Publicity Express

My blog is moving on...

2010-07-06T22:07:00.000-07:00

A post to all you wonderful peeps who subscribe to my blog. Firstly a big thank you, but also some news. I now have a new blog page and I'd like you to subscribe to that.

I'm in the midst of re-populating my posts, and will continue to maintain both blogs for the next couple of weeks, but from then on http://www.publicityexpress.com.au/blog/ is where I'll ask you to head for all the publicity, PR and marketing tidbits.

I'm delighted with the new blog's look & feel, a big thanks to the clever team at Grassroots Internet Strategy who set it up with Twitter feed and video readiness. I have had a few calls to post some video on Publicity Express, now I have no excuse!

Hope you'll join me on the new blog!

Phil

2010-07-06T21:54:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday's TeleClass "How to plan and use PR and Publicity for Business Growth" is already seeing some amazing results. Close to 150 businesses registered for the call. Here's what some of the participants had to say afterwards:

"Hi Phil, thank you for giving everyone the opportunity to listen into your PR Planning Teleclass. I had some great ideas, and am now motivated to make media calls. The DIY PR Kit will be invaluable."

"Thanks Philippa. Really helpful in refocusing on PR and some great tips."

"Thank you, the telecall was great, I really appreciate all the information and your insider knowledge."

A great number went on to jump at the End Of Financial Year sale I announced, snaffling up my DIY PR eKit for a bargain $99. There are still Star Class Monthly and Annual Memberships available, visit the website for details.

Below are a few of the Q&As I received on the call:

Do I really just call the journalist?
Yes, that is how over 80 per cent of the stories you read, watch or listen to start out. By someone (usually a PR agent) picking up the phone and asking a journalist or producer to feature a story.

When I want to get magazines or TV to know about my product do I have to write a press release What is the best way?
Journalists simply don't have time to read through every news release they receive, and many of the ones in their inbox are deleted. When you're pitching the media you're effectively cold calling to sell your story. A succinct email saying why you're contacting them and why it's relevant to them is better than a lengthy press kit. But you may still want one on hand. They're great tools for other clients and investors, as well as useful to have when the journalist requests extra information.

Is there a good, quick way of finding out which publications our target audience reads/listens too?
The best way is to ask them - run a quick survey amongst your customers or prospects. Go into a newsagency and look for publications that target your demographic. Call the media outlet and ask for circulation statistics.

If you write an article for an industry magazine, can you pitch the same article to a rival publication in the same industry?
Not unless you want to upset both editors and set back your media relations efforts for years to come! Exclusivity is really important when contributing to publications. All journalists like to be first to 'break news' - it's great for ratings. Offering a published story to a rival is a no-no.

PR: Your key to customer loyalty

2010-06-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

Customer loyalty matters, because selling more to current customers is easier and cheaper than finding and selling to new ones. Loyal customers tend to buy more, more regularly. And they will frequently recommend your business to others.

Public Relations, by definition, is how people think and feel about you. So if your PR activities are up to scratch, by default you’re going to have loyal customers.

Here are my PR tips for customer loyalty:

Understand the true purpose of PR. Effective PR is in large part about building trust and developing relationships. You want to create and maintain a strong feeling with customers so they are continually choose and recommend you.

Use PR to enhance your brand. I’m not talking logos and snazzy tag lines here. Branding that builds customer loyalty goes beyond what the eye can see. Great public relations builds brand at the emotional, gut-feeling, sensory and intuitive level.

Understand what your customers are paying for

You may think it’s your expertise. Yet the only way a customer can evaluate your expertise is through your credentials. What they can assess is positive outcomes. Did I feel good using this business? Did I feel valued? Just like the client I mentioned. He felt he could trust me – as his PR sat nav – to get him to where he needed to go.

Outcomes matter

Feeling valued and appreciated will only take you so far with customer loyalty. They need to see results and learn something from you to make it worth their while to continue as a customer. Here your PR activities need to involve showcasing the outcomes, or, if there’s a lag on results, being honest, explaining what you’re doing to get the right outcome, and reminding them what you’ve achieved for similar customers to maintain trust.

Embrace not face

2010-06-16T07:15:00.000-07:00

I’ve decided to coin a new phase in PR & marketing speak. From now on, think about ‘customer embracing’ rather than ‘customer-facing’. After a weekend with Charles Melton Wines, I have felt embraced, applauded, saluted and valued. Far better than being ‘faced’, don’t you think?

All I’ve done is regularly buy over a dozen bottles of wine from Charlie each year – and by way of thanks he invited Tony and I to his 25 years in business bash. Over 240 customers flew in from around Australia, where Charlie and his team ran a social weekend of food, museum wine tastings, live music, dancing and more. All we had to do was get there and find a place to stay. The rest was on Charlie.

As a person with a passion for great wine, magical marketing and authentic PR, the weekend provided all three in abundance. Next time you’re thinking about your customers, check in and ask when you embraced them last. And for some great examples of testimonial and word-of-mouth marketing, check out the winery’s Facebook page from the weekend!

Creativity gets media notice

2010-06-10T02:36:00.000-07:00

One of the most enjoyable aspects of owning your own business is the creativity. It’s not the domain of creative ‘types, you don’t need to be a designer or an artist to get creative in your own business. Creativity helps distinguish you, turns customers into fans, and helps get attention from the media.

For example, The National Railway Museum (NRM) in the UK hired a six-year old as their “director of fun,” which led to nationwide overage on the BBC. The story wasn’t a gimmick, simply a great, creative PR response to a six-year old who’d applied to be director of the museum when he’d heard the encumbunt – Andrew Scott – had announced his retirement.

Sam Pointon wrote saying: ‘I am only 6 but I think I can do this job’. His letter explained that he was perfect for the job as he had been on lots of trains, had visited the NRM, and owned an electric train track on which he could control 2 trains at once.

Bosses at the NRM were so touched by Sam’s enthusiasm and determination that they decided to appoint him as their ‘Director of Fun’. Sam’s job will be to tell Museum bosses how he thinks they can make sure the NRM is the most fun place for kids to spend a day out.

View the full story on the BBC website.

Learning to Leverage Media Coverage: Part Three - To Build a National Profile

2010-06-01T20:15:00.000-07:00

When you begin a public relations campaign, one of the most important things of which to be aware is what each media clip means to you in the bigger picture.

You might get a local TV interview here, or be quoted in an article there, and so on. It’s exciting each time coverage rolls in…nice for the ego, it drives people to your website, as well as all the other opportunities I’ve discussed in the past few weeks. But it’s what that coverage can do for you, collectively, that really takes your brand to the next level.

Each time you appear in the media, your “star” rises a little bit. You receive instant credibility and have paved another section of the road on your way to being seen as a national expert. Once you have a nice portfolio of coverage, it’s time to leverage it by creating a reel, which simply means having a video editor take clips from your TV interviews and print coverage, and put them in an exciting and media-friendly format.

Once you have a reel, you can use your coverage to create larger opportunities that will put you in the national spotlight, such as:

- Move from appearing in local media outlets to being an expert on national TV shows, or in national magazines

- Submit to magazines (local, regional or national) or online sites to pitch yourself as a regular columnist

- Send to casting directors of shows that would be appropriate for you to host or co-host

- Send with a book proposal to major publishers

I will continue to delve more deeply into securing some of these national opportunities in the coming weeks, including how to successfully make money from your media coverage.

Oh no, we’re on A Current Affair – for all the wrong reasons!

2010-05-26T03:49:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, despite all your best efforts, your business may not appear in the light you want it to. So what do you do?

Tell the truth, prove it with action, listen to the customer, manage for tomorrow, conduct public relations as if the whole company depends on it, remain calm, patient and good-humoured!

Kmart’s Anzac Day backflip is an example of good crisis PR. A single story on news.com.au garnered 430 negative comments in response to its decision to apply for pre-1pm trading. Kmart acted swiftly, within 24 hours issuing an apology, withdrawing its application, with managing director Guy Russo accepting personal responsibility.

“I got this one wrong and on behalf of Kmart, I apologise to the RSL, retired and current members of the Australian Defence Force and the wider community for any offence that this application has caused," said Russo.

If you compare the viewing stats on the Google News Chart, Russo’s personal apology garnered close to the same amount of views as the original story that caused the furore in the first place. The issue was handled effectively, quickly – and as a result faded off the news agenda as fast as it had arrived.

Leveraging your Media Coverage – To Attract New Clients

2010-05-19T06:22:00.000-07:00

Microsoft’s first version of its Xbox gaming console sold out within 24 hours of being available in stores, and had an awareness rate among consumers around 88% percent two weeks before launch, and prior to the start of any advertising. And this was also before the use of social media as we know it today. The results were achieved almost exclusively through media relations.

Now, Microsoft may have planned its PR campaign around a major launch of a new product, with national distribution and months of planning, but the same ‘phenomenon’ of reaching clients and generating sales through public relations can easily be replicated on whatever scale fits your business.

• Firstly, simply let the media coverage do the job of leverage for you, as it instantly drives new clients to you because they saw, read or heard about your book, product or service.

• Send out a mailer or email highlighting your press coverage to prospective clients, as well as to your own list, to convert those merely following you to purchasing. The credibility the media coverage offers may be just the incentive - or reminder - that they need to buy. And, no matter how well YOU promote your company to target clients, having the media do it for you gives it that much more impact.

• Highlight your media results on your website. Now, when people visit your site, or someone new finds you through an Internet search, you are no longer a ‘generic’ business - you have the (implicit) endorsement of the press that you are among the best in your industry!

• You just never know what other opportunities, deals or partnerships may be leveraged through the mere act of ‘being seen’ in the media. In next month’s teleclass I interview Justin Herald, whose appearance on ‘A Current Affair’ led to hundreds of calls from retailers wanting to stock his Attitude clothing line. Retailers who’d previously ignored him!

Leveraging your Media Coverage Part One – With Clients

2010-05-12T05:17:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been in a restaurant and, as you approached the counter, you noticed a framed clip from a magazine in which the restaurant has appeared because its expertise or services? It’s always impressive. Even if you’re a regular visitor to the restaurant, it’s a nice ‘reminder’ that they are skilled, talented and worthy of your business…or whatever other positive thoughts you associate with the media coverage.

The article may also feature a service you did not know the restaurant offered, like meeting catering. This may help “upsell” you into a service that you didn’t even realise you needed, until you walked in the door!

And this is just one way in which media coverage can be leveraged to enhance your profile and credibility among your existing client base. You may come up with more on your own, but here are a few good ways to get started making “positive noise” with your media coverage so that clients want to continue using your services - and recommend you to others.

• Send a mailer to your database touting the coverage. I saw an example of this recently where a homeowners insurance company mailed a postcard to its clients mentioning that a very high profile magazine ranked them THE best. Any need to look around for a new insurance company when you are already with the best? No.

• For coverage in magazines, enlarge and frame your clips to hang in your office, store, showroom, etc. Or you can simply frame the magazine covers, which also looks very impressive.

• Email your clients or database about upcoming media coverage so they can watch your appearance ‘live’ on TV, or know what newspaper or magazine to pick up.

• Use your coverage to entice clients to come see you, thus making you some ‘found’ money. For example, make an offer in which anyone who brings in a clip of your recent media coverage gets a discount on your products or services for a limited time.

What is Your Marketing Investment to Payoff Ratio?

2010-05-05T05:45:00.000-07:00

When it comes to marketing your business, ask yourself three questions: What are my marketing goals? On what do I spend the most money to market my business? And where do I focus the majority of my time? Now assess the results you get in return for your marketing efforts, based on your goals.

Recently “Company B” approached the agency about public relations, seeking to create national awareness for their brand and products, grow their email list and penetrate new markets and customers. They wanted to know how PR works, what they need to do to get started, how much it would cost, and what the payoff would be for their company. They were very excited about the potential rewards that come from public relations, but were also nervous about the financial investment. I certainly appreciate this; PR is an investment if you hire an agency, and not every business is yet at a point where this is feasible (which is why I created Publicity Express!).

In continuing our discussion with Company X, the interesting part was learning that they were paying tens of thousands of dollars to purchase lists of names in order to conduct direct mail marketing, as well as exhibiting at various trade shows around the country each year. When we asked if these activities were proving to be fruitful, the answer was a resounding, “So-so.” So-so doesn’t seem like a worthy enough payoff for their investment and time, yet they hadn’t questioned these efforts - or the associated costs - because this is how many businesses in their industry choose to market themselves.

Whether it’s time spent on Facebook or Twitter, attending events, conducting direct mail marketing, or doing public relations, now is a great time to reassess your marketing efforts vs. payoff ratio. If you’re ready to ‘shake up’ your marketing mix to include PR, give me a call, or drop me an email!

Building Positive Momentum Through Public Relations

2010-04-28T04:38:00.000-07:00

If you’ve never been in the press, securing media coverage or garnering attention for your business is not usually an instant thing; but it is accessible to everyone and consistent efforts WILL reap rewards. While it can happen very quickly for some - especially if you are able to tie-in with breaking news - for others it may take weeks, or even months, to see results depending on a few factors such as how simple (or not) your story is to communicate, and how consistently you reach out to media.
There are things that you can do, however, to bring positive momentum into your business and, in particular, your public relations efforts.

Perseverance: Like growing your business in general, a successful PR campaign means dedicating some energy to it. This means continually developing new pitch angles that can spark the interest of media, and following up with the news organisations where you want to be covered.

Avoid the Overwhelm: Don’t try to build Rome in a day. There is a wide universe of media out there and the thought of attempting to reach them all can feel overwhelming. Try starting in your local market where you already have built-in news value by being a local business or expert. Or focus on one genre of media, such as trade publications read by your industry, or business press. “Working” one area of media can give you the confidence, and success, to spark momentum.

Set Clear Goals - on Paper: Write down your public relations goals and three things you can do to achieve each goal. Take at least one action a day that gets you closer to achieving a goal. The mere process of taking that action creates momentum that will build upon itself.

Build Time For PR in Your Schedule: Every week, find at least one hour to focus on your public relations efforts. Even if it means blocking it off in fifteen minute increments at a time; in fifteen minutes you can email a pitch to five journalists, place three follow-up calls, or research a new media outlet to see where you could be covered.

Justin Herald: The Right Attitude for PR

2010-04-22T22:47:00.000-07:00

If you think that selling t-shirts in your bare feet and creating you own ‘Bamboozle a BMW salesman’ game aren’t the signs of a serious businessman, you’d be right.

Justin Herald is anything but serious; that is unless he’s trying to p*** someone off. The catalyst behind his global, multimillion Attitude™ Gear Clothing empire: bug the bejesus out of the lady at church who had told him he had an attitude problem. How? By seating him and his mates in the front pew with an array of slogan t-shirts he’d devised. Those t-shirts turned into the Attitude Gear clothing line, selling through 3500 stores nationally.

As he shared last night at the Southern Sydney Think Business Event, “And now, I get to royally-p*** her off globally, which is awesome!”

Much has been published about his $50 working capital (lent from his brother) that he parlayed into $7k plus a week selling t-shirts at Parklea markets.

But what I loved hearing last night was how he’d used free publicity to grow his business.

Unbeknownst to him at the time he had a great media hook: Oddity.

Here he was, business acumen zero - “The only thing I passed at school was recess” – and he’d built a thriving clothing brand from just $50. He challenged every business stereotype, yet weekly sales were booming. His oddity made him newsworthy. Little wonder Alan Jones wanted to chat to him on 2UE.

Justin then discovered the other benefit of publicity. As all journalists know, the best way to discover your next news story is watching/reading/listening to what the other news organisations are running. Shortly after the 2UE interview, he was asked to appear on ‘A Current Affair’. Which put him and his grass-roots popular clothing brand in front of millions of people.

The very next morning, he received hundreds of calls from retailers wanting to take his stock.

What he achieved - beautifully - was publicity leverage: jumping from talking one to a few, to talking to millions, in one sweet television appearance. Which cost him nothing but his time.

I’m delighted that Justin Herald has agreed to be interviewed by me as part of my monthly calls for my Publicity and PR Protégé Club. Broadcast in June, I can’t wait to share his insights into business and publicity. Make sure you’re in the loop for the date and time!

Follow me on Twitter @PhilippaLowe or sign up for my weekly eZine ‘Publicity Train’ at http://www.publicityexpress.com.au to get all the call info. You’ll also receive your own copy of my free report: 'Publicity Secrets That Only The Pros Know - Why DIY Publicity and PR is Easier Than You Think'.

It's sure to be a great call!

Growing Your Referral Sources

2010-04-21T07:14:00.000-07:00

Referrals or word-of-mouth recommendations are priceless. Anyone who reads this e-zine regularly will know how passionate I am about testimonial marketing, but how do you accelerate the referrals you receive?
Referral sources are the lifeblood of your business. Whether they are current clients or colleagues in complementary businesses, you must make sure you are initiating P.R. activities to constantly remind those sources about you - so they can refer more prospects to you!

Before you explore your referral opportunities, you absolutely need to know your target market. After all, if you can't describe your target market, how can you educate your referral sources about them? The more descriptive you can be here, the better. For example, don't just think "women". Think "women ages 20-35 who like sports and fitness".

Then it's time to look for your referral sources. Do some online research regarding your target market. What newsletters, magazines, blogs and e-zines do they read? What websites are they visiting? What non-competitive businesses exist that also target your market?

Come up with a list of your top five websites, e-zines, magazines and non-competitive businesses that are already reaching your ideal client or customer.

Contact these magazines, websites and e-zines and see if they will:

- Review your book, products, services, or ezine for their readers. If so, send them a review copy and follow up a week or two later. Request that when they run the review they mention your e-zine and direct people to your website to sign up.

- Accept guest articles. If so, then submit one of your best, with a short bio that links people back to your website to sign up for your ezine.

- Swap ads or recommendations for each other's websites, products, or services. If you have an e-zine that reaches the same target market they want to reach, this is a great win-win.

- Approach the non-competitive businesses. See if they will link to your website.

Perhaps they will co-find some joint marketing, such as a direct mail, live or teleseminar where you both promote your products and services and harness the opportunity to grow your database.

Choosing PR over advertising

2010-04-16T05:24:00.000-07:00

Whenever I speak at a small business event, I like to assess the amount of budget being allocated to marketing. It’s rare to see hands raised when I ask if anyone is spending over $15K in a year. It’s more likely to hover around the $5-10K bracket.

Advertising is an expensive part of the marketing mix. Costs include design, paying for it to run on radio, TV, print or online. Plus for an advert to gain traction you need to have a strong call to action and the budget to run the advert for at least 6 weeks.

Compare that to developing a news hook that appeals to your ideal customer, pitching it to the target media you know your ideal customer reads or listens to, gaining an interview with a reporter on radio and in print – and having hundreds of prospects call or visit your website as a result. If you choose to DIY PR (and if you’re a regular reader of Publicity Train you’ve some know-how to do that) all it would cost is your time.

So next time you think about booking an advert, why not divert some of the time and energy into PR? Set yourself a PR goal: within 6 months to have achieved three stories about your business in your target media. Let me know how you go!

Spread the word

2010-04-07T06:04:00.000-07:00

Testimonials and ‘Word Of Mouth’ is one of today’s most potent forms of promotion and grassroots marketing for all business. Positive, believable comments from real life customers are proof positive to other potential buyers that you are worthy of their business. Testimonials and ‘Word Of Mouth’ are the missing link for prospects considering a commitment to your product or service.

I urge everyone to look at testimonials as the fuel for their PR and marketing. Try this quick brainstorm exercise, and ask yourself the following:

1) Which customers would make good testimonials for my business?

2) What industry are these customers in?

(TIP: it’s always good to have spread across all the industries you work with, representing your different products and services)

3) What attributes do these customers have? (For example, one customer may be a great public speaker, and someone you’d like to have present on your behalf at an event).

4) What significant business benefits does the customer demonstrate as a result of using your products or services? When possible, include relevant figures, dollar amounts, and/or percentages in support of your product or service. You'll soon attract attention from prospects and dramatically increase your response rate with solid examples of your track record.

Your publicity is all about them

2010-04-06T04:47:00.001-07:00

There are a lot of reasons why people want to hear about your business, and they are all about those people – not you.

How often do you ask your customers what they love about you? Their answers can be an enlightening insight into how your business is perceived.

Similarly, your success securing media coverage is dependent on your ability to think about what journalists and their readers find interesting. By identifying the pain points that might bring clients to your business, you can begin to suss out hot topics or new story angles you can weave into your business in order to achieve media interest.

Remember, your publicity is all about them – the end-reader or listener. The journalist serves as a gate-keeper to that audience, the final decision maker who decides if your story will ‘get a run’. Ask yourself these questions:

What have you done that’s ‘new’ lately?
Do you have a new product or service? Rather than shouting all the features and benefits, pitch your story about its unique selling point.

Forget how fast, how bright, how shiny.
Don’t focus on your widget’s features. Instead, get publicity for clients who are doing something amazing with one of your widgets. Highlight these achievements to a trade publication and keep the story about the client. Not only will you strengthen client relationships, your product will be shown in the exact light required to attract others.

Why, Oh Why?
If you’ve had a phenomenal spike in sales, work out the why. That you’ve made more sales is not news in itself. But if you address why all of a sudden people are coming to you, you can find your news hook. People may be seeking particular services or buying in a particular area or taking advantage of a particular grant or loophole. Find out why and develop your news story from there.

Go niche as often as you can
Finally, your products might be wonderful but not necessarily unique. That’s not to say you have to miss out on publicity. Research the media your target audience would read or listen to. Call up the media organisations and ask for a list of upcoming features. Then try your hand at placing your products as part of a wider feature or buyer’s guide – or send them to a stylist for inclusion in a photoshoot with other products. Register with www.sourcebottle.com.au, a free subscription service that emails 'call outs' for sources from journalists and bloggers. The media opportunities are there, so put yourself up in lights!

More Value, More Sales

2010-03-30T04:07:00.000-07:00

Met a lady the other week, passionate about dog training. She asked me about one business issue: that once a dog was trained there was little to no repeat business - after all, she was good at what she did - so she was spending a lot of time bringing in new business.

I suggested developing her services into a group of 'information products', across a range of price points. Perhaps a free ebook, followed by an education DVD on dog training, selling group seminars, then at the top of her funnel her 1:1 training time.

I do exactly the same with my info products: the free publicity tips, Boost Business With Testimonials (A$34.99) DIY Publicity and PR Kit (A$149.99), ongoing seminars, mentoring programs and - at the premium end of the funnel - 1:1 mentoring on PR.

By having a range of products in your marketing funnel, at a range of price points, you allow your customers to sample your services at a lower price, then entice them further with the other products and services you offer.

This lady - let's call her Diane - immediately said "But if I wrote an ebook people wouldn't come to me in person to train their dogs." Of course they will! After all, if you write a book on a topic, you're showing a certain level of expertise, and it boosts your credibility. Also, if books were enough everyone would be millionaires, living lives of happiness and Zen bliss. Just have a look at the self-help shelves in your local bookshop!

A lot of Diane's resistance lay in the fact that although she taught dog owners how to be in control of their canines, she wasn't willing to be assertive in her business. When I suggested she charge more for her 1:1 time, and then offer other info products at lower price points she confessed that 'she felt bad' charging $80 for three hours work!

Diane was looking at the cost, not the value.
Remember, your products and services cannot be measured by their cost, but by the value they offer. She wasn't putting a value on her time - but worse, nor was she wasn't putting a value on her skill.

Remember, you're in business to be of service, and the reward for that is getting paid. Remember, money flows to you through others. It's just another form of energy ;-)

Competitions. Great PR or lazy marketing?

2010-03-18T04:56:00.000-07:00

Are competitions a misguided marketing tactic employed by small business...or just an indication of a lazy marketer?

Typically businesses run competitions to build a database. And though they don’t say so, they think that by running a competition they will build a database for the price of a bottle of wine or a dvd.

Which is not only lazy, but also cheap. And an absolute waste of resources. Think about it. Who ends up on the database? People who want to win stuff. Who probably don’t fit the profile of the most ideal potential customer for the business.
Bambi’s comments on competitions:

Around about 20% of people are compelled to take action to win something IF the prize is appealing enough. So that’s 80% of people who won’t enter.

If you are going to run a competition, choose a prize that reinforces your brand position. For example, if you are an accountant who promotes that you take the stress out of your clients’ life, have a prize of a massage or a weekend at a spa. So, for the 80% of people who see the competition and don’t enter, they’ll have still got the message that is at the core of your marketing strategy.

Don’t theme your competition unless it is a direct match for the core message that you are trying to convey.

Try not to give away your own product/service. What’s the value if it is free?
Do get a permit.

Do have terms & conditions.

If you are going to have ‘old fashion’ entry forms distributed in multiple locations or through magazines/newspapers, put a code onto each different one so you can evaluate the response from various sources.

If you are going to have entries online, again, create various identical landing pages, so you can evaluate where the hits came from.

Have you used competitions in your marketing to stunning PR success? Please let me know! (e: philippa@publicityexpress.com.au). For the full article, click here.

How are you presenting yourself to the media?

2010-03-13T20:17:00.000-08:00

There are two things you need to make the most out of publicity leverage. Firstly, a solid marketing plan that integrates with your PR plan. Secondly, a great news release.

1) When you’re preparing to profile yourself and your business to the media, ensure your website and marketing materials are in great shape, branded effectively and consistently. A reporter’s reputation depends on readership interests and approval, so if you’re going for great coverage you need to ensure your brand and business looks worth profiling.

2) A great news release. Over 90% of all press releases submitted have poor grammar, spelling errors and a complete absence of proper writing skills. This causes a disconnect between the journalist and sender. Your credibility is shot immediately. Any "luck" of getting a story just went in the bin along with your press release. Your goal should be to tell your story better than anyone else.

I’ve written on how to structure a news release in early editions, so I urge you to practise, practise, practise. And spell-check ;-). I’ve also been asked by many of you to offer you extra hand-holding if you need it: check out Up In Lights this edition.

Up In Lights

News Release Express

Whilst I love writing news releases, I know it’s not the favourite task for many of you. In fact, it can be such a struggle it prevents you from doing any publicity in the first place! News Release Express takes away the headache. You simply have to fill in the proprietary form I’ve developed, then the team at Publicity Express writes the release for you – with the best hooks and pitch angles you’d expect from a team of seasoned pros. To help you pitch your news release with ease, you also receive a copy of my “Insider Secrets to Media Pitching That Works” valued at $69.99. PLUS, for a limited time, you’ll also receive search engine optimisation enhancement and PR Wire distribution for FREE.

Contact Phil to get your news releases rolling today!
Email: Philippa@publicityexpress.com.au
Subject: News Release Express

Social media helps put PR on the map

2010-03-03T03:34:00.000-08:00

The premise of an article lasting forever online makes the Internet and social media fascinating to me as a PR consultant. Before its advent, communicating directly with your ‘public’ beyond anything further than traditional media relations was cost-prohibitive for most small businesses. No longer.

Having a solid social media program helps businesses and brands to build new relationships, across a wider landscape, and in a sustainable fashion never before possible. This is where PR plays best strategically, for three important reasons:

Crisis – Many a poor customer experience is blogged and tweeted about, and it’s out there quickly. Relying on PR as your ‘litmus test’ (how do we want people to think and feel?) helps you consider the effects of a campaign or response and allows you to act accordingly

Word Of Mouth – social media tends to reject commercialism. There’s an unprecedented intimacy when a customer or prospect becomes your fan on Facebook. They won’t tolerate a steady stream of marketing hype. Remind you of anyone? Cynical news and editorial contacts, of course. Learning PR skills in media relations means you’re well placed to manage great word-of-mouth social media relations too.

Greater Influence – engaging dialing with customers on social media gives insights into customer and prospect motivations that incomparable. It allows PR to better quantify the value it delivers to the business bottom line.

Through social media channels, businesses can foster and maintain ongoing, quality "dialogue" with influencers, media, customers and partners, regardless of time or geographic limitations. These channels allow businesses to have direct access to, and feedback from, their audience, allowing companies of any size to better meet marketplace demands.

I’ll be teaching PR & social media during my March Publicity and PR Bootcamps, so if you want to learn more join me there. Early bird expires tomorrow!

Connect and create

2010-03-02T01:53:00.000-08:00

Ever forgone an event, workshop or networking lunch because the work and email have piled up? I’m guilty of it – in fact, for a chatty PR person I can be a downright grumpy old hermit some days ;-)

No-one can be ‘up’ all of the time; but neither can we be chained to our desks 40 plus hours a week. Forgoing that lunch so you can ‘just finish this off’ is a slippery path to overwork and disconnection.

Remember, PR is all about what people think and feel about you. What do you choose: disconnected old hermit or interesting, authentic creative being?
Your best ideas bubble up from your subconscious when you’re away from the computer.

Whether it’s walking along the beach or listening to a live speaker who gets your brain bubbling, investing in time away from your office environment is crucial.
I regularly head overseas to listen and learn from thought leaders in my industry and outside of it. My investment in any seminar more than pays for itself with the new business ideas and connections I bring back.

Think about every event you attend as your own personal PR appearance. What do you want people to think and feel about you, your brand, your business? During my live PR and Publicity Bootcamps, I like to remind people that they’re not just there to learn, they’re there to connect, listen and mastermind.

So get out there. Make it your personal PR goal to attend three events in March. Maybe I’ll see you at one of my Bootcamps!

PR and it's sassy sister Publicity - you're marketing superheroes

2010-02-17T05:07:00.000-08:00

Using PR makes identifying your ideal customer EASY. If you had to "fire" every customer except one, but you knew if you kept that one, every customer from there forward would be just like the one you kept, who would it be? Particularly, how would they think and feel about you?

This is important, because PR uses a bunch of tactics to keep your customers and prospects thinking and feeling the way you want them to feel. Publicity is the means by which you share that, attracting your ideal customer faster and quicker than advertising and direct mail.

So why don't small businesses use PR more? Because the perception is that it's only for corporates who can afford to use high-flying PR agencies. Wrong!

Worse, an awful lot of small business consultants steer their clients away from using PR because they think it's some sort of black magic performed by $2000 a day consultants. As a result PR is saved for the 'big boys' and small business is foolishly encouraged to do advertising and direct mail because the perception is it's easier and cheaper.

Yet research shows EVERY time, the PR dollar outperforms advertising, direct mail, etc in marketing budgets. So why do SME's -- and the people advising them - choose marketing tactics less likely to get return on the budget?

Small business and its advisers need to step up and understand what PR can achieve. I invite anyone working in marketing with small business to attend one of my Publicity and PR Bootcamps in March to really see the difference it makes - for a fraction of the marketing spend.

Publicity Train: Using social media to boost your profile

2010-01-31T05:37:00.001-08:00

If you’ve not a clue to what I mean when I ask about how many friends you have, or if you’ve tweeted lately, then you’re probably not embracing social media. Which isn’t a crime by the way, but before you write off Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogging and more as time-wasting tools, they do have uses to boost your profile.

Both are great for interacting. And with the world and the web craving authenticity, there’s no better way to talk with your consumers and prospects, not at them. Plus using Twitter, Facebook and blogs can scale your profile exponentially. I’ve had articles re-tweeted across the globe far faster than I could hope to forge media connections in those countries.

As I’ve shared before, the media often report on what’s in the media. By embracing blogging, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, you are becoming part of the wider media landscape, creating a pull PR strategy naturally and will attract attention from all other types of media.

Publicity Train: Fly high with great customer service

2010-01-24T05:15:00.000-08:00

I’ve been lucky enough to fly to the northern hemisphere twice in the past two months. On my most recent trip, taking my ma back to the UK, I gave her my business class seat whilst I took her return economy chair. The crew were happy enough to let me pop up to see her but although there were around eight spare seats in business, wouldn’t allow me to remain longer than ten or so minutes at a time.

Compare this to an economy flight in November to LA when, shortly after take-off, cabin crew announced there were spare seats in business class and economy passengers were free to relocate – at no extra charge.

Fantastic customer service is great publicity for your business. Considering that retaining customers can cost up to seven times less than attracting new ones, customer service is an economic imperative. Airline A, being stingy with their unsold resources, won’t be attracting my business again in a hurry. Airline V (guesses anybody?) has my absolute loyalty and I’ll happily rave about and fly with them again and again.

If you have happy customers, you’re pretty much assured of having great material for your PR and marketing. Testimonial quotes and user success stories help sell your business far more effectively than anything you say about yourself. So list all your raving fans, and start creating your own testimonial marketing today!

Publicity Train: Don’t write off the humble newsletter and news release

2010-01-15T05:01:00.000-08:00

I came upon a blog recently where the author wrote about press releases and newsletters being a waste of your time and money.

Rubbish. Marketing is about diversity and getting people to come to you. It’s about knowing your client profile. Newsletters – both printed and electronic - have their place. With an eNewsletter you can contact all your clients cost-effectively, offering value and staying top of mind. It’s a great, regular PR tool and leading successful informational marketers across the globe swear by them.

Similarly press releases. Not necessarily for the press, but as another weapon in your search engine optimization arsenal, they are wonderful tools to post on the like of PRWire.

What was odd, when I researched the offending blog’s website, one of the services being promoted was article writing for newsletters.

I realise the writer was going for the controversy hook, and, yes, it certainly hooked me. But there’s controversy and there’s authenticity. If you don’t believe in newsletters, don’t offer an article writing service for them. And if you’re going to be controversial, do it in such a way that it gets you noticed, but also brings some long-term benefits.

Publicity Train: Do I do my own PR or do I ask an agency?

2010-01-06T16:13:00.000-08:00

Ok, you’ve realised PR’s going to work wonders for your business. It’s going to give you third-party, indpendent validation. It’s going to stop you talking 1;1, taking you to thousands, possible millions. So do you DIY PR or ask for agency help? Here are a few considerations:

1) Are you already an active marketer with set goals?

By that I mean launching products and services and communicating to clients regularly, through advertising, direct mail, events etc. You’ll have a set plan for your marketing that you follow, with knowledge of what your ideal clients look and feel like, and you’ll have some set goals you’re looking to achieve.

2) Have you a regular budget you commit to marketing, and have you allocated a portion of that to PR?

Agencies, particularly larger multi-nationals, quite rightly charge for their expertise. They add value through innovation, good ideas and long term experience and you will need to be prepared to budget for that.

3) Have you reached the point where you need outside help?

Perhaps you’ve done DIY PR so well, you want some extra ideas and support. Or perhaps you just aren’t confident writing your own news releases, or simply need extra hands with media pitches.

If you’ve said yes to all of these, then maybe it’s time to explore agency PR support. Feel free to drop me a line if you’re not sure what you need and I’ll happily help with some recommendations.

Spotlight

MY DIY PR and Publicity Kit is a great way to learn more about generating your own publicity. In it I give you the knowledge and templates to create your own publicity and PR plan, identify and pitch to the media, how to write a news release and create a media kit, media interview tips and plenty of PR ideas to put you and your business up in lights. Available to purchase online for $149.99.

Teleseminars

Kick off 2010 in style and join my Publicity and PR Protégé Club. My next teleclass is on PR planning, so join us on Feb 9, 2010.

Learn how to benefit from powerful, consolidated publicity that will make you appear bigger than you are so you compete more easily against larger businesses with bigger budgets. Invest in yourself, your business and your publicity for only $12.95 a month.

Events:

Publicity & PR Bootcamp

Make a note in your dairy! My Publicity & PR Bootcamp is March 2010. You’ll leave this live event with at least 10 news hooks for your business, news releases to use immediately, media targets to pitch to, and a plan to follow for 12 months. Register your interest today and be in line for the early, early bird goodies!

Publicity Train: It’s Christmas time, write a news release

2010-01-03T18:04:00.001-08:00

Christmas can be slow news, especially for local paper and radio. Make the most of the opportunity. This week I suggested a yoga centre promote their January Open Day, and another business owner their Positive Mindset event, using the ‘Help make a great New Year’s Resolution’ news angle.

Here’s a template to follow to construct a news release. My guide to the content appears also:

FROM: Company Name, Address, Logo if appropriate

For Immediate Release (or when you plan to release your news)

HEADLINE (larger, bold, underline, center, can be several lines. Be attention-grabbing but don’t be salesy or use hype)

City, State Abbreviation, Day, Month, Year – Insert Lead paragraph text. This is your introduction, what is the purpose of this release, is it newsy?

Paragraph 2: Who does this appeal to and why? This is the “Who, What, Where, When and Why” of the release.

Paragraph 3: Create a quote from the owner or a principal of the company that gives additional information

Paragraph 4: Detail additional facts that support Paragraph 3

Paragraph 5: Give costs of products, services and/or details and call to action

About

Here put the information commonly shared to describe your business or service. This is often referred to as your boilerplate.

Contact Details

Include specifics and be accessible. Telephone numbers, mobile phone numbers, e-mail addresses, fax numbers and website addresses help the media, prospective clients and business partners reach you easily.

Spotlight

Teleseminars

Kick off 2010 in style and join my Publicity and PR Protégé Club. My next teleclass is on PR planning, so join us on Feb 9, 2010.

Events: Publicity & PR Bootcamp

Make a note in your diary! My Publicity & PR Bootcamp is March 2010. You’ll leave this live event with at least 10 news hooks for your business, news releases to use immediately, media targets to pitch to, and a plan to follow for 12 months. Register your interest today and be in line for the early, early bird goodies! Email Philippa@publicityexpress.com.au.

Publicity Train: Richard Branson: knowing his audience and seizing space

2010-01-03T18:00:00.000-08:00

Space pioneers Sir Richard Branson and Burt Rutan unveiled the world's first commercial passenger spacecraft this week. The VSS Enterprise rolled into view at the Mojave Air and Space Port, about 95 miles north of downtown Los Angeles.

Despite the bracing wind-chill factor, hundreds of people had flown in from around the world to view the craft. "Isn't that the sexiest spaceship ever?" shouted shaggy-haired British billionaire Branson.

As I watched the news coverage, one quote of Sir Richard’s struck me in particular. Asked an (off-air) question by the U.S-accented bureau chief responsible for providing coverage for Australia, Branson replied: “I hope this technology will enable us to one day fly passenger airliners from LA to Sydney in two hours.”

Clever? Absolutely. Branson knew his audience, and was aware the reporter he was talking to would provide footage to Australian news outlets. So he provided a quote that would resonate with Australian viewers (and increase the likelihood of a TV news editor running the coverage).

It’s the first rule of media relations: what do you have to say that is of value or interest to the audience of the media outlet? It’s not about you and your story, it’s about them and how your story is of benefit.

Sir Richard doubtless had variations of the same quote for various global media. Reporter from the UK? Repurpose the quote to mention London, Heathrow.

Overall it comes down to research and planning. Knowing your message, honing in on its news value, finding the right media outlet and contact, and tweaking the information you have to suit.

Spotlight

Make your eNewsletter Marketing quick and easy in 2010. The Publicity Express 'Done For You' eNewsletter package takes away deadline and content headaches. You get:

· 12 eNewsletters (one a month)

· Four quarterly eDirect Mails to promote your special offers

· Professionally designed and expertly copywritten (yes, we do it for you!)

· Distributed through a state-of-the-art eMarketing platform branded specifically to you

An eNewsletter is a must-have for business nowadays. Not only is this service great value if you sign up this December (less than $80 week*) it is hassle-free publicity and PR for your business. There are easy-pay options available too.

Find out more about the 'Done For You' eNewsletter package here.There's an extensive Q&A section, and you can always email me at philippa@publicityexpress.com.au with any other questions.

Put yourself up in lights in 2010!

*Based on the upfront annual subscription, excluding additional distribution fees.

Publicity Train: Naomi Simson, RedBalloon, on Publicity and PR

2010-01-03T17:49:00.000-08:00

With immense marketing experience – working for the likes of Apple, Ansett, KPMG and IBM, Naomi Simson, Chief Experiences Officer at RedBalloon, wondered if she could build a brand online based on the holy grail of customer service: listening to customers and responding.

Nine years on, redballoon.com.au has now been listed in the BRW fast lists for the past five years and is also named as the #1 website by Hitwise for half a decade.

Naomi has also received accolades such as winning the 2008 national Telstra Business Women’s Awards - Innovation, and being one of four finalists of the 2009 Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year Awards.

As a CEO, mother, author, blogger and a truly passionate individual Naomi continues to innovate and create new ways to do business, with PR and publicity an integral part of brand growth. PublicityTrain asked her to share her insights:

How do you rate PR and publicity compared to advertising?

“PR for RedBalloon is easier than getting an ad placed, and is far more authentic. I like to think we do our PR very well. Employing a PR professional in-house it’s an investment we take seriously. I always want to ensure we have something worth saying, so it’s an investment in terms of brainpower, time and resources.

What sort of time investment?

“It’s not short-term activity. Conducting public relations for RedBalloon is a five to ten year plan. It’s a journey that continually evolves. Today’s PR story is tomorrow’s fish and chip wrapper!”

Can you give an example of a simple, cost-effective PR tactic that has paid dividends?

My blog as a PR tactic has definitely been worth the time and effort. Having been blogging now for close to four years, I’m passionate about using fabulous content that starts conversations. It’s all a question of leveraging it correctly. The link to my blog is on our corporate website, I refer to it in all my speaking engagements, plus it’s included in the footer of our emails.

Many business owners are fearful about picking up the phone to call a reporter, what’s your experience?

“Well, I was once asked by a reporter on a national paper to comment on a topic. We met in a cafe and I took the reporter up on his offer to pay for the coffees. Later our RedBalloon PR manager told me that was the main thing he remembered about our interview. Yet he called me and asked for my time and comments, so why not pay for the cuppa? I like to remind myself that reporters are – at the end of the day – just people.

If you have something of value to talk about – and I stress that having something of value to share is the important part -- there’s no harm in picking up the phone to the correct medic contact and starting the conversation. It’s amazing where it can take you.”

Spotlight

There’s still time to make your eNewsletter Marketing quick and easy in 2010. The Publicity Express 'Done For You' eNewsletter package takes away deadline and content headaches. You get:

· 12 eNewsletters (one a month)

· Four quarterly eDirect Mails to promote your special offers

· Professionally designed and expertly copywritten (yes, we do it for you!)

· Distributed through a state-of-the-art eMarketing platform branded specifically to you

Find out more about the 'Done For You' eNewsletter package here. There's an extensive Q&A section, and you can always email me at philippa@publicityexpress.com.au with any other questions.

Put yourself up in lights in 2010!

* *Based on the upfront annual subscription, excluding additional distribution fees.

Publicity Train - The press release is dead, long live the press release

2010-01-03T17:33:00.000-08:00

When I was a reporting I received hundreds of news releases every day. Back then by fax - imagine the paper! Journalists simply don’t have time to read through every news release they receive, and many of the ones in their inbox are deleted. When you’re pitching the media you’re effectively cold calling to sell your story. A succinct email saying why you’re contacting them and why it’s relevant to them is better than a lengthy press release.

But you may still want one, just not for use with the press ;-) A press release used on your website or posted to places like prwire.com will help get you noticed in terms of search engine optimization (SEO) and for reaching other marketing objectives.

Here’s how to help your SEO with press releases:

- Don’t bury your press releases on your website where no one can find them. Link to them from the home page.

- Post your press releases in plain old HTML. Don’t put them in PDF format. Believe it or not, some people put their press releases on the web site in such a way that you have to download them.

- Make sure your website is set up in such a way that search engines can get into the inner pages of your site.

- Put a button on their home page called “media room” or “press room.” If the media is coming to your website just to nose around, to see if you’re worth interviewing or calling, they can click on that button and immediately go to the new releases and backgrounders, Q&As and profiles.

TELESEMINARS

Are you ready to make your eNewsletter Marketing easy in 2010?

Looking for an easy, fool-proof way to boost your profile, grow business contacts and qualified leads?

People are more likely to buy from you if you send an eNewsletter. Nor do they have to be time-consuming and budget-busting! Find out how easy it is. Join me on my free teleclass on December 2nd, 10am EST, Sydney, Australia.

Even if you’re already writing an eNewsletter, or perhaps struggling with content and deadlines, I’ve some great tips on keeping content fresh and developing marketing ideas to convert your readers to sales.

Reserve your spot here!

The call will be recorded and made available to all registrants – so don’t worry if you can’t join me live, you’ll still benefit from the great info.

UP IN LIGHTS

Lauren Chandler – This month’s ‘Up In Lights’ Winner!

As a publicity mentor I love seeing a small business implementing my four Ps: passion, persistence, PR and publicity. After reading my DIY PR Tips in Dynamic Business, Lauren Chandler from Shine Wellbeing sent me this feedback: “Awesome advice Philippa! Your tips and tools - and presenting it in such a simple format - has really helped me see how I can get out there and be seen.”

Showing someone how is great – but seeing them find the motivation to step up and take action is better. Last night Lauren hosted a reading and signing of her new book at the local library, with posters promoting the event for weeks prior. Lauren really showcases how passion + persistence = publicity & PR.

Want to be next month’s ‘Up In Lights’ Winner? Email me your passion + persistence = publicity & PR success stories to info@justgowrite.com.au.

News hooks – no need to reinvent the wheel

2010-01-03T17:28:00.000-08:00

One of the quickest ways to generate publicity about your business is to tie-in to something topical that’s already being covered in the news. Reporters are continually seeking new angles on which to cover a topic.

That's exactly what Barbara Corcoran did in order to get publicity rolling for her real-estate business. When the news began covering Madonna's eventual move to New York City, Barbara quickly sent out a news release with a professional's perspective on what Maddie would be looking for in a new home - the amenities, what part of town she would like, etc – all the while using properties that her real-estate business was listing, thereby promoting not only herself, but also her real estate inventory.

It got some great coverage – so much so that within the week Barbara received a call from Richard Gere’s agent asking her to act as Gere’s realtor. So what’s in the news right now that you could leverage for your business?

Josh Duhamel and Fergie relationship troubles - Relationship experts can weigh in on what they, or any couple, can do when faced with a challenging time in their marriage.

Treasurer Wayne Swan on education being the engine room behind Australia's economic recovery – a workplace trainer could comment on best-practices companies need to adopt to attract and retain skilled staff.

Home-owners in NSW warned after a spate of fires sparked by shoddily installed ceiling insulation – a licensed tradesman could offer a column on what homeowners should look for when choosing ceiling insulation.

Want to learn more about media hooks for your business? Join me on my December call for my PR and Publicity Protégé Club.

TELESEMINARS

Join me on the December call for my new PR and Publicity Protégé Club. This call will cover:

· Your unique selling point to pitch to the media

· Targeting the right journalist

· Where to start, who to call, and exactly what you need to say!

Not a member? Register for membership of the PR and Publicity Protégé Club for only $12.95 a month.

UP IN LIGHTS

PR & Publicity Protégé Club

The Publicity and PR Protégé Club is dedicated to helping you boost your business profile to new heights, enabling you to benefit from powerful, consolidated publicity that will

- make you appear bigger than you are

- enable you to compete more easily against larger businesses with bigger budgets

- allow you to shift from selling one-to-one to one to thousands, even millions

Life is too short to waste time figuring out everything the hard way. Invest in yourself, your business and your publicity for only $12.95 a month.

What you get:

1) Monthly teleseminars: Every month, I’ll lead a “how-to” seminar on a publicity, PR and marketing topic like marketing strategies, e-marketing, media pitching, planning, writing eZines, how to think like a journalist; and more

Each teleseminar is designed to provide publicity ideas that can be implemented immediately.

There will also be guest speakers - hand-picked professionals of the highest quality - plus accompanying workbooks as necessary.

All teleseminars will be available via audio download, so members can listen when it suits their schedule.

2) A subscription to the Publicity Train e-newsletter: my weekly e-newsletter of quick tips and practical advice to keep everyone thinking about ways to publicise and boost their business profile.

3) Discounts and offers: members will also be rewarded with exclusive early bird offers on all of my publicity products, programs and workshops.

“Awesome advice Philippa! Your tips and tools - and presenting it in such a simple format - has really helped me see how I can get out there and be seen.”

Lauren Chandler, Shine Wellbeing.

Publicity Train - What is news?

2010-01-03T17:27:00.000-08:00

Anything that appears on radio, television or in print does so because a journalist or editor has deemed it newsworthy. But what is news? There are eight elements:

Immediacy: Reporting something that has just happened or is about to happen. Time is a strong ingredient, "today, yesterday, early this morning, tomorrow."

Proximity: Facts and occurrences that are important to you personally: interest rates, impact of the drought. The question most asked by journalists is: "If this happened outside my immediate area, my city, my state, would I be interested in reading about it?"

Prominence: The public figure, holders of public office, people in positions of influence all enjoy news prominence. If you host an event with a guest speaker and wish to try for publicity, then for your speaker to qualify for news prominence, he or she must be well enough known to command attention by reputation or by the nature of the topic to be discussed.

Oddity: The bizarre, the unusual, the unexpected often make news. Generally those people who perform striking feats in emergency situations are news, such as a woman lifting an automobile off her child.

Conflict:  Conflict is one element most observed in today’s news with the clash of ideologies making headlines worldwide.

Suspense:  Suspense creates and expands news appeal. For the most part, businesses rarely experience this type of circumstance.

Emotions:  Emotions are a news element commonly called "human interest" stories that stir our recognition of the basic needs both psychological and physical.

Consequence:  The last element of news, consequence, is more difficult to explain, but generally for a story to have consequence it must be important to a great number of readers. It must have some impact for the reader.

Have these news guidelines in mind when you're deciding if your message is news or an announcement; whether it's a feature or an item of limited public interest. From this you can decide which format to use for distributing the information and the medium that is most likely to use your information.

TELESEMINARS

Join me on the December call for my new PR and Publicity Protégé Club. This call will cover:

· Your unique selling point to pitch to the media

· Targeting the right journalist

· Where to start, who to call, and exactly what you need to say!

Not a member? Register for membership of the PR and Publicity Protégé Club at for only $12.95 a month.

UP IN LIGHTS

PR & Publicity Protégé Club

The Publicity and PR Protégé Club is dedicated to helping you boost your business profile to new heights, enabling you to benefit from powerful, consolidated publicity that will

- make you appear bigger than you are

- enable you to compete more easily against larger businesses with bigger budgets

- allow you to shift from selling one-to-one to one to thousands, even millions

Life is too short to waste time figuring out everything the hard way. Invest in yourself, your business and your publicity for only $12.95 a month.

What you get:

1) Monthly teleseminars: Every month, I’ll lead a “how-to” seminar on a publicity, PR and marketing topic like marketing strategies, e-marketing, media pitching, planning, writing eZines, how to think like a journalist; and more

Each teleseminar is designed to provide publicity ideas that can be implemented immediately.

There will also be guest speakers - hand-picked professionals of the highest quality - plus accompanying workbooks as necessary.

All teleseminars will be available via audio download, so members can listen when it suits their schedule.

3) Discounts and offers: members will also be rewarded with exclusive early bird offers on all of my publicity products, programs and workshops.

“Being a small business, I always thought PR was something I could never do myself or it was going to be way too expensive. Philippa, you have given me a whole new outlook on how easy and cost effective PR can be. Thanks!

Flora Strahl, Centrifugal Solutions

Publicity Train - Get your Publicity Hags!

2010-01-03T17:26:00.001-08:00

The term Big Hairy Audacious Goal ("BHAG") was proposed by James Collins and Jerry Porras in their 1996 article entitled Building Your Company's Vision. A BHAG encourages companies to define visionary goals that are more strategic. In the article, the authors define a BHAG (BEE-hag) as "...an audacious 10-to-30-year goal to progress towards an envisioned future."

My purpose is to fundamentally change how solopreneurs and small-to-medium business owners think, feel and act on PR; not to be shy or fearful about publicising what they do – in the media or elsewhere - but to be inspired to put themselves up in lights.

I know I’ll get there because I’ve set myself this Big Hairy Audacious Goal: At least 15 per cent of Australia’s 1,000,000+ small businesses having experienced Publicity Express tools, products or programs by 2020.

And that’s just Australia – there’s New Zealand, UK and the US too!

So what’s your personal business purpose and BHAG? When they’re clear in your mind the rest is easy. Then think about how you must act each day, what you must do and all the ways you can PR and publicise what you do in order to help achieve that goal.

Set your Publicity HAG too. Think big. My good friend Raquel Bosustow’s Publicity HAG is to be interviewed about her book Miracle Beginnings on Oprah.

As a way of reaching my BHAG, I’m aiming for at least 10,000 subscribers to the Publicity Train eZine. Do you know anyone who’d be interested? Please pass it on. All subscribers receive a copy of my report: ‘Publicity Secrets Only The Pros Know.’ New subscribers can register here.

TELESEMINARS

Join me on my Publicity Express Teleseries this November and discover:

· Why lack of money and time is not an obstacle to getting in the media

· How to deal with those fears that rear up whenever you think about calling a journalist

· In-depth, journo knowledge that’ll have you dealing with the media confidently

· How to easily build your profile: whether it’s online, radio, newspapers, magazines or TV

· Where to start, who to call, and exactly what you need to say!

UP IN LIGHTS

Boost Biz With Testimonials – Free Audio Offer!

My Boost Biz With Testimonials Toolkit is having a revamp as part of the Publicity Express launch. But there’s still a chance to grab a copy of the first edition eBook for just $34.99. Buy it today and receive a free copy of my testimonial marketing teleclass, ‘Turning your Top Customers Into Your Best Sales Team Ever’.

About Phil

After working in journalism for a decade, Phil opened her first PR agency in 1999. Offering her insider secrets to working with the media and teaching businesses how to be newsworthy, she built a high six-figure agency in six quick months. She has a passion for PR and publicity’s power to grow a business.

Yet she could never understand why big business had all the PR fun. “Why should small businesses be relegated to the back of the class while bigger organisations with bigger PR budgets – whose products and services are not necessarily any better – get all the limelight?” Phil asks.

So she launched Publicity Express - offering products, programs and advice that help small business do and benefit from their own PR; showing that publicity isn’t rocket science!

Publicity Train - Makeover madness

2010-01-03T17:25:00.000-08:00

There are plenty of reality TV shows doing house and garden makeovers; individuals have gotten into the act with shows like The Nest on SBS teaching busy families about work:life balance.

What about your own PR makeover? The quality of the service you offer and the person you are is more important than the new dress and swanky logo ;-) However, it all says something about you.

My new photos for example. After seeing them, a business contact responded saying it was “warm, calm, energetic, glamourous, spunky and friendly’ – wow indeed! Had I ever thought of myself personally like that? Well, yes, usually on those good days when everything’s flowing in the right direction ;-)

But was it how I wanted the brand I believe in, have invested in and am 100% passionate and excited about to be perceived? Absolutely!

So I asked myself, what did I do, intuitively, to arrive at this place? I’d given myself my PR makeover 101.

- What’s going to get me noticed?

- What is pleasing to the eye (and ear; how you answer the phone, for example!)

- What is it about your personal PR that sparks off that all-important first impression?

Answer all three, stay aligned with them, and you’re on your way to reinvention.

TELESEMINARS

Join me on my Publicity Express Teleseries this November and discover:

· Why lack of money and time is not an obstacle to getting in the media

· How to deal with those fears that rear up whenever you think about calling a journalist

· Indepth, journo knowledge that’ll have you dealing with the media confidently

· How to easily build your profile: whether it’s online, radio, newspapers, magazines or TV

· Where to start, who to call, and exactly what you need to say!

UP IN LIGHTS

Boost Biz With Testimonials – Free Audio Offer!

My Boost Biz With Testimonials Toolkit is having a revamp as part of the Publicity Express launch. But there’s still a chance to grab a copy of the first edition ebook for just $34.99. Buy it today and receive a free copy of my testimonial marketing teleclass, ‘Turning your Top Customers Into Your Best Sales Team Ever’.

Trust me, it’s the PR

2010-01-03T17:24:00.002-08:00

Last week I wrote about the successful businesses and entrepreneurs in this new economy who tell their story and sell their products and services with authenticity. This week I want to delve a bit further into publicity and public relations as trust builders.

Trust is vital because it helps determine whether someone will engage your company and services, or those of a competitor.

Enter PR and publicity. No other marketing method delivers so much impact for so little investment of time and money. PR is the fastest, least-expensive way to gain trust from your audience.

Imagine simply saying ‘Trust me’ to your potential customers. Self-serving? Now imagine them reading your coverage by national newspapers, listening to your radio interviews and seeing guest feature articles where the journalist has interviewed you as the expert in your field. All fantastic third-party endorsements from a reliable – and independent – source.

If a book receives a good review in the Sydney Morning Herald, I’m more likely to buy it. If a film is panned in the same publication, I’m less likely to spend money on a cinema ticket.

Think about your own purchasing decisions, and if you’ve ever been influenced by something you’ve read, seen or heard in the media. The point is, these items may not be any better than a lot of others in the marketplace, but they’ve earned your trust and attention through the power of PR.

Bill Gates on PR

"If I only had two dollars left I would spend one dollar on PR."

Bill Gates, Founder of Microsoft

Join me on my Publicity Express Teleseries this November and discover:

· Why lack of money and time is not an obstacle to getting in the media

· How to deal with those fears that rear up whenever you think about calling a journalist

· Indepth, journo knowledge that’ll have you dealing with the media confidently

· How to easily build your profile: whether it’s online, radio, newspapers, magazines or TV

· Where to start, who to call, and exactly what you need to say!

Microsoft would never have become a massive success if Bill had kept quiet about it, after all! Register for the November 2009 5-Star Publicity Teleseries.

It’s all about you

2010-01-03T17:24:00.001-08:00

There’s a massive business shift happening and I believe the successful businesses and entrepreneurs in this new economy are the ones who tell their story and sell their products and services with authenticity.

Which is why PR is top of the list for skills you need to grow your business. What you say, what you do and how you are all contribute to your customers’ perceptions of you. Hard sell claims are passé. People want trust, relationships and personal touch.

Authenticity can be hard to ‘distribute’ aside from 1:1 in the direct customer experience. Trouble is, 1:1 is slow. PR gives you that all-important extra leverage by allowing you to stop communicating one on one, and start talking one to thousands.

Sir Richard Branson is my favourite PR success story. He’d never have parlayed his mail-order record company into the Virgin record label, megastores, airlines, trains, mobile phones and space travel if he’d not gotten out there and told his story.

And that’s the answer to the million-dollar question I hear from corporate PR and small business publicity mentoring clients alike. Whenever I first meet them I’m almost certainly asked, “What’s the secret to xxxx competitor getting all this coverage?”

My answer: “Because they’re out there doing PR, and you’re not.”

Just ask Sir Branson!

Sir Richard Branson on PR

"If your staff works enormously hard to create something they are proud of, it's foolish if you don't let the world know about it. Using yourself to get out and talk about it is a lot cheaper and more effective than a lot of advertising. In fact, if you do it correctly, it can beat advertising hands down and save tens of millions of dollars."

The man’s a billionaire, I think he’s onto something, don’t you?

Join me on my Publicity Express Teleseries this November and discover:

· Why lack of money and time is not an obstacle to getting in the media

· How to deal with those fears that rear up whenever you think about calling a journalist

· Indepth, journo knowledge that’ll have you dealing with the media confidently

· How to easily build your profile: whether it’s online, radio, newspapers, magazines or TV

· Where to start, who to call, and exactly what you need to say!

I promise, by the end of my 5-Star Publicity Teleseries you will be as media-confident and savvy as Sir Richard Branson, and able to build profile in whichever media you choose. So what are you waiting for? Register for the November 2009 5-Star Publicity Teleseries here.

Take the Three-Step Media Challenge

2010-01-03T17:23:00.002-08:00

Publicity is the art of getting journalists to write or talk about your products, services and company – without paying them to do it. Take this three-step challenge:

Step One: Pick a media outlet where you’d like to see yourself/your business covered. That’s it – just pick one. It could be an online site, a radio show or a magazine.

Step Two: Watch, read or listen to that media outlet for clues. If it’s a TV show, watch it for a week. Online? Read it every day. As you do so, take note of the places where your company might ‘fit’, such as a spotlight on a local business or a section covering topics related to your industry.

Step Three: Talk about your business! You do this already, but now target the right journalist and tell them what you do, and why they and their audience should care. You’ll know this because you’ve been monitoring the outlet for topic opportunities. Have a few story ideas to suggest. This shows editors you're savvy enough to know they may not bite on a single story. It often makes the difference between success and failure to get placements.

Let me know how you go with the challenge! Email me at info@justgowrite.com.au.

Face your fears!

You’ve told me you lack time, confidence and the know-how to deal with the media. From fear of being rejected, to not knowing how to 'speak the journo language', your overwhelming feedback was you don’t know how to sell yourself to the media.

Yet you all recognise how great media and publicity is, citing success, recognition, and appearing professional and well-connected as reasons to do it.

Join me on my Publicity Express Teleseries this November and discover:

Why lack of money and time is not an obstacle to getting in the media

· How to deal with those fears that rear up whenever you think about calling a journalist (yep, you said you were scared; I’ll share my insider knowledge so you can face those fears and get past them)

· Indepth, journo knowledge that’ll have you dealing with the media confidently

· How to easily build your profile: whether it’s online, radio, newspapers, magazines or TV

· Where to start, who to call, and exactly what you need to say!

I promise, by the end of my 5-Star Publicity Teleseries you will all be media-confident, savvy and able to build profile in whichever media you choose. So what are you waiting for? Register for the November 2009 5-Star Publicity Teleseries by clicking here.

The Do's of dealing with the Media

2010-01-03T17:23:00.001-08:00

Publicity is the art of getting journalists to write or talk about your products, services and company – without paying them to do it. The best way to achieve that is to ask them. How you ask can be an art in itself. Here’s a crash course:

Do respect media guidelines: Many publications and media outlets have specific guidelines that stipulate how you should contact them, when you should contact them and how you should follow up with them. Find out what they are.

Do Provide Practical Information: Forget about self-proclaimed greatness, stick to the facts. Nothing turns off a jaded-journo more than hearing about the fastest, the slickest and the best – unless it truly is and you can prove it substantially.

Do Choose Your Targets Wisely: Familiarise yourself with the media outlet and its particular focus. Save yourself time and embarrassment by doing your homework first. Watch several episodes of a TV show, listen to several radio shows (often available on the Internet), read several issues of magazines and blogs, and a week’s worth of newspapers, to really get a feel for a media outlet.

Do prepare pitch points with all the pertinent facts about your company and the story you're pitching before you call: This is vital, especially if your mind goes blank when the editor answers the phone. Having your press materials in paper form in front of you is also very helpful, especially if you get asked detailed questions.

Do prepare more than one story angle: Don’t waste everybody’s time by putting all of your publicity eggs in one basket. Have a few story ideas to suggest. This shows editors you're savvy enough to know they may not bite on a single story. It often makes the difference between success and failure to get placements.

Publicity Express Survey – Walking the talk!

I passionately believe there is room for everyone to get great media coverage and grow their business using FREE publicity. Which is why I’m launching Publicity Express, to give you all the tools and insider info on putting your name up in lights. But I absolutely want to ensure that what I’m offering fits you and your business perfectly. So please take a moment to fill out this brief questionnaire.

With this survey I’m trying to best understand what it is you need from a publicity mentor. As a thank-you, I’ll happily send you some tips on publicity planning for your business.

Feel free to pass on this opportunity to your colleagues.

Don’t believe the hype?

2010-01-03T17:22:00.001-08:00

You’re not in the business of PR & Publicity. You’re in the business of making sales. After all, there’s nothing wrong with any business that extra sales won’t fix. Now allow me to share a secret: PR, publicity and marketing enable sales to occur.

Many of the business I publicity mentor shrink from up-levelling their PR and marketing, fearing it makes them look ‘too sales-y’ or ‘too hyped up’.

“How can you be too sales-y?” I ask, “if the end goal of any business is to make sales?”

I love great hype or sales copy – so long as it’s authentic. That’s not a misnomer, but sadly nowadays ‘hype’ has become the catchphrase for copy that anyone objects to. Words like easiest, fastest, revolutionary, strongest, bombard us.

There’s nothing wrong with using these modifiers in your sales copy to extol your business virtues – so long as they’re accurate. Proof and credibility are essential. After all, consumers learn quickly – we have to. Look at the deluge of advertising that bombards out lives!

You no longer have the time to prove your claim. You have to make it an unavoidable conclusion from the start. Which is why my mantra is “publicity, testimonials and more publicity.” Publicity gives you independent endorsements and expert status. Testimonials offer more proof. Combine the two and you have the unavoidable conclusion you want your customers to reach.

Instead of enticing, you ambush your customer ;-) When you present your claim to have the strongest, fastest, easiest product on the planet, your customer’s unavoidable conclusion is: “Of course you do, your expert status and strong testimonies prove that to me.”

And that's the best hype of all—when your customer agrees with, acts on, and even advocates on behalf of what otherwise would have been a wild and unbelievable claim.

Publicity Express 5-Star Publicity Tele-Train – all aboard!

Publicity is THE best way for creating credibility and awareness among the general public, far outweighing advertising.

Think about it - how many times have you seen someone interviewed on TV and then mentioned the segment to your friends and family. That recognition is powerful....and that is the power and impact of publicity!

Until now, the only way to get that sort of recognition was to pay a public relations agency upwards of thousands of dollars each month. I know, because that’s what my PR agency charges to secure clients’ stories in The Australian, appear on Sunrise or be interviewed for 60 Minutes.

But I believe there is room for everyone to get great media coverage and grow their business using FREE publicity. Which is why I created my Publicity Express 5-Star Publicity Tele-Train!

This 5-call teleseries is your publicity bootcamp that’ll give you all the tools and insider info to put your name up in lights.

Now’s the time to grab the PR bull by the horns and make 2010 the year you get noticed!

Go to www.publicityexpress.com.au to enrol in the November class and take advantage of the advance special pricing and extra bonuses.

Put your name up in lights!

Who do you trust?

2010-01-03T17:21:00.000-08:00

Closing a sale nowadays is sixty to seventy per cent rapport. If you haven’t got ALL your publicity, PR & marketing aligned with it, then expect a sales struggle. From placing media stories that showcase you as an expert, to leveraging social media and testimony/word of mouth PR – all of this is pure rapport building and you absolutely have to be doing it.

There’s a newly published New York Times bestseller Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith. I’ve excerpted below with permission of the publisher John Wiley and Sons (www.wiley.com), including staying faithful to American spelling ;-)

· We are living in a communications environment where there is a trust deficit. As a society, we no longer have confidence in advertising. We are hostile to those who appear to have ulterior motives, even if they're just selling themselves.

· Trust agents have established themselves as non-sales-oriented, non-high-pressure marketers. They are digital natives using the Web to be genuine and to humanize their business. They're interested in people (e.g., prospective customers, employees, and colleagues), and they have realized that the tools that enable more unique, robust communication also allow more business opportunities for everyone.

· Trust agents have 6 characteristics. Brogan & Smith have organized the book so readers can understand each characteristic or action as a separate entity and grasp the concepts better. Those actions form a linked system. Trust agents use all six of them, though each manifests these traits in differing degrees.

My question to you: What are you doing today to be a Trust Agent? It’s all about belonging, empathising, leveraging, understanding and, yes, networking. Not from the perspective of ‘what can I get?’, but ‘what can I offer?’

Have a think about it. Publicity and strong PR can take what you offer from one to a few, to thousands. Communicate authentically and rapport will follow. Be a trust agent today!

SPOTLIGHT: Top Ten Secrets Revealed: Why DIY Publicity is Easier Than You Think

The time draws near to unveil Publicity Express! There’s a landing page at www.publicityexpress.com.au where you can download my latest free report: Top Ten Secrets Revealed: Why DIY Publicity is Easier Than You Think.

There’s also some early-bird info on my Publicity Express ‘5 Star Publicity Tele-Train’ that starts rolling this November. Think of this 5-call teleseries as your publicity bootcamp for 2010 that’ll give you all the tools and insider info to put your name up in lights.

Stop communicating one to a few and start talking to thousands by doing your own PR. Enrol in the November class for advance special pricing and extra bonuses. Now’s the time to grab the PR bull by the horns and make 2010 the year you get noticed!

Have you written your book yet?

2010-01-03T17:20:00.002-08:00

Writing a book is, by far, the single most effective tool you can have to market your business and gain instant credibility, visibility and profitability. For the entrepreneur, having a book is as essential as having a business card. Why? Because a book is the best vehicle to share the essence of you, and your business; for revealing the depth of your wisdom and knowledge to help others. When it comes to being visible, sought after and viewed as an expert in your field, a book is what puts you “on the map.”

If the thought of writing a book fills you with dread, you’re going to want to keep up with some my new developments, as I’m going to be launching a fool-proof method for you to write and publish a book that will boost your expert status and give you untold publicity opportunities.

In the meantime though, an e-book can be almost as powerful. Properly planned it can elevate you above your competitors and give you powerful social network marketing traction. A few tips:

· Make sure you create useful content that is of value to prospects but that does not overtly promote products, services, brand, or company.

· Plan your PR and publicity from the start – don’t wait until the e-book is complete, have a strong pitch list and media contacts in mind at the e-book planning stage.

· Invite guest contributors. You needn’t write all the content in your e-book to ensure credibility. In fact, it may be advantageous to include a section or two bylined by expert guest contributors and written with the appropriate attribution. Of course, they then may help promote your ebook too ;-)

· Print a few copies – with digital printing you can print short runs and this turns your ebook into something tangible you can hand out at conferences, speaking engagements etc.

· Work with the Pros – Everyday business can throw deadlines, curve balls, and numerous pressures that potentially derail your eBook project. Instead of a source of inspiration: “Look what I achieved” your eBook can turn into a source of regret: “I wish I had done that.”

Truth is, the pros may or may not do a better job than you would. (Though, in fact, with the benefit of experience, they often do.) But they will certainly get the job done. And getting it done is the single, most-important key to e-book success.

SPOTLIGHT

Have you written your eNewsletter yet?

Statistics show that keeping in regular contact with your client base pays dividends, so why is your eNewsletter languishing in your ‘to do” list?

Regular eNewsletters drop quickly off the radar when other ‘more pressing’ jobs turn up or the newsletters don’t get ‘quick hit’ results. Yet the UK Direct Mail Association’s recent deep dive analysis into client data proved ‘quick hits’ aren’t the point.

· Ten percent of one company's revenue in 2008 came from subscribers who opened not a single email in 2007.

· An outstanding offer from another company generated A$130,000 in sales from subscribers who had not opened the previous 25 to 40 email messages.

And if you don’t have time, work with the pros! Just Go Write’s managed newsletter service gives you a whole Emarketing platform for your business for the next year.

- one eNewsletter per month

- Special promotional offers per quarter

- 6 direct mail or letters for your business, written to your specs, to be used at any time.

You choose from a selection of design templates, personalised with your logo, colours, contact details etc, which are tested to ensure everything works.

We can also help clean up your database, or get one set up if you need. When ready, we expertly copywrite the content of your newsletter, lay it out in the specially designed template, work with you to approve it – then distribute it. You receive details reporting who read your newsletter or special offer, which links were the most popular and, over time, campaign comparisons.

What’s the market value for a service like this? Minimum $20,000. Minimum. I checked last night and eWrite’s standard 12 month eNewsletter service ALONE is US$8000 – that’s just under 10k Australian. Just eNewsletters, certainly not an integrated eMarketing platform.

Just Go Write’s eNewsletter service is a less than half that, and I’ve even arranged weekly and monthly payment plans. So why are you waiting? We’re ready to write your next eNewsletter for you!

Click here now!

Go Local

2010-01-03T17:20:00.001-08:00

Do you know that people spend at least 95% of their income within 30 kilometres of their home? Which means many potential customers would have the opportunity to learn about you and your company by getting into your local media.

Now, unlike the U.S. with its abundance of local radio stations, television news or morning shows, daily and weekly papers, Australia has slightly slimmer pickings. But there are still opportunities.

Many local councils have news websites about the local area, there’s at least one local paper serving a region, and the ABC also has great regional radio.

A couple of other great reasons to ‘go local’ are that if you are just getting started doing public relations, local reporters will be much more open to covering a ‘new’ company with no previous media coverage than national media.

Also, as a local business, you already have a relevant ‘hook’ for media by the mere fact that you are a member of the community.   So start reading and watching your local news outlets to discover the best opportunities where you might fit in.

SPOTLIGHT

Teleseminar Series 2: Turning your top customers into your best sales team ever.

In the 80s it was all about ‘closing the sale’, and little time was spent on building rapport. Nowadays you need maximum rapport to make the sale, but in a time-poor world you’re hard-pressed building relationships.

Which is why word of mouth business is fantastic. It shortens the sales cycle and you know with a referral you’ve got a red-hot lead.

Join me on this complimentary 45-minute call and learn some great word of mouth publicity ideas to help attract new clients – just by leveraging the customers who know and love your business already.

I’ll share with you the three easy steps you can take to set up a vibrant word-of-mouth marketing program for your business, and the ways you can grow and harness your referrals.

DATE & TIME: Wednesday, September 2nd at 3.30pm Sydney, NSW, Australia EST

FORMAT: Simulcast! (Attend via Phone or Webcast -- it's your choice)

** If you can't make the live seminar, I’m recording it. Register your details to ensure you get your own copy of the audio after the event. It means you can listen to it in your own time, as often as you want! **

Are you adding social media to your marketing mix?

2010-01-03T17:19:00.001-08:00

New analysis from BIG Research caught my eye the other day. Demographically, social-media users (Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter, Testing and Blog Users) tend to be younger than the overall population, they have slightly higher income, and more are female. In comparison data, social media users in this consumer set revealed they were more likely to be making a big-dollar purchase over the next six months than adults 18+ overall.

Which is a great marketing opportunity if you’ve a product or service targeting that demographic! Personally, I’m enjoying using Twitter to help create a strong community, to successfully engage with customers needing help and driving online and offline sales by using it to post events, promotions and offers.

Over the next few weeks I’m inviting some guest columnists for their take on using social media in marketing. Feel free to follow me on Twitter too: @PhilippaLowe

SPOTLIGHT

Teleseminar Series 2: Turning your top customers into your best sales team ever.

Who wouldn’t love more word of mouth business? It’s absolutely brilliant when you receive referrals from happy customers. It shortens the sales cycle and provides some great quality leads.

So why not learn some simple word of mouth marketing ideas to help attract new customers? This teleseminar will reveal the steps you can take to set up a vibrant word-of-mouth marketing program for your business, and the ways you can grow and harness your referrals.

There’ll be a Q&A session so you can submit questions live on the call.

DATE & TIME: Wednesday, September 2nd at 3.30pm Sydney, NSW, Australia EST

FORMAT: Simulcast! (Attend via Phone or Webcast -- it's your choice)

Finding and keeping customers

2010-01-03T17:18:00.002-08:00

According to a 2009 study by Heidrick & Struggles, the number-one focus for C-level executives this year is the customer—acquiring new ones, increasing retention, and improving their lifetime value, in that order. It makes sense: an older study by Deloitte and Touche found customer-centric companies were 60% more profitable than their less customer-centric counterparts.

Finding, keeping and growing the value of your customers should be the holy grail of your business. Four best practises stand out: passion, reversing the value chain, building relationships and experiences, and fostering purchase readiness.

Passion. If you’re committed to customer-centricity, then you’re passionate and sincere that the "customer is boss." Believe the customer is vital to your success and see the world through their eyes. Understand what customers want and expect, leverage your customer data and have a methodology for capturing customer insights and sharing it across your business.

Reversing the value chain. Make your customers’ needs, wants and priorities the catalysts for developing products and services and selecting delivery channels.

Building relationships and experiences. Create mutually beneficial relationships designed to maximise your customers’ product and service experiences.

Fostering purchase readiness. Analyse, plan, and implement a carefully formulated customer strategy that incorporates programs that create a state of purchase readiness and focus on creating and keeping profitable and loyal customers.

Some of this can seem hard to do, but it falls under the remit of great marketing. Improving the strength of your customer relationships, increasing their satisfaction across all touch points, and optimising customer experiences will directly affect attrition rates, lifetime value and ‘share of wallet’.

SPOTLIGHT

Teleseminar Series 2: Turning your best customers into your sales team – why word of mouth works!

Word of mouth is the most effective way for you to attract new customers. This teleseminar will reveal the ways you can set up a simple testimonial marketing program for your business and the steps to leveraging testimonials in your sales.

Mark this date in your diary: 3.30pm (SYDNEY) September 2, 2009 or email me (info@justgowrite.com.au with the Subject: Yes, please register me for your Word of Mouth Marketing Teleseminar) to reserve your spot. I’ll be sending out registration and call details closer to the time.

Open hearted business – learning to say no

2010-01-03T17:18:00.001-08:00

Entrepreneurs and business owners regularly ask me about the value of charity work when it comes to publicity. Naturally, involving your business with a not-for-profit or charity can help raise your profile, but you have to do it because you genuinely want to help, first and foremost, not because you’re seeing publicity opportunities!

I love doing pro bono work for charities and worthwhile causes, but it requires a great deal of time and commitment. One of my earliest business lessons was in saying no – I learnt the hard way when I over-committed to an array of great causes I honestly wanted to help, but found there just weren’t enough hours in the day.

I like to operate a ‘Spirited Business’ and help others. This isn’t just charity work, but being willing to help out, such as making recommendations and facilitating introductions. I’m a big believer in attracting what you put out. When my children were small, this sort of help was easier than committing great swathes of my time, and then feeling I was short-changing my family. Charity, after all, begins at home ;-)

I’ve just been asked to involve the PR agency in the launch of the new Duchennes Foundation. After some thought, I decided to accept. Not only is it a charity that resonates – as a mother to a four-year old boy, the thought of him being diagnosed with an incurable disease that would mean he’d not see his twenty-first birthday is heart-wrenching – but also there is the professional excitement of being involved from the start in creating a charity event that could take its place next to the likes of Pink Ribbon Day.

Balance your time with your commitments and involving your business in charity work is incredibly fulfilling. It’s good for the soul, good for business, and can help boost your profile. Just so long as our reasons for doing it are in that order ;-)

Put your name in lights with Phil’s DIY PR & Publicity Kit

PR is a great, often low-cost, tactic to raise your business profile and help drive sales. A step-by-step, easy and inexpensive way to conduct your own public relations campaign, my DIY PR & Publicity Kit includes my own tried and tested strategies that have worked for large organisations and will work for any SME wanting publicity including:

* How to write winning press releases and pitches
* How to create "angles" the media loves
* How to get speaking gigs to promote your business
* Tips to develop successful and profitable e-newsletters
* And much more

View the kit’s entire table of contents, download free chapters and get your copy now here.

Get in quick before the special deal expires

2010-01-03T17:17:00.001-08:00

Have you downloaded your audio from yesterday's call? You can now.
I've had loads of wonderful feedback, it's been fabulous hearing
how useful it was for you all.

And I've been getting some very good QUESTIONS regarding the
special deal I announced on the call: my 'Virtual PA with a PR
slice' eNewsletter marketing platform.

This system is specifically for the micro or small business owner
who is an expert in their field AND is ready to get out there and
make a big difference.

It's for every SME or solopreneur who wants to stop juggling, end
struggling and bring expert power to their marketing to help
generate further sales.

Here are the most common questions we've received. You'll find my
answers at the end of this email. I wanted to make sure you had
them before our the Special Pricing package expires midnight this
Friday.

Q. What exactly will the Virtual PA with a PR slice' eNewsletter
marketing platform give me?
Q What happens once I sign up?
Q. I don't have a big email list. Will this work for me?
Q. My email list has a few gaps, do you clean it up for me prior to
commencing the program?
Q. What about distribution and reporting on the campaigns?
Q. I already have an email system and template I use to distribute
email campaigns, can the Virtual PA with a PR Slice run using mine?
Q. How is this different from your DIY PR Kit and other systems?
Q. I'm so tired of false promises. Will this really work?
Q. Why on earth are you offering this system - valued at $20K - for
only $3999?

Here's the bottom line...

I know you have a message to share, and you want more income as
well. I know the pain of being the "best kept secret in your
field." I know the discomfort of KNOWING your work SHOULD be out
there in a BIG way, and it's not. And I also know how scary taking
that first step can be.

I'm laying this at your feet so that if you're ready to bring power
to your marketing, you can. And if you're not, you can use this as
an opportunity to be honest about that and move forward with what
does inspire you!

To take advantage of the special pricing offer I made on the
telecall, click here.

Blessings,

Phil.

P.S. There are two TIME SENSITIVE things you need to know so you
don't miss out:

1) On the Preview Call yesterday, I offered a special pricing deal
on the 'Virtual PA with a PR slice' eNewsletter marketing platform.
To get in on this offer click here.

But don't delay.

ANSWERS

Q: What exactly will the Virtual PA with a PR slice' eNewsletter
marketing platform give me?
A: A whole eMarketing platform for your business for the next year.
- One eNewsletter per month, up to 800 words, across 3-5 stories,
all expertly copywritten, designed and distributed, including one
set of revisions.
- One promotional e-offer per quarter, up to 350 words, expertly
copywritten, designed and distributed, including one set of
revisions.
- Six direct mail or letters for your business, up to 400 words,
expertly written to your specs, including one set of revisions per
item, to be used at any time.
- Two e-templates, one for your eNewsletter, one for your quarterly
e-Offer, that you choose from a selection that is then personalised
with your current logo and contact details

Q: What happens once I sign up?
A: Once you've signed up to the program you'll be sent to a special
briefing form on our website. You can save the link and complete
the form later, but this is where we'll gather information that'll
give us ideas for your eNewsletters and campaigns. It's a brief
form, and we encourage you to complete it in as much detail as
possible - it means we'll be able to get off to a flying start.
Once the briefing form is received, one of my team will be in
contact directly and will continue to stay in contact, as your
templates are created and your 'Virtual PA with a PR slice'
marketing program rolls out.

Q: I don't have a big email list. Will this work for me?
A: You don't need to have a big list, in fact, the Virtual PA with
a PR Slice Program will help it grow! The strategies we implement
will help you build your list. Our VAs, for a small fee, can also
assist in cleaning and updating your existing list.

Q: My email list has a few gaps, do you clean it up for me prior to
commencing the program?
A: The Virtual PA with a PR Slice Program includes one hour's
cleaning of your database, right at the start before mailing
commences. We can make the calls to verify missing emails or check
on a subscriber's opt-in status. Additional cleaning - which
ongoing is typically minimum due to the self-managed nature of our
eNewsletter marketing programs - is at $30/hr + GST.

Q: What about distribution and reporting?
A: Email distribution fees do apply when we send out your
newsletters, but the great news is we've negotiated a good rate,
dependent on the system. We're not locked into just one and have
tested a few to see what's best. The distribution fee is charged
directly to your credit card based on the number of recipients. You
will receive details reporting who read your newsletter or special
offer, which links were the most popular and, over time, campaign
comparisons.

Q: I already have an email system and template I use to distribute
email campaigns, can the Virtual PA with a PR Slice run using mine?
The very reason I'm able to price this service so competitively is
because of the access I'm providing to eMarketing partners whose
systems I trust. Similarly, the templates on offer are designed
with specific direct market response principles in mind. A 30%
additional service fee applies to the Virtual PA with a PR Slice
Program should you prefer us to utilise your existing systems.

Q: I'm so busy, what if I forget to use the service?
A: You can't forget, we won't let you! My team of virtual
assistants ensure deadlines are met. Your 12-month marketing is
planned out to specific milestones.

Q: How long does the program run for?
A: Virtual PA with a PR slice runs for 12 months. Subscriptions are
billed one month or 4 weeks in advance, depending on if you choose
the weekly or monthly payment option. The annual fee is a one-off
until the following year, when you'll be invited to continue. We
require 60 days notice if you want to stop for any reason, and will
refund pro rata any remainder of the annual fee. The brilliance of
this program is it's structured to 'just happen', so why would you
want to stop? :-)

Q: How is this different from The DIY PR Kit and your other
programs?
A. While The DIY PR Kit is an amazing resource when you're keen to
get publicity, and my Publicity Mentor Programs guide and support
you in doing that, this is the end-to-end system that allows your
eMarketing to run smoothly and regularly, freeing you to grow a
gorgeous business that serves you.

Q: I'm so tired of false promises. Will this really work?
A: No false promises here. In fact, the only promise I can make you
is that if you don't find a successful mentor you resonate with who
can show you an eMarketing strategy to get your work out into the
world, you will likely find yourself on endless free calls,
constantly "evaluating" your next step. Success comes from taking
ACTION. You committing to a marketing strategy and taking action is
the secret to getting your message out.

Q: Why on earth are you offering this system for only $3999?
A: I KNOW, I know... we could have charged a lot more! After all,
just a few more product sales or one more client gained from your
implementing regular eMarketing could MORE than pay for this
critical service!

But as I shared during the telecall, I love inspiring and
supporting clients to the best in their business. And I've noticed
that as long as I follow that passion, the universe, spirit, source
- whatever name you give it - keeps taking great care of my family,
my clients and me. So for me, it's a no brainer! We all win!

So if you're ready to put power behind your eMarketing, take
advantage of the special pricing offer I made on the telecall.
You've only got until midnight, this Friday July 31 (Sydney
time).

Be kind to yourself, be kind to your business

2010-01-03T17:16:00.002-08:00

A friend mentioned a book to me the other day, A Complaint Free World by Rev. Will Bowen. It all started when Rev. Bowen was teaching a series on Prosperity. Part of this series was helping the congregation to form a habit of gratitude by going 21-days without complaining. To "Complain" is defined as "to express pain, grief, or discontent." Now, it makes sense to express pain, grief or discontent occasionally but a lot of people do it a lot of the time. I’m not complaining here, simply observing ;-)

If you’re complaining a lot, you’re talking and thinking about what you do not want in your life. Working with the basic Universal Law that ‘like attracts like’ you’re thereby attracting more pain, grief and discontent.

Now have a think about how often you ‘express discontent’ about yourself. Like Tuesday’s teleseminar. I was getting ready to list all the things I could have improved upon, could have ‘made perfect’. We can be so tough on ourselves, can’t we? As business owners and entrepreneurs we do ourselves a great disservice when we act as our harshest critic. We should be our greatest raving fans!

So, take a leaf out of Rev. Bowen’s book. Be content, be compassionate and most of all forgive yourself. Love what you do, rather than hating what you don’t do. Your business is an expression of you, of your unique power, purpose and passion. Imagine how much more joyful and abundant your business will be when you remain tuned to that passion.

SPOTLIGHT
Teleseminar Series 1 - Harnessing great sales using eNewsletters that work for you.

If you missed Tuesday’s teleseminar, there’s still time to take advantage of the special offer I announced around my Virtual PA with a PR Slice eNewsletter System.

This system is specifically for the micro or small business owner who is an expert in their field AND is ready to get out there and make a big difference.

It's for every SME or solopreneur who wants to stop juggling, end struggling, and bring expert power to their marketing to help generate further sales.

Briefly, the Virtual PA with a PR slice eNewsletter marketing system gives you a whole eMarketing platform for your business for the next year.

- One eNewsletter per month, all expertly copywritten, designed and distributed

- One promotional e-offer per quarter, expertly copywritten, designed and distributed

- Six direct mail or letters for your business, expertly written to your specs, to be used at any time.

- Two e-templates, one for your eNewsletter, one for your quarterly e-Offer, that you choose from a selection, that is personalised with your current logo and contact details.

You can subscribe to this great service for just A$85 a week – but you need to hurry because this special pricing offer expires midnight, this Friday July 31 (Sydney EST).

Now, I’ve done some research, and comparative offerings cost in the region of A$400 a week. Why on earth am I offering this at just A$85?

As I shared during the telecall, I love inspiring and supporting clients to be the best in their business. And I've noticed that as long as I follow that passion, the universe, spirit, source - whatever name you give it - keeps taking great care of my family, my clients and me. So for me, it's a no brainer! We all win!

So, if you're ready to put power behind your eMarketing, take advantage of the special pricing offer before it expires. There’re more details on the page, make sure you check it out!

No response? No worries!

2010-01-03T17:16:00.001-08:00

Have you subscribers on your database list who don’t purchase or accept invites you send out, but still continue to accept your campaigns as they never ask to be taken off your list? In marketing speak, they’re known as ‘unemotionally subscribed’. In other words, they still want to be kept abreast of your news and developments, but they just don’t need anything right now.

I do it myself – having the regular reminder in my inbox is easier than unsubscribing then having to Google the company and find it a later date. Unemotional subscribers are the best reason to keep putting out your regular eNewsletter, as these stats from the UK’s Direct Marketing Association prove:

Ten percent of one company's revenue in 2008 came from subscribers who opened not a single email in 2007.

An outstanding offer from another company generated A$130,000 in sales from subscribers who had not opened the previous 25 to 40 email messages.

I want you to read those stats again. Slowly. Think about them. Ten percent of one company’s revenue came from subscribers who’d not opened a single email from them the year before. That’s incredibly significant.

Significant because it proves you can’t just quit because you think the last three eNewsletters didn’t ‘work’. They did, they do and they will. Persistence and consistence pays off. Especially when eNewsletters are so cost-effective to create and distribute.

So if you’re not getting instant responses, don’t worry. With few exceptions, long-term inactivity in sales and marketing is normal. Customers who know and trust you will simply buy from you when they need to. So long as you’re committed to keeping in contact with them through regular, recognisable communications.

Want to learn more about the perfect eNewsletter? Register for my complimentary teleseminar that’s on next week. You don’t even have to leave your desk ;-)

Teleseminar Series 1 - Harnessing great sales using eNewsletters that work for you.

Join me on this complimentary one-time call that will explode all the mysteries around eNewsletters and eZines, and the three simple steps you need to get started.

There’ll be a Q&A session so you can submit questions live on the call. I'll also be sharing a way for you to get your eNewsletter produced at low to no-cost!

DATE & TIME: Tuesday, July 28th at 4pm Sydney, NSW, Australia EST

FORMAT: Simulcast! (Attend via Phone or Webcast -- it's your choice)

Love procrastinating

2010-01-03T17:15:00.001-08:00

I’ve spent most of the time since my return from holidays following up after pitches, juggling meetings and getting busy ‘doing’. However nothing was falling into place. The harder I ‘did’, the less results I achieved. Which reminded me of one of Noah benShea’s Ten Commandments for Tough Times: “Slow down. What you’re chasing may be trying to catch you!”

So today I’m being, not doing. Rather than racing in the office, I walked down to our local marina first thing and enjoyed doing something good for my body and spirit.

Past lessons have taught me that stepping back from, rather than stepping into, all the things on my to do list actually makes life run smoother.

The distance also allows a different perspective on my to do list. Some days I get real work done. Other days I let ‘tasks’ eat up the day, to avoid facing some hard problem.

Crossing things off a to do list can be the most insidious procrastination of all. You feel virtuous. You’re ‘getting things done’. Just the wrong things.

So, what's the best thing you could be working on, and why aren't you?

Unless you're working on the best thing, you’re procrastinating, no matter how much you're getting done.
So try some good procrastination today. Allow those biggest, best ideas in. Cast a critical eye over your to do list and see if you’re getting busy ‘doing’ to avoid a facing a tough situation.

Keep asking yourself, “What's the best thing I could be working on, and why aren't I?”

Procrastinating over your marketing?

Marketing enables sales to occur, it’s the lifeblood of your business…but so many small businesses procrastinate over implementing it. Many I talk to say they’re daunted, or they don’t really understand what they need to do in their marketing. And I’d really like to help. My Virtual PA with a PR slice takes the headache out of your marketing. The service is split into two main ingredients: Expert copywriting of your marketing materials and everyday implementation – from just $96 a week*. So stop procrastinating ;-) Sign up before August 31 to receive a free PR & marketing mentoring call with me!

Location, Location

2010-01-03T17:13:00.000-08:00

Retail shop owners say location is vital but ‘place’ is just one of the Ps in the marketing mix. Product and People are just as important, perhaps more so. Take White Horse Coffee (WHC) in Sydney’s Sutherland. Situated away from the coffee vibe of Cronulla and opening its doors opposite one coffee franchise, with another franchise just around the corner, you can understand why the consultant at the local Business Enterprise Centre had doubts. Six months on, business is booming and WHC is pulling regulars away from the existing coffee chains.

The shop is small and the menu simple. WHC’s success lies in its people and its product – and ironically, its location works too. In Sutherland it is unique. Award winning baristas creating coffee that tastes as good as it smells. Dom and Matt know their customers, calling out their regular orders before they reach the counter. You can tell they have a passion for what they do – and that’s what makes a great business.

They even helped me launch my DIY Publicity and Boost Business With Testimonials Kits – I’ve included some pictures, but check out some others on the Just Go Write blog. We had a great time on the photoshoot – thanks to White Horse Coffee (http://whitehorsecoffee.com.au/) for the location and to Flora at Centrifugal Solutions (http://www.centrifugalsolutions.com/) for the images.

: Dom, Matt & Phil having fun at WHC

The Customer Service Challenge

2010-01-03T16:59:00.001-08:00

My trip had me pondering improvements in customer service. Back in 1998, my husband’s first trip to the UK, Tony wanted a cheese and ham toasted sandwich. The small café offered cheese on toast and ham sandwiches on the menu. So we thought our request of combining and toasting the ingredients was quite simple. However, the answer was no. If it wasn’t on the menu it couldn’t be ordered.

Fast forward to our most recent trip, and my hunt for a good coffee. The tiny ice cream parlour in Budleigh Salterton came up with the goods – and more. After persuading my 2 and 4 year olds that ice cream wasn’t ideal breakfast food, their requests changed to babycinos. The proprietor’s face looked blank, no mention on the menu, and my mind skipped back to the cheese and ham toasted sandwich incident.

Instead I was asked to explain what a babycino was and the barista busied herself with creating two. It was a small but delightful customer service moment.

It may have been easier to say no and let this caffeine-deprived mother deal with the ‘but whys?’ of my offspring. Especially as, in the end, I wasn’t charged for the frothy milk with chocolate sprinkles. But for the remainder of our week in South Devon, this little shop received all our coffee (and ice cream) orders.

It’s the small things that make a great buying experience. Challenge yourself today and see if you can come up with five new ways you can WOW your customers. I’d love to hear your ideas, email me at info@justgowrite.com.au

Using The Ps To Profit

2010-01-03T16:58:00.001-08:00

What’s often frustrating as a PR and marketer is that whenever times get tight on the sales front, or the economy takes a dive, it is often the marketing budget that is cut. I always urge businesses to reconsider cutting their marketing at a time when it is most needed to gain competitive advantage and help drive sales.

To help your business grow or stay healthy at such a time you need to differentiate yourself from the competition and add value.

It helps if you understand the importance of the Ps in your marketing mix. They stand for Product (or service) Price, Promotion and Place. You can also add People, Physical Evidence and Processes. So how do you use the Ps to help you profit?

Product – Look at your product in terms of core service, expected service and differentiation. What do you offer as part of your buying experience that makes you different, better, or specialised?

Price – People rarely buy on price alone, they also balance value and money. A customer choosing a cheaper option is opting for less value. So what can you do to make your customers stay? Differentiate, and specialise in services, products or markets. Therefore your expertise and experience is more important than the price point to the customer. Always conduct a break-even analysis. This provides you with a cost point you know you cannot go below.

Promotion – This is about your image, your reputation in the market. It creates awareness and helps to improve customer loyalty. Promotion can also help even out supply and demand over the course of a financial year.

Place – This is where you sell your goods or service in the market. Whatever the place, you need to make it easy for your customers to get to and buy from you.

People – The people at the coalface, the ones who interact with the customers, these are the people who are representing your company and your brand. Companies who train their staff, embrace customer service, and empower staff to solve customer issues and encourage them to work happily as a team have the winning formula to creating successful service.

Physical Evidence – This is the way you carry your brand out into the market. From truck livery to labelling on boxes, how does your customer perceive you?

Processes – A company normally has many different systems. One for accounts, one for sales and possibly even a separate one for marketing. Have you ever looked at how this works? Your company is only as good as the weakest link in your processes. Audit your own company. Start right from the initial customer contact and work your way through the order being placed, completed, billing and even customer complaints. Get your staff involved in the process and then tear it apart and as a team fill in the holes. If you were a customer coming to your company, why would you come to your company and how would you like to be treated?

Grow your glowing referral sources

2010-01-03T16:57:00.001-08:00

I had an absolutely fantastic time presenting at yesterday’s seminar for home-based businesses, run by St George and Sutherland Shire BEC. So many wonderful entrepreneurs, and all keen to ramp up sales with PR and testimonial marketing. It’s great to be out meeting so many passionate, positive business owners.

Growing your referral sources
Referrals or word-of-mouth recommendations are priceless. Anyone who reads this blog regularly will know how passionate I am about testimonial marketing. But how do you accelerate the referrals you receive?

Referral sources are the lifeblood of your business. Whether they are current clients or colleagues in complementary businesses, you must make sure you are initiating P.R. activities to constantly remind those sources about you – so they can refer more prospects to you!

Before you explore your referral opportunities, you absolutely need to know your target market. After all, if you can’t describe your target market, how can you educate your referral sources about them? The more descriptive you can be here, the better. For example, don't just think "women". Think "women ages 20-35 who like sports and fitness".

Then it’s time to look for your referral sources. Do some online research regarding your target market. What newsletters, magazines, blogs and e-zines do they read? What websites are they visiting? What non-competitive businesses exist that also target your market?
Come up with a list of your top five websites, e-zines, magazines and non-competitive businesses that are already reaching your ideal client or customer.
Contact these websites and ezines and see if they will:

- Review your book, products, services, or ezine for their readers. If so, send them a review copy and follow up a week or two later. Request that when they run the review they mention your e-zine and direct people to your website to sign up.

- Accept guest articles. If so, then submit one of your best, with a short bio that links people back to your website to sign up for your ezine.

- Swap ads or recommendations for each other's websites, products, or services. If you have an e-zine that reaches the same target market they want to reach, this is a great win-win.

- Approach the non-competitive businesses. See if they will link to your website. Perhaps they will co-find some joint marketing, such as a direct mail, live or teleseminar where you both promote your products and services and harness the opportunity to grow your database.

A bad blogger, or simply human?

2010-01-03T16:44:00.000-08:00

I'm a PR freak and a marketer. I know that fresh new content on my blogs improves SEO. But give me the choice between hanging out with my 4 yo, 2 yo and better half or plugging away at my blog, then the kids (all three of 'em ;-)) win every time. My mentor advises me that persistence is not necessarily getting things done quickly (blame the former radio journo in me who thrived on half hourly deadlines) but simply getting them done. Whilst I still get plenty of other writing gigs done quickly, my poor neglected blog often suffers. Ditto Twitter. Although Twitter - @PhilippaLowe - gets way more attention than my Facebook account. So easy. So few words. So loving Hugh Jackman's tweets.

As a wrote earlier in my weekly ezine (see I do write regularly - sign up here), internet marketing is all about keeping it real. Human. I don't buy from a computer screen, I buy from the person, or the brand, with personality I respect. Whenever I sit down to write our ezine or blog, I always imagine I'm telling my closest friend some news that I'm really excited about. Remembering there are real people at the other end, not just faceless inboxes. A few tips to keeping it real:

1) Use personal language. Try to talk to individuals, not a mass market. If you've had feedback, share it - a sincere relationship encourages dialogue.

3) Don't be afraid to exhibit personality. Whether it's an individual or a brand, make sure it's consistent. I like to hope that when readers of our ezine or blog hear me at a speaking engagement, they already 'know' what I'm going to sound like because I strive for an authentic voice when I write.

3) Encourage user-generated content. Offer open communication channels, run surveys, ask for feedback. Include success stories. Allow your customers to do your sales and marketing. Check out my Boost Business With Testimonials Kit (AUS$34.99) for ideas.

Overall, if I'm a bit behind in my blog, or forgot to tweet about our newest clients my world doesn't fall over. People buy from people - whether it's online, over the phone or over the internet. Make your communications personal, transparent, accessible and authentic. Be human!

Magnifying your magnificence

2010-01-03T16:42:00.000-08:00

Been wandering the halls of social media, virtually working off the loads of choccie eggs I consumed over the Easter weekend. My thanks to Red Balloon Days’ Naomi Simson for her inspiring blogs and Twitters. She flagged this article from Matt Granfield at Marketing Magazine. It really resonated with me, considering my passion and purpose is about inspiring businesses – heck, anyone - to use their authentic voice.

Everyone has their story – but is it the ‘real deal’ or just the story they got stuck in? This is where as a communicator, business, PR and everyday person you really have to check in with yourself. Is your story authentic or something that validates you, serving only to feed the pesky ego-voice inside?

There are two types of stories: self-serving and sincere. Trouble is, we’ve often been telling the self-serving one for so long we think it actually is the truth! Like: “Oh, it’s OK for her, she’s successful because she’s gorgeous-looking and knows the right people.”

That’s self-serving, because it lets you off the hook from challenging yourself, abdicating you from your dreams and destiny. We are all born with the same magnificence - it’s taking the authentic step to embrace it that’s tricky.

The codes and belief systems you grow up with can have a powerful impact subconsciously. If you’re told you have to work hard, seven days a week, to earn a crust, then you’re going to have to overcome a lot of mental obstacles to sit happily as an entrepreneur earning a passive income of thousands, working only a few days each month.

I was advised to choose a job I loved because “you spend the majority of your life working so you may as well enjoy what you do.” Hang on.

Why must I spend the majority of my life working? And why does working have such, well, ‘hard and heavy’ connotations? Once I got my head round those questions, things became really easy. Instead of working to earn money, I chose to earn my money having fun. Mindset shift, massive results!

Remember though that to truly earn from fun, live in bliss, however you want to term it – you have to come from an authentic place.

Ever met those people who tell you what a great, fun time they’re having, but you get a sense that if the façade cracked you wouldn’t want to be around to witness the fall out? That’s not authentic. That’s holding up a mask rather than looking at the true reasons for your unauthenticity. And there are lots of reasons. Many people are scared to speak or act authentically for fear of judgement, of causing upset to someone. I stayed in a job I certainly wasn’t passionate about for years because the income was good, regular and ‘wasn’t I lucky to have it’ (insert parent tone of voice here ☺).

In my recent blog ‘Don’t let the rut hit you on the way out’ I mentioned questions to use when making a decision. These are the keys to tapping into your authentic voice.

Yes, it can be scary. But the amazing thing is once you step into this, everyone will want to deal with you. Everyone. Because speaking from an authentic place means you’ve embraced the innate magnificence I talked about earlier. So naturally everyone will want to deal with you, simply because of that!

Don't let the rut hit you on the way out

2010-01-03T16:41:00.000-08:00

In life, change is a constant. You’d think then, as the supposed more evolved creatures on this planet, we’d be pretty open to rolling with whatever life throws at us. But the ruts we get stuck in can appear so darn comfortable!

If any area of your life is lacking passion and purpose, you can bet you’re stuck in a rut. As PR depends on you communicating authentically, if there’s no passion and purpose you can bet your own PR will look pretty weak.

Trouble is, ruts can be hard to climb out of – unless you’re lucky enough to be kicked out.
Yes, lucky enough. A bit like the baby bird whose mother boots it over the edge of the nest to test its wings. No matter how scary it is and how far the drop looks.

It’s a basic universal principle that everything in life is for growth. Including you. I’m also a big believer in the philosophy that life doesn’t throw anything at you that you’re unable to deal with. We all have metaphorical wings and just have to choose to use them.

A real life example: About six months ago a client of mine started talking about resigning his services from a long-term customer. He discussed it with his team, and was very open about the impact it would have on the revenue stream of the business.

When I asked him and his wider team if this customer inspired them to passion and purpose, they all answered a resounding no. He didn’t feel he was being authentic in his business dealings, had lost a real sense of voice, and was beginning to question his business talents.
But the regular income was a kicker. Especially when the global economy began creaking. So instead of making the decision, my client hung on, feeling increasingly unhappy.

Can you guess what happened next? The customer left the business, of course! What my client hadn’t realised was, energetically, he’d already made the decision of not working for the customer, and it was just a matter of time before reality caught up. It was just presented in a slightly different way that he’d expected.

And now? After a day’s workshop on what he and his team really want to do and say, the business has reconnected with its authentic voice. New revenue opportunities are flowing in, and there’s a visible sense of joy in what they are all achieving together.

So if you’re feeling stuck, or perhaps you want to embrace a new challenge but are feeling a bit fearful, I’d encourage you to ask yourself a few simple questions (with gratitude to my mentor David Neagle for sharing them):

1) Is this something I want to be, do or have?
It could be an opportunity, a person, whatever. If it’s a Yes, go onto Q2. If it’s a No, then the decision is made.

2) Is being, doing or having this going to take me closer to my goal - or as I like to ask, my authentic purpose? If it’s a Yes, then go to Q3. If it’s a No, the decision is made.

3) Is being, doing or having this in harmony with the basic universal law of more life to all, and less to none?
So by making this decision, will it add to your life? Rather than simply checking on a material level (like your finances) I’d encourage you to check in with your soul first!

4) Is being, doing or having this going to take away another person’s ability to choose?
By making a choice to embrace what you are doing, are you taking away another person’s ability to choose? Every human being has the basic right to choose for him or herself, and you do not want to take that away from them.

As long as you have three yeses and a no, you can make the decision and move forward.

Go grab some VIP's!

2010-01-03T16:40:00.002-08:00

I have a friend who believes you should only ride in the back of a car and at the front of a plane. And while you may argue that business is tight and you can’t justify the extra dollars, I have to point out that if you haven’t made the decision to travel first class the money is irrelevant. You don’t need the money until you make the decision!

Remember, giving yourself the first class treatment sends a powerful message to everyone: not only are you deserving, you are also creating a strong intention in all your business dealings.
The same goes for your clients. There is a segment of virtually EVERY customer or client group or market that will happily pay FAR above standard prices for convenience, status, and special treatment.

Why not take a minute or two and consider the first class treatment you can offer a select few. Remember, you're not trying to please EVERYBODY, just those who can afford that level of service.

To get you thinking, imagine this... if you can get 10 people to commit to some type of VIP program priced at $850 per month, that's over $100,000 extra this year for you!

Spirited Business

2010-01-03T16:40:00.001-08:00

In the spirit of ongoing ‘course correction’ I invite you to check out Just Go Write’s inspirational new service: Spirited Business.

Spirited Business in an empty-handed leap into the void for me – talk about not waiting for ‘perfection’! In the past 12 months I’ve realised that my passion is getting business organisations to profit through quantum physics. You’d be amazed how much PR and quantum physics has in common. Mind over matter is literally true. EVERYTHING you experience is a result of how you think.

Want infinite sales? Change how your sales team think. Want inspired team players? Change how your human resources think. Want to be, do or have everything? Change how you think.
Doing great business isn’t about struggle, isn’t about fighting for market share. It’s about creating powerful business intentions that bring infinite sales to you.

Does the current economic ‘crisis’ have you challenging such positivity? Ten years ago I started my agency, annually turning over mid to high six figures. Yet this year, during this ‘so-called’ economic downturn, without making any extra effort, I’m busting the seven-figure bracket, not just once but ten times over. All because of a mind-shift.

If you’re ready to take a quantum leap in your business download the application form now. I’m just an everyday gal who got out of her own way and let the magic happen in her business – allow me to show you how you can grow your business with ease, attract prosperity and gain more bliss!

Near Enough

2010-01-03T16:39:00.001-08:00

I’ve just read Seth Godin’s blog “Is good enough enough?’ It’s a great post. In it he writes that in marketing, most activities are a response to problems (need to design a new product box, ought to promote new roadshow etc). He says in reactive situations you often end up with something that’s ‘good enough’.

According to Godin, “Good enough is beyond reproach. It's safe at the same time it represents quality. Good enough demonstrates effort and insight and ability. People rarely get fired for good enough, which is a shame.” He challenges marketers to redefine the objective to be: "makes some people uncomfortable, changes the entire competitive landscape and is truly remarkable in that many of the key people we reach feel compelled to talk about it.”

But, as Godin also points out, that sort of objective requires significant risk-taking, including the risk of failure and the risk of getting fired!

Now for the flip side. As a ‘recovering’ perfectionist, I had the wake-up call of my career when a woman I admire, Alexandria Brown, CEO of multi-million dollar business Alexandria Brown International (http://www.alexandriabrown.com/) admitted that for her ‘near enough is good enough’. What? Her philosophy is pure entrepreneur. “I learned long ago NOT to wait for anything to be perfect. Good is good enough. We create, launch, and then "course correct" as we go. This principle has helped me accomplish more faster than anything else I've learned over the past several years,” says Ali.

Interesting difference? It all comes down to your belief system and what you perceive ‘good’ to be. If you wait for perfection (whatever that may mean to you) you may miss the boat. And, by going public with something that isn’t 100% ‘perfect’ are you (ouch) leaving yourself to criticism in the eyes of others?

Within our agency, we work with clients who subscribe to both sides of this philosophy. Experience shows me that obsession with detailed perfection is paralysing, as it often leads to an inability to raise one’s eyes above the business parapet to see the big picture. We have seen PR campaigns grind to a halt, and media deadlines go whooshing by as approval chains prevaricate on position titles and capitalisation. Other times, we hang on for dear life as the campaign crackles and fizzes with a life of its own – more often than not because the client has stepped back and simply ‘allowed’.

I’m a big believer in ‘allowing’. It doesn’t mean abdicating, but it does mean putting a level of trust in the unknown and yes, as Godin writes, taking some risks. Not risks with a capital R, like betting the house on black, or trading when the figures no longer stack up - but stepping outside the comfort zone of conformity. That’s when the magic happens.

Intentions are more powerful than resolutions

2010-01-03T16:37:00.000-08:00

It might go against every self-help, business-boosting idea you have, but I’m not big into goal setting. I reckon they’re always limited by the belief system you operate under. For example, you may be turning over mid figure six figures, but you’d like seven figures. But the jump just seems too big to you and your belief system (I’m not good enough to earn over a million, I don’t have the resources, I’m too busy to work any harder etc), so the list of excuses goes on. Instead you set a nice, safe, achievable goal that’s a small, incremental increase. But do you really want to be stair stepping your way to success? Wouldn’t you prefer to blaze gloriously across the sky, knowing you’ve achieved all your dreams and more?

So when I’m asked about New Year Resolutions, I tell people I don’t do ‘em. I do intentions. Far more liberating. Just the sound of the word intention has life and action. Resolution conjures up images of strong, steady and, well, a little slow moving.

There are three secrets around intent that I’ll share with you.

1) You’ve got to really desire your intent. Passionately and whole-heartedly. My mentor refers to this as what’s in your secret box, the thing that you’ve quietly dreamed about doing, but have been too worried what people might think, do or say if you shared it. What’s it to do with them? It’s your desire, not theirs!

2) Then you’ve got to focus on it. Write down what it looks like, smells like, and tastes like. Every day. Be grateful for it – even if it’s not in your life yet. It will be – because you can’t have the idea unless the solution is ready to present itself.

3) Then you need to decide to do it, and get out of your own way. This is the hardest part to master, because our egos do so like to get in the way! Stop searching so hard for solutions. Simply allow, and be prepared to accept the answers your inner voice brings you and follow them. You’ll be amazed.

A great book for anyone wanting to blaze a path is You2 by Price Pritchett. He promotes an unconventional, quantum leap strategy for achieving breakthrough performance, replacing the concept of attaining gradual, incremental success through massive effort. Instead, Pritchett puts forth 18 key components for building massive success while expending less effort. The crux of this small book (you can read it in an evening, easily) is overcoming the fear of the unknown, and avoiding the trap of repeating the past, to achieve great things. The opening paragraph Pritchett describes watching a fly engaged in a life and death struggle, flapping futilely against a closed window. Yet across the room, less than a minute’s flight away, the door stands open. The fly – had it given up it struggle of trying the same thing over and over – could have achieved easy success.

So in preparing for 2009, set your intent. Become aware of the simple, yet elegant solutions. Choose ease over struggle. Be the quantum leap.

Focus on the good stuff

2010-01-03T16:35:00.000-08:00

The focus on global financial instability has so many of you in a spin. Many of the businesses I coach have called me in a panic about whether they should downgrade their business plans to be on ‘the safe side’. Often the first budget to be culled is marketing & PR, yet it’s at these times of consumer uncertainty that loyal and potential customers most need to be reminded of your staying power.

Everything has energy: everything vibrates, nothing rests, including how you feel. If you vibrate with the ‘bad news’ you’re not going to be feeling that great, and let me tell you, it’s only going to get worse because you attract energy to you at the level you’re vibrating! Sort of like the person constantly announcing, “bad stuff always happens to me” and then wondering why it always does.

It stands to reason that if your feelings are energy, and you’re resonating with the good stuff, then the better you’re going to feel. Everything has an opposite, so if you are on the look out for good in all people and situations, you’re always going to be open to great opportunities.

As I read just the other week: “As Wall Street tumbles, it’s worth reminding ourselves that our only security is the inner confidence that we nurture in our abilities to create meaningful, purpose-filled products and services that serve the world.”

What happens in Vegas...

2010-01-03T16:34:00.000-08:00

I’ve just landed back from a fascinating week in Las Vegas at a transformational workshop. A Vegas virgin myself, it was eye-opener to wander off my long-haul flight into an airport of slot machines and neon. Yet by the end of the week, Vegas had become the summation of so many things that I embrace in life: joy, creativity, fun, abundance, adventure and risk. From the call girls on the strip to the astounding magnificence of the Venetian, you’ve got to hand it to this city exuding life in the middle of a desert. I made some amazing new friends and had business ideas aplenty As for the dancing and manifesting thousands of dollars for the Make A Wish foundation, you’ll have to ask me offline. After all, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!