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Getting Good PR for A Small Company?
"Before I go any further, here's the short version of our story: We provide enterprise level database backends for web sites at one fifth of cost of our competititors, (those that are still around) and with a fast rollout. We use the ArsDigita Community System to help corporations roll out next generation integrated application community sites in very short timeframes -- under two or three months, usually, and sometimes in as little as two weeks.
I think we have a great story, and a good product, so how do I tell the rest of the world? I'm sure there are some post-IPO types who know all about the press, managing them, whipping them into a frenzy, etc. This must be a question that every small software firm struggles with, and I hope the community finds it of interest. Thanks in advance for any and all advice offered."
One think you'll learn real quickly is that most editors don't cover a specific product or company very often. More often, they write about broader issues like market trends, new design methods, etc. If you can present your company's story in the context of a broader issue, you're much more likely to get yourself covered. Build a relationship with the editors on your beat. If they know they can trust you not to feed them BS, then they're more likely to return your phone calls and/or read your release.
Next point, everyone writes press releases. Its a big fight for editorial eyeballs. One way to keep up the likelihood of your release being read is to put it in front of the editors in advance. Keep in mind that most monthly publications have an extensive lead time (usually 4-6 months). Talk to monthly editors in advance so that they have the story written on your release date. Editors will usually respect non-disclosure agreements. The exception is weekly editors. They are constantly looking for things to write about, so it means you have a better chance of being covered. But remember that they wrap their books on Thursday afternoon. God help you if you call them on Thursday with something less-than-breaking news. Also, never underestimate the value of a face-to-face meeting. It can be a great way to make an impression with an editor. Just be respectful of their time, keep meetings to 45 minutes, and set them up well in advance. I've heard of PR people calling an editor from their cell phone, hoping to meet with them in 20 minutes, and they're already on their way with the client. Don't even consider doing this, you will earn the editor's ire in ways you can't begin to imagine.
Finally, be sure to keep it real. Many editors are very technical, and many of them have been on the scene for many years. That means that they have heard every lame marketing spiel on the planet, and are quite willing to tear you apart if you come to them with a half-baked message. Be willing to prove any claims you make and don't be suprised when they challenge you. Be respectful and calm. Understand that editors do this as a way of extracting useful information.
There are a thousand other useful things to know when meeting with the press. This is why utilizing the skills of a good PR firm can be valuable to many companies. A good PR person knows the press and has worked to build personal relationships with them. They can help you develop successful messages. With the economy being what it is right now, there are quite a few skilled freelance PR people out there right now. Again, there are good PR people and bad ones. If you have already developed a good relationship with a few reporters or editors, they can be a good place to look when you're ready to hire a PR person or a PR agency.
And above all else, avoid "clueless suit" quotes in press releases. No corporate officer in a computer or Internet company with more than a few dozen employees ever has anything to say about a product that a journalist wants to hear. You're better off quoting some of the people who actually made the product -- and making sure tech reporters can get hold of that person easily for more info.
But you won't be allowed to follow these rules. Most PR material is put out to make execs feel studly, not to get stories written.
- Robin
- Robin
Posted by polar_bear:
Here are a few tips - they're not sure-fire, and they won't guarantee coverage for crappy products - but they might help.
1. Leave no stone unturned - try to touch base with the right person at any publication - Web or print - that might cover your product.
2. Be open to collaborating on any kind of coverage, not just reviews or getting press releases covered. Sometimes a product just isn't review material - but it might make a good feature or "how to" story.
3. Don't be stingy with review products. I've had a few software companies that have told me "just download the demo" instead of sending me a review copy. Guess what? If it's my decision, I instantly drop it. Not because I'm hunting for a freebie - I get plenty - but because that is a poor attitude and communicates a total lack of interest in working with me.
4. Be polite, and know when to drop it. I've had a few overly persistant PR folks who practically demand that I cover their product. Sometimes large companies can get away with this - but don't press your luck.
5. Talk to the right person and once you've established who the right person is, keep in contact. Ask what you can do for them.
6. Don't send Microsoft Word docs to Linux press. Not a good idea. (Okay, this is of pretty limited interest to companies doing business outside the Linux market, but I've run into it a lot and I'm always stunned that someone in a PR job will send a Word doc to me.)
7. Don't ask "can I see the review before it goes to print?" The answer from any serious journalist is NO.
8. Write a decent press release - I get SO many press releases that are so full of jargon, or are completely content-free! Assume that a journalist may write a blurb about your company and product straight from the release without ever talking to you. Can they get all the relevant information and does the release read well?
9. Don't count on press releases.
10. Never, ever, fail to respond to a journalist. Ever. And don't try to force them to call you for more information. Put it all out there.
Anyway, I hope that helps. Also, you have to realize that there are infinitely more products and companies trying to get coverage than there is available space in the press - be sure to make good use of your Web site. I took a look at your site and it could use a little more content, and a bit less cutesy graphics. Also, a press section would be a Very Good Idea.
Take care,
Zonker
One way that my company has used to get PR is to write technical articles in the appropriate journals to illustrate our expertise. (We do chip design consulting.)
Another is to appear at trade shows in discussion panels.
This gets the name of the company out there in subtle ways, and hopefully provides a good impression at the same time.
Have you compiled your kernel today??
I don't think so - By the time I was done reading the question, I totally forgot who the company was - the tone was very different from the "This is the greatest thing since sliced bread, everyone should have one in their grage, and the people who are bringing it to you are Blah, Inc." type of spam that we've seen here on /. before.
I think this is totally relevant to /. - what we have here is a small, open source reliant company made up of a bunch of geeks that want to know how to get better press. My intuition tells me that there are lots of other geeks around here on /. that are facing the same problem. What's more, this is one of those types of problems that other readers can provide real insight and experience to - I think it's much better than the usual Ask /. fare that can usually be categorized into either:
- I need a lawyer - what do I do? or
- I know I could figure this out if I just RTFM, but I'm too lazy to do that, can you tell me?
I see that RobLimo's already posted something useful - I think given-"Zow"
How do you figure? Without marketing, I will determine that I have a need, find and analyze all the alternatives, and buy the one that's best for me.
The only thing that a marketer can do is to possibly change my purchase decision, by persuading me to ignore the solution that's best for my needs.
If tits were wings it'd be flying around.
First, you stay out of my face.
I don't want to see any e-mails, pop-up ads, commercials on TV, billboards, or wacky contests. I dislike marketing because the purpose of it is to subvert my reasoning process in order to get me to buy your product.
Next, you need to simply take care of the customers you already have. If you always do what you promise to do, when you promise to have it done, then your customers will become your marketing department.
That's all there is to it. Now, take a hike.
If tits were wings it'd be flying around.
First, figure out that technical geeks don't know a damn thing about marketting. So asking what to do here will not get you very much in the way of usefull advice, unless you get really really lucky.
Second, figure out that technical geeks don't know a damn thing about business. So asking what to do here will not get you very much in the way of usefull advice, unless you get really really lucky.
Third, figure out that business types and market-droids are usefull for something -- usually things having to do wtih with business and marketting -- and go ask them. They will probably be able to give you more usefull advice than you'll get here, unless you get really really lucky.
Here's hoping you get lucky!
My advice:
get a list of the journalists that would cover your stuff;
send them personal notes inviting them to check you out, (make those notes short and sweet);
seek them out at trade shows and make sure they see your stuff;
get to know them as you would a prospective client
It's also very good to do some pro bono/charity work and suggest they write about the charity you did the work for: The Northern State Cancer Society's new web space is the best in the US for helping patients.... This site, with technology donated by YOURFIRM. ... NS Cancer Society Spokesperson said "We're so pleased with the generosity of YOURFIRM. Their database works great for us." and so on.
In kind donations are great for generating tax deductions and generating good PR and helping your community.
I can understand why the PR firm didn't do it for you. Press releases somehow manage to all go through the Great PR Homogenizing Machine on the way to release. Work on making your company the most noteworthy one in the crowd.
There's more to it than this.
making sure that journalists know how to
use your web site: www.useit.com.
RIAA and MPAA. You can't buy the kind of publicity
that Napster got.
4. Post lots of places with a self-promotional
like: "The author of this piece does not speak for
Emusic, which is
still a cool company, even if it has been bought
by one of the Big 5".
"two weeks ago I'm washing lettuce, next I'm went to fries. Two days after I put poliglut in my
(With apoligies to Louie Anderson)
(Apologies to the humorless too. I haven't made dick off my website, it's a labor of love.)
--
Who do you have to sell to?
You want the young sysadmins? That's easy..you just don't do stupid shit in public, and don't spam them with marketroid crap.
But is that who you have to sell to in order to move your product? Who do you really need to convince. I'd bet a big portion of your market will be non-technical senior IT staff (yes, there is such a thing) or higher. People who know what kind of system they want, but not a clue how to do it; or think it's really expensive.
How you get good PR? Be honest, be true, and don't spam.
I think a comment from the Cluetrain might be good here: Do not limit who gets to talk to the reporters. The more sources of clear, honest information available, the less chance that you will be seen as a faceless corporation. Reporters like people they can call for a quick quote or a good conversation.
A second comment, from "Contented Cows Give Better Milk", is to be more strict in your hiring than in your internal control. Once you have good people in a good situation, you don't need to worry about what they'll say: it will be the truth, and everyone should hear it, especially you.
The instant you gain outside investors, Nervous Nellies who will try to destroy your company at the first hint of bad news, it becomes extremely tempting to place controls on who may speak and what may be said. I suggest that at that time you perform an internal review of personnel. If everything looks fine, just keep on keeping on; your good people will do right regardless of outside comment. If there's something wrong, make sure you know why it's wrong before you attempt to fix it by throwing out the good with the bad.
But that's one man's opinion, and he has only philosophy to guide him.
The background information was totally unnecessary, and makes this question feel like spam. Even further, this question is totally irrelevant here at Ask Slashdot. Come on - do you really want PR information from the folks here? This isn't a marketing forum. This whole thing reeks of advertising to geeks.
What's your damage, Heather?
I browse at plus 2, so I have no idea what comments are floating around below that level, but I don't mind your kvetching at all. I found it rather funny, in fact. : ).
I am *almost* inclined to believe it, however, since it is so poorly directed. I mean sure, /. provides a large reader base for your marketing fluff, but mostly not with people making decisions on where to outsource web-development, especially in the $50,000 range.
These guys really do need help getting their story out, just not for the reasons they say. =)
PR, unfortunately, is a big part of Software Development (yes, I consider it development). Therefore those who do the *real* development, coding, debugging, etc. ultimately depend on the PR the company has. Without it, nobody cares if your product is the best in the entire Universe, simply because they won't even know it exists, and this leads to a company burning cash and eventually laying you off.- -
I am a developer, I write code for a small startup. I maintain our servers. And my company is struggling with all that PR mess on which I ultimately depend personally. If I find a good suggestion here, I'll go and bring it to my boss and marketing guys and see what they think.
In a nutshell, I am a typical slashdot reader, and this article affects my life, so why shouldn't it be posted here? I think it highlights a very important aspect critical to the survival of many small companies like mine and the one of the original poster. It's time someone mentioned something like this.
-----------------------------------------------
Jobs? Which jobs?
If you do not have a business plan that details 1) Business Context 2) Business Profile 3) Market Analysis 4) Challenges and Responses 5) Marketing Plan 6) Finances 7) Execution plan 6) Loan amounts then I would say that you are completely doomed to failure and probably rightly so.
SuperID
Free Database Hosting
tip 1: make a great product that does something needed, innovative or both. extensis used to be a good example in the graphics software world.
tip 2: never think of journalists as an extension of your p.r. department. microsoft certainly does (calling after you write a story to "thank you for helping get [their] story out." though it may help to treat them nice (which is a sub-tip, one apple has forogtten), it is _so_ not their job to rewrite your press releases. though many crappy news outlets do just that.
tip 3: learn what journalists do and why they do it. there was a big email thread on jim romanesko's media news (thread: http://www.poynter.org/medianews/prpeople.htm) that showed how uninformed both sides were about the other's business.
um, answer their questions? honestly, too. there's more, but those are a good start.
A good management team will go a long way toward helping these two different groups realise what each other's neads are and finding a way to work together to actually get products shipped.
_____________
I don't want free as in beer. I just want free beer.
It wouldn't hurt to kiss a few babies while you are at it.
For maximum effect try to do these activities while naked in public places.
Remember, there is no such thing as bad publicity.
I actually feel slightly bad about posting that, mostly because if you browse highest first, it shows up at the top. It's funny, and it seems accurate, too -- but it's quite possible that this person genuinely was interested in opinions on how to do this.
If I knew anything about PR and Marketing, I would gladly post some tips. If you have any, please do.
-Puk
Submit a story to slashdot!
-Puk
Marketing types do something that's just as important to your business, if not more so, than the technical stuff. Just ask Microsoft ;-)
Be smart and let the marketeers do their thing while you do yours. You'll be happier.
Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
"One World, one Web, one Program" - Microsoft promotional ad
The Anti-Blog
"One World, one Web, one Program" - Microsoft promotional ad
The Anti-Blog
Dear ask Slashdot- I really want to be on Slashdot. How can I get on Slashdot to get some free publicity? Tripe. Here's one for next week. Dear Ask Slashdot- What ever happened to actual news for nerds, stuff that matters, or legitimate questions?
Carpe Deez
First off, you need to be making news. No news, no PR. Use marketing and sales instead.
If you have news, make a database of appropriate journals, both web and print. What really counts in this database is contacts. Build relationships with your contacts at these journals as time goes on. This is one reason why a decent PR agency works--they already have relationships with journalists and editors. Also, note that a good PR agency won't waste their good karma with decent contacts by promoting something that isn't newsworthy. If you are sending out minor news, don't bother with followup calls, just hope that soembody needs filler.
But don't be shy about sending out press releases about you landing some big sale! Always provide decent copy -- good enough to be used verbatim and slick photographic artwork (analog & digital) with a release. Have a press kit (you do have a press kit, don't you?) available on your website in pdf format, put up your logo in eps format & also high-rez jpegs. Make it available to anybody who wants. There's no reason to secret it away! It will help you sell your products, no matter who reads it.
Keep any reviews and articles and make them also available on your website, and put the good one's in your press kit (you do have a press kit, don't you?) The journal will be delighted that you put their name on your public website.
blessings,
"Only in their dreams can men truly be free 'twas always thus, and always thus will be."
--Tom Schulman
-- @rjamestaylor on Ello
-- @rjamestaylor on Ello
Buy Journalists Beer.
(Or: Get Journalists Laid)
Trust me, I know several journalists and outright bribery usually works well. ;-)
--
News for geeks in Austin: www.geekaustin.org
News for Geeks in Austin, TX
Press releases do help, but send them to appropriate locations, and the local business journals.
Classes and tutorials that are not marketing. Such as presenting to user groups on how to do X, and that gives you a chance to introduce yourself. But, as we used to say in the BCS Tech group, "if it's just marketing, you will be eaten alive."
You can use some marketing, but there has to be a good amount of meat.Watch the news, then contact the people writing on related topics.
Fight Spammers!
PR is better -- according to my marketing prof, who didn't make it up, of course.
The answer is, hire a good PR agency, they will get you planted in Big Media by pulling strings. Or, do newsworthy, sappy, or otherwise prominent things that attach your name to items that are otherwise newsworthy. Think about the PR that BugTraq and SETI@home get, compared to BSD.
Here's what my company did/does.
Run a single, small ad in the one Industry magazine that targets your market best. Run it every month without missing a month, even if you need to not pay yourself. This pays off is subtle ways. Mainly by keeping your brand in the customers radar even if they don't know who you are or need your services right away.
Run adds on mailing lists. For the same reason above.
Exhibit at a single trade show where ever it goes in your target market geographical location. Do this even if you go with a card table and a laptop.
Talk to as many people about your product as possible. Find evangelists and nurture them. Kiss their ass until your lips are numb.
Avoid PR until you can't deal with the external requests from the press. Don't use PR to get TO the press use them to HERD the press.
Don't bother doing any of the above if your product isn't a whole lot better then your comptetion. The above will only work if you have a killer offering, if not, get a PR firm now and blow all your money on fooling the masses into buying your crappy product.
Richard Reynolds
http://www.rockstar.com
Actually, all of this iss just part of the the Internet crash. It is possible to continue to grow in this sort of environment, but I suspect that the Internet business is going to keep drying up for a while.
This means you need for in your corner on your payroll who are as skilled as sales geeks as you are at be programmers, etc.
When you looks at this, the employment ratios go something like - one third hard core production types, coders, QA, etc. - one third admin and infra structure folks, including bean counters, floor sweepers, MIS, etc - one third marketing and sales geeks - Marketing is only there to generate leads for sales, etc. so don't shoot yourself in the foot.
Statistics go monthly in most brick and mortar places. For better reaction time, get weekly stats, and then note the trends. This way, if the shit hits the fan in the middle of the month, you see the peak and can handle quicker. Got to watch the single to noise ratio because of the things fluctuate. A running average for the one 4 weeks preceeding the current date might be better.
Note: Marketing geeks should get bonuses based on number of column inches of press/ seconds of air time, with circulation taken into account.
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
You can now own a full-featured community Web site for under $50,000. Start the process right now by taking our simple 3-click survey.
Well, I know somewhere you can download one for free! Or you can pay $39.95/mo if you want it hosted.
sulli
RTFJ.
Why reporters hate PR flacks so much they'd rather deal with lawyers:
1. PR flacks get in the way. I'd rather pick up the phone and talk directly to the subject of the story, not his flack, definitely not the flack's secretary, and absolutely not the flack's secretary's voice mail. I just want to ask a few questions. I don't need a scheduled appointment and a canned presentation.
2. Just because I drink your free beer doesn't mean we're buddies. You think you're going to shame me out of writing an expose on your client when it might be the best scoop I ever got?
3. In-house flacks are even worse than agencies. The minute they sense you're planning to do anything short of a glowing report on their boss, they do everything possible to shield him from you.
4. Flacks for government agencies are the worst of all. Nothing will get done the same day you request it. The worst I ever dealt with was a flack who controlled access to a lot of government officials. I learned later that her boss didn't like my publication and had instructed her to delay all my requests until my deadline had passed to make sure my competition got the story first.
5. Lawyers are quick-witted enough to realize that once a journalist has decided to do a story on a subject, there's no backing off. They'll give you a quote right off the cuff without worrying about some long-range "strategic marketing plan." Besides, it's easier to translate legalese than marketese.
(Note to Ybos: blueberry, lilac, honeydew? Is that anything like blue, purple, green? How about including some color swatches in your poll so we can see exactly what you're talking about?)
Since they already have a section on their website: "How to plan a successful public website".
That is one big hint. You need name recognition. Sure that's not really PR, but in a way it does deal with it. If your company is out there doing all sorts of great things, interacting with the public and so forth, but nobody can remember who you are or what your company is called, then you _are_ just wasting your money on PR. People need someway of tying the two together to realize that it is _you_ and not one of your competitors doing all this great PR.
Maybe the name of the company needs to be changed. Ybos. How do you say that name?? I'm sure someone out there knows how to say it, but how many people in a crowd could look at that and say "Yeah, I know how to say Ybos." In some of the marketing seminars I've gone too they've talked just about why products/companies fail. And this is one of the big reasons. ***No one knows how to pronounce your product/company's name.*** I could come up with a name like Xyxqulmpt and how many of you could correctly pronounce it? (It's pronounced Six-Que-lump-t, or whatever.)
(On a side note, the way I would pronounce Ybos would be Yeh-bos, which sounds like a derivative from a very naughty Russian cussword.8P)
I guess what I'm trying to say is that PR is marketing yourself, selling the good points of your company. People need to realize who you are and what you stand for. They also need to remember your name after a paragraph. The intro to /. was very tiny and some people could not remember who the company was. That should tell you a lot.
Please God, don't let me fuck up.
--What was that?
Uh, everything is A-OK! -- The Right Stuff
1. Forget the PR firms. Save your money. They don't know, will never know or have any of the enthusiasm that any in your company has. You and your staff are your own best PR engine.
/.), someone else will be there.
There is lot's of places to get PR. Online pubs, print magazines, daily news, local and national TV are news based. But don't forget the grass roots stuff. Speak at trade shows. Talk in front of user groups. Be active in online discussions. Start a column yourself. Write a book.
2. Get to know the press before you need the press. Figure out who writes specific columns and only send news worthy information to them instead of shot gunning to a thousand press people. Sure a PR company is supposed to do this for you but often they don't/won't understand your market/product/angle.
3. Don't 'work' the press. These guys are busy people. Respect them. If you have to call an editor don't do it more than once unless they invite you to do so.
4. Forget powerpoints, market speak, techno babble and speak about your product in very clear simple terms.
5. Assume that most editorial has rules about how much coverage you can get. In the day when it was around, MacWeek had secret policies about how much press a company would get. For example if you ANNOUNCED a new product they'd write an article. If you managed to ship a month later you'd be lucky to get a mention as your product had "already been covered."
This was why it was important to know all the writers. Beat guys covered announcements, ships and revs. Reviews Editors/Writers were a totally different part of editorial. Also knowing the Senior or Chief Editor meant you might get included in or influence a feature story.
6. Trade press isn't just the big 5 or 10. User groups, regional magazines and industry specific journals are likely to generate more "revenue related" business than an article in Wired.
7. Timing is everything. Avoid announcements at trade shows as you'll get written up with all the other noise. Holidays, end of quarters, April 15th, Summer, are just a other times when your 'news' will get less attention than it deserves. Not from the writers perspective but your potential customer might miss it because they've got other things on their collective minds.
8. Don't 'expect anything' from your PR effort. You will only get disappointed if you do.
9. When you finally do make the headlines, it's only for a short time. Next week, next month, tomorrow, five minutes (as is it is on
10. When all else fails rev your product from 2.0 to 3.0.
I've been in the technology PR industry for about five years, having moved from the IT industry. Here are my thoughts...
There are no hard-fast rules to getting good PR. If you are a start-up company, I highly recommend either 1) getting a mid-to-senior practicioner in-house, or 2) hiring an independant consultant. If the company starts to scale in terms of revenue, customer, headcount, funding, and so on, then it makes sense to retain an agency in order to hammer out a solid strategy and position the startup to play in the bigger leagues.
The dot-com boom brought in a lot of PR shysters, kibbitzers, and dilletantes. I would surmise that the person who posted this "Ask Slashdot" may have been taken by one of them. There was a point when such a dilletante could strip naked, tattoo "I do PR" on his/her ass, run up-and-down Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park (the famous VC shopping mall), and get three clients or so.
In today's environment, you can pretty much take your pick of agencies. (I will refrain from pitching my own firm here, but I will say that we're mid-sized, independent, and very good at what we do.)
As the current downturn runs its course, it acts like a crucible on the high-tech PR industry: all of the crap and impurities are being burned away and, within the year, the best product will remain.
PR isn't rocket science but, done poorly, it's disastrous. What trips people up often isn't PR strategies/tactics, but learning about the client's technology. Coming from an IT background, that hasn't been a problem for me. You'd be surprised how many people have gotten into high-tech PR who lack the technical smarts that God gave the pygmy marmoset.
As to resources, InternetPRguide.com is often helpful. People can rant back to me here or at maximum_entropy@hotmail.com.
This is getting off topic, but I couldn't let it go.
I figure you're a junior person at a medium-sized company with very monolothic computer needs. Or for some reason you think like one. Because your rant sure doesn't describe reality in large organizations - or even reality as seen from the top in small ones.
Is MySQL an "enterprise" database? Not on your life. Is it useful to large enterprises? You bet. In a large organization that has hundreds or thousands of projects going on, only a tiny handful need the power and feature bloat of megabucks "enterprise" hardware/software. I'd wager 90% of database projects would be better off in MySQL than in Oracle, just because the maintenance costs are so much lower and the product is so much more accessible to junior staffers.
I spend six figures on Oracle, for use where it's needed. That doesn't mean I'm so stupid that I'm going to spend another six figures on it for projects that don't require it. Likewise I have people doing development in Linux on $500 e-machines servers for projects that deploy on giant rack-sagging monsters running heavy-duty OSen. It just makes good financial sense. And every once in a while we even find something neat that Linux, or MySQL, or what-have-you-open-source-program can do, that all our money can't buy.
"Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it." -- GBS
I don't doubt you're correct here. I worked in journalism long enough ago that the people I knew then have either given up on the business or moved pretty far along. So when I talk to someone about dealing with dot coms (a topic near and dear to my heart), it's going to be a senior reporter or an editor at a major pub, and that's bound to provide a somewhat warped perspective. But I think the core messages are still just as valid:
"Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it." -- GBS
Here's what a reporter wants:
Okay, so keep all those in mind. Now, how can you help? For starters, take this press release and throw it in the trash:
...because the people who receive it are going to do exactly that: throw it away.
A press release that actually gets picked up has to provide the basis for a story, which more or less means it has to relate directly to things that the reporter knows about and would otherwise be writing about. Reporters do not write about marketspeak crap, except to make fun of it.
So find a trend that's popular but not overplayed, and figure out how you relate to that. Or find an angle the reporter can work with toward a story about how to do something, how to avoid something, how to make something, and build on that. Don't be afraid to mention your competition - having the story appear in print with you as one of three is better than not having it at all. And if your contact info is on the release, your spokesperson is going to be the one who has a quote in the story.
Approaches like this have you doing half the reporter's work for them, without it looking like he just licked up whatever you fed him. That meets his needs and yours too.
And nurture personal relationships with reporters. Get them drunk at conventions (they're the poorly-dressed ones, so they're easy to spot). Find the bar near the local paper where they hang out. Donate some equipment to your local college newspaper.
One last tip - if you don't know how to write, find someone who does. Go outside your office, find someone in grad school, or someone who writes accessible materials for a living. Do not under any circumstances use your neighbor or your mom or your brother-in-law unless this person is actually gainfully employed for his/her writing ability (next week's lesson: Do not use these people for graphic design either, just because they happen to own a copy of Pagemaker and once did their church newsletter). Everyone knows at least one person in such a capacity. Someone who is laughing at your typos or overuse of the thesaurus or weird grammar is not going to be writing a story about your product.
"Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it." -- GBS
Here are a few things I've learned the hard way:
1. Do not seek press if you are not ready for dealing with lots of inquiries or if your company is a "consumer advocate" story waiting to happen!
2. Execute press releases for hires, promotions and deal wins. They are the easiest to get published and people do read the business section. Releases that try to educate the press rarely work.
3. Avoid referring to technology. Point out benefits your customers experience and the business results that occur!
4. Have a full press kit ready to email to interested parties. Doing so allows editors and writers to do their job better.
5. Do not evaluate the success of PR in the number of leads it generates. PR does one thing well things: it creates brand awareness for your company.
I've never used a PR firm, for one reason, I believe most of them don't get the job done well.
-- $G
You shouldve followed the link to know what that was all about Is our soldiers home coming?
360 degrees of Karma
After reading the above post on "advertising to geeks" I'll just add this. Its /.'s site, their bandwidth, and as I learned, don't like it, don't visit its that simple. Your not the one paying the bandwidth bill so ... håll kaft
On to the subject now. I think word of mouth is one of the better routes to go until the company has enough to pursue advertising since it does come out rather expensive.
Bartering a banner with a similar venture, or partner or friend is another method that comes in handy many times. It sucks to be sucked dry by PR firms, but I strongly feel companies should do their own marketing concepts before seeking a PR firm anyway. An idea is created, the concept laid down for the PR firm beforehand, so money is saved.
Getting attention is not that difficult there are plenty of websites that'll do a write up if they find the product useful. Visit some of the more known sites, jot an address down its not that hard.
p.s. don't bother flaming I won't rsvp. Is our soldiers homecoming?
360 degrees of Karma
Generating positive PR is a very difficult thing to do. The results of positive PR s bring in sales leads and generate "awareness" of your firm. Here are some of my rules that I use to generate awareness about my firm that have little or no cost associated to them and at the same time generate positive awareness about your firm. These views in my opinion only works long term and I'm not sure if it works on the short term.
1) Find out from your employees, what are their hobbies or volunteer efforts.
2) Support those efforts by granting them extra time off to attend.
3) Ask for them to distribute information about your company at these meetings
For example, I read to blind children on a regular basis, about once a week. At these reading I always had my company shirt on and a couple of brochures. When someone would ask me about myself, I would go on tell them and pitch my company at the same time.
Some volunteer organizations will let you place an advertisement within their newsletter for minimal dollars ($ 50.00 to $100.00). That would generate about 1 client per every 3 newsletters.
During Christmas, my firm would work for a month in soup kitchens and make a small donation of $ 2,000. We had posters put up, and we all wore our company shirts. Many of a time we got free press that way. We also had the opportunity to meet other people that might be able to use our services. We landed a huge transport contract that way. One of our reps was working next to a plant manager's wife, one thing lead to another and he got to do a presentation to the plant manager.
Long story short, one day I was reading to the daughter of a news reporter and they did a small write up of my shipping company I was on TV that generated a lot of buzz and got me 3 clients.
Don't waste your time supporting those things you or your employees don't believe in. Your pitch will not be sincere to the prospective receiver.
Side Note sales pitch and fund generation: Alzheimer's association is hosting a Polo match charity fund raising event near Princeton NJ area this summer. If you are interested in having a tent or attending, pull up my bio and get my proper e-mail and I'll forward you the information.
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if you see me, smile and say hello.
You never follow up an e-mail to a reporter with a phone call asking if she received the e-mail.
You know your reporter and what he has published -- before you make the first contact.
You get the facts fast to the right people, especially when asked directly for them.
You put full corporate contact and product summary info in all press releases and on the Web.
You never send unsolicited e-mail attachments, of any kind.
You'd never send out a group e-mail that includes your entire press list in the header.
You fix factual inaccuracies quickly and dispassionately.
You understand the power and limitations of freelance reviewers.
You'd never even contemplate sending out time-bombed review copies, demos, etc., knowing that writers want the real McCoy.
You have to appreciate the fact that there are literally hundreds of new products, services and companies launched every week -- and if journalists were to publish a story on every PR they received then the newswires would become flooded with the stuff and readers would complain.
The secret to getting a PR turned into a story is to wait until you've got something truly newsworthy before you issue a PR.
There are some companies whose PRs automatically get fined in /deve/null because they send out two or three a day announcing the most mundane and trivial things: "Our website is now listed in Yahoo's dierctory", "Our new sales manager is wearing a brown tie today", etc, etc.
Unfortunately for them, even if they come up with the answer to life, the universe and everything, I doubt anyone will be listening.
The secret to good PR is to figure out ways to become newsworthy. When you do something that is truly of interest to the wider industry (or world) the the journos will beat your door down trying to get a story.
Also -- pick your timing carefully. Every editor and reporter knows (and hates) slow-news days. There are some days when absolutely nothing is happening out there and those are the days when we tend to reluctantly start paying more attention to the PRs that come across our screens.
What's not newsworthy on a day when Yahoo buys the NY Times and Dell files for Chapter 13 might well be a lead-story on another day when yours is the only story happening.
Of course achieving this eye-catching status is not easy - or everyone would be doing it -- right?
As far as PR companies go -- it's been my experience that they're really good at spending your money but don't gain you a lot of ground. Let's face it, if you're not newsworthy then no amount of PR-spend is going to get your stories run in a reputable publication.
And as for the format of a PR -- keep it very, very short. If you haven't convinced the editor/reporter that you're newsworthy within the first paragraph they'll never read the rest anyway.
If you've sparked their interest -- they'll contact you for more information anyway. Best to leave them a little curious than drop a weighty tombe on their desk that tells them the whole story.
I hope this helps!
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