The Flipside by Alternative Strategies

Making Designs On The Perfect Press Kit

If you’re media savvy at all, you know the design of a press kit is as nearly important as its content. In fact, you can say they go hand in hand.

The design is what catches the eye and makes the producers or editorial staff choose to read it, and, hopefully, do a story or segment on the business or person sending it.
 
As far as projects go, designing press kits is one of the most entertaining because some of them can get really unique and imaginatively intense.

It all depends on the client and the business that the press kit is designed to promote. Some examples of offbeat press kit designs include making them look like to-go boxes from a restaurant or a cake box with the cake inside. Or you can just use a simple folder but make all the informational pages inside stand out by using different cuts and vibrant colors that represent the business.

The overall design concept put into each press kit is inspired by the textures and architectural design of the business, information supplied by the client as well as pictures of the business and its officials.

After a design concept has been established, now comes the fun part: putting life into sheets of paper. It takes time and lots of consideration to figure out the best way to portray the business in a way that catches the eye while being interesting and informative.

The key at all time is to continually send the message of who the client is and what makes them unique from their competition.

There is no set page limit or a standard format for press kits, but it’s important to keep uniformity between the business colors, images, logo, and, most importantly, the information. The only rule that should always be considered is keeping everything close to the campaign, or theme the company portrays.
 
Overall, a press kit should have personality and character, but most importantly when the media read it, it should yell, “Hey! I’m unique, beautiful and content savvy!”

Those Smaller Social Networks Can Pay Off Big

Sure, myspace and facebook can be useful tools for networking with consumers and colleagues, but what about all the other social networks on the web with more specific purposes or narrower audiences? The list is endless and runs the gamut, but the seven below are some that can help you and your business.

1. APSense.com: Tap into an affiliate marketing revenue stream by promoting products and sites on your business profile, and get paid for the friends you refer.

2. Biznik.com: Join your local business community to connect and collaborate with nearby entrepreneurs, and find out about local seminars and events.

3. FastPitchNetworking.com: Create a profile, product listings and blog, and take advantage of e-mail marketing and virtual trade shows.

4. GoBigNetwork.com: Get serious about fast growth in this startup community focused on finding funding, talent and expert advice.

5. Konnects.com: Build a network among other startup entrepreneurs and launch your own branded network when you're ready.

6. Marzar.com: Connect with other business owners while promoting products and services in the marketplace.

7. Xing.com: Search this global site for business partners, contacts and professional opportunities.

3 Tips That Pay Off Big For Small Businesses

Many small businesses do things that make them appear exactly as they are: small. Here are three very simple tips to increase branding, identity, professional appeal, and overall appearance to the outside world, in order to give your company a large scale feel.

Customize Business Cards: It may be economical to use a free template from a website to get your business card printed, but it is not logical.

Recently, at a networking event, I received two business cards from completely different people that were exactly the same.  Immediately realizing that their business cards were from a free online template, it told me something about both the size and professionalism of the company.  When possible make sure to customize and set yourself apart as much as possible.

Create an Online Presence: The best option for every business is to create a professional custom built website created specifically for your business. Many people are surprised to discover that creating and maintaining a website is not nearly as much money as they expected.

Nonetheless, if the budget is basically zero, you still have some options. You can purchase a very cheap domain name and host a blog for free under that domain name.  This will still allow you to create a name for yourself online, and allow people to learn more about your company.  In addition, be sure to increase your online presence by making sure you are listed on local search sites.

"Professionalize" The E-mail Address: If you have a website, then there is no reason your email address should not appear as YOURNAME@YOURBUSINESS.COM.  Many people with small businesses still display their email address with the @aol, @hotmail, @gmail, etc.  This is no major sin, but it will appear much better if the @ sign is followed by your business name. 

In reality you can still forward all your mail through your old server, but you can make it appear that is going directly to a different address for business only.  This will add a level of professionalism to your company when someone feels as though they are emailing you at business as opposed to at home.

Whether or not your businesses is a one man/woman show or not, you can always make your presence felt on a larger scale.

The internet, your brand, and your image will always effect how people view the company and the person behind the company.  Small businesses are a vital force of our society and a wonderful entity, just make sure if you are a small business owner you are still giving your company a professional appeal.

Unconventional PR Outlets Help You Score Big Placements

Sometimes, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, but not necessarily in PR.

Believe it or not, it's easier to reach some of the big outlets through an intermediate route rather than contacting the big folks directly.

This is because some media folks are skeptical about PR people and automatically assume any pitch is made solely to sell a product.

Granted, that is the main purpose, but a good PR person understands what journalists want and take that into consideration before formulating the pitch.

Since journalists get pitched many of the same stories over and over again, a good PR person

will take the extra step to come up with a new angle for the client. For instance, if it's St. Paddy's Day, a hair salon might get media interest if they offer a beer shampoo featuring Irish beer.

The media loves offbeat angles to seemingly conventional stories. For instance, "staycation" packages are getting attention now and pets are always popular so we're pitching "staycation packages for pooches" at local kennels in order to capitalize on it.

But even the best pitch can be ignored by the media if they don't trust the messenger. In other words, an otherwise intelligent journalist might turn up his or her nose at a great story just because it came from a publicist and incorrectly assume it's "tainted."

So how do you get around it?

Well, there are legitimate news outlets that can serve as a middleman.

For instance, there's Wireless Flash News Service, a news agency that provides offbeat pop culture news to 800 media outlets around the world, including the writing staffs at Jay Leno, David Letterman, The Daily Show and Stephen Colbert.

It release one feed five days a week specializing in pop culture news. The service sells annual memberships to PR industry types, but this membership is more of a stocking fee than anything else. Basically, for $1000, they will run at least four stories (more if they fit in with the company's motto: First, Fresh and Freaky)

But it's not a dumping ground for stories you release just to keep clients happy -- even if you're a member, they won't run your story automatically.

Unlike some press release services like PR Newswire or PR Web, Wireless Flash doesn't just run any story. But if the story isn't sufficiently quirky, the editorial staff will work with you to make it so it is actually used by the media.

A good example of how they do this: One time a hat company wanted to promote the durability of the hat, but had dry information about stress-resistence tests. But the Flash journalist kept probing until he got the executive to reveal that an elephant once ate a hat and it came out the other end slightly dirty but still intact.

That was the hook that resulted in international pick up including a story by ABC News and a couple of monologue mentions on the late night shows. Needless to say, the client was happy with the exposure and even enjoyed the puns (such as "that's the straight poop," or "that slams the lid on this story").

Wireless Flash also goes out to a lot of popular morning disc jockeys and this additional exposure can go a long way towards impressing your clients.

Another way to get your story to journalists who might otherwise ignore you is to submit it to bloggers who are respected journalists.

Two blogs that are both respectable and read by other journalists are the Weird News section of About.com which is run by former ABC News journalist Buck Wolf and the Funny Business blog on CNBC.com written by correspondent Jane Wells.

Both are great places to submit stories of a quirky nature and both journalists are straight forward about why a story won't work.

Wells and Wolf have different styles based on their different audiences. Wolf just wants a story to be weird, whereas Wells is just as likely to make fun of the pitch as she is to report on the story. This sounds bad, but her approach actually inspires readers to keep reading (which is what you as a PR person want).

Because both blogs are run by journalists with national reputations, other journalists will pick up their stories, even those submitted by a publicist.

Even better, if you pitch a story to another journalist after its been featured in either Wolf or Wells' blogs, the journalist will say, "Oh yeah, I saw this," giving the story additional credibility.

These sources are great tools for PR people, but you have to do some advance preparation.

You have to come up with an offbeat angle that isn't the same old same old (so don't send that release about John Jones becoming regional supervisor -- unless he's really an extraterrestrial).

You also have to let the client know what you are doing. If the client has a sense of humor and is thrilled by the possibility of being ribbed by Jay Leno or Jon Stewart, this is great. On the other hand, some clients aren't thrilled about that -- even when they get a ton of interview requests.

Perfecting Your Press Release

Once you’ve decided that you have some amazing news that you want to share with the media and your audiences, a press release is a great tool to get the word out about it. The press release can be about an upcoming event, a change in your company or a new product or service, but no matter what the announcement, your press release must always cover the who, what, why, where and when.

Here are some simple tips to keep in mind while writing your press release:

1. Know your audience
Before you even begin writing your press release, understand who your audience is and what they’re interested in. And when I say “audience” I mean the journalist who you want to write about your announcement and the readers who you want to read that media coverage.

Chances are your announcement has different angles that can be appeal to different audiences. Understand who you want to read your press release and write it specifically for them. If your audiences are dramatically different, this may call for multiple releases.

For example, if you’re opening up a new upscale restaurant and lounge in a neighborhood and you want to appeal to both the “foodies” who will spend the money on dinner and a younger crowd who will stay for the nightlife – this would be a good time for two separate press releases distributed out to different journalists.

2. A headline that’s to the point
Make your headline catchy while getting to the point. You want to draw your audience in and make them curious to read more. Sometimes it’s easiest to write your headline when you’re finished with your press release – this way you can make sure that you’re capturing all of the great information you just wrote in your press release in just several perfect words. If you can’t seem to say what you need to in a few words, you can consider a sub-head, but use these with caution.

3. Come out strong
The first 10 words that you write in your press release are your most important. You have that first line to hook your reader. The first sentence should be followed by a strong but brief first paragraph that includes the “wh” words (who, what, where, when, why). Use the rest of the press release to provide the details about your announcement.

4. Keep it simple and concise
When writing a press release, it helps to start with an outline. This will help make sure that you’re not getting off topic and not trying to get too much information in at once.

Make sure all of your important information is in your first paragraph and then use the other paragraphs to support your opening. Each of the paragraphs should flow easily into each other.

5. Junk the Jargon
Certain words might come second-nature to you while you’re with your co-workers, but have you ever tried to talk the same to your friends or family who don’t work with you? Take the same approach with a press release. By no means should you dumb it down – simply avoid all of your industry jargon and avoid using too many adjectives. The journalist will use your press release and create an entertaining story.

6. The importance of contact information, a call to action and a boilerplate
Sometimes press releases are simply e-mailed directly to the journalists and sometimes they’re uploaded onto news wires such as Business Wire or PR Newswire (which both charge a fee). Either way, your press release must include your contact information, just in case a journalist needs to get a hold of you for more information or an interview.

It’s also good to end your press release with a call to action. This can be something like “For more information and to schedule an interview with John Smith, please contact…” or “If you’d like more tips on how you can...please contact…” The last thing that should be included in your press release is called a boilerplate. This is a paragraph that describes your company and its products and services. This only has to be written once and can be the same for every press release you write. Just be sure to keep it updated if information about your company changes.

7. Double check spelling and grammar!
In some cases this may be the first impression that your company has with the media. In order to maintain a good reputation with these journalists who are receiving your press release, you MUST make sure that you don’t have any spelling or grammar mistakes. These are little mistakes that can be easily avoided by double checking or having another set of eyes look at your press release.

PR Pitches That Hit A Home Run

Pitching the media a story isn't really like pitching a baseball to a fastball hitter.

In baseball, if you throw the ball down the middle of the plate, chances are, the hitter will knock it out of the park.

However, even the most perfect PR pitch doesn't always get the media's attention. Some of the reason is timing (a major news story trumps all), and, other times, the person doing the pitching doesn't focus the pitch on what the media really wants.

Here are some tips that will improve the chance that your pitch will hit a home run for the media.

1. Know when to pitch.

Media types are on a very tight schedule and often working on deadlines. If you call when they're trying to finish a story, the media person doesn't have the time or inclination to hear what you have to say.

The more polite types may tell you when to call back or to send an e-mail, but the ruder ones might just hang up on you. So before you call, it's good to find out the time when the media person is most amenable to being pitched.

Morning show types are most likely to be reached within two hours after the broadcast. Daily journalists are best reached when they first arrive in the morning. Magazine editors are best reached a day or two after the issue closes.

2. Know how to pitch.

Politeness is the first step. Ask the media person if they're busy. If they are, just ask for a good time to call back. Sometimes the media person just wants a press release. That's fine, but ask for the best time to follow up.

Don't be offended if they are snippy to you. It's not personal. Most media types are overworked and underpaid and are juggling many stories at once.

3. Know who to pitch.

It helps to do research and find out what the media person is looking for in advance. A sports journalist isn't looking for a story on, say, fashion, and a magazine writer who specializes in fashion stories isn't looking for stories on real estate development.

4. Make your pitch as media-friendly as possible.

In order to get the media to cover your story, you should make it as easy as possible for them to agree to do it.

Sometimes, that means emphasizing the compelling human interest peg, such as the story on why your client does what he or she does.

Other times, it means emphasizing the visual aspects of the story.

It always helps when you can tie your story with a current news trend. For instance, these days, the media seems to want stories tied into the economy so coming up with an angle that emphasizes thriftiness will appeal more than a pitch geared towards the luxury market.

There are also some don'ts to consider.

1. When pitching by phone, don't sound like you're reading from a script.

Journalists can often smell a newbie by the way he or she nervously reads the pitch from a piece of paper. Know your subject well enough so you can sound spontaneous if you need be.

2. Don't be so locked into one pitch that you can't improvise.

Many times, a pitch doesn't work for the journalist, but he or she will tell what they do need. If you can find a way to make your client work for the story they're working on, you'll be gold.

3. If the journalist asks a question you can't answer, don't just tell them that if they interview your client, they'll get what they need.

It's better to ask your client first to see how they would respond and get back to the journalist with the response.

Although media types can seem intimidating, following these tips will help develop the trust you need to have them eating out of your hand.

A slice of Social Media

I talk about social media being everywhere these days.
And if your not in the game on some level at this time, you're being out marketed by the local delivery guy. 
A few friends of mine ordered some pizzas from Dominoes. After tracking the on-line order through a very intuitive website and real time status tracker which I thought was the definition of on-line experience btw..
the driver sent a text to us that he was outside. What got me was the flyer attached to the box.

This national pizza chain is engaged in every level of social media outlets  from blogs, to on-line video, communities,social networking, photos, etc... 
They get it and have done it right. You are not in communication with Dominoes, the corporation,
but DPZRAMON a local Chicago guy who is part of the Chicago neighborhood communities who "is known for giving hookups". This social guru claims on the flyer that he has been doing it for five years, so that should tell you that social media is here, and if you are not involved, you are missing out on the pizza party.

Seems like everybody is doing social media, and perhaps a bit too much of it polluting the pond. If you are involved, make sure you are using the right outlets and reaching your intended market with the right messages like Ramon.  After making a social media 101 synapses of  to a few of my friends, two of them commented about that twitter thing, they just heard something about and was wondering what it was all about. And they were proud they just joined facebook (and the rest of 1/2 total population of the US)  Social media is the latest marketing trend and relatively still in it's infancy. So there is a vast market of current social media users, and many more to come. Make this inexpensive marketing a solid part of your marketing efforts, and deliver your goods to your market in 30 minutes or less.