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5 Worst PR Mistakes
Copyright © 2002 - 2010 by Susan Harrow. All rights reserved.
What if I told you that PR done poorly could destroy your
business overnight?
That's right, your reputation, your credibility, your brand,
your livelihood could disappear with one bad article or one TV
appearance gone south.
Here are "Five Worst Mistakes in Building Your Business with PR"
that most people make. But you don't have to.
1. You blast out a press release shouting about the greatness
of your business, book, product, service or cause.
The media and their public aren't interested in you, your
service or your stuff. They are interested in a good story or
something that gives them what they need that can help them save
time, energy, or money. Even though I tell this to people all
the time, they still don't seem to get it. We all focus on
what's important to US and what WE want others to know. But the
media only want to know how they can serve their audiences, not
how their audiences can help you. Tell them about all the great
solutions you have to their public's biggest pain or problems
and you've got yourself a press release that will get read and a
story that will get told.
2. You send a huge blast to the most media possible.
We call this "spray and pray." Instead, before you send out your
release clearly identify who is best suited to your offering and
the journalists and producers most interested in your topic. To
accomplish this you can either become a member of a press
release service that can help you segment your media list
properly, hire a publicist who understands your business and the
media who would be best for you, or learn how to manage a media
list yourself. Then judiciously send to the right people so they
don't ban you from their inbox or ask to be taken off your list.
3. You're not media ready.
Most people never get media coached. They don't think they need
it. Their logic is that everyone can talk. This is the
equivalent of saying that because you know how to read you also
have the skills to write. Learning to speak in sound bites is a
special skill very different than public speaking or casually
chatting about what you do.
It's often the missing link in an otherwise successful PR
campaign. Many people slave for years creating and promoting an
excellent business, service or product, but then forget the most
crucial step to gaining loyalty from the people they want as
clients or customers -- what they are going to say on the spot
to engage them. Media pioneer Marshall McLuhan said, "The medium
is the message." This is still true today.
And to go even deeper Gandhi said, "My life is my message." In
today's fast paced world you and your story are often even more
important than whatever you're promoting. In 10-30 seconds at a
time you need to be able to convey meaning that inspires people
to buy or buy into whatever you are promoting. It does take
practice to get comfortable, and there is a system to shortcut
that process to becoming relaxed and conversational while being
authentic and true to yourself.
4. You're not ready to do all the work necessary to secure
the media booking.
Producers and journalists expect you to respond ASAP when they
ask you for materials when they're putting together a show or a
print/online story. So you need to allow time in your schedule
to hurry up and get whatever is asked for in an instant. It can
be weeks of work, but if you're prepared ahead of time it can
reduce the rush factor and make you stand out from all your
competitors vying for the same coveted media spots. Once you
understand the most common press kit components and how to
create them to the media's specifications you'll be half-way
there to becoming an excellent, reliable media source.
5. You don't deliver what you promise.
While there is a lot of worthless blither getting attention in
the media today -- people with minimal talent and maximum ego,
fighting for their 5 minutes of fame, the more nationally
respected the publication or show the more professional and
prepared you need to be. Producers and journalists have to paw
through thousands of potential news items every day from people
trying to get publicity -- most of which is worthless to them.
When the media determines that those they believe might be right
to fill their need, the person, unaccustomed to such requests
doesn't follow through in a professional and timely manner with
appropriate materials.
Most people don't have a sense of the tremendous amount of work
that goes into creating a show or an article BEHIND the scenes
to make sure audiences stay tuned or keep reading in today's
competitive marketplace. Once you're booked on a show or for an
interview that's often when the real work begins. You have to
give the journalist or producer news that they can use in a way
that is packaged properly. To be "mediagenic" means that both
you and your product are understood instantly to the public
without jargon.
There's a lot of preparation even beyond what I've covered here,
that goes on behind the scenes to make your PR campaign run
smoothly. That's where Karen and I come in. Together we have 45+
years of experience with the media helping clients, everyone
from CEOs to celebrity chefs, become known, loved, and
prosperous. We both specialize in small businesses, independent
contractors, sole proprietors and entrepreneurs who want to make
money while making a difference. Now we've turned that knowledge
and the most important nuggets in my book, Sell Yourself Without
Selling Your Soul, into a telecourse. Publisher's Weekly called
it a "Rumi-meets-Seth Godin public relations handbook." Hundreds
of my readers call it their "Publicity Bible."
Click here to get our FREE audio
and transcript to learn how you can become a 60 second sound
bite genius.
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Susan Harrow, CEO of
http://prsecrets.com, is
a top media coach, marketing strategist and author of
Sell Yourself Without Selling Your Soul® (HarperCollins),
The
Ultimate Guide to Getting Booked on Oprah, and
Get a 6-
Figure Book Advance. Clients include Fortune 500 CEOs, bestselling authors and entrepreneurs who have appeared on
Oprah, 60 Minutes, NPR, and in TIME, USA Today, Parade,
People, O, NY Times, WSJ, and Inc. |
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