Posts Tagged ‘bloggers’

Copywriting: You Sometimes Really Only Need A Few Inches

Monday, June 4th, 2012

Copywriting: You Sometimes Really Only Need A Few Inches

When I interview someone, I focus on only a handful of questions. This incited some photographers to jokingly complain my interviews lasted less than the time they took setting up equipment. Once, a photographer considered my interview so extraordinarily short, he asked his own questions apparently for no other reason than as an attempt to extend our visit. If someone gave good sound bites from the beginning, I felt no need to ask more questions just to ask them.

This reminds me of reading many blogs, which I begin hoping are rich with useful information. What I often find is a blogger hammering home the same point over and over. Little more emerges than what seems like a high school student’s attempt to impress a teacher by offering a slew of words that in the end say so little.

It’s OK if blogs offer a small contribution of advice. And we applaud bloggers who don’t feel obligated to post a substantial amount of words simply because someone decided three paragraphs just isn’t enough.

Sometimes a good blog emerges in one paragraph. Feeling a need to flood a screen with an excess of empty and repetitive words may one day persuade readers your blog is not even worth beginning.

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Media Training: Talk To Bloggers And Journalists Even If Your Hair Is Full Of Shampoo

Thursday, April 19th, 2012

Media Training: Talk To Bloggers And Journalists

 

  1. Pick up the phone:  My phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number and considered ignoring it. Was another financial expert calling to persuade me to allow him to manage my money after talking to him for only three minutes? I picked up the phone. A reporter was calling. He wanted to talk to people who were inspired to start their own businesses by the economy.
  2. Make time:  The journalist called as I was walking out the door. I could have explained I was busy. I didn’t. Cell phones have a cool feature:  They allow you to continue calls without a wire staying connected to the wall. Cell phones have speakerphones. You can drive somewhere, with caution, while continuing a conversation. My phone’s battery was running low. I could have told the journalist to call back. I didn’t. I gave him a new number to call. His battery was low, too, and he needed to call back in about 20 minutes. When I called people for interviews when I reported on TV, individuals and big companies gave me countless excuses on why they couldn’t talk to me. (My favorite excuse was how bringing a camera in their store would disrupt customers.) Make yourself available. If people told me they didn’t have time to talk to me for a news story, I moved on to the next business to interview. I was on a deadline. I didn’t have time to wait and make myself convenient for someone’s schedule. If you want media attention, re-arrange your schedule. Do some quick thinking. Don’t miss an opportunity.
  3. Leave the shampoo in your hair:  When the reporter called back later, I was in the shower, my hair full of shampoo. I turned off the water, left the shampoo in my hair and wiped the suds away from my forehead so they didn’t drip into my eyes or onto the cell phone while I tried to put together coherent sentences. I didn’t tell the reporter to call back. He was on a deadline.
  4. Be open:  I didn’t fully enjoy my last two years as a TV reporter. The environment and the job were no longer for me. I didn’t sugarcoat this. Anyone can draw a pretty picture. PR pros and CEOs shoveled a lot of BS my way when I asked questions. Be transparent on why you made the decisions you made. Being honest makes you real. Being real makes you more interesting.
  5. Be personable:  Some people are very guarded when talking to bloggers or journalists. They sound more like robots than humans. Be personable. I talked to this journalist about his family. We discussed issues important to us. We talked about journalism. I learned he once lived in the same city as Loren. I found out he once lived near where I grew up. Again, be real.
  6. Don’t ignore small media:  The journalist may have interviewed me for a story so small, readers may need a magnifying glass. I don’t care. When I was a TV journalist, I sometimes covered great stories I found in smaller publications. You may see a story yourself the first time on the network news or written by the Associated Press, but sometimes those reports were first covered by journalists in smaller markets. And small blogs, publications or media outlets all have loyal readers, viewers and listeners. You’re not too big for small media … even if your hair is full of shampoo.

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Posted in Media Relations, Media Training, Public Relations | 1 Comment »

Attracting the attention of bloggers and journalists

Friday, March 23rd, 2012

 

 

One of the best ways for your business to grab a blogger or journalist’s attention is to position yourself as the voice of a timely and newsworthy subject.

When I was reporting on air, someone in public relations contacted me about his client, a company cleaning linens for hotels and restaurants. Grabbing airtime for such a business might seem difficult. But the PR person didn’t try to sell me on the virtues of washing hotel bed sheets and restaurant table clothes. He explained the company was converting its factory to meet “green” guidelines, with the goal of saving both the business and city tons of water during the washing process. Finding reporters who want to tell important stories about the environment is less difficult than finding ones to discuss linens.

Sometimes your business must position itself as a voice on an indirectly related news event or trend. Let’s say you own a small music store selling old records. The world’s every day news events do not include much about old records. But you know the number of old albums still selling in today’s digital world would really surprise those outside your industry. Many people still like the pops and crackles of vinyl and that’s why your register keeps ringing. You don’t contact music bloggers and feature reporters and argue they cover your store’s 30 years in business. You alert them to a little known trend, invite them over and provide an easy interview.

Finding your news story may not always seem easy. But you should always be thinking of one. Follow the news, especially breaking stories when journalists are desperate for quick, local experts on a topic. Keep track of what people are discussing on social media. What are the most popular issues? Stay on top of the latest trends in your industry. More often than you realize, you will find an important event or issue you can speak on. You must be willing to discuss your industry as a whole instead of just talking about your company.

Publicizing your knowledge on a topic is a great, indirect way of publicizing your business.

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Posted in Media Relations, Media Training, Public Relations | 1 Comment »