release announcing this won’t get any coverage.

However, what if the press release offers five tips for incorporating green promotional products into your marketing mix? This helps the media outlet’s audience do business better.”

Horn gives some good advice: “When learning how to craft compelling press releases, look at what’s posted on PR Newswire and PRWeb,” she says. “The releases that do tell a good story will stand out. Use these as examples of what to incorporate in your press releases.” “Writing a press release correctly really does matter,” Shapiro says. “Invest in some resources—for example, an

AP style book.” (The Associated Press Stylebook can be found for less than $20 at your local bookstore or online.)

Once you have written your news release, submit it to one of the online press release distribution sites as well as to industry publication editors.

Package Deal
Creating a well-written news release is only one aspect of developing a publicity campaign. “You can’t just send out a press release once,” Shapiro says. “You have to develop a press-release program so there’s an ongoing effort to reach out to editors at magazines and local newspapers.

“You also need to post your release on your website,” Shapiro continues. “And you need to go to local networking events like those hosted by your chamber of commerce.”

One person who understands the multidimensional aspect of public relations is Bruce Felber, creative director/ account executive for Twinsburg, Ohio-based Felber & Felber Marketing (UPIC: felber). Felber also owns promotional products consulting firm Vantage Point Promotional Consulting (UPIC: Advise). In addition to being a PPAI Board member, he just finished serving as president of his local chamber of commerce.

“We try to be visible,” Felber says. “We speak to a lot of groups. Locally, we’ve been published in everything from the newspaper to local magazines. It doesn’t matter how small the medium is, it’s the name recognition that matters.”

Similar to Shapiro’s idea of developing a press-release program, Londe advises promotional consultants to create a marketing calendar. “If you try to go after PR and marketing all at once, you’re going to get tired, not have time and not succeed,” she says.

“Build a marketing calendar, so you know in this month you’re going to do A and the next month B and so on,” Londe continues. “This way, you can achieve your publicity goals because they’re in bite-size pieces.”

A Dallas-based freelance journalist, Brittany Glenn writes about current issues, trends and the economy for consumer and business-to-business magazines. She is a former associate editor for PPB magazine.

Reach Out To Reporters
There are two services that journalists use to find expert sources: ProfNet and HARO. ProfNet (https://profnet.prnewswire.com)— the granddaddy of the two—was founded in 1992 and acquired by PR Newswire in 1996. Journalists can sign up for ProfNet free-of charge and post alerts when they need to interview experts in a particular industry. However, expert sources must pay a fee to be able to access these alerts and other services.

A ProfNet subscription entitles members to media opportunities posted by journalists; a listing in an expert database of sources that more than 27,000 journalists peruse when they’re looking for subject tmatter experts; and the ability to proactively pitch to more than 5,000 journalists.

How much does all this cost? “Because feeds are tailored to the member’s specific industry and needs, there is no one set fee for Profnet,” says Maria Perez, ProfNet director of news operations. “Membership can range from $550 to $3,500, depending on the organization type, size and interest categories.”

According to Bruce Felber, MAS, Felber & Felber Marketing (UPIC: felber), ProfNet is well worth the money. “When you’re getting coverage in trade magazines around the country and world, you have to know who the contacts are—and Profnet has been a great source,” he says. “We’re a member of HARO, too, which is free and relatively new.”

In 2007, Help a Reporter Out (HARO) was created by Peter Shankman “to allow journalists to find the sources they need while allowing sources to reach journalists in a SPAM-free, socially connected way,” according to HARO’s Facebook page. It’s free to sign up as an expert source on HARO (www.helpareporter.com).

“What’s nice about these services is being aware of stories that writers, editors and producers are looking for,” Felber says. “Using Profnet, I can find publications from a particular industry plus the contact info for editors and writers.”

Editor’s Tip
Here’s something that will endear you to editors and elevate your expert status: Know the difference between the words “over” and “more than.”

According to the Associated Press Stylebook, the word over refers to spatial relationships, as in, “The plane flew over the city.” The phrase “more than” is preferred with numerals: “The company generates more than $1 million in annual revenue.” “More than 500 people participated in the event.”

Don’t use over when you mean more than. Many PR professionals don’t know the difference between over and more than. However, editors do know the difference, and they will appreciate the fact that you do, too.

Press Release Distribution
Here are some online sources you can use to disseminate your press releases. Remember, the more places your information exists in cyberspace, the further up your company will move in search results.

PPB and PC magazines:
AudreyS@ppai.org

PPB Newslink:
JenA@ppai.org

Other business publications:
www.businesswire.com
www.prnewswire.com
www.free-press-release.com
www.prweb.com
www.marketwire.com
http://theopenpress.com

Increase Your Industry Star Power
Want to be quoted in a PPAI publication? Keep your eye on the “Contribute to PPB” section of the weekly e-newsletter PPB Newslink (e-mailed every Tuesday). In this section, you will see opportunities to contribute to both PPB and Promotional Consultant magazine articles. To sign up to receive PPB Newslink, visit www.ppbmag.com and click on PPB Newslink.

Rate Your Release
Now that you’ve written your press release, are you wondering how it stacks up? You can find out through HubSpot’s Press Release Grader. Just copy and paste your text into this online tool. It will evaluate your release and provide a marketing effectiveness score.