Archive for June, 2010

USE YOUR NEWS

Sunday, June 27th, 2010

Let’s say you have a uniquely innovative product/business/invention/venture on your hands…one that’s generated some nice media exposure/publicity (whether it was the product of your hard work or generated by a hired PR specialist or agency). Other than using the mounds of tear sheets as wallpaper and those stacks of videotapes as door stops — USE YOUR NEWS.

I always tell my PR clients that we want a publicity campaign to be a “controlled burn, not a flash fire.” One way to keep those PR embers glowing even after the flashes of placements have been generated is to use those tear sheets and tapes to figuratively “fan the flames.” USE YOUR NEWS as part of your business presentation to your market. For instance, if I am seeking venture capital for my new product/invention, I look alot more attractive to the prospective investor if I can show them previous/current media exposure. Sure, your PR campaign generated a great 1/3 page editorial placement last month in Entrepreneur Magazine. However, was this prospective investor/customer one of the magazine’s 525,000 subscribers? Did he/she even see or hear about the article? Make sure he/she does!

USE YOUR NEWS by Packaging your PR!

That Entrepreneur Magazine tear sheet atop a Chicago Tribune Business Page tear sheet along with the videotaped segments of you/your product on TV newscasts and audio-taped clips of morning-drive radio shows probably looks pretty good to that investor. Just think of the publicity and subsequent consumer interest you could generate with some strong financial backing! Your PR campaign has helped prove to the investor the viability of the product/venture in the micro-media-market, imagine the exponential interest both of you could generate on the next level in the macro-media-market.

Positive media placement is a solid validation as to the potential marketability of your venture, especially if those placements were generated in media outlets trade-specific to your market/industry. Be advised…publicity/PR can’t market FOR you; it certainly can and should market WITH you. When it comes to the publicity/marketing of your venture, the old adage “no news is good news” couldn’t be more wrong. So, if your PR campaign has been effective enough to generate news, turn that into NEWS YOU CAN USE!

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Todd Brabender is the President of Spread The News Public Relations, Inc. His business specializes in generating media exposure and publicity for innovative products, businesses, experts and ventures.

http://www.spreadthenewspr.com

todd@spreadthenewspr.com

(785) 842-8909

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What does God want me to do when I grow up?

Sunday, June 13th, 2010

We all have a calling, a passion and overall God given gifts and talents.  The question is do you use your Gifts?  Or do you hide your Gifts and accept the routine of life?

If you asked most faith based entrepreneurs they would tell you that they are using God’s given gifts and that doing what they were compelled to do is one of the greatest thrills of life.  When you do what you are supposed to do you feel alive!

I have been asked all the time, “How did you come up with the idea for Yak About It?” or other media type ask, “How did you come up with this concept, or that business plan? Unfortunately the media doesn’t really want to hear, “The concept came out of nowhere when I was driving down the highway and I have to give 100% of the vision to God”.  This also doesn’t help other prospective entrepreneurs who want a concrete ‘how to’ that they can draw from and use.  What I think that answer can do is hopefully inspire other potential entrepreneurs to listen to that inner urging or to take on that God given concept that they can’t seem to shake out of their head.  I am not talking about that next get rich quick scheme that popped in your head, but rather the concept or idea that you never asked for.  That business or invention that you didn’t want to invent, but God won’t let you forget about.

One more thing is very important.  Just because your idea, rather ‘God’s idea’ has engulfed your life doesn’t mean you don’t have to work to cultivate it the right way to succeed.  In fact the ‘idea’ that you can’t shake, may have occurred to lead you to the better idea that hard work and research will help find.  Then, when you do the hard work, create a successful company and make it fly, you’ll feel that greatest thrill that entrepreneurs talk about.  You then of course will also have some material to tell the media on ‘how you did it’.  Just so long as you remember you’re company’s true start and success are a credit to God’s power and God’s will for you to do what you were meant to do.

So… What will you do when you grow up?

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