Publicity Shy? Here are 6 Tips To Overcome It

Want Publicity? 6 Ways A Dress Rehearsal Will HelpI was watching the Tony Awards the other night, and thought I was about to witness something I had just been thinking about – the value of dress rehearsals. Literally.

It was around the third wardrobe change for co-host Kristen Chenoweth that I began to wonder if they had done a dress rehearsal in the latest dress. The neckline of this black coat dress was cut low and with every dance move that had Kristen bending forward, the dress revealed more and more…I thought we were going to see much more than she intended. – flashback to Beyonce and Janet Jackson Superbowl wardrobe malfunctions.

That may sound like an extreme example, however if you think about it, you don’t know how you or your clothing will look or perform in a public situation, unless you hold dress rehearsals.

A rehearsal is an event that occurs as preparation for a performance. It is undertaken as a form of practicing, to ensure that all details of the subsequent performance are adequately prepared and coordinated. Most commonly employed in the performing arts as preparation for a public presentation, rehearsals are nevertheless used in other contexts, as well, to prepare for the performance of any anticipated activity [source: Wikipedia]

I’ve been thinking about the difference between publicity shy or nervous about seeking media attention and putting yourself out there, and being confident. A dress rehearsal can be the best gift you can give yourself; and not just the shy, introverts, and newcomers, experienced individuals still need to do a trial run or be at risk for a variety of unnecessary mishaps.

A dress rehearsal, in every sense of the word, can make all the difference. Whether you are seeking publicity and on camera interviews or public speaking opportunities or even a job interview, you can benefit from a complete dress rehearsal. You may ace your interview brilliantly, and the last thing you need would be a wardrobe mishap or malfunction.

 

Here are 6 ways a dress rehearsal will help you be a media darling or ace speaker:

Build Confidence – Practice may not make perfect, however it builds your speaking or interview muscles and along with them your confidence. Each time you do an activity, even in practice, you get a little more confident.

Master Rhythm and timing – A speech or interview can take a few tries before you develop pleasant pacing and delivery.

Shape Your Ideas and talk into concise sound bites – The media love you to speak in concise, easily quotable sound bites. Speaking in this fashion for most of us requires practice.

Get comfortable with technology – whether it’s a head set or a PowerPoint clicker, you want to learn to use them without a live audience watching you fumble or struggle with them.

Wardrobe – A full tryout of your head to toe outfit and make up while give a speech and doing all the activities you will be doing in the public eye, will ensure you don’t have embarrassing surprises. Try getting in and out of a car, climbing stairs, standing and sitting in your outfit. The wrap dress that looks great while you are standing on stage, may unwrap when you sit, causing a very revealing problem for a seated interview.

Try it on for color – A few photos and videos from head to toe while standing and seated, will ensure you like the way the outfit looks on film, and catch any other potential color clashes in advance.

Background Check – A distraction in the background can detract from your success. If you are going to be on a televised show, ask what color the background is, and check clips online to see what color outfits past guests looked best wearing on air.

If you are going to shoot your own video, have someone photograph you on the spot where you will be standing to record. Make sure the clothing works with the background, and also that there are no distracting objects behind you or that appear to be growing out of your head.

You can always hire a coach or mentor to help you build media skills and confidence.

 

Most of us don’t like surprises. Especially embarrassing ones.

What event do you have coming up that could benefit from a dress rehearsal?

 

Customer Experiences – A Tale of Two Entrepreneurs

How do you show up to yoScreen shot 2015-04-20 at 2.20.03 PMur audience?

How you show up, and the customer experiences they have with your brand, can make all the difference to you personally, to your business success as well as your satisfaction in life.

Here is a tale of two entrepreneurs.
When you do a lot of marketing and networking online, as I do, it’s exciting to actually get to actually meet a fellow entrepreneur in person or speak to them via Skype.

I was at a marketing conference last year and was entering the ballroom after the break, when I recognized a guy in front of me, a fellow marketer, whose list I had been on for a few years after buying a few of his training products. Waiting until he finished conversing with another attendee, I approached him, excited to have the opportunity to meet him in person. I introduced myself to him and told him who I was and that I had been on his list for a while. To my great disappointment, I didn’t even get a smile. I got a grunt of acknowledgement before he stepped up his pace to catch up with the buddies he had been with, or to get away from me faster.

 People will forget what you said, People will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel – Maya Angelou

The second marketer.

I was on a webinar with a marketer whose list I have also been on for a few years after buying an info product from him at one point. I was interested in the offer he was making and I had a question about the bonus.

I sent him an email, expecting that the response I got would actually come from his customer service person. Here is the email that I received:

Hi Jane! 🙂

It always makes me smile to see your name pop up in my inbox. I think you’ve been one of my longest customers. Thanks 🙂 I really appreciate it. 🙂

Roxie (my wonderful head of support / affiliate manager) has everything put together in a package so I’m going to forward this e-mail to her and she’ll take care of it.

Thanks again & I hope you’re well. 🙂

Have a great day

Cheers

– Adam

Wow. Isn’t that lovely! It made me feel warm, fuzzy and appreciated. Adam has a customer for life, as well a [an even more] raving fan.

How are you showing up and treating your prospects and customers? I know which interaction I prefer to have – the same customer experience I strive to deliver.

As for the first marketer – I came home from the conference and unsubscribed from his list.

Related Content:

PR is Part of Your Customer Experience

2 Steps to Becoming a Media Darling

Media DarlingToday I want to share with you how to be a Media Darling – A celebrity who is especially popular and who receives frequent and very favorable attention in the news media. It’s easier than you think! Done right, it can have the media seeking you out on a regular basis!

There are two keys to being a Media Darling. Mindset is the first aspect.

Be a go giver and help other people get what they want [journalists] so that you can then get what you want [publicity]

Give journalists what they need. A great story, all the information in a neat package they can just cut and paste from, as well as showing them support and love on their work – not just the stories that feature you.

A recent study by MuckRack revealed:

  •  76% of journalists feel more pressure now to think about their story’s potential to get shared on social platforms (which can be measured with our Who Shared My Link tool).
  •  75% of journalists use Twitter to build their own brand. (And 86% of them check Twitter several times per day.)
  •  82% of journalists said incorporating an image is the #1 important ingredient for content share ability.

So more than ever before, Journalists feel more pressure to get their stories shared. You can show them the love by Retweeting, liking, commenting on and sharing their stories.

This works because it helps the journalist get social proof and positive feedback on their work. It also helps put you on their radar. When they see your comments, likes and re tweets, they view you as a friend, an ally, and a familiar name. When you go pitch them, they recognize your name, associate it with your support and social love, and will give your pitch more attention than other pitches they get. In other words, they are predisposed to want to like your pitch!

Now the Second Part are your media assets. The tools journalists expect you to have. These are an online media room and a press kit.

87% of journalists surveyed in the Tek Newsroom survey 2014, expect companies of all sizes to have an online newsroom.

An online newsroom and media or press kit are great because they make it easier for journalists to write about you. It may be 3 am… they are on a deadline… They are looking for information they can grab to complete their article. They don’t have the time to call you, trade messages and finally get to speak to you. Your newsroom gives them everything they need to write about you – 24/7, even if you are playing golf or sleeping. Its a win-win. They get their story. You get media coverage. Sweet.

The newsroom is also a place to showcase your media coverage. Over time, you will build up an impressive list of media mentions and self-generated news. Your prospects, clients and partners will also use it to learn more about you. The newsroom gives you additional expert status and credibility – as media mentions are perceived like endorsements from the media or a 5 star review on Yelp. Additionally, while your competition may have media coverage, chances are they aren’t showcasing it. If you don’t let people know about it, its like it doesn’t even exist…… If a tree falls in the forest….

Your newsroom can simply be a page on your website that you add content to regularly.

No newsroom would be complete without a press kit. This is a downloadable folder of information about you and your company. It can simply be a PDF containing key information about your company, as well as a high-resolution headshot and high-resolution book cover or product shot [as appropriate].

As many of you know, my passion is creating DIY [do it yourself ] tools that make it easier to do your own marketing and promotion.

One of these tools is my Magnetic Media Kits for Authors.  They come with the standard Jane design – elegant, simple, and no technical skills are required.

Related Content:

 10 Things The Media Wishes You Knew – Before You Pitch Them

The #1 Skill to Master for Successful Publicity and Content Marketing

The pitchI started to write this post about the importance of creating a great pitch or headline for your press release, and I realized a its just as critical to be able to craft a compelling concise email subject line or blog post title.

As Shakespeare said, “Brevity is the soul of wit”

A great pitch or headline can also make all the difference in your business.  Consider this. In our age of information overload, we scan article headlines and email subject lines and decide in the flash of a nanosecond it takes to scan the letters and words making up our opener, if we are going to open it right away, or perhaps not at all.

The #1 skill to master for successful publicity and content marketing, is the ability to craft a great and concise pitch.

As you can see, while great pitches, compelling press release headlines, and email subject lines are key to getting media coverage, this goes beyond Publicity. It impacts pitches to new prospects, partners, investors, journalists and potential partners.

When a journalist, or you yourself, scan your in box, it’s the subject line and possibly the first line of copy that gets seen in the preview window. It’s got to be attention grabbing or it gets deleted. It’s that simple.

In addition to being attention grabbing and compelling people to want to know more, it has to be short and communicate your message in as few words as possible. I know, no easy task.

Your existing email newsletter subscribers and blog readers already know and love you, and yet, they too may be ignoring you – only because of a less than compelling headline amongst a sea of headlines or subject lines in their inbox.

You can think of your headline or subject line as a tough gatekeeper – that can keep you from being in direct communication with your dear/cherished audience. It’s your job to charm the gatekeeper.

How Twitter [X] Can Teach You to Pitch Better

X, formerly known as Twitter, with its 140-character constraint, is a great way to hone your writing skills. You have to say what you need to say within the proscribed character limit or be cut off mid-thought, which is not a good option and can look unprofessional.

Sometimes, getting the words to fit into your tweet is trial and error. Sometimes, a bit of compromise. It can be done successfully, as there are over 400 million tweets sent daily, as well as people who have built massive followings by honing the art of communicating well within the word limit.

Google cuts off news headlines and articles, at 70 characters, so your press releases, blog posts and article titles display best within that even smaller number.

Ready to master the art of concise headlines and pitches?

First of course, you need a story idea. Then, to tell it within 70 or 140 characters, you sometimes need just a bit of help coming up with other words – synonyms or alternate ways to say the same concept or idea.

My favorite tools are the excellent old Thesaurus and the more updated version – Visual Thesaurus– which is actually an online interactive thesaurus and dictionary in one. It’s pretty, fun to use and very useful.

Other tools I find helpful are:

Wikipedia – under any given topic, they have related topics or ideas. This works as a brain jumpstart for me, sometimes giving me just the new word I need.

Photo libraries – sometimes the images that come up for a keyword search provide new ideas and ways I hadn’t yet thought of to voice my idea.

You may have to try a few to find what works best for you.

There are some other cool headline tools out there – watch for my list of them in the next week.

In the meantime, remember – a pitch or a headline is meant to be an irresistible invitation to read more. Its not intended to tell the entire story. In this instance, being a tease is a good thing!

In case you were wondering – My subject line for this post is 52 characters so that it would work well on Google, As an email Pitch, A press release headline, or on X!

It also has another success factor in it.  Do you know what that is?  Post your answer below. I’ll be giving a prize to the first person to get it correct!

Related Content:

How Not to Be One of the 45% of HARO Media Pitches That Suck

Is It O.K. to Curse In Your Marketing?

swearing-294391_1280

Do you think about how you come across?

I know I do. I tend to lean towards being polite and professional – call it a bit old fashioned, but that is how I was raised. I have a humorous side that I am trying to let you see more of….. and in real life, I curse sometimes. But you haven’t seen cursing in my marketing.
How would you think of me if I cursed in my marketing? Would it offend you? Would you quickly unsubscribe?

Allow me to digress for a moment. Last week I attended the Entrepreneur Conference – Winning Strategies for Business with a keynote by branding expert Erika Napolitano.

A few of the things Erika said, which I loved, were “Never Apologize for Who You Are”  and “I refuse to turn down my ambition because someone else is uncomfortable with the volume.”

Erika elaborated on how being yourself, even it if offends someone, brings you closer to your ideal customers; those who ‘get’ you and love you for exactly who you are.

Who doesn’t want to work with raving fans?  Who needs customers who have you walking on egg shells? This really resonates with me, as it’s something I have been conscious of and striving for myself.

During the panel discussion Erika Napolitano, Chris Penn and Laura Fitton offered a lot of smart business insights and tips. There was also some cursing. Did I mind it? No.

It did get me wondering though. Was it necessary? We spent the drive home from the event talking about authenticity in marketing, how much of yourself you should reveal, and whether cursing is professional or even necessary.

I did get the sense that I was seeing Erika, Chris and Laura themselves – not a ‘manufactured for public’ version of themselves. I felt their authenticity, and that they were there with no holds barred and no information held back. It endeared me to them and also added a trust factor.

So cursing may not be for you. I don’t plan to start cursing in my marketing any time soon, however, I am striving to be more fully ME in my communication with you, as if you were sitting in front of me and we are having a conversation.

It’s not that I haven’t been authentic with you, I have. I think my own position about whether to curse in your marketing comes from having a notion that marketing is marketing, and my life is my life, and n’er the twain shall meet.

But life, and marketing aren’t like that. Have you noticed? There are lessons that each can learn from the other… and all business and none of me, doesn’t make it relatable. We want to work with people, and we want to have that “know, like and trust” feeling before deciding to do business with them.

So, feeling empowered about being myself, I was surprised to get a long email from someone who attended my webinar on Wednesday, telling me how I offended her.

I have to say, my initial response was good! I am being more of the Me I want to be in business.

Don’t get me wrong – my goal is not to make people feel uncomfortable or to be offensive just for the sake of being offensive. That would be professional suicide right?

What I had done was to be authentically me on the webinar. I had provoked such a strong reaction that this attendee felt compelled to let me know. This is why it’s a great thing on a few levels:

~  that they shared their feedback – I am sure they feel better, and I value the time they took as well as the information they shared

~  we both now know that we aren’t a fit to work together – that frees us both up to move onto prospects or service providers who are a better fit for each of us

By sorting out those who don’t get you, or are offended, you make room for those who do ‘get you’ and like your style. If you are busy worrying, there won’t be enough business left – you are going down the wrong rabbit hole. There is plenty of business around, made up solely of your raving fans.

To be authentic, I know I don’t need to curse, and neither do you. What you do need to do, for more engagement and deeper client relationships, is be yourself.

As Oscar Wilde said, Be Yourself – Everyone Else is taken.

It’s the best positioning you can have in your business and in your publicity!

How can you be more authentic in your own business and create more know, like and trust with your audience? I’d love to hear your feedback on this.

Related Content: 

Why Your Brand Needs Both PR and Content Strategy

Publicity, The Lottery and Your 90% Advantage

luck and PR

luck and PRWhen it comes to publicity, there are a few takeaways from the lottery that are worth considering. Getting publicity can feel like winning the lottery as it often comes with a lot of the positive attention and benefits. It can also create a cash windfall it that can help to attract more clients who now see you as a top expert who they are willing to pay top dollar to work with you.

The takeaway I want to bring to your attention is, a concept that has been used to promote the New York state lottery for years. Their campaign slogan: You have to be in it to win it.

It’s an apropos statement that applies to Public Relations. 90% of entrepreneurs and small businesses don’t do any PR, missing out on incredible free opportunities for visibility, increased traffic and recognition, as well as the value of transferred authority that media mentions convey.

Simply by adding PR to your promotional initiatives, you can jump into the top 10% of businesses, many of whom may be your direct competitors. Advantage Yours.
I recently wrote a guest blog post entitled: Why PR Should Be Part of Your Content Strategy

There are 2 great reasons PR should be part of your content strategy.
“We are living in a world now where visibility creates opportunities and reputation builds trust,” according to Dan Schwabel, author of Promote Yourself and a Forbes magazine contributor.

Your content can achieve both for you – create visibility and trust – in one easy step with public relations. Consider this: you are already creating content. Why not designate some of your pieces for public relations. You’ll need a few strategic pieces written for and pitched to targeted media where your audience already flocks.

When it comes to PR, don’t depend on Luck
Unlike the lottery, where luck and odds are your silent partners, PR shouldn’t depend on luck.

By definition, PR is the professional maintenance of a favorable public image by an organization or a famous person. Its also, the technique or process of attracting attention to people, products, etc.

A competitor’s media coverage that you may think was a stroke of luck for them, was most likely the result of a savvy strategy, PR plan and consistent implementation on their part.

I believe that Publicity happens when preparation meets opportunity. By becoming PR savvy and actively creating and implementing a PR strategy – you prepare, create and attract media opportunities on a regular basis.

With the definition of media and the number and type of outlets continually expanding [think Instagram, tablet magazines… ] there are increasing opportunities for media coverage and mentions. Journalists, bloggers, publishers all need steady stream of fresh content and expert sources – in other words they need you and your stories.

Your advantage gets even better if you utilize optimization. Create your pitches and press release on topics of interest to your target audience, utilizing language or keywords that they themselves would use. It helps create an emotional connection with your audience, resonating deeply and helping them connect with you better. It can also help you potentially rank higher in the search engines for your targeted keywords.

Ready for a PR win? Time to get in the game.

Want my help with your PR efforts? – check out my program Magnify Your Message

Magnify Your Message