Surf the News

Do you surf the news daily? Well, if you’re pitching news segments to your media friends, it’s a must. (See July’s post for my current pitches!) This August, my husband and I have been doing a working vacation from Crested Butte, Colorado.  Inserted in this post is a kayaking video when we stopped and ”surfed” the play waves in Salida, Colorado. I’d love to share all our vacation photos with you so befriend me on Facebook: Michelle Tennant Nicholson. 

Feel like you need to surf top stories quickly? I’ve got a shortcut you can view each morning. Here you go.

Pitch This

I love pitching the media. Media love pitches. What are you pitching today that will make their job easier? Here’s my fast ball:

BUSINESS
> Five reasons businesses need to practice ”conscious capitalism”

RELATIONSHIPS
> Are you ‘talking’ yourself out of love?
> Is your bedroom too crowded? How idle chit chat can sabotage your love life.

FAMILY
> The surprising place to get your teen to talk: the car?!?
> Back to school: Why your teen needs a home office to succeed.
> Life skills 101: What teens are missing.

MONEY
> Save! Bypass the market rollercoaster. Here’s a 100 yr. old strategy where no one loses a penny.
> Three questions most people forget to ask their financial advisors.

HEALTH
> Oil Spill? What ancient Hawaiian practices can teach us to repair our ocean, beaches and future.
> Sweat Lodge Deaths (trial in August): James Arthur Ray’s former teacher sheds light on the early years (he’s coming to Seattle, Portland, Denver and Newport Beach).
> Sleep deprived? Go from slow to go in ten minutes and two steps.
> Is junk talk making you fat?
> Why learning a new musical instrument can make you fit!
> Are your healthy meals sabotaging your fitness? The surprising ingredient in healthy meals (especially important for back to school and the holidays).

EDUCATION/MUSIC
> What’s a sweet potato wind instrument and why this economy’s made it popular with music educators! [Music can be played.]

Media friends can book interviews by calling media hotline 828-749-3200.

Ads and PR

Today I spoke at the Asheville NC chapter of the American Advertising Federation.  Are you using PR to complement your advertising? How do they work together? A while back, I was interviewed by CNN Money to discuss the two and how to use both together.

Here’s what I discussed today! I took video if you couldn’t make it. (Links below.) Be sure to sign up for a complementary online marketing training program when you sign up to be an expert at Pitch Rate - this way you can receive the actual pitch I used to land a client on Dr. Phil within 8 hours of her signing her contract. Plus, you’ll get actual media leads.

From AAE’s newsletter about the presentation … (links to video from the actual presentation have been added post-event)

How to Use Public Relations to
Complement Your Advertising Strategy
with PR Expert Michelle Tennant
  
A finely honed ad might get you noticed. A strategically placed print or broadcast news story about your product or service can get you instant credibility, raise awareness about your business, position you as a respected “expert,” and drive new customers to your door.

“Storyteller to the Media” Michelle Tennant shares tips on how to harness the power of effective public relations. A 20-year public relations veteran and co-owner of Wasabi Publicity and Blue Kangaroo, Michelle will discuss the way PR defines your relationship to the public; why you need to tie your pitches into current events; how to create and nurture positive, effective relationships with the media and the elements of the perfect pitch.

Added post-event:

There are media clips we played on the large screen and discussed. 1) a clip using celebrity breaking news 2) a clip that illustrated a seasonal holiday tie-in and 3) a print media placement that repurposes content also used in TV coverage.

After watching the four videos above of the presentation, feel free to end with this brainstorming session we had with the participants present.

 

Email Etiquette

Do you have email etiquette? I mean, do you take someone’s email and automatically include them on some time-wasting joke email list-serve? You know what I’m talking about. Someone gets your email address and then all of a sudden you’re on some sort of joke email list. Shoot, one time I was copied on an email where hundreds of other people were copied. I couldn’t believe the sender didn’t hide our emails. Well, do what I did… think like a publicist, meaning, always be pitching, plugging and promoting. Years ago I made a work email policy to “reply all” to ALL emails I get where people are carbon copied outright. You could get introduced to hundreds, sometimes thousands of people out there via emails where you’re boldly copied and viola, instant and easy PR. Try it. (Just watch your P’s and Q’s when you do.) At the very least, it will make people think twice about putting your email address on an email list-serve without your permission. I’ve gotten new business, higher Google ratings and unfortunately tongue-lashings as a result. But hey, I’m a publicist. Take a risk. Put yourself out there and get introduced. Like I always say, “It’s not just who you know. It’s also who knows about you.”

Hello, think Jello!

 Don’t take yourself too seriously. Think of Jello instead. It jiggles. It wiggles. It makes us giggle. Especially in interviews, think of Jello. Hello! Yes, I said Jell-O! While you’re speaking to media contacts or doing media interviews are you taking yourself too seriously? Lighten up. I was kayaking once with a daily newspaper contact and she said one woman kept calling her, literally yelling at her in the phone asking her why she wouldn’t write an article about her topic. Whew. That is not the way to win media coverage on anything. Nor is it the way to win friends. This is especially true in controversial interviews where many times the public is watching a debate choosing which side to take. People gravitate toward people who have fun in life and so will the media. I mean, most of us would invite hysterical Joy Behar but I’m not so sure what type of people would invite blood-rising Rush Limbaugh. So giggle. Jiggle. And put some whipped cream on that media coverage.

Watering Your PR Garden

If you want great PR, are you ‘watering the garden’ every day? Consider the relationships you have with media contacts are just like tender seeds in a garden. If you don’t nurture and grow those relationships, you will not see the contact develop into media coverage. So, just as we all are watering those 2010 flowers and herbs, be sure to reach out to your prized media contacts. Plants love rich soil. Media love personalized pitches. Flowers love sunshine. Media thrive on breaking news. Weeds can choke your baby plants. Being overly promotional can turn off producers from using you again. And if you feel plant food helps maximize your gardening efforts — I think my mom uses something called MiracleGrow — use incoming media lead services like PitchRate where daily you get leads you can grow into a beautiful media coverage hot-house.

Generation Gap

Are you using generational differences to impact media coverage? My client, columnist Tonja Weimer has one story angle about dating over 40 and here is a placement in Diva Toolbox. See how she uses an age-old (pun intended) topic of dating but puts a fresh spin on it — over 40. Viola, who wouldn’t be interested. Even twenty somethings are reading it for their moms. Maybe 40 is the new 30 afterall. Whew, thank goodness. As you know I turned 40 last August! Take age-old topics and spin some fun into them.

Got Ink? Catching Air Time?

It’s all about catching air time, right? Sure it is. Whether it’s extreme sports or PR (both staples in my life) that’s what counts:  Regular ink and air time — each week. So I wanted to share with you some recent ink.  

There’s also caught air time featuring my current clients – whom I might add, are awesome. Hey, you should interview them! Well, if you’re a media friend of mine, that is. Regular friends… I’ll just send you these links to cool ink and air. Get some. Life is better with ink and air. Trust me.

MONEY EXPERT: 401K Scary But True Facts
May 3, 2010 New York Times Best-selling Author and Financial Security Expert Pamela Yellen Sheds Light on 401K Scary But True Facts on nationally syndicated First Business TV

COMMUNICATION EXPERT: Family Reunion Fixes
May 6, 2010:  Landmark Education Chairman Profiled for Role in Resolving Dispute Between Children of Martin Luther King in New York Times Article 

TEEN LIFE SKILLS EXPERT: 3 Steps Transform Teens
May 7, 2010: Accelerated Learning Expert Bobbi DePorter Provides Teens Test Taking Tips Online, WGN and on San Diego 6 TV

REAL ESTATE EXPERT: NJ Mom of 7 (Foreclosure to Debt Free In Mths)
May 10, 2010: Real Estate Educator and New York Times Best-selling Author Dean Graziosi Discusses Moms as a Surprising Trend Investor on the Pat McMahon Show in Arizona and last year see him on WGN discusses real estate and the government. His own rags to riches life story is pretty compelling too. Read about it in Phoenix Magazine.

BE THE BIG KAHUNA IN YOUR LIFE: Hawaii’ Five-O Your Life
April 28, 2010 A new book from Hawaiian Lifestyle Expert and President of Kona University, The Foundation of Huna: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times, Dr. Matthew B. James transforms your health, career and family life with secrets held by the last mental health kahuna in Kona.

BUSINESS LIFESTYLE: 5 Steps to Second Incomes
April 13, 2010 Comedian David Wood discusses how to have freedom with work, your income and lifestyle. Further, he raised $50K for charity spreading his good cheer. You can too.  Should you (and how could you) create a second income in a challenging economy? How can you do it in one week? Take the freedom quiz and find out.

WEIGHT LOSS MADE SIMPLE: No Exercise Required. (Men Love This.) Plus! Hidden Dangers in Your Everyday Healthy Meals
April 2010: Funny-man and Fisherman Doug Varrieur Loses 100 Pounds and Goes on a No Sugar Crusade on TV to Help Others Fight Diabetes; Find Out What’s Harmful in Your Healthy Meals. Even his wife lost weight … with no exercise.

HEALTH EXPERT: Are Your Emotions Making You Sick?
April 22, 2010 Dr. Dena Churchill has a background in biology and psychology. She bridges the connection between the mind and the body.

HOME EXPERT: Storm Proof Your House Without Going Broke.
Hurricane Season 2005-Present: Home Expert Joe Schlenck from Deltec Homes Shows National TV Viewers How to Hurricane Proof Their Homes In the Round!

TRAGEDY INTO TRIUMPH: Hometown Hero For Healing/Teddy Bears Comfort Foster Care Kids
Former principal turned author, Dr. Raye Adkins shows the rest of us how to use letters to heal from tragedy (like losing a father before being born in the Port Chicago Naval Munitions base explosion on July 17, 1944) and then help orphans in Africa and foster care children in Texas with profits from beauty products and teddy bears.

MUSIC EDUCATION EXPERT: Low Cost Music Education for Kids
January 18, 2010 Don’t worry too much about budget cuts! St. Louis School of Music Teacher Laura Yeh plays and discusses how inexpensive music instruments, like the video-game-buzzing ocarina and the unique Teacarina, develops skills of all kinds in children on Boston TV. The host has a great time learning the benefits of music and so can you!

BELIEF EXPERT: Spiritual Vs. Religious (Which Are You?)
January 2010 Rev. Dr. Jonathan Ellerby discusses how you can have spiritual fitness at BeliefNet — coming in August 2010 … check out his new Hay House book and blog of the same name at Psychology Today, Inspiration Deficit Disorder

The Miracle on 34th Street

Do you think you should recommend your competition? I do. Be the Macy’s in your industry. Instead of turning people away, do like we do and see everyone as potential partners, not problems. My friend (and mentor), Joan Stewart, advised me of that 8 years ago. Joan said, “There’s enough business to go around.” Even in this economy, I truly believe that. People can sense whether or not you have an abundant outlook or scarcity mind-set and seeing everyone else as competition comes from fear, not fun. And who doesn’t want to have fun in business! If we can make a good living and enjoy what we do every day, I’m all for it. So, be the real deal … just like the ‘real’ Santa in that famous movie – recommend your clients to your competition. You know what, you’ll even find out that a few miracles come to you as a result. When I was at the Empire State Building last October (see video in the post) or even this past Thursday (video wasn’t great because they’re doing renovations) I pondered about Macy‘s as I looked at their building from the top of King Kong’s favorite skyscraper. It’s true, we have to be aware of what our competition is doing and how we are distinct and special from what they offer, but hey, like Joan said, “There is abundant business for everyone.” Through the years, I find that’s more and more true. So, ask me about my competition and you’ll only hear good things from me about them. Why? I might partner with them some day. And so should you.

Opening Buzz

I recently flew to New York to attend the Broadway opening of The Addams Family Musical. Any type of opening is a news hook. Are you having an opening? Why not buy a small video camera and capture people’s reaction to your opening and post it online?! It’s a great way to share the buzz with others. In this case, we captured people’s reactions at the reception after the show. It’s a great way to capture opening buzz forever. Fun, fun, fun.