Anthony Mora Communications

What Is Your Message?

2008-04-08T11:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, here's a tough one, what is your message? What is the central idea behind your business? Two or three people can run the exact same business, whether it's a clothing line, a dry cleaners, a law practice, or a skin care company, and the message behind each of the businesses can be completely different for each one. It is vitally important to understand what your message is and what you are trying to communicate to your prospective clients.

Take a few minutes and write a description of what your message is and what you want to communicate to your audience. Think of it as a brief mission statement that helps define you and your business. Doing this brief exercise can help give you a clear vision of what it is you want to accomplish.

This isn't always as easy as it wounds and the answers aren't always obvious. It may take some time and some soul searching. But it's important that your audience, clients, or patients realize that you are not just selling a product or a service, but that there is a message behind it.

It's important to define your message, yet, at the same time, this doesn't have to turn into a profound philosophical quest. People have a tendency to get awfully bogged down with this message stuff. I'm not necessarily talking about earth-shattering here. You're not answering that all-important question at the Miss America pageant. Just write a brief, simple, clarifying statement. What is it about how you do what you do that makes your business different and your company unique?

Some businesses may have messages that are more broad-based, such as helping the community or healing the environment, whereas others will focus on offering better quality or giving up-to-the-minute information. There are as many messages as there are businesses. This isn't a moral issue, so don't get overwhelmed thinking that your message has to be some type of grandiose statement. This is a basic, practical matter.

What is it that you offer that makes you special? Why should your clients or patients or customers come to you instead of your competitor down the block? Once you can clearly and succinctly answer that question, you'll be able to successfully communicate that to the media and your target audience.

For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMora.com

Avoiding Follow-Up Suicide

2008-04-03T14:00:00.000-07:00

I have worked to position my firm as a resource instead of a sales force. This is particularly important to keep in mind when calling producers or editors to follow up on a pitch. Go in with a bullying, used car salesman approach and you've already lost the battle. They don't need you and if you push them, they will make that absolutely clear. You might not find that fair, but this isn't about fair, this is about what works. I knew one person who used to call up editors and producers and angrily give them a piece of his mind whenever they ran a piece on his competitor's product. The sad part was that his product was superior to that of his rival, but, because of how he dealt with the media, he was avoided like the plague. No one wanted to do a story on his product, because no one wanted to do a story on him.

Don't waste your time trying to convince the media why you are right or trying to make a hard sale. Your objective is to meet their needs and, in turn, meet yours. And you meet their needs not by pitching a product or a service, but by giving them a good, compelling story.

If you are going to make follow-up calls, initially concentrate on your local media. The local press will usually be more open to your calls and pitches. Keep your calls brief (three to four minutes maximum) and be polite. Be up and enthusiastic. Don't spend your time explaining why yours is the best store or product in town, or why they will be missing the story of the century if they don't use your idea - everyone tells them that. Never beg or berate the media. You're calling to introduce yourself, make sure they have the information, and ask if they need any other corroborating information. Don't sound intimidated and certainly don't try to intimidate. Be upbeat and polite. Listen to the editor's or producer's feedback. If the person on the other line can't talk, acts harried, or says no, remember, chances are you caught him or her right in the middle of a story deadline. Don't push it. Politely say thank you and hang up.

If the person on the other line starts a dialogue or asks you questions, be open, keep the conversation going, but don't try to do a sales job. You are not there to sell anything, but to offer a great, appropriate story idea and to be a resource. Find out if there are any stories they are currently working on that you could help out with. Find out what kind of stories that particular editor or segment producer usually works on.

Your initial follow-up call is to make sure that your information arrived and was seen by the right person, and to introduce yourself. Keep the call short, polite, and very much to the point. Be courteous and quickly get off the phone. Although it is almost impossible to be effective by simply sending out press releases or media information, be prudent in the calls you make. Without follow-up calls, media placement is often a real crapshoot, yet the wrong kind of follow-up calls will knock you out of the game completely.

For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMora.com

The Trouble With Pay for Placement

2008-03-28T14:52:00.000-07:00

There are firms that charge per placement. In other words, you do not pay for the media until they place a story. This sounds awfully attractive, but in my experience, it is not the way to launch an effective brand-building campaign. Look at it from the perspective of the media relations firm. If they are only going to get paid for the media they place you in, chances are they are going to try what they consider will be their easiest placements. If those magazines or TV programs pass, what is the company's incentive to take time, do some grunt work and launch an effective campaign? There is actually very little incentive. Chances are what they will do is move on to another client and hope that they can land him or her some quick placements in order to pay their bills. And so the process goes. It sounds attractive, but in actuality it's a horrible PR business model. You may end up with placements, but most will be reactive. Chances are you won’t have a campaign focused on delivering your message, but one focused on grabbing as much quick media as possible.

What you want in a media relations firm is a company that is actively working for you when things are tough, when there are no hits coming your way. You want a firm that is mining the stories, calling the media, pitching new ideas, making sure that eventually there will be big hits. A company that is paid based solely on their placements simply cannot afford to take the time to build and nurture a client. You may get some hits, but you won't get a campaign.

Many such firms base their fees on the ad rates of the particular media they are placing. In other words, if they were to place you in a local paper, they would base your fee on what a same-size ad would run and charge you a percentage of the ad rate. I have seen the percentage vary from 20% to 50%. If you are dealing with small, local media, this could be affordable, but once you move up the media ladder, you'll find that the costs rapidly become prohibitive. Strange as this sounds, one of the reasons I refuse to work on a per-placement basis, is precisely because I feel we will be too successful. It sounds great to the client at first 1he or she doesn’t have to pay unless there’s a placement. But score one good placement and suddenly their looking at the reality of paying a pretty hefty bill. Many never built the payment into their budget, because it didn’t seem real to them One client in the fashion industry tried and tried to convince me to work with him on a pay-per-placement basis. I refused. Eventually he agreed to the retainer fee and signed with my company. The second story we placed for him was a three-page article in Vogue. If I would have agreed to the fee structure he had suggested, he would have, based on Vogue's ad rates, owed us over a years worth of retainer fees for that one story alone - and I would probably still be trying to collect my payment.

Copyright© Anthony Mora 2008

Should I Handle My Own Public Relations Campaign?

2008-03-20T14:28:00.000-07:00

Should you handle your own public relations campaign? No, not if you don't know the process or truly understand the intricacies launching a PR campaign. Can you? Yes, at least to a point.

Effective media placement is a full-time job. It takes skill, know-how, persistence, and contacts. The art of effective PR entails more than writing releases and putting together press kits. If you do it haphazardly or incorrectly, you're better off not doing it at all. The last thing you want to do is alienate the press, which is usually what happens when well-meaning but inexperienced individuals try their hands at running their own media campaigns.

Media placement is a skill that needs to be learned and understood. None of us would suddenly decide to give open-heart surgery a try, or to overhaul a car transmission - well, at least most of us wouldn't, but every day people decide that they can handle their own PR without any prior knowledge or training whatsoever. An effective media placement campaign is well strategized and thought out. It is a cumulative process that builds day by day and month by month.

If you are thinking of launching a media campaign for your business or career, you basically have four options: hire a media relations firm, hire someone in-house to do your media relations for you, hire a media relations consultant, or launch your own media relations campaign.

If you decide to handle your own media relations, you have a big learning curve ahead of you; you want to learn the hows and whys of putting together a successful campaign.

If you are looking to hire a company or consultant to do it for you, you still have homework. You need to learn the right questions to ask in order to hire the right firm. PR is not a one-size-fits all service. But the greatest mistake businesses owners make is thinking PR is a luxury, not a necessity. Those are the businesses owners who generally wonder why their competitors keep being featured in the media.

For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMora.com

Viral Marketing vs. PR

2008-03-15T18:47:00.000-07:00

According to a recent study, one in twenty Internet visits went to social networking sites during September 2006, which was nearly double the traffic of the previous year. Social networking is no longer focused solely on the social, but is quickly entering the realm of the business world. Facebook is doing an about face and is transforming itself into a powerful marketing site. For some time now companies and marketers have been launching campaigns on MySpace. But knowing that there is an audience there and capturing that audience is not the same thing.

Another report states that viral marketing is not the end-all online marketing tool that many would suppose. Their findings showed that only fifteen percent of viral marketing campaigns truly paid off. What a company is looking for with an effective viral marketing campaign is an exponential positive word-of-mouth explosion and, overall, that has not been the result of the majority of the campaigns.

The word-of-mouth effect is not nearly as easily tapped as one would expect. One of the major upsides of traditional PR, is that when done consistently in a systematic targeted manner, it can generate an amazing amount of positive word-of-mouth. The positive effect comes not only from the media exposure, but from the media venues themselves. To gain coverage in the Wall Street Journal or CNN, or Newsweek is to instantly validate yourself and or your product or service. If you're smart, you'll utilize your media coverage in your overall marketing strategy and maximize on the power of the media coverage.

This is not to say that a savvy viral marketing campaign can't reach your target market, but it's tougher than most think. If you want a truly effective word of mouth campaign, it's really not an either/or decision that you want to make, marry a well targeted viral approach to a comprehensive PR campaign and you'll end up with the best of both worlds.

Copyright© Anthony Mora 2008

www.anthonymora.com

Staying on Target

2008-03-10T18:21:00.000-07:00

Keep your message targeted and focused. You may be well versed on a number of topics, but believe me, you don’t want to pitch the media a Chinese menu. Generally when people assure me that they can discuss everything, I find they have real trouble focusing on anything. Generalists tend to remain just that. The media wants an expert. They want someone who is an authority, someone who is well versed on a certain topic or in a particular field.

Be specific. Sharpen your story. You may have numerous talents, you may have several stories to tell, but don't try to tell them all at once. You don't want a one-note campaign, but you do have to play each note individually. If you slam all of the piano keys down at once, you get noise. What you're looking for is melody, music. You can tell your stories, just tell them sequentially.

Come up with five or six different topics or hooks that you can honestly address. Now put them in order. Prioritize them. Don't pitch them all at once. Not only can it lead you away from your goal and into fantasyland, it can also alienate those around you, including the media. Be realistic. You're not doing this to satisfy your ego needs, but to build your business. Don't worry about not being able to discuss all the various topics that are near and dear to your heart. If you keep at it, chances are you'll get to them, eventually. Right now you're developing hooks, story ideas. Eventually you can broaden your scope and move the focus to other topics. Be patient. Develop your stories, outline the particulars, be specific, and don't be a master of everything. Otherwise you'll be left alone up there in genius-land with no one to talk to.

Copyright© Anthony Mora 2008

What the Media Wants

2008-03-04T14:48:00.000-08:00

The media wants stories, but beyond that, not even the media knows what they want. They are constantly searching, trying out new stories, coming up with new ideas. You have to study the various media outlets, review the different formats, study the types of stories they've run in the past. No one knows what the media wants because what they want is constantly changing. Don't take for granted you are some kind of media maven and that you know more than everyone else does.

Remember, you're going to succeed by learning how the media thinks, not by assuming you think they know what they want. You have to prepare, do your homework, study the various media outlets. The bottom line is a good story, but don't assume because you find a story of interest, the media will like it as well.

Nine times out of ten, you're going to be wrong. Think like an editor, think like a producer. Once again, work backwards. Look at the particular media you are targeting. Who is the audience? What is the basic age range? Does it appeal to primarily men or women? What type of stories does it generally run? Now put yourself in the place of the editor or producer - how could you fit a story on your business, product, or talent into the format of that media outlet? What story would work? What would the focus be?

For example, let's say that you are a fashion designer of men's clothing. GQ and Esquire would be natural media outlets to approach. You would need to come up with a hook that makes you and your designs special, but you know that with a little persistence and creativity you should be able to place a piece in those publications.

What about Vogue? Why not? You could pitch a piece on yourself as the new up-and-coming designer who is reshaping the future of men's fashion, or a piece, aimed towards women, on how to dress the man in their life.

Let's say you wanted to go to The Wall Street Journal. Okay, pitch a story on dressing for success in the 21st Century, or an article on the business of fashion, or the inside workings of the fashion industry. Pitch the media according to its needs, not according to yours. Assume that the story you are dead-set on telling isn't all that interesting to anyone besides yourself. Now, be creative, give it a spin. Give it a makeover. Make it newsworthy.

For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMora.com

Yes You Do Need More Media Training

2008-03-01T14:46:00.000-08:00

Studies show that 93 percent of what an audience reacts to has to do with the messenger, and only 7 percent has to do with the message itself.

Have you had a few media training sessions? Good. Take some more. If not, have you practiced conducting mock interviews? Have you done some media training, even if it's only with a friend? Media training is pretty much what it says, training to appear on the media. Effective media training helps you refine your message, how to deliver sound bites, how to best frame your story to fit the appropriate media outlet, how to dress, what to say, and the type of body language to use.

Ann Convery is our media training and communications expert. I cannot impress on you enough the importance of effective media training, and, having worked with several, I can attest to the fact that Ann is one of the best. She has trained politicians, CEO's, authors, physicians, attorney's and professionals in nearly every field to appear on a wide range of media including 60 Minutes, Time, Newsweek, USA Today, CNN, People, Vogue, The New York Times and hundreds of other media outlets.

In a nutshell, Ann coaches clients on how to present themselves and their message. Her sessions, are video-taped, which allows clients to take the tapes home, review the information, and study their presentation. She is a pro and can guide a client through the possible mine fields, preparing them for interviews with anyone from Bill Moyers to Howard Stern.

Once you've reached the point of being interviewed by the media, even if you have hired a media relations firm to handle your campaign, you and you alone have to take over. How you look, how you sound, your demeanor, these are now what become important. Remember, you are the messenger and the messenger must sell the message.

For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMora.com

The Myth of the Press Kit

2008-02-25T14:46:00.000-08:00

First a quick press kit overview, a press kit generally consists of a two-pocket folder in which you include your press release, fact sheet, and a biography on yourself and your company. You can also include a photo, some graphics, statistics, visuals, a brochure, a sample list of questions, and a Rolodex card. Some companies include buttons, audio tapes, video tapes, booklets, whistles, trinkets, and all sorts of knick-knacks. You name it and someone has jammed it into a press kit. There are companies that spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on extravagant, expensive press kits.

Trouble is most press kits get tossed in the circular file as soon as they arrive at the editor's or producer's desk. Most don't make it past the secretary. A press kit's travel itinerary generally goes something like this - your office, post office, media outlet office, trash can.

Press kits can cost thousands of dollars, which can translate into a hefty profit for many public relations companies. I'm sure that I'll probably be at odds with most other media relations professionals, but I find most press kits to be a waste of time and money. They're expensive and usually don't do the job they're intended to do. I've found that press kits are generally ego-oriented. People want to make a splash. They want to look good. They want to keep up with the competition. Often the head of a company will see a competitor's press kit and immediately demand that his creative department create one that's glossier, snazzier, and thicker. But the bottom line is, why do you want a press kit?

Press kits can be invaluable when making presentations to clients, or for internal public relations, but think twice before sending them to the media. And never send a press kit out as your first contact. If the media requests to see a press kit, by all means send one. That's when they should be used and can be effective. But, don't send out a hundred press kits at random, don't send them if they haven't been requested and never send a press kit to inappropriate media.

For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMora.com

The Press Release aka Tell Me Your Story In One Page Or Less

2008-02-20T14:45:00.000-08:00

Ah, the infamous press release. What is it? Traditionally, a press release is a one-to five-page document that tells your story. Unlike a letter, there is no salutation, nor is the release personalized or written to a particular person. It is a general document you can use for the different media. There are some set-in-stone, very specific guidelines to press releases, such as covering the who, what, where, and when information, adhering to the press release format, and keeping it double-spaced. Personally, I break more of these set-in-stone rules than I keep.

Most press releases are horribly, terrifically boring. They are dry, and chock-full of dull, tedious facts, or they are overly cute.

Since I concentrate solely on media relations, as far as I am concerned, there is only one purpose for a press release - to interest the media, to interest editors, writers, or producers in my clients and their stories. And that ain't necessarily easy. The press is inundated with press releases, and most receive releases that are filled with information that is unusable or inappropriate. Don't become known as a one of the monotonous release senders. Once you're identified as a part of the "don't bother" lot, your releases will be tossed in the circular file as soon as they arrive.

Cutting Your Trailer: I have a hard-and-fast rule at my company that press releases cannot exceed one-page, and I will sacrifice double-spacing in order to come up with a one-page release. But, you argue, you have so much interesting and important information to impart. You couldn't possibly say all you wanted to in one page. You're right. So don't. You're not going to tell them your life story in one release. There will be more releases. Only give them the headlines, the teasers. Imagine that you're cutting a trailer for an upcoming movie. You're not concerned with trying to let the audience see the entire film. Your job is to interest the public enough to plunk down their money to see the movie. It's the same with your press release. You want your release to act as a teaser; you want to interest the media, grab their attention.

For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMora.com

Defining Your Target Market

2008-02-15T14:44:00.000-08:00

Once you have defined and written your message, it's important to define your target market. Who is your audience?

If you've developed a new anti-wrinkle cream and are marketing it to teenage boys, you'd better take another look at your strategy. You may have the best product in the world, but if you've picked the wrong target audience, it's not going to work.

Believe me, this isn't an uncommon mistake; more businesses than you think have done everything right and gone belly up because their targeting was off. This is an essential component of success. Know your prospective clientele. And don't let your ego or your preconceived ideas get in the way. If you have developed a product that you want to market to CEO's who earn over $750,000.00 per year, but your real market is junior high school students, you'd better learn that and learn it quickly.

For example, early on in my career I worked with a dentist who had written a book on various aspects of dentistry. The book was well done and contained information that would have been of interest to others in his field, but it was not a mass market book. The dentist was dead set on marketing his book to the general public, whereas his true market was a specialized niche market - other dentists. His perception of his target market was askew. He erroneously believed that because he found the information in his book fascinating, that everyone else would as well. He basically had two choices, stay with his approach and target a narrowly defined market, or broaden his scope and by doing so broaden his market.

It's an important decision every business owner needs to make. Be realistic about your business and your target market. Not every product or service has a huge market, but you don't need huge, you need a realistic, well-defined market. If you can define your target market and effectively reach your customers or prospects, you're in business.

For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMora.com

Utilizing Your Media

2008-02-10T14:44:00.000-08:00

If you use it correctly, media begets media. Use your TV and radio appearances and magazine and newspaper articles to interest other media. Copy the article, video, or audio tape and send it out when the media requests further information on you. Update your biography to include your most recent media appearances (unless you're pitching a direct competitor).

When writing or talking to the media, let them know about other segments or articles you have appeared in. Be prudent in the media you send. If a feature story or interview has certain quotes you are unhappy with, you may want to copy only the parts of the interview you want highlighted. If you have a recently taped interview from a particular TV program and are now being considered by their direct competitor, you may want to think twice before sending that particular tape for viewing.

Keep copies of articles displayed in your office or framed on your walls. Mention your media in your ads, flyers, newsletters and brochures. If you have a staff or employees, teach them to use the media you have been featured in, in their pitches or conversations to both clients and prospective clients. Send out copies of your media tear sheets to your current and prospective clients.

If you give seminars, speeches, or lectures, use copies of your print tear sheets and video-taped interviews in your presentations. Consider hiring a graphic artist to help professionally display your articles and interviews.

These are just some examples of ways to utilize your press. With a little thought and ingenuity, you'll come up with several more. Make your press work as hard as you do.

For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMora.com

The Most Important Marketing Tool of the Internet Age

2008-02-05T14:43:00.000-08:00

The ONLY Valid Form of Marketing in the Brave New World Of Social Networking

Never has PR and storytelling been more important than in the age of the Internet and social networking. I've worked as a journalist, novelist, playwright, film and TV producer and PR consultant; they all rely heavily on being able to tell a story. The brave new world of social networking marks the renaissance of storytelling, making effective PR the most important marketing tool there is.

The MySpace, YouTube Connection: The world is becoming more and more about transparency and relationships. Traditional media is looking to the net for its answers, which is why News Corp bought MySpace and Google to purchased YouTube. Ads and commercials are not the way to spread the word in those worlds. But P.R. can directly impact the new social networking phenomena to maximize its effect like never before.

The Diet Coke & Mentos Experiment Example: Google recently made a deal with, and has agreed to turn over most advertising revenue generated by, the latest video from Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz, creators of "The Diet Coke & Mentos Experiment." In exchange, Grobe and Voltz, who saw their original offering--which shows a version of Vegas' Bellagio Fountains made of 101 2-liter bottles of Diet Coke and 523 Mentos--catch fire with video-sharing fans last summer, have agreed to let Google host their latest video. But the story was told and the news spread via PR with coverage on The David Letterman Show, Good Morning America, NPR and countless other media outlets. The PR was the engine that drove the story. Whereas the new media is the story, it's traditional PR, done with a bit of a creative flaire, that tells the story.

For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMora.com

Public Relations - Staying on Course

2008-02-01T14:42:00.000-08:00

Once you've launched and outlined your PR campaign, give yourself room to change and alter the game plane as you go, but only if there's a strong definitive reason. Don't change direction, or start to panic because you're not on Oprah after three weeks of sending out press releases. Give your campaign and your story ideas a chance to do their work.

A recent study showed that only 20% of press releases are actually read by the media. Which means you have to send it again and again and follow ups have to be made? If you're working with a PR company give them the time and the space to do their job. Patience is not only a virtue; it's a necessary ingredient for success.

Because you now understand some of the basics of media relations, don't assume you are now a media Ph.D. In media relations, often what appears to be the obvious decision is the wrong decision. What makes it especially difficult is that everyone thinks that they know all there is to know about PR. Most people believe they can tell writers how to write and everyone will know more about your PR campaign than you or your public relations firm. You will be given advice from your neighbors, co-workers, pastors, janitors, clients, patients, relatives - you name it.

When I was a magazine editor, I worked for one particular publisher who had a tendency to listen to, and take advice from, any and everyone he met. When he went to lunch, I used to pray that the elevator would be empty and that he'd go for drive-through fast food where no one would talk to him. If he spoke to a waitress, a salesperson, or a stranger in an elevator, he would invariably call me into his office and propose that we implement some revolutionary suggestions that he had been given. Never mind that nine times out of ten these changes were totally inappropriate, to him they were dynamic, new - revolutionary!

People love to give advice, whether they know what they're talking about or not. Remember, these people who tell you exactly how you should run your PR campaign have nothing at stake, which is why they can afford to make such definitive and authoritative pronouncements. So, when these know-it-alls give you advice, smile, listen, maybe even nod, but stay on course.

For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMora.com

The PR Surprise: You Never Know Who's Watching?

2008-01-30T09:31:00.001-08:00

What makes public relations so fascinating is the unexpected. Once you get the story out there, you never know who is going to see, hear or read it. It can result in totally surprising and unanticipated results.

I always start a campaign with certain objectives in mind. I have a target market I want to reach and I have some objective that I want to achieve. But because of the powerful nature of the media, I have witnessed some amazing results that neither I nor my clients envisioned. I have seen companies and careers built in record time, have had clients offered their own radio and TV shows after having been seen on the media. I've had clients offered positions in other companies, larger companies have offered buy-outs or mergers, and one client was offered complete financing on a new business venture after appearing on one talk show.

One client was getting ready to self publish a book, but the media we garnered help catch the eye of a major publisher. A deal was struck and the book was published.

I'd love to say that I had intentionally masterminded all of these results, but I’m generally as surprised as my clients when these offers and proposals come in. That's what makes it so fascinating. When you start a campaign, you have your objectives, your target markets and your benchmarks, but, you never know who's watching or listening, and you never know where that last story or interview will lead you.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2008
For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMora.com

Keep Your Message Focused and On Target

2008-01-18T14:42:00.000-08:00

Keep your message targeted and focused. You may be well versed on a number of topics, but believe me, you don't want to pitch the media a Chinese menu.

Generally when people assure me that they can discuss everything, I find they have real trouble focusing on anything. Generalists tend to remain just that.

The media wants an expert. They want someone who is an authority, someone who is well versed on a certain topic or in a particular field.

Be specific. Sharpen your story. You may have numerous talents, you may have several stories to tell, but don't try to tell them all at once. You don't want a one-note campaign, but you do have to play each note individually. If you slam all of the piano keys down at once, you get noise. What you're looking for is melody, music. You can tell your stories, just tell them sequentially.

Come up with five or six different topics or hooks that you can honestly address. Now put them in order. Prioritize them. Don't pitch them all at once. Not only can it lead you away from your goal and into fantasyland, it can also alienate those around you, including the media.

Be realistic. You're not doing this to satisfy your ego needs, but to build your business. Don't worry about not being able to discuss all the various topics that are near and dear to your heart. If you keep at it, chances are you'll get to them, eventually.

Right now you're developing hooks, story ideas. Eventually you can broaden your scope and move the focus to other topics.

Be patient. Develop your stories, outline the particulars, be specific, and don't be a master of everything. Otherwise you'll be left alone up there in genius-land with no one to talk to.

For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMora.com

Authors and the PR Blues

2008-01-15T14:41:00.001-08:00

So you finally did it. You wrote that book you've been threatening to write, sent it to publishers, amassed a mountain of rejection slips, but finally found that right publisher. Your manuscript was accepted. You're going to be a published author. Great - you can now turn your attention to your next book. Your first books finished; your publisher will take care of everything from here on in, right? Surprise!

At my firm, we run the gamut when it comes to representing authors, from self-published, first-time writers to writers who have landed multi-book deals with major publishers and, I am sad to report, the one common link among all the authors we work with is that, unless their names happen to be Anne Rice, Stephen King, or Tom Clancy, very few seem to receive much support.

It would be easy to blame the publishing company's media relations departments, but that's not the problem. Most publishing companies have slashed their in-house staffs and their publicists are overloaded. Every month, up to thirty books are dumped on one or two in-house publicists.

It's an impossible task. What has happened is that many in-house departments have been reduced to little more than direct marketing departments. They send out books, press kits and press releases and hope for the best. They have neither the time nor the man power to make follow-up calls. And unless you have name recognition or have written a shocking expose that the entire world is waiting to read, chances are you and your book will get lost in the shuffle.

Whether you are self publishing or are publishing your book through a major house, this is one instance where I strongly recommend you hire a firm that understands book media relations to implement your campaign. Although some books are evergreen some are time sensitive. This is one time you don't have the luxury of learning as you go.

Although you hope that your book will become a classic and continue to sell throughout the years, your book has a shelf life. You need to launch an effective campaign even before it's published. If you want to have it reviewed, you need to send a copy of your book, or the galleys, to reviewers, often as long as three months before the publication date. Once it's published, you immediately want to hit the local media, the talk shows, and the national press.

One area you definitely want to focus on is national and regional radio. There are hundreds of regional and local radio talk shows and current event-oriented programs that feature books and authors. These interviews are almost always conducted over the phone. You can be at home in your bathrobe, discussing your book, while thousands of people listen.

If you are publishing with a major house, view your publisher primarily as a printer and distributor and assume that all of the responsibility for securing for your book rests firmly on your weary shoulders. If your publisher actually launches a campaign for you, that's great, but don't count on it. You don't have the luxury of being wrong. If you assume the media relations will be done for you and it's not, by the time you discover your error, it will be too late.

For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMora.com

The Genesis of Emotional Branding

2008-01-07T14:52:00.000-08:00

Emotional branding is considered by some to be a relatively unique field, yet in the PR world we have been using it for years. The PR process is not only effective as a media placement tool, innovative companies and entrepreneurs are utilizing the basic methodology, understanding that it is one of the most powerful and effective brand building tools available. A company builds a lasting successful brand by developing and creating an effective story. It is not about the hard-sell, or being the biggest, or the flashiest, or even the coolest; it is about making a deep powerful connection, about communicating on a basic human level

Having worked as a journalist, editor and producer, I know from the media’s perspective what makes a powerful and compelling story. Having served as president and CEO of Anthony Mora Communications, Inc. for over sixteen years, I also know from the perspective of a public relations consultant what creates a story the media will respond to.

The two criteria are generally quite similar. For a story to work it must be engaging, interesting and hit a basic human core, and public relations is the only form of marketing that lives or dies on how compelling the story truly is. Unlike advertising, with PR you cannot pay to have a story placed in the editorial section of the media (well, at least it shouldn’t work that way). You must craft and pitch a story compelling enough to capture the media’s attention – a story that in essence is strong enough to become the news.

PR is a process and using that process is the most effective and powerful way to create and develop an effective brand. Generally companies have turned to marketing firms to build their brands and whereas these firms can be effective, it is the PR mindset and methodology that truly creates the most powerful and lasting brands. As a PR Consultant my job is to communicate, to be a consummate and effective storyteller, which is what branding is all about. A successful brand tells a company’s story both emotionally and narratively, which is why PR consultants who truly understand the process are the most effective brand creators around.

PR Starter Programs for Start-Ups & Entrepreneurs

2008-01-03T14:02:00.000-08:00

If you're at the point where you need some media coverage, but can't afford to retain the services of a firm, what are your options? Well, you can try and launch a campaign yourself, come up with your stories, write your releases, build a media list, contact the media, etc. It's not an impossible task, but it can be a daunting one, particularly for someone with no PR or media experience.

In my book, Spin to Win, I outline the steps you can take to start your own PR campaign. But, as I mention in the book, if you can afford to hire a firm, do so. Your job is to run your company, not to launch a media campaign. Throughout my years in the industry, I've found that there is a large number of business owners and professionals who cannot afford to launch a full-scale campaign, but have neither the time nor the inclination to learn the ins-and-outs of launching their own campaign. These professionals need to get media coverage for their business, but how? After hearing the story of countless of business professionals who were raring to go, but just couldn't afford to commit to a full-blown campaign, I decided that offering PR Starter Programs was the obvious alternative. These are not the equivalent of a full PR campaign and the same results cannot be expected, but they do offer options, ways to get you story to the media, while you continue to focus on your real job - running your business.

For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMora.com