This has been a great week to catch up on things on my to-do list. I've made some random edits to my website, updated my taxes for 2007, and cleaned up my desk. I also transferred all the important dates to my new 2008 calendar. Yes, I still use a paper calendar with penciled-in dates.
My husband made me a really neat Christmas present this year. He framed one of my business cards with my new logo. He put it in a shadow box! It was so cute at how proud he looked as I opened the box on Christmas Eve. I'm very grateful for his support with my business.
My business was VERY blessed in 2007. I acquired three new clients. I continue to learn from the two ladies who own their own PR firms and contract work out to me. I've very grateful for my success this year.
My your business thrive in 2008!
Happy New Year!
Friday, December 28, 2007
Friday, December 21, 2007
Media Worthy Grand Opening
I love brainstorming publicity ideas for clients.
My client who owns The Sling Station and Peppermint.com is opening a retail location here in Dallas.
Instead of just doing a boring ribbon cutting grand opening celebration, I came up with something media worthy and fun!
We will host Dallas' Largest Baby Shower! There are three components:
1. A donation drive to support The Network of Community Ministries. We'll collect baby items including diapers, wipes, toiletries and baby food to support local infants in need. Peppermint will be located in Richardson and this is the social services agency for that city.
2. A baby fair with demonstration classes such as infant massage, baby sign language and sling demonstrations. Guests can also meet local pediatric health care professionals.
3. Peppermint Baby Mascot Contest – Guests are encouraged to get creative with dolls and/or craft supplies to create the Peppermint Baby. The top three most creative entries will win a $100 gift certificate.
This last one is going to be a lot of fun! Can't you just see a photo of homemade dolls making it into the local paper? Plus the donation drive ties it into the community which the media also love.
Of course my client has started to blog about these events. We'll use traditional media as well as social media to market this grand opening. Wish us luck!
My client who owns The Sling Station and Peppermint.com is opening a retail location here in Dallas.
Instead of just doing a boring ribbon cutting grand opening celebration, I came up with something media worthy and fun!
We will host Dallas' Largest Baby Shower! There are three components:
1. A donation drive to support The Network of Community Ministries. We'll collect baby items including diapers, wipes, toiletries and baby food to support local infants in need. Peppermint will be located in Richardson and this is the social services agency for that city.
2. A baby fair with demonstration classes such as infant massage, baby sign language and sling demonstrations. Guests can also meet local pediatric health care professionals.
3. Peppermint Baby Mascot Contest – Guests are encouraged to get creative with dolls and/or craft supplies to create the Peppermint Baby. The top three most creative entries will win a $100 gift certificate.
This last one is going to be a lot of fun! Can't you just see a photo of homemade dolls making it into the local paper? Plus the donation drive ties it into the community which the media also love.
Of course my client has started to blog about these events. We'll use traditional media as well as social media to market this grand opening. Wish us luck!
Friday, December 14, 2007
Client Gifts
I always send my clients a personal Thanksgiving card because I am extremely grateful for their business and trust in me.
This year I also sent Mother's Day cards because I'm grateful for the opportunity to work at home and be with my daughter. I work when she sleeps and am right there when she wakes up!
For Christmas gifts, here's what I sent:
Two clients who own their own PR firms received the book, "The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly" by David Meerman Scott. It's so wonderful to be able to market directly to your customers instead of relying solely on publicity and advertising! I loved this book and it was the inspiration for this blog!
Another client, who already gets the power of blogs and podcasting, will receive the "Women's Advantage 2008 Page-a-Day" calendar. It's full of innovative ideas on strategy, teambuilding, marketing, finance, and more. Every day she'll learn a valuable lesson from a mentor who is successfully growing her business.
What are you giving clients this year for the holidays?
Merry Christmas everyone!
This year I also sent Mother's Day cards because I'm grateful for the opportunity to work at home and be with my daughter. I work when she sleeps and am right there when she wakes up!
For Christmas gifts, here's what I sent:
Two clients who own their own PR firms received the book, "The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly" by David Meerman Scott. It's so wonderful to be able to market directly to your customers instead of relying solely on publicity and advertising! I loved this book and it was the inspiration for this blog!
Another client, who already gets the power of blogs and podcasting, will receive the "Women's Advantage 2008 Page-a-Day" calendar. It's full of innovative ideas on strategy, teambuilding, marketing, finance, and more. Every day she'll learn a valuable lesson from a mentor who is successfully growing her business.
What are you giving clients this year for the holidays?
Merry Christmas everyone!
Friday, December 7, 2007
My First Airline Magazine Media Hit!
I worked on a national PR media campaign for photographer Roger Moore earlier this year. He leads photo safaris throughout the world! I appreciate the art of photography so this was a fun account for me.
I was hired to pitch travel magazines to secure media coverage for Roger and/or his scheduled safaris. Among the media list was in-flight airline magazines.
In one of my biggest media hits in my professional career, Hemispheres Magazine (December, 2007) mentioned Roger's May safari to Kenya in a side bar about the magazine's annual travel photo contest. This magazine is on board all of the United Airlines airplanes!
This is an example of studying the magazine and pitching the right editor for a certain section. The editor was impressed that I did this and didn't just send a blast email. Here's the comment she gave me, "Your email was really effective because you pitched it specifically to our UpDates section. Normally I glance at these and delete but this caught my eye because you had personalized it to Hemispheres and it is a good idea."
I'm not just sitting in my office reading magazines all day, I'm studying them to find pitching opportunities for my clients!
Here's the link to my Hemispheres Magazine media hit. Yeah!
I was hired to pitch travel magazines to secure media coverage for Roger and/or his scheduled safaris. Among the media list was in-flight airline magazines.
In one of my biggest media hits in my professional career, Hemispheres Magazine (December, 2007) mentioned Roger's May safari to Kenya in a side bar about the magazine's annual travel photo contest. This magazine is on board all of the United Airlines airplanes!
This is an example of studying the magazine and pitching the right editor for a certain section. The editor was impressed that I did this and didn't just send a blast email. Here's the comment she gave me, "Your email was really effective because you pitched it specifically to our UpDates section. Normally I glance at these and delete but this caught my eye because you had personalized it to Hemispheres and it is a good idea."
I'm not just sitting in my office reading magazines all day, I'm studying them to find pitching opportunities for my clients!
Here's the link to my Hemispheres Magazine media hit. Yeah!
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Tips from a blogosphere navigator
Cheryl Hall has a great column in today's Dallas Morning News about monitoring bloggers to read what they are saying about your company.
She also had a great definition of a blog:
"A blog, or Web log, is a regularly updated journal published on a Web site to provide commentary or news. It usually allows readers to add their thoughts in an interactive format."
I highly recommend setting up several Google Alerts about about your company and other key words used within your industry. Whenever something is posted on the web using those key words, Google will send you an email with links for you to click through. These alerts are from on-line newspapers as well as bloggers.
If a blogger writes about you, post a comment on their blog. If it's positive, thank them. If it's negative, see how you can remedy the situation.
Click here to read Cheryl's full column about the power of blogs and learn why you should be monitoring and interacting with those within your industry.
She also had a great definition of a blog:
"A blog, or Web log, is a regularly updated journal published on a Web site to provide commentary or news. It usually allows readers to add their thoughts in an interactive format."
I highly recommend setting up several Google Alerts about about your company and other key words used within your industry. Whenever something is posted on the web using those key words, Google will send you an email with links for you to click through. These alerts are from on-line newspapers as well as bloggers.
If a blogger writes about you, post a comment on their blog. If it's positive, thank them. If it's negative, see how you can remedy the situation.
Click here to read Cheryl's full column about the power of blogs and learn why you should be monitoring and interacting with those within your industry.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
I Recommend Homestead
I recently created my own website (lbpublicrelations.com) using Homestead.
I chose Homestead for a couple of reasons:
The cost is very affordable; especially for freelancers. I went with the Gold Package for $20/month. The cheapest I found to have someone else create my website was $1,200.
I wanted to be able to have control over any edits. I didn't want to have to rely on a web designer to make any small grammar edits.
It took about 2 evenings to create my site. I chose a template and started adding my content.
I had to call customer service one time because my bio page is long and I needed to know how to make the template continue with the wording. The customer service rep answered my question very quickly and easily.
Visit my site! lbpublicrelations.com
I chose Homestead for a couple of reasons:
The cost is very affordable; especially for freelancers. I went with the Gold Package for $20/month. The cheapest I found to have someone else create my website was $1,200.
I wanted to be able to have control over any edits. I didn't want to have to rely on a web designer to make any small grammar edits.
It took about 2 evenings to create my site. I chose a template and started adding my content.
I had to call customer service one time because my bio page is long and I needed to know how to make the template continue with the wording. The customer service rep answered my question very quickly and easily.
Visit my site! lbpublicrelations.com
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Helping Clients on Live TV
There have been several occasions during my PR career that I’ve had to step in and help a client during a media event.
The most recent happened last Monday on Good Morning Texas. Kate and I had to help my babywearing client, Marni Matyus of The Sling Station and Peppermint.com. She was on the “Not So Perfect Parent” segment to provide tips for “Traveling with Children.” I wore Kate on my back in an Ergo Baby Carrier. My sister even helped us out too and wore her daughter in a Didymos Wrap.
I was so nervous. I woke up at 1 a.m. the night before and couldn’t get back to sleep. I was nervous because I didn’t want Kate to freak out on live TV and ruin the segment.
Everything turned out great! My sister’s baby slept peacefully the whole time and Kate was happy and smiling, hanging out on my back.
Click here to see the episode!
Here are two other situations where I had to help a client during a media event. When have you had to help a client? I’d love to hear your story!
Client: Deepak Chopra Center for Well Being
Media Event: Health Magazine was doing a photo shoot of Cheryl Tiegs, age 50, to showcase how well she has taken care of herself.
How I Helped: They needed an extra body to sit in on the food scene. I volunteered and photos were taken of us “pretending to eat.” It was really hard for me to pretend to eat. Cheryl did it like a pro – smiling and smelling the food as she passed the dishes along. One photo of me smelling some seasoning really did make it into the magazine!
Client: Kokopelli’s Wellness Spa and Yoga Center
Media Event: Fitness Expert Leisa Hart (Buns of Steel Workout Star) was doing a New Year’s fitness segment live from the spa.
How I Helped: While Leisa was reporting, a group of us was doing exercises in the background. I even had to do some Pilates moves while Leisa “helped me” during a tease prior to the segment.
The most recent happened last Monday on Good Morning Texas. Kate and I had to help my babywearing client, Marni Matyus of The Sling Station and Peppermint.com. She was on the “Not So Perfect Parent” segment to provide tips for “Traveling with Children.” I wore Kate on my back in an Ergo Baby Carrier. My sister even helped us out too and wore her daughter in a Didymos Wrap.
I was so nervous. I woke up at 1 a.m. the night before and couldn’t get back to sleep. I was nervous because I didn’t want Kate to freak out on live TV and ruin the segment.
Everything turned out great! My sister’s baby slept peacefully the whole time and Kate was happy and smiling, hanging out on my back.
Click here to see the episode!
Here are two other situations where I had to help a client during a media event. When have you had to help a client? I’d love to hear your story!
Client: Deepak Chopra Center for Well Being
Media Event: Health Magazine was doing a photo shoot of Cheryl Tiegs, age 50, to showcase how well she has taken care of herself.
How I Helped: They needed an extra body to sit in on the food scene. I volunteered and photos were taken of us “pretending to eat.” It was really hard for me to pretend to eat. Cheryl did it like a pro – smiling and smelling the food as she passed the dishes along. One photo of me smelling some seasoning really did make it into the magazine!
Client: Kokopelli’s Wellness Spa and Yoga Center
Media Event: Fitness Expert Leisa Hart (Buns of Steel Workout Star) was doing a New Year’s fitness segment live from the spa.
How I Helped: While Leisa was reporting, a group of us was doing exercises in the background. I even had to do some Pilates moves while Leisa “helped me” during a tease prior to the segment.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Social Networking Sites
In today's Dallas Morning News, there was a great article by Angela Shah about entrepreneurs turning to social networking sites.
I would link to it but it hasn't been posted on the DMN site. Here are some points that stood out in the article:
1. Increasingly, small businesses are turning to such sites as Facebook, MySpace and YouTube as a way to reach young customers who have embraced them as part of their lives.
2. For firms with little money to spend on advertising, the Web sites can be a cheap, efficient marketing tool.
3. Basically, you search the individual profiles for people who might be interested in your product and invite them to join your network as "friends" or customers for the small business owner. You can then send messages about your company to these friends.
4. Membership in general online networking sites reached as high as 41 percent for 18-29 year olds.
In my experience, many moms with young children have MySpace accounts.
If your target market is geared toward this age group or moms with young children, your marketing and PR plan should include social networking sites. You should take the time to create a page on any or all of these social networking sites.
I recently read a great book that could guide you along the way, "MySpace for Dummies."
I would link to it but it hasn't been posted on the DMN site. Here are some points that stood out in the article:
1. Increasingly, small businesses are turning to such sites as Facebook, MySpace and YouTube as a way to reach young customers who have embraced them as part of their lives.
2. For firms with little money to spend on advertising, the Web sites can be a cheap, efficient marketing tool.
3. Basically, you search the individual profiles for people who might be interested in your product and invite them to join your network as "friends" or customers for the small business owner. You can then send messages about your company to these friends.
4. Membership in general online networking sites reached as high as 41 percent for 18-29 year olds.
In my experience, many moms with young children have MySpace accounts.
If your target market is geared toward this age group or moms with young children, your marketing and PR plan should include social networking sites. You should take the time to create a page on any or all of these social networking sites.
I recently read a great book that could guide you along the way, "MySpace for Dummies."
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Media Hit!
I finally cracked Dallas Child Magazine!
My client, Solare Spa and Cafe, was mentioned in the "Talk...In the Carpool Line."
This is an example of getting a media hit from studying the publication, contacting the correct editor and suggesting my release for a specific section of the magazine. It worked!
Every Thursday at Solare Spa and Cafe is "Family Night" complete with a magician for entertainment. I knew this was perfect for Dallas Child and I'm thrilled with the media hit!
Families are encouraged to slow down and reconnect during “Family Thursday” nights at Solare Spa and Café. Solare Cafe provides a healthy and affordable alternative to processed fast food.
Solare’s new dinner menu features many recipes cafe owner, Rosanne Best used to eat as a child and then served to her own daughters. Kid menu options include 3 grilled shrimp, kids tri-tip and chicken adobo, a-long time family recipe featuring a fabulous sauce of paprika, soy sauce and garlic. Children also enjoy the chumash tacos made of Indian fry bread and filled with seasoned ground turkey, romaine lettuce, tomato and cheese. Healthy sides include sweet potato fries, grilled veggies and cucumber salad. Delicious tonics (including a tonic that tastes like real root beer) are available, providing all of the flavor of sodas without all the sugar.
Entrée’s for parents are low fat and served with rosemary potatoes, sweet potato fries, grilled veggies or steamed spinach and include: Solare Signature Tenderloin, scrumptious and roasted to perfection then drizzled with a mushroom pepper sauce; grilled shrimp or seared scallops lightly seasoned with garlic and Santa Maria seasoning; Chicken Adobo which took Solare chefs 11 tries to perfect the seasoning in this long time family recipe originating from the Philippines. Popular vegetarian dishes include the Spicy Soy Chicken Burger and the Seared Tofu which is covered with grilled onions, seasoned with soy sauce and Solare’s secret seasoning. Salads and handhelds from the lunch menu are also available during the dinner hour.
My client, Solare Spa and Cafe, was mentioned in the "Talk...In the Carpool Line."
This is an example of getting a media hit from studying the publication, contacting the correct editor and suggesting my release for a specific section of the magazine. It worked!
Every Thursday at Solare Spa and Cafe is "Family Night" complete with a magician for entertainment. I knew this was perfect for Dallas Child and I'm thrilled with the media hit!
Families are encouraged to slow down and reconnect during “Family Thursday” nights at Solare Spa and Café. Solare Cafe provides a healthy and affordable alternative to processed fast food.
Solare’s new dinner menu features many recipes cafe owner, Rosanne Best used to eat as a child and then served to her own daughters. Kid menu options include 3 grilled shrimp, kids tri-tip and chicken adobo, a-long time family recipe featuring a fabulous sauce of paprika, soy sauce and garlic. Children also enjoy the chumash tacos made of Indian fry bread and filled with seasoned ground turkey, romaine lettuce, tomato and cheese. Healthy sides include sweet potato fries, grilled veggies and cucumber salad. Delicious tonics (including a tonic that tastes like real root beer) are available, providing all of the flavor of sodas without all the sugar.
Entrée’s for parents are low fat and served with rosemary potatoes, sweet potato fries, grilled veggies or steamed spinach and include: Solare Signature Tenderloin, scrumptious and roasted to perfection then drizzled with a mushroom pepper sauce; grilled shrimp or seared scallops lightly seasoned with garlic and Santa Maria seasoning; Chicken Adobo which took Solare chefs 11 tries to perfect the seasoning in this long time family recipe originating from the Philippines. Popular vegetarian dishes include the Spicy Soy Chicken Burger and the Seared Tofu which is covered with grilled onions, seasoned with soy sauce and Solare’s secret seasoning. Salads and handhelds from the lunch menu are also available during the dinner hour.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Welcome!
Welcome to the first posting for my professional blog. I've had a personal blog for more than a year now. I've been doing a lot of reading and have seen how blogs can boost your professional life as well. I've encouraged many of my clients to start a blog and I've finally created my own.
I've been a public relations freelancer for two years now and have finally put some time and effort into creating a logo for myself and designing a website. It should launch in the next couple of weeks.
My friend Mistie created my logo. Go buy a t-shirt from her husband's website!
I hope to provide you with valuable PR tips to help your own business, celebrate my successes as a freelancer and educate others about the power of public relations.
I've been a public relations freelancer for two years now and have finally put some time and effort into creating a logo for myself and designing a website. It should launch in the next couple of weeks.
My friend Mistie created my logo. Go buy a t-shirt from her husband's website!
I hope to provide you with valuable PR tips to help your own business, celebrate my successes as a freelancer and educate others about the power of public relations.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
