Category Archives: Media Relations Tips

Get inspiration and practical tips for your own media relations activities by subscribing to this monthly newsletter, with examples of recent successes for clients.

Click on any title to read the newsletter and learn actionable tips.

Five Moments to Get in the News

Timing is key.

Appearing in a local, business or industry publication can attract the interest of potential cients, lapsed clients, referral sources and other contacts.

A mention in the news underscores your authority as a provider of services and a keen observer of the scene. You describe your solutions for the perennial problems that an individual, a business owner or a corporate executive may encounter.

Take note of these five moments, whether you create them yourself or you capitalize on an external event.

From easiest to secure to more difficult, you can score a media mention:

  • Announcement
  • Media Profile
  • Pitch an issue and breaking news
  • Pitch an essay
  • Profile

Announcement
You have a new:

  • Executive hire
  • Office
  • Product or service
  • Report

Draft a press release, keeping in mind the value that this new development brings to the target audience. (sample here) Then, distribute the announcement to media outlets of greatest interest to those in the industry or locale.

For example, an executive hired by a global bank had a non-compete agreement with his former employer. A two-sentence paragraph in the Executive Changes column of The Wall Street Journal stated that he had joined the new company. His former clients, who read the newspaper, soon were calling him and spreading the work among their colleagues about his new position in asset management. Within days, his portfolio received more than $350 million in assets from the clients who followed him to the bank, all without him violating the terms of his non-compete agreement.

You only get one chance to make a first impression with a new development like an executive hire, office, report, service or product; prepare to capture the spotlight.

Media Profile
Introduce yourself to reporters as a source for comment on industry trends and hot topics that are not being widely discussed. Follow these steps to draft the profile. Focus on the key questions: Why YOU and Why NOW. Identify the publications and reporters. Gather their email addresses, as described here.

Trends do not change very often, making a media profile viable for three or four months; a press release announcement has a shelf life of one day.

Pitch an Issue and Breaking News
Focus on a single issue that is timely or jump on a hot news story. At the end of the calendar year, reporters seek forecasts of what lies ahead. I suggested a source on the outlook for biotech companies and the IPO markets; a reporter from The Wall Street Journal was thrilled to get the pitch and spoke to the executive that same day.

Separately, the Boston Marathon Bombing trial generated extensive media coverage, with observations from local attorneys and law professors. Surprisingly, an attorney from Miami was quoted in a story when the verdict was announced. How did he get in the news? He likely contacted reporters covering the trial and indicated he was available for comment. He answered the questions of Why YOU, he was a former prosecutor who had tried terrorism cases, and Why NOW, the verdict was imminent.

Keep an eye on the calendar and watch the news for breaking stories that may offer your next opportunity to opine as an authoritative source.

Pitch an essay
Write an opinion essay on a hot topic. Call attention to some aspect of a prominent issue that is not being discussed. Alternatively, offer a supporting or contrarian viewpoint. Devlin Horton, a personal injury attorney, observed that a proposed initiative by the state Department of Transportation would only partly address the issue of pedestrian safety. His opinion essay was published in the daily local newspaper of the town where his client was injured in an accident and pedestrian safety was at issue.

Identify a subject aligned with your business and raise the flag as an advocate.

Profile
It’s the dream of every executive and company to be featured in an extensive profile in a key publication. Having a unique angle may help you stand out from the crowd. Wendy Samuelson, a matrimonial attorney, was profiled in a local lifestyle magazine about her law practice, as well as the fact that she and her husband vacation on tandem bicycle trips.

Cite what truly differentiates your business or background to capture a reporter’s eye and ear.


This Month’s Tip

Reporters need story ideas and publications need opinion essays. Journalists won’t call you looking for a topic or an interview if they don’t know who you are and why anyone else should care about your insight. Find a subject that individuals, corporate executives or business owners need to better understand and put your name and idea under a reporter’s nose.

Contact

It’s time you stepped forward and told the industry or the community what’s important. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Together, we’ll explore which of these five scenarios is most appropriate for you and when it should be executed.

See also: When Should You Issue a Press Release?

Note: I placed or wrote the articles referenced, except the Samuelson profile.

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Pitch Reporters with the Five W’s

Focus on the reader of the news story.

You know the five W’s of journalism:

  • Who
  • What
  • When
  • Where
  • Why

There is an issue in business that you feel people need to know more about.

Maybe you want people to speak with you and take action, because there is a looming deadline for potential clients, lapsed clients, referral sources or other contacts.

Here’s how to introduce yourself to a reporter so that you will be a source for a news story on the subject.

Start by using the five W’s as a framework for developing your pitch to a journalist.

  • Who do you want to read the news story? For example: Families of teenage students or toddlers. People with aging parents. Consultants in a specific industry. Residents in a certain neighborhood or town. Be as specific as possible about the characteristics or criteria of the target audience.
  • What idea will they read about? Think of their situation before they learned this information; compare it to after they hear about it and take the steps you recommend.
  • What will they do next with your idea? Will they want to speak with you to get more information? Will they be prompted to read a page on your website or download information there? Make it easy to connect with you by including your email address or phone number. Provide the link to access the material.
  • When: Is it time-sensitive? Is there a deadline to take action before a law or regulation goes into effect? Perhaps it is simply a best practice to attend to this issue sooner or eventually.
  • Where do they look for news? Perhaps it is the daily newspaper, the regional business magazine or the industry publication. Aim to put yourself and your insight there.
  • Why will they care? This is the most important question of all. Everyone listens to the world’s greatest radio station WII-FM (also known as What’s In It For Me). How will your idea help someone save time, save money or make more money?

Once you have answers to the five W’s for your seed of an idea, you‘re ready to move forward and contact reporters.

This Month’s Tip

Use a pitch letter to initiate a conversation with a reporter.

  1. Indicate your familiarity with the reporter’s frequent news stories on topics aligned with your idea.
  2. Demonstrate your knowledge of the subject and cite a recent article, blog post, newsletter or speaking engagement to corroborate your status as an authoritative and reliable source.
  3. Pitch the story idea and underscore how readers will benefit from your insights.
  4. Include your contact information to facilitate follow-up with you.
  5. After a week or two, give the reporter a call or send a second email. Only use a shorter time frame when a deadline is imminent.

Here’s the letter I often use to introduce my clients to journalists. Adapt it for your use in the first person.

See also:
Four Ways to Find a Reporter’s Email Address 
Five Tips to Maximize a Media Phone Interview 

Contact

Let’s put the five W’s to work for you. Contact me to brainstorn some ideas for hot topics and news stories at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, book an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Let’s start gathering names and emails for your media list. Wait for a reporter to call you is not one of the five W’s.

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Four Ways to Find a Reporter’s Email Address

Email addresses are hiding in plain sight.

You conducted your SWOT analysis and compared your appearances in news stories to your competitors.

You’ve identified the local newspaper’s business reporters, the journalists at the regional business magazine and the writers at the industry publications that cover your client’s businesses.

Here are four places to locate a reporter’s email address, so you can introduce yourself and your insights to these journalists.

Check the reporter’s byline. In a print publication, there may be an email address after the reporter’s name or at the end of the article. In an article online, there may be a link to the reporter’s email address, which may open a pop-up window for easy correspondence.

Review the masthead. A print magazine will list all the reporters and editors, with the specific beats or areas they cover. It usually includes their individual email addresses and sometimes their phone numbers. Some publications include the masthead on their websites.

Look up their X (Twitter) account. Journalists may include their email address in their bio, so that tipsters can send them information privately, without broadcasting a source or idea for a news story to the X/Twitter universe.

Search for a personal website. Some reporters aggregate their published news stories on their own website. There generally is a Contact page, with either a form or an email address.

You can try contacting reporters via LinkedIn and Facebook, as a last resort. Note that many view this approach as intrusive and not respectful of professional and personal boundaries.

There are several media databases that track reporters and publications: Cision, Meltwater, Muckrack and Propel, to name a few. Public Relations professionals like myself subscribe to these databases; they are far too expensive for occasional use.

This Month’s Tip

Assemble the names and email in a database or spreadsheet. Keep track of these details:

  • Outlet Name
  • First Name (useful for merge mail)
  • Last Name
  • Email address
  • Phone
  • Status of latest contact

Contact

Reporters are always looking for new sources, so take the initiative to introduce yourself via email. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, book an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Let’s start gathering names and emails for your media list.

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Use SWOT Analysis as a Platform for Media Outreach

Conduct competitive research for inspiration, then fill in the gaps.

Here’s a non-traditional use of the familiar SWOT analysis of: Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat.

Apply it to your media outreach.

Look at your competitors and find when they have successfully garnered media attention.

Then compare that activity to where you have had similar results generating news stories and reporter interest in your business.

Start by conducting an online search for some competitors and take note of the topics in focus.

Were these news stories about trends in the industry or views of the big picture? Are you prepared to address these issues and look in your crystal ball?

Are the articles about client projects? Which success stories would you like to share as case studies to attract more business?

Did your competitors describe best practices or lessons learned? Which tips and tricks would you offer?

Next, assemble the names of the publications and the individual reporters.

Do you subscribe to and read these news outlets so you can keep up with industry and local news? Do you follow the news stories, and social media accounts, of the journalists who mentioned your competitors?

Gather the results of this analysis to develop your game plan. Take steps to address the gaps you identified so you will be the one reporters call.

This Month’s Tip

Are you on reporters’ lists of sources? Reporters call the people they know. Perhaps you have missed out on being included in some articles because they are not aware you are a potential source on those topics.

Plan to introduce yourself to the relevant business and industry reporters at the local newspaper, city/regional business magazine and industry newsletter serving your target market. Use the sample Media Profile in this e-book. Next, you’ll learn how to find their email addresses.

Ask clients if they are willing to be featured in case studies and examples of lessons learned. Focus on anecdotes of how you solved problems or increased sales and profits.

Soon, you will be the one reporters call.

Contact

Now that you’ve identified the areas where you may have fallen short of your competitors, let’s step up to fill the gaps. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, book an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Together, we’ll brainstorm topics, trends, case studies and best practices that will be newsworthy.

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This discussion was inspired by Kathleen Lessman’s blog post

Beware the Risks of (Not) Talking to a Reporter

Consider when and how to comment.

Talking to reporters is a risky business.

So is NOT talking to them.

Let’s say a reporter calls you for comment on your business. Or maybe the journalist asks about a trend or best practice in the industry.

Perhaps the reporter knows something about your company that you’re not ready to discuss – yet.

Or they heard a rumor about your work with a former client who is now under investigation for fraud.

Do you answer their questions in the moment?

What happens if you check the caller ID and don’t pick up the phone? You receive a voice message. Will you duck returning the call later?

Here’s what might happen:

  • You or your company might not be mentioned in the news story.
  • You or your business might be mentioned, but not referred to in a positive light.
  • You allow other parties and sources to shape the news story that may name you (or your former client).

People will read Name (Spokesperson) from Company was not available for comment. You (or your former client) appear aloof, disinterested or, worst case scenario, guilty of whatever negative aspect is associated with the situation.

Perhaps a reporter discovers a former employee has filed a lawsuit alleging discrimination. You decide to answer any and all questions with No Comment.

Do you think the reporter will stop looking for a source?

Hardly. You have effectively pushed the reporter out the door to find another person to comment on the situation.

Imagine who the journalist will call:

  • A nosy neighbor
  • Another disgruntled (ex-)employee
  • An unhappy vendor

Do you believe any of these folks see the situation similar to you and will respond favorably to the reporter?

Not at all.

Take the Call
Now, what are the risks of speaking to a reporter:

  • Speaking without preparation of key points you wish to convey.
  • Being unaware of a newly developed situation. For example, the reporter has heard allegations of a payoff to secure an RFP from the state, but you do not know anything about it.
  • Being quoted inaccurately.

Weigh these risks — and outcomes — when a reporter unexpectedly calls you for comment and you have to decide whether or not to respond to their call and what you might say.

This Month’s Tip

When a reporter calls you out of the blue, take the call and reschedule for a time when you are prepared to speak on the topic. The reporter is going to write the story, with or without you, so follow this script or a version that suits your style:

I’d really like to talk with you, but I have someone in my office now. If you would please give me your name and number, I’ll call you back in a half hour. And, in case I need to gather information from someone else, please let me know exactly what you’d like to discuss, so that I can be more helpful to you.

In this scenario, you team up with the reporter and make yourself available. Note, you have given yourself time to gather your thoughts, prepare some examples of your ideas and make them quotable.

Plus, you have 30 minutes to check with someone else who may have more details about the situation. You may wish to consult your attorney for advice.

Of course, you will follow up with the reporter, even if you have to dodge some questions because you don’t have enough information to respond in that moment. You probably may safely say that you are looking carefully at the situation; (you are in touch with your attorney) and you will re-connect with the reporter as more details become available.

While this response may not be quotable, it tells the reporter you are attentive to their interest in the story and will remain accessible for future comment.

Contact

Don’t take an unnecessary risk when you get an unexpected call from the media. Contact me at  Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Together we’ll customize the above script so that you’ll lower the risk when speaking to a reporter.

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Image credit: PNGkit

Five Tips to Maximize a Media Interview

Keep your eye on your agenda.

You’ve introduced yourself to a reporter and booked a date for the interview. (Or your public relations counsel has set it up.)

Here’s an essential reminder:

The reporter is not your friend.

You say you once dated the reporter’s cousin. It doesn’t matter.

You attended the same college or were members of the same fraternity or sorority. Who cares?

Your agenda when speaking to the reporter is to forcefully and persuasively present your insights and key messages, representing yourself and your company as authentically and positively as possible.

Your goal is for the journalist to discuss your ideas, and to do so in a favorable light.

The reporter’s agenda is to explore the situation in a way that brings clarity and new information, or, perhaps, a fresh point of view, on a topic vital to their readers.

They will explain why the audience should care about the subject and what they should do about it.

Even though your agendas overlap to a degree, you cannot count on the reporter being receptive to your perspective.

They may be neutral — or even antagonistic.

Consequently, you should prepare for your interview, following these five tips.

Keep these tips handy as a business size card or a tip sheet.

  1. Make a list of THREE important points. Print it in 16 point type.
    This is probably a phone or Zoom interview. The reporter cannot see that you have a cheat sheet on your desk to help you remember the main points of what you want to say. The large font makes it easy for you to read your ideas.
  2. For each point, create memorable examples. Use the FOUR A’s to keep the reporter’s (and reader’s) interest:
    Analogy: Compare your idea to something common: This is like a revolving door. It goes around and around and never arrives anywhere.
    Anecdote: Briefly give an example of this insight from experience or project a probable outcome.
    Acronym: Give a twist to a familiar acronym; ASAP becomes As Soon As PROFITABLE. Or invent one of your own; state it and follow-up with an explanation. CCW means Clients Can’t Wait.
    Alliteration: Every word in a series or phrase starts with the same letter. See what I did with the Four A’s? Analogy, Anecdote, Acronym, Alliteration.
  3. Answer the difficult question as briefly as possible and stop talking.
    Move on to the next topic.
  4. When a reporter tries to put words in your mouth, close your lips and swallow.
    Don’t repeat the words of the question, especially when they are derogatory or inflammatory. Take a breath, then proceed with your answer.
  5. At the end of the interview, when the reporter asks if there is anything you wish to add, make sure you have covered your THREE messages.
    Perhaps you were not able to mention the second one on your list; grab the initiative and talk about it before you wrap up the interview.
    If you have already shared your three messages, restate them as a summary of the discussion.

This Month’s Tip

Do not ask for, nor expect to receive, a preview of the article or your quote. How do you like it when a coworker hovers over your shoulder while you compose a report? Instead, team up with the reporter. Perhaps you will say: I know we’ve covered a lot of ground in this conversation, some of which is rather technical. If you have any questions about what we’ve discussed, or would like to review anything with me, I’m happy to help.

Better to ask when the article will be published, so that you can promote it on your social media accounts and include it in your newsletter. Reporters will be happy to learn you will drive your contacts to read it.

Contact

Be ready when you call a reporter for your interview. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Let’s practice with two scenarios, one amicable and one hostile. You’ll know how to get your points across when a (not-so) friendly reporter is on the line.

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(This discussion has been lightly edited for updated content.)
Image credit: Pixabay

Make Your News Story Idea a Birthday Gift

With a topic, source and testimonial, the article writes itself.

Reporters are always looking for subjects that will play well on the world-renowned radio station, WII-FM.

You listen to it also: What’s In It For Me?

Take the approach of identifying an issue or problem that you see among your clients.

Develop your idea and find a third party to corroborate your solution.

Or highlight a trend you observe in your industry or locale, plus a referral source who will confirm your insight.

For example:

A client bought out their partner and sought to re-name and re-brand the company to reflect the new ownership. You would discuss the key questions that commonly arise in this circumstance, along with the solution you created to address an unexpected wrinkle in the process.

Ask your client Amy Anderson to contribute an anecdote of how you resolved the issues for her newly named company.

Problem. Solution. Testimonial.

It all comes together in a package, gift-wrapped and with a shiny ribbon. The reporter hardly has to perform any work to write up the story.

This Month’s Tip

Here are three questions to get you started. Which problem have you recently solved for a client? Which referral source would make a good partner to package a story idea? Which reporter at an industry newsletter or a local business magazine is likely to open your gift for a news article? Start brainstorming from any of these points of departure and see where you land.

Contact

Let’s assemble the elements of Problem/Solution/Testimonial or Trend/Insight/Confirmation for your birthday gift of an idea. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Together we’ll wrap it all up, with a beautiful bow.

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Image credit: Clker-Free-Vector-Images  

What’s Your Forecast?

Directory Pixabay notebook-g2d029f835_1280 Salome Maydron

Step forward now to be quoted in industry year-end news stories.

In December, reporters summarize the highlights of the past year and look ahead to the next 12 months.

Take this opportunity to gaze into your crystal ball and see what might transpire in the year ahead.

You know that reporters call the people they know; they don’t call someone they never heard of. Leaders in your industry will definitely be quoted in these articles.

Here’s how you can become a reliable and authoritative source: email reporters with a few topics for potential discussion in their year-end and forecast news articles.

Start by considering these potential topics:

  • Competition
  • Consolidation
  • Inflation and Pricing
  • New Entrants
  • New Products
  • Technology

Let your imagination wander and add other ideas.

Present these hot issues when you introduce yourself to reporters. You will be recognized as a source who has your finger on the pulse of the market, alert to the trends and concerns percolating in your sector.

This Month’s Tip

Speak up. Your predictions might be right, but don’t be concerned if they don’t work out. Twelve months from now, no one will hold you accountable, even if your ideas turn out to be off the mark. Instead, reporters will remember that you had a forecast, and they will re-connect to hear your perspective for the following year.

Contact

Will you be one of the people quoted in the year-end news story for your industry? Only if reporters know what your thoughts are. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Together let’s give your crystal ball a good shake and see clearly into 2023.

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Image credit: Nat Mara  

When Should You Issue a Press Release?

Directory Pixabay notebook-g2d029f835_1280 Salome Maydron

Start spreading the news.

You’ve got big plans:

  • You’re launching a business
  • You’re hiring a senior executive
  • You’re opening a new office or moving to a new location
  • You’re offering a new service or product

When it’s time to share the news, should you issue a press release?

Before you start composing your draft, take a moment to imagine the outcome.

Which media outlet would definitely cover this news, because similar stories were published in the past?

For example, the launch of a new law firm, the new location of a law firm or the hire of a partner is regularly announced in The New York Law Journal. The publication bundles a few similar items together, which are published on a rolling basis. The individual mentions are usually two or three sentences long.

William Stock has opened his solo practice with appellate focus. Previously, he was an appellate attorney at Cheven, Keely & Hatzis. (NYLJ, June 25, 2018)

On the other hand, a few years ago, a press release announcing a senior hire was picked up by The Wall Street Journal in its Executive Changes column. In a two-sentence paragraph, the article said that a major international bank had hired a managing director for its private equity group.

That column no longer exists in the newspaper, sadly, so a new hire press release is unlikely to generate a similar mention. However, when the company is a household name, the press release will probably generate a stand-alone article of some depth.

Accordingly, only send a press release if the publications you have in mind have regularly covered news like yours in the past.

If not, you might be better served by distributing an announcement to your existing contacts.

This Month’s Tip

Consider these ways to share the news about your company, instead of issuing a press release:

  • Send an email announcement to your clients and referral sources, plus your many contacts
  • Add a pop-up window or prominent mention on your website
  • Insert attention-grabbing text in your email signature
  • Post the news on your individual and company social media accounts
  • Mention the update to members of your networking groups

Of course, you should also take these steps to support the press release you’re issuing.

Contact

What’s the big news at your company? Whether it’s press release-worthy or something a bit less newsy, you can make a splash. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Together let’s brainstorm ways to spark a newsflash about your company.

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Thanks to David Zweighaft, whose question prompted this discussion. 

Attn: Women (and Men) Who Want to Be Quoted in the News

Proactively reach out to reporters.

When you see someone quoted in the news, talking about aspects of your business, do you think,

Why are they talking to HER and NOT ME?

The answer is Reporters call the people they know; they don’t call someone they never heard of.

How can YOU be the one reporters call?

Simple. Introduce yourself to journalists as an authoritative, reliable AND accessible source who has insights that others in the industry or the local area need to hear.

Recently, I’ve spoken to groups of women professionals and shared the following statistics from Bloomberg News, one of the top tier media outlets that actively seek women as sources. (Men, feel free to share this newsletter with your female colleagues.)

Bloomberg maintains a database of women who are leaders in business and finance.

In 2018, there were 500 women listed in the dataset.
In 2020, there were 6,500 women in the database.

In fact, the news organization has a New Voices initiative to identify top women and provide them with media training.

Here’s the outcome of these efforts:

  • In 2018, their top news stories quoted women 2.3% of the time.
  • In 2020, 17% of the sources were women.

On Bloomberg TV:

  • In 2018, women sources appeared 10% of the time.
  • In 2020, women were 27% of interviewees.

It’s not only Bloomberg. The New York Times wants to publish more Letters to the Editor from women and The Financial Times is tracking when news stories quote too many men.

Let’s see how you can contribute to this upward trend.

This Month’s Tip

Being contacted by a reporter is like the lottery; you have to be in it to win it. Use a Media Profile to introduce yourself to journalists as someone who has her finger on the pulse of the industry. Think of trends that you see looming on the horizon. Consider big picture ideas that will spark interest in your insights. Is there an upcoming deadline that companies must meet? Anticipate how this may impact businesses in a specific industry or local area. Your ideas should help an individual, business owner or an executive to Save Time, Save Money or Make More Money.

Contact

There’s a reporter who wants to talk to you, but she does not yet know who you are and which vital insights you will tell her readers and viewers. Start composing your Media Profile. Then contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Together we’ll polish your calling card for the media so YOU will be the ONE reporters call. 

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Start with the End

 It’s both logical and counterintuitive

When people ask me about writing a press release, I suggest they start with the end. What do you want the news story to say?

Here’s why:

The reporter may be too busy to call and get more information. Therefore, make sure that any information you want to see in the resulting news article is included in the press release. Otherwise, it might not get into the story.

Now, let’s apply Start with the end to other situations.

Writing an article: It’s a well-scripted discussion that lets the reader know at the outset which topics will be reviewed and analyzed.

Perhaps you have had the experience of writing a draft and, in the process, you veered off on another track. You continued to develop this new thought and now you’ve arrived at a conclusion you had not anticipated.

You have two choices:

1. You can go back to the introduction and revise it to make it follow the new train of thought; or
2. You can keep the original idea and turn it into an additional article.

Networking: Elise Holtzman suggests you prepare for a networking conversation by answering this key question: What do you want your new contact to say about you when the interaction is over?

As a business coach for attorneys, Holtzman advises you compose your elevator pitch with an ear to capture the listener’s attention and succinctly cover key points about your business.

I agree; ideally, the new connection will remember an element or two of your pitch and then pass your name on to someone else. That person may be a colleague, employee, supervisor, family member or even a casual acquaintance. But if there’s nothing memorable about you, there will not be a next conversation with a potential client or referral source.

Speaking engagement or Podcast: Similarly, Diane DiResta counsels “At the end of the presentation, the audience will __. That answer is your outcome.” (2:18-2:32)

DiResta is a speech communications coach; she advises once you have decided on your outcome, you build the points of your presentation around that outcome to achieve a focused discussion.

This Month’s Tip

Help the reader or audience achieve the outcome. Now that you’ve educated the reader, listener or attendee, in most cases, your goal is for the person to contact you for your product or service.

When you want someone to give you a call, send you an email, visit your website or download a report, you have to provide them with the essential mechanism to take that step.

  • Include the phone and email address of the contact on the press release.
  • Indicate your website URL and email address in the author’s bio of your published article.
  • Exchange business cards at the networking event and invite the new contact to subscribe to your newsletter, when you have one.
  • Distribute a tip sheet or marketing literature with your contact details at the venue where you speak.
  • Mention your website and a free download in the podcast.

Remember, that news story, the article you wrote, the business card and networking conversation, plus the giveaway and theme of your presentation are more likely to travel further when you make them engaging and easy to share.

Contact

Where will you start your elevator pitch, press release, article, presentation or speech? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com , set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Together we’ll start at the end to find the appropriate beginning. 

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Tell Reporters Your Predictions for Next Year

 

What a year it’s been!

Between the pandemic, climate change and elections, executives in many industries have been tossed on stormy seas and are struggling to right the ship.

Now, reporters at the industry publications your clients read are seeking ideas for a year-end article.

The focus is highlights of the year ending and predictions for the next year.

Industry advisers, observers and attorneys will definitely be quoted in these news articles. Here’s how you can be one of them.

This Month’s Tip

Consider the industries in which your clients operate.

Extrapolate from the obvious topics of the new administration and the pandemic to develop incisive themes with bottom-line consequences.

Look at:
• Trends
• Competition 
• Consolidation
• New technology
• Regulation
• Legislation 
• Litigation

My e-book, How YOU Can Be the One Reporters Call, walks you through the process of introducing yourself to a reporter.

Plus, the Appendix has questions you might answer to develop these themes.

Contact

Will you be the source quoted in the year-end news story? Only when reporters know who you are. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com , set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Together, we will gaze into your crystal ball and deliver a newsworthy forecast.

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It’s Showtime!

Seven lessons for guests on a podcast interview.

Recently, I was interviewed by podcaster Bruce Eckfeldt of Scaling Up Services. The 30-minute podcast discussion focused on Essential Tools for Public Relations Success. Listen to this session or read the summary for tips on media relations, websites and newsletters.

Surprisingly, an online search of podcast interview tips reveals far fewer pointers for guests as compared to the numerous suggestions for hosts. Therefore, consider these lessons when you are invited for a podcast interview:

  1. Assemble a list of topics you and the interviewer have agreed to discuss. Print this list in 16-point font for ease of reading each topic. Only you will see the list; it will not be on camera.
  2. Think of how to illustrate these ideas with examples or anecdotes, so the concepts will become clearer to the listener.
  3. Spice up your language to make your remarks memorable. Use acronyms, alliteration, visual imagery, puns and references to pop culture to keep the tone lively.
  4. When you offer a series of points, circle back to summarize them, thereby reinforcing the sequence.
  5. Think of the questions in the interview as a string of pearls. Prepare the answer to every question in the list of topics as if it were an extended elevator pitch, each one a beautiful, rounded reply.
  6. Finally, watch out for filler speech. As you present your insights, you may say fillers like um, uh or you know. The recommended remedy is to take a pause in your speech and not say anything. This pause permits you to catch up with the thoughts racing through your mind and formulate how to convey them to the audience.

This Month’s Tip

Conduct a mock session with a colleague before you appear on the podcast. Record it on a smartphone or tablet, so you can review it, critique it and improve your performance.

See also COPE: How Writing Can Re-Broadcast Your Audio, How YOU Can Be a Podcast Guest and Use Reverse Engineering to Book More Podcast Spots.

Contact

Ready for your podcast interview? Let’s develop some topics and questions, enhance them with examples and toss in some lively language. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com , set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770 and let’s get your show on the road.

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Photo credit: Michael Meyer

WII-FM? Why Should a Dentist, Landlord or Supermarket Clerk Care About Your Nonprofit or Business?

Look beyond your target market.

Every nonprofit counts on clients, volunteers, funders and local elected officials among the groups with whom they stay in touch.

In addition to these audiences, businesses might add prospects, referral sources and membership/trade associations.

Each target market has a reason to be interested in the company or nonprofit organization.

Let’s not take any of these audiences for granted. Daily, you can find reasons why they should care about what your nonprofit or business might do for them.

Now, what about the people outside those circles, those who know nothing about what you offer?

Take the dentist, who is well-educated and also a business owner.
Or the typical landlord, who is budget-minded.
Or a supermarket clerk, working the cash register all day.

Perhaps none of them have heard of your group or business and they are not likely to immediately connect with your news or promotional information.

Why should this person care about you?

In fact, that’s the same question a reporter will ask whenever you suggest an idea for a news article or an interview.

On the world’s greatest radio station WII-FM, also known as What’s In It For Me?, the focus is on what the individual or society might gain.

It’s crucial that you find a way for these indifferent folks to connect to your group or company, so they, personally — or the community as a whole — will perceive a benefit and save time, save money or make more money as a result.

  • A dentist might consider that your local economic development group will attract larger businesses (with a greater number of employees needing dental care) to the neighborhood;
  • A landlord might think the youth who attend your organization’s GED programs may get better jobs and thus be more reliable tenants;
  • A supermarket clerk’s neighbor might need advice on managing legal and medical issues for an elderly parent.

The dentist, landlord or clerk may not have a direct need for what you offer, yet they and the community may indirectly benefit in the long term from your services — or even refer someone who is in your target market.

This Month’s Tip

Look at the bigger picture from the perspective of people in these three occupations. What is their desire or need in the community? For themselves? For their business? Which are the most pressing issues for them regarding time and money? Invite a dentist, landlord or clerk for a coffee chat, ask these questions and listen as you put yourself in her shoes.

Contact

Ready to brainstorm about how a dentist, landlord or clerk might view your company or nonprofit? Call me at 212.677.5770, set an appointment here or email me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com. Let’s find ways to contact these members of the public and have them connect with you.

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Image courtesy of David M. Masters.

Use the Calendar to Set (and Re-Set) Communication Goals

Check your progress at mid-year.

Have you set Communication goals for your business this year? Goals that might include developing a newsletter, blogging, speaking, doing media outreach?

Yes, these are daunting activities; many business executives focus more on the day-to-day operations of getting things done than on the bigger Communication picture.

Here are some ideas to address:

  1. Have you launched or continued a newsletter?
  2. Is your blog current? Are you blogging regularly?
  3. Have you written an article for the blog of another company, LinkedIn or Medium.com?
  4. Have you published an article in an industry publication that prospective clients read?
  5. Have you spoken at an industry conference or a networking group?
  6. Have you connected with reporters who cover the market sectors for which your insights are most relevant?
  7. Have you circulated that news story in which you were quoted?

If you did set goals, the end of the second quarter is a good time to reassess. Consider where you stand with the goals you outlined. Is it appropriate to KEEP them, DROP them, MODIFY or SET NEW GOALS?

If you didn’t set goals, you still have time to do so now.

Pause to look at the big picture.

This Month’s Tip

Make an appointment with yourself to address one of these Communication goal questions each day for the next week. As a reminder, when setting a Communication goal, the acronym S M A R T guides you to successful completion of the goal. This list integrates several versions of S M A R T:
Specific – Rather than contact the media, commit to email two reporters each week to introduce myself as a source for comment.
Meaningful – Understand why this goal is important to you.
Action Oriented – Develop steps to help you arrive at this goal.
Realistic – Assemble your resources – knowledge, funding, technology – to ensure you will reach this goal.
Timely – Set a date when you will complete this goal.

Contact

Don’t go it alone. To help you (and myself) get a better handle on setting goals, I’m creating an accountability group where each person is accountable to the group on a monthly basis and to a partner on a weekly basis. Frequent check-ins and peer pressure spur members to work towards their individual goals and to support their peers. If this approach appeals to you, contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, book an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Let’s count on each other as we work to meet our respective Communication goals.

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Is Your Company’s Launch a Secret?

Raise the flag wherever you can.

Three partners in a small business discussed the launch of their new enterprise. One wanted to hire a web designer to craft a new website. One of the others disagreed, asking why a website was necessary. The third partner was on the fence and preferred to focus on client work.

Is there a good reason to you keep your company’s launch a secret? This is the question I encouraged the pro-website partner to ask her colleagues. Rather than be viewed as a spendthrift for taking on marketing expense, turn the tables and ask the partners to justify their reluctance to invest in promotion of their company.

Here are the basics I recommend when launching a business:

  1. Company website: This is the first place any prospective client or referral source looks to confirm your existence and find out more about your services, products and programs. If you do not have a website, you effectively are invisible. Very few people who do not already know you will take you seriously if you do not have an attractive and persuasive web presence.
  2. LinkedIn profile: Perhaps this is the second place that people will search for more details about your background. LinkedIn is the world’s largest directory of professionals with 530 million members (as of January 2018). Consider your profile a marketing vehicle and make a compelling case for selecting you as a resource.
  3. LinkedIn Company page: Many small businesses and service providers are unfamiliar with this opportunity for yet another FREE online presence. Use this page to share your reports and company news.
  4. Press Release to industry publications, as well as alumni magazines: These newsletters often have a dedicated column for new market participants.
  5. Announcement to industry media of your target customers: If you operate an accounting firm that advises veterinarians, for example, introduce your business and its principals. An Executive Media Profile presents a professional as a source for comment on trends and issues in that market to the reporters and editors of the veterinarian industry publications that prospective clients read.
  6. Email signature: Compose a standard email signature for all members of the company. It should include office and cellphone numbers, website URL, tag line and, as appropriate, notice of a recent news article about your business or an upcoming event. Use this FREE real estate to promote your successes and new offerings. Link to your personal LinkedIn profile and/or Company LinkedIn page.
  7. Facebook company page: Post updates, articles, newsletters and news items here. Create a Twitter account as well.
  8. Newsletter: Compose a quarterly communiqué to advise your current clients, referral sources, peers and contacts of new offerings, best practices, trends and related insights. Add this link to your email signature. As you become more adept with the format, consider making it a monthly commentary.

This Month’s Tip

Everyone should review these tools and accounts in an Annual Communications Audit. Approach various social media platforms from the perspective of someone who is not familiar with your company and services. Where might they look for information (website, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter)? What would they find there? Is the content current (timeless or within the last week)? Take a few minutes to check the latest entries on your LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter accounts, and others that your audiences visit. If several months have passed, your profile and activity may appear outdated to a newcomer, so post a new item and schedule a reminder to post at least once a week.

Contact

Don’t let your new (or current) business be the best kept secret! Use ALL the available resources to introduce your company and keep its name, executives and services top of mind. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, book an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770 to make sure you are seen in the appropriate places as open and ready for business.

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Your Garden of Media Relations

Clear, plant and cultivate. Then distribute.

Have you ever compared gardening to media relations?

In the case of a garden, you prepare the plot of land, clearing out the rocks and weeds.

  • In the case of your organization, you pare down everything and develop a succinct message.

Next, you draw the borderlines and prepare rows where you will place the seeds.

  • You define your target audiences and the media outlets that will reach them, and then assemble a list of reporters.

Now it’s time to plant the seedlings.

  • You distribute a press release, media profile or pitch letter that will grab the journalists’ attention.

You assiduously water the plants.

  • You conduct appropriate follow-up and keep in touch with the reporters.

Time passes. Then, one day, the garden blooms.

  • The news story is published in a prestigious industry magazine.

It can appear overnight — or it can take days and months.

What a thrill to know you made it happen!

This Month’s Tip

Now, it’s up to you to propagate the news story you’ve placed by sharing it everywhere you can. Don’t trust that the wind (social media) will carry the seedlings (news coverage) of its own accord. As the gardener, you have to play an active role. Root around for ideas and find fertile ground to plant them.

    • 1. Start with a summary or comment on the article and then link to the actual article on your company or organization’s website;
      2. Include the summary and link in your email signature;
      3. Refer to it on your individual profile and company/organization page on LinkedIn, plus Facebook page(s);
      4. Pose a question in LinkedIn groups and on Twitter to which the article is the answer, perhaps “How do leaders manage stress?”;
      5. Write a case study for the website;
      6. Contribute an article to the company or organization newsletter, both internal and external;
      7. Offer to write an article on a similar topic for an industry publication;
      8. Conduct a workshop on the issue;
      9. Speak on a panel, perhaps with a client;
      10. Record a podcast or video.

Contact

How does your garden grow? What’s the state of your media relations activities? Let’s discuss ways to cultivate your media contacts. Call me at 212.677.5770, set an appointment here or email me at janet@janetlfalk.com.

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COPE: How Writing Can Re-Broadcast Your Audio

Highlights of a radio interview or podcast can drive web traffic.

The good news about radio interviews, as noted previously, is they are now captured digitally, making it easy to circulate the URL of the program via enewsletters and your email signature. You can also publish a post, status update and start a group discussion on LinkedIn, among other platforms.

These promotional strategies also work well for podcasts and TV appearances.

The twist is to summarize the highlights of the interview and then share this write-up.

Repurposing the audio in a written format can deliver the content to a target audience that may not be acquainted with the podcast, did not see the TV show or missed the radio interview.

Geri Thomas, Founder and President of an executive recruitment and consulting firm in the arts and culture sector, recently spoke on a podcast about leadership issues at museums. After the podcast was published online, I summarized the key points and Thomas published these highlights as a LinkedIn post.

She also shared the summary with LinkedIn discussion groups for professionals in the museum and arts arena, asking What makes a good leader? This provocative question could be answered with her article and podcast as resources. Thomas also placed the article on her website.

In the days following the publication of the LinkedIn post and group discussions, the article was viewed more than 600 times. The actual podcast was listened to more than 550 times.

Likewise, the Thomas & Associates website experienced a substantial increase in visits, plus its link to Highlights of The Museum Life Podcast: Empowering Leaders by Geri Thomas has been clicked more than 300 times.

This podcast lives on, reaching a broader audience, by promoting the summary across multiple online channels, an example of the COPE distribution strategy: Create Once, Publish Everywhere.

This Month’s Tip

What is COPE?: Create Once, Publish Everywhere. Clients, prospects and supporters are looking for resources and information across multiple platforms: online, newspapers, magazines, newsletters and video. Whenever you create content, take steps to share and promote your insights. Whenever you are the subject of media coverage or another’s blog, you can respect copyright and reference the media outlet.

Keep this list of channels handy and implement as appropriate.

  • Website of your company or organization
  • Newsletter to your clients and supporters
  • Email signature
  • LinkedIn company or organization page
  • LinkedIn status update
  • LinkedIn group discussions
  • Facebook company or organization page
  • Case Study for industry newsletter, blog, speaking engagement
  • X (Twitter)
  • Medium.com
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Slideshare

Contact

Let’s capture the essence of your wisdom and bottle it in a summary. Call me at 212.677.5770, set an appointment here or email me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com.

See also: Work Up Your Workshop in a New Format

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Capitalize on the moment.

Consider this: a trade newsletter publishes a rave article about your business or organization, like this one.

Congrats! Keep the momentum going by amplifying readership and thought leadership through one or several of the following suggestions, arranged from easiest to most time-intensive:

  • Create a bitly link; shorten the article’s long URL, so that you can identify how many people clicked on each link to read the article and where they found it.
  • In your email signature, provocatively summarize an essential point made in the article and embed a link.

Regards,
   Janet Falk
Are Communications an Investment or Expense?

  • Post on your LinkedIn profile. Ask a question in your LinkedIn groups to spark debate or provide a solution to a recurring problem for customers. (The less self-serving the better.)
  • Summarize the article as a question to which your insights are an answer or case study, and mention it on X (Twitter).
  • If you maintain a company or nonprofit page on Facebook, post a link to the article there.
  • After you secure permission from the publication, which may charge you a fee, print the article as a PDF. Now upload the PDF to your website and post a link to it on the home page (for the next month or until it becomes outdated), as well as in the news section, and wherever else on the website might be appropriate.
  • Use the article as a calling card to introduce yourself to other reporters. Now that you are recognized as an authority, share your expertise and offer an update. Mention some ideas that were not discussed in the article, and are particularly relevant to this publication’s audience. Suggest another, related topic where you can offer insight.
  • If you often read and comment on industry blogs, reach out to those bloggers; present yourself as a guest writer or suggest an interview.
  • As a member of a business, industry or professional organization, get in touch with the chair of the Education or Program Committee. Propose that you and a client speak as panelists at a meeting to explore this topic in more depth, with examples and lessons learned.
  • Contact the editors of industry and membership association newsletters and offer to revise the article’s themes as a case study for colleagues.

You worked hard to get that news article; now make it work for you!

When you want to increase the impact of your media coverage, let’s review the best ways to build on its reach. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770.

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(This discussion has been lightly edited for updated content.)

Six Tips for Your Mid-Year Communications Check-up

Conduct a Self-audit of Your Communications

Nonprofit New York, formerly The Nonprofit Coordinating Committee (NPCC), created the Nonprofit Excellence Awards program with self-assessment tools. Participating nonprofit organizations conduct audits that help them evaluate their performance along specific metrics. The effort inevitably helps raise the bar in eight key areas of operations.

It’s exciting to see Communications placed so prominently among the criteria, next to governance and financial management, among others. NPCC held a workshop on Pathways to Excellence to share best practices in Communications; the discussion concisely presented six valuable nuggets that apply to all organizations: large and small, nonprofit, for profit and government.

Take a moment now to review your communications.

  1. Choose. Between Media Relations, Social Media, Website, Newsletter, Video, Annual Report and Marketing Collateral, it is unlikely your organization can deliver on all these projects equally well. Pick the ones that will have the greatest ROI for your group – based on dollars and donors — and support them with sufficient internal resources.
  2. Schedule. Create a Calendar that incorporates deadlines for events, email distribution, postal mailings, annual report and newsletters. Pre-populate Social Media posts whenever possible using automated tools, like TweetDeck.
  3. Empower. Front-line employees observe incidents and anecdotes in the moment. Encourage them to suggest story ideas as topics. Capture their insights and energy.
  4. Re-purpose. Once you’ve drafted content, distribute it widely. A narrative profile of a client published early in the year can be updated six months later, perhaps with a new photo. A new project can be re-visited with recent results and feedback from participants.
  5. Bifurcate. Write newsletters and annual reports that target hearts with photos and harness facts with charts. Many donors will connect to the personal stories; other supporters want to see outcomes. All thrill to successes and progress in accomplishing the mission of your organization.
  6. Anticipate. Invariably, a crisis arises. Prepare for it by designating a single spokesperson. That person will assemble the facts, develop the context, indicate the steps being taken to address the situation, wait for reporters to call and be responsive to pointed questions, keeping within carefully set boundaries and perhaps on a 20-minute delayed basis that will permits additional strategizing.

This Month’s Tip

Match your Communications activities to your goals. Highlight select programs by consistently featuring stories about the participants or clients, services, staff, allied partners and results. To ensure consistency, coordinate with colleagues across the group for a steady flow of new content.

Contact

Is it time for you to conduct a self-assessment of your Communications activities? How will you Choose, Schedule, Empower, Re-purpose, Bifurcate and Anticipate for the balance of the year? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. We’ll review the past, present and future of your Communications.

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Thanks to the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee, whose workshop inspired this newsletter.

Your Co-Authored Article Reaches Influencers of Your Target Market

A colleague or client helps an industry outsider gain credibility.

How might a company offering specialized training promote its services?

Sometimes the best way to reach a target market is through its influencers.

The strategy I developed for Ed Katz, founder of the International Office Moving Institute (IOMI®), focused on attorneys, not the Human Resources professionals responsible for training employees.

Lawyers specializing in employment and contract law might be interested in a product like a video training series in best practices for moving office furniture, once they are aware of the context of such training.

Failure to observe best practices in moving bulky items, like large file cabinets and office desks, may result in serious injury to employees, which in turn may lead to worker compensation claims and subsequent litigation. In addition to the costs associated with workers compensation claims and litigation, damage to property, either property being moved or walls, elevators, doors, etc., may require additional payments for losses and damage.

In the event an employee sues a company or nonprofit for injury sustained in a move, documentation of prior training will provide an affirmative defense. The fact that an employee is trained in best moving practices will mitigate the claim and may lead to denial of any compensation.

Lawyers who are alerted to the long-term value of this video training series might refer this resource to their clients, especially at those businesses and nonprofit organizations where staff ask untrained maintenance staff to move heavy items or hire professional moving companies. In addition, for those lawyers that work in-house, they may mandate, as a best practice, such training for employees.

In order to reach these attorneys via a legal trade publication, a legal professional needed to be a co-author. Jacqueline Thorlakson, Senior Corporate Counsel for The Suddath Companies, a leading global moving company that is a long-time client of Katz, agreed to co-write an article about the video training series.

Working together, Katz and Thorlakson developed a forceful argument on the need for training employees at various steps in the moving process to prevent any accidents that may occur:

• Before the move: preparing to deal with situations in advance;
• During the move: managing issues as they arise; and
• After an accident involving injury or harm: training may be used as a corrective measure.

The combination of Katz’ hands-on expertise in moving heavy file cabinets, for example, coupled with Thorlakson’s citation of recent lawsuits, proved compelling to Employment Law 360. It is unlikely the subject of best practices in moving and training videos would have been reported by the legal publication in a different circumstance.

And it may be unlikely that attorneys specializing in employment and contract law would have pre-emptively spoken with their clients to ascertain whether they currently observe best practices in moving and whether they have trained their employees accordingly. Or, alternatively, that in-house counsel would have issued a mandate requiring all employees undergo training.

This Month’s Tip

Your co-author speaks to her peers in their language. An article may not be accepted by, for example, a legal publication, without relying on the legal expertise and writing style of an attorney.

Contact

If you are reaching out to influencers who might refer your services and products, an article in a trade publication, co-authored by a specialist, may help you hit the target. Let’s talk and line up some topics – and co-writers – for future publication. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. We’ll focus on the appropriate influencers.

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Toot, Toot and Re-Toot Your Own Horn

Write, revise and re-format your content to reach new audiences.

According to novelist Willa Cather, “There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before.”

Consider this quote, enshrined on Library Way (East 41st Street in New York City), in a business context. It is a reminder that all business-related content may be (infinitely) re-purposed in various formats to reach new audiences.

Start with a client engagement that’s a success story.

Write the success story as a case study and post it to your website.

Add a graph, photo or other visual and publish it as an article for the company or nonprofit newsletter.

Then, situate the client write-up in a broader context as an article for an industry trade magazine or a professional membership association’s publication.

Email the case study or article to prospective clients, donors or collaborators.

Take a lessons learned format, and invite the client to speak on a panel at an industry conference, professional meeting, networking group or local chamber of commerce event.

Submit your client success write-up as a LinkedIn post.

Turn the case study into a guest post for a blog hosted by a colleague.

Lead a workshop where peers, prospects and collaborators may learn best practices, and also see you in action.

Post an abridged version of the workshop presentation on Slideshare.net.

Interview the client in a podcast and video, to be hosted on your website (and YouTube channel).

Ask a question in a LinkedIn group and on X (Twitter). Your client success story is the answer, so provide a link to one of the above formats, as appropriate.

Re-play the theme. Assemble a series of case studies, articles, panel presentations or workshop handouts in an ebook.

Finally, build upon your previous work; update it to reflect changes in law, regulation, demographics, industry trends or technology.

The same client-centered content has now been shared and promoted to: current contacts, prospective customers, professional colleagues, industry peers and potential collaborators, not to mention website visitors, event and conference attendees and the LinkedIn universe and X (Twitter) sphere in a dozen ways.

This Month’s Tip

Share your content with reporters. Case studies, articles, blog posts and presentations testify to your credentials as an authoritative expert. You will position yourself as a source to comment on solutions to problems faced by others in that industry or serving a similar population.

Contact

Don’t toot your own horn as a one-note song. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Let’s jazz up your client success in multiple ways.

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Radio Interview + Digital Links = Infinite Audience

Use links to promote it.

Radio interviews are no longer time-sensitive; they do not evaporate after they are broadcast.

In the digital age, anything that was aired may be captured, re-purposed and merchandised to promote your services and programs.

Senior care advisor Joanna Leefer spoke about options and resources for seniors in two radio interviews.

She shared tips on how to search for an appropriate nursing home for a family member.

Leefer also addressed the misconceptions seniors and their family members may have about the financial and government resources available for medical care.

Here’s what happened next:

  • She copied the long URL of the recorded interviews from the two radio stations’ websites and created bitly links; these shorter links are easier to share in emails, on websites and on social media.
  • She summarized each discussion in a phrase and added that to her email signature, embedding the links, like this:

Regards,
Joanna Leefer
Radio Interview: Tips to Locate a Nursing Home for Your Aging Parent (Part 1 , 25 minutes)
Radio Interview: 3 Common Misconceptions Families Have About Eldercare Options (38 minutes)

  • The interviews are prominently displayed on her website.
  • She also includes a reference to the interviews whenever she contacts organizations interested in senior care issues to secure speaking engagements.

All in all, the third-party approval by these radio interviewers, who are objective observers, testifies to Leefer’s knowledge in the eldercare field. This is reassuring to prospective clients. It also gives the Chair of the Program Committee confidence that Leefer will deliver a quality program when addressing their group.

Is radio an appropriate medium to reach your target audience? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Let’s consider how to secure radio interviews and then how to promote them, so they continue to broadcast your expertise.

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Make Your Pro Bono Client Newsworthy

Be active and use your perspective as an insider and observer

You contribute your professional expertise in marketing, law, finance, operations or management to your work as a board member or volunteer of a nonprofit organization.

Equally important is your unique perspective highlighting the group’s programs and services.

In addition, you offer a reality check of how other audiences may view the nonprofit’s activities.

Here is where these multi-faceted roles of professional expertise, inside champion and outside observer coalesce.

As a board member or volunteer, you may suggest to the Executive Director, or perhaps the Director of Operations or Development, a quarterly audit of the top programs in order to identify the aspects that might prove most newsworthy.

  • Review services and events with the goal of pinpointing the larger social or educational issues that they address — literacy, job training or health services, as examples — for an under-served population or community.
  • List three bullet points that summarize the essence of each program in terms of its results and impact.

When you focus on those services that, on behalf of society, Save Time, Save Money or Bring More Joy to individuals and the community, the organization is on its way to attracting more news coverage that may draw donations, attendees and grants, as well as support from allied groups,the business community and elected officials.

My pro bono work with the Roosevelt Island Historical Society (RIHS), which holds lectures and tours promoting the history of New York City’s former Welfare Island, has challenged me to define the newsworthy angle of these events — with the goal to increase attendance and earned revenue.

The recent RIHS installation of the long-lost lamppost base, once a part of the Queensboro Bridge, represented a highly visual news opportunity. It was reported in 2001 that the lamppost base had been removed from the Bridge in 1976, and was missing ever since.

By linking the installation of the 6,000 pound lamppost base to the 30-plus year disappearance, the event became newsworthy, resulting in articles and photos in The New York Times and DNAinfo.com.

Your pro bono client may not have monumental news like this; still, you can create a context for its programs to be connected to a current or perennial social issue. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Let’s talk soon to help this group land its own news story. And if you work at a nonprofit, let’s review the programs together to create that news angle.

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Save Time. Save Money. Make More Money.

It’s not about you, but what you can do for them.

Recently, a nonprofit professional at a workshop on media relations posed this question: “How can I get a reporter to write a feature article about our group?”

My reply was, “Why should anyone else care about what your organization does? Let’s find something about your nonprofit that will capture an outsider’s attention and be newsworthy to the media.”

Consider: how does your organization, product or service help others to:

  • Save Time
  • Save Money or
  • Make More Money

This perspective on time and money works on two levels. First, daily, we look to save our personal time and money: a magazine subscription is cheaper than buying each issue from a newsstand; plus, a copy is delivered to the home, so we subscribe, never missing an issue.

Second, society seeks to save its time and taxpayers’ money: smart nonprofits (and companies) provide products and services that can produce savings for one individual and for many people.

In applying this newfound perspective, another workshop attendee spoke about Worksites for Wellness. The group advocates that companies provide rooms on the premises where female employees can privately nurse their infants or pump milk; the breast milk is refrigerated for a few hours, and then given to the child later.

Nursing mothers care about this issue, of course. Who else might support the group? And why should they care?

Look at how a lactation room saves time and money: Women employees are more productive when they can feed their babies or pump milk onsite. Their children are healthier, because they absorb the mother’s antibodies and resist bacteria and viruses. Consequently, these mothers take fewer days off to care for sick infants.

In sum, employers make more money. Someone who is not a nursing mother can recognize the upside and appeal of granting women privacy for an hour or so per day during a few months. Doing so, the company (and society) reaps the benefit of a more productive and loyal employee who is not distracted on the job or absent caring for a baby with a cold.

How does the save time, save money paradigm apply to your business or nonprofit? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Let’s brainstorm together.

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Why Your TV News Interview Never Aired

Sometimes stations butcher a news story.

In industry lingo, the news story was bumped, cut or killed.

Those are the terms that reporters (and Public Relations professionals) use to describe the assault on the fruits of their labors.

Typically, a television reporter visits an event, conducts an interview with the principal organizer of the program and talks with the engaged participants. She then gathers her notes and summarizes the activities on camera, weaving facts into the reason for the day’s event and the implications for the future.

Unless high priority or breaking news suddenly arises.

The evening news is like serving a pie to a large family; it has to be divided so that everyone gets a slice. With national, local and world news, plus sports, weather and scheduled features, some slices will be bigger than others.

Invariably, breaking news grabs the largest slice and the planned news stories are subject to:

  • Bump: the interview does not even take place;
  • Cut: the segment is abbreviated and relevant footage is not broadcast;
  • Kill: the story never gets aired.

War, fire, stock market gyration or a politician’s exploits may wreak havoc on the interview carefully planned by a Public Relations professional.

Recently, a report of an event was broadcast without an interview that had taken place on location with program staff of the New York Foundation for Eldercare. The segment was cut short by news coverage of an airplane crash.

When that happens to your interview or segment — and it will happen someday — make the most of the coverage that you did receive by sharing the news story wherever possible, including X (Twitter), your website and your newsletter.

Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Let’s consider how to promote your TV news coverage, even if the interview was left on the cutting room floor.

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The Three R’s of Crisis Communication

Plan ahead, because when a crisis arises, there’s no time for planning.

A broken or malfunctioning product.

Poor judgment.

Lapse in supervision.

A crisis may take many forms; the appropriate communications response generally follows this format: Regret, Recompense, Reform.

Known as the Three R’s, and similar to the education basics of Reading, (w)Riting and (a)Rithmetic, this approach to communication in a tense moment provides guidance and reassurance to management (and employees) when facing hurt and angry customers, accusatory press and the prospect of regulatory investigation.

At the earliest opportunity in the crisis moment, prepare a statement that addresses the situation and incorporates the following, to the extent that the underlying facts are available:

Regret: Apologize, simply and directly, to those affected, their families and the community. We are very sorry that this occurred and extend our sympathies to those who were hurt by ____ (the accident).

Recompense: Indicate that a replacement, coupon or other object of comparable tangible value will be issued to replace the damaged item. Customers whose packaged meatballs have the product code 49B7 should return them to the store where they were purchased for another package or a full refund.

Reform: In anticipation of a possible crisis, you may have contracted a consultant of impeccable reputation. State, by name if possible, that this consultant has been hired to investigate the circumstances and recommend steps that will immediately be implemented to ensure that the situation will not recur. We have hired Company X to review the situation and, based on that analysis and recommended procedures, we will implement changes and do our very best to make sure that this incident will never, ever happen again. 

Using this formula, consider the most likely scenarios: tainted product, breach of computer security, employee malfeasance, accident and loss of life, among others. Like the fire drill required to be held in your office building, conduct a simulation at least quarterly.

Are you ready for a moment in the spotlight, with customers and reporters shouting accusations at your company or organization? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Let’s prepare now and trust that your practice session is never played out before a live audience.

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Why You? Why Now?

How to introduce yourself to reporters.

You probably recognize that reporters call people they know. They are less likely to call someone they have not heard of.

Reporters are professional skeptics. They will always ask two questions:

Why YOU? What makes you a credible and authoritative source?

Why NOW? You didn’t contact the journalist last week or last month. What is the reason anyone should pay attention to you now?

Here’s how to write an Executive Media Profile that answers these questions and establishes the same level of credibility as the competitor quoted last week.

1. In a five-line paragraph, summarize your areas of expertise. Select a few themes of interest to those who regularly seek your advice or services. This is not an extensive bio that lists your degrees and former job titles.

2. Make a list of three to five hot topics. Reporters focus on issues that affect readers and their businesses. In the best case, there is a clear bottom-line impact. Perhaps there is a change in the law or an industry regulation or a shift in consumer preference. Show your expertise and anticipate how this affects sales, operations and the market sector.

3. Use a bullet point format. Simply list the topics; do not use sentences and paragraphs. You’ll have time to elaborate on your ideas in a future conversation and interview.

4. Identify the publications read by your target market. Selectively contact the journalists who cover topics like yours with an email that answers the two questions: Why You and Why Now. Start by demonstrating you are familiar with their work: Your coverage of the ___ market prompted me to contact you and briefly share some thoughts on trends.

5. Follow-up with a call a week later. Reporters are as busy as yourself, so you’ll probably leave a phone message. Consider this a one-two punch and a foray into new territory. As Babe Ruth said, “Every strike brings me closer to my next home run.”

By establishing yourself as an authoritative and credible source, and by highlighting timely issues that readers need to focus on, you will place yourself in the reporter’s database for future reference, or even on a to-do list for a call today.

Ready to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770.A sample Executive Media Profile will be emailed so you can get started.

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Do The Right Thing

What goes around, comes around.

Some say Pay it Forward.

Others say Create good karma.

It’s a professional responsibility, for me, to be alert to news opportunities — even for former clients.

When Staten Island Legal Services (SILS) held a fundraising luncheon in April 2014, in part to mark its 10th anniversary, I spoke with the reporter from The New York Law Journal whom I had invited to cover the event. She asked to be notified of any celebration on the actual anniversary date, which was December 8. The project ended soon after the luncheon, and SILS and I amicably parted company.

Early in December, at my suggestion, SILS Executive Director Nancy Goldhill contacted the reporter and secured an interview. Goldhill used the opportunity to cite impressive statistics of the thousands of people whose cases SILS had handled over the years: families recovering property damage from Hurricane Sandy, victims of domestic violence, homeowners avoiding foreclosure and immigrants securing legal status.

Success! The news story in The New York Law Journal highlighted SILS and its 10-year track record. It even re-published a photo of Goldhill and the honorees from the April luncheon.

This article put SILS in front of New York attorneys, a key audience of current and potential supporters — thanks to my reminder to this former client.

You can join me and start (or renew) the habit to do a good turn, make a referral and introduce two acquaintances. Do it often and do it selflessly, with no thought of recompense.

Please let me know the unsought favor you’ve done. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. They say I get half-credit for an assist in good karma.

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How Derek Jeter Managed the Media

To Answer — or Not to Answer.

How about a lesson in dealing with the media from Derek Jeter? The former athlete survived intense attention in the cut-throat baseball industry and with a company constantly in the spotlight.

“I learned early on in New York, the toughest media environment in sports, that just because a reporter asks you a question doesn’t mean you have to answer.” Derek Jeter

You, too, may face a tough question from a reporter. A journalist might ask you a leading question, in an effort to prompt you to repeat some colorful  — and potentially damaging — words in the question.

Here are four ways you can be like Jeter in your response:

  1. When a reporter tries to put words in your mouth, close your lips and swallow. Take the time you need to come up with a reply.
  2. Just say no. Don’t answer the question altogether. Ignore it. Move on to the next question.
  3. Answer the question you want to answer. Say, “That’s a good question and we are here to talk about the price of popcorn,” or whatever you want to speak about.
  4. Respond and give an answer that is not quotable or newsworthy.

You can receive more tips on media interviews by subscribing to this newsletter for pointers that will help you keep your eye on the ball when you get a nice or nasty question thrown at you.

When you’re ready, contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Let’s practice hitting the question out of the park.

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This discussion has been lightly edited for evergreen content.

Your News Article is Just the Beginning

Capitalize on the moment.

Consider this: a trade newsletter publishes a rave article about your business or organization, like this one.

Congrats! Keep the momentum going by amplifying readership and thought leadership through one or several of the following suggestions, arranged from easiest to most time-intensive:

  • Create a few bitly links; shorten the article’s long URL, so that you can identify how many people clicked on each link to read the article and where they found it.
  • In your email signature, provocatively summarize an essential point made in the article and embed a link.

Regards,
   Janet Falk
Are Communications an Investment or Expense?

  • Post on your LinkedIn profile. Ask a question in your LinkedIn groups to spark debate or provide a solution to a recurring problem for customers. (The less self-serving the better.)
  • Summarize the article as a question to which your insights are an answer or case study, and mention it on X (Twitter), with yet a third bitly link.
  • If you maintain a company or nonprofit page on Facebook, post a link to the article there.
  • After you secure permission from the publication, which may charge you a fee, print the article as a PDF. Now upload the PDF to your website and post a link to it on the home page (for the next month or until it becomes outdated), as well as in the news section, and wherever else on the website might be appropriate.
  • Use the article as a calling card to introduce yourself to other reporters. Now that you are recognized as an authority, share your expertise and offer an update. Mention some ideas that were not discussed in the article, and are particularly relevant to this publication’s audience. Suggest another, related topic where you can offer insight.
  • If you often read and comment on industry blogs, reach out to those bloggers; present yourself as a guest writer or suggest an interview.
  • As a member of a business, industry or professional organization, get in touch with the chair of the Education or Program Committee. Propose that you and a client speak as panelists at a meeting to explore this topic in more depth, with examples and lessons learned.
  • Contact the editors of industry and membership association newsletters and offer to revise the article’s themes as a case study for colleagues.

You worked hard to get that news article; now make it work for you!

When you want to increase the impact of your media coverage, let’s review the best ways to build on its reach. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770.

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The Tao of How

A three-way discussion brings the mission to life.

How might day-in, day-out routine work command reporter interest? By focusing on the HOW.

Start-up company Ultranauts Inc.  provides quality assurance testing to the digital media sector, a labor-intensive process essential to the launch of every website, software program and app.

The company has a mission to employ testers who are high-functioning individuals on the Autism Spectrum. Their heightened abilities are an exact match for software testing — off-the-charts pattern recognition, attention to detail and tolerance for repetition.

This is an example of when the HOW — the tapping of a unique talent pool — makes a business a potential news story.

After I arranged for a reporter to speak with the founder about the company and its mission, I introduced an employee and a client to round out the story.

This was not the usual company and client case study I’ve described before. The participation of the tester was key to the success of this article, because the mission of the start-up is the employment of exceptional people.

Is it your HOW that makes your company or nonprofit distinctive? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Let’s talk about ways to position your mission to attract reporter interest.

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This discussion has been lightly edited to reflect the company’s new name, Ultranauts. Its mission remains the same.

It Takes Two: You and a Client

Let your clients do the talking.

Naming and defining a problem unseen by potential clients  — plus offering a solution — can be a powerful component of your Communications Plan.

Create an AHA moment by featuring a successful client engagement in your outreach. An example of your actual services and expertise is far more effective than hyperbole and self-promotion.

When pitching a story idea to reporters, I included two mini case studies of customers who had used the services of my client Independent Merchant Group (IMG) to audit — and then reduce — their credit card transaction processing fees and charges.

When hotel management professionals read the resulting articles in Hotel Online and Hotel News Now, they learned how other hotels saved thousands of dollars annually by lowering their credit card transaction processing fees. These prospects recognized the possibility of fee reductions for their own locations.

More than 800 hotel CFOs and finance professionals, from regional hotel chains and boutique properties, called IMG to learn more about this service.

You have customers who will attest to your terrific service or product. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Let’s find a way for your clients to talk for you and about you.

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Count on — Don’t Discount — the Intern Reporter

Make sure your pitch gets seen.

After identifying target publications for a new client, it was time to search the website of each newspaper and news service to locate recent stories on a niche topic and contact the most appropriate reporters.

Bingo! A weekly had covered a related angle six months ago. That good news was tempered by the realization that the author was not on staff, with an email on the masthead, nor a freelancer listed in a media database. He was an intern.

The problem: How to reach out, capture the intern/reporter’s interest and move the idea for news coverage forward?

His unusual name made it easy to locate the intern’s X (Twitter) account. A message referencing the prior article, and an offer of an alternative view of that subject, prompted an email reply.

My response, with the pitch sent to reporters at the other target publications, was copied to the News Desk. After all, the intern would not be granted authority to pursue the story without an editor’s okay, so this note would catch the editor’s eye.

It worked; all went according to plan. A staff reporter contacted me regarding the pitch forwarded by the News Desk’s editor. After that conversation, I sent additional background and introduced an attorney as the source for more details. An interview followed and here’s the resulting article.

Let’s find ways to put your name in front of more reporters, freelancers and media interns. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770.

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Get Local Media Coverage, Even When You Are Not Local

Tailor the news angle for success.

How might a national organization or out-of-town company gain media favor with the hometown news?

Grow instant local roots. Show area reporters the relevance of your national campaign to their audience or share a local affiliation with your out-of-town operations.

Here are three examples where the local hook to a pitch caught the reporter’s eye — at a daily newspaper, a community-based weekly and a radio show.

A reporter from the Bangor Daily News was already planning to attend the Homegrown Maine trade show with 75 vendors in the medical marijuana market.

How did the New York-based website MarijuanaDoctors.com create a local presence? Its database includes doctors from Maine, prompting the reporter to request more details about the website.

On behalf of the New Jersey-based Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation’s national fundraising campaign, a volunteer in suburban Detroit spoke to a local reporter. The profile prompted additional donations to the cause.

On radio station WHNZ in Tampa, the Triple Negative Breast Cancer interviewee highlighted the six fundraisers held across the state of Florida.

Are you interested in generating local media attention to expand your geographic reach? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Let’s build a local presence worth talking about.

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No Photos, Please

Consider the downside of a photo in a news story.

Getting a company name or a cause in the news isn’t the goal. Indeed, having targeted audiences take action because they read about you is the name of the game.

The law firm Katz Melinger filed a sexual harassment case; the defendants included a top-rated cable television show, its production company and the network on which the show aired.

A summary press release was distributed, with a link to a pdf of the case filed in court. As expected, the celebrity news website TMZ jumped on the case and quoted some salacious details, prompting the show’s fans to post comments that degraded the client’s character.

In preparing their coverage of the case, two local newspapers contacted the law firm seeking photographs of the client. How would these requests be handled?

After writing about the photo that attracted 3,000 visitors, it might be surprising that my counsel was to not provide photos. Once the client’s image became accessible online, it could be manipulated in ways that could be personally demeaning and not helpful to the case. No photos were sent to the newspapers and the stories were published without them.

Simultaneously, Broadcasting & Cable reported the case objectively. Perhaps this article was more damaging, from the defendants’ perspective, than the gossip-style news stories. Advertisers are often skittish about adverse publicity that might affect them also, and networks assiduously keep their advertisers happy.

As a result of the media coverage, an attorney for a defendant contacted the law firm the same afternoon. That one phone call was the goal of the media outreach — and it was achieved without a photo.

Are you focused on the end game of driving target audiences to your phone or website, rather than media coverage for its own sake? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Let’s address the upside and downside of sharing your story and photos — consistent with your business strategy.

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PS As for The New York Daily News and The New York Post, they easily located other photos and images to round out their articles.

Is the NY Times the Best Media Outlet for Your Story?

Another media outlet may have more impact.

Consider: A company in a niche healthcare field was preparing to announce the first-ever broadcast of a TV commercial on cable networks.

By offering an exclusive story to a reporter on the media beat at Ad Age, who had written on a related subject, I secured top-tier industry coverage.

Plus, because of this extensive online platform, the article would link to the one-minute commercial on the company website, adding to the impact.

The news story was published on AdAge.com (and its sister website TVWeek.com); the press release was distributed, and the news spread like wildfire on  X (Twitter) and Digg. This activity led to follow-on stories on other online outlets: Gawker, The New York Business Journal, Huffington Post and USA Today, as well as news websites in Mexico and France.

As a result, there were more than 92,000 views of the video advertisement on the website in four days.

When the commercial aired, the phones rang nonstop.

Sometimes the conventional newspapers (The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal) are the most appropriate; when they are not, other venues can be highly effective in telling your story.

After you’ve seen the ad, you’ll get an idea of how sensational news might have to be to merit coverage in the NYT or WSJ, as noted by communications expert Sandra Holtzman.

Have you some vital news to share and need to identify the right publication and reporter? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Let’s review the angles and the outlets that make the most sense to promote your story.

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Build in Post-Marketing Success

Nine tactics to get more mileage and impact.

You’ve written a thought piece or client update; what should you do next?

Actually, you might have asked this question before you put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard.

You can easily produce content marketing, client updates and communiqués that are geared to post-marketing purposes, including media outreach. Consider implementing these nine suggestions to make your write-ups more actionable and quotable early in the creative process, as detailed here in Maximize Client Alerts in the newsletter Marketing the Law Firm (February 2014).

At the moment of drafting the client update or alert, use an acronym, alliteration, rhyme or reference to pop culture to make the message more quotable. This phrase will resonate to current and potential clients receiving your latest insight and also to reporters to whom you as author are introduced as an expert source.

Similarly, a visual image or an analogy can help illustrate a technical point and more memorably reinforce it than a straight-forward, text-only statement.

Care to see more examples of how to build in post-marketing as you develop content? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Let’s talk soon about how to make your client updates more quotable, memorable and actionable, to truly maximize their impact.

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Do You Track Communications as an Investment or Expense?

How do you categorize your Communications costs?

At a certain bank, opening a new account in the system requires an input: How did you hear about us?

This is a company that calculates its Public Relations, Marketing and Communications dollars as an investment, and not an expense, unlike others.

By tracking the HOW question over time, and in six locations, the bank fine tunes its activity in SEO, media outreach, outdoor advertising and other platforms.

A marketing investment is any expenditure that creates tools that drive value and impact sales, even after the cost to create the tool is spent. Examples are websites, media relations, videos and social media engagement, to name a few. These marketing investments yield a long-term ROI, greater than any one-time ad.

Communications activity is magnified and extended in the digital arena:

  • Print news articles are accessible online, sometimes with extra visual and audio content, with no expiration date.
  • Client newsletters, blogs and product literature PDFs form part of the main website.
  • Twitter activity and Facebook posts by customers, staff and observers are always available.

Even when prospects hear about your company from a news story, a commercial or a referral by a colleague, they probably will conduct some research online — to confirm the basics of location, products and price range or to obtain more specific information on features, customer reviews and comparable products.

Invest in Communications and Marketing and you meet these prospects more than halfway. Your digital tools and materials await discovery; they live indefinitely, well beyond their initial cost, yielding the highest ROI.

Are you prepared to invest in Communications to attract more customers and supporters? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Let’s talk about allocating your budget to maximize the Return on Investment.

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Tell the Media — What Lies Ahead

Your Outlook for the New Year

Look in your crystal ball and tell the media what you see.

Everyone has an eye on the end of the year and wonders what the next 12 months will bring.

Think about the trends you’re anticipating in your industry or sector.

  • Who’s growing — and how?
  • Will the pace of consolidation continue, slow down or accelerate?
  • What is the forecast for demand for services?

You don’t have to go out on a limb. Simply consider:

  • what might happen;
  • why multiple factors will lead to the change ahead;
  • how it will affect market participants or clients.

Then, introduce yourself and your predictions to reporters and editors at relevant publications before December 11, to beat the publication’s deadline for year-end articles.

This was my plan of attack: Working with an attorney specializing in biotech, I emailed and called reporters, introducing him as source with insight into the IPO market.

A reporter at The Wall Street Journal exclaimed, “I need to talk to him; I was just assigned this story!” Naturally, I arranged the interview for that afternoon, resulting in a substantial quote in this article.

You can go wild with your outlook, or be reasonable, as long as your view has actionable and quotable insights.

Eleven months later, no one will remember how closely your predictions hit the mark. And you’ll have new ones for next year.

Is your crystal ball showing the future clearly ? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Let’s brainstorm how you can authoritatively share your views.

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(This discussion has been lightly edited for evergreen content.)

How Your Photo Can Attract 3,000 People

Photos Attract Prospects and Visitors

Every Picture Tells A Story.

People respond more strongly to websites and brochures with photos. “Our brains process visuals faster, and we are more engaged when we see faces,” according to the Media Psychology Research Center.

Here’s how to get started:

Show customers using the product in an eye-catching shot. People actively engaged with your product — holding it, eating it — are a powerful endorsement. Who enters a restaurant with empty tables?

Have an employee speak with a client (or stand-in) for a photo. Add a caption that cites the impact of an intangible service: it saves time, saves money or generates an uptick in sales.

Put people in the scene. Visitors at parks point admiringly at the view and museum-goers enjoy the exhibition.

Potential attendees will project themselves into the photo. If a couple is shown pushing a baby in a stroller on a paved garden path, a prospective visitor will consider visiting with a parent who uses a wheelchair.

Share the photo with the press. The reporter will quickly grasp the excitement of an event or the beauty of a location and its appeal to readers and viewers.

Having a photo in hand makes it easy for the editor to include it in the article, without sending a staff photographer to your premises.

Because a digital camera costs only $100, every business and nonprofit group should purchase one and keep it handy. Snap away to capture satisfied clients, visits by dignitaries, activities in progress, special occasions and more.

Ready to stage your story-telling photo? Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Let’s talk about who and what might best promote your business in a photograph.

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PS Here is the photo that attracted 3,000 visitors to the Cherry Blossom Festival on Roosevelt Island.

Would You Rather Be Lucky or Good – A News Story Replay

News coverage and follow-up beget a replay.

Timing is everything in the marketplace.

After the March product announcement of PeriClean, a toothbrush designed to help people brush smarter for healthier gums, was published in Dental Products Report, the story was not posted in the online publication.

Every week or so, a quick website check, followed by a gentle email and/or phone message to the editor, kept the digital status of the article in play until it finally was published on the website in mid-April.

What a delightful surprise, then, to see the wrap-up of Top 5 new dental products for healthy gums in the online May issue included the PeriClean toothbrush!

Yes, it was lucky that the reporter focused on healthy gums and it was a good effort to have snagged the attention of Dental Products Report in the first place.

Perhaps it was killing the editor with kindness to get the product announcement online that made the replay of the news story happen.

In the trade-off between lucky and good, it’s polite persistence that wins.

You can improve your luck with news coverage simply by being more visible to reporters. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770.

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Maximizing the BIG Name

Maximize the impact with media coverage in advance.

You’ve worked hard to line up a BIG NAME at a fundraiser, so make the most of their participation — even before the date.

Build attendance by notifying the media a few weeks ahead and provide access to the principals of the event for quotes.

Falk Communications helped Staten Island Legal Services sell tickets to their first-ever fundraiser with articles announcing an award and its presenter in the local and legal press. Of course, after the luncheon, follow-up articles reported the remarks of past New York State Governor Mario Cuomo.

If you’d like to attract more supporters to your fundraising events, and also increase awareness of your group, consider the impact of a BIG NAME in generating media coverage. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770.

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Client Success Becomes a Case Study and Article

Turn a case study into media, marketing and promotion.

Everyone loves a success story: clients are ecstatic with the outcome, colleagues learn a lesson the easy way and you get the credit.

With the client’s permission, or referring to a generic identity (a cultural institution), draft a skeleton essay. State a theme and list three to five bullet points on the strategy, implementation and results of a recent client project that serves as an example of best practices.

Send this outline in an email to the editor of a relevant trade publication, and ask for the appropriate word count and deadline for an article.

After you’ve gotten the go-ahead, write the article to the required length and include your website URL and phone number in your one-sentence author’s bio.

Falk Communications helped Audrey Winkler of OMG! Organizational Management Group submit an article detailing a successful project. Upon publication, she extended her audience via X (Twitter) and LinkedIn activity, using a link to promote the article and her excellent results.

If you’d like to be recognized for your outstanding client success, I’d love to toot a horn for you. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770.

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How to Correct a News Article. Yes, You Can!

Correct a News Article’s Error

Ensure the right contact information is in the news.

Falk Communications helps clients get news coverage and, as needed, will ask reporters to fix errors and ensure the details are perfect.

When a trade magazine published an article online with a typo in the client’s email address, it was time for quick action.

In an email thanking the reporter for the great article, based on an interview arranged a week earlier, I highlighted the actual spelling of the email address and politely requested a correction.

While traveling in India, the reporter notified the appropriate colleague and the change was made within 24 hours.

Don’t be afraid to ask for a correction, especially in an easily fixed online format.

This is an example of how Falk Communications will get you in front of reporters and take care of the details – from start to finish. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770.

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Falk Speaks to NY 1 News

The key to a successful media interview is preparation.

Falk Communications encourages clients to write down three essential points to cover in a news interview.

With a list and examples of the issue, I was ready to speak to NY 1 News.

In the interview, I made sure to stick to those points.

Contact me; I will help you get and prepare for your next press interview.