The good news is that media outlets are constantly searching for stories and  people who will capture and captivate the attention of their audiences. What  this means for you and your organization is that right now (TODAY) is the best  time for you to reach out and earn some of the millions of dollars of free  publicity (and media attention) that is available every day.

So just how do you impress the media and stick out in a sea of wannabes?  First and foremost, don’t waste their valuable time. Virtually, every media  outlet today is operating in this tough economic climate with fewer staff than  they had last year. This means that they still have the same pressing deadlines  and space to fill but they don’t have enough staff to do it.

If you want your pitch to stick out above and beyond the tens of thousands  that cross their desk today – it has to be memorable, relevant and thorough.

In fact here are my TOP 5 Tips to guarantee you attract and maintain media attention no matter what product or service you are selling.

1. What is going on in the news? Do yourself a favour and keep up to date on  the latest newsworthy headlines and happenings? Who’s hot and who’s not? What is  the general public worried about right now TODAY? You can never hope to “make  the news” if you have no idea what is going on in the news. You will never gain  publicity by trying to sell your product or service to the media. The key is to  make what you do relevant in the context of what is happening today in the news.  Tie what you do to someone or something that is newsworthy and you will become  the go-to-expert for top shows, magazines and newspapers.

2. Custom Tailor The Story To EACH Audience – In order to receive publicity  you need to offer custom-tailored that appeal to a media outlet’s target  audience (in terms of appeal, style and structure).  If you don’t read a  particular publication, chances are that it will be almost impossible for you to  hit the target with the editor. Reporters get thousands of pitches every day –  if it doesn’t fit squarely within what they do, they will simply toss it in the  garbage. It is better to send out 2 custom pitches a day that are carefully  crafted than 100 generic emails or faxes that are too broad to appeal to  anyone.

3. When in doubt, create your own news – The other day I got a call from a  national news organization who heard that 1/3 of the population suffers from  insomnia. They immediately wanted to come down to my office that very day and  interview me about it. Now, insomnia has been around since the beginning of  time. Why did it become a pressing national news story that Tuesday at 9am in  Melbourne? The answer is because it became relevant to someone in real terms.  1/3 of the general population is a lot of people. If something affects a lot of  people, it becomes instantly newsworthy. The trick is to take some aspect of  what you do and make it tangible and real (as a problem) to the lives of  many.

4. Promote News – Most story ideas in the media are created almost verbatim  from press releases that are submitted. In fact sometimes, they will take your  story and print it without even bothering to contact you for more information.   Spend the time to build a short and concise (fully-contained story). If you make  it easy for them to utilize you and your work, you will be rewarded handsomely  for it.

5. Follow the story and add to it – If you watch carefully you will notice  that the media tends to follow a story for an extended period of time. Take the  “chick-chick-boom girl” or “Cory the bogan party boy”. Even though there was no  real underlying story, how long did the general public have to endure the  national news coverage of those two talent-poor individuals? Enough said. It is  absolutely critical to track the pulse of hot news stories and be on the lookout  for opportunities to enhance the story by contributing insights and expert  commentary. When it comes to major breaking stories, the media will constantly  be on the look-out for related subjects which add to the story or new angles  that are fresh and captivating.

At the end of the day, the media runs on news and they are not in the  business of selling your products or services. Follow the news and become  newsworthy and you will increase your chances of becoming tomorrow’s breaking  news – in a good way!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3142180

4 solid strategies to stand out and attract more free media exposure

Media outlets constantly search for stories and people who will captivate the attention of their audiences. What this means for you and your organization is that today is the best time to reach out and earn your share of the millions in free publicity that is available every single day.

How do you impress the media and stick out in a sea of wannabes?

First and foremost, don’t waste their valuable time. Virtually, every media outlet is operating with fewer staff than they had last year. This means that they still have the same pressing deadlines and space to fill but they don’t have enough staff to do it.

If you want your pitch to stand out amongst the thousands that hit their inbox today – it has to be memorable, relevant and thorough.

Here are my TOP 4 Tips to guarantee you attract attention no matter what product or service you are selling.

1. Be Newsworthy.  You can never hope to “make the news” if you have no idea what is going on in the news.  The media is not interested in your product or service.  What they are interested in are celebrities, politicians, sports stars, scandals, natural disasters and other headline news.  If you want to be featured, you need to make what you do relevant in the context of what is happening today in the news. Tie what you do to someone or something that is newsworthy and you will become the go-to-expert for top shows, magazines and newspapers.

2. Tailor Your Story.  If you don’t read a particular publication or follow a show, chances are that it will be almost impossible for you to hit the target with the editor or producer. They get thousands of pitches every day – if it doesn’t fit squarely within what they do, they will simply toss it in the garbage. It is better to send out 2 custom pitches a day that are carefully crafted than 100 generic emails or faxes that are too broad to appeal to anyone.

3. Create your own news. The other day I got a call from a national news organization who read my pitch that 1/3 of the population suffers from insomnia. They immediately wanted to interview me. Now, insomnia has been around since the beginning of time. Why did it become a pressing national news story on Tuesday at 9am in Melbourne? 1/3 of the general population is a lot of people. If something affects a lot of people, it becomes newsworthy. The trick to garnering media attention is to take some aspect of what you do and make it tangible and real (as a problem) to the lives of many.

4. Follow the story and add to it.  If you watch carefully you will notice that the media tends to follow a hot story for an extended period of time. Take for example Claire Werbeloff, the chick-chick-boom girl, who became a Youtube sensation around the world for lying about  the events leading up to a Kings Cross murder. Even though she had no talent, connection to the crime or evidence, we were forced to endure more than 4 weeks of national coverage on her (not the crime).  She eventually went on to be featured in Ralph magazine and was offered work with Channel 9.  To emulate this you need to track the pulse of hot news stories and be on the lookout for opportunities to enhance the coverage by contributing insights and expert commentary. When it comes to breaking news, the media is on the look-out for related subjects which add to the story or new angles that are fresh and captivating.

Media outlets capture eyeballs with news and they are not in the business of selling your products or services. By following the news and becoming newsworthy, you will increase your chances exponentially of being picked up and featured.

The good news is that media outlets are constantly searching for stories and  people who will capture and captivate the attention of their audiences. What  this means for you and your organization is that right now (TODAY) is the best  time for you to reach out and earn some of the millions of dollars of free  publicity that is available every day.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3142180

More important than originality or intrigue, is the ability for a writer to help us experience the world in new and meaningful ways. Far beyond the obvious – the power of words to make you hear, to make you feel, to make you see—and above all to make you dream. Words hold the power to define and eradicate boundaries – both physical and mental.

Twitter has the potential to separate the literary men (and women) from the mice! Where else can you say so little or so much with 140 mere characters?

I would advocate that if you can master the following Twitter secrets, you will have learned all that there is to become a better, faster, more concise, compelling and articulate writer.

Keep it Simple

Tweeting forces each of us to think and write simply. With only 140 characters available, it is imperative to get to the point and be succinct.

Know When Enough is Enough

Ninety-eight percent of communication is knowing what to say AND what not to say. Enough said.

Be Relevant

Pay attention to what is newsworthy and topical. Be prepared to break new ground and have a unique or controversial opinion. In particular, watching the current trends (and items which are hash tagged) will allow you to put your finger on the pulse of public opinion and shed new light and insight on hot topics.

Get To The Point…the Entire Point NOW!

With Twitter, you have no choice but to start and finish your thought(s) in one short sentence. This necessity will enable you to focus your mind, idea and words in every aspect of your writing – articles, blogs, books etc.

I sometimes wonder what the great literary geniuses – Hemingway, Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Frost, Austen and Chaucer – would have thought of Twitter? I doubt they would have bothered to bore us with the details of their everyday movements online and I have no doubt their true genius and literary prowess would have shone through and put us all to shame – in 140 characters or less.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3232558

PRRight now you are probably asking yourself “how does she know that?”.

I haven’t even seen any of your press releases… and that’s OK, I don’t need  to. I already know the answer. Trust me!

First of your press release is WAY too long…

Second, you don’t have any bullets in them. Media people have the attention spans of mosquitoes and you need to feed your story idea to them in a press release with 30 second sound bites.

Third, no one cares about your product, service, company or book. You need to  react to what is in the news today! You aren’t doing that, are you? How does  what you have to sell relate to the latest sports scandal, celebrity melt  down, internet scam or politician who has accepted a free flight on Qantas?   Does your press release fix a major problem that listeners/readers have today?

Fourth, no one is reading your press release because you are mailing or  faxing them out in bulk and not following up. You need to electronically send them out to several places (both local media and big online services like  prlog.com) and follow them up with an actual phone call.

Finally, make sure you turn your press release into an article and send them  out to Ezine release companies, post them on your blog, mention them on social media (Twitter, Facebook, G+, LinkedIn, Pinterest)  and include them in your Enewsletter blast to your database. Remember, you will  be lucky if you receive a response to your first press release. The key is to be  short, sharp, newsworthy, interesting and persistent. Relevancy, follow up and  persistence are the 3 keys to your success.

Stay tuned for my next installment where I am going to show you how to write a $10m Press Release!

Rhondalynn Korolak, Author of Financial Foreplay® and On The Shoulders of Giants

Rhondalynn Korolak, Author of Financial Foreplay® and On The Shoulders of Giants

You may have just heard that Google is adding its take on the “like” button — which it is calling the “plus-one” . The plus-one is Google speak for making search more social and to combat that growing omnipotence of Facebook. This new feature will allow users to vote plus-one on search results they find useful, and to share that preference with their connections in Gchat, Gmail, Google Reader, Buzz and Twitter. Users will be able to view the total number of plus-one votes and the names of their contacts who have posted their preference.

If you caught the latest 60 Minutes interview with Mark Zuckerberg, it was reported that Faceook has overtaken Google in terms of preference for web search and page views. Facebook also reports that an astounding 75% of its users log in every single day and many people use it actively to research products and companies – not by viewing their websites but by looking at what their friends have to say about these brands and businesses. Seems like in addition to SEO, pay-per-click and content marketing, we now have an even more powerful web optimization formula – it’s called “He Says/She Says” – and you don’t even need to be a tech guru to figure that one out!
Google has been all knowing and all powerful in the area of internet search for quite some time – heaven help you if you did something to influence your SEO ranking and they didn’t “like it”. They could wipe you off the world wide web map by dropping you down to page 99 and their was nothing you could do about it.
Times sure have changed… Google has lost more senior managers and IT developers to Facebook than any other single company in the past year. Google must innovate now or it will surely go the way of Altavistsa. I know, I know… some of you Gen Y’s out there are saying Alta- who? Enough said. 🙂

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