The Real Deal. Advertising involves placing a professionally designed ad in a type of media outlet (your child in a home video does not count here people although in college I witnessed several types of these atrocities and if you are not graphic designer and you used clip art to design your ad – all I can say is oh boy). Here is how it is supposed to work:
1. Place a “professionally” designed ad in paper. (Professionally designed means no Crayolas or clip art or you did it yourself and you are an accountant, etc., etc.)
2. Have contact information on ad so potential clients can respond.I am very sad to say this but I think there are several people out there that take the “they-know-me approach” and fail to put their website, email address or phone number on an ad. Is that really a good idea? Really? Ok, so Harpo called my cell phone, do you really think I am going to take all of my contact information off of ads? Umm No.
3. Receive lead generation as a result. Yes, the most important part … a.k.a., business which leads to what? Profits … which leads to … more business and vacation time.
The same goes for a public relations piece. One thing to note: do not mistake any press as good press. Will getting you on the cover of a Depends box highlighted in People Magazine, work for your makeup company? Wait! Don’t answer that …
Hire professional firm to write piece. Yes, hire a professional … even though you think you are a writer, just don’t go there. Better yet let me define this in really, really simple terms. Answer this quiz question (if you answer “yes” … ding, ding, ding … if you answer “no” no chicken dinner for you). Do you know proper formatt? A professional will and will also know what is “acceptable” for media submissions.
Delete is not a business’ best friend. So despite what I just said you do go ahead and submit your homemade press release – in the wrong format full of grammar mistakes – to the wrong person. What do you suppose happens next? Someone hits “delete.” Your PR professional will know who to contact, what that person looks for in potential stories, and what to put in the e-mail subject line. Do not ensure your release finds its way to spam filter or the trash folder.
No-brainer math never fails. PR boils down to who you know. At M Communications/M Com Publishing we have contacts at every national media outlet, all talk shows, all news media outlets … and so on and so on. For a client last week, we were able to deliver coverage at 25 national newspapers and national CBS news. Good week, right? We think so. By the way, when we “pitch” we are simply calling friends … relationship building is something we take pretty seriously as evidenced by the results of our work. Let’s take the first SBJ article on M Communications for example; I personally received 15 calls for requests for business opportunities and over 20 newsletter signups. Not bad for a “free article.” In this economy: it all boils down to dollars and sense. PR is never guaranteed, but when you hire the right person with the right group of friends it is a no-brainer as long as your topic is newsworthy. Newsworthy meaning you discovered gold in your backyard = yes vs. no= you saw your neighbors not taking out their recycling bin (and P.S., get a life neighborhood police).
Here’s the math for a local Ad. vs. PR services to every medium.
Average print ad: 5K – 7K = major area newspaper.
PR for all local coverage: 1.5K – 2K – all local coverage meaning TV, radio, print, etc. Very interesting. Did I mention that most of our PR clients receive multiple national spots? Hmmmmm. Something to ponder.
PR for all local coverage: 1.5K – 2K – all local coverage meaning TV, radio, print, etc. Very interesting. Did I mention that most of our PR clients receive multiple national spots? Hmmmmm. Something to ponder.
Fine way of explaining, and good paragraph to obtain facts on the
topic of my presentation subject matter, which i am going to convey in school.