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4 Stress-Free Ways to Get Media Coverage for You or Your Business

08.17.2016 by Elizabeth // Leave a Comment

Today’s guest post is from Sandra Nomoto of Conscious PR Inc., in Vancouver, BC. Sandra and I met through eWomenNetwork and she’s a rockstar PR professional! Since I often get questions about PR, I asked Sandra to share a few tips for small business owners. Thanks Sandra!

Despite the almost instantaneous ways in which we can reach people today, potential clients come to us thinking that appearing in a particular newspaper, online magazine or blog, or TV show is a big mystery that requires a quantum physics degree to solve. Not so.

PR has never been easier to learn, and you’re already doing SOME form of PR if you’re in business. Any form of communication you’re doing to inform the public of your products, services, events, or other news is a form of public relations.

With that in mind, here are 4 stress-free things you can do to get media exposure for you or your business.

Relationships first. Escape temptation to purchase an expensive and (ultimately) outdated media database. Research the outlets YOU want to get into and the people who are writing or reporting about the topics related to you or your biz, and cultivate relationships with them. You can do this online via social media, or offline if face-to-face over drinks is more your style. It’s called “Media Relations” for a reason.

Ditch the news release template. Most media loathe the news release now. When you have news ready to share, send a 3-sentence e-mail pitch introducing yourself, your story, perhaps with a link to a newsroom online (containing the items in #3 below), and with your contact info. That’s all you need.

Have video and high-resolution photos ready. Broadcast and online video outlets will want to know you’re a good speaker, this is where a YouTube or Vimeo channel helps, even if it’s just a few lines in a promotional video. Make sure you’ve got headshots of yourself and good high res photos of your location, staff, products, service-in-action, or events that print media can use in their story.

Relax. If you’ve gotten to the interview stage and are having the jitters, try and remember that you’re talking to a human being and that you’re just having a conversation. The more natural you sound, the better the interview will be. And time ALWAYS moves faster in the interview dimension.

Need additional help? Learn the tools I’ve used in the last 10+ years to get media coverage for our clients through our Be Your Own PR Star in 90 Days online course. Members of eWomenNetwork, B Corporation, and 1% For the Planet receive a 20% off discount – just contact me at the link below to ask for the promo code.

Sandra Nomoto is the President of Conscious Public Relations Inc., a certified B Corporation and virtual PR agency that helps game-changing companies communicate their stories in traditional or social media.

Good Busy v Busy Busy

08.10.2016 by Elizabeth // Leave a Comment

When I’m out networking I ask people how they’re doing and often the response is “busy.” Which is a lame answer. So, I ask “good busy, or busy busy.” And I’ll get mixed responses. And it’s fun to watch people stop to think about it. Here’s what I’m asking:

Busy Busy

Busy-Busy is running all over town for appointments you know could be a 20 minute phone call. It’s wasting time networking at events where your target market will never show up. Busy Busy is not having systems in place. Busy Busy is finding the need to stay busy so you can say you’re busy, but none of it is producing new clients or helping you to grow your business.

Good Busy

Good Busy is what we want! You have a full workload, you might be volunteering, spending time with family, work/personal commitments, etc. When you’re “good busy” you have your priorities in check, you’re really focused on what’s moving your business (and life) forward because you’re BUSY.

Good busy is what we all strive for when we’re “busy,” and it’s hard to achieve. It can also mean there’s down time when you aren’t good busy. There are afternoons where I can be done working at 1 because I’m done with my to do list and I don’t need to keep myself busy. When I have that down time it shows me that I have room to grow my business. And that’s AWESOME. So I start to figure out what my schedule will allow (2 new newsletter clients? a large scale marketing project client?) Because I continue to attend networking events that are with my target market, and I have systems in place (my newsletter for example) to touch my network regularly I usually have a pretty healthy pipeline that I can review and work with.

The next time someone asks how you are doing, actually answer their question. And if the answer is “busy,” ask yourself – is it’s good busy or just busy busy?

How 40% of My Traffic Comes from Social Media

07.06.2016 by Elizabeth // Leave a Comment

On (or around) the first of each month I pull a report in Google Analytics for clients to see where traffic to their website is coming from. This month I was looking at my traffic and realized I had a lot (for me) coming from social media. Like 40% a lot. I was really surprised. And I knew exactly how it happened.

A few months back someone tweeted a blog post about how to double your traffic with social media. And I started doing it. I setup Buffer at the beginning of the year and when I have a new blog post I spend 1 minute (okay maybe 90 seconds) in Buffer getting my post scheduled to go out a few times over the next month. That’s ALL I do.

Okay, maybe not all I do. I’m also engaging with my audience. What? Earlier this week the person who tweeted the article and I tweeted back and forth all morning about books. Like for fun books, not work stuff. ENGAGE. Will he ever be a client? I don’t think so, but people see that I actually engage with others on social media. My most popular tweet this week was about obeying the Olivia Pope diet for dinner. What does ANY of that have to do with work? Nothing. But when I do tweet out my most recent newsletter or blog post, people respect it because I don’t JUST force boring business stuff down your throat (but hopefully this isn’t boring). Be a real person.

Don’t assume that the ONE time you post your latest blog post to social media is when they’re going to be on and able to read it. Share it throughout the day (I always schedule an evening post, it’s how my husband usually finds it!) when your audience is active. Fun fact – Buffer will tell you when your traffic and posting times are best. YAY for a $10 a month tool that’s useful!

My favorite part? the traffic that comes from Facebook. I think we are all aware I’m not the one posting anything there. So someone must be referring to me or my posts there. You can’t measure what you don’t track. Here’s the analytics report I pull for clients each month. See what it shows you. It might not be the right fit. I’m not claiming to be an analytics expert (I mean, novice is generous..) but this is the info that’s interesting and important to me and my clients. Try it out, let me know what you learn!