Special Promotion – This Week Only: Anyone who signs up for an upcoming Publici-Tea™ or Winning Bio Writing Workshop or purchases a Authentic Visibility Publicity Toolkitin person or online this week will receive a Prosperi-Tea cup as a special bonus gift. The message on the inside of this inspiring mug reads, “The condition of having good fortune while drinking tea.”
We are all thirsty to welcome more abundance during these challenging times. These popular, high-value workshops and this well reviewed toolkit can help you get the mission accomplished. How is that for a reason to get into action?
Speaking of which, the “Thriving in Challenging Times” event takes place today from 1 – 4 p.m. at the Sammamish Plateau Club. The address is 25625 E. Pleateau Drive, Sammamish, 98074. Why not grab a girlfriend and come on over to benefit from the connections, the Extreme Dark Chocolate Truffle Bar gifts from Seattle Chocolate Company, and the useful and inspiring presentations about fierce conversations, banking, finance, publicity, and extraordinary self care?
I’ll be there to talk about DIY publicity and answer your pressing questions. You can even sign up for upcoming Publici-Tea™ and Winning Bio Writing Workshops from my display table.
Admission is just $25, and you can pay at the door. I understand there will be some lovely raffle prizes. In fact, I’ll be giving away two sets of tickets to the Eye on Design 2009 with Vern Yip Event taking place at Seattle Design Center on April 25, along with two sets of the Authentic Visibility Publicity Tips Booklets that are packed with 147 powerful ways to profit from free publicity. Each prize package is valued at $30.
You have much to win and gain by joining in. Hope to see you there.
If you want more of the right people attending your events, supporting your non-profit causes or charity benefits, and playing an influential role in building the online buzz, today you can learn the step-by-step way to use your community on Facebook to deliver the goods.
Today’s guest blog post comes from Cynthia Flash, a talented Puget Sound-based publicist who knows a thing or two about successfully promoting non-profit and other events by using Facebook. Take it away Cynthia.
I’ve become a Facebook junkie. Why? Because it’s such a great way to connect and reconnect with people from my present and my past. I love seeing what all my “friends” are doing – both personally and professionally. I see that some are interested in the environment. Others love the arts. Some are very devoted to health care causes, in some cases because they are facing health care crises themselves or are supporting a friend or family member.
What does this have to do with public relations? Tons. Facebook is a must-have for any organization that wants to get its message out. It’s easy and powerful. Not many organizations are yet on Facebook. Most don’t have policies, and many block employees’ participation. You can promote causes for your organization personally. You don’t have to do this from an official business account. Here is what you need to do once you log in to Facebook.
Find the “Events” application on the navigation.
Click on it.
Click on the “Create an Event” button.
Type in the information about your event.
If you’re having trouble here, go to your “Settings.” Under “Event Settings,” make sure you – at the very least – “Allow Events to publish one-line stories automatically, but prompt me for larger stories.”
Once you’ve typed in your event, invite your “friends.” You decide how many and who you want to invite. I choose depending on the event. I know all of my friends wouldn’t want to attend – or even know about – my son’s elementary school auction. I invited those I knew would really want to attend. However, I wanted to invite every one of my friends to my client’s free, open-to-the-public holiday event, “Providence O’Christmas Trees” so I invited all 200 of them.
Now here’s where this gets really powerful. Tell all of the other people you work with in your organization, your board, your volunteers, etc. to also invite all of their “friends” to this event. All they have to do is search for the event through Facebook’s “search” function and click the “invite people to come” button to invite all of their friends.
When someone RSVPs “yes” to the event, that could show up on their Facebook page, depending on how they’ve created their settings. This is a way to continue to spread the message about your event. If you click on the “share” button, you can write a note that will get posted to your profile. This is a way to help build buzz as the event approaches.
Finally, let’s look at some numbers. Let’s say you have 30 people in your organization who are on Facebook. Let’s say each has 100 friends. If each invites all of his or her friends to your event, that’s 3,000 invitations. Each comes with a significant amount of credibility because it comes from a “friend,” not a stranger at the organization or in the fund raising office. If some of those 3,000 friends “share” the event or “invite people to come” it spreads even further. This is viral marketing at its best – with the benefit of credibility.
I tell my clients that this year this is all new. Next year it will be old hat. So go out there and tell all your “friends” about your event through Facebook.
So, dear readers, now you have your own step-by-step guide to build viral buzz and results for your upcoming events by using Facebook. And you can spread the message without spending a dime on postage, additional dollars to create fancy, expensive invitations, or wages for your administrative assistant or other over-burdened team member to manage the project. Thank you Cynthia for sharing practical, step-by-step tips to help others spread the word about their events.
What other step-by-step directions do you need from experts who know the score? Let me know what you need, and I’ll write a post to answer your question or find the perfect expert to deliver what you need. I am here to help and committed to support your DIY publicity success.
When was the last time you picked up the phone, connected authentically, listened carefully, and contributed purely in real time?
I just got off the phone (alert the media!) with Social Media Expert Michelle Price, and we talked about this a fair amount. It was a very inspiring call, and I was grateful for the opportunity to really connect with her. It was a gift for both of us, and we both have new ideas brewing to be of better service and impact to your success.
From where I sit, social media doesn’t just happen online. It happens in person. It happens by phone. It happens when you look someone in the eye and listen intently to what is said. To be heard — whether one-to-one or on a one-to-many basis — is a beautiful thing.
May you be lucky enough to connect with HER by phone. Twitter is a good place to start. Follow Michelle at www.twitter.com/michelleprice.
With the world all a-twitter over Twitter — the latest microblogging tool — here again is an opportunity to learn new etiquette and vocabulary. If someone you are following offers a Tweet (a 140 character message) that you want to share with your followers, that is called a Re-Tweet. That is RT for short. Since I follow Publicity Hound Joan Stewart and often find value in her Twitter posts, the right way for me to acknowledge her as the source of my re-tweets is to indicate RT in my own Twitter post. “10 Dead or Dying PR Tactics” at http://tinyurl.com/cg23j6 RT from @publicityhound. I just know I am not the only one out there who was confused about the right way to re-tweet. Aren’t you glad I cleared that up?
By the way, If you don’t yet subscribe to Joan’s Publicity Hound e-newsletter, do yourself a favor and sign up. Joan is always on top of the latest trends, tricks and tools for free publicity. You will learn a lot to support your DIY publicity success if you make reading her ezine on Tuesday a well formed habit.
Here’s a little known fact. I graduated from CSUN in May of 1984 with a bachelor of science degree in business administration with an emphasis in marketing. In all the years since then, very few people have asked me from where I graduated college. What is most relevant today for me and everyone else is what we’ve done for people lately.
If you’ve got one of those blah, blah, blah boring bios that proudly states all your college degrees and certifications without highlighting the latest and greatest contributions you’ve been making for your ideal customers and why it matters, it’s time for a bio tune up. Here is a link to an article I wrote last year for the Puget Sound Business Journal, entitled, “How boring is your bio?” There are useful tips within to guide your DIY biography writing efforts.
And, if you live in the Puget Sound region and need a guiding hand to get your own bio in great shape, claim one of five spaces at the Friday, April 24, 2009 Winning Bio Writing Workshop as your own. Here is a convenient link to learn more and save your place.
CSUN is in the news today because their basketball team is riding high in the NCAA basketball tournament. If you put these bio writing tips to work for you, you’ll be in good position to score an an MVP with your ideal clients by telling your story in a manner that people beyond your mother will notice. Are you ready to play?
If you missed my Blog Talk Radio interview about DIY publicity with Koinonia Business Women, this is your lucky day. Just click on the play button below.
You’ll hear my humble beginnings as a business owner and how I learned to narrow my niche to serve clients in the “comfort and joy” space. You’ll also hear a few useful tips to guide your own DIY publicity success journey and make some quality results unfold for your business.
Do you have a story that is well worth telling?
Is your story timely, newsworthy, relevant or interesting right now?
Is your product or service solving a bigger problem than helping you sell more stuff?
If so, you’ve got the juice to earn free publicity.
Is your online press kit ready to support your storytelling efforts?
Do you have a head shot that puts your best face forward?
Listen in to the rest of the file so you can learn how the answers to these questions and other considerations can factor into your success in earning free publicity you crave for your business, product, cause or idea. Let me know what you think!
With so many daily newspapers having trouble keeping their doors open — and today is a somber day for the Seattle Post Intelligencer to be sure — retailers and others have a huge opportunity to develop community and relationship with their most avid fans and customers by launching and sustaining blogs that serve their unique niches in powerful, inspiring ways.
I put forth this argument to one of my favorite clients last year and did a fair amount of advocating for this new initiative. Today, I received a glowing email, thanking me for the encouragement to take passion for the product and the lifestyle it offers to the blogosphere. Alice Cunningham of Olympic Hot Tub Company tells me unique visitors at the Hot Tub Bliss blog escalated 30% in the last month. Here is the text from Alice Cunningham’s message:
Nancy:
I’ve been meaning to send you a big THANK YOU for nagging, encouraging, urging and insisting that I do a blog. It has turned into one of my most fun things to do AND people have come in to buy because we are “so into it” (hot tubbing). The blog has proven very useful for staff. Every few days with a new post they are able to see a new angle to use with customers. And, this morning I got this amazing email from Don. He is not the one to give out compliments, so I treasure this one sent to me ultimately because of you.
Alice– Now that you’re on a roll with your blog — it’s so informative and inspirational — I imagine everyone on our team can’t help but get pumped up about what we do and feel a new level of passion and commitment for it. I know this blog was a labor to get up and running, but it’s really one of the best things you’ve ever done. If folks don’t know how smart and insightful you are yet, they’ll get it and get YOU when they read this. I love it!
If you have unanswered questions about the value and impact blogging can have on your brand, reputation, and your online buzz, make a decision to learn more about this right now. I am a big fan of Problogger.net as a credible, high authority resource. Sign up and start learning from this content rich source that is among the most popular in the blogosphere today. It won’t cost you a penny, and you’ll learn a whole lot of valuable information fast. When the timing is right for your to debut a blog of your own, you’ll know it, and you’ll be armed with useful tips, ideas, and information to build a community of raving fans.
And, if you are lucky to have a friend in your world like Michelle Price of Social Media Savvy, you’ll get into action as she compelled me to launch this do-it-yourself publicity blog in September of 2007. She said, “Nancy, one arm of your business success is tied behind your back without a blog. Either that is OK with you or it isn’t. I’ll be here to help you get yours up and running when you are ready.” Needless to say, Michelle was the voice of reason that helped me get over the “over-thinking” hump. She set up my blog so all I had to do was start posting. And Word Press is a breeze. If you know how to type, you are ready to rock and roll. Trust me on this. It’s true.
Thanks Alice for getting into action and enjoying the blogging success you and your company deserve. Way to choose a narrow niche and fill it in a powerful, inspiring way.
Thanks Michelle for serving as the voice of reason for me and other technology shy business owners who just need the right blend of straight talk and guidance to move powerfully in a new, business and community-building direction.
What are you doing this Sunday, March 22, 2009 from 1 – 4 p.m? This is my invitation for you to join me and several other fine presenters at the Women in Business Event sponsored by the Sammamish Chamber of Commerce. We’ll be on hand to offer useful tips and resources to help you thrive during these challenging economic times. Whether you need guidance navigating the small business lending landscape, tips to achieve exquisite self care, straight talk about your retirement plans, or actionable ideas to get seen, heard, and celebrated in the local media, you won’t want to miss this event.
Here is the link to the story in the Sammamish Review to tell you a bit more. And here is a bit about what I’ll be talking about.
Publicist Nancy Juetten is fiercely committed to helping business owners everywhere get seen, heard, and celebrated through the power of free publicity without spending a fortune or spinning their wheels. Through her Do-It-Yourself Publicity Blog, she shares tips, resources, inspiration, and success stories almost daily to keep you engaged in your own DIY publicity efforts so you can achieve winning results under your own power. During her presentation, Nancy will share three things you can do tomorrow without spending a penny to have your story heard. You can attract more perfect clients. And, you can enjoy more success with greater ease with DIY publicity as a well used tool in your marketing tool chest. It’s just a matter of getting in action.
All you have to do now is register to benefit from the quality information, inspiration, and networking with other fine business women. Please do. Tickets are just $25 and are available for convenient online purchase at this link or by emailing info@sammamishchamber.org.
By the way, every guest will receive as a gift an Extreme Dark Chocolate Truffle Bar from Seattle Chocolate Company. 100% of the net profits from the sale of these delicious and exquisitely packaged delights is donated to women’s cancer charities. That is all the more reason to stock up the next time you are at your local grocery store.
Looking forward to meeting you this Sunday from 1 – 4 p.m.
Mark your calendar for Saturday, April 25 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. That is your rare opportunity to enjoy the beauty and the bounty of Seattle Design Center and meet and benefit from the great interior design ideas of Award-Winning HGTV Interior Designer Vern Yip and a panel of other talented, Seattle-based interior designers at the Eye on Design 2009 event. Eye on Design 2009 is open to the interior design loving public to preview all that Seattle Design Center has to offer. Now more than ever, the timing is perfect to source environmentally friendly design solutions, edit home furnishings to achieve a fresh, inspired look for Spring, and get answers to your most challenging interior design dilemmas. Best of all, tickets are just $10. In today’s demanding economy, that is the deal of the century. You can learn more and claim one of the 600 tickets as your own by visiting this link.
Want to interview Vern Yip? If you write an interior design blog or column for the Puget Sound media or produce a radio or television show that is perfect to showcase the latest interior design trends, get in touch at 425-641-5214 or by email at nancy@nsjmktg.com. I’ll gladly arrange an interview with Vern Yip and/or the talented Seattle-based interior designers who are part of the Eye on Design 2009 event.
Feel free to share the Eye on Design 2009 event opportunity with design loving people in your community and social networks. We expect the 600 tickets to sell out quickly and don’t want you or those you know to miss out.
DIY Publicity Tip: Don’t be afraid to share a little personal information about what you love on your Twitter profile. Mine says I love HGTV. Now, I am helping to promote an event in my own backyard that features one of the station’s most popular interior designers. How cool is that? This just goes to show that if you have the courage to tell the world what you love and what you are best at supplying, the Universe provides. Love that. Try it and see what magic manifests for your business. You have little to risk and much to gain.
Right about now, just about everyone wants more Prosperi-Tea, and I am launching a fun contest for this week to bring more of it your way. Here is how it works. Make a post to this blog between now and March 20, 2009 about why your business needs to invite more Prosperi-Tea through the power of free publicity. I’ll choose the best reply to receive as my gift the Publici-Tea™-TO-GO! Gift Bundle that includes all the items you see in the photo — plus several high-value special reports you’ll receive by immediate digital download. Your gift includes your own delightful and inspiring Prosperi-Tea mug from which to savor your DIY publicity success soon to come. This gift is valued at $57.
With Spring and Mother’s Day just around the corner, the Publici-Tea™-TO-GO! Gift Bundles make the perfect mind/body/spirit gift to sip, taste, and experience powerful, proven DIY publicity success tips over tea, Biscot-Tea™, and premium chocolates from Seattle Chocolate Company. Best of all, I donate 10% of the net profits from the sale of these items to Northwest Hope and Healing, a non profit that encourages women newly diagnosed with breast cancer.
So, now is the time to tell me why you and your business need this gift now, more than ever. May the best blog post win Prosperi-Tea and so much more. Ready, set, go!
Special Promotion – This Week Only: Anyone who signs up for an upcoming Publici-Tea™ or Winning Bio Writing Workshop or purchases a Authentic Visibility Publicity Toolkit in person or online this week will receive a Prosperi-Tea cup as a special bonus gift. The message on the inside of this inspiring mug reads, “The condition of having good fortune while drinking tea.”
Admission is just $25, and you can pay at the door. I understand there will be some lovely raffle prizes. In fact, I’ll be giving away two sets of tickets to the Eye on Design 2009 with Vern Yip Event taking place at Seattle Design Center on April 25, along with two sets of the Authentic Visibility Publicity Tips Booklets that are packed with 147 powerful ways to profit from free publicity. Each prize package is valued at $30.
