January 19, 2010
PR in Action, product publicity
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The media loves a rags to riches story, and I had the opportunity to work with a new entrepreneur last week with a very timely, relevant and entertaining story to tell.
Who among us hasn’t been impacted by the challenging economy? Doug Baker, a former real estate investor, was discouraged when his house flipping business was turned on its side as a consequence of the dramatic changes in the real estate market. Discouraged and dismayed, he followed advice his wife Sandra gave him. She said, “Follow your heart. Figure out a way to make a living doing something you love.”
As it turned out, what Doug loves is the game of golf. One morning, he woke up with an “aha” moment to create “My Sack.” Today, the company is on track to generate $1 million in revenues. Read the press release below for more details and inspiration that anything is possible, if you just allow yourself to think creatively, act decisively, add value to the marketplace — and have a little fun. And, if you are looking for a playful and affordable gift to share with the golfer in your life this Valentine’s Day, MySack could be just the ticket!
By the way, if you need help turning your “aha” moment into a media opportunity, check out the “Rent Nancy’s PR Brain” service. That’s what Sandra and Doug Baker did, and they are smiling now.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sandra Baker or Doug Baker, 801-391-7515
doug@mysack.com or sandy@mysack.com
(or call Nancy Juetten, 425-641-5214 or send email at nancy@nsjmktg.com if Sandra or Doug aren’t available.)
My Sack Has “Cutest Gift for Men” in the Bag, According to Hallmark Buyers at Altanta Gift Show
Discouraged Former Real Estate Investor Finds Riches in Sassy Novelty Item
(Atlanta, GA – January 14, 2010) — A new novelty item for golfers took the January 2010 Atlanta Gift Show by storm when “My Sack” came out of the bag in a big way, Founder Doug Baker quipped today. Baker is founder of My Sack, the original ball holder (www.mysack.com).
Gift buyers from Hallmark stores and beyond called ‘My Sack’ the unexpected darling at the gift show,” Baker said. Gift buyers from Hallmark and scores and scores of boutique chain retailers and gift stores are placed orders valued at almost $70,000 in sales in a single weekend at this show. Based on the sales momentum achieved since the product first debuted in July of 2009 at their first Atlanta Gift Show, Baker is optimistic that “My Sack” is on its way toward achieving $1 million in sales for 2010.
“That is great news for him as well as for women everywhere who are looking for the a show-stopping gift to delight their golfing husbands this Valentine’s Day. The picture tells the story about what this item is quite well. Within the sack are two logo-adorned golf balls and the message, “It Takes Balls to Golf.”
MySack is crafted using high-quality, ultra-suede fabric and industrial-strength stitching. It has a heavy-duty velcro enclosure and sturdy clasp which are both double-stitched to ensure longevity. All logos are embroidered (except custom-ordered corporate logos). MySack was designed to ensure laughs and durability for years to come. My Sack retails for $14.99.
Prior to launching ‘My Sack,” Baker was in the business of real estate investing and flipping homes. When the market fell out, his business did, too. Discouraged and dismayed, he searched for inspiration to create a new way to serve the marketplace. An avid golfer, he woke up one morning with his “aha” moment. Why not create a useful ball holder that could also lift spirits for those hoping to swing the club for a win next time.”
Baker said the product was in four stores in June of 2009. In August, MySack was in 36 stores. By December, 120 stores were carrying the product. By January, well over 500 stores are carrying the product.
Baker said, “My story offers timely inspiration to those many thousands of Americans who are discouraged, underemployed, or out of work. You really can live your dream if you just set aside your disappointment and let your imagination take flight. You just might find a hole in one.”
Baker also offers an extraordinary guarantee for this remarkable product. He says, “I am so confident that MySack will be a hit in your retail store, as it has for others, I will guarantee that if you are not pleased with the sales of MySack after days, I will buy back the display and all unsold items from you. I can only do this because of the history and success that we have seen so quickly with MySack.”
This guarantee applies with purchase of the $39.00 display which includes three free MySacks (retail value $42.00) to offset display cost. Call or email us for pricing info. Doug Baker is available for media interviews. Call Doug at 801-391-7515. Reporters and bloggers seeking product samples to feature in Valentine’s Day Gift Guides are encouraged to get in touch, request samples, and share the news with their followers.
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January 8, 2010
PR in Action
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Thank you Redmond Reporter Mary Stevens Decker for attending the Wed., January 6 ThinkSpace event about getting known as an expert in your field and summing up the highlights in your story today. Click on the link to read about the key points I delivered during this well attended and well reviewed talk, and share the tips with everyone you know who wants to earn expert status this year and beyond!
August 3, 2009
PR in Action
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The Seattle region has been experiencing a powerful heat wave, and temperatures have escalated to the 100’s for days at a time. Hats off to local companies that found ways to earn media attention for helping others beat the heat.
- Castle Ice in Renton, WA offered a free skate from noon – 3 p.m. to those seeking relief from the heat with skate rentals just $3. That message carried over the 5 p.m. news on KOMO TV 4, no doubt offering a perfect solution for overheated families to cool down on the cheap.
- The Bellevue Club offered a member special of an air conditioned hotel stay for $109 per night and sent the message to members via email. Is it any wonder the hotel was quickly sold out since temperatures in the parking lot just about reached 109 degrees last week?
- Community libraries were in the TV news in a big way most of last week as citizens looked for cool places to escape the heat.
DIY Publicity Tip: When temperatures escalate, see what special offers you can extend to your customers and the community to bring your own special offers and amenities into the media spotlight. Send news alerts to the assignment desks at your local television news stations and emails to your best customers to offer a solution to the problem at hand, while bringing more of the right people to your doors to benefit. No doubt, people will be re-telling their stories about how they coped during this heat wave for years to come, and the good folks at Castle Ice, the Bellevue Club, and the community libraries will be well remembered for doing their part to make a tough time easier for many.
April 26, 2009
Event Promotion, PR in Action
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I had a great conversation with a potential client on Friday morning that validated much of what I share with Publici-Tea™ workshop guests and readers of this blog. The prospect called to say he was referred to my company two years ago by one of my financial services clients. He signed up to receive my Media-Savvy-to-Go ezine. This free ezine offers a convenient way to get to know the quality of my ideas and learn more about my company’s products and services without spending a dime. He started reading it and benefiting from the DIY publicity tips and guidance within.
When this DIY publicity blog went live on September 1, 2007, he started reading it AND paying attention when I posted new audio files or radio interviews offering useful DIY publicity tips. He specifically mentioned the audio file about making the most of your press releases and my KB Women Blog Talk Radio interview on DIY publicity. (You can listen for free in to those useful files by clicking on the active links.) He also followed specific tips about how and who to pitch in the Puget Sound about his story by reading some of the success stories I post here.
When the timing was right for him to apply the ideas I shared to his advantage, he followed my suggestions to the letter. He made a pitch to a well known business columnist and earned a front page business story with a fabulous accompanying photo in the business section of a major metropolitan daily newspaper. That led to radio interviews, which subsequently compelled as many as six potential franchisees to initiate meaningful conversations about his business concept. He anticipates that, by the end of May, all six deals will be done deals.
When he called on Friday, it was as if we’d known each other for years. He already liked, trusted, and respected my advice. We established winning rapport almost instantly. A face-to-face meeting is scheduled for the first week of May to see how we can work together.
DIY Publicity Tip: Not everyone you meet is ready to engage your products or buy your services at the first moment your company comes to their awareness. People have to get to know you, sample the quality of your expertise and advice, and get to the point of readiness at which what you offer is a perfect fit for what they need. Be patient and keep doing the right kinds of things consistently, with passion, and with commitment to be of service. Then, when the timing is right, you will be first on their consideration list to call when they have the motivation, dollars, and readiness to get into action.
By the way, the NEXT Publici-Tea™ Workshop takes place on Friday, May 15 from 12:30 – 5 p.m. at The Village Bellevue. I have just three spots left, and I would be honored if you claimed one of them as your own. You will benefit from a fun, engaging, and delicious day of training, tips, tools to guide you to earn high impact free publicity results for your business. Premium chocolate truffles from Seattle Chocolate Company are always on the agenda!
And, the Publici-Tea™ Workshop is coming to Portland, Oregon on Friday, June 12 at Kells Irish Restaurant and Bar. We’ll be meeting in the Irish Writers Room. This beautiful room can comfortably accommodate 20-34 guests, and I can’t wait to welcome each and every one of them. I hope YOU are among them. Portland Business Journal Editor Rob Smith will be a VIP guest speaker at the Portland event. He’ll share useful tips from his own experience to guide event guests to make more successful story pitches that capture his attention. I’ll be previewing a new bio-in-a-box tool I’ve developed and asking these lucky event guests to take it out for a spin and rate it so I can bring it to market with powerful endorsements soon after.
Special thanks to Kathie Nelson of ConnectWorks and Rebecca Shapiro of The Savvy Collaborative for serving as powerful advocates for the Portland event. If you live and work in the Portland area or need a good reason to leave your hometown to learn powerful, buzz-building lessons and acquire time-tested and proven DIY publicity tools that guide you to earning free publicity, sign up today.
Learn more and register for the Bellevue or Portland events at this link, and tell your publicity-seeking friends to take a look, too. After all, there has never been a better time in the economy to get empowered with DIY publicity insights to build the buzz about your business so more of the right people can show up to benefit from what you have to offer. Your satisfaction is guaranteed or your money back.
April 23, 2009
PR in Action, Seattle Design Center
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It lights me up to earn prominent, engaging, and timely coverage for my clients in the media that are right for their message. Today, I logged on to www.nwasianweekly.com to get some very good news in that regard.
HGTV Designer Vern Yip is on the front page.
Seattle Design Center Marketing Director Craig Cross reports that tickets are selling at a quick clip. There has been a particular rush for tickets these last two days in particular. This event promises to sell out at 600 tickets.
Thanks to Vern Yip for being so gracious and available to the media leading up to his April 25 appearance at Eye on Design 2009 at Seattle Design Center. You can still buy tickets if you act fast. Here is the link.
April 3, 2009
PR in Action
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When I got hired to do the PR for the Eye on Design 2009 with HGTV Interior Designer Vern Yip event taking place at Seattle Design Center, all the local glossy home magazines were already complete with their April editions. Still, reaching those readers was my highest priority, so I thought a bit outside the box.
- Could I suggest blog interviews with Vern Yip to appear on the blog for Seattle Homes & Lifestyles magazine?
- Could I suggest a mention in the magazine’s ezine to readers to enlist their interest and enthusiasm in the event?
- Could I suggest a blog contest that would invite perfect readers to write in and share their most pressing interior design questions for Vern to answer in person in exchange for the opportunity to win free tickets to this popular, high value event?
- Could I invite a regular interior design columnist for a widely circulated chain of community newspapers to interview Vern Yip and bring his message to those communities in one bold stroke?
- Could I enlist the interest of a popular human interest columnist with the Puget Sound Business Journal to interview Vern Yip for a possible personality profile in advance of event day?
- And, could I appeal to the publisher of NW Asian Weekly and Chinese Post to interview a nationally recognized Asian American — Vern Yip — who just happens to be coming to our fair city on April 25?
The answer to all of these questions is YES.
Seattle Homes & Lifestyle magazine is doing a fabulous job alerting their readers to this upcoming event. Robin Daly, one of the co-writers for the Design File column for Journal Newspapers, did a fabulous interview to debut in the April edition of the Journal newspapers, and all of the other items noted above are taking shape as I type this post.
When I got this assignment, I did a quick “Google” search to find out what I could read about the Eye on Design 2009 event at Seattle Design Center with Vern Yip. No references came up in the search. Just a couple weeks later, that situation has changed mightily. Check out this link to see how far and wide the news about Eye on Design 2009 with Vern Yip has traveled.
Publicity really can build the buzz. It’s a matter of thinking creatively and approaching the right media outlets with quality ideas that serve their readers. Good results are unfolding every day, and I have great confidence that every one of the 600 seats for this event will sell out soon. If you want to claim yours, here are two suggestions.
1) Enter the blog contest at Seattle Homes & Lifestyles magazine by sharing your most pressing interior design dilemma for Vern Yip. If your question is selected, you will win two tickets and enjoy a fabulous day enjoying the beauty and the bounty that Seattle Design Center has to offer.
2) If you want to be sure of your space on the event list, buy your tickets for $10 each by visiting this link.
March 10, 2009
Event Promotion, PR in Action
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Join me at the Thursday, March 12 luncheon meeting from noon – 1:30 p.m. of the Rotary Club of Redmond at noon at the Marriott – Redmond Town Center. I’ve been invited to share three tried-and-true do-it-yourself publicity actions everyone in the audience can take now to get seen, heard, and celebrated through the power of free publicity. If you live and work in the area, come on over so you can benefit. Lunch is just $20, and the information you’ll learn and the connections you’ll make will be priceless. I hope to meet you there.
December 19, 2008
PR in Action, Seattle Chocolate Company
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Evening Magazine is Seattle’s only TV magazine show that brings unique stories about people, places, and events around the Northwest. The show airs weeknights at 7 p.m. PST on King 5 TV. Tonight, be sure to tune in to watch a story about a Northwest holiday favorite created by Seattle Chocolate Company — the Frango! Since most of Seattle is “snowed in” chances are that viewership of this program will be better than ever.
I got inspired to pitch this story a couple of weeks ago when I saw newspaper ads celebrating the 150th anniversary of Macy’s department store and the 90th anniversary of Frangos. Business anniversaries aren’t typically big news, but coming up with an interesting back story about those anniversaries could be. I created an email story pitch that highlighted the visual delight of this potential story. The subject line in my email read: The Wizard of Oz, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Moxie, and Serendipity – A Recipe for Holiday Magic and Business Success in the Northwest.
Then, I followed up with a phone call to check interest. Within moments, the producer agreed to proceed with the story. The camera crew visited Seattle Chocolate Company a week ago, and the show is scheduled to air tonight.
To follow is the pitch I emailed to Evening Magazine Producer Eric Riddle to invite his interest. Notice that I demonstrate my understanding of his program and deadlines with the first sentence and immediately get to the magic behind this Northwest story that has not yet been told. You can follow a similar recipe and earn the media spotlight for your Northwest story that has yet to be told. Try it, and report back with your do-it-yourself publicity success story. In the meantime, be sure to watch Evening Magazine tonight to see this Seattle Chocolate Company publicity success story in all its holiday magic. Read the rest…
December 1, 2008
Media Savvy 101, PR in Action
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Since most consumers visit the internet first before buying any product or engaging any service, what comes up in a “Google” search can make a big difference in whether or not people buy right now, put your company on their consideration list for the future, or recommend you to others.
If your company demonstrates an ongoing pattern of good news, that can make a difference in a prospect’s inclination to engage or advocate for your products or services. After all, given the choice to work with an award-winning, innovative organization with an ongoing pattern of contribution to the marketplace and the community and another organization without such a pattern of impressive accomplishments, what you would do?
With that said, what kind of information qualifies as “news.” Some examples might be the introduction of an innovative new product that solves a problem in the marketplace or the community that is deeply felt, the winning of a prestigious award, the acquisition of a new company or a new client, an announcement about a new top officer or an appointment to a community or corporate board, or the release of proprietary research that is provocative and compelling in addressing issues that are impacting decision makers now more than ever. In today’s economy, layoffs, labor strikes, and other news relevant to the turbulence of the economy is center stage.
Before you take any action, examine your goals. Do you want to generate buzz and brand awareness? Do you want to educate your audiences? Do you want to convert leads to sales? Do you want to improve your rankings in the search engines and increase traffic to your site? Then, present your information in such a way as to support those goals.
A press release can be an effective tool to deliver the information, provided you target it to the right audiences. A press release is typically a one page document that explains the “who, what, why, when, where, and how” about your information with emphasis on the “why anyone should care” details. It includes contact information to make it easy for reporters and editors to get in touch with you, and it includes links to your website, blog, or online press room so people can quickly and easily learn more.
Issuing your news online via press releases can be an effective strategy to support the accomplishment of these goals. The Society for New Communications Research Fellows issued recommended best practices for online news releases in June of 2008, based on their study “Exploring the ROI of Online Press Releases.” You can find useful tips and best practices at this link. Here is another link to a useful article by Kay Paumier of Communications Plus about how to improve your search engine ranking through news releases.
When preparing your news releases, Michael Hart says to pay particular attention to the title. The title is everything. The title determines the “click” rate since many digital releases are sent as an attachment or require some additional effort on the part of the recipient.
Putting “Press release for your consideration” in the subject line of your email is definitely not the way to go. Don’t be afraid to have a little fun with your title, if it suits the occasion and the timing. For example, I remember having a little fun at Easter a few years ago with a photo opportunity release I issued on behalf of one of my clients. It read, “Chocolate Chicks and Caramel Bunnies are on the Run at Fran’s Chocolates.” Did I get lots of pick up on that release? You bet!
With these tips guiding your efforts, you can achieve more DIY publicity success with greater ease. Stay tuned for more tips about press releases in the days leading up to this Thursday’s teleseminar on the topic with me and PR Leads Founder Dan Janal. Sign up to listen in or enjoy the Mp3 file at your 24/7 convenience at this link.
September 17, 2008
Media Savvy 101, PR in Action
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This blog post comes to you from my trusty team member Sharon Baker, and its a good one.
She writes:
Enterprising do-it-yourselfers playing in the technology arena will want to take note of a surprising change at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Microsoft reporter Todd Bishop and venture and startup reporter John Cook left the PI Friday to create a new online technology venture in conjunction with the Puget Sound Business Journal. The news was first reported by Brier Dudley at The Seattle Times.
Their departure wipes out the technology coverage at the PI, and opens a window of opportunity for publicity seekers with news tips and story ideas. If you have a technology story to tell and would like to see it appear in the PI, send your pitches to Business Editor Margaret Santjer at MargaretSantjer@seattlepi.com.
The new PSBJ tech site won’t be up for a few weeks, according to information posted on a temporary holding page, which provides a form to sign up to receive updates on the new venture. Visit it here: www.pugetsoundbusinessjournal.com/tech.
It is interesting to note that Bishop and Cook have co-founder titles, a good sign that the new venture is going to be controlled locally. With their years of experience, professional blogging credentials and large following, the new site will be a good place to learn about start-ups, financing and entrepreneurship. While the focus will be on technology, the venture will offer plenty of tips that are useful to all industries so wise do-it-yourselfers will want to tune in.
Enterprising DIY publicists wishing to get in touch will Cook and Bishop can do so at johnharoldcook@gmail.com and toddbishop@gmail.com.
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Who among us hasn’t been impacted by the challenging economy? Doug Baker, a former real estate investor, was discouraged when his house flipping business was turned on its side as a consequence of the dramatic changes in the real estate market. Discouraged and dismayed, he followed advice his wife Sandra gave him. She said, “Follow your heart. Figure out a way to make a living doing something you love.”
