Tammy Redmon Jumps in to Pick the Low Hanging Media Fruit Right Away, Plus a Good Reason to Plan Now for the August 15 Publici-Tea™

I love it when folks get into action after hearing me speak about the power of free publicity. Coach and Business Growth Strategist Tammy Redmon of Redmon and Associates was among the guests in the audience when I spoke at the North Seattle Community College Network Breakfast about how to pick the low hanging media fruit to create a fabulous local publicity basket. As a direct result of hearing that presentation, Tammy sprung into action. Now she has proudly posted her first article entitled, “Online Networking — Leading at the Speed of Whoosh!” to www.ezinearticles.com, and here is the link. It’s a great read, so do check it out. And, she’s create a social networking profile to start building buzz in that way. She is really thrilled to be spreading her message far and beyond.

Here is what Tammy had to say about my approach to empowering her with this useful information:

“Your information does make a difference, and here is why. You make the notion that I can get published, or get someone to write about me, or attack a blog, seem doable and non-threatening. You told me what worked and took the fear right out of it by giving me the steps to results. Your energy and enthusiasm for what you do and the success that you and others are having as a result is what I personally caught hold of. It said to me, ‘You too can do this and get noticed in a new and different way.’ Oh and did I mention it is pretty cool that it is at low to no cost??? Simply perfect. So thank you for showing up in your true essence as a bold and enthusiastic woman on a mission to get people noticed.”

With feedback like this, is it any wonder that I wake up smiling with anticipation about the difference for others I can make today. If you were not able to attend the presentation and want to listen in after the fact, you can purchase the audio file for a song. Here is the link to make it easy for you to read about and purchase Audio Presentation #6.

And, if you want to jump in with both feet and immerse yourself in a half-day of do-it-yourself publicity information and inspiration, sign up for the August 15 Publici-Tea™. Because this event will be held at a fabulous historic home in Tacoma and all the 400 guests at Jazzy June are going to receive the invitation to attend, don’t delay in securing your space. Seats are most definitely limited. Here is the link to make it easy. SBA 2008 Women in Business Advocate Rachael Costner will be my very special guest, and she’ll share small business marketing tips and resources to catapult your business to a higher level of fabulous.

Besty Talbot Shares BIG News to Empower Women’s Success in Business

I love it when Publici-Tea™ guests connect with me to share their amazing do-it-yourself publicity success. Today, Betsy Talbot wrote to share some pretty exciting news. Here, in her own words, is the latest development.

Hey, I’m getting popular these days! Examiner.com, one of the fastest-growing websites for local news and content, has appointed me the Seattle Women & Business blogger. I’ll be posting once or twice a week on business news for women in the Seattle area and trying to grab a portion of those 2 million monthly visitors as customers. I made the connection to get this job through one of my eWomen contacts, the amazing Elizabeth Rightor. Thank you! Any doubts remaining on how blogging and networking can improve your business? I’m slightly delirious right now with excitement over this great news for my company, and I hope you will join me in the celebration by going over to the site and subscribing to the blog. You can even sign up to receive email updates when I post new articles, just like my regular blog. ‘ll continue to encourage you all to explore social media and online networking to make your small business small in operational size only. Your impact can be HUGE, and the first step in doing that is to start thinking big. Every success we have individually benefits us all as a networking group, and I love sharing this great news with all of you. (and yes, you may hear about this in a few places - I shared this on Ning and my regular blog and it will be in my ezine later this week – Nancy Juetten would scold me for not making the most of this great news!)

Thanks Betsy. Way to set a winning example. You rock!

Good News for Positively Fundraising on the Good News Network

Check out the front page coverage Positively Fundraising earned on this cool site. This is great news for Affirmagy Founder Kristen Marie Schuerlein. If you have good news to share, log onto the site, become a member, and share your news. You can learn more about how to do it by following this link.

Chief Happiness Officer and Blogger Earns Attention in the New York Times

While researching an article I am writing for a client, I visited Positive Sharing, which is a blog by Chief Happiness Officer Alexander Kjerulf. He is the author of Happy Hour is 9 to 5, a practical guide to making yourself and others happy at work. His comments about why the customer isn’t always right found their way to the pages of the New York Times on March 27.

I continue to be delighted and amazed by how good content can travel so far and beyond to bring perspectives to entirely new audiences of people who need to know more about any variety of topics. And I love that Alexander Kjerulf took the step to alert his blog readers about his good fortune in earning the attention of the New York Times.

When you get quoted in the New York Times in a favorable reference, that coverage lives on indefinitely. And when you’ve got good news and insights to share, it is a beautiful thing for enhancing your brand, your reputation, and your credibility as an expert. I have no doubt that his blog is enjoying a bounty of new visits from people who want to learn more about his compelling ideas and business philosophies — especially when you consider how many people on Earth are not exactly ecstatic about their work.

When you earn favorable publicity, make the most of it. Tell your blog readers, your ezine subscribers, and your clients, colleagues, and co-collaborators about your good news. And offer a call to action to invite a connection that can propel your business forward. It doesn’t get much better than the New York Times, and I am sure Alexander Kjerulf would happily agree.

Bankrate.com Story about Retiring in a Bad Economy Puts My Husband’s Comments in Spotlight

Do-it-yourself publicity success stories continue to take shape, and this one hits close to home.

My husband Steve is a member of the Garrett Planning Network, which is a collection of Certified Financial Planners across the nation who offer fee-only financial planning and advice for everyday life. Steve’s focus is guiding people to an abundant retirement. From time to time, the Garrett Planning Network sends him media leads to which he can reply with his commentary and perspective. Last week, a query came to him from a reporter from Bankrate.com who was writing a story about how to retire in a bad economy, and Steve sent a compelling email to the reporter to enlist her interest in including him in her story. A phone interview took place hours later, and Steve’s comments serve as the lead in today’s article. When good media opportunities show up, the lesson here is to reply quickly with insights that add value to the story and to be available and ready with your talking points.

In April of 2006, Steve was interviewed by a writer for the Seattle Times to offer tips to consider when hiring a financial planner. That article still delivers new leads to Steve’s door to those who search “Google” to find fee only financial planners in Bellevue, almost two years after the fact. Online stories remain online indefinitely, and it’s a beautiful thing when the news about your expertise is good.

What is going on in the news today that offers you the opportunity to share your expertise and add value to the conversation? If you want to be an expert in your field and accomplish that through the power of free publicity, hurry to register for tomorrow’s Women in Business Forum, sponsored by the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce. I’ll be speaking on this topic at 9:30 a.m. and would love to have you there.

Affirmagy Earns the National Spotlight

Kristen Marie Schuerlein, a friend, client, and super-star business woman, has been earning the national media attention lately, and some of her success flows from her own stellar do-it-yourself publicity and networking efforts with influential bloggers, including Lori Richardson.  Kristen is founder of Affirmagy and Positively Fundraising, and she has just launched another venture called Connect with Kristen.

Check out this story that flowed to the San Francisco Chronicle, CBS News, and the Washington Post last Friday. Affirmagy’s unfolding success story can also be found in the latest issues of Pure Inspiration and Entrepreneur’s Startups. One good thing does lead to another, and Kristen knows this for sure.  It’s a beautiful thing.  And well deserved, I might add.

Publici-Tea™ Guest from 12-14 Earns Ink in the 12-30 Edition of the Seattle Times

What a thrill for Award-Winning Interior Designer Midori Yoshikawa to have her first job profiled in the “My First Job” feature within the Sunday, 12-30-07 edition of the Seattle Times. Midori attended the December 14 Publici-Tea™ event with intentions to learn how not to be a well kept secret and to get into action right away. Now, plenty of folks around the Puget Sound region know who she is. Hats off to Midori for getting into the media relations game immediately and submitting a quality head shot with her story to put her best face forward. She engaged Tara Gimmer to take her photo, and it is a winner.

Midori also shared the online story link by email with all her best customers, co-collaborators, and advocates to invite new interest in her services and spread the word even more. Midori won’t be a well kept secret for long.

Midori’s work has been featured in Seattle Homes & Lifestyles magazine, the Seattle Times, and Kitchen and Bath Ideas. It’s a brand new year. If you are looking for an inspired designer with great passion for creating spaces in which clients will always be smiling, get in touch with her.

And great job, Midori, for taking the lessons you learned at Publici-Tea™ to the pages of the Seattle Times.

Publici-Tea Anyone? The next event is January 18. Register today.

The Today Show Delivers a Perfect Fee-Only Financial Planning Prospect the Day After Christmas

The Today Show delivered a 27-year-old, Bothell, Washington-based financial planning service seeker to Steve Juetten’s fee-only financial planning practice a day following the national broadcast about last minute holiday gifts that make great financial sense.

This brings up a timely question to ponder.  How many leads do you need to consider your attempts at free publicity a success?  If one lead turns into a perfect engagement, chances are that many similarly perfect engagements will follow.  After all, perfect customers are likely to enjoy a fabulous experience with the right service providers and be compelled to talk about their experiences among friends, co-workers, and co-collaborators.

And, when you consider that the only thing at stake to earn the free publicity in the first place was less than two hours to write a press release, post it to www.theopenpress.com, and blog about it here, I’d say that Steve Juetten was a winner from the start.  (By the way, you can post your press releases for free at www.theopenpress.com.  Visit the site to learn more and see how easy it is.)

Steve is clear about the value he offers so he can attract more of the right clients to engage his fee-only financial planning services.  Those are exactly the right clients he wants to show up so he can make the difference he can make through his services.

I like to say that a perfect engagement can lead to happily ever after for those business owners who are clear about the kind of partnerships they seek.   Steve has that clarity.  His new 27-year-old prospect wants what Steve has to offer.   It’s a beautiful thing, thanks to the power of free publicity.   I can’t wait to hear that additional clients have found their way to Juetten Personal Financial Planning LLC, thanks to The Today Show and other means that bring the right clients to his door.

Small Talk Expertise Turns into Big Ink - Here’s How

Congratulations to Melissa Wadsworth for earning big ink in the Sunday edition of the Lifestyle section of the Seattle Times for her small talk expertise. The “How to shoot the breeze with ease” interview with columnist Pamela Sit was well timed for all the holiday parties now in progress. Here is the link so you can learn some timely tips right now.

I asked Melissa how this story came about, and here is what she said:

“Actually, this was a gift from the media gods. The reporter just called me out of the blue and said she had been looking at my website and would I do an interview about small talk for holiday gatherings. Of course, my experience with knowing what to do when the media calls you kicked into place. She gave me five days notice. That give me time to organize some thoughts and stories around the topic. When she asked for two high res head shots after the interview, I had those to send her, which I did immediately. I also followed up by passing along the notes I had made for the interview. That way, if she didn’t get what she had out of the actual interview, there was more information she could choose from. She actually used one of the points from these notes. After the article came out, I sent her a another thank you note, expressing what a wonderful writer she was. That’s it.”

To go one step beyond, I suggested she connect with the reporter to share her website after the fact to make it easy to refer readers to it to make their “Small Talk Savvy” books since that site wasn’t mentioned in the article. As luck would have it, the website offer came in perfect timing to respond to a reader request that can in moments before.

If you need help with small talk savvy, Melissa’s book can show you the way. Here is a link to learn more.

What expertise do you offer that is perfectly timed for right now? I’ll be giving a talk to the Seattle Chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers in January. They sure have timely expertise to share to help folks get a jump start on being better organized in the New Year. What a timely idea that has legs to run. And, believe it or not, Valentines Day is just around the corner, and reporters with retail stories to tell in January want to hear the latest timely, newsworthy, and relevant ideas and trends to lend impact to their January reporting, just in time for the season of love. There is no time like the present than now to start pitching — and earning the big ink. Are you game? Have fun, and keep me posted on your success.

Wall Street Journal to Report on Getting the Most & Best PR for the Least Money & Effort

The Wall Street Journal’s Small Business Link is preparing a story for December 17 about getting the most and best public relations exposure for the least money and effort.  If you have ideas, recommendations, and success stories to lend to this timely and relevant topic, this is a great opportunity to share and perhaps have your business and its local publicity success  showcased within the pages of the Wall Street Journal.

Send your suggestions to sblink@wsj.com so you can empower and inspire other buzz-seeking business owners.  

And, if the Media-Savvy-to-Go tips you enjoy from reading this blog, my Puget Sound Business Journal “Media Savvy” newspaper column, the Main Street Media Savvy Publicity Tip of the Week radio show, the Media-Savvy-to-Go ezine, and the Publici-Tea™ training I offer contribute to your success, don’t be shy about mentioning it!  Thanks much.