Reprinted from PRTakeoff.com
By Stacey Johnes and Regina Novickis
When we started PR Takeoff, we wanted to make sure we could genuinely empower business owners with the tools they need to handle their own public relations efforts. So while we get this question a lot, the reality is, if you know how to responsibly approach the press, in the ways that we empower you to do so, you do not need to be a public relations professional.
In fact, we were recently out to lunch discussing this very topic with one of our good friends who has been a producer for Entertainment Tonight, The Insider and Rachael Ray.
He said there are a few things that are important to him when someone contacts him to pitch a story:
- If he likes you, and you work easily with him. Well, isn’t this really true of business in general? Like in ANY form of business, it’s nice to know, like and trust those with whom you work. So does it help to know them? Yes. Is it necessary to get media coverage? No.
- Responsiveness. Often reporters are under deadline, so being responsive is critical. If you can’t help them in a timely fashion to meet their deadlines, they may very well move on to someone else.
- Ability to offer good pitch ideas and understand the media outlet for which he works. Don’t expect the media to cover you if you don’t understand the types of stories they like to cover.
In a nutshell, he doesn’t really care if you’re a professional PR person or not – he cares more that you know what you are doing and can make his job easier.
And not every PR person does a great job. In fact, some of our journalist friends have secretly told us they won’t take certain PR people’s calls.
When we both started our first agency jobs, we were handed lists of reporters to follow up with – we received no training and no guidance at all. We had to learn the hard way, but you can benefit from our learning so you can pitch like a pro.
At one time, we didn’t know our media friends either; we just used the tried and true tactics (we can now teach you!) in order to get our clients’ stories placed, and then fostered friendships with them over time. You can get to know media! It’s not just for PR people.
At the end of the day, they are people, and you can engage them in a number of ways:
- Go to media events. They do “meet and greets” to get to know companies and find new stories
- Offer coffee/lunch, etc. We like to offer to take a reporter a Starbucks to say a quick hello or, when we get to know them better, we may go out for cocktails or dinner. You can build a rapport with them just like you would with other people with whom you engage in business.
- These days, you can start “getting to know” the media by following them through their social networking forums. For example, read their blogs or follow them on Twitter.
Regina Novickis and Stacey Johnes have more than 30 years of combined experience helping both emerging and global brands take off and enter the spotlight through public relations. They apply their creativity, strategies and proven know-how to help business owners and experts get their message out to the world. If you’re ready to get your company off the ground and soaring through the incredible power of public relations, get your free tips now at www.PRTakeoff.com.
Our friends at BuddhiWear.com are having their biggest sale ever – get 30% off! BuddhiWear offers a line of fun and fashionable organic clothing for women, men, children, and babies.
Use coupon code MEMORIAL to get 30 % off your entire order. Plus, they plant a tree for every garment sold!
Want to wear the softest, most comfortable clothes on the planet? Stock up on gifts for yourself or others. Eco-friendly apparel for those that enjoy yoga, pilates, fitness, energy healing/reiki, the environment, and all things positive.
May is the month to start pitching to the fourth quarter gift guides.
If you’ve been ignoring this lucrative market until now it’s time to listen up as many people wait until it’s too late. Getting into these special sections of major magazines can mean making millions in short order.
Given that most top magazines have a lead time of six or seven month and stop accepting submissions at the end of May, now is the time to move on this.
My colleague, Margie Zable Fisher, of Zable Fisher Public Relations, who gives excellent teleseminars, got publicity for one of her clients in this past December’s O Magazine gift guide. Her client was able to attribute well over $10,000 in sales in December to that one placement. Another business owner attributed over a million dollars in sales from an O Magazine gift guide placement.
On May 20, 2009, at 2 p.m. Eastern, Gift Guide Editors, Amy Bates Stumpf of the Gift List, and Margie Zable Fisher will be sharing tips on how to get great holiday gift guide placements in top media outlets.
If you can’t attend live, it will be available later for audio download, and you’ll also receive an electronic transcript.
Gift Guide and Product Editors from top media outlets including Good Housekeeping, Woman’s World and more will be sharing tips and answering your questions (note: these media folks have confirmed, but occasionally drop out at the last minute due to the demands of the media). Tentatively confirmed are folks from O Magazine and AARP. Hearing from editors directly is a big help to understanding what they are looking for now. Regardless of who ends up attending as a speaker, this teleseminar promises to give you the information you need to get gift guide placements.
To get the Early Bird discount, register by 5 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, May 13, 2009. Sign Up today.
The Pink Agenda, a non-profit organization committed to raising money for breast cancer research and direct care and awareness of the disease among young professionals, will host its Annual Spring Gala on the evening of Thursday, May 14, 2009 in New York City. Tickets are now on sale for the event, which will honor breast cancer survivor and co-host of NBC’s Today show Hoda Kotb.
Benefit Committee Co-Chairs Lauren Pierce Bush, noted philanthropist, fashion designer, and model, and socialite Amanda Hearst will join hundreds of young professionals—including movers and shakers in the fields of finance, fashion, and philanthropy—for the event, which will feature cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction, and a gifting suite.
Tees For Change is proud to support The Pink Agenda’s efforts by donating our Limited Edition STAY STRONG tees for the event’s silent auction.
To purchase tickets for the event, please visit www.thepinkagenda.org.
April 30, 2009 (Boulder, CO) – Boulder-based Tees for Change will exhibit its eco-friendly inspirational t-shirt lines at the Green Festival in Denver, CO May 2-3, 2009. The company, which launched in Spring 2007, already has extensive sales both online and at more than 200 yoga studios, eco-boutiques, gift stores, and food retail outlets, including Whole Foods, in the US, Jamaica, and UAE.
The Tees For Change motto, “Sustainable Tees on a Mission,” speaks to the company’s commitment to eco-friendly and affordable fashion, as well as being a model of positive action in the form of both the positive messages displayed on every shirt and the fact that the company plants a tree for every Tee For Change sold.
The tees are all made from 100% certified organic cotton or a 70% bamboo/30% organic cotton blend and support sweatshop-free manufacturers in the United States and abroad.
“We deeply believe that you can make a difference with what you wear,” said Andreea Ayers, the company’s founder. “By wearing our tees, you’re not only supporting sustainable agriculture and business practices, but you’re also spreading positive messages.”
Tees For Change’s current collection features 18 earth-friendly and eye-catching colors and the following 18 positive mantras:
-Breathe deeply
-Chase dreams
-Choose happiness
-Dream big
-Embrace change
-Grow strong
-Live passionately
-Laugh often
-Live courageously
-Live fully
-Live mindfully
-Live simply
-Play often
-Practice kindness
-Practice peace
-Practice yoga
-Seek balance
-Today matters
About Tees For Change
Founder Andreea Ayers started Tees For Change while pregnant with her first child in 2007. She desired to experience a home birth for her son, but was often bombarded with negative and fearful responses from both friends and strangers. Her response was one that would ultimately shape and guide her business. She created a t-shirt for herself with the words “Be Courageous” printed across the front that she wore during the home delivery of her healthy son. Thus, Tees For Change was born out of Andreea’s ongoing commitment to living an eco-friendly lifestyle with a deep belief in positive thinking.
A Good Day, Inc is a non-profit organization that was founded by Dave and Karen Massey in 2007. Their mission at A Good Day is to enhance and encourage mental and physical fitness, health and overall wellness to individuals, groups, companies, and organizations. They do this through keynotes, seminars, training sessions, retreats, and workshops. A Good Day, Inc. gives back to the community by providing wellness and fitness programs to those going through serious illness such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes and provides them free of charge to these individuals.
Exciting programs now being offered through A Good Day, Inc. include comprehensive employee wellness programs that can be “leased” by a company to provide an integrated employee wellness program to their employees. They are also taking bookings for our Cruise-N-Learn programs where they provide wellness retreats and training on a cruise ship. What better way to become healthier and happier than on a cruise to an exotic destination? This is an affordable way for groups, small or large companies, and organizations to meet their continuing education requirements in an affordable manner at a location that is second-to-none!
Please visit www.agoodday.org for more details!
A little while ago I did a review of Tooth Soap, which I absolutely love! The nice folks at Tooth Soap were kind enough to give us a great deal to share with our blog readers – Buy one Tooth Soap, get one free! This offer is valid on any Tooth Soap.
To receive this amazing deal, head on over to their website and use coupon code T4C at checkout. This offer expires on May 7, 2009.
We’d love to offer you a free ticket to visit us at the Green Festival in Denver on May 2-3, 2009. To claim your free ticket, please email us at info(at)teesforchange.com with the subject line Green Festival Ticket.
To find out more information about the Green Festival, click here. Here’s more info from their website:
At Green Festival™, a joint project of Global Exchange and Green America, we’re celebrating what’s working in our communities—for people, business and the environment.
Think of Green Festival™ as a walk through a sustainable community. It begins with finding solutions to help make our lives healthier—socially, economically and environmentally. Individuals along with business and community leaders come together to discuss critical issues that impact us at home and abroad. Organizations and businesses showcase programs and products that restore the planet and all that inhabit it. Neighbor-to-neighbor connections are formed, and skills are shared to empower people to create positive change in the world.
Join us at the nation’s premier sustainability event, where you will see the best in green. Enjoy more than 125 renowned authors, leaders and educators; great how-to workshops; cutting-edge films; fun activities for kids; organic beer and wine; delicious vegetarian cuisine and diverse live music. Shop in our unique marketplace of more than 350 eco-friendly businesses—everything from all-natural body care products and organic cotton clothing to Fair Trade gifts and beautiful kitchen tiles made from renewable resources.
See the most recent developments in renewable energy and green technology; sample Fair Trade chocolate and coffee (yes, they really do taste better); and learn how to invest in your community, green your home and avoid products made in sweatshops.
Recharge your batteries with all the hope, inspiration and practical ideas you’ll find at the one and only Green Festival™.
Green Festival™ Facts:
* Green Festival™ is the largest sustainability event in the world and continues to grow year after year.
* Green Festival™ is the only green event that screens exhibitors for their commitment to sustainability, ecological balance and social justice using Green America’s green business standards.
* Green Festival™ offsets 100% of its electricity emissions with clean, renewable energy.
* Green Festival™ walks its talk: each year it gets closer to being a zero-waste event.
1. Ditch your clothes dryer and buy a drying rack or a clothesline instead. Use it to dry your laundry and you can save up to $135 in energy costs per year.
2. Turn off your computer overnight or when you have finished your work for the day. Appliances use electricity if they are plugged in, even if they are turned off.
3. Replace all the incandescent light bulbs in your home with compact fluorescent lights. Even though the initial investment might be higher, you will end up saving $100 or more in electricity costs over the lifetime of a 100-watt bulb.
4. Purchase an organic cotton t-shirt instead of one made from conventional cotton. The material will not only be softer, but you’ll end up saving 1/3 pound of pesticides and chemicals from contaminating our environment.
5. Take a shorter shower. This will lower your heating and electric bill, as well as conserve water.
6. Skip the bottled water and purchase a water filter to purify your tap water. The savings will add up and you’ll prevent plastic bottles from ending up in the landfills.
7. Adjust your thermostat 2 degrees lower in the winter and 2 degrees higher in the summer and you can save up to $200 a year in home heating and cooling costs.
8. Buy locally grown fruits and vegetables from your local farmers market. You’ll be eating fresher and healthier foods and help cut down on emissions used to transport food from across the country.
9. Bring a reusable cloth bag with you next time you go shopping. There are many options available today and you’ll help save plastic bags from ending up in landfills.
10. Ship packages by Ground service (which uses trucks) as opposed to Express/Overnight service (which uses planes). It takes a lot less fuel and energy to drive a package than to fly it in an airplane.
