PR GURU – PR communications, publicity platform delivering PR tools

Launching a new product or business after the balloons and bubbly have burst

September 17th, 2010

So you’re finally ready to open for business and launch your new product onto the market. You’ve planned a launch event, sent out VIP invites, come up with promotional campaigns and offers, ordered impressive signage and business cards. You’ve started a facebook page, set up a twitter account, told family and friends and updated your website…

But what next?

As many small business owners would agree, getting a new product or business launched and subsequent sales, takes more than a one-off launch effort.

As well as officially announcing your news to the media, PR is a great way of keeping up the interest in your product long after the balloons and bubbly have burst. And, unlike advertising, you don’t have to pay for it, especially if you’re willing to do it yourself!

There are many PR opportunities to get free publicity for new businesses or products. From stories in business sections of newspapers, to case-studies in start-up or trade magazines, product features in consumer titles and even issues-based commentary or segments on breakfast TV.

For example, Delia Timms, founder of findababysitter.com.au, was able to leverage the hot-topic of childcare to her advantage. “I was really passionate about the childcare topic and was personally in the thick of it with two kids under two. The ‘childcare shortage’ was a hot topic in the media and so I gained some good coverage based on this” she said.

To kick-start your PR efforts and get media exposure for free, you need a good press release. Unless you can package and sell your story to the media, chances are, it won’t get picked up.Take a look at PR Guru’s 38 tips on what makes news in your business.

Think about what makes your business or product exceptional or unique, and make sure you tell the story behind your innovation, new product or team.
Here are 10 tips on what to include in your press release in order of importance:

A catchy title that captures your news in a nutshell
The ‘who, what, when, where, how and why’ of your news if you can in the first para
Words that make your news timely, unique or noteworthy e.g. first’, last’, eldest’, youngest’, fastest’, cheapest’, smallest’ etc
Interesting, relevant facts, sales figures, statistics or survey results
A quote or two from your spokesperson (e.g. you the business owner)
The words “media release” or “event notification” at the top of the page
The date that you want your news announced at the top of the page (if it’s in advance of the date you are sending it out or embargoed add: For release).’
Your company’s logo at the top of the page
About us’ paragraph at the bottom of the page explaining, in a paragraph what your business is. And don’t forget, it’s important to SEO this description to increase your chances of pick-up by Google and so on.
Your name, contact phone number, email and website at the bottom of the media release (for media enquiries)

Also, make sure your sentences are short (no more than 25 words each) and keep your press release to one page. It also pays to have someone else proof read your media release to check for any spelling or grammar mistakes. And, keep the type size around 10pt-11pt.
If you want to delegate this to the experts, why not take a look at PR Guru’s press release writing service. We offer a four-day turnaround, or 24 hour express service.

Tags: Delia Timms, DIY PR, findababysitter.com.au, free publicity, media exposure, PR, PR Guru, press release, publicity, small business, TV, twitter, website
Posted in DIY PR Getting started, Press Releases | No Comments »

How can PR help boost sales for small business?

September 9th, 2010

Standing out from your competition and getting through to new clients is a challenge that many small business owners know well. With limited marketing dollars, more and more small business owners are turning to PR and seeing results.

So what is PR?

Like marketing, public relations is a term that covers a broad range of communication activities. It can range from stakeholder relations to event management, but the most common purpose of PR is media relations to generate positive publicity. That is, getting FREE editorial coverage – news stories – in the media. Getting a story in the media can be priceless for your business. Sales, recognition and new customers are just some of the business benefits. Good PR can also make you stand out from your competition and can instantly build traffic to your business or website.

According to small business owner Antonette Golikidis, founder of Australian organic baby product label, Little Innoscents, PR had a direct impact on her business. “We were featured on Channel 9′s Weekend Today show and it was sensational for our sales and hits on our site. It has really lifted our profile,” said Antonette.

This experience is supported by Delia Timms, founder of findababysitter.com.au. Reflecting on her business mention on Channel 9′s Mornings with Kerri-Anne program, she said “Our URL appeared on the TV screen and within minutes, we had thousands of visitors and the site crashed due to unexpected traffic!” Timms says that media coverage is crucial for building your brand. She said: “We know that piece of coverage spread the word. We also put the segment on our ‘media’ page online, so it was brilliant for credibility too.”

So how does a small business afford PR?

We surveyed many small business owners in Melbourne at the Small Business Enterprise Expo last month. They told us that the main reasons blocking them from doing PR are budget, time, and know-how. The good news is that hiring a PR agency isn’t the only way to achieve publicity. So we thought we’d share a few tips on how you can do it yourself.

Apart from brainstorming a few story ideas and doing a bit of research getting to know the types of magazines, newspapers, radio stations or TV programs you want to target, you do need to get two things right:

Get good media contacts. There’s no use sending your press release to all and sundry. Be targeted and pitch your beauty product to the beauty writer not the news editor. You’ll need the names, email addresses and phone numbers of the producers, journalists and editors that you want to pitch your story idea to. Contact information is usually listed inside magazines next to the editorial, and sometimes it’s available online. If you don’t have time to collect this information yourself, you can buy a media contact list. PR Guru’s Australian media lists are the lists we use in our own business and they start at $40.
Send newsworthy media releases. Good media releases capture a journalists attention in the first paragraph. They tell a story, a book or product launch, a new business deal, a partnership, an award or significant milestone (e.g. celebrating 50 years in business). They are well written, short, sharp and to the point and have a seductive heading. They often contain quotes from a senior spokesperson such as the business owner, CEO, customer or a celebrity. Don’t have time to write a media release? Let the experts at PR Guru do it for you.
While there is no guarantee that your story will appear in the media, when it does, it is certainly worth a lot more for your credibility than advertising. Are you a small business owner with a PR success story? We love to hear about your experience!

For more do-it-yourself PR tips take a look at the PR Guru DIY Publicity Guide. Priced at $95 it contains priceless publicity secrets to help you deal with the media.

Tags: Antonette Golikidis, Channel 9 Weekend Today Show, Delia Timms, DIY PR, editorial coverage, event management, findababysitter.com.au, free publicity, Little Innoscents, media, media contacts, media release, Mornings with Kerri-Anne, positive publicity, PR, PR Guru, small business expo, website
Posted in DIY PR Getting started | 1 Comment »

Footy finals, the countdown is on! It’s all about timing…

September 3rd, 2010

If you’re in Australia, then you know that September is all about footy finals. Yes, the countdown has well and truly begun with the AFL grand final, weeks away. For fans, it’s a time to be planning grand final BBQs and plying your friends for tickets. For sponsors of finals teams, it’s time to ramp up the PR and marketing machine to get maximum exposure for your brand. For players, being the one to kick the winning goal can just come down to good timing. In the world of PR and media, good timing matters. And if you want the best results when doing your own PR, you need to make sure you know when the timing’s right for you to make your announcement.

Here are PR Guru’s 5 tips on timing your PR campaign:

News is current and in the now. Something that happened a week ago is not news. So if you’re planning a PR launch, get all your media materials together in advance so that on the day, you have media releases, background documents and photographs available.
Know your competition. Getting your story in the news is competitive, so you need to consider what else is on when deciding when to make your announcement. For example, AFL grand final day is not a particularly great day to announce your news because all the media attention will focus on finals fever. So pick a quieter time and avoid major events. Sunday’s are great for softer news stories and if you’re after regional media, make sure you don’t choose a day that your local newspaper is finalising its weekly edition.
Respect deadlines. If it’s a daily print outlet that you’re targeting, then don’t send your press release late afternoon or call to pitch your story at 5pm on a Friday. Television journalists have very tight schedules for their evening bulletins and need to be scheduled in prior to 2pm. Radio news journalists like to have their afternoon bulletins organised before noon.
Don’t run an event after lunchtime. If you want media to attend, then hold the event in the morning. Journalists tend to spend their mornings doing research and interviews and the afternoon actually writing and compiling information.
Plan months in advance. Think about the media you want to target and know their deadlines. For example, most magazines generally plan two to three editions ahead (that could mean they are working six months in advance), so it’s a good idea to contact them as early as possible with your news even if you have to send them ‘mock-ups’ of your products and photographs.

For more information on spreading the news, PR Guru’s DIY Publicity Guide includes tips on how and when to send a story pitch and much more.

Tags: AFL grandfinal, DIY PR, journalists, media, media release, PR, PR campaign, PR Guru, publicity, regional media
Posted in Media timelines | 1 Comment »

Promoting your book and planning your publicity “road show”

August 26th, 2010

It was a sell-out success in Byron Bay and Melbourne’s booking fast. Next stop Brisbane! We’re talking about writer’s festivals in Australia, where authors strut their stuff to SELL not only their books, but their brand.

Writer’s festivals are just one of many opportunities for authors to get noticed and to get priceless publicity.

There’s so much potential for publicising your book when it’s printed. Treat it similarly to a new product or service you’ve developed.

Here’s PR Guru’s 9 tips for leveraging media coverage for your book:

Get influential people to read your book in draft form so they can write a review to include on the back cover of the book
Print extra copies so you can have some for ‘giveaways’. These can be used for sending to the media for reviews or as promotional prizes at any speaking engagement
Send review copies with a press release to your “hit list”media including of course your industry media
Send a high resolution JPEG image of the book cover as well as a photo of yourself with the book (in situ if the subject is appropriate).
To extend your media coverage, tie in with a topic that’s in the media now, and comment on that issue through letters to the editor
Organise a book launch at your local bookshop or industry conference and invite a high profile person to launch. Make sure you publicise the launch before, during and afterwards, locally, on your website/newsletter/ and social media networks
Use social media to extend the publicity period. Upload reviews and photos from your book launch to your website, Facebook site and blog topics from your book to your networks
Use the book to position yourself as an expert or spokesperson on a particular topic to get speaking engagements within your target audience at seminars
Any review, feature, mention of your book in the media, further adds to your credentials so link to these from your website’s newsroom.

PR Guru has just published our DIY Publicity Guide which includes insider secrets for getting publicity - tips and tools that you too will find useful. We constantly adapt and modify tips in the guide to make them suitable to each audience.

If you’re looking for a comprehensive Australian media database of book editors/reviewers to tell them about your new book, have a look at our Books/Literary editors list too.

Tags: book, Byron Bay, DIY PR, launch, media coverage, Melbourne, photographs, PR Guru, PR Guru DIY Publicity Guide, press release, priceless publicity, Promotion, review, website, writers festival
Posted in Book publicity | 1 Comment »

The politics of media relations

August 19th, 2010

There’s no escaping the world of politics with the election days away. So we thought we’d continue our political theme and look at the politics of media relations.

With editorial control and the power to help make or break your reputation, creating good relationships with journalists is key to building your media profile.

There are unspoken rules about what’s expected from the journalist and the interviewee. Most of these are common sense, like being professional, ethical and polite, but common sense does not always prevail.

Mark Latham’s approach to “interview” with Prime Minister, Julia Gillard spurred out-spoken criticism from Nine’s political journalist, Laurie Oakes and forced Channel 9 CEO to apologise to the PM. While Julia Gillard handled herself well by not getting drawn in, Mark Latham was seen to have “crossed the line” with how he addressed the PM, causing a media ruckus as a result. It’s not the only time when there’s been publicly exposed controversy between journalists and interviewees.

Just look at the example of the clash between celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey and Channel 9′s Tracey Grimshaw. After making degrading comments about Grimshaw at the Melbourne Good Food and Wine Show, Grimshaw has vowed never to interview Gordon Ramsey again.

Day-to-day, most media relations and interviews are far less dramatic. But still, it pays to know how to stay in the journalist’s good books to build good media relations.

Here are PR Guru’s Tips for building strong relationships with the media.

Do:

1. know your media deadlines and avoid calling the media close to these times

2. prepare a succinct “elevator” pitch outlining your news or story idea. This way you will be well prepared with your ˜story” when contacting the media

3. listen to their voice mail message when you follow up. If they state that email is their preferred contact method, send an email.

4. respond to journalists as soon as possible. If you leave it until the next day to follow up, you may have already missed your opportunity.

5. know your facts and have key information at hand when being interviewed so you can readily give out statistics, website details, contact information and so on

Don’t:

1. ask or expect a journalist to run your story because you are advertising in their publication. Apart from the odd regional paper, most publications have separate advertising and editorial departments.

2. be rude to journalists who don’t run your story. They have their reasons why.

3. get a journalist’s name or media details wrong. You’ll lose their attention immediately.

4. leave more than two messages (preferably one) on their voicemail or more than one follow up email. They will contact you if they’re interested.

5. send irrelevant, poorly written press releases. Journalists will automatically delete your emails and one day may delete something that is relevant

6. ask to see a copy of the article first or ask for a copy of the published story. Journalists don’t have time to do this. Ring reception and order a back copy if you need to check a story.

7. promise something that you can’t deliver.

8. email your media release to all your media contacts in the “to” or “cc” field write personalised emails instead, tailoring your pitch according to the media outlet

9. promise an exclusive interview if you don’t intend to keep it exclusive.

Want to get more tips and advice from PR Guru? Our PR Guru DIY Publicity Guide – has more tips on how to get priceless publicity to grow your business. Visit www.prguru.com.au

Tags: Channel 9, DIY PR, DIY PR publicity guide, elevator pitch, Gordon Ramsey, journalists, Julia Gillard, Laurie Oakes, Mark Latham, media relations, media release, Melbourne Good Food and Wine Show, politics, PR Guru, Tracey Grimshaw
Posted in Politics and the media | No Comments »

Elections, competitions and awards… when ‘winning’ makes news

August 11th, 2010

With the Federal election days away, political campaigns are ramping up with each candidate doing their best to win our vote. All this campaigning and talk about who’s ahead in the polls got the PR Guru team thinking about the concept of “winning” and how important it is, not just in politics, but in PR.

Remember being told that winning isn’t everything? Well, in most cases it isn’t. But in business, it’s certainly worth talking about and sharing the news. It’s great for your brand.

Whether you’ve won an award or a significant contract, your win can help you to generate media interest and get priceless publicity.

Looking for an example? Take inspiration from the great businesses promoting their recent successes at the Connect2mums AusMumpreneur Awards.

Over nine categories from Best Eco-Friendly Business to Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year, the winners have gained exposure at the awards night, through press releases and by promoting their wins on their own websites.

Once you start searching, you’ll find there are a lot of awards to enter. Of course, the most established the award is, the higher profile you are likely to receive. Here is a list of just a few awards you might want to add to your ‘hit-list’:

- Australian Tourism Awards

- Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards

- Telstra Business Award

- Australian Business Awards

However, there are dozens of others that may be run by your local council, newspaper, and your industry. If you’re thinking of entering, give yourself plenty of time to prepare your submission so that it best reflects your business.

Do your homework and make sure you put the key dates into your diary planner, so you’re not caught out filling out forms at the last minute.

Aside from awards, business wins are also great for getting publicity in trade magazines and business sections of newspapers. Whether you have secured a new supplier, stockist, partnership, export or major sale, make sure you capitalise on the opportunity to tell your story.

Here are four quick tips on how to make the most of your win PR wise:

Write a media release about your win – make sure you use a catchy heading, short sentences and include the key facts – what, why, how, when and where
Pitch a story to your local paper – local newspapers love community success stories, particularly if you have reached a wide audience.
Promote your win by running a special event that re-enforces your business strength – for example if you have just won most €œeco-friendly business award€ think about staging a local recycling day or community tree planting initiative
Promote your win on your website – whether you add a banner image on the homepage or a line to your ‘About Us’ section, or press clipping in your newsroom, promoting your win on your site adds to your business credibility.

Good luck!

PR Guru

PR Guru congratulates the winners of the 2010 AusMumpreneur Awards: Little Innoscents, Ems’ 4 Kids, Babyjo Bamboo, Koolaman Designs, b.box, Merendi Health & Wellness, Beautiful You, La Torianan and Tiny Tutus.

For more PR tips, press release writing, media database lists and more, visit www.prguru.com.au

Tags: Australian business award, Australian Tourism Awards, awards, b.box, Babyjo Bamboo, Beautiful You, Best Eco-friendly business, business wins, Connect2mums, DIY PR, Emerging Entrepreneur, Ems' 4 Kids, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the year award, event, Federal election, Koolaman Designs, La Torianan, Little Innoscents, media interest, media release, Merendi Health & Wellness, PR Guru, priceless publicity, Telstra Business award, Tiny Tutus, website, winning
Posted in Awards/wins | No Comments »

Is a good cause enough to get good publicity?

August 5th, 2010

Did you know that there is an “awareness week” almost every week of the year in Australia? And that doesn’t include awareness days, months or years.

Well, it/s true. And it doesn/t take much to see that the fundraising and not-for-profit space is a competitive one.

So how is it that some fundraisers gain more media attention than others? Is supporting a good cause enough to guarantee some publicity? And how can DIY PR people leverage their support for charity and get a story in the media?

As this Friday heralds Jeans for Genes Day, PR Guru wanted to shed some light on how not-for-profits and DIY publicists leverage charitable or fundraising causes. It comes down to having good stories to tell, events to focus on, and celebrity involvement.

The Children/s Medical Research Institute gears up for its biggest fundraiser of the year – Jeans for Genes Day – months in advance to ensure opportunities in magazines aren/t missed. Their campaign revolves around medical research stories, events, school participation, case studies, competitions celebrity ambassadors, designer merchandise and much more.

Let/s not forget the many other organisations and businesses who get behind the cause, generate publicity and raise funds while doing so. For example, Racing Victoria and Geelong Racing Club have dedicated their race day to the cause. This Friday their top jockey/s will wear denim breeches and entry is via a donation to the CMRI. This amazing support for Jeans for Genes day enlarges their media story and inspires fantastic pictorial opportunities.

If you have a passion for a particular cause, why not help support it too. Here are our four tips on how you can help promote your favourite charity:

Run a local event to support their event - for starters, you an generate event listings in your local media prior to, and on the day, organize for media coverage - a pictorial, live radio cross, or news coverage/live weather cross on TV.
Theme your wares - for example Huggies created a range of denim nappies as part of their support for Jeans for Genes Day - while Krispy Kreme Australia sold choc iced ‘Denim Doughnuts’ by the dozen with 25% of sales pledged to the cause.
Promote your personal story or connection to the cause - the media is always keen on human interest stories that link back to the cause. For instance, if it/s a particular disease that you have been affected by, the media loves to have a “first person” story so consider how you can link your story to the cause and to your business.
Think of a quirky ‘stunt’ Jeans for Genes Day in Melbourne last year attracted media attention for the “world/s largest gathering of people in Jeans for Genes Day” at Federation Square. Lots of people jumped on board including fellow charity The Brotherhood of St Laurence who sold jeans and donated a percentage to the CMRI.

Don/t know what/s on when? Google “awareness weeks” or consult a copy of the annual Life Be In It “Special Weeks” booklet which is available for a modest subscription.

PR Guru is a proud supporter of Jeans for Genes Day, the major fundraiser for the Children/s Medical Research Institute. By wearing jeans, buying a badge or making a donation online on Friday August 6 you can help support vital research into genetic childhood diseases. For more PR tips, press release writing, media database lists and more, visit www.prguru.com.au

Tags: celebrity, charity, Children, DIY PR, Federation Square, Geelong Racing Club, Google, Huggies, Jeans for Genes Day, Krispy Kreme, media, Media research, not-for-profit, PR Guru, publicity, Racing Victoria
Posted in Awareness weeks/fundraising | 8 Comments »

Food and why we’re more into it now, than ever

July 30th, 2010

I don’t think anyone would be surprised to hear that Masterchef has influenced

Australia’s growing fascination with food. With record ratings, and seemingly endless off-air mentions in conversations and other media outlets, it certainly has taken on a life of its own. And we’re not about to see it end either with the launch of Masterchef kids.

So why is this of interest to PR Guru? A number of reasons, but mainly, the spin-off effect of the Masterchef phenomenon on food media and publicity.

Food magazines are experiencing stronger sales than ever. According to The Age : the first edition of the Masterchef magazine flew off the shelves. It was so popular that an additional 34,000 copies needed to be printed. All of this is good news if you’re in the business of food. Because put simply, more media interest in food = more PR opportunities to get your food story heard.

From food magazines like Gourmet Traveller, delicious, Donna Hay and Good Taste, to food sections in newspapers and magazines like Epicure in The Age : the possibilities of where you get priceless publicity are many.

So if you are in the food or wine industry, make sure you jump on the food-loving band-wagon and get your PR into action.

Here are nine tips on cooking up a storm in the media:

Pitch new recipes and great photography to food writers and include a benefit or value e.g. fresh, fabulous and filling for $5.
Promote the health benefits of seasonal produce to food, health and beauty writers
Start your own “masterclass” to profile your chef’s talent and invite food media
Package your produce or product and send it to food writers and editors along with your media release
Launch your new business or restaurant with a high profile identity or celebrity to get media coverage
New head chef? Tell the media what inspires their cooking, what menu changes there will be, and what their background or experience is
Start a Blog to become an expert commentator in your industry, start commenting on trends in food/wine, or respond to existing food/wine blogs.
Take photos of celebrities/well known identities at your launch event and send them (with names and a caption) to newspapers and magazines with social pages.
Promote the business side of your business: is it expanding? Are you exporting overseas? Have you reached a significant milestone/anniversary?

If you want more media and PR insights, subscribe to Taboo our monthly newsletter which includes interviews with journalists and DIY PR Guru’s. Follow us on Twitter or Facebook for more immediate updates and resources.

Need an up-to-date media list for Australian food journalists? Click here.

Tags: business, DIR PR, food, food media, magazines, media, PR, priceless publicity, product, publicity
Posted in Food/wine PR | 5 Comments »

DIY Publicity – get started…

July 20th, 2010

Welcome to the PR Guru blog, an amalgam of fellow PR Guru’s commentary, musings, tips and resources specifically designed to demystify the publicity process so that you can generate your own media coverage.

PR Guru is the brainchild of Julie Morgan who established JMM Communications, a PRIA award winning agency in Melbourne some 25 years ago. Having worked with many industry associations in the tourism, food, health, arts and lifestyle areas she saw that many small businesses were missing out on getting valuable publicity for their business because outsourcing to a PR agency was beyond their reach.

www.prguru.com.au offers the same publicity tools that we use daily in our agency so that you can “DIY” and generate media coverage to build your brand, increase sales, bookings or attendance. We know many small business owners that have tread the DIY path and done it very successfully. Delia Timms, former owner of www.findababysitter.com.au says if she were to start out on her PR journey again, she’d have a Top 10 PR Steps with simple do’s and don’ts. For those like Delia who would like some simple tips on getting started read on:

If you’ve got a great story to tell chances are, the media will think so too. Here are six tips to ensure you are well prepared:

Decide on what makes news in your business - for 39 ideas on what makes news in your business get our free tip sheet on our website
Confirm your target audience - who do you want to attend your event, buy your product or use your services? Consider what secondary target audience you want to reach. Are there other stakeholders that you’d also like to make aware of your news to help spread the word?
Who is your spokesperson? Every story needs a spokesperson that can be quoted in your press release and who is available 24/7 for media interviews. Who is your subject matter expert who is confident to present to the media? Consider also a third party that could also add strength to your story.
Select your key messages - you’ve identified your news, now it’s time to think about the key messages that you want to get across to your target audience. Prepare a key message sheet with simple dot points starting with the: who, what, when where, how and why of your news. Secondary key messages may include general information about your business, achievements and operating hours. You only need a sentence for each.
Prepare your story angles - think of 2-4 story angles that you can tailor for each media outlet as that’s when you’ll have most success when approaching a journalist or producer.
Prepare your toolkit including “hero” photos. Accompany your press release with high quality photos that encapsulate your news. Having a selection of photos available increases the chances of your story being picked up. However, if it’s a service you’re offering consider a photo of the key people involved. Whilst it may not be picked up by the general media, it will be considered by your industry media.

If you want regular insights and updates on the Australian media scene, subscribe to Taboo our monthly newsletter which includes interviews with journalists and DIY PR Guru’s like Delia. Follow us on Twitter or Facebook for more immediate updates and resources, as it may be the first time that many of you are tapping into the power of social media.

* the tips above are taken from PR Guru’s DIY Publicity Guide: how to get priceless publicity to grow your business

Tags: business, DIY PR, DIY Publicity Guide, media coverage, news, PR, publicity, publicity tools, target audience
Posted in DIY PR Getting started | No Comments »