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How You Can Make Media Relations Effective

Filed Under (Business Success, Business Tools, Home Business, Marketing, Small Business) by Kevin Sinclair on 29-06-2008

With media relations, remember that journalists have to be accountable to their editors and to their readers. For journalists, the most important thing they’re trying to accomplish is to put out a newsworthy story. Does that mean you can get a fair chance at getting your own story across?

Many are misinformed about the press. In fact, many people believe that the media is in fact out to get them and that you have to be careful of what you say. This can also be true in the reverse. In those cases, people believe that the media wants to write good things about some people or organizations, perhaps to the detriment of reality. In fact, the truth usually exists somewhere between these two extremes.

If you want to get the best out of the media, first, appreciate that the media is going to need a good story. On the other hand, you as the hopeful positive target want some free publicity so that you can reach out to your audience and customers.

What’s the best way to make this positive for both parties?

1. Make It Newsworthy

Your story should be something the readers are going to be interested in and perhaps even love. If this is true, you’re probably going to have a good experience with the press. Of course, you as the company may have a message to deliver; if possible, make it valuable to the people who are going to see your story.

What you want to focus on is the value that your company brings.

In addition, journalists also want to know what the next new trend is. If you can let them know that the industry is heading in a certain direction, you’ve won half the battle. Or if you can offer breaking information on news that’s not been reported previously, this, too, is going to be newsworthy.

2. The News Has To Be Valuable to Your Audience

If your company is introducing a new product, focus not just on its innovative features (which may be of benefit to your users, true) but on the benefits users will get from the product and from those new features.

For example, one of the most important things for products these days is that they are environmentally friendly. If your product is among these, this is going to be newsworthy.

3. A Prepared Speech Is Fine, but Make It Personable

Of course, you see many people on the news these days reading prepared speeches. This is understandable, because most people (even experienced speakers) need at least some notes to follow when they’re trying to present certain points.

However, if you read from a prepared speech, make your points clearly and have them back with facts. If you have an opinion, that’s fine, but remember that the media and the people listening will also want to hear the facts. If you can do this, you can make a good impression.

4. What If You Have To Do a Television Interview?

It can be stressful if you have to do a television interview, because this presents many new things to think about. Do you look good? If you’re nervous and go blank, this is also a common problem for many. And doing an interview instead of a prepared speech will also probably take more time.

However, if you need to do a television interview, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Because your audience can see you, make sure your body language matches your words. If you’re nervous, again, this is understandable. However, try to be as casual and comfortable as you can. As you go along and the interview goes well, too, it’s likely that you’ll relax and simply become more natural. When you respond, look at the interviewer and not at the camera.

In addition, your responses should be as short and precise as possible. Don’t ramble, but do make complete points as much as you can.

One of the best things you can do to help improve future interviews is to record yourself and watch to see how you appear during the interview. This can help you correct anything you see that you’d rather not repeat and improve upon what he did for future interviews.

When you go on television to do an interview, people can see you, so that your enthusiasm and style is also carried across visually. This, in turn, gives you a bigger impact.

5. How Do You Get the Best Out Of Media Relations?

One of the necessary parts of business is to do media relations. However, instead of looking at journalists with a wary eye, keep in mind that they have a job to do (as do you), and that their presence can actually help you.

Typically, journalists are well informed and do their research. They call upon relevant sources, as they need to. Journalists want information that means something, and it also has to be authentic and true. They want reliable insights from you that will get attention from the audience.

If you understand their needs, you can adjust your interview in such a way that there’s news in it for journalists who will find it useful. In turn, their readers will also find it informative and valuable. When journalists know that you want to work with them, this will make things a lot easier for them.

With this said, you might still have some trepidation. That’s fine. However, speak with conviction and authority as only you can about your subject. Know what you’re talking about so that people will find you authentic. If someone has prepared something for you or you are repeating something you simply read, it’s going to show.

Once you start on the interview, you might be surprised to find that you’ll become very comfortable in a very short period of time during it. This is especially true for a topic you understand well.

Developing a good relationship with media relations lets you reach out to investors, the public in general, customers, and even your own employees. Don’t be afraid of doing so, but instead use it for something positive. If you appreciate it and handle it so that it provides a win-win situation for both you and the media, it’s all positive.

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How To Create Effective Email Marketing Advertisements

Filed Under (Business Tools, Email Marketing, Internet Marketing, Marketing, Online Profits, Selling) by Kevin Sinclair on 15-06-2008

The use of emails to distribute and display your ads is a good way to go about things, but you may find you need to adjust the ads slightly to ensure they are more appropriate for email marketing.

Steer clear of including attachments as more and more people are wary of opening them, especially when from a source they either do not recognize or have not had many dealings with in the past. As we all know, attachments are the favored tools of hackers who infect our computers with viruses so there is no wonder people are reluctant to open emails containing them.

Avoid the use of images as graphics of any kind need longer to download and your readers may not be patient enough to wait. If images absolutely have to be used they should be small ensuring ease when downloading. If small images will simply not do, then make sure they are spliced to help the way they are displayed. Just in case the images do not show up in the recipients email server, you should ensure you have a text backup to fill in the gap.

If you want to go on and on about your services or products then this should be done on your blog or website. Keep your emails short and sweet because the recipient of your mail has control of shutting you out at any given time. If your messages are to the point and interesting this can be prevented.

Make sure once you have obtained the email address of your customer with their consent, that you then have his or her permission to contact them with email advertisements. This way your mail will not be mistaken and labeled as SPAM

Sometimes we get so involved making things just perfect we tend to omit something really important like including our own contact details. When this happens all your hard work comes to nothing. You should always include your name, the business name and address, landline, mobile and fax numbers and email and website addresses and all of these should be placed in a highly visible spot on the email.

It’s always a good idea to have your product sample tested and reviewed. If the feedback is not favorable its time to go back to square one and review what you have on offer. If good feedback is received then start working on an interesting email ad and get it out there as soon as you can.

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Effective Strategies For The Public Speaker

Filed Under (Business Success, Business Tools, Home Business, Marketing, Personal Success, Self Improvement, Small Business, Social Marketing) by Kevin Sinclair on 03-06-2008

Public speaking is a career that requires a special person with special skill. Not everyone is successful when it comes to speech presentations, but those that are know and understand that there are some effective strategies for reaching their audience. If you are a public speaker, and just do not seem to be captivating your audience, this guide may prove to be exceptional helpful to you. Here, we will instruct you on techniques that you can use to capture the attention of your audience and properly retain it. In order to captivate your audience, you must start by learning your audience – by really getting to know them. Every successful presentation is backed by this simple fact – you must know who it is that you are speaking to.

Now, as you look over the audience that you are addressing, you may find yourself questioning exactly how it is that you are going to get to know all of these people in enough time to captivate them with your speech. It DOES seem like an impossible task. That is for sure! However, it can be done, and I am about to tell you how. You can start examining your audience by asking yourself, “what is it that this audience needs and wants?” In all actuality, it is best to ask this question even before you get in front of your audience. You should ask yourself this question as you are preparing your speech. There are generally two types of individuals that will be listening to the information that you have to offer:

1. The first type of person that will be attending your speech will need the information that you are going to deliver for one reason or another.

2. The second type of individual is the one that wants the information that you will bring with you when conducting the speech.

When creating your speech, it is important to include content that will appeal to both those that are searching for specific information that they need, and those that are just interested in hearing what it is that you have to say. When presenting the information that you have to share, it is important to know and understand that the content of your message must be delivered in an upbeat manner so that your audience is really enthused. It is always important to remember that sometimes, how you say something, you will a larger impact than what you say.

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The next thing that you must consider when it comes to public speaking is that which your audience already knows. If you elaborate on facts and figures that everyone is already familiar with, then it is quite possible that you will actually lose the attention of those that are listening to your presentation. Many successful speakers will offer a prep presentation that covers, or summarizes, the information that will be covered in the main part of the speech. This way, if someone already knows what it is that is going on when it comes to the information that you have, they have the opportunity to opt out of the presentation. This can prove to be a highly successful process when it comes to retaining your audience.

Now, the next thing that you will need to consider is the level of understanding that your audience has when it comes to the topic that you are discussing. True, they may have some knowledge on the subject, but do they really understand what it is that you are covering? If not, you should work to increase their level of understanding. If you do not capture their level of understanding, it is very likely that you will not captivate them as an audience. However, if you present the topic that you are covering in a manner that your audience can know and understand what it is that you are discussing, you will likely captivate the attention of your audience.

If you are a public speaker, it is absolutely essential, to know how to capture and maintain the interest of the audience that you are speaking too. Here, you have discovered some key items to keep in mind when it comes to developing a presentation that is bound to be a huge success. If you carefully implement the things listed throughout this guide while preparing your next speech, you will be quite popular among those that are part of your audience.

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Smart Ways To Use The Internet

Filed Under (Business Success, Business Tools, Home Business, Marketing, Small Business) by Kevin Sinclair on 01-06-2008

While the internet has perhaps been oversold as a place to do business, there are some ways in which the online world has proven to be a great place for your business to grow.

First off, you’re going to need a website for your business. This can work as a clearing house for customer service functionality, information on your products or services and so on, more so than a way of finding clientele. You can place useful features such as FAQ on your site, which are then accessible whether or not it is during your office hours. There is also the option of restricting part of your site to clients or subscribers; this will create the impression of added value to your site.

Whether your business is bricks and mortar or entirely online, this is a strategy which can perform well for you. For example, if you are a restaurant or catering company, the members only portion of your website could offer recipes, if your company is in the hat business then fashion tips may be called for. Special offers for members can and should be included as well. You can create an area on your website which serves to promote the advantages of membership to new clients. You should of course add the address of your site to all of your marketing and promotional materials.

Next, you need to collect the contact information (in this case, email addresses) from customers and other visitors to your website.

Having these email address organized in the form of a lost makes marketing easy. You can send out information, newsletters and offers to your list any time you like.

To give you an idea of what you can do with an email list, let’s suppose that you have a kitchen and bath business. You might send these sorts of emails to your list:
1) Information on switching to marble or granite countertops
2) Cabinet suggestions
3) A special price on plumbing fixtures
4) Tips on evaluating cabinet materials
5) Information on new products offered by your business

No matter what business you are in or what product or service you are selling, you can use this technique.

Third, use the media to get your business more exposure. Write press releases to accomplish this. Keep these brief, easy to read and attention getting. Be sure to include your website address by way of a referral for more information.

All media outlets have an online presence as well these days. Since the media is after all run by human beings, there is a tendency toward laziness – and this can work for you. The media like being able to get a story without having to leave their desk (wouldn’t you?). You can take the extra step of writing many of these news articles about your business and placing them on your site, with the media being invited to download and reprint them.

To sum up here: Don’t expect miracles from the internet – and there are many who will try to overhype its potential in the hopes of selling you something. Don’t sink all of your savings into the web; use traditional marketing and advertising routes to their full advantage, but DO use the internet too as a part of your overall marketing strategy. Start learning about how to do business online, build a site for your business and try your hand at some of the techniques I’ve laid out in this article. Walk, don’t run to the internet and design a strategy to integrate the virtual world into your business.

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