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

News You Can Use

When someone finds out I'm a writer with a background in branding and publicity, lots of times they'll have a related question for me. Sometimes it's about how to get better rankings for their website on Google searches, sometimes it's how to improve their staff's writing skills, and sometimes it's how to give their resume a boost.

These are always smart, professional folks who know getting a little advice can be a cost-effective way of building their business or personal brand. So in 2013, I'm going to start gathering up the most commonly asked questions, formulating my very best tips and pointers, and sending out a quarterly newsletter. It's my tiny way of helping my favorite small business owners and folks building their personal brands with a free resource for their marketing needs.

The newsletter will differ from the Amy Mac blog in that it will focus entirely on publicity, marketing, branding and business writing tips. So, ya know ... no stories about the kids, dogs, the hubby, or me accidentally trying to destroy the earth. But genuinely relevant information nonetheless.

I'd love it if you'd sign up! You'll get four emails in 2013, chock full of information. (This is an entirely different list than the blog subscriber list, so even if you already follow the blog ... please sign up for this, too!)

I expect the first issue to be ready in the next week, so sign up on the email form below soon! (You can also find the link on the sidebar of the blog.)

Subscribe to the Amy Mac Quarterly Newsletter!

Done? There now, wasn't that easy?

Muchos gracias....see you soon!

PS -- Have something you'd like me to address in the newsletter? Leave a comment!

Free Publicity Tip: How to Hitch Your Star to Today's Headlines

If you haven't subscribed to Amy Mac (or followed on Google) - do that now so you can be included in the drawing Thursday! If you are reading this in a feed, click through to the website so you can access the subscriber link.)

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Now, an explanation for why Prince William is on the Amy Mac blog ...

Whether you’re a small business owner, a blogger, a photographer or a corporate professional with a dream of opening a lovely antique boutique, it is imperative to develop a publicity plan to keep your name top-of-mind with your target audience.

And while occasionally posting a snappy promo on your Facebook status is a great supplemental publicity tactic, you must take the time to develop other avenues of getting the word out about your business.

An easy way to do this is what I like to call Bandwagon Publicity. That’s right, go ahead and hitch your star to somebody else’s news wagon. Why? Because this makes an editor’s job really easy – you’ve created a new angle to a story that’s proven itself newsworthy.

Here’s a perfect example: I follow the website Flashlight Worthy Books, which publishes lists of books readers compile and vouch that the book is good enough to keep you up at night. When Prince William and Kate announced their engagement, I knew the media would be saturated with news about their impending nuptials. So I created the list “Enlightening Reads for Today's British Invasion" and submitted it to FLW for publication.

Not only is the list currently on their website (and driving traffic back to my blog), but this list has legs – FLW plans to pitch it to a media outlet where they have a contact, and I can pitch it to a few where I have contacts. 

Everybody wins.

So take a look at what your favorite news outlets (mine are listed under Daily News Reel on the blog panel) are reporting. How can you tie your product or service into today’s headlines? Think about it, and we’ll talk more about creating an effective pitch soon.

'Til Thursday --Amy Mac

Greetings from the Gulf Coast, where I would toss my laptop into the surf a la the Corona commercials, but I'm pretty sure I can't throw that far and I am certainly not ruining this relaxing moment to get up off this chair and walk over to the water to toss it in. So this is just a case where the thought is gonna have to count.

Anywho, in honor of Mother's Day, I've written my most recent article about .... Mother's Day. I can see the shock and surprise on your faces all the way from here. I hope you like it ... and I'm wondering, if you could get one thing for Mother's Day that isn't actually a "thing," what would it be?

Free PR Tip of the Week: Silence is Golden

In the wake of the Tiger Woods scandal, I’d like to give you a piece of public relations advice: shhhh.

It’s a natural inclination to try to fill silence, to defend ourselves against detractors, to make things right when we’ve done wrong … and generally say anything that pops into our head to fill an awkward lull in the conversation.

It’s an old reporter’s trick – they ask a question, the interviewee answers, and the reporter continues to look at them expectantly. Pay attention to what happens … the uninformed start jabbering because they cannot stand the silence. The smart ones just look back and keep their lips zipped.

So practice keeping your mouth shut. I find a great way to do this is to ask your kids a question, then just keep looking at them after they answer. Stare long enough and they’ll admit to stealing toys from Santa just to get you to stop looking at them.

Tiger, if you’re listening, decline the interviews. Quit making statements. Stay home and turn off your ringer. Trust me, someone else will do something stupid and the headlines will shift.

You Know I Like My Chicken Fried

Yesterday, I started my day with a business meeting at the Buckhead Club, went straight to another meeting with a favorite client, immediately to the PTA office at the girls’ school, zoomed home for a quick snack, swim practice, the library, then back home again to pull together dinner by 6 p.m.

So there I am in heels and suit pants (I shed the suit jacket at noon when the temp hit about 90-something degrees) -- frying chicken. Only in the South would you catch somebody – after a really, really long day – throwing together a dinner involving fried chicken, biscuits and gravy.

Don’t get me wrong – there are lots of days when a frozen pre-made lasagna and bagged salad passes as the evening meal. There are also days when I say “I am too tired to make dinner, or for that matter, clean up afterwards. Let’s eat out!”

But sometimes, ya gotta have biscuits. With gravy. And if it happens to be at the end of a long day – well, you just have to go with it.

And have your chicken-fried.

No News Is Good News

Today’s my first day back at my desk after a luxuriously news-free week at the beach, soaking up the rays and catching up on a few good books.

I say news-free, because here’s my typical working day: after stumbling out of bed and grabbing my first cup of coffee, I turn on the Today Show to see if Matt and Meredith are reporting any breaking news. Then I read the Atlanta Journal-Constitution from front page to back (although not terribly carefully) to see what’s happening locally. Throughout the day I’ll check CNN.com and other news sites, and I browse trade web sites to see what’s new.

Part of my job is to pay attention to which reporters are writing what, and to spot any trends of which my clients need to be a part. I enjoy developing interesting story angles for reporters – especially when one of my clients can play a critical role as a source.

I’ll also admit to being endlessly amused by the antics of celebrities and politicians, and most enjoy sharing various shockers with my peeps (go ahead, ask my family where they first heard about Michael Jackson!) Plus newspapers offer fabulous stories like one I recently read in the Memphis Commercial Appeal titled “Murderous Hillbillies Descend on Memphis.” Top that for an eye-catching title.

But I am not going to kid you – it was nice to take a news break last week. I didn’t see the Today Show gang once. Never read the paper. Honestly, there was one day where I wasn’t even sure what day it was. That was kind of nice.

It seems nothing terribly important happened while I was away … but it’s sort of nice to be back in the news cycle today. So you can relax folks, because if news breaks, I am back on the case. If you’ll excuse me, I am heading to the bookstore to buy the last two weeks’ issues of the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

Sunshine on my Shoulders

Here's a link to my latest article for Northside Woman. Here's to sunscreen on a sunny day - Enjoy!

School's Out For Summer

Today is the last day of school before summer break for my girls. Boy, are we ready for some summer fun around here – sleeping in, endless days at the pool, annual visit to the beach, to Tennessee for visits to aunts and grandparents for a month (just kidding, Mim – a week at most).

The lazy days of summer require some interesting scheduling for the work-from-home mom. I’ll have a sitter come in a couple of days a week, schedule playdates when I have meetings, and I’ll be looking for some sort of water-protecting shield for my laptop so I can hit my deadlines while my kids are swimming practice laps in the pool preparing for their weekly meets.

I’m always ready for the change of scenery (and schedule) when summer vacation rolls around. I’m also ready to change back in August. In the meantime, have a safe, enjoyable, and preferably lazy Memorial Day weekend! I know that’s my plan.

Amy Mac

Get Me A Ticket for an Airplane, Ain't Got Time to Take the Fast Train

I think I am one of the few people on earth who actually enjoy the driving part of a road trip. My kids are all about the destination, and my husband would probably prefer to fly (he is a graduate of the Air Force Academy, after all), but for me there’s something fun, simplistic and adventurous about hitting the open road.

There are a few pre-requisites for the perfect road trip. Here’s my list, in no particular order:
· Great music, with the perfect playlist uploaded to my Ipod
· Snacks and cool beverages
· A mindless, entertaining book on CD
· My Blackberry
· A camera (you just never know when you might want to snap a photo)
· A general idea of where I’m going

Those items, along with a full tank of gas (which is what I was doing when I snapped this photo), will make the trip fly (pun intended) – Happy Trails!

Spring Cleaning

Follow this link to my latest article in Northside Woman about the perils of Spring Cleaning.

You, Too.

I was in ninth grade when U2’s The Joshua Tree was released, and while they’d released a few albums before The Joshua Tree (and given a phenomenal performance for the Live Aid concert), this was the one that launched them into the stratosphere in the United States.

And here they are, not only still chugging along, but selling out huge arenas during every leg of their last concert tour. All over the world. I was lucky enough to see their last tour thanks to some kind friends with a corporate skybox at Phillips Arena and believe me, it was one amazing show (worth every penny I didn’t actually have to pay.) I’ll be happy to pay top-dollar for their upcoming tour to promote their new album No Line on the Horizon. Which begs the question –

How does U2 stay relevant after 30 years?

I have a couple of theories – and one of them is they use marketing to their utmost advantage. I think we could all take a page out of their book (or liner notes, so to speak):

If you’re launching a new product, be everywhere. Just last week, U2 played five nights in a row on the David Letterman Show, performed on Good Morning America, is playing a “secret” show in Boston March 11, and has been featured in countless magazines (Rolling Stone and People, to name a couple.) As of today, U2 is on track to have its seventh number one album on the Billboard 200 charts, and NLOTH debuted at number one on the London charts, where they launched a similar publicity blitz.

Be relevant – and attract new audiences. The Good Morning America appearance took place at Fordham University. I am sure a majority of the students at the concert weren’t even born when The Joshua Tree was released. U2’s live performance introduced a whole new audience (and age demographic) to their music, but they couldn’t have done that without making sure their music would connect with that age group. My guess is there’s not a kid at Fordham who hasn’t downloaded the album.

Get out of your comfort zone – U2 has been playing stadium-size concert venues for 20 years now, but even they still get a case of the nerves. Last week, Letterman had them read the Top 10 List for the evening, and a couple of the guys were visibly nervous. Interesting, isn’t it – play in front of 20,000 screaming fans? No problem. Read a list in front of a small studio audience? Not so much. They did a great job, and reinforced their reputation as genuinely nice guys.

Produce a great product, every single time – this is the key. If the band didn’t produce great music, they’d be on an episode of VH1’s One-Hit Wonders. Except for a couple of slips in the mid-to-late 90s, their albums are critic and fan favorites alike …. the music is great because U2 sets the bar high and exceeds expectations.

Ask yourself how you can borrow a few of these marketing ideas from one of the greatest bands in the world – and make your product or service stand out. You might not land on GMA or Dave, but even a small-time publicity blitz can pay big-time dividends.

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!

Limericks and Love

In general, I love my work. I love the writing, and I love my clients. All of them are fabulous (I have a very strict policy for swiftly striking the difficult to work with from my client roster. Strange how once you make that distinction, the good folks seem to find you.)

But today has been even more fun than usual, and I credit that to the fact that I got to write a limerick for a client today. No joke. I have a new client that is opening an Irish pub in the area, and they asked me to spiff up the copy on their menu. “Make it fun!” they said. “Okay-dokey!” I replied.

So you probably already know there’s a county in Ireland called Limerick. And the good folks at my local pub named one of their sandwiches after said county. The temptation was too great, so this is the copy I’m sending over today:

Limerick Monte Cristo

There once was a man from Limerick.
He could not decide on a meal to pick.
He liked turkey and ham,
And raspberry jam.
He chose Monte Cristo -that’s not a trick.

Honey baked ham, mesquite roasted turkey, Irish Farmhouse Cheeses, and raspberry preserves. Served with hand-cut potato chips.

Now, they may say “Ah, we didn’t know you’d take ‘make it fun’ quite so literally,” and strike it from the copy. I hope not, but even if they do, I got to write a limerick today for the first time since fifth grade.

I’m hungry for a sandwich now, so I’ll sign off. Are you doing something you love today?

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!