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Category: PR

Make Up Your Mind to Make Some News

Posted on June 24, 2010

One way to get attention is to talk in new places. That’s what guest posting is all about. Here’s a post that first appeared two years ago today on Word Sell Inc.

Thanks to Brad Shorr for letting me sit in as a guest author with an article called “Make Up Your Mind to Make Some News.”

Here’s an excerpt . . .

While writing a press release is not rocket science, the effects you get from releasing one can propel your visibility from obscurity to getting noticed almost overnight – especially when you distribute your news online.


How to Make News Checklist

Who is the story about?
Hint: your clients or your market first, then you.

What is the issue or problem that needs to be solved?
Make a list of how you save the world, stop pain, cut costs or add value.

When – is there an event, an anniversary, a national observance?
Tie into something bigger than you.

Where is the story taking place?
Locally – let your local reporters know you’re an expert
Industry-wide – talk to your association publication about writing a feature story
Nationally – release your story via an online distribution service like PR Web

Why does this story matter – to reporters, consumers, the public?
You have to be able to explain your answer this question. If you can’t, your story isn’t newsworthy.

How will you call for action?
You need a call to action to measure results and inspire movement. Offer a free white paper, a complimentary analysis or subscription to an information source.

What about you . . .

How do you fit public relations into your marketing plans?

Disclosures: Image provided via Shutterstock.com. Affiliate links in promotional banners.

Online PR Made Easy

1 Comment - Posted in PR, Social Media Tagged with: , ,

12 Steps to Transform a LinkedIn Profile Into an Always-on Networking Hub

Posted on June 21, 2010

Thanks to my friend and seminar marketing pro, Jenny Hamby, I can now say, “I co-authored a book with social media superstars.” Today’s post features an excerpt from my chapter. I’m the book’s LinkedIn expert.

Jenny’s the one who suggested I talk with Mitch Meyerson about contributing to his book, Success Secrets of the Social Media Superstars. Published by Entrepreneur Press, the book includes about 20 social media authors and will be in bookstores this summer.

Mitch is the author of eight books, including Mastering Online Marketing and Guerrilla Marketing On The Internet. Featured as an expert on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Mitch has trained and certified over 350 coaches in his acclaimed Guerrilla Marketing Coach Certification Program.

Mitch and I met up in Chicago where he presented a program on how to boost your sales with online marketing, sponsored by Entrepreneur Magazine.

Read more about Mitch Meyerson on Amazon. A talented author, coach and musician, Mitch also publishes the blog,Mastering Online Marketing.

12 Steps to Transform a LinkedIn Profile Into an Always-on Networking Hub by Barbara Rozgonyi cross-posted from Mastering Online Marketing


1. Use Keywords to Help People Find You.
Keywords are the search terms people use to find information online. The keywords people use to find you and your business might point to your profession, service, location, area of expertise or even the problems you solve. Optimize your LinkedIn profile with keywords in your headline, summary, expertise and your job title and descriptions.

2. Upload a Flattering Profile Photo that Matches Your Image
Worth at least 1,000 (maybe 100,000) words), a LinkedIn profile picture conveys your business image to the world. Are you casual, relaxed, authoritative, intellectual?


3. Write a Catchy Headline that Grabs Attention
Your headline describes who you are and what you do. This isn’t necessarily the title on your business card. Sort of a personal tagline, your headline stands out when people see your profile.


4. Summarize Your Talents into Sound Bites
The summary section is the place to make your personal brand statement. Given that attention is shrinking down into text-message and tweet-size sound bites, it’s important to be concise, informative and engaging. Use bullets to make your main points.

5. Cover Every Position for Maximum Exposure
Expand your connection potential by listing all relevant former companies and positions. Break up your current experience into categories like speaker, consultant and author to broaden your skill set. Then, people can recommend you for each individual position.

6. Route Traffic to Three Destinations
In addition to a place for your twitter ID, LinkedIn lets you list three websites. Consider including your company website, a link to your Facebook page and another to a landing page that collects database information. Use the URL or, better yet, a phrase that describes the site.

Check out six additional LinkedIn profile networking tips over at Mitch’s blog.
Find Mitch Meyerson on LinkedIn.

Preview Barbara Rozgonyi’s LinkedIn profile.

Add Your Voice to the Conversation

How do you use LinkedIn?

What’s your biggest question about how to use LinkedIn?


Learn how to leverage your LinkedIn profile into a powerfull business and social network.

5 Comments - Posted in Branding, Marketing, PR Tagged with: ,

7 Steps to Conduct an Effective PR Campaign using Social Media

Posted on June 1, 2010

Today I’m talking to lawyers. Thanks to Larry Bodine of LawMarketing.com for asking me to write this article Seven Steps to Conduct an Effective PR Campaign using Social Media for the Legal Marketing Technology section. Here’s how to start out . . .

Still sending out traditional news releases? If you’re looking for way to raise visibility, generate traffic, grow business and build an online community, consider testing out social media. Follow these seven steps to get started on conducting an effective public relations campaign to reach reporters, and the masses, using social media.

1. Set Campaign Goals

Traditional PR campaign goals often include placements in target publications along with the total number of media impressions. Search and social media news campaigns allow you to be more creative and effective. For example, do you want to reach out to bloggers, grow your community on twitter, build a Facebook group, generate more site traffic, attract more YouTube channel viewers, raise your social media visibility profile or get better search engine rankings? You can do all of these and still reach reporters on social networks. Schedule your releases to go out at least once a month. Higher frequency positions you as a newsmaker and one to watch. And, you’ll get more opportunities to fine-tune your message and measure results.

2. Being Newsworthy

Because social media sites are searchable, every action or comment can be public. You don’t need a press release to get noticed. You do need to be newsworthy on a consistent basis to sustain interested attention. As you’re crafting your campaign, think about whom you want to reach and why, what problems they have that you can solve, where they spend their time online and the sources they go to for news or help. For story ideas, focus on topics that relate to the specific area of expertise or business service you want to grow or highlight. Now think about why and how your stories need to be told. How can you tie into trends or national events? Look at stories in the news now and find connections to what you do.

Want to know what to do next? Read the social media marketing and PR article at lawmarketing.com.

How do mix social into your PR campaigns?

1 Comment - Posted in PR

How to Get on TV Shows 5 Steps

Posted on May 28, 2010

Barry, Barry, Barry . . . that’s the name that kept coming up as someone I had to meet. Today I’m happy to introduce you, too, to Barry as in Barry Moltz.

Thanks to Barry for buying me lunch at Navy Pier and telling me how he helps small businesses get unstuck. In the course of our conversation, I offered him the opportunity to guest post [hey - I know a good writer when I meet one!] about a variety of topics. Lucky for us, he picked this one.

How to Get on Television 5 Steps by Barry Moltz

Night after night, you sit and watch all the business pundits on network television and you think to yourself, “that should be me!” As you watch the replays on Youtube or Hulu, it starts to make you mad, until you realize there are tens of thousands of people out there just like you. At this point, a sense of hopelessness sets in.

Rarely, does the producer from Oprah just call you up and ask you to be on the show. You need to be proactive in your efforts. Here are five key elements to follow:

1. Be an expert. Write and speak about a niche constantly. Have a book or two published to “prove it”. Get endorsed by other famous people and companies about what an expert you are.

2. Have video of you talking in front of people on your website. Even if you are an expert, producers do not want to take a risk that you are bad in front of the camera. It maybe the chicken and the egg, but you need video to get video opportunities. If you do not have any video of yourself, have a professional produce a few clips for you.

3. Talk about current events. Follow the news. Relate the topic that you are an expert on to what is going on in the news. That is what the media wants to talk to you about.

4. Get referred to producers. Do you know someone that was on a business show that you would like to be on? Ask them to introduce you to the producer and monthly, stay in contact with them to tell them how what you are an expert at and how it relates to what is going on in the business world.

5. Hire a PR person. It is expensive, but it works. Make an investment in a PR person that has a track record of getting clients on the business shows you want to be on. As in any business, it’s who you know, not what you know that will mean success. Their relationships with producers will make a big difference.

What successful strategies have you used to get on television?

Barry MoltzCNBC’s The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch multiple times. He was thrilled about how good the spray on makeup made him look on television.

6 Comments - Posted in PR Tagged with: , ,

Social Media Beats Traditional PR Pitches

Posted on May 16, 2010


On April 19 I covered key highlights from a 2010 media survey, but I missed an important one. When I tweeted this stat:

according to PRNewswire 70% of social media tweets result in coverage vs 20% traditional PR

given at presentation at the UnGeeked Elite Conference in Milwaukee, it got retweeted and questioned.

Some people didn’t think it sounded right. So, I asked the speaker for the source, which led back to the 2010 media survey. Here’s a clip that confirms the stat.

Media & PR & Social Media
The prevalence of social and consumer-generated media has led to several changes in the way that PR practitioners view and engage the press. While, PR professionals still consider email to be the most effective means for pitching journalists (74%), 43% of journalists report having being pitched through social networks compared to 31% in 2009. Higher success rates may be a reason behind the increase. In both the US and Canada, pitches through a social network resulted in coverage approximately 70% of the time. In contrast, the standard pitch to a US or Canadian journalist rarely leads to coverage, with 66% pegging the success rate at 0-20%.

Source: PR Newswire Study: Journalists Tap Social Media; More Bloggers Associate Work as Journalism; PR Practitioners Increasingly Leverage Online Opportunities

Qualifier: Results based on survey of a total of 1,568 traditional and non-traditional media and, for the first time, 1,670 PR practitioners.

Two questions for you: How do you pitch your stories? If you use pitch via social media what works for you?

Image: Milwaukee Night Light by Barbara Rozgonyi for thesociallens

0 Comments - Posted in PR