How to Convert Media Coverage Into Sales? Carpe Diem, Folks.

Two questions I'm frequently asked: how do I get more publicity, and once I do how do I convert the publicity to sales?

To answer the first question: be nimble.

The answer to the second: be nimble.

There's a tendency with publicity to become so busy creating newsworthy items, we are woefully unprepared for the opportunities that fall into our laps. The result being we are stuck in a conference room debating metrics or in back-to-back sales calls ... while a golden opportunity languishes, then disappears. We may make one sale, but we've let scores more slip away.

So how do we seize the day when it comes to a plum marketing opportunity? Like when a celebrity is photographed using your product, or a client demonstrates your product on a national news program, or you're quoted as an expert in the local paper? Here are 5 tricks to being ready to convert publicity into sales:

1. Look for opportunities. Read the paper, read blogs, watch the news and be a trend observer. You'll be surprised at how many possibilities to link your product with a leading news organization or personality lurk out there if you're just paying attention.

2. Have a template news release and email at the ready. If you're trying to write general company information for a news release or you're uploading client email addresses at the last minute, you're wasting precious time connecting with the story. Set up these essential building blocks now so when the time comes you simply drop in the relevant information and hit send.

3. Drop everything and PUSH. I know. You have a packed day. Meetings. Sales pitches. 175 emails to comb through. Figure out which of those things will be there tomorrow and reschedule. Go in early. Stay late. Do whatever it takes to capitalize on a real publicity opportunity. Trust me, this is your priority for the next 24 hours.

4. Hire help. If you don't know how to craft an eye-catching headline and news release, hire someone who does. Seriously. Anybody. Hire someone in direct competition with me for all I care but please, please don't squander an opportunity to build your loyal customer base because you didn't take the time to do it well.

5. Reuse and recycle. Post the information to your website, blog, your newsletter, all your social media, print it on pretty little postcards, make bumper stickers ... whatever floats your boat, but don't send a news release to the media and call it a day. Take the time to package your publicity success, then maximize your exposure through whatever channels possible.

If you consistently use these five steps of seizing publicity opportunities, the sales will follow. Why?  Because positive media coverage is one of the best third-party endorsements you can get, even if they haven't specifically endorsed your product. Endorsements build credibility, credibility builds trust, trust builds loyalty, and having a loyal customer base singing your praises will increase your sales.
Amy M. Dawson is a PR & brand strategist, business writer, newspaper columnist and humor writer. She’s helped hundreds of professionals — from Fortune 500 CEOs to politicians and entrepreneurs— craft their brands. For more information, contact her at amy@amymacwrites.com.

Photo Source: 9gag.com via Judith on Pinterest

Reference Materials Every Writer Needs

There are a few reference books every writer - from a student to a professional - should keep on their desk. Mine were outdated, old, and in some cases not user friendly (my dictionary/thesaurus combo is in a font so tiny I developed a serious eye twitch during each and every deadline.)

Earlier this week I took advantage of the very unfortunate closing of my local Borders book store and snatched up a new Webster's Dictionary, Roget's Thesaurus and AP Stylebook at a significant discount. Yay, me (well, sorta. I am very distressed the Borders is closing. So, boo.)

If you don't have a dictionary and thesaurus circa 2010 minimum, it's time to replace. While you don't need an AP Stylebook unless you are writing for a newspaper or writing news releases, do grab a copy of The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. It will answer all those little grammar, punctuation and writing questions you have when you're writing and do not want to sound daft (I love using words I learned from Harry Potter.)

So, while you're zipping around this weekend, pop into the bookstore and grab these reference materials. You'll feel like a total smarty pants, in a good kinda way.

Happy weekend! XoXo-Amy Mac

First Pitch

I recently got a call from a colleague with a question about reporters – specifically, if there are two (or more) covering your industry – a common occurrence with major metropolitan newspapers - how do you determine which reporter to send your news release?

There’s a simple solution: go to the media outlet’s web site and do a search for the reporter’s name. Read her last five articles. Then go to the next reporter and do the same, and keep going until you start to see a pattern – and you will start to see a pattern. Most reporters have their “hot spots” within their industry, a topic they write about often, a cause they are quick to cover, types of events and news they seem to prefer.

Your job is to determine which reporter your piece of news fits best, and craft a pitch that lets the reporter know you’ve been reading his articles (you know what they say about flattery.)
A well-written news release sent to the right reporter with a succinct pitch will go miles toward getting favorable publicity, so remember to do your due diligence before you hit send on that e-mail button!

Fast Pitch

I recently pitched and landed a cover story in a local publication for a client. The cover picture is beautiful, and the article is well-written, and it will likely garner additional attention and business for this client.

So the big question: what can this client do to really maximize all the terrific publicity from this one article?

My advice to clients who have landed the publicity they’ve been seeking is to make sure their coverage gets into the hands of everyone you want to see it – not just the folks who happen to pick up the paper that week!

· Send a copy of the article, along with a cover letter, to your mailing list of your best customers, potential customers, business associations, alumnae magazines, mentors – pretty much everyone on your list (you’ll need to get reprint permission from the publication before making copies of the article. Some publications charge a nominal fee for this, and if you’ll just be mailing a few you can always purchase extra copies. )

· Post the article on your web site

· Create an e-mail signature with a link to the coverage

· Take a color copy of the article and adhere it to a fiberboard stand (you can buy these inexpensively at office supply stores) and place it wherever your customers will most likely see it, or frame it and hang it in a well-exposed spot

· Create small labels with the web site address to adhere to the back of 30 to 40 business cards

If you are wondering how I landed this article, stay tuned. I’ll post the pitch I wrote to the editor and point out a few key items, so if you are planning to pitch a story to your local paper, follow my tips and you’ll increase your chances of success!

You Say It's Your Birthday

Today is someone special’s ninth birthday. Man, things have changed since I was a little girl, when you got a two-hour (max) birthday party at your house. Don’t get me wrong, but these days -- WOW, birthdays are quite something.

In celebrating the girls’ birthdays, all the following have occurred twice – once for each youngster:
· Special handmade birthday invitations that actually required sewing
· Slumber parties that included their favorite dinner (for ten of their closest friends), cake, ice cream, gifts, games, movies and sugar-filled breakfasts the next morning (including Yoo-Hoo and Sunny D, which pass for chocolate milk and orange juice in my husband’s book)
· A gift from their mom, dad and sister
· A special shirt publicizing their birthday to anyone who might have failed to notice
· Special birthday lunch at school, including cupcakes for all their classmates
· A trip to the American Girl store (hosted by a doting grandmother and aunt)
· Their favorite meal for dinner on their birthday

Bottom line, we enjoy the joy the fanfare brings to the kids’ faces, and a birthday is the perfect excuse to make special people feel celebrated.

As adults, we might look a little silly if we wore a special t-shirt displaying our age or demanded all our friends bring us a wrapped treat on our special day (not to mention once we get to a certain age we’re more likely to be perfectly happy if a birthday slips past unnoticed.)

If you have a business, don’t let an anniversary pass by without a celebration – at the very least by sending a news release to the local media and an announcement to your customer list. For example, if you are a work-from-home mom celebrating a full year in your photography business, let people know! It’s the perfect excuse for an adult to celebrate an important accomplishment. In today’s world, a flourishing business is certainly something to be celebrated.

So here’s to accomplishments – whether it is weathering another year in the complicated life of a pre-tween, or celebrating 10 years of helping business owners avoid federal prison for tax evasion.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to round up 9 candles and make a cake.